St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-03

his had, did as he had done; forthwith there
bounded forth the wolf, which rent the crea-
ton OF ADAM. He struck and the domestic
fowls came forth. EVE did likewise and
gave being to the fox. He made the cattle,
she the tiger; he the dog, she the jackal
The Provencal idea seemed to be that
woman would devour all that man made.
The extravaganza of French females in the
present day can be traced back to the days
when this primitive idea of woman's crea-
ton was formulated in the Provencal
mind.
Turning to our own countryw find
number of myths relative to the first woman.
The prevailing theory among the Indian
tribes is that the Great Spirit, moved with
compassion for man, who was wasting in
solitude on earth, sent heavenly spirit to
be his companion and the mother of his
children. This theory more nearly accords
with that of the good pale face than any
other. However, there are Indian tribes
who tell different tale and assert another
theory. The Nanticockes say that the first
woman was a muslrat. This is getting
pretty well along toward the DARWIN
tradition that the ancestral NanticOcke was
induced by the Manitou to take muskratt to
the edge of a certain lake and dip its feet in
the water and to use an appointed formulary.
Thereupon change took place in the little
animal. Her body was observed to assume
theposture of human being, gradually
erecting itself as Sapling. which having
been bent to the earth resumes its upright
position. When the little creature became
erect the skin began to fall from the head
and neck and gradually unwilling revealed
the maid beautiful as q flOwery meadow on
the blue summer sky, or the north lit up
with the flash of the dancing lights, or the
rainbow which follows the fertilizing
shower. Her hand was scarcely larger than
the hazel leaf and her foot no longer than
that of the ringdove. The NanticOke gazed
with delight on his beauteouS bride and
his qualification was enhanced when he saw
her stature rapidly increase to the proper
tions of human being The Kickapoo
tradition is still more nearly allied to the
DARWIN idea of mans origin, but is not
half so full of sweet sentiment as that of the
Nanticoke. The KickapOO belief is that
the first men had tails. Very handsome
tails they were, covered with long silky
hair. The ancestral men became too proud
of their tails and spent too much of their
time lolling around the doors of their wig
vans in the golden autumn evenings
painting and adjoining them. They plated
the tail into beautiful tresseS and wOve
bright beads and shells and wampum with
the hair. At last the Great Spirit grew
angry because the men forgot him in their
idolatrous devotion of the beautiful and be-
loved appendage. An avenging spirit was
sent to the tribe to demand an instant sac
rifce of the cherished member as forfeit
for their oblivion to the Great Spirit.
AS tail after tail was laid upon
the block and amputated the avengng
spirit took them up and converted them
into vain, noisy, chattering, frisky women.
In support of his theory of woman's crea-
ton the Kickapoo to-day will point to the
fact that woman still retains indications of
her origin. She is beloved as of yOre; she
is still beautiful, with flowing hair; still
devoted to trinketry. Still is she frisky
and vivacious; and still as of old does she
follow after man, dangling after him, hang
ing on to his heels, and can only be separ-
ated from him through the agency of an
evil spirit.
There is a half-breed cosmogony that
woman is compounded of three articles,
sugar, tincture of arnica and soft soap.
There are various other cosmogonies eluci-
dated from internal convictions, assisted by
all modern appliances of table rapping and
clairvoyancy. But, after all, it is pleas
anter to stick to the old Mosaic account that
charming woman is made from our ribs,
which we know come very close to our
hearts, and thus to account for the mutual
sympathy of man and woman, and thereby
to account for that compassion and tender
ness that man feels for her, and also for the
way in which she flies to mans side as her
true resting place in peril and doubt.