Baton-Rouge gazette. [volume] (Baton-Rouge, La.) 1819-1856, 1840-10-17
MTS CT II Y.
!, = - IDS.

49, ss'sA H2s0O bU0 Utu
hs",,"ss, turned sgs .,sts =, sss
of whose encampmsnfys passed ia the
course Of the day; and anecdotes were given Of
their prowess insWM and Jex,crily ia hpslhng.-
They used to be deadly foes d The Osascs, Who
stood - great awe Of their desperate vaIor. tho92b
they Mere eptto attribute il 10 q whimf
"Look a. them Dclawares." won
'.dey got short leg-no can Tun-m1
Eight q great heap" In fact. the d.
rrtiter .eltort legged, while the Ossees Ere fslEaik
ksb!e for length of limb. The expeditions Of the
Delawarrs, . neither of war or hunting are wide and
(earless. A small band Of them will penetrate
sisr ints ,hssa dangerous and hostile wilas.. end
nj push their encampsaenis even to the Rocky
Mountains. This daring may be, in some meas
ure, encouraged by one ofthe superstiiions Of their
creed. They believe that. .. g~uatdidn spirit. in
the form Of a great eagle. watches ossr them, hover
ing in the sky far out Of sight. Sometimes, when
well pleased with them, be wheels down into, the
lower regions, aud may be seen circiing with wide
spread wings against the white clouds. Al such
times the seasons are propitious; tho corn grows
fnelyj and they have great success 10 hunting
Sometimes, however, he is angry; and then he
vents his rage in thunder, which il his voice, and
the lightning, which is the fash Of his eye, sna
strikes dead the object Of his Jisplessure. The
Delaware males sacrifices to The sriiit. who coca.
sionally lets drop a feather from his wing, ~ 10
ken of satisfaction. These feathers render The
warrior invisible and invuinerable. Indeed, the
Indians generally consider ne. feathers Of the
eagle possessed Of occult and sovereign virtues
Al cns tine a party Of Delaxares, in the course
of a bold incursion into the .Pa.nee hunting
grounds, were satrQcnJed on che Of the great
plains, and nearly destroyed. The remnsn. took
refuge on the summit of one Of those isolated and
conical hills that rise almost like artificial mounds
from the lrnaids. Of the .~prairies. .HTeta the. chief
warrior, driven. almost TO despair, sacrificed IFS
horse to the tu.elar spirit. Suddenly an enor.
nous eagle, rushing down from the sky, bore OF
he victim in his talons. and amounting into the
dropped . quill fss.her from his wing. The
caugh, j, Up with joy. bound i 10 hs. 4fore.
head, and leading his followers down the hill cut
bis way through his enemy with great slaughter
md without any one Of his party receiving o
wound.
Another Indian legend may follow here:
"A thunder storm on . prairie, as upon the
ocean, derives grandeur and sublimity from the
Wild and boundless waste over which il RACES md
bellows. 1t is not surprising thst these awful
phenomena Of nature should be objects Of super
',i,ious reverence TO the poor savages, and that
hey should consider the thunder the sngry voice
# the Great Spirit. As our half breeds sat sos-
tipping round HE Ere, l drew from them some Of
he notions entertained on the subject by their
indian friends. The latter de Hare that exiinguish.
d thundsf-bolts are sometimes picked up by
,unters on the p~rsifies. who used them for the
leads Of arrows and lances; snd that any war
ior thus armed il insincihle. Should . thunder
torn occur, however. during battle, be il liable to
y carried by the thunder. and never heard Of
more. A warrior Of the Konzs tribe, hunting on
prairie, was over.aken by . storm. and struck
own senseless by the thunder. On recovering
. beheld a thunder bolt lying on the ground and
horse standing beside it. Snsiching up the
OF. be sprung upon the horse, but fopnd, too late
rat he had bestrode the lightning. In an instant
Q was whiskc9 away over prairies and forests, +;
nd streams and deserts. until be was flung sense
atihs foot Of the Rocky Mountains, from ,
hence, on recovering. il took him several
to return to hip own people: .. -.
This story reminded ne Of an fodidi tradition. +.
slated by a traveller, Of the fate ola varrior. who
w the thunder lying upon the ground. with q
s~autifuliy wrought moccassin on each sd. Fl il. :
linking he had found a prize, he put on The /,
bit they bore him away 10 tho land /,
spirits. from whence be never returned. These j
. simple snd sr,ls.s tales; bot they had.a wild :
ID romantic interest when heard from the lips ].
half savage nsrrators. round . hunters FIRE in 81 !
night. with . forest on one side and a !
waste on The other; and where. perad. /,
'nfure. savage foes nigh. be lurkins in the outer
n