Charles A. Eastman

“ A little further on we meet with brave and fortunate heroes, and beautiful princesses, and wicked old witches, and magical transformations, and all the other dear, familiar material of fairy lore, combined with a touch that is unfamiliar and fascinating.
The "Little Boy Man," the Adam of the Sioux, has a singular interest for us in that he is a sort of grown-up child, or a "Peter Pan" who never really grows up, and whose Eve-less Eden is a world where all the animals are his friends and killing for any purpose is unknown. Surely the red man's secret ideal must have been not war, but peace! ”

“ You have heard that the Great Mystery is everywhere. He is in the earth and the water, heat and cold, rocks and trees, sun and sky; and He is also in us. When the spirit departs, that too is a mystery, and therefore we do not speak aloud the name of the dead. There are wonders all about us, and within, but if we are quiet and obedient to the voice of the spirit, sometime we may understand these mysteries! ”

“ When the sun rose, dancing for an instant upon the sharp edge of the sky, one after another all of the animals joined in the great war-cry, with bellowings and screechings of the larger beasts, the barking of Wolves, the hissing of Snakes, and the shrill cries of the feathered ones, of whom the Crane and the Loon were loudest. ”

“ The strong sun of March still [223] hovers over the deep blue lake, and last night's snow flurry has quite vanished from the pleasant, brown face of our Grandmother Earth, when the children arrive at Smoky Day's wide-open doorway. There is a tang in the air and a stir in the blood to-night that moves the old man to tell a tale of youth and adventure. ”

“ The moon always seems to me like a beautiful woman, for she often hides her round, shining face with a blanket of cloud, and sometimes she even runs away from us altogether, as if she were tired or displeased. But to-night she smiles and uncovers her face, so that all the young men are out, each playing upon his flute near the home of the loved one! ”

“ To be sure, it is now midsummer; our clothing and our weapons are new, there is food in plenty, and we may seem to be happy. However, our antlers, our only weapons, are yet soft, and the Wolf and the Wild Cat are ready and fearless to attack us. Our only hope of escape is in our fleetness, since we are watched all day [96] by the cruel eyes of those who live upon flesh, of whom the most dangerous of all is Man!"
"I know all this," replied Unktomee. "Others may have stronger weapons than you, but I see none with your beauty, your stately height, your freedom and ease of life. ”

“ NINTH EVENING
"Now, my grandchildren," says [81] Smoky Day, "I shall tell you of one who is well known in the wonder-world of our people. He is a great traveller, seems to know everybody, and is always good-natured, but he is also a shameless boaster and plays many tricks upon those he meets on the road. No one is so wise and cunning as Unktomee, the Spider; and yet he likes to appear as simple and innocent as a child!
"His adventures are many. Sometimes he gets the better of the animal people, and again they may succeed in outwitting him, so that he is well laughed at for his trouble! ”

“ The Boy Man stood erect on the top of the wall, and saw the warriors coming from all directions, as far as the eye could reach. On they came, with a mighty thunder of hoofs and a trampling of many feet! Overhead that great war-chief of the air, the Eagle, commanded his winged forces, while from below the [145] creepers and crawlers began to scale the lofty defences of the Boy Man. There he stood alone, and fearlessly let fly hundreds of sharp arrows, of which every one found its mark, until the ground was choked with the fallen. ”

“ There he stayed and hunted mice as best he could from day to day, sleeping at night in a hollow log to be out of the way of the Fox and the Weasel. All the wit he had was not too much whereby to keep himself alive through the long, hard winter.
Toward spring, however, the Falcon's wing had healed and he could fly a little, though feebly. The sun rose higher and higher in the blue heavens, and the Ducks began to return to their cool northern home. Every day a flock or two flew over the lake; but the Falcon dared not charge upon the flocks, much as he wished to do so. ”

