Elaine Goodale Eastman

“ Mystery to the Indian is not mystery after all, but a reflection of the Great Mystery which opens out as simply as a flower. To us nothing is strange or impossible. It seems natural that an animal or even a rock should speak ”

“ Once there was a beautiful girl who had many suitors, and among the most persistent were the Crane and the Hummingbird. She rather fancied the latter, since the Crane was a long-legged, awkward fellow, not at all to her taste. In order to rid herself of his pretensions once and for all, she told them that they might fly round the world, and the first one to return should be her husband. As the Hummingbird is very swift, she had no doubt of the result. ”

“ On the next day, the smallest bear came back alone in human form, and spoke to his host in his own tongue, telling him that he was a man who had long since been captured and adopted into the Bear tribe. “The Bear Chief,” said this person, “is very sorry for you, because he too has lost all of his friends. He understood your sorrow and for that reason refrained from killing you. I was not permitted to speak to you in his presence, but he wishes you to remember him when you mourn for your dead.”
Ever since this time, the old men, when they kill a grizzly bear, paint a cross on its skin. ”

“ THERE was sorrow on the Casa Grande (the Great Pueblo) , for the prettiest woman in the village would accept no man for her husband. Her suitors were many and impatient, but her black glossy locks were still wound above her ears in the manner of virgins, and she steadily refused to allow them to hang down in the matron’s coils.
One day a great Cloud came out of the east, looked down upon the maiden and wished to marry her, for she was very beautiful. ”

“ The third brother went as a great storm of rain, and he had nearly reached the spot where his sister was eagerly waiting, when the icy wind turned the rain to hail and drove it back, and the poor girl was in despair.
However, there was still the youngest brother. He went as a sharp-edged and thin cloud which slipped right by North Wind and reached his palace, where he turned all the ice to water. The whole country was flooded, and North Wind and his family were helpless. ”

“ Many men wished to marry the chief’s pretty daughter, but she laughed at them all. One day as she sat quite close to the fire, a spark snapped upon her dress and burned a tiny hole in it. [Pg 153] She pointed at the fire and called it a bad name in her anger, for it must be admitted that the girl had a quick temper.
That night the chief’s daughter was missing. All the people sought for her. They searched every house in the village and in the other villages, wherever men lived who had proposed for her hand. When she could not be found anywhere, they employed the wisest medicine men. ”

“ The hearing and repeating of the legends took in large part the place of both school and story-books to the Indian boy or girl, and it is good practice for any of us.
It seems likely that every tribe has in its folklore a mischievous character with supernatural powers, who is at the same time a butt for jokes and a successful wonder-worker. He is boastful and resourceful, always trying to outwit other people, and in his turn is often outwitted. Among the Sioux this character is known as Unktomee, the Spider; the Tsimshians call him the Raven; the Cherokees the Rabbit. ”

“ THE first Indian legends, repeated by the fireside to children, deal with the animals humanized, their gifts and their weaknesses, in such a way as to be a lesson to the young. Our view of the creation allows a soul to all living creatures, and rocks and trees are reverenced as sharers in the divine. ”

“ Raven made a new plan. He went a little way off and sent the Sea Gull to the camp with this message:
“A handsome young chief will come to feast and dance in the dwelling of your chief. See that all is ready.”
He knew that the people would prepare for their guest, so he caught a Deer and tied a bundle of pitch-pine to its tail, for at that time the deer had a long tail like that of the fox. He borrowed the canoe of the Great Shark, and with the Deer came in it to the village. ”

“ At last one morning the old woman said to her daughter, “Go quietly, my child; follow your husband without letting him know it, and see for yourself what progress he is making.”
The young wife did as she was told, and there was the trickster pounding a rotten stump with the stone ax so as [Pg 95] to make the sounds they had heard. When she told her mother what she had seen, the two women packed up all the goods they had left and went away.
When Raven went home that night, he found only the empty hut, which was as much as he deserved. ”

