LEGENDS 
 
 OPTHE- 
 
 RED OJI 
 
 ^w_^f ^5^H*n^*i*' > ^ 
 
 UC-NRLF 
 
LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY ^F CALIFORNIA 
 
 DA v IS 
 
 U.CD. LIBIMRY 
 
LEGENDS OF THE 
 
 RED CHILDREN 
 
 A SUPPLEMENTARY READER 
 
 MARA L. PRATT 
 
 AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 
 NEW YORK : CINCINNATI : CHIC, 
 
 f 
 
 fVER 
 
Copyright, 1897, by WERNER SCHOOL BOOK COMPANY 
 
 Bed Children 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOB. 
 
 THE RED CHILDREN 5-9 
 
 SHINGEBISS 10-14 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE LIGHTNING 15-20 
 
 A LEGEND OF THE SOUTH WIND 21-24 
 
 THE STAR BEAUTIFUL, 25-28 
 
 THE LEGEND OF THE MORNING STAR 29-32 
 
 Wn,i>o' THE- WISP 33-37 
 
 THE AURORA, THE WHITE ARCH. AND THE GREAT BEAR 38-44 
 
 THE RAINBOW. , 45-49 
 
 THE RAIN AND THE SNOW 50-52 
 
 ^THE PINE TREES 53-55 
 
 - THE LII,Y-STAR 56-59 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE WINDS 60-65 
 
 How THE SPRING COMES 66-69 
 
 How THE SUMMER CAME 70-75 
 
 THE SUN A PRISONER 76-81 
 
 MONDAMIN, THE RED Pl,UME 82-86 
 
 MOUNT TUTOKANULA 87-90 
 
 THE SNAIL AND THE BEAVER 91-96 
 
 LEGEND OF THE OPECHE 97-102 
 
 THE LAND OF THE HEREAFTER 103-109 
 
 THE HIAWATHA LEGEND ...110-117 
 
 THE POLE STAR 118-121 
 
 THE THUNDERERS 122-128 
 
 3 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 " WONDERFUL TO THE RED CHILDREN WERE THE WINDS." 6 
 
 "HA, LITTLE SHINGEBISS, How Now CAN YOU GET YOUR FOOD? " 10 
 
 'You HAVE WASTED ALL YOUR ARROWS." 19 
 
 'THE LAZY, SOFT-EYED SOUTH WIND LAY UPON His DOWNY COUCH 
 
 OF CLOUD MIST." 22 
 
 THE YOUNG HUNTER 27 
 
 " THERE You WILL SEE YOUR SISTER SHINING OUT FROM THE GRAY." 31 
 "THEN A GREAT GUST OF WIND CAUGHT UP THE SINKING MAIDEN AND 
 
 CARRIED HER AWAY." 35 
 
 "FOR TO THE DRAGONS THE MOON is SWEET." 40 
 
 "A GREAT WHITE BEAR SPRANG OUT FROM THE FOREST " 42 
 
 "THERE, STRETCHING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, SWEPT A GREAT ARCH." 47 
 
 "LET us TRY," SAID THE WILD SEA-GULLS 51 
 
 THE TALLEST CHIEF IN ALL THE EARTH 53 
 
 "AND THE CHILDREN CAME IN THEIR TINY CANOES." 57 
 
 WEZEATTAH BRINGS WAR AGAINST ETOKAH 63 
 
 THEN OLD WINTER'S VOICE WAS STILL 68 
 
 "BUT WE MUST HAVE FOOD," SAID THE RED MEN.... 71 
 
 "I WILL TRY," SAID THE MOLE 79 
 
 THEN THE BRAVE WARRIOR AND THE TINY RED PLUME WRESTLED... 83 
 
 THERE THE LITTLE CHILDREN STOOD 89 
 
 So THE MAN TOOK THE ARROW AND THE Bow 92 
 
 "SORROW NOT FOR ME, MY FATHER.". 101 
 
 AND WHEN THE YOUNG BRAVE APPROACHED, THE ANIMALS RAN Our 
 
 TO MEET HIM 107 
 
 AND AS HE SAT IN His CANOE, Lo ! THE AIR WAS FILLED WITH SWEET 
 
 Music... 115 
 
THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Many years ago, when this country of ours was 
 one great forest stretching from ocean to ocean, 
 there dwelt here and there, upon the plains and 
 along the river banks, a race of happy little children. 
 
 The Red Children we call them; but they called 
 themselves the Children of the Sun. Very free and 
 happy they were; for all day long tney played be 
 neath the trees and among the grasses. 
 
 The winds and the stars they called their little 
 brothers; and when the thunders rolled and the 
 beautiful lightnings flashed, when the north wind 
 roared and the trees in the great forests bowed 
 before the storm, the Red Children rejoiced and their 
 brave little hearts throbbed with delight. For some 
 day they would be tall, strong warriors; strong like 
 the north wind; fleet like the lightning; terrible 
 like the heavy thunder. 
 
 They loved the sun and the clear sweet air; and 
 when at sunset they looked away towards the west, 
 they thought of the wonderful tent where Wahkee- 
 
6 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 *sm 
 
 'WONDERFUL, TO THE BED CHILDREN WERE THE WINDS 
 
 
THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 yan, the air god, dwelt. This tent, which had four 
 great doors, one looking east, one west, one south, one 
 north, was guarded by four sentinels robed in scarlet. 
 
 At the east gate there was a butterfly, of colors 
 like the sunrise ; at the west was a bear ; at the south 
 a fawn ; and at ,the north a fleet reindeer. 
 
 Wonderful to the Red Children were the winds as 
 they swept across the plains, moving the trees and 
 the flowers to and fro, but never, no matter how 
 closely the children watched, forgetting to keep 
 themselves a mystery. 
 
 There was Wa-bund, the East Wind, always young 
 and beautiful. He it was that brought the morning, 
 and with his silver arrows chased the darkness down 
 the valley. He it was that painted the clouds, and 
 called the deer and the hunter from their sleep. 
 
 There was the West Wind, Ka-be-yun, the strong, 
 soft wind that ever and forever, over all the winds 
 of heaven, held supremest power. It was he that could 
 drive away the clouds the heavy water-laden clouds 
 of the south, or the cold, cruel clouds of the north; 
 and at his call the sun shone forth, the moon and the 
 stars, and the blue sky smiled down upon the earth. 
 
8 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 There was the South Wind, dreamy and drowsy, 
 who had his dwelling far to southward, where sum 
 mer never ended, and where the robins, the bluebirds, 
 and the swallows dwelt. When, amid his fields of 
 fruit and melons, and his vines heavy with the purple 
 clusters, he sat at sunset and smoked his pipe of 
 peace, then the smoke rolled northward; it filled the 
 air with haze and vapor; it touched the rugged moun 
 tains with smoothness, and brought the golden Indian 
 summer. 
 
 And there was the North Wind, Ka-bib-nok-ka, 
 who came forth from his lodge of snowdrifts, from his 
 home among the icebergs. His hair, sprinkled with 
 snow, floated behind him like a river. The little 
 brooks were still, and the fishes fled for shelter when 
 the breath of Kabibnokka fell upon them. He loved 
 to send the snowflakes flying, sifting, hissing through 
 the forest; to freeze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers; 
 to drive the loon and the seagull southward; and 
 to chase the cormorant and the curlew to their nests 
 among the rushes this cruel, fitful Kabibnokka. 
 
 Thus the four winds were divided. And happy 
 were the little Red Children, when, curled up snugly 
 
THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 in their blankets, close beside the wigwam fire, they 
 listened to the chiefs as they told the stories of 
 them and of their dwelling-places in the corners of 
 the heavens. 
 
 But these were not the only stories; for the little 
 Red Children were story-lovers, as were also their 
 fathers and mothers. 
 
 Every tribe had its story-teller who went from 
 wigwam to wigwam; and when the days were short 
 and the nights long he would sit before the fire and 
 tell most wonderful stories of the moon, the stars, 
 the trees, the flowers, and even of the white rabbits, 
 the foxes, the waterfowl, and the tiny, timid birds. 
 
 All these, the little Red Children listened to and 
 learned. They told them to one another, the larger 
 children to the smaller; and by-and-by, when they 
 were tall, strong warriors, they told them to their 
 own little children. These in turn told them to their 
 children; and those again in turn to theirs, till by- 
 and-by some wise men who loved the Red Children 
 and saw the sweetness of their simple stories, gathered 
 them together and told them in a book, so that you 
 and I might read these legends of the Red Children. 
 
SHINGEBISS. 
 
 AR away to 
 pk the North, 
 where the 
 snow and ice are 
 ever present, 
 where the lakes 
 are ever frozen 
 over, and where the mountains glisten s white in the 
 sunlight, dwelt the North Wind. 
 
 Beside a solitary lake, though the winter was bitter 
 and cold, and the ice was thick upon the water, 
 dwelt Shing-e-biss, the Wild Duck. 
 
 It was a poor, little hut, the house in which 
 
 HA, LITTLE SHINGEBI8S, HOW NOW CAN YOU GET 
 
 FOOD? " 
 
 10 
 
SHINGEBISS. II 
 
 Shingebiss lived and little wood had he to warm it 
 with. There were only four logs; yet, these were 
 large and each would burn a month. 
 
 " Why should I want another log," the cheery 
 Shingebiss would say, u since there are but four cold 
 months in the year ? " 
 
 Now Shingebiss was brave and fearless. No day 
 was to him too cold; and let the North Wind rage as 
 he would, he was never afraid to fly down to the lake 
 for food. 
 
 Sometimes the North Wind would freeze the water 
 over and shriek, " Ha, ha, little Shingebiss, how now 
 can you get your food ? " 
 
 Shingebiss would laugh and say, " I still can live." 
 
 Then he would walk out upon the ice, and with his 
 strong bill pull out the rushes that grew up through 
 the water, so as to make holes in the ice, through 
 which he could catch the tiny fishes swimming be 
 neath. Often, even in the iciest weather, Shingebiss 
 was seen hurrying homeward with strings of fish, 
 even though the North Wind had tried his best to 
 thwart him. 
 
 "This is a very strange duck," said the North 
 
12 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Wind; "he cares not for snow or ice; for frost or 
 biting blast. I will go to his home, and send my 
 cold breath in upon him there.' 7 
 
 But Shingebiss had cooked his fish and eaten a 
 nice warm supper. The log was burning brightly, 
 and he lay stretched out before it. 
 
 Carefully the North Wind crept up to the door, and 
 breathed in upon the little hut. 
 
 " I know who is there,' ; thought Shingebiss; for he 
 felt the cold upon his back. So he began to sing 
 loudly and with cheer: 
 
 " Ka neej, ka neej ! 
 Bee in, bee in; 
 Bon in, bon in; 
 Oc ee, oc ee; 
 Ka weya! Ka weya!" 
 This was his way of saying: 
 
 " Windy god, I know your plan ! 
 You are but my fellow man; 
 Blow you may your fiercest breeze, 
 Shingebiss you cannot freeze. 
 Sweep the strongest wind you can, 
 Shingebiss is still your man. 
 Heigh for life! and ho for bliss! 
 Who so free as Shingebiss!" 
 
SHINGEBISS. 13 
 
 "Well, well," said the North Wind; u how dares 
 this Shingebiss sing of me like this! Does he not 
 know I can freeze him and nip him ? I will not be 
 defied like this ;" and so, creeping under the door, 
 the North Wind pushed his way into ,the house of 
 Shingebiss, and sat down before the fire. 
 
 Shingebiss knew that he had entered, but he paid 
 
 no heed. 
 
 "Kaneej! Kaneej!" 
 
 he kept on singing, loud and clear. 
 
 u I wonder whether he knows I am here," the North 
 Wind thought to himself. " Does he not feel me ? " 
 
 But the little duck went on singing, louder and 
 louder, and at the same time stirring the great log 
 until it cracked and snapped, and the roaring flames 
 leaped up the chimney. 
 
 " Ka neej ! ka neej ! 
 Bee in ! bee in ! " 
 
 "Well, well," said the North Wind again; "Well, 
 
 well!" 
 
 "Ka neej, ka neej !" 
 
 "I can never put down this fire! I am melting; 
 but the Shingebiss is not freezing! I cannot breathe! 
 Never before did I feel such heat." 
 
14 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 And indeed the North Wind was melting. His 
 frosty hair was wet. The water dripped from his 
 long white beard; the tears ran down his cheeks. 
 Soon, with one faint shriek he fled out into the cold 
 air again. 
 
 U A strange little creature, that Shingebiss," said 
 he, as he flew towards his home in the north. "A 
 strange little creature. I cannot freeze him, I can 
 not starve him. I do not understand." 
 
 And never again did the North Wind try; and 
 that is why all winter long the Shingebiss is warm 
 in his soft coat of long, thick feathers, and why, even 
 when the ice is thick, he can always find his food in 
 those places where the rushes grow. 
 
THE LEGENDS OF THE LIGHTNING. 
 
 There was once a poor little Indian lad whose 
 father, a great chief, had fallen in battle, and whose 
 mother had been carried away by the enemy. 
 
 " We will not take that little lad with us," said 
 the enemy, u for it might be that he would grow up 
 and avenge the death of his father." 
 
