The weekly American banner. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1855-18??, 1856-06-27
aHush! The Naked Bear will get theel"(p. 4o).

When will mothers and grandmothers be impress
sed with the impropriety of exciting the credu-
lous fears of infants, which is so calculated to re-
suit in effeminacy and timidity?
sand he sang the song of children,
Sang the song Nokomis taught him." Up. AZ.
Here Nokomis is entitled to higher commenda-
ton than Mother Goose, whose songs, we declare
it not in spirit of irreverence are sometimes al
most, if not altogether, devoid of ineligible
meaning, while some mean impossible things as
the vaulting of a cow over the lunar orb, and the
elopement OF dish with spoon. Such things
are calculated to engender those preposterous inn
aginings which SO frequently, as age advances,
ripen into the monstrosities which are misnamed
poetry. The "song of children" which Nokomis
taught the little Hiawatha, had at least defua-
BILE idea, addressing the lightning bug as "whte.
fire insect" and civy soliciting the benefit of its
repose.
Dead he lay there in the forest" (p.47.
Hiawatha had but recently claimed "al the
beasts as his brothers. If he chose thus to
make beast of himself, he should not have imi-
tated the example of the primogenial fratricide,
Cain, by Staying his brother, "the rel deer.'
"Soon he reached the fiery serpents
The Kenabeek, the great serpents.' (p. ll4).
Here the learned reader will be reminded, not
so much of the fiery serpents which harrassed the
lsraelites. as of the serpent Python, the Hydra,
and other like monsters, that were slain by the
heroic knights errant, the Hiawathas of oldcn
| times.
"They remained as little people,
Like the pigmies the Puk-Wudjies." (p. 179)
The erudite reader will remember that Puck
or Robin Goodfellow, held a prominent position
among the dramatis persona of Shakespeare
f" Midsummer Nights Dream" He seems te
have been the valet de chambre and eou,t-jester O.
Puck, being probably an abreviation of Puk
Wudiy, we conjecture that Oberon's subjects were
of the same race with the aboriginal pigmies 0
our continent. or at least that Puck was of tha
race, and emigrated. On either hypothesis ther
were communications between the American an
4 European continents, among these diminutive be
ings before the days of Christopher Columbus
"Then IagO0, the great b0aster,
He the marvellous story teller" Up. 4D.
This Iagoo was no doubt the ancestor of til
Iago of Shakespeare, the latter having dropped
the terminal q, but not the story telling propen
sity Of his progenitor, who is subsequently pro
nounced an immense liar, or one who told, in th
language of our poet, "immeasurable falsehoods,
insomuch that CHS name became by-word, an
jest among the people" Up. Isl, 1927. TIL
retinements of civilization caused the Venitia
Iago to be less barefaced and more malevolent
his falsehoods; to deal more in inuendo, and /
seek, not so much his own aggrandization, as I'll
: detriment of those who incurred his animositv.
> "Would you listen to his boastings,
II None could run so fast as he could,
e None could dive SO deep as he could,
:. None could swim so far as he could" (p. 152
= These boastings OF Iagoo the wonderful storytelc
!. are remarkably similar to the bobance which "
have heard from descendants of Japhet, when inf
med with alcoholic potations, and corybantic pr
clvity toward belligerent pastime. Thus we ha
e known one to enuncate with the greatest web
mence, that he could run faster, jump farthe
dive deeper, and come out dryer than any 9th
resident of his immediate vicinity. We wou
[. suggest the addition of these ideas, thus, "Nol
IL could jump so far as he could, None could di
!" so deep as he could, None come out so dry as
is could"
e, "Swift of foot was Hiawatha;
in He could shoot an arrow from him,
-. And run forward with such feetness
4 hot fbn e ,s,J fv,1a
II 1t may be supposed, by the skeptical read
!, that this was mere punerile trick of Hiawaths
: and consisted ir turning and running in the opI
: site direction from the arrow, which the slow
might do. This would be catachrestical int
probation Of this psssage unworthy the dignity
the epopee. Nor is this to be regarded as incr
ible as though the poet had said that Hiawa
could run backward, yet outstrip the arrows fig
'er With due appreciation of veresimility, it is s
II that he ran forward. In performing this expl
ne it was important that he should keep in a Ri
NC line, parellei to the arrows course, or should
q, slacken his speed until he was beyond the arro
NJ fight; for il he veerei within the sagitary Sc
~ and stopped, he would inevitably shoot himself
~ the back. His feetness was probably equal
% that of Lightfoot, of whom mention is made
the memoirs Of Fortunio aud whose velocity
" 20 excessive that he had to mitigate it by ty
both Of his feet together that he might not ID
behind him all the game which be pursued.
ner descendants, Of whom there are several branc
I'M ere not remar cable for speed With the celeb
ms Of Lightfoot. Hiawatha combined strength
.ss surpassed BY that Of bis friend Kwasnd, heres
nas mentioned.