Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-05-17


ted states. The other day was told, nc
by an old granny, but by man fairly edu
Gated and endowed with a very unusus
amount of good common sense, that a rattle
snake will sooner go through fire than cree
over ash leaves or into the shadow of an ash
tree. Exactly the same statement is mad
ny PlIny, who adds that if you draw circI
with an ash rod around the spot of groun,
On which snake is lying, the animal mns
Ole OF starvation, being as effectually impris
oned as UgolInO in the dungeon at Pisa. Il
Cornwall it is believed that blow from al
ash stick will instantly kill any serpent
The ash shares this virtue with the haze
and fern y Swedish peasant will tell yor
that snakes may be deprived of their venom
| ny touch with a hazel wand and wher
an ancient eek had occasion to make his
he'd IN the woods, he selected fern leaves il
possible, in the belief that the smell Of them
would drive away poisonous animals
Bnt the benefcent character Of the light
ning appears still more clearly in another
class Ul myths. To the primitive man the
shaft of light coming down from heaven was
typical Of the original descent OF fire for the
ben,tt and improvement of the human race
Fhr Sioux Ii dams account for the origin OF
fire by myth Of unmista kable klnsbip
they FAY that - their first ancestor obtained
his fire from tie sparks which a fIit ndly
uani her struck from the rocks as he scam
pcred up a stony hill y This panther il
o'viOusy he counterpart Of the Aryan bird
which drops schamir. But the Aryan mag
nation hits upon a far more II marks CON
ceItIun The ancient HinduF Obtained fire
by process similar TO that employed by
count RumfoId IN lis experiments on the
seuer-i ION Of heat by friction. Trey first
wound couple OF cords around a pointed
L.
he ore would wind up the other, and then,
placing the point Of The stick against cir
rular disk nl wood, tWirled it rapidly by al
cFDate pulls on the two strings This in
-trument - called a rhdrh, and Is still used
10 south Africa. / IN Australia IN Sum
itra. and among the Neddahs Of Ceylon
tie RUSSIANS found 1t in kumtchatka anu
it was iuImerly employed IN America, from
Labrador To the Straits OF Magellan The
uIudus churncd milk by similar process 4
tHd IN order L. plain the thunderstorm. "A
>anskrt poem tells how " once upon n time,
tie Dcvas, or g1ds, and their opponents. the
AeuiaS, made truce. and J med togethe'
n churuIng the ocean II procure HmTITb. Tie
iruk of Immortality. Tiey took hounI
Nlandara for churrIUg stick. and wrapping
nc great serpent ), stia round It for a rope,
hey made the mountain spin !, und To arc
To. the d.. vas Iullug At tie serTent : tail,
ird the AsuTa~ at its fead. In this +.
myth the churniug stick, with IT. hying ser
.ent-crIds. IS the lightning, and the amrItA.
r drink ot immortality, is SIMPLY the rain
water, which IN Aryan folklore possesses
he same healing virtues 40 The Lightning
d In Sclayuuic myths 1t IS the water OF life
which ret res tie dead earth. a water
ro ght by hird from the depths OF a
IOomv cave - lt j. the celestial soma OF
,.I. .t.lt tEIr1 .
III r, -al nectar &c tie Oiympian gods it Is
be CHARMED water " hich III the Arabian
81 ght> lt>toics to human shape thr victims
wicked sorccrcrs and it is the elixir Of
le which medieval philosophers tried te
iscoyer. and in quest Of which Ponce de
con trayersed the wi.ds Of Florida
The most interesting point in this Hindu
Iyth Is the name Of the peaked mountain ,
landara, or Manthara, which the gods and
evils took Tor their chuTDIng stick The q
ord means ga churuiDg- g-suck, - and il au- :
ears also. with prehxed proposition, ID
le name Of the tirc-drill, pramdutha. Now .
uhu has proved that this name, pra,nahtha, d
erymclogi .aliy identical with Prometheus, :
.c name VI the bcncfcent Titan, who stole r
e from heaven and bestowed 1t upon man h
ind as the richest OF bOonF. This suhlim. e,
was originally nothing but the I
.ltstial drill which churns FIRE out Of the :.