 So when the village was burned and the corn 
 fields trampled down, the little lad was left alone with 
 neither food nor shelter ; and the enemy went away, 
 down the valley, carrying with them the little lad's 
 mother and all his sisters to serve as slaves in the 
 homes of their captors. 
 
 All day long the little lad wandered up and down 
 among the burned wigwams, finding here and there 
 a kernel of corn to keep him from starving; but 
 when night came he was very tired and hungry and 
 crept into the woods for shelter. 
 
 Already the wolves had learned that the village 
 had been burned, and that the people had gone away; 
 
 15 
 
1 6 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 so down they came into the forest in search of food. 
 They said, "there will be no one .now to watch for 
 us and try to shoot us with their rapid arrows/' 
 
 Hardly had the boy laid himself down to sleep 
 when, close beside his head, he heard the roars of 
 bears and the hungry howls of wolves. 
 
 He sprang to his feet, and tried to run; but the 
 wolves were everywhere about him, and already he 
 could see their flaming eyes. 
 
 Now this little lad was brave and nimble; he could 
 run like a deer and he could climb like a cat. So 
 with a bound he sprang toward a tall, straight pine, 
 seized it in his arms, and before even the swiftest 
 wolf could overtake him, was far up among the tree's 
 protecting branches. 
 
 Then the pine branches whispered softly to him, 
 and bade him curl himself up among them and go 
 to sleep. The trunk, so erect and strong, made a 
 back for him to rest against, and the little pine tufts 
 spread themselves over him to keep him warm, and 
 the slender boughs held him securely in their arms. 
 
 But in the night, a voice from out the sky spoke 
 to him. It was the voice of a good manito, and it 
 
LEGENDS OF THE LIGHTNING. 17 
 
 said to the child: "I am sorry for you, little lad; 
 and I am come to bear you away with me into the 
 upper air. There you will never be hungry or cold, 
 and no cruel wild beasts will seek to devour you 
 when the night comes on." 
 
 Then the child felt himself lifted high above the 
 forest trees. Away out over the country they sped, 
 higher and higher, and towards the shining stars. 
 
 Then there were put into the child's hands, twelve 
 silver arrows, and the good manito said, "Go, now, 
 to the northern sky, where the cruel manitos dwell. 
 With these arrows shoot down the chiefest among 
 them. Fling them over the edge of the earth into 
 the great sea that surrounds us; then will the Red 
 Children bless you. The good manitos, too, will be 
 glad; for those in the northern sky often work evil 
 to us as well." 
 
 So the child took the arrows and set out into the 
 northern sky where the manitos dwelt ; and there 
 he found them in great numbers, hurrying back and 
 forth across the sky. 
 
 Skillfully he bent the bow while he took most 
 careful aim. 
 
l8 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 One, two, three arrows he shot across the great 
 snow fields. Four, five, six; still no manito had 
 been brought low. Seven, eight, nine ; it was very 
 strange. Ten, eleven only one arrow now was left; 
 for like a flash of lightning, the manitos, sharp of 
 eye and quick, when they saw the arrows coming, 
 sprang high in the air above them, or sank beneath 
 the mysterious sky line which man, though he should 
 travel day and night, could never reach. 
 
 Now one more, the last arrow, the child raised in 
 air. With care he poised it, and with skill he drew 
 the cord. Straight at the heart of the chiefest of the 
 manitos he sent it; but alas, hardly had it sped half 
 its way across the snow fields, when the manito, 
 transforming himself into a mighty mountain, stood 
 black and grim against the northern sky. 
 
 Against the rocky mountain side the arrow struck, 
 and fell shattered into the seething waters. 
 
 " And now," roared a voice from out the mountain, 
 " you have wasted all your arrows. Twelve of them 
 have you shot out across the sky at the mighty man 
 itos. Bear now your punishment; for the anger of 
 the manitos is upon you. In all the time to come, 
 
LEGENDS OF THE LIGHTNING. 
 
 YOU HAVE WASTED ALL YOUB ARROWS.' 
 
2O LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 you shall ever like your arrows, flash and gleam, and 
 shoot across the skies. The people of the earth 
 shall fear you, and you shall carry destruction wher 
 ever you go." 
 
 Then came a crash of thunder. The child was lifted 
 high among the clouds. The north wind howled, and 
 hurled him across the sky, leaving along his track 
 a trail of blazing fire. 
 
 "It is the lone lightning," the Red Children say 
 when they see the fire among the clouds; "the blue 
 lightning, into which once a little lad was changed 
 by the cruel manitos of the northern sky." 
 
A LEGEND OF THE SOUTH WIND. 
 
 The lazy, soft-eyed South Wind lay upon his 
 downy couch of cloud mist, and looked away to the 
 distant north. 
 
 He sang softly to himself as he swung to and fro, 
 and wondered what there might be of joy and beauty 
 away off toward the northern sky. 
 
 And as he looked, he saw a great field ; and among 
 its waving grasses were bright yellow flowers, shin 
 ing like bits of gold. 
 
 " They are like my own soft yellow light," thought 
 the South Wind; "the soft yellow light with which 
 I mellow fields, and hills, and valleys, and dales, when 
 the Indian summer broods over the earth. But I 
 wonder, wonder what the little yellow flower is, 
 whence it came and whither it will go." 
 
 But the South Wind was indolent ; he wondered 
 and he dreamed, but never once did he rise from his 
 soft cloud-mist couch. 
 
 One morning he looked again toward the north, and 
 
 21 
 
A LEGEND OF THE SOUTH WIND. 
 
 *THE LAZY, SOFT-EYED SOUTH WIND LAY UPON HIS DOWNY COUCH OF 
 GLOUD MIST." 
 
A LEGEND OF THE SOUTH WIND. 23 
 
 lo, a great change had come upon the field of golden 
 flowers. 
 
 The rich yellow had disappeared ; and in place of 
 the golden crowns each flower shone fleecy white, 
 among the waving grasses. 
 
 "Alas, alas," the South Wind sighed; "my 
 brother, the North Wind, has wrought this change. 
 He has touched the heads of these golden flowers 
 with his icy breath." 
 
 " Why need he blight the summer fields ; why 
 need he rob them of their beauty ? " 
 
 And as the South Wind sighed, there was a flutter 
 among the flowers and grasses in all the sunny fields ; 
 their heads waved to and fro, and the grasses 
 whispered softly to one another. 
 
 Then, even while the South Wind looked, be 
 hold the little shining white crowns disappeared. It 
 was a strange change. The South Wind could not 
 understand, but the air for miles and miles around 
 was filled with tiny, white-winged filaments ; and 
 they flew hither and thither, rising and falling with 
 the wind, and frolicking only the faster when the sad 
 South Wind sighed. 
 
24 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 "The dandelion seeds are looking for a place to 
 sleep through" the winter, said the little Red Chil 
 dren. "See how the South Wind helps them." 
 
 But the South Wind said, " What do the children 
 mean? It is very strange." 
 
THE STAR BEAUTIFUL. 
 
 There was once a little Red Child who loved the 
 stars more even than he loved his little brothers and 
 sisters. 
 
 Every night when the sun began to sink in the 
 west, the boy would creep away by himself up the 
 hillside to watch for the coming of the stars. 
 
 And one there was that seemed to him brighter 
 and more beautiful than all the others. 
 
 "It is my own Star Beautiful! " he would say; and 
 when it shot out its first ray of light to him each 
 night, he would raise his hands toward it and cry, 
 " Welcome, welcome, my Star Beautiful ! " 
 
 And when, sometimes, the star could not shine out 
 because of the heavy clouds that lay between it 
 and the Red Child, the boy would look toward the 
 place where he had seen it last and say: "Star Beau 
 tiful, you are there, I know, although I cannot see 
 you. I will go and call to the West Wind to drive 
 the clouds away, that I may see you again." And 
 
 25 
 
26 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 the West Wind, loving the little Eed Child, always 
 answered the prayer ; for sometimes the clouds would 
 break, even that very evening, and the star would 
 shine down through the mist to its little friend. 
 
 By and by the boy grew to be a brave, strong war 
 rior ; no one in all his tribe was more daring than 
 he. Still better than war did the young man love 
 hunting and fishing. 
 
 Nothing was so dear to him as the fields with their 
 star-like flowers, and the forests through which his 
 Star Beautiful danced and twinkled among the 
 branches. 
 
 No hunter in any village was so skillful with his 
 bow as this young hunter ; for steady was his aim 
 and clear his eye. Then, too, when he drew his 
 bow, he never forgot to say, "Star Beautiful, it is 
 you who gives me skill. My good Star Beautiful." 
 For many and many a time, now that the little Red 
 Child had become a man, did the star come to him, 
 and whisper words of wisdom into his heart. 
 
 It was the star who directed him to the forests 
 where game was plentiful, and to the streams where 
 fish were abundant ; and never did he return to his 
 
THE STAR BEAUTIFUL. 
 
 village without being laden with both shining fish 
 and tender venison. 
 
 " The mighty hunter," his people called him ; 
 u who never fails, and whom the fish and deer seek 
 rather than flee away from in the chase." 
 
 THE YOUNG HUNTER. 
 
 "It is my Star Beautiful that gives me help and 
 makes me skillful," the young man would say. 
 
 Years rolled on and on. The hunter became an old 
 man. All his people loved him ; and when he could 
 no longer fight nor hunt, they often came to him, 
 
28 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 as he sat alone in his wigwam, to ask him what was 
 wisest and best to do ; and never did his advice prove 
 false ; for he still said, "It is my Star Beautiful that 
 guides me." 
 
 And when after a long time the old man came to 
 die, he said, " I go now to my star the Star Beauti 
 ful; for the star has waited all my life for me to 
 come ; even since I was a little child and climbed 
 up the hillside to catch its first ray of light." 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE MORNING STAR. 
 
 Far away to the North where the great river had 
 its source, dwelt the little brother and sister manitos. 
 
 All their lives they had run and played to 
 gether, up and down the river banks, gathering 
 the bright flowers and chasing the happy insects. 
 But now the time had come when the children's good 
 manito came to them and said: 
 
 " Go, little sister, to the place of the Breaking 
 Light ; for there amid the morning clouds shall be 
 your home. There a beautiful palace awaits you, 
 and it is made of sparkling rays of light. The 
 clouds hang over it, soft and shining ; the warm sun 
 lights it, and everywhere is song and beauty. 
 
 "And you, little brother, go to the forests, the 
 mountains, and the plains. There, in the mountain 
 already cut for you from out the strong gray rock, is 
 a fortress brave. There you shall dwell ; and at 
 your call the trees shall speak, the vines shall bear 
 their fruit, and beauty shall reign everywhere." 
 
 29 
 
30 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Then the little children looked into each other's 
 eyes and said, " Our river is very beautiful ; it, too, 
 sparkles and shines, and there is joy and beauty 
 everywhere. But it is the great manito's wish that 
 we go away one to the place of the Breaking Light, 
 the other to the mountain where the echo dwells." 
 
 " But, my brother," said the sister, " when the pale 
 gray light begins to spread itself over the sky, look 
 out from your rocky home in the mountain, and turn 
 your eyes toward the far-off east. There you will 
 see me, your sister, shining out from the gray, and 
 looking across the plains to where you, my brother, 
 dwell. And when the clouds begin to change and 
 their colors deepen into red and orange and purple, 
 know that it is my hand that makes the beauty ; for 
 it is with these cloud mists, and the rays of soft 
 light that I will adorn my palace in the place of the 
 
 Breaking Light." 
 
 Then the brother said: "Dear sister, on the top 
 most cliffs will I dwell that I may catch the first ray 
 of light that comes from your bright home among 
 the morning clouds ; and at every break of day will I 
 lift my eyes to greet the coming of the red and pur- 
 
THE LEGEND OF THE MORNING STAR. 
 
 THERE YOU WILL SEE YOUR SISTER SHINING OUT FROM THE OBEY. 
 
32 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 pie. And when each morning I see the glory in the 
 east, I will say, 4 It is my sister, and it is she who 
 spreads this beauty across the sky.' I will watch 
 till the sun comes and your light fades away; and 
 then I will know that you have gone into your beau 
 tiful palace, and that when the sun is gone you will 
 come forth again and will greet your brother." 
 
 Then there came a great burst of sound ; the four 
 winds were abroad and they swept down the river 
 banks and carried away the brother and sister. They 
 wafted the sister to the place of the Breaking Light, 
 and she became the Morning Star ; and they carried 
 the brother to the mountain top, where he should 
 dwell forever. Often his voice was heard through 
 the forest and among the tall grasses ; but never did 
 he leave his high cliffs where, when the morning 
 came, he could watch the red clouds with which his 
 sister made beautiful the eastern sky and her own 
 cloud palace among the stars. 
 
WILL-CT THE-WISP. 
 
 There was strange commotion among the stars, and 
 one, losing its way in the mist and maze of clouds, 
 wandered down towards the home of the Red Chil 
 dren. 
 
 Down, down, through the air it hurried, shooting 
 like lightning across the sky. 
 
 "It is an evil spirit ;" said the people. "It is a 
 wicked manito ! " And they fled from it and hid 
 themselves in great caves. 
 