“ I leap and flit all day long from bough to bough. I am quick as a flash, so that I can easily escape my enemies. In my free and happy life there is but one thing I fear, and that is a boy's blunt-headed arrow! ”

“ The champion was so strong that he could not bend his bow of wood without breaking it, therefore he armed himself with a bone bow, a bone knife and a stone war-club.
One day, he came to the village of the Frogs, who poured out of their lodges to meet him and set before him food, but no water. "He who goes to the water," said they, "never returns. A great warrior lies there who has swallowed many of us alive, and now we are perishing of thirst!"
Star Boy himself was so thirsty that after he had eaten, he went down to the water, and was instantly swallowed by Tamahay, the Pickerel. ”

“ Whenever a black cloud appeared in the sky and cast its threatening shadow upon the water, all the fishes knew it for a warning to descend to the floor of their watery abode, the deep, dark realm, away from the power of his arrows. ”

“ To-night a generous fire of logs gives both warmth and light inside the teepee, and the old man is calmly filling his long, red pipe for the smoke of meditation, when the voices and foot-steps of several children are distinctly heard through the stillness of the winter night. ”

“ The boy followed as fast as he could, and after a long chase he tired out and overtook the Squirrel, who sat coughing and grunting upon the bough of a tree just above his head.
"Boy," he exclaimed, "only spare my life, and you shall have a charm that will make you a successful hunter as long as you live!" ”

“ Soon a great cloud of smoke and flames arose toward heaven, not only driving off the little winged warriors, but forcing the whole body of the enemy to retreat in confusion, for they had never seen fire before, and to this day it is feared by all and used by man only. [146]
Thus the animals were convinced that Man is their master. When they sued for peace, all agreed to give him of their flesh for food and their skins for clothing, while he on his side promised never to kill any wantonly. The Boy Man further agreed that they might keep their weapons to use in their own defence. ”

“ But after a little a small Duck slyly opened his eyes, and saw Unktomee wringing the necks of his friends.
"Fly! Fly!" he exclaimed in terror. "He is killing us all!"
So all the Ducks that were left alive rose up with a mighty rush of wings and a loud clamor of voices. The grass teepee fell to pieces, and the lucky ones flew away; but lying on the ground beside Unktomee were enough fat Ducks for a fine feast! ”

“ One day, however, a curiosity seized him to know what this laughing business might be. He took his boy and followed the Bears at a distance, not choosing to be seen. Their trail led to the shore of the Great Water, and when he had come as near as he could without exposing himself, he climbed a tall pine from whose bushy top he could observe all that took place. ”

“ The Crane began to be hungry again. He went round the pond without making any noise, and pounced upon the second Frog, who was sitting up in plain sight, swelling his chest with pride, for he really thought now that he was the sole chief of the pond.
The Crane's head and most of his long neck disappeared under the water, and all over the pond the little Frogs went splash! splash! into the deepest holes to be out of the way.
Just as he had the Frog by one hind leg, the Crane saw something that made [22] him let go, flap his broad wings and fly awkwardly away to the furthest shore. ”

“ A third time they lay down, but this time the Elks stole away from Unktomee and left him sleeping, for they had scented the hunter. When the hunter came, therefore, he found only the chief Elk still sleeping, and he let fly an arrow and wounded him severely.
Unktomee was now in great fear and pain, and he bitterly regretted that he had become an Elk, for he had learned that their life is full of anxiety. The Elks had taught him that it is well to be content with our own, for there is no life that is free from hardship and danger. ”

“ The boy agreed, and the Squirrel took him back to his own wigwam, where he filled the little fellow's bag with nuts from his pile.
"These," said he, "are all lucky nuts, and if you put one of them in your pouch when you go out to hunt, you will surely kill a Bear!"
This the boy did, and to the great joy of the poor old folks he became a famous [78] hunter, so that from that time on they never wanted meat in their lodge.
Do not harm your weaker brothers, for even a little Squirrel may be the bearer of good fortune! ”