“ After much talk, it was agreed to make bows and arrows of their own with which to defend themselves, and one of the Bears sacrificed his life to furnish sinew for the bowstring. When all was ready, and the Bear chief undertook to try the new weapon, his long claws caught on the string so that he could not handle it. Some one then proposed that they all cut their claws, and they were on the point of doing this when the thought occurred to another that they would be [Pg 30] unable to climb trees or seize their prey if they had no claws, and would be in danger of starving to death. ”

“ HOW THE TERRAPIN BEAT THE RABBIT
The Terrapin once challenged the Rabbit to a race, which the latter regarded as a joke.
“The Terrapin is doubtless a wit,” said he, “and a great warrior as well, but every one knows that he cannot run. I shall give him a big handicap, and even then I cannot help beating him.”
The course lay over four ridges, and the Rabbit told the Terrapin to go ahead to the top of the first ridge, so that when the signal to start was given he was already out of sight. ”

“ Human lives are mingled with the supernatural, with elements and mysterious powers, bringing swift punishment for wrong-doing. This is the basis of our Indian philosophy, the groundwork early laid in the mind of the child, for him to develop later in life by his own observation. ”

“ In a cave not far from the homes of men there dwells a good little spirit. He is very old, his hair is long and white, [Pg 55] and he is about as tall as a child three years old.
Now every child, when it reaches the age of three or four, sometimes wanders away out of sight of home, and the spirit is constantly on the watch for this to happen. He comes out of hiding, takes the little one by the hand and leads it away to his cave. ”

“ The White Deer next called all the Deer together, and they decided to punish with rheumatic pains every hunter who should kill one of their number without asking pardon for the offense. Ever since that time, the hunters have been very careful to beg the Deer’s pardon whenever it becomes necessary to shoot one, although now and then some one tries to avoid the penalty by building fires on his trail.
The other animals followed the Deer’s example, and each made haste to invent a disease with which to torment the human race. ”

“ THE FEAST OF THE MOUNTAIN GOATS
In the old days the hunters were many and skillful. They killed hundreds of mountain goats for their flesh and skins and left their bones lying unburned on the rocks, which was a great dishonor. Moreover, their children were thoughtless.
One day, a young man whose name was Really Black Raven Feather was walking along the beach, and he saw a group of boys making merry with a kid. ”

“ At last she could bear it no longer, and one day as she sat sadly on the beach she picked up a bit of yellow driftwood and carved it into the shape of a duck. When she had finished, she tossed the duck into the air, saying:
“Fly south, little duck, and tell my father that I am very unhappy here in the cruel northland!” And the duck flew away southward.
Far in the southland the South Wind’s wife stood in the door of their wigwam and called to her husband, “Look, husband! Spring is coming, for I see the ducks returning!” ”

“ Notice the loving brothers and the affectionate husband in “The Woman Who Became a Beaver” and “The Wooden Wife.” The duty of hospitality is taught in the story of “Grizzly Bear and the Four Chiefs”, kindness to animals in “The Feast of the Mountain Goats”, patience with children in “The Naughty Grandchildren” and “The Stars and the Pine.” In every instance the right-doer is rewarded, the selfish man and the trickster are punished. ”

“ The Tsimshians are Indians of the North Pacific coast and in the old days lived mainly by fishing. They also hunted deer, bears, and other animals. Their houses and boats were made chiefly of cedar wood, and they also wove the bark of the cedar into baskets, ropes, mats, and even clothing. The salmon and the cedar were to them what the buffalo was to the Indians of the Great Plains, so you will not be surprised by the many references to them both in these stories. ”

“ You large animals are always roaming the woods in search of something to eat, and if the winters grow any colder there will be no food for you, that is certain. All [Pg 102] life will perish, even the roots of the grass on which the Deer lives, and the berry bushes of which the Bear is so fond will be frozen. You will all starve, but we shall live, for we Porcupines can live on the bark of trees ”