 Up and down the earth for many years it wan 
 dered, seeking rest. Often it looked up toward the 
 place from which it had fallen, and saw its sister 
 stars shining in the deep blue above. 
 
 But never again could it return to its sister stars 
 or climb back to its old home in the sky. 
 
 Lonely and sad at heart, the star wandered from 
 tribe to tribe among the people. 
 
 " I am lonely here," the star would say. But the 
 people did not understand, and fled from it to hide 
 beneath the shelter of their wigwams. 
 
 S3 
 
34 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Sometimes the star would wander up and down 
 the valleys ; sometimes it would hang above the tiny 
 lakes of water; sometimes it would stand outside 
 the camp fires where the people lay asleep. 
 
 But no man would speak one word of cheer, one 
 word of welcome ; and the beautiful star was deso 
 late. 
 
 At last there came to dwell among the people a 
 little maiden with large brown eyes that looked far 
 away into the distance ; and in them was a light that 
 no man understood. Wonderful dreams came to the 
 maiden, and visions more wonderful than she could 
 tell. 
 
 And when this little maiden saw the star she 
 reached her hands out towards it, and said u My 
 beautiful shining star !" 
 
 Then the star danced for joy, glad that at last a 
 soul was born that knew that it was lonely. And it 
 came toward the child, growing brighter and brighter, 
 and dancing higher and higher. 
 
 "It is strange," the people said; and they named 
 the child Wandering Star. Now the star and the 
 child loved each other, and never again was there 
 
WILL-0' THE-WISP. 
 
 35 
 
 THEN A GREAT GUST OF WIND CAUGHT UP THE SINKING MAIDEN AND CAE- 
 BIED HER AWAY." 
 
36 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 loneliness in the heart of either. Every night when 
 the child looked out from her wigwam, she saw the 
 star and whispered loving words to it; and the star 
 watched over the maiden while she slept. 
 
 But one day the child wandered out into the world ; 
 across the fields, up the valley, down into the treach 
 erous morasses she wandered. Then darkness fell ; 
 the clouds shut out the light of the moon, and the 
 frightened child sank in the green slime. 
 
 Then a great wind arose. The clouds hurried and 
 scurried across the sky ; the lightning flashed ; the 
 thunder rolled ; a great gust of wind swept down 
 the valley, caught up the sinking maiden and carried 
 her away, no man knew where. 
 
 All summer long the people searched for the child; 
 but no one could guide them to her. The trees 
 sobbed and the bulrushes sighed as the winds swept 
 by ; but they could not help the people who searched 
 the hills and dales. 
 
 Then the Wandering Star descended into the 
 marshy place where the maiden had last been seen. 
 Close down among the sedges it made its home, and 
 there it brooded sadly over the little child. 
 
WILL-O' THE-WISP. 37 
 
 Never again was it seen on the hilltops, or among 
 the camp fires; and no longer did it wander up and 
 down the valleys. But every summer, when the 
 hunters went forth to hunt, they found the faith 
 ful star, still shining, still brooding over the place 
 where last the child had stood the child who 
 had loved the star, and had stretched its hands out 
 toward it, and had called it "My beautiful shining 
 star." 
 
THE AURORA, THE WHITE ARCH, AND 
 THE GREAT BEAR. 
 
 When the days are short and the nights are long ; 
 when the sun creeps southward and for six long 
 moons hovers over the land where the South Wind 
 dwells ; when the air is cold and the sun lies glisten 
 ing on the ground, then the little Red Children look 
 up into the sky and see the great arch of white 
 stretching across the blue heavens. 
 
 And in the North the red flames leap flashing like 
 fires across the sky. 
 
 "These red flames," the old chiefs say, u are the 
 spirits of brave warriors who have long since gone 
 to the happy hunting grounds. 
 
 "Their arrows and their bows they carry with 
 them. The souls, too, of their dogs have joined 
 their masters in this land beyond the setting sun. 
 
 " There game is plenty ; and all day long the war 
 rior hunts and carries war into the homes of the foe. 
 Ever successful in war is he ; and on winter nights 
 he dances the war dance ; he chants and shouts ; he 
 
 38 
 
THE AURORA, THE WHITE ARCH, AND THE GREAT BEAR. 39 
 
 waves his war club. It is his plumes of red and 
 white that we see, waving and flashing in the north 
 ern sky. 
 
 "And the white arch? That is the pathway of the 
 spirits. Up and down this pathway, from earth to 
 heaven, they pass. There are more of them than 
 man can count ; and their shadows make the line 
 of white which every night we see stretching like a 
 mist across the sky.' 7 
 
 Then there is the moon swinging high in the 
 heavens. A strange moon it is to the Ked Children ; 
 for never is it the same. Some times they see it 
 a great beautiful ball of white ; then again, as it 
 lifts its face above the eastern hills, it is rich and 
 golden, like the warm color of the autumn flowers. 
 
 But strangest of all, it changes its shape from 
 disk to crescent and from crescent to disk. Each 
 night as it rises, the Red Children see that the disk 
 grows smaller, till by and by they see no disk at all. 
 Then again it comes, a tiny crescent in the west, but 
 growing each night larger and larger. 
 
 "It is very strange," the Red Children used to say, 
 and they wondered and wondered. 
 
40 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 FOB TO THE DRAGONS THE MOON IS SWEET." 
 
THE AURORA, THE WHITE ARCH, AND THE GREAT BEAR. 41 
 
 But one night a wise chief had a dream; and in 
 the dream a voice said, " Wonder no more why the 
 moon thus changes shape ; for know now, and tell the 
 people, that they too may know, that it is because 
 of the great dragons that dwell in the four corners 
 of the earth. Out from their homes they come ; and 
 it is upon the moon they feed, even as worms feed 
 upon the leaves of the trees. 
 
 u For to the dragons, the moon is sweet ; it gives 
 them strength and long life ; it makes their scales to 
 shine and glitter even as the moonlight glitters upon 
 the Big Sea Water. 
 
 " But the moon still grows, on and on. Though 
 there were dragons dwelling in the sun and upon 
 every star ; and though they should come one and 
 all to feed upon the great disk of silver light, still 
 would it never fail. 
 
 "For the moon is in the keeping of the Great 
 Spirit, and it is set in the heavens to light the Eed 
 Children on their way through the forests at night. 
 It is to give them time as well ; for the Red children 
 may watch its coming and its going; then when they 
 count their days, they shall say, l ten moons ago,' or 
 
LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 1 ten moons to come ;' for in this way each Eed Man 
 shall know the time that another has in mind." 
 
 The stars, too, of the heavens are wonderful to the 
 Red Children; for among them they see birds and 
 animals and trees. 
 
 In the North is one group of stars which to them 
 looks like a great bear. 
 
 And that it is a great bear, they are quite sure ; 
 for long long ago a great chief who knew all things 
 told them this story: 
 
 "A GREAT WHITE BEAR SPRANG OUT FROM THE FOREST." 
 
 u Once when the Red Men were out upon a chase, 
 a great white bear sprang out from the forests; and 
 had they not driven their arrows at him, he would 
 have slain them all, so large was he and fierce. 
 
THE AURORA, THE WHITE ARCH, AND THE GREAT BEAR. 43 
 
 44 But when he saw the arrows, he turned and fled. 
 The Eed Men followed. For two whole moons they 
 followed, resting neither day nor night. But how 
 ever fast they sped, the great white bear sped still 
 faster. 
 
 "On, on they flew towards the icy north where the 
 white bear lived. But a great giant came now upon 
 them, and a terrible battle followed. The Red Men 
 fought like warriors brave ; till all but three fell 
 beneath the giant's strength. 
 
 44 Then these three cried to the manitos to save 
 them. The manitos heard their cry; and they 
 gathered them up in their strong arms the three 
 warriors and the bear with them and placed them 
 in the northern sky. 
 
 "There they dwell even to this day; and you may 
 see them every night the whole year long, the three 
 brave warriors still following close upon the path of 
 the great white bear." 
 
 And these simple-hearted Red Children love the 
 skies ; they love the rain and the snows, the thunder 
 and the lightning, the warm sun and the soft light 
 of the moon. For all these bring comfort to the 
 
44 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 earth and to the people. And they pray to the man- 
 itos of all these good powers, and they sing songs to 
 them, beautiful and wild and free. 
 
 white floating Clouds ! clouds like the plains 
 come and water the earth! Sun, smile down upon 
 the earth and bring forth the corn, the grasses and 
 the flowers ! 
 
 Moon, Lion of the north, Bear of the west, 
 Badger of the south, and Wolf of the east ! Elder 
 war-hero, younger war-hero, warriors of the six 
 mountains of the world, intercede with the cloud 
 people for us that they may water the earth. Medi 
 cine-bowl, cloud-bowl, and water-vase, give us your 
 hearts that the earth may be watered. White Shell 
 Bead Woman who dwells where the sun goes down ; 
 Mother Whirlwind, Father Sus-sis-tin-naks, Mother 
 Ya-ya, creator of good thoughts, Yellow Woman of 
 the North, Blue Woman of the West, Red Woman 
 of the South, White Woman of the East, hear us, 
 hear us, and intercede for us with the cloud people ! 
 
THE EAIKBOW. 
 
 When the good Great Spirit had made the world 
 and had put into it everything that man could need ; 
 had made the animals to serve him and had bidden 
 the trees and vines to bear fruits for food, then he 
 said : u Now will I make flowers for all these grow 
 ing plants ; and the flowers shall be rich and beau 
 tiful in color. 
 
 " The Red Children shall love these bright-colored 
 flowers, for they shall give a glory unto the fields 
 and the hill-sides. 7 ' 
 
 So the Great Spirit covered the fields with purple 
 asters and goldenrod ; with dandelions and daisies. 
 By the river-side and in the cool forests were the 
 sweet violets, the anemones, and the columbines; and 
 even the bare rocks he covered with the fluffy saxi 
 frage and the white blossoms of the raspberry and| 
 the blackberry vine. 
 
 All the long, beautiful summer these flowers made 
 the air sweet with their perfume, and the Red Child- 
 
 45 
 
46 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 ren were content. When Autumn came, new flowers 
 came ; great, gorgeous flowers of red and orange, so 
 that the fields were a great blaze of glory. 
 
 Nor was this all; the very trees themselves changed 
 their sober green to colors that were more gorgeous 
 even than the flowers of the field. 
 
 The Red Children gazed in awe and wonder at 
 the beauty spread out before them. They thanked 
 the good Great Spirit, and when the harvest moon 
 had come, they held a feast to show their gratitude. 
 
 But one morning a change came over this beauty. 
 The North Wind breathed upon the flowers and the 
 trees, and they drooped and faded. 
 
 U Great Spirit," the Red Children cried, "behold 
 what the North Wind's breath has done to the fields 
 and the forest/' 
 
 Then the South Wind came again ; the air was 
 filled with a hazy, yellow light ; the flowers still hung 
 their heads ; but there was a tender warmth in the 
 air, and the Great Spirit said, "This is the Red Child 
 
 ren's summer." 
 
 Then a heavy shower of rain fell upon the earth ; 
 the clouds and the sun struggled together ; the strong 
 
THE RAINBOW. 
 
 47 
 
 
 
 THERE. STRETCHING FROM NORTH TO SOUTH, SWEPT A GKEAT ARCH." 
 
48 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 South Wind blew, and the leaves fell from the trees ; 
 then the wind and the rain gave way ; the sun shone 
 out ; and, to the leaves and the flowers, what a won 
 derful change had come! For when the Great Spirit 
 saw them fading and falling he said, u They are too 
 beautiful to be lost." 
 
 And when the Red Children grieved to see them 
 fade, he said, u You shall not lose them ; for I will 
 gather them together ; the bright green of the grasses, 
 the red and orange of the leaves, the purple, the 
 pink, the blue and the yellow of all the flowers, and 
 I will set them in the sky." 
 
 Then the Red Children looked towards the east ; 
 and there, stretching from north to south, swept a 
 great arch ; and in it were the bright green of the 
 grasses, the red and the orange of the leaves, and 
 the purple, the pink, the blue, and the yellow of all 
 the flowers, even as the Great Spirit had said ! 
 
 And now when the Red Children look up and see 
 the bow of many colors stretching its beautiful 
 length across the sky, the old chief tells them this 
 story of so long ago. He bids them love the beauty 
 of the arch ; and he bids them thank the Great Spirit 
 
THE RAINBOW. 49 
 
 who gathered the colors together that they might not 
 
 be lost. "For," he says, 
 
 " l Tis the heaven of flowers you see there ; 
 All the wild flowers of the forest, 
 All the lilies of the prairie, 
 When on earth they fade and perish, 
 Blossom in that heaven above us, 
 Make the heaven of flowers you see there ' ? 
 
THE KAIN AND THE SNOW. 
 
 U Mu-in-wa, Muninwa!" the flowers and the 
 grasses cried, " give us water, lest we die ! " 
 
 And good Muinwa looking down upon the earth, 
 saw the flowers drooping their heads ; the grasses 
 were turning brown, and even the leaves of the trees 
 hung lifeless. 
 
 "Big Sea Water," cried Muinwa, "send up your 
 waters upon the dry earth, and save the flowers and 
 the trees and the grasses." 
 
