Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-12-21
CHIPPEWAS HAD MORALS.
Noble Red Men Had at Least q Pre-
cepts Before They Met White Men.

| 1t may surprise many to learn that
| the Chippewa Indians were governed
| by moral commandments before they
came in contact with white races. An
| drew j. Blackbird, the educated son
of an Ottawa chief. has translated y
/, of these precepts into English. and
they are interesting because of tn
| crudity and quaintness of the thoughts
expressed by them.
| The following are some of the most
| interesting:
Thou shalt immerse thy body into
| the lake or river at least 10 days il,
succession in the early part of the
spring of the year, that thy body may
| be strong and swift of foot to chase
the game and on the warpath.
Thou shalt be brave and not fear
| any death. Look up to the skies often
by day and by night, and see the sun
| moon and stars which shneth in the
| armament, and think that the Great
Spirit is looking upon thee continu-
ally
Thou shalt not mimic or mock any
| mountains or rivers, or any prominent
formation of the earth, and thy life
| Shah OC SOltlHudlly III IidZdIu IL lHOu
| shouldst provoke the anger of these
deities. Thou shalt not commit murder
while thou art in dispute with any
| neighbor, unless it be whilst on the
| warpath"
Thou shalt disfgure thy face with
charcoals, and fast at least 10 days Or
more of each year. whilst thou are yet
young. or before thou reachest 20. that
thou mayest dream of thy future
destiny
That there is a strong religious ten
dency in the uncivilized Chippewa is
exemplified by the story of Tshusick.
an Ojibway woman who travelled on
foot and in the middle of winter from
Detroit to Washington that she might
find an instructor who would teach her
how to worship the Great Spirit in 4
proper manner.
This savage, reared among her own
wild people in the distant regions of
the northern lakes spoke with fiuency
| and precision in the French tongue on
the great doctrine of sin, repentance
and atonement and was possessed of
such delicacy of feeling that she de-
sired none but her instructor to hear
her thoughts on what she considered
too sacred subject for public COM
ment.
That great deal of superstition
enters into their makeup is we'll
known Perhaps the most interesting
| anecdote in proof of this fact is the
/ legend of the discovery of the source
| of the great waters the Mississippi
river. a Chippewa squaw went down
to the river to wash the family cloth
ing. She bethought her of some neces-
sary but forgotten article and returned
to the wigwarm leaving her papoose on
the rivers bank When she returned
the child was missing.
few days after this event a pair of
Indian lovers We're seated on the side
of mountain over whose surface the
head waters of the Mississippi flow. OF
a sudden they heard cries of a child
and discovered that they had their
origin in the interior of the mountain.
This fact being reported to the medi-
cine men of the tride search was in
stituted with the result that Ions
passaseway was discovered starting in
the bed of the river and extending I'M
der the mountain to it's center where
Tic SiiIu was loulu anu IeScutu IIoiI
two dragons whose place of abode the
passageWay was, and whose occupa-
ton was stealing children and secret
ing them in the bosom of the noun
tain from whence their tears rose to
the surface and formed the source of
the mighty stream.
The Chippewas believe in many pro-
verbs that might be practiced with
good results by the white faces" One
of these declares that to talk about
ones self decreases the stature of the
| egotist in proportion to the amount of
talking done.