Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1892-02-11

woman has a outer tub. They be-
lieve that the man was put there be-
cause.he strewed thorns and brambles
on the church path, 50 as to prevent
the people from attending mass on sun
day morning; the woman because she
made butter on that day.
Instead of a man and a woman, the
Swedish peasantry have placed a boy
and girl in the moon. They say that
the luminary kidnapped them as they
were carrying water for their mother,
and accordingly the children are sup
posed TO be carrying pail Of water be-
tween them. The same legend also ex-
lists in Icelandic mythology.
The natives of CeylOn explain the
lunar spot as representing hare. The
manner in which it got there is thus
explained: Buddha. the great deity,
while a hermit on the earth, got lost in
the forest one day. In great anxiety
he wandered about until he met a
hare, who addressed him in the follow
ing manner: 1T is in my power to ex-
tricate you from your difficulty. Take
your left hand path, and it will lead
you out Of the forest"
81 am greatly obliged to you, said
Buddha. but unfortunately am very
poor and very hungry, and | have moth
ing TO offer you as reward for your
kindness"
IF you are hungry, returned the
hare, ~ am again at your service.
Make fire, kin me, roast me and eat
me {"
Buddha built fse, and the hare
jumped into it, but instead of eating it,
re prayed that the generous animal
might be placed in the moon, and
there it has remained ever since.
The North American Indians have
many pretty traditions regarding the
people who live in the moon. Among
the Mandans the moon was regarded
as the residence of 1.-THE old woman
that never dies, the goddess of maize
and of fruits, she who wears a
white band from the front to the
back Of her head" Sine - said to have
six children, three sons and three
daughters. Tho eldest son is the day,
the second is the sun, and the third S
the night. The eldest daughter is the
morning star. and they call her 1.-The
woman who wears a plume;" the sec
ond is the high star which revolves
around the pole; the third daughter is
the woman of the west " the evening
star
Most beautiful of all is the fancy OF
the Ojibways, who think they see in the
moon the graceful form OF the beauti.
full Ne-she-kay- be-nais, or the Lone
Bird. She was the daughter of a chief.
and all the young braves wanted to
marry her, but she had no love only
for her father, and would not listen to
their addresses. At last her father
died, and Ne-she-kay- felt
all alone in the world. Then she
looked up to the full moon, and cried:
Would that had such as thee to love.
o Beautiful orb! then would the Lone
Bird sorrow no longer in her loneli.
ness
The Great Manitou was so pleased
with the fidelity and pity of the maiden
that he Immediately transferred her to
the bosom of the moon, where she still
lives to look down upon the daughters
of her nation.
l might relate to you many more Of
these sir sular stories, but these must
do for one time. | shall not tell you
just what | think / have seen myself,
but I merely give you the myths to
think about, and leave it to your own
bright eyes, blue and black, gray and
hazel, to picture for themselves the
folks who live in the moon. - Frederick
Myron Colby. in Examiner