 And the Big Sea Water tried ; but it could only 
 send its waters a little way up, when back it poured, 
 and the trees and the flowers had no help. 
 
 Then Muinwa cried to the rivers, " Send up your 
 waters upon the dry earth, and save the flowers and 
 the trees and the grasses." 
 
 And the rivers tried ; they seethed and foamed and 
 overflowed their banks ; but soon the waters sank 
 again, and only the grasses near the banks had lifted 
 their heads. 
 
 60 
 
THE RAIN AND THE SNOW. 
 
 5 1 
 
 Then Muinwa cried to the lakes, U Lakes, send 
 up your waters upon the dry earth, and save the 
 flowers, the trees, and the grasses." 
 
 And the lakes tried ; they too seethed and foamed. 
 The waters splashed and broke upon the shores like 
 
 " 'LET us TRY,' SAID THE WILD SEA-GULLS." 
 
 waves of the Big Sea Water; the winds rose, and 
 the mist was blown out across the fields, but it was 
 only for a little way ; then the waters sank back, and 
 the trees, the flowers, and the grasses were left 
 parched and dry again. 
 
 "Let us try/ 7 said the wild sea-gulls. So they 
 dipped their wings in the Big Sea Water, and 
 flew out over the fields, scattering the waterdrops 
 upon the flowers and the cornfields ; but it was very 
 Jittle they could do over the great, wide earth. 
 
52 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 But Muinwa said, " You have taught me a way to 
 save the flowers and the trees and the grasses, 
 good sea-gulls ! I will gather feathers from all the 
 birds of the land ; and I will make a great wing that 
 shall stretch from sea to sea and from sky to sky. 
 
 "This will I dip in the waters of the lakes, and 
 shake them down upon the earth as you have shaken 
 your wings across the cornfields." 
 
 So Muinwa called together all the birds from all 
 the forests. " Give me of your feathers, birds both 
 great and small/' he said, "that I may make a great 
 wing with which to sprinkle the earth and save the 
 flowers and trees and grasses. So may they live on 
 forever, and send forth each year new beauty on the 
 earth." 
 
 Then all the birds - sang, and the skies rang with 
 their glad songs ; for the birds loved the summer that 
 brings the flowers and the trees and the grasses, and 
 were glad, to help the good Muinwa. 
 
 So it was, Muinwa made the great wing that holds 
 the waters ; and when the flowers droop, he waves it 
 . across the land, and the raindrops fall upon the 
 thirsty flowers and trees and grasses. 
 
THE PIKE TREES. 
 
 On the shores of a beautiful lake stand three tall 
 pine trees. 
 
 All the day long and all the night 
 long their branches wave and whis 
 per and sigh, each to the other. And 
 sometimes in the stillness of the deep 
 night, the Red Children say, these 
 trees have been known to sob; and 
 when the winds are strong, moans, 
 are heard, mingled with the rushing 
 of the winds. 
 
 For there are spirits in these trees 
 the spirits of three chiefs, who, long, 
 long ago, ruled over their tribes and 
 carried on war with one another 
 
 Now these three chiefs, though each 
 in his own way was strong and power 
 ful, longed for greater strength and 
 greater power. Each longed to surpass the others. 
 
 53 
 
 THE TALLEST CHIEF 
 IN ALL THE EARTH. 
 
54 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 So together the three went to the home of Gloos- 
 kap the manito. 
 
 "0 Gloo-skap," said the first of the three chiefs, 
 " make me tall. Make me the tallest chief in all the 
 earth. Then I shall have power over all Eed Men, 
 and they shall admire and fear me." 
 
 Glooskap looked down at the chief and smiled a 
 scornful smile. Already the chief had made thick 
 soles for his moccasins and had filled" them with fur 
 and the bark of the trees. 
 
 Besides this, he had pulled his long hair high 
 above his head, and had built it up with sticks and 
 feathers to make himself seem tall. 
 
 "You shall have your wish," said Glooskap. 
 
 Then the second chief spoke. " Let me," said he, 
 " live, forever upon this earth." 
 
 "It shall be as you wish," Glooskap answered. 
 
 Then the third chief said, " Not forever would I 
 live but let me live to an exceeding old age ; and 
 give me perfect health with which to enjoy my long 
 life." 
 
 "Foolish ones," said Glooskap, "know you not 
 that a brave death and a return to the happy hunt- 
 
THE PINE TREES. 55 
 
 ing grounds is better than long life upon this earth ? 
 Still, you shall have your wishes all of you." 
 
 Then Glooskap raised his hand ; and, behold, the 
 three chiefs were changed in a twinkling. 
 
 One, to a tall pine tree the tallest on the lake 
 shore with a tassel waving proudly over him. 
 
 The other two were changed to pine trees also ; for 
 thus the one could live on forever, and the other could 
 have his perfect health with which to enjoy his long life. 
 
 And so the three trees still stand upon the lake, 
 and the long years roll by ; the one taller than all 
 the rest the other two sturdy and strong, looking 
 down for centuries upon the tribes that come and go. 
 
 And are they happy ? Are they content ? No one 
 can tell ; for they speak not, though they sigh all day 
 long, and even groan when the storms beat upon them. 
 
 It would seem almost as if their hearts were sad, 
 a id that they had learned that their own simple, 
 n ^-ural life would have been best. Still, the Eed 
 Children cannot tell. 
 
 It may be that what we call sighs and groans are 
 *but the language of the trees the way in which 
 they talk together. We do not know. 
 
THE LILT-STAR. 
 
 Once the world was filled with happy people. 
 Game was plenty in the forests, and nowhere was 
 there drought or famine. People were well and 
 strong and happy. All the tribes were at peace. 
 The beasts of the field had no fear of man, nor had 
 man any fear of them. 
 
 The trees yielded richest fruit, and the bushes 
 bent low beneath their loads of berries. And there 
 was no cold, for the spring was everywhere ; and all 
 the long year the flowers carpeted the earth, the 
 birds, beautiful of plumage, flew from tree to tree, 
 singing their wild, happy songs, and turning their 
 bright plumage in the sunlight. 
 
 And the simple-hearted people dwelt in the for 
 ests and on the -sunny hillsides. They loved the 
 great, warm sun, and at night they watched the 
 bright stars shining down upon them ; for to these 
 stars some time they would be carried by the good 
 manitos who watch over the wigwams of the dying. 
 
 But one night they saw a bright star fall. Down, 
 
 56 
 
THE LILY-STAR. 
 
 5? 
 
 yp 
 
 .''i':-.rr'.i".y<.. ... J i ' * iii'iiiiiiliJU, 1 /^ -^T' v -. x - 
 
 w- iiip^-^ 
 
 >nv : -r 
 
 AND THE CHILDREN CAME IN THEIR TINY CANOES.' 
 
58 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 down, down, through the heavens it fell, till it came 
 and stood at the foot of a great mountain. 
 
 Then the people went forth to meet the star, 
 and the star said : " I have come, good people, 
 down to dwell with you ; for you are good and 
 happy and your world is beautiful. Tell me, then, 
 where I may make my dwelling place, that I may 
 watch your wise men and your children at .their 
 play ; for I love you well, and I long to dwell among 
 you." 
 
 Then one chief said, "Dwell here in this mountain, 
 high up among the crags ; for there you can overlook 
 the plain ; the clouds will stoop to kiss the mountain 
 top, and each morning you may greet the rising sun." 
 
 "Dwell upon the sunny hillside," said another; 
 "for there the sun loves to linger, and the flowers 
 are everywhere." 
 
 "Dwell in the forests," said another; "for there 
 the cool shadows lie, and the air is heavy with per 
 fume of the pine and spruce." 
 
 But the mountain tops are so far away! The star 
 could not see the little children at their play ; and it 
 loved the children best of all. The hillside, too, was 
 
THE LILY-STAR. 59 
 
 distant ; and the star felt lonely when the sun was 
 gone. And the forest, to the star that loved the heat 
 and warmth and light, seemed only dark and cold. 
 
 But one day the star came and hung above the 
 lake. The water was soft and warm ; it rippled and 
 danced and sang. All day the sunlight sparkled on 
 its surface, and at night the stars shone down upon 
 it. Upon the banks of the laka the Eed Children 
 played, and the men pushed their canoes across it. 
 
 "Here," said the star, "will I dwell, for I love the 
 Red Children, and the canoes are like the stars that 
 shoot across the sky." 
 
 And so it was that when the sun had set, the star 
 came down and alighted on the lake, and away down 
 beneath the waters it sent its rays. The Red Child 
 ren say the rays took root, for when the morning 
 came, there lay a beautiful water-lily upon the lake. 
 Its petals were pure and white, its heart was golden 
 like the star, and with its fragrance it called to the 
 children. 
 
 And the children came in their tiny canoes, for 
 they loved the sweet lily better than all the flowers 
 of the fields. 
 
LEGENDS OF THE WINDS. 
 
 " Tell us," the Eed Children ask, " whence comes 
 the Wind? See how it fans the fire and makes the 
 trees to bend ! How it sways the grasses and the 
 grains ! Even the clouds and the waters of the 
 great ocean obey its will. 
 
 " Still, no man has ever seen it ; nor can he ever, 
 though he watch from the mountain tops till twelve 
 moons go by ; and though he watch upon the great 
 plains where he may see the heavens on every side.' 7 
 
 Then the wise chief says, "Listen, little Eed 
 Children, and I will tell you the mystery of the 
 Wind as it is known to us, and as it was told to our 
 tribes many moons ago. For in those days, when 
 the Great Spirit spoke with the Red Men here upon 
 the earth, he bade us listen while he revealed to us 
 the wonders of the heavens. 
 
 "And of the Wind, the Great Spirit said: 'Away 
 in the North, where no man yet has ventured, nor 
 will ever venture in all the moons to come, lest he 
 
 60 
 
LEGENDS OF THE WINDS. 6l 
 
 perish ; away in the North, where the sky is cold and 
 the clouds are black ; where the fields are covered 
 with snow and ice that never melt ; where no corn 
 grows, and the birds sing not ; there in that unknown 
 land dwells the great Wind giant Kra-es-vel-gnr. 
 Upon a mountain peak he sits, clad in a robe of 
 eagle feathers. 
 
 ut And so broad is his robe and so strong are the 
 feathers that when he raises them the whole earth 
 is put in motion. The whole earth and all that 
 grows or dwells upon it ; for it is beneath these great 
 wings that the wind sleeps ; and the great giant, sit 
 ting upon the edge of the heavens, looks down upon 
 the waters and the fields and says which wind shall 
 blow and when.' ' 
 
 " But the rain and the snow, chief ! Tell us, do 
 they, too, dwell in the North ? " 
 
 "It is E-tok-ah Etokah and We-ze-at-tah my 
 children who make the rain and the snow, the 
 warmth and the cold. 
 
 "For Etokah is the spirit of the South. He it is 
 who holds in his great hand the warmth that brings 
 the summer and makes the grains to grow. 
 
62 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 "He comes with a great rush of wind and rain. 
 In his hand he bears a war club, and when he strikes 
 the heavens, lo ! the lightnings flash and terrible 
 thunders roll. 
 
 "With him come the crow and the plover; for 
 each rests upon a shoulder of the giant when he- 
 stalks forth upon the land. 
 
 " More terrible is Wezeattah, the spirit of the cold. 
 He drives before him the chill blast of the North, 
 and scatters the snowflakes over sea and land. 
 With him comes the howling wolf, whose teeth shine 
 and whose eyes glitter like the sun. Armed, too, is 
 Wezeattah, for he brings war against Etokah and 
 strives to drive him from the earth. 
 
 "These spirits the strong Etokah and the fierce 
 Wezeattah come forth from the corners of the 
 heavens; and when they meet, then the clouds fly 
 like weak warriors before a mighty foe. The great 
 drops of rain pour their floods down the mountain 
 side ; or the flying snow fills the air and covers the 
 plains and rivers. The thunders roll, the lightnings 
 flash across the sky, smiting the great trees and 
 blackening the growing roots. Or, the north wind 
 
LEGENDS OF THE WINDS. 
 
 WEZEATTAH BRINGS WAB AGAINST ETOKAH. 
 
64 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 shrieks and howls, and, rushing like an evil manito 
 across the plains, enters the forest and snaps the tall 
 tree-trunks and throws them across the trail. 
 
 u So these two battle against each other; and 
 when they cease, then the skies grow blue again and 
 the sun shines down upon the earth. 
 
 "Then Aminiki the storm god calls them to him. 
 His wings are black, and when he spreads them over 
 the skies, the sun itself is hidden and the stars shine 
 not. And to Etokah and Wezeattah he gives judg 
 ment, saying, * Go now, Etokah,' or l Go now, Wezeat 
 tah, back to your home in the corner of the sky. 
 Bravely you made battle ; but it is not for you to 
 always win. For six moons now shall you keep 
 within the great walls of your lodge. Come forth, 
 then, again ; and again shall you battle, and to him 
 that shall win shall be given the rivers and the lakes, 
 the fields and the hillsides. 
 
 " 'And if, Etokah, it is you that win, then shall you 
 scatter your flowers up and down the land, and lift 
 the ice that imprisons lake and river. 
 
