Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-12-25

monkey possesses no Imagination
without Imagination there can be M
ghost. The man and the ghost must hav'
begun TO exist in the world together
practically. To the primeyal savage a.
TO the Indian OF to-day. everything hac
It's phantasmal essence, so TO speak. ant
the essence was more important than the
external properties OF the object. From
this point OF view a thing has a tangible
shell. but within it is contained a potency
of spirit. This latter is the ghost. which
is at liberty to leave the object when 4
wishes. OF course. the savage has q
ghost OF his own, Of which lie is vaguely
conscious.
Among the most appalling spooks that
| haunt the Iroquois is a carnivorous ghost
in the shape of a skeleton. Echo. In
| their belief, is a species OF phantom.
| which repeats their words mockingly
| among the hills. Particularly malevO.ent
| spirits are certain huge heads, without
| bodies. that go flying about, their long
| hair serving them in lieu Of wings. The
| Indians generally believe in supernat-
| ural beings corresponding to our fairies
and COLLINS, which have local abiding
places well recognized as such. They
l call them the Little People"
Near tho junction Of the Illinois ana
Mississippi rivers is a great rock. on
which is carved a representation OF a
panther. Up TO a very recent period,
and until the Indians were driven out
Of that part of the country. they a
sacrifices regularly to this ~sculptured
animal, believing that the rock was the
home of Ancient of all the Painters.
This custom of theirs was evidently very
old. inasmuch as il is referred to by
Marquette.
THE ORIGIN OF NIAGARA FALLS
Formerly there dwelt under Niagara
Falls a gigantic snake, which now and
then would make it's way to an Indian
village in the neighborhoOd and coil It.
self around the town. 1t swallowed the
people who tried to escape, and rendered
itself further obnoxious by poisoning the
wells with its spittle. Finally the serpent
was destroyed by a stratagem. 1t was so
huge that when the people laid its body
out I'm death it stretched over more than
twenty arrow-fights. Indeed, when
thrown into the river it was too large to
pass the rocks, so that