“ The other obeyed; but although he waited a long time on the further side, no Deer appeared, nor did he see anything of his brother. At last he returned through the woods to the spot where they had landed; and behold! the canoe with his brother was almost out of sight on the blue waters of the lake.
The young man, thus abandoned, wandered about the island for many days, living upon the game which he found there in abundance. He had grown very lonely and tired of his solitary life, when one day a strange old man with long, white hair appeared on the shore. ”

“ There in the watery world the people saw him as it were [135] sailing down from the sky. His path led now through a great forest of sea weeds, now upon the broad plains, and finally he came into a deep valley of the under-world, where he found everybody anxiously waiting for him. He was met by the old Turtle, who begged him to make haste, for the chief and his wife were in great agony.
"Let all the people retire, for I must be alone in order to work a cure," declared the supposed medicine-man, as he entered the teepee of the water monster. ”

“ Try to imitate the heroes of old, the great and good and helpful, such as the Stone Boy, the Star Boy, the Avenger, he who wears the White Plume, and he who shot the Red [178] Eagle! If I should be spared to live another winter, I will tell you of them all. To-night we will hear the pleasant story of Mashtinna and his brother-friend."
THE COMRADES
Mashtinna, the Rabbit, was a handsome young man, and, moreover, of a kind disposition. One day, when he was hunting, he heard a child crying bitterly, and made all haste in the direction of the sound. ”

“ The "Creation myths" and others rich in meaning have been treated very simply, as their symbolism is too complicated for very young readers; and much of the characteristic detail of the rambling native story-teller has been omitted. A story that to our thinking is most effectively told in a brief ten minutes is by him made to fill a long evening by dint of minute and realistic description of every stage of a journey, each camp made, every feature of a ceremony performed, and so on indefinitely. ”

“ There is no greater rudeness [33] than to interrupt a story-teller, even by the slightest movement. All Sioux children are drilled in this rule of behavior, as in many others, from their earliest babyhood, and old Smoky Day has seldom to complain of any lack of attention. Even Teona and Waola, active boys of eleven and twelve, and already daring hunters, would be ashamed to draw upon themselves by word or motion the reproving looks of their mates. ”

“ My work, moreover, is of use to others besides myself and family, for with my dam-building I deepen the stream for the use of all the dwellers therein, while you are a terror to all living creatures that are weaker than yourself. ”

“ He is no larger than a three-year-old child, and is covered with hair. His home is in a hollow tree, and his [168] weapons are the brilliantly colored feathers of gay birds. He delights in confusing the lone hunter who is so unlucky as to come upon him in the depths of the forest. ”

“ Then the father picked up his bow and strung it. He gave one more look at his boy, who was gasping for breath; then he fitted a sharp arrow to the bow and pierced the little Laugh-maker to the heart. He went out and took the skin, and they returned in silence to the camp of the Bears.
Now the next time that the herald called upon the Bears to "go a-laughing," the skin of the Laugh-maker was almost dry, but they knew nothing of it. They went away as usual, and left the young man alone with his son. ”

“ Berry-Picker passed this way only yesterday, on her way to rejoin her people."
"And where do her people live?" asked the young husband.
"They live not far away, my son; but be on your guard; they are a deceitful people and will give you much trouble!"
Thanking the old man, he hurried on, and soon came to the village of the Bears. It was a large village, and the people seemed to have plenty to eat and to be very merry, for they were singing and dancing. As the stranger drew near, every young woman in the great camp came running to meet him. ”

“ There was once a man and his wife and two children who had gone away from the rest of the tribe and were living by themselves. One day the man went out hunting as usual, but evening came and he did not return. The next day his wife went to look for him, and neither did she come back to the lodge.
Thus it came about that the young brother and sister were left alone, but they were not unhappy. The boy was a strong and well-grown lad, and he brought home abundance of meat, while the girl cooked his food, tanned the skins [151] and made all of their moccasins and clothing. ”