 " 'Likewise to you, Wezeattah, if you win, shall be 
 given the land and the waters. You shall scatter 
 
LEGENDS OF THE WINDS. 65 
 
 the sparkling snow till no flowers nor grains nor 
 grasses shall be seen from sky to sky. And the 
 people shall build great fires and hide themselves 
 within their wigwams, saying: It is Wezeattah that 
 has come ! Wezeattah, the ruler of the cold ! 
 Wezeattah, the strong, white god of the North !' ' 
 
HOW THE SPRING COMES. 
 
 Old Winter sat alone in his little hut beside a 
 frozen river. All across the plain, and up the 
 mountain side, the snow lay cold and still. The 
 winds howled and shrieked, the flowers and grasses 
 hid themselves in the soft earth, and even the great, 
 warm sun crept away toward the southern sky. 
 
 But one morning a gentle step was heard upon the 
 snow; there was a soft perfume in the air. The 
 Winter opened the door of his dismal hut, and said : 
 "Ah, it is you, sweet Springtime. Welcome will 
 your voice be in the ears of the Red Children. But 
 come in, and let us talk together, for soon shall I go 
 to my home in the northward ; to my home where all 
 is still and cold and white ; to my home where the 
 waters never sparkle, where the birds never sing, and 
 where no flowers peep through the glittering ice." 
 
 "And from my home far away to the southward I 
 have come just now," said the sweet-voiced Spring. 
 "No ice and snows are there, but in their place lie 
 great fields of soft, green grass. The skies and the 
 
 66 
 
HOW THE SPRING COMES. 67 
 
 waters are blue; and when the soft winds blow, the 
 grasses and the flowers bend their heads to listen." 
 
 "Ah, but I have power," said old Winter. "I 
 have power like that of the manitos themselves ! 
 For when I blow my breath, the streams stand still, 
 the waters stiffen and grow hard, like stone." 
 
 "I, too, have power," answered the Spring. 
 " Though I call not in a loud voice, though great 
 trees bend not before me, yet when I breathe, the 
 flowers and tender grasses spring up on plain and 
 hillside." 
 
 u I shake my long, white locks, and the cold snow 
 covers the land, the leaves drop from the strongest 
 trees, the birds fly far away to the homes of distant 
 tribes, the animals wrap themselves in their warm 
 covers and hide in deep caves ; even the earth itself 
 grows hard, like rock, and hides from sight." 
 
 " I shake my golden ringlets, and sweet-smelling 
 showers fall upon the earth ; the raindrops glisten 
 on the grasses, and the hearts of the Red Children 
 are glad ; the singing birds come back and fill the 
 forests with their songs, the little brooks begin to 
 dance, and the whole earth sings for joy." 
 
68 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 But now the sun far down in the southern sky 
 had heard the soft voice of Spring and had crept 
 uear to listen. Its warm rays fell straight upon old 
 
 THEN OLD WINTER'S VOICE WAS STILL. 
 
 Winter's hut. A robin and a bluebird perched upon 
 the roof. The river began to sparkle back its wel 
 come to the sun, and the whole hut was filled with 
 the odor of pleasant herbs and flowers. 
 
6 9 
 
 Then old Winter's voice grew still. Water dripped 
 from his long, white hair ; a strange, gray color 
 spread over his cold, white face ; smaller and smaller, 
 shorter and shorter grew his form, and weaker and 
 weaker the power of the old man's arm, till, when 
 the sun had sunk behind the purple clouds of 
 the west, no sign of him was left; but upon the 
 ground where he had sat had sprung the beautiful 
 pink claytonia that sweetest, tenderest child of 
 Spring. 
 
HOW THE SUMMER CAME. 
 
 Once, long, long ago, there was no summer in the 
 land of the Red Children, and they had no food but 
 the flesh of the animals which they could slay. 
 
 Then all the animals the Otter, the Lynx, the 
 Beaver, the Badger, and the Wolf held a council. 
 "We are never safe," said they, "from the arrows of 
 the Red Men. Let us go to them and bid them pre 
 pare for war with us, unless indeed they will promise 
 to harm us no more." 
 
 u But we must have food," said the Red Men, 
 when the animals had come to them declaring war. 
 
 u ls there no other food that man can eat ?" asked 
 the sharp-eyed Lynx. 
 
 u There are fruits and maize," said the Red Men ; 
 "but these grow not in a country where summer 
 never comes. Bring down warmth for us from the 
 heavens, and we will promise then to harm you no 
 
 more." 
 
HOW THE SUMMER CAME. 
 
 BUT WE MUST HAVE FOOD," SAID THE RED MEN. 
 
72 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 " We will try/ 7 said the Otter, and, stretching his 
 mouth back to his ears so that all his teeth showed 
 fiercely, he made a great leap up toward the blue 
 sky. Up, up he flew, like a great bird ; but his 
 flight was short, for down he came, head first, and 
 struck upon a mountain peak. 
 
 Then the Lynx, crouching low, made a leap such 
 as even Lynx had never made before ; for he brushed 
 the arch of the sky with the tips of his ears. 
 
 Then the Badger tried and the Beaver, and to 
 gether they cracked the sky, so that when the Wolf's 
 leap came, his head burst through, and he caught a 
 glimpse of the beautiful world beyond. 
 
 "Now," said a brave chief of the Eed Men, "I 
 will climb up the walls of < the skies and steal the 
 warmth that we so need." 
 
 For three whole days and three whole nights the 
 brave chief climbed, for he loved his tribe and 
 longed to bring them warmth, and food, and comfort. 
 
 And when he had entered the doorway which the 
 wolf had made, lo ! there lay spread out before him 
 a land of such beauty as he had never dreamed. 
 The air was soft and sweet. Green grass stretched 
 
HOW THE SUMMER CAME. 73 
 
 as far as his eye could reach. There were flowers 
 of colors brighter than the war-paint of greatest 
 chiefs. 
 
 And there were beautiful mocuks, in which were 
 birds whose songs were sweetest music. One bird 
 was there in each mocuk; for these birds were 
 Spring, and Summer, and Autumn. And when the 
 chief saw these, he opened wide their doors and 
 cried : "Fly, fly, good birds ! and carry the seasons 
 down to the Red Children below ; for they live their 
 whole lives they and their children after them 
 and never know of change on tree, or sky, or earth." 
 
 Then all the birds flew out. Straight toward the 
 door they flew, but with such noise and confusion 
 that the people in the sunny world awoke and ran to 
 see what strange thing had happened to the birds. 
 Already the gorgeous-feathered Autumn had flown 
 down through. Spring, too, escaped, but left one 
 feather in the grasp of the foremost of the breathless 
 pursuers. 
 
 " Summer ! Summer ! " they cried. " Let not 
 Summer go from us ! " But Summer was speeding 
 on close behind the trail of Spring. With one great 
 
74 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 leap, four of the dwellers in the land beyond the sky 
 sprang forward and seized her by the wing. 
 
 " Hold ! hold ! " they cried ; but Summer struggled 
 with her great, strong beak and claws. Half way 
 through the door was she, nor would she yield. 
 With all their might the four held the bird, till at 
 last the body parted. One-half only escaped to the 
 earth below, for the other half was firm in the grasp 
 of the angry men of the Land Beyond the Sky. 
 
 "Now, who did this ?" they thundered, when they 
 had placed the poor half bird within the cage again. 
 Then they spied the chief of the Red Men, and with 
 a cry like the North Wind, and with bolts of thunder 
 and flashes of fire, they rushed upon him. Down 
 through the doorway, on, on across the sky they 
 flew. 
 
 " How it lightens !>" the Red Men down upon the 
 earth cried ; and the animals crept, afraid, into the 
 dark caves of the forests * 
 
 Though the Red Man sped like a hare across the 
 sky, the angry people of the upper world followed 
 with a speed like the wind. All about him, above 
 him, and below, the fiery arrows darted, till at last 
 
HOW THE SUMMER CAME. 75 
 
 one transfixed him. And to this day, there he lies, 
 pinned to the sky ; and when the Red Children look 
 up and see him there among the stars, they say: 
 " See ! there is the brave chief who dared the people 
 of the Land Beyond the Sky and gave the warm 
 seasons to us ! " 
 
 And when the beautiful Summer's stay is brief, 
 they say : " It is because we have only half; the other 
 half is still in the heavens above. 7 ' 
 
THE SUN A PBISONER. 
 
 There was once a little lad whose name was 
 Shooter-of-Birds. The little sister of Shooter-of- 
 Birds was very proud of her brother's "name, for he 
 had earned it when he was a baby, swinging in his 
 hammock among the boughs of the trees. 
 
 Now, from the first bird little Shooter-of-Birds had 
 brought down with his arrow, he had made for 
 himself a wonderful coat ; and most proud was he of 
 its bright red breast and its soft, brown back. 
 
 But one day little Shooter-of-Birds lay down upon 
 a mountain top to rest. He was very tired, and he 
 slept for hours and hours. When he awoke, there 
 stood the great Sun, shining straight down upon him, 
 hot and burning. Breathless, little Shooter-of-Birds 
 sprang to his feet. The air was full of the odor of 
 burning feathers; and already his beautiful coat 
 was dropping from his shoulders, singed and 
 scorched. 
 
THE SUN A PRISONER. 77 
 
 " It is you that have done this, Sun ! " the boy 
 shouted. But the Sun took no heed, and rolled OK 
 across the sky. 
 
 u You shall never rise again!" cried little Shooter- 
 of- Birds ; and he ran across the mountain side to his 
 cave in the great rock. 
 
 "What can you do ?" hooted the Owl all night. 
 "You! you! you!" 
 
 "Wait! wait! wait!" peeped the birds at sunset. 
 But angry little Shooter-of-Birds would not wait. 
 
 All night long he worked, for he was twisting a 
 mighty cord with which to ensnare the Sun. Then, 
 climbing high upon the eastern ridge of mountains, 
 he spread his coil and watched the coming of the 
 Sun. 
 
 Slowly it crept up above the waters, but, blinded 
 by its own glare, it saw not the Shooter-of-Birds, 
 whose coil was spread across the skies. 
 
 U A daring boy is this Shooter-of-Birds," said the 
 mischievous manitos; and they laughed to think 
 what havoc it would make up and down the earth if 
 the Sun should never rise again. " We will help the 
 boy," they said. So they held the coil, and lo ! the 
 
78 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Sun entered the great circle and was indeed en 
 snared. 
 
 "Never again shall you scorch my coat of 
 feathers ! " cried little Shooter-of-Birds ; and he 
 fastened the cord to a mountain peak and ran down 
 into the valley. 
 
 Hours like many days passed by, and the Sun 
 came not. u It is very strange," the people said. 
 
 " Oh, give us back the sunlight !" the trees and the 
 flowers and the grasses cried. But the sunlight did 
 not come, and the trees and the flowers and the 
 grasses withered and died. 
 
 By and by coldness fell on all the earth, and the 
 beasts of the fields and forests crept into dark caves, 
 crouching close together for warmth. 
 
 " This must not be, ;; they said. " Let us go to 
 the Sun and beg that he shall come again." 
 
 So together they all set out ; but no one of them, 
 save perhaps the Owl and the Wildcat, could see in 
 the darkness. Then, too, they were cold and starved, 
 so that by and by the persevering Mole found him 
 self alone, and all his comrades gone back to their 
 caves. 
 
THE SUN A PRISONER. 
 
 79 
 
 For as many hours as make a month, the Mole 
 traveled on toward the place where the Sun had 
 always risen. At last the Sun was found the Sun 
 and the coil that bound him to the peak. 
 
 " Only cut away this cord of steel," said the Sun, 
 " and gladly will I come and bring again the light 
 and warmth." 
 
 "I will try," said the Mole, u for indeed we need 
 the light and warmth, and the world is sad without 
 them." 
 
 " I WILL TRY; " SAID THE MOLE. 
 
80 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 So the. Mole crept nearer to the Sun, its heat 
 growing always more and more intense. 
 
 u Would that I could turn my head away, little 
 Mole," said the Sun; "but alas ! I cannot, and I fear 
 you cannot come so near." 
 
 u I must try," said the brave Mole ; but already its 
 hair was singed arid its little back was scorched. 
 "The world needs the Sun! it must have it!" the 
 little Mole said over and over to himself, and so kept 
 his heart from losing courage. 
 
 At last the strong coil was reached, and the Mole 
 set to work upon it with its sharp, white teeth. For 
 ten long hours it gnawed and gnawed ; and on the 
 eleventh the cord snapped, and the happy Sun sprang 
 up again into the heavens. 
 
 Then the animals crept forth again from their 
 caves, the trees grew green again, the grasses waved 
 their heads, the flowers smiled, and all the earth 
 was full of joy again. All but the little Mole! 
 for he, alas ! blinded by the blazing Sun, could see 
 none of the beauty that the light and warmth had 
 brought 
 
 He could feel the soft breezes, and he could 
 
THE SUN A PRISONER. 8l 
 
 smell the fragrant flowers ; but eyes he had none ; 
 and so it is that from that time on the moles 
 dwell forever in their darkness, paying the pen 
 alty of the foolish anger of the little Shooter-of- 
 Rirds. 
 
MOKDAMIN, THE EED PLUME. 
 
