Barre evening enterprise. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-1898, 1898-05-13
FATE OF THE RIPAS.
A STORY OF THE REVENGE OF THE
GREAT SPIRIT.


of the Indians of Texas Told by an Eri-
grammatical Guide.
The Indian had been recommended to
me as the best hunter in the San Ber-
.rd bottoms. For two days we had
lem in pursuit of big game.
| was after the second day of the
hunt that we camped on the banks Of a
small creek to the west Of Hinkle's fer
rv The Indian busted himself with the
coffee, while sat idly by and thought
~ II the incidents of the day.
had been told my companion was q
laranchua and that he had more knowl-
edge of the history of his people than
ouv member of his tribe now living. He
spoke as good English as white man,
but his sentences were generally short
and opigrammatic.
"Rcbar, said, "the hunting is very
rocd i'll these bottoms when you consider
how long the country has been settled :"
"No," he replied, game nearly gone
now. soon 10 more. b"
"Was there good hunting here when
rou were boy:' l asked.
"Much" he replied.
81 have heard" said /, "that there
is legend among your people that long
sro. before the white man came into
this country, there was one great river
in this land, that it was mighty
stream and that its course was through
the ted Of what is now the Caney."
at is so, said the Indian.
"And | have heard" continued,
"that when the white man digs his
wells he sometimes finds limbs of great
trees and pieces of pottery and bows and
arrows and fints that were used long
/ years ago by your people.
at is SO" said the Indian.
"What is the legend that your people
havc:' inquired.
my father told ne, and the great
chief Mockwilhunl, told my father"
said the Indian, THAT it is SO. There
was one river. 1t was the Caney. My
people, the Caranchuas, lived to the
asst The Lepans, the Tawakanies and
the Eipas lived to the west. The Wa
GOES lived to the north. My people hunt
ed but the game. The Ripas were pow
erful They made war on the Lepans
and drove them far to the west. They
stole the cattle and horses of my people.
There was a great BATTLE in which
many of my people were killed. The
Eipas drove the Caranchuas far to the
east. They stole the young squaws of
the Caranchuas and killed the boys.
~ l,nI 20 Ia
tie squaws that were left. All the coun-
try of my people was held by the Kipas.
The Caranchuas had to flee to the is
lands by the sea. Still the Ripas pur-
sued my people. The Caranchuas were
but few the Ripas were many.
ut was not only my people the Ri
pas murdered and plundered. The Ia
wakanies and the Wacoes lost all their
cattle, and their young sqraws were
taken by the Ripas until none but the
Ripas were in all this country.
The Great Spirit was angry with
the Ripas but the Ripas thought they
we're more powerful than the Great
Spirit. The Great Spirit sent messen-
ger to the Ripas and told them they
must send back the squaws they had
stolen and must make war no more On
my people or on the Tawakanies or the
Lepans or tie Wacoes. The Ripas held
council, and they decided to make war
On the Great Spirit. When they went
to tell the messenger that they detled
the Great Spirit and challenged him tc
battle, the messenger had disappeared.
They searched the woods and they
searched the great river, they searched
the prairie and they searched the sky,
Int they could not find the messenger.
He left no trail.
"Thon they had much fear that they
had demo wrong, and some chiefs want
ed to make peace with the Great Spirit.
Again they had council, but while they
held talk the heavens opened, the rain
fell, the sky seemed all atire, the thun'
der roared, and the messenger appeared
in fame of lightning. The Ripas fell
lpon the earth and begged the Great
Spirit for mercy. But it was too late.
rhe rain poured down and the lightning
flashed, the ground shook and the thun
der crashed. Soon all the earth was Gov
cred with water. The Ripas ran to the
.rees. Still the water rose. Then the
wind blew down the trees, and many OF
he Ripas were killed or drowned. The
waters rose higher and higher, and the
rain and. the thunder and the lightning
lasted many days There was no eartl
mere. All was water.
Then tho Great Spirit smiled, FOL
the Ripas were no more. They were
gone All had died in the waters. A
messenger came to my people, who were
down on the islands by the great sea
and told them the Great Spirit had sem
food to punish the Ripas and that my
people could return to their lands.
"When the Caranchuas went to thell
lands, they found all changed. Where
aad been the great river there was bu
Ne small river That is now the Caney
What had been tn great river is now
TWO rivers One VI call the BRACES
lhut is to the east. The other is to th'
west; that you call the Colorado. Al
;he land between these two rivers wa
given to my people by the Great Splrl
Tor hunting ground. "-Galveston Cor
Philadelphia Times.
How He Defined Hope.
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