IROQUOIS MYTHS AND LEGENDS 



13 



metaphorical or poetic, the transcriber employs every consistent 

 art to reproduce the same elements in his own language. There 

 is virtue in this method if honestly followed but it can only be used 

 by one familiar with all the incidents of the culture which produced 

 the tale, by one who is familiar with the language, life and psychol- 

 ogy of the myth maker. A myth tale recorded in this way is neither 

 mechanical, dialect or affected in style, but on the other hand, 

 the same living, sentient story, though' dressed in the garments 

 of another speech. 



It is substantially this method which has been employed by 

 Harriet Maxwell Converse in recording the myths and legends 

 contained in this volume, and for this reason her work is eminently 

 worthy of the consideration of students. Her great love for the 

 Indians, her sympathetic nature, her scientific training and her 

 psychic temperament enabled her to get at the heart of the stories 

 her Indian friends told her. With her poetic mind schooled in all 

 the arts of literature she has interpreted the ideas and impressions 

 in a matchless style which enables the reader to feel all that the 

 red man felt when he listened to the ancient stories of his fore- 

 fathers. 



The editor has endeavored to arrange the various myths and 

 legends systematically and add such notes as will illuminate some 

 of the obscure passages and to suggest by other notes the w r ealth 

 of material which is opened up by the study of Iroquois folklore 

 and American folklore in general. 



As a loving friend and grateful student of Mrs Converse, the 

 editor has aimed in putting forth this work to rear from her own 

 material a worthy monument, both to the memory of the gifted 

 writer and to the people whom she loved. 



Arthur C. Parker 