 Among the tribes of the Red Children, there lived 
 a warrior so brave and kind that all his people 
 loved him, even as they loved the good manitos 
 that watch over the wigwams and the cornfields, to 
 keep them from harm. 
 
 Now, this brave, kind warrior could cure the sick 
 and heal the wounded ; he could take upon himself 
 the shape of birds and fishes, and fly through the air 
 and swim through the water. 
 
 But, most of all, even more than war, the warrior 
 loved to wander up and down among the people of 
 the tribe, bringing them health and happiness and 
 gifts of good. 
 
 One morning, as he walked through a dense 
 forest, into which the sun could scarcely shine, he 
 met a little Red Plumed man as brave as was he 
 himself. 
 
 " Good morrow," said the little man. u You are 
 strong ; but tell me, where does your strength lie ? " 
 
 82 
 
MONDAMIN, THE RED PLUME. 
 
 
 THEN THB BRAVE WAfiBIOB AND THE TINY KED PLUME WRESTLED. 
 
84 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 "My strength," answered the warrior, u is like the 
 strength of any brave man." 
 
 " Then let us wrestle ! " said the strange little 
 man, "for I, too, am strong. And whoever is able 
 to throw the other, let him cry, Wa-ge-ne-wa ! Wa- 
 ge-ne-wa! I have thrown you! I have thrown 
 you!" 
 
 Then the brave warrior and the tiny Red Plume 
 wrestled. For a whole day they wrestled, and more 
 than once the warrior grew faint and weak ; but, as 
 the sun went down, the wonderful strength of little 
 Red Plume failed, and at last the warrior's cry, 
 " Wa-ge-ne-wa! Wa-ge-ne-wa!" rang through the 
 forest. But, as the big brave stooped to help Red 
 Plume to his feet again, lo ! a wonderful change 
 had come upon him ! Arms and legs were gone, and 
 his body had become like a full, ripe, red ear of corn. 
 Indeed, but for the red plume still waving, the 
 warrior would have believed the good manitos had 
 taken him away. 
 
 Then Red Plume spoke : "Again, brave warrior, 
 you bring a great and goodly gift to your people. 
 For I am Mondamin, the friend of the Red Children ; 
 
MONDAMIN, THE RED PLUME. 85 
 
 and, because you conquer me, then you shall take 
 me to your people. 
 
 " Strip from me, first of all, these covers that hide 
 me from the wind and storm. Take then my rich, 
 red kernels and scatter them up and down beside 
 the river. Go then to your home, and, when one 
 moon is passed, come back ; then shall be given you 
 
 the Gift of Corn." 
 
 ******* 
 
 And never do the brave warrior and his people 
 forget the place where the Corn first grew. Never 
 do they neglect the field where, through rain and 
 sunshine, Mon-da-min lies. 
 
 Each day they watch and wait beside it ; they 
 drive the insects and the weeds and the hungry 
 birds from it ; they spread the soft, green mold 
 above it. And, when at length the tiny blade of 
 green breaks through, they sing and dance about the 
 field; they chant and send up thankful prayers to 
 the Great Spirit for this rich gift, Mondamin. 
 
 Then, when the Summer passes, and the golden 
 Autumn comes ; when the corn stands tall and rich, 
 and full of beauty, then, from out its shining robes 
 
86 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 and the long, soft, yellow tresses, comes the voice of 
 the Corn calling to the people. Then the people 
 gather in great numbers all the tribes together to 
 the feast of good Mondamin the friend of man 
 Mondamin. 
 
MOUNT TUTOKA1STULA. 
 
 Away in the valley of the Yosemite is a great 
 mountain whose sides are steep, even like the walls 
 of a canon. At the foot of this mountain was once 
 a lake, on whose banks two Eed Children loved 
 to play the whole day long. One evening, so tired 
 were they, and home so far away, that they lay down 
 upon a great rock and went to sleep. 
 
 All night long they slept and all the next day ; 
 then the next night and the next, till many moons 
 had come and gone. But all the time they slept the 
 rock was ^isingy rising, till, when they woke, behold, 
 its summit reached far up among the clouds. There 
 the two Children stood, stretching their arms out 
 across the cliffs, and crying aloud for help. 
 
 The Sun and the Moon only heard their cry ; and 
 when again they had lain down upon the high 
 mountain to sleep, the Moon whispered to the rain 
 drops in the clouds, and bade them go down and 
 tell the people and the animals the story of the little 
 Red Children upon the mountain. 
 
 87 
 
88 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 And, when the animals heard the story, they assem 
 bled at the foot of the cliff to plan some way to 
 rescue the Children. 
 
 "They saved me from a fierce cat," said the 
 Mouse. "Let me, then, try to rescue them." So the 
 Mouse tried to leap up the mountain side. But alas ! 
 it leaped only a hand-breadth, and then fell back. 
 
 " They freed me from a snare the Eed Men had 
 set among the corn," said a Rat. And he, too, tried 
 to rescue the Children, but could leap only twc 
 hand-breadths. 
 
 " They helped me once to climb a tree when the 
 hunter's dogs were close upon me," said a Raccoon. 
 But he could leap only a little higher than the Rat. 
 
 Then the Bear tried, the Lion, and the Buffalo ; 
 but all failed, even as the tiny Mouse had failed. 
 
 "They saved, once, my life, too," said a little 
 Worm. " I lay across their trail, for I had wandered 
 from my home in the tree, and had lost my way. I 
 was very thirsty, and the earth seemed parched and 
 dry. And these children they trod not upon me 
 with their moccasins, but raised me up and laid me on 
 the rich, soft leaves. Therefore, will I rescue them." 
 
MOUNT TUTOKANULA 
 
 8 9 
 
 THERE THE LITTLE CHILDREN STOOD. 
 
90 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 So the little Worm crept up the mountain side. 
 Close, close it clung; and, when one moon had 
 passed, it had reached the top of the great cliff, and 
 had guided the Children down safe paths into the 
 valley below. 
 
 And so the Children named the mountain Tutoka- 
 nula ; and it bears thus the name of the little Worm, 
 even from that day to this. 
 
THE SNAIL AND THE BEAVER 
 
 Once there were no men, no women, and no little 
 children upon the earth ; but everywhere there were 
 birds and fishes, and in the forest there were animals 
 of many kinds. 
 
 On the banks of the Great River lived a little 
 Snail, whose brief life had been spent crawling up 
 and down the banks and burrowing in the mud. But 
 one day the Great Spirit looked down upon the Snail 
 and said : " From that little creature I will make a 
 tall, strong animal. He shall walk upon two feet, 
 holding his head high. He shall speak a language 
 never yet spoken, and I will call him Man." 
 
 Then the Great Spirit sent a mighty flood of water 
 down the valley. The river overflowed its banks, 
 and carried the little Snail to the high land, where 
 it left it far away from its water home. 
 
 Then the little Snail grew sleepy, and curled itself 
 down among the strange grasses. No one can say 
 how long it slept, for the little Snail itself could 
 never tell; but, by and by, when it woke, all the 
 
 91 
 
LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 SO THE MAN TOOK THE ARROW AND THE BOW. 
 
THE SNAIL AND THE BEAVER. 93 
 
 world seemed changed. Never before had the sky 
 seemed so blue, nor had the sun seemed so near. 
 
 Strange thoughts crept into the Snail's little head. 
 It grew afraid, and, turning itself earthward, it 
 tried to hide itself within its shell. And lo ! it 
 had no shell, but legs and arms, long and straight 
 and strong ! 
 
 Now the Snail quaked indeed with fear. It rose 
 high upon its feet and looked around. In a lake near 
 by, it saw itself and wondered what strange thing 
 had happened. Then a kind voice the voice of the 
 Great Spirit spoke from the air and said : 
 
 " Fear not, little Snail that you once were. You 
 are now a Man, and you shall be able to rule over all 
 things that live the fishes, the birds, and all animals 
 in field or forest. But first you must have food such 
 as Man should eat. Take, then, these arrows and 
 this bow. Place the arrow thus, aiming at yonder 
 dee/; and, when he is slain, take from him his skin ; 
 for, by and by, when the North Wind blows, you will 
 need it for a covering. 
 
 So the Man took the arrow and the bow, and did 
 as the Great Spirit bade him. And, when this was 
 
94 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 done, then the Great Spirit taught him to strike fire 
 from rock, and so to cook his food. 
 
 After that the Great Spirit went away, and the Man 
 wandered up and down the river banks alone. Out 
 from a deep hole a Beaver crept, and to the strange, 
 new creature sitting there he said, " Who are you ? " 
 
 And the strange, new creature said, " I am a Man, 
 though not long since I was a Snail. But tell me, 
 who are you ? " 
 
 " I am a Beaver. My home is beneath the banks, 
 and my kingdom is the river. But we are brothers. 
 Come, then, to my home, for you must need sleep and 
 food." 
 
 Gladly the Man crept into the hole from whence 
 the Beaver had come, and soon he found himself in 
 a beautiful beaver village. There were houses made 
 in the shape of cones, with a door through which to 
 enter. And there were streets in this village, and 
 every Beaver knew the home of every other. 
 
 Then the Beaver called his wife and daughter, 
 and they laid before their guest a feast of poplar 
 leaves, willow, sassafras root, and elder bark. Little 
 of this could the strange man eat, but there came 
 
THE SNAIL AND THE BEAVER. 95 
 
 into his heart a great loneliness. The Beaver had 
 his home, and both wife and daughter to wait upon 
 him, but the Man was all alone. 
 
 u Truly, you could spare this daughter,' 7 the Man 
 said, " and let her come and dwell with me. You 
 shall teach me to build a home like this, and she 
 shall daily lay the feast before me." 
 
 Now, the Beaver's daughter was kind, and she 
 pitied the lonely Man ; so she said : " If my father 
 wills it so, gladly will I go and make a home for 
 you." 
 
 "You shall go," said the Beaver. And the Man 
 led her out from her home and wandered with her 
 up the river bank, that they might have a place 
 there to build for themselves another home. 
 
 Night came, and they lay down beside the river to 
 sleep. But, behold ! when the sun rose, the Beaver 
 had disappeared, and in her place lay a beautiful 
 Maiden. And when the Man awoke and saw her, 
 then the Great Spirit whispered to them and said : 
 u Make, now, a wigwam for yourselves. Be brave, 
 Man, and hunt and fish. And you, most beautiful 
 Maiden, you shall cook the food, and, by and by, 
 
96 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 you shall learn to weave, and grind the corn which 
 the Man shall plant; for you are like no other 
 creatures on this earth, but are high above them all." 
 So sprang the people from the Snail and the 
 Beaver, for such is the legend of the Red Children ; 
 and, because of their origin, they are wise and 
 industrious, never idle, but busy always in the mak 
 ing of their homes and in the building of thek 
 villages. 
 
LEGEND OF THE OPEOHE. 
 
 When the son of the Red Man has grown tall and 
 strong and brave, then the father warrior calls Hm 
 to him and says : 
 
 "My son, my brave son, the time has come when 
 you must go forth into the wilderness and fast. 
 Behold the mat which your mother has woven for you 
 to rest upon. Take it, therefore, and prove to your 
 tribe that you are to be a brave, strong warrior, able 
 to endure." 
 
 Then the youth goes forth into the dense forest, 
 and stretches himself, face downward, upon the mat, 
 moving not and tasting neither food nor drink. 
 
 If he endures to the end of the time appointed for 
 the fast, then he is brought into the presence of the 
 chief. A great feast is laid, honors are poured upon 
 the youth, and he becomes now a warrior of his tribe. 
 
 So it was with the gentle-hearted Mr-ig-wis, who 
 loved the birds too well to shoot them ; for to his 
 ears the music of their songs was sweeter than the 
 warrior's shout. 
 
 97 
 
98 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Still, when his time came, he took the mat which 
 his mother had woven, and went forth into the forest. 
 
 Each morning his father came to him with words 
 of cheer ; but, though his heart was strong within him, 
 each morning found him more weak and pale, until 
 on the morning of the ninth day he could only drag 
 himself forward to meet his father's call. 
 
 "Fail not, my son," said the father. "Only three 
 more days remain. Forget not that you come from 
 a line of chiefs ! " 
 
 On the morning of the tenth day, the boy could 
 only raise his hands to his father as he came and 
 stood beside his mat. And though the father's heart 
 was moved with pity for his son, his face softened 
 not, and again he said : " Fail not, my son ; only two 
 days more remain. Forget not that you come from 
 a line of chiefs ! " 
 
 The morning of the eleventh day came, and the 
 father went again and stood beside the mat of his 
 son. Very pale and still he lay ; hardly could the 
 father say whether life dwelt within the body. But 
 the boy opened his lips and whispered : " Take me 
 home, my father. Only the mischievous manitos 
 
LEGEND OF THE OPECHE. 99 
 
 are about me, for I shall never be a warrior, brave 
 and bold and strong to endure." 
 