ouds but the Greeks had 80 entirely lor- y
,tten his origin that they interpreted his =
sme as meaning - the one who thinks be- u
- and accredited him with a broth Z
!. Epimetheus. or 1.-The one who thinks too \
te. The Greeks had adopted another r
me. mn anon, for tLeir tire-drIll, and thus II
e primitive character OF PrOmetheus be- q
me Ubscured- :
have SAID above that it was regarded as \,
,soluetly essential that the diyiuIng-roG a
ouId be iorked. 10 this rule, how ever, d
ere was one except on, and II any further A
Ideuce lie Lee ded to convince tie most r
eUtIcaI II at the dIylnlng rod Is nothing h
IJ II eymbJI OF the lightning, that e1cep-
ori/ viii furnish such eviGcLce For this
cepIonal kIpd OF divInIng- rod 3 made
a Ioiutcd stick rotating IN d block Of wood,
d Il Wac tie utsence Of hidden water OF 4
asure which Was supposed 10 excite the
tatory motion.
In tie myths relating to Prometheus, the =,
-titnug-gUd appears as the originator OF
.InzatIun, souo tunes as the creator OF the
uau Iuce, and always as It's friend, II sui @
.ing in It's behalf the most fearful tOrtuIes II
The hanus ut the Jealous Zeus. In one &c
~ be creates man by making clay I'M II
t and Iniusing INTO II d spark OF the hIe "
l,cu he had brought from heaven in an &C
her story ne Is himself the first man. In Il
e PeiclunLesIan my th PhorUneus, Who II II
-,nieti Gus unuer another name, Il the first u
IL and his mother was an ash-tIee- In LII
IRE NY thOlUgy, also, the gods were ealc TO az
ve made the hist man cut ol the ash-tIee
.udtuen The ASSOCIATION Ui the heavenly pl
wIth tie Ite-givlng forces Of natufe IS VI
y common IL the myths OF both hemi ID
leles, and IN view the facts already W
ed II need not surprise US. Hence the pl
udu ARM and the Morse Thor were pat IL
> ot marIIugr, and IN Norway, the most W
ky diy Oh which - be married - stII he
,,,reI 10 be IhuIhday, which IN old tim' or
. the day of tie fl e-gOd II Hence the ui
ltniug-I L. nts ave divers viItues IN mat be
: ler,aIn,ng ~ marriage. The RomaLs
de Inelr cdd.ug torches oi Nhitethorn
,el-Iuts are stIll used over Europe IN di- =,
atluls relating to the future lover OF ~
?, tb,art: IS and under a UIstletOC bOugh % %
: allowable Ior gentleman To KISS d lady .'
vast Lumber OF kindred puPersEItIons are -,
.clIbed by Mir. Kelly, 10 whom ] am IN
TED lur many vi these examples. -,
bus We 7, ach at last tie CON pleted con- -
zion OF the OWNING or 1t is called u -
tins sense the wIsh-rUd with It's kindred -
,sInans. from AIaddIns lamp and the =
- oi Is, DIRE idin nassa , to the S-Dgreai, =.
philuso, he. . stone, nd the gOulets oi -,
erun and IrstTam. 1h,ss symbols Oi -
Ieprvdu,t.ve energies Oi nature, which
Kelly, Indo- European Folklore, pP l47, lt5' -
l53. "a
Brnton. rs tbs OF inc New World, p. Isl. re
galloway, Zulu Nursery kTales, i. l75, Note : IL
TyIor LaIIy History OF Mankind, p 23e. L.,
Jacky's nest proceeding was 10 get s.me uty nj
,r1,.;- ;istonIslrncnt lie lighted thus: He got ~
* Of wood, the mIadle Of which be maqe mao 10
-tne1 fhe MONT INTO The block, worked ltIound
!, cen ms Palms some time and with lncleas- "
r4ti,iitv Presently there came smell ol DuIn- Cl
I.,i1d and soon after i burst flame at the Il,
~ nf contact. Jacky cut slices OF shark ana ~
= 80 % ,bS1n 5-Reade Never too Late 10 Mend, co