“ Two sisters belonging to a well-known family one day became very hungry and helped themselves to some of their mother’s fat meat, notwithstanding the girls were strictly forbidden to eat anything between meals.
When the mother found it out she was angry, especially with her elder daughter, for the younger was still a child. She not only scolded the girl, but slapped her severely. At last she said: “Since [Pg 146] you are so fond of eating, you had better go and marry Mountain Dweller!”
Now Mountain Dweller is a being who lives alone upon the mountains and is supposed to be a great hunter. ”

“ The half-starved little girl came down again a remarkably pretty woman, and when Old Crow returned with a few grains of corn in her beak, she was astonished to find so beautiful a girl sitting and making moccasins before the largest and handsomest lodge she had ever seen.
When the Mole poked his long nose through the earth to look at Pretty [Pg 62] Woman, she ordered him back, saying, “I am not the light.”
Three times the Hummingbird circled round her head with buzzing wings, but she drove him away. “I am not a flower,” said she. ”

“ It is well known that there is a certain clan which claims the Eagle for its crest or totem, and this is how it happened.
There was once a very poor man, so poor that he could not even get enough to eat. He was always cruising around in a small canoe, trying to catch a few little fish with which to keep himself alive. One day he caught nothing, and as he had brought no food with him in the boat he became very hungry. ”

“ IN the old days there was no fire on earth, and the world was a cold and a dreary place, especially at night and in the winter. Think what it would be if we had no hearth at which to warm ourselves, no coals to broil our venison! ”

“ In the morning, when the Bears came on as before, and the chief called for men to go out and meet them, the young prince drew his bow and shot the foremost through the heart. More followed, and he killed them one after another until his arrows were all gone. Then he fought [Pg 122] with his spear until he was tired out, and still the Bears came on.
Finally he remembered the pups that his sweetheart had given him, and he placed the first one on the ground, saying, “Grow up quick, Red, and help me!”
Instantly the pup became an immense dog which rushed at the Bears and drove them back. ”

“ The Turtle, for instance, is depicted as a famous warrior (we hardly see why) and the Porcupine as a wise man, which we should scarcely have expected. On the other hand, it seems quite natural to find the Grizzly Bear the chief among animals, and the Eagle the leader among birds. ”

“ The Cherokees lived originally in the South Atlantic States and some few still have their homes in the mountains of North Carolina, but the greater part of the tribe was forcibly removed many years ago to the old Indian Territory. There they developed a civilized government, established schools and colleges, and are now well educated and intermixed with white people. ”

“ Later on, the human race declared war upon the animals and began to kill them in great numbers, using their flesh for food and their skins for clothing, so that there was great fear and anger among them. At last the old White Bear chief called all the Bears in council to decide what should be done. ”

“ There was game in abundance in that part of the country, and the old man told him that if ever he shot more than he could carry, he should call out and he would come to his assistance. One day the hunter succeeded in killing an immense bear, and while he was skinning it, behold! three very tall strangers clad in garments of cloud appeared close by.
“We are the Thunderers,” said they. “We should be glad to help you, for you have not deserved your misfortunes. That old man for whom you hunt is [Pg 70] not what he seems to be. ”

“ If the child takes the knife, he will do only harm all his days. If he is misled by the beauty of the poisonous blossoms, he will never be wise; but if he takes the good medicine, he will be a wise man and a healer, who will bless and help his people. ”

“ They danced around and in front of the wigwam, and presently [Pg 110] the chief dancer kicked so high that he touched the tent covering with his goat’s hoof. Instantly it fell down on the heads of the guests and became a mountain which crushed them to death. Only Really Black was saved. He clung to the tent pole, which became a giant spruce growing out of the side of the mountain. Therefore he and his descendants have always respected the goats, and taken care to burn their bones when it was necessary to hunt them for food or clothing. ”

“ THE OWL GETS MARRIED
There was once a woman who had a marriageable daughter. Many men came wooing, but the mother told the girl never to accept any but a skilled hunter, who would keep the lodge well supplied with meat. ”