 But the father said : u Fail not, my son. Only to 
 day remains, and to-morrow, even before the sun has 
 risen above the waters, and while the birds are 
 waking, I will come, bearing with me food and the 
 rich wine of the grape. Then strength will come 
 back, and you shall sit in the tent of the chief. 
 Think, my son, of the music and the feasting and the 
 honor! And the warriors of the tribe shall say: 
 1 Behold, another brave youth, born of a line of 
 chiefs!" 7 H 
 
 But the boy heard the words only faintly ; and 
 when the father was gone, the boy's own good manito 
 came to him and gave him strength and hope and 
 peaceful sleep. " To-morrow you shall come and dwell 
 with me," said the manito; "for it is not for your 
 gentle soul to find the joy in war and bloodshed." 
 
 Early when the morning of the twelfth day dawned, 
 the father hurried forth into the forest, bearing in his 
 hands meat and bread and wine. 
 
 "Now, my brave boy," he cried, "the fasting is 
 ended ! Arise and eat and drink ! The chief waits 
 
100 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 to welcome you, and the youths and maidens even 
 now are singing the story of your brave endurance ! " 
 
 But alas for the father's hopes ! There lay the 
 mat beneath the great trees, but the boy was gone. 
 
 " My son ! my son ! " the father cried. But no 
 boy's voice gave answer, and the father threw himself 
 upon the mat and groaned. 
 
 " Ghee ! chee ! chee ! chee ! chee ! chee ! " called a 
 sweet voice from the branches overhead. "Chee! 
 chee ! chee ! " 
 
 " The sun still shines and the birds still sing ! " 
 the father wept. Then the little bird in the branches 
 overhead came down, and spoke in the words of the 
 Red Children : 
 
 " Sorrow not for me, my father. For see, my own 
 good manito has given me the life of a bird, and I 
 shall be forever happy and free. Though I came 
 from a line of brave chiefs, it was not for me to be a 
 warrior. So be glad for me, my father ! " 
 
 And when the father looked, behold, there stood 
 before him a bird such as he had never seen before. 
 It was large and tall, and upon its breast were 
 feathers bright and red. 
 
LEGEND OF THE OPECHE 
 
 " SORROW NOT FOR ME, MY FATHER-" 
 
IO2 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 " 0-pe-che ! o-pe-che !" cried the father, which 
 means Robin Red-Breast ; and he ran back to his 
 wigwam to tell his people what had happened. 
 
 Then the 0-pe-che came and alighted upon the 
 wigwam of the chief; it flew round and round the 
 wigwam of its own father and mother ; it called to its 
 old playmates ; and never from that time to this has 
 it forgotten its love for the homes and villages of 
 man. For it loves to build its nest in the trees not 
 far from their houses, and to hover about the play 
 grounds of the children. 
 
THE LAND OF THE HEREAFTER. 
 
 U good manitos, good manitos!" prayed a young 
 Brave, "tell me, where has my sister's spirit gone ? 
 Will she never again come back to her home ? Will 
 she never again grind corn for her father and her 
 brothers ? Will she never again sit in her wigwam 
 door and weave and sing ? " 
 
 Then the manitos pitied the young Brave and 
 said : " Your sister cannot come back to you, but 
 you shall go to her. 
 
 u Listen now to our words. Go out upon the 
 broad plain and shoot an arrow into the skies. 
 Watch how it falls, for that shall guide you upon 
 the way you shall take to reach the Isles of the 
 Blessed, where now your sister dwells." 
 
 The young Brave did as the manitos bade him, 
 and the arrow fell to the West. 
 
 Then, as the red Sun sank in the clouds behind 
 the mountains, the young Brave set forth. " I will 
 follow where you lead, Sun," he said. 
 
 103 
 
IO4 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 For many long days he journeyed on, up high 
 mountains, through deep ravines, across broad plains 
 and rivers, foot-sore and weary; still he rested not. 
 
 " I go to find my sister," he said to himself, and 
 so kept his heart light and his courage strong. 
 
 At last, on the shores of a great water, the Brave 
 came to a tiny lodge hidden among the trees of a 
 dark forest. 
 
 " Who comes to my lodge ? " a voice called from 
 within. 
 
 "I come to find my sister, who has gone to the 
 Isles of the Blessed," the young Brave answered. 
 
 " Surely you are a daring youth," said the old man 
 of the lodge. " Do you know what trials await you ? 
 what dangers shall confront you ? " 
 
 "I know not, neither do I care !" the young Brave 
 thundered. " I dare meet them all, if only in the 
 end I may find my sister." 
 
 "Come in, good friend, and rest," the old man of 
 the lodge said, pulling aside the bearskin to 
 welcome the youth. " Often brave youths have come 
 to this lodge to seek the dead ; but none so brave as 
 you have come. So enter, and I will guide thee to 
 
THE LAND OF THE HEREAFTER. IO5 
 
 the Land of the Hereafter to the Isles of the 
 Blessed, where now your sister dwells. 
 
 " Look out across this mighty lake. Do you see 
 the pale forms floating in the sky far beyond the 
 water ? Those are the Blessed Ones ; and it is 
 there the great Islands lay." 
 
 Then the young Brave threw down his bow and 
 arrows and went down to the waters of the lake. 
 There, waiting for his coming, lay a white canoe ; 
 and in the canoe sat a pale, white form. And in his 
 hands he held two white oars. 
 
 He spoke not, but the young Brave understood. 
 He took his seat in the canoe, and away they sped 
 across the waters. 
 
 All night long they rode, and at sunrise reached 
 the opposite shore. 
 
 Here lay the Islands of the Blessed ; and on the 
 shore stood the young Brave's sister to welcome him. 
 
 " Welcome, welcome, brother !" the sister cried ; 
 and the young Brave stepped on shore. 
 
 " Come with me,' 7 she said. And, taking him by 
 the hand, she led him up and down the fields of 
 flowers. She showed him the purple hills which 
 
IO6 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 stand at sunset out against the sky. She showed 
 him flowers and grasses such as he had never seen 
 before. And there was a sweetness in the air that 
 filled the young Brave's heart with joy. 
 
 The forests were full of animals, and the waters 
 were full of fish. But all were without fear ; and, as 
 the young Brave approached them, they ran to meet 
 him, and rubbed their heads against him, like the 
 dogs of his own wigwam. 
 
 For days and days the young Brave wandered up 
 and down the Happy Hunting-Grounds, and talked 
 with the friends that had so long since left the wig 
 wams of the Red Men. 
 
 All were happy; all were at rest, and all wel 
 comed him with joy. 
 
 Then the sister said, " My brother, you must now 
 return to your people. You have been given this 
 visit into the Isles of the Blessed that you may go 
 back and tell your people of the life that awaits all 
 brave warriors when they come down to the Lake of 
 the White Canoe. 
 
 u Tell them about all that you have seen, that it 
 may help them to be brave and true. Tell them that 
 
THE LAND OF THE HEREAFTER. 
 
 AND WHEN THE YOUNG BRAVE APPROACHED, THE ANIMALS BAN OUT TO 
 
 MEET HIM. 
 
IO8 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 the Great Spirit loves them and watches over them 
 always. And that when the right time comes, they 
 shall come to the land of the Hereafter, where all is 
 joy and peace. 
 
 " Be brave and true, and some time you shall come 
 again. There is work yet for you to do in the world 
 of the Red Men, and there are those that need you 
 there. When your time has come, then again you 
 shall enter the Isles of the Blessed ; but not to 
 return. For then your wigwam will await you 
 here, your wigwam, your horse, and your dogs. 
 Again you will be a brave warrior, and shall dwell 
 forever in this Happy Hunting Ground." 
 
 Then the young Brave went down to the shore. 
 Again the white shade in the white canoe came for 
 him, and together they rowed across the lake. 
 
 There the young Brave gathered up his bows and 
 arrows and returned to his home in the wigwam 
 village. 
 
 There was a strange light in his eyes, and a look 
 upon his face like that upon the face of no other brave. 
 
 " I have seen the Land of the Hereafter !" he said. 
 " I have seen the Isles of the Blessed !" 
 
THE LAND OF THE HEREAFTER. ICX) 
 
 The people gathered around him, and he told 
 them all that he had learned and all that his sister 
 had said. For never before had the Red Men known 
 what life awaited them in the Land of the Here 
 after. 
 
 "It is the Great Spirit that has permitted us to 
 know all this," the chief said. 
 
 Then a great feast was held ; sacrifices were 
 made, and there were games and dances. For thus 
 it was that the Great Spirit taught his children and 
 made them ready for the life that should be theirs, 
 when, they should float out upon the waters 
 toward the Isles of the Blessed the Land of the 
 Hereafter. 
 
THE HIAWATHA LEGEND. 
 
 On the banks of the Tioto dwelt the Wise Man, 
 Hiawatha ; and this name was given him by his 
 people because of his great wisdom in council and 
 his bravery in war. 
 
 No one knew this Hiawatha's father, no one 
 knew his mother, for most high and mysterious 
 was his origin descended from the spirits of the 
 air. 
 
 Wonderful things could Hiawatha do. He could 
 run like the wind ; he could leap a cloud high in the 
 air ; the birds and beasts and insects knew his voice 
 and loved him ; with his arrows his aim was never- 
 failing ; and in his magic canoe, he could sail with 
 out paddles up and down the river and across the 
 lakes. 
 
 It was Hiawatha who taught his people to pre 
 pare the soil and plant the corn, to shoot the deer 
 and dress the skin, to make the water-courses and 
 clear the ground for fishing. To his wisdom the 
 
 110 
 
THE HIAWATHA LEGEND. Ill 
 
 Red Men listened ever, and they did whatever he 
 bade them do ; for his laws were wise and his judg 
 ment always true. 
 
 Once Hiawatha dwelt in the home even of the 
 Great Spirit, and it was there that he grew so wise 
 and good and brave. But because of his great love 
 for man, and because he knew the need the Red 
 Children had for him, he left his home in the land 
 where the Great Spirit dwells, and came down to 
 help and teach them here on earth. 
 
 By and by there came a time when war broke out 
 among the tribes. Down from the North swept 
 savage tribes, who fell upon the villages of the Onon- 
 dagas and burned their wigwams. The cornfields, 
 too, they destroyed, and they carried away the women 
 and children captives. 
 
 Then the chiefs came to Hiawatha and begged 
 that he would help them. 
 
 u join together," Hiawatha said, "into a great 
 confederation. Bring together the chiefs of the 
 tribes East and West and South. Hold a council. 
 Choose one chief, whom all the tribes yes, even the 
 chiefs of the tribes shall promise to obey. Then 
 
, I a LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 will you be able to protect your homes and drive 
 back the warriors from the North. 77 
 
 This the people agreed to do ; and with Hiawatha, 
 the council was to be held on a high bluff beside the 
 lake. For three days Hiawatha sat in his wigwam, 
 praying to the Great Spirit. Then, taking his beau 
 tiful daughter with him, he set forth to the assembly 
 in his magic canoe. 
 
 On the bluff the Red Men waited ; and when they 
 saw the canoe upon the sparkling water, they raised 
 a great shout of welcome. But as Hiawatha landed 
 from his canoe, lo ! a monstrous bird appeared in the 
 sky above. It was like a great, white cloud ; and 
 when it swept across the sun, the light was cut off, 
 and a great darkness fell upon the lake. 
 
 Terror filled the hearts of the people, and even the 
 face of Hiawatha grew pale and set. Nearer and 
 nearer the great bird circled, his wings stretching out 
 from lake to lake. Then, with a mighty swoop, it 
 darted downward and fell upon the head of Hia 
 watha 7 s daughter. 
 
 Hiawatha knew that never again should he see his 
 daughter's beautiful face, for already he had read the 
 
THE HIAWATHA LEGEND. 113 
 
 omen. "Raise the bird," he said to his people, u and 
 from it pluck the strong, white feathers. Wear these, 
 and let them be henceforth your badge of war." 
 
 They raised the great bird, but beneath it they 
 found not the body of the maiden. "Soon shall 
 I go to join her," Hiawatha said. The shadows 
 of grief fell heavily upon his upturned face. 
 
 "And now," said he, stretching his hands out 
 above the people, "listen to the words I would speak 
 to you : We are friends and brothers. You are 
 members of many tribes, and you have come from East 
 and West and South. From a great distance you 
 have come, for we need one another ; s help. The 
 Northern tribes must be driven back. How shall 
 this be done ? Never by our tribes singly. Only 
 by uniting in a common band of brotherhood may 
 we hope to succeed. Let us do this, and we shall 
 drive the enemy from our land. 
 
 "Listen to me by tribes. You, the Mohawks, 
 sitting beneath the shadow of the great tree whose 
 branches spread wide around and whose roots 
 sink deep into the earth, shall be the first nation, 
 because you are warlike and mighty. 
 
114 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 "You, the Oneidas, who recline your bodies 
 against the everlasting stone that cannot be moved, 
 shall be the second nation, because you give wise 
 counsel always. 
 
 " You, the Onondagas, who have your habitation 
 at the foot of the great hills and are overshadowed 
 by their crags, shall be the third nation, because you 
 are gifted in speech. 
 
 "You, the Senecas, whose dwelling is in the dark 
 forest and whose home is all over the land, shall be 
 the fourth nation, because of your superior cunning 
 in hunting. 
 
 "And you, the Cayugas, the people who live in the 
 open country and possess much wisdom, shall be the 
 fifth nation, because you understand the art of raising 
 corn and building lodges. 
 
 " Unite, therefore, ye five nations, in one common 
 interest ; then no foe can disturb or subdue you. 
 
 "You, the people who are feeble, and you who 
 are a fishing people, place yourselves under our 
 protection, and we will defend you. And you of the 
 South and of the West, do the same, and we will 
 protect you all. 
 
THE HIAWATHA LEGEND. 
 
 "5 
 
 
 AS HE SAT IN HJS CANOE, LO! THE AER WAS PILLED WITH SWEET MTJSIC. 
 
Il6 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 "Brothers, if we unite in this bond, the Great 
 Spirit will smile upon us, and we shall be free 
 and happy and prosperous. If we remain as we are, 
 we shall be enslaved, ruined, perhaps annihilated. 
 We may perish under the war storm, and our names 
 be no longer remembered by good men, nor be re 
 peated in the song and dance. 
 
 u Brothers, these are the words of Hiawatha. I 
 have spoken. I am done." 
 
 And now that his mission among the Red Chil 
 dren was done, Hiawatha went down to the waters ; 
 and as he sat again in his canoe, lo ! the air was 
 filled with sweet music. Over the lake a soft light, 
 golden and red and purple, fell. The heavens blazed 
 with glory, and away into the flood of light and 
 music Hiawatha drifted. 
 
 Out, out across the lake the people watched him, 
 until the purple mists fell upon the magic canoe and 
 they could see his form no more. For he had gone 
 from them forever their friend, their counsellor, the 
 wise, good Hiawatha. 
 
 " Then they said ' Farewell forever !* 
 Said. 'Farewell, Hiawatha J r 
 
THE HIAWATHA LEGEND. 117 
 
 And the forests, dark and lonely, 
 
 Moved through all their depths of darkness, 
 
 Sighed, 'Farewell, Hiawatha !' 
 
 And the waves upon the margin, 
 
 Rising, rippling on the pebbles, 
 
 Sobbed, l Farewell, Hiawatha !' 
 
 And the heron, the shuh-shuh-gah, 
 
 From his haunts among the fen-lands, 
 
 Screamed, l Farewell, Hiawatha !' 
 
 Thus departed Hiawatha 
 
 Hiawatha, the Beloved. 
 In the glory of the sunset, 
 In the purple mists of evening, 
 To the region of the home-wind, 
 Of the Northwest wind, Keewaydin, 
 To the Islands of the Blessed, 
 To the Kingdom of Ponemah, 
 To the Land of the Hereafter."* 
 
 The Song of Hiawatha. H. W. Longfellow. Houghton, Mifflin & Co, 
 
THE POLE STAR 
 
 The forests were dense ; and the Indians, weary 
 with their days and nights of wandering, lay down 
 by the side of a great river to rest. For many, 
 many moons they had hunted in the forests and on 
 the plains ; but the bad manitos were beside them, 
 and the deer had fled like wind before their swiftest 
 arrows. 
 
 The hunters were famishing ; their chief had 
 fallen ; and they had no canoes with which to cross 
 the river. 
 
 "Let us hold a council," the warriors said. So 
 the council was held ; the tobacco burned brightly ; 
 and the warriors danced about the council fire. 
 Suddenly in their very midst there appeared a cloud 
 of mist. At first it was tall and thin, and reached 
 far up above the tree tops. The warriors forgot 
 their dance, their song, their council fire. They fell 
 upon their faces. "It is a manito," they whispered. 
 
 Then the mist sank lower and lower ; it swept 
 
 118 
 
THE POLE STAR. 119 
 
 across the council circle and came and stood before 
 the burning tobacco. 
 
 For a time it swayed to and fro ; then a form 
 appeared the form of a little child. There was the 
 light of a manito upon its face, and in its hand it 
 held a war-club that shone like fire. 
 
 "I come," said the child, "to guide you safely 
 home. For many moons you have wandered; you 
 are weary, and famine is upon you. But you have 
 been brave warriors; and the Good Spirit forgets 
 not the brave." 
 
 The warriors rose and followed where the little 
 child led. All night long they followed. Then the 
 child turned towards them saying, u Rest now ; and 
 while you sleep a feast shall be prepared for you. 
 Wait here for me ; and when the great sun's light 
 has gone again, I will come to guide you on through 
 another night." 
 
 So the warriors rested and feasted; and when 
 evening came, again the mist descended in their 
 midst, and the child stood again before them. 
 
 And the child bore upon its shoulder, a skin jug 
 and a horn cup, into which she poured a sparkling 
 
120 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 water and bade each warrior drink. And as they 
 drank, a great strength came to them: and they 
 arose and followed the child again. All night long 
 they pressed forward through the forests; and in the 
 morning came out into the open plain with hills on 
 every side. On the plain, herds of deer were brows 
 ing, and from the hillsides fresh sweet waters 
 gushed forth. Here the child left the warriors, 
 promising again to come when darkness fell upon 
 the plain. All day long the warriors drank of the 
 waters and feasted upon the tender venison, and 
 slept in the warm sunlight of the hillsides. 
 
 At night again the mist descended, and the child 
 came out from the cloud. 
 
 41 1 need not guide you across the plain," the child 
 said. " For behold, the Great Spirit has placed a 
 star in the heavens that shall be a guide to you 
 forever. 
 
 " Ti-yn-son-da-go-err ! A star that shall never 
 move ! There in the North it shall stand, sending 
 out its light to guide the Red Children who lose 
 their way in the great forests or on the wide plains. 
 It is the gift of the Great Spirit." 
 
THE POLE STAR. 121 
 
 And as the child pointed towards the northern 
 heavens, behold, a bright star blazed out from the 
 darkness. All night long the Red Children watched 
 the skies. They saw the stars move around the 
 horizon; they saw the stars overhead make their 
 circle in the zenith. But this one new star the 
 star the little child had brought of all the innumer' 
 able company of stars this new star changed not. 
 
 u It is as the little child has told us," the warriors 
 said. 
 
 Then they fell upon their faces and cried, "Ti-yn- 
 son-da-go-err ! Ti-yn-son-da-go-err ! " 
 
 Then they held a great feast and offered sacrifices. 
 And from that night to this the star has stood in its 
 place in the heavens, unchanging and true a guide 
 for the Red Children who wander by night in the 
 forests or out upon the great hunting grounds that 
 stretch from sea to sea. 
 
THE THUNDEEEES. 
 
 "Who are you?" called a strange looking man 
 from out the door of a cave. " Who are you ? " 
 
 A poor half-dead warrior lay upon the rocks be 
 fore the cave. He had fallen from a high precipice, 
 and lay there too weak to move. 
 
 " I am a hunter," the poor warrior answered weakly. 
 
 u And why do you lie here at the door of my cave ?" 
 the strange little man asked again. 
 
 "I must have fallen from the precipice above; for 
 truly it is no wish of mine that I am here." And 
 the poor warrior groaned with pain. 
 
 "You are ill," the strange little man chuckled; 
 and as he spoke the hairs of his beard stood out 
 like porcupine quills. " But I can make you well. 
 I can make you well." 
 
 " I will bring you wood for fire and game for food, 
 if only you will make me well," the warrior groaned 
 again. 
 
 " Fire and food are just what I need," the little 
 
 122 
 
THE THUNDERERS. 123 
 
 man chuckled. " I will make you well." Then he 
 hobbled out from his cave, leaped from rock to rock, 
 and disappeared around a great cliff. Very soon 
 he came leaping back again, looking more like a 
 porcupine than before with the great brushes of 
 bristling herbs in either hand. 
 
 He steeped the herbs in a great kettle, dancing 
 and singing as he stirred it like a medicine-man of 
 the tribe. 
 
 " Drink ! " snapped the little man when at last the 
 medicine was ready. The warrior drank; and as he 
 drank, behold health and strength came back to him. 
 
 "Now go and hunt for me," growled the little old 
 man, his beard bristling with ill-nature. 
 
 The warrior set out obediently; and came back 
 with game enough for two. 
 
 "Very well," the little old man growled. "Now 
 cook it for me." 
 
 For many moons the warrior dwelt in the cave of 
 the old man working for him hunting, cooking, 
 watching the fires. Some times he was very weary ; 
 for the little old man proved a hard master. He 
 longed to get away and to find his way back to his 
 
124 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 
 
 home ; but he was bound by honor to the old man ; 
 for a warrior never breaks a promise. 
 
 At night he would go out into the valley and look 
 up at the sky. And when he saw the Pole star he 
 would say, " That way my home lies." 
 
 And he would think of the warm wigwam and the 
 bright camp fire ; and of the mother and wife and 
 little children who must long ago have given him up 
 as dead. 
 
 The little old man was mysterious. Sometimes 
 the warrior believed there was a spell upon him ; for 
 in the flickering light of the cave fire, he would 
 crouch and crouch, and his beard would bristle and 
 bristle until he seemed like a very porcupine rather 
 than a man. 
 
 At last one day in early spring, when the snows 
 were melting and the rains were heavy, then ap 
 peared before the warrior three tall cloud-wrapped 
 figures. 
 
 u Who are you?" the warrior cried. 
 
 u We are the Thunderers," was the answer thafc 
 rolled back as if from the distant mountain peaks. 
 
 The warrior fell upon his face. 
 
THE THUNDERERS. 125 
 
 " Fear not," the Thunderers called again, this time 
 more softly. " We shall do you no harm. It is our 
 mission to do only good. To bring showers when 
 the fields are dry ; to fill the lakes and rivers ; and 
 even to strike down with lightning flashes people 
 and animals, reptiles and insects that are ill-abiding 
 upon the earth. 
 
 u And to-day we have come to destroy the old 
 man of the cave the man whom you serve, and who 
 is porcupine rather than man, as you shall see when 
 once we shall have lifted the veil from him. 
 
 " But we must have your help. See ! we will slay 
 this great bear for you. Go then to the cave and 
 bid the old man come out to help you drag your 
 game to cave. Once here we will seize upon him 
 and you are then free to go to your own home." 
 
 With joyful heart the warrior hurried to the cave. 
 
 The rain had ceased ; the sun was shining brightly 
 now. The little old man peered out from his dark 
 cave. 
 
 "You are sure there are no clouds in the sky," he 
 asked anxiously. 
 
 "Not one cloud," the warrior answered. 
 
126 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN, 
 
 "And the sun is high?" 
 
 " The sun is midway between sea and mountain." 
 
 Then the little old man crept out. The sky was 
 indeed clear, and the sun was high. He listened 
 closely ; then he hurried forward a few steps only ; 
 then he stopped again to listen. 
 
 "You are sure you have heard no thunder?" he 
 asked in a whisper. 
 
 "You see how clear the sky is," the warrior 
 answered. 
 
 And so at last the old man made his way to where 
 the slain bear lay. 
 
 With greedy, cruel hands the strange old man fell 
 upon it, cut it in pieces and started towards the cave 
 with its skin over his shoulder. 
 
 But just then the thunder rumbled in the distance. 
 
 The old man stopped and stared at the skies. 
 Louder and louder, nearer and nearer the thunder 
 rolled. 
 
 " It is strange," he said, " and the sky so clear." 
 
 Just then a great peal crashed across the skies. 
 It echoed and re-echoed down the valley. With a 
 shriek, the old man threw down the skin and ran. 
 
THE THUNDERERS. 127 
 
 And as he ran, behold he fell upon his fore feet, a 
 great snout pushed forward, quills bristled, and he 
 fled like the wind a man no longer, not even in 
 semblance but the fiercest, ugliest, most terrible 
 porcupine that the Red man had ever seen. 
 
 On, on, the thunders rolled in quick pursuit. 
 Flash after flash burst upon the huge creature who 
 had all his life done only harm to man. One more 
 crash of thunder ! a flash of scorching light ! and the 
 purcupine fell lifeless at the door of his den. 
 
 ''And now, brave warrior," said the Thunderers, 
 you have helped us to rid the earth of one of its 
 greatest evils. You are free now to go home to your 
 own tribe who still mourn your absence." 
 
 Then the Thunderers rose high in the air, and 
 floated away across the mountain tops. But as they 
 rose, ihere floated down their own robe of cloud- 
 garment, settling upon the shoulders of the warrior 
 like a piece of golden sunset glory. 
 
 "Hide this in the forests," the Thunderers mur 
 mured ; "then you may join us when you will and 
 float with us across the skies." And so the warrior 
 became to his people the man of the Golden Cloud 
 
128 LEGENDS OF THE RED CHILDREN. 
 
 Robe ; and when each year the spring returned he 
 would bid his people farewell, go away to the forest 
 where his robe lay hidden, and with it float up 
 to the mountain tops where the Thunderers dwelt. 
 With them he would float, seeking out wrongs to 
 right, the whole long summer time. 
 
 And when the Autumn came and the nights grew 
 long, the people in the wigwams would say, "Sum- 
 mer has gone ; soon he will come back to his people 
 this brave man of the Golden Cloud Robe*" 
 
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
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 J A :n 01976 
 
 1976 
 
 LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS 
 
 Book Slip-50m-5,' 70 ( N6725S8 ) 4-58 A-3 1/5 
 
N9 730019 
 
 PZ7 
 Chadwick, M.L.P. C347 
 
 Legends of the L4 
 red children. 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 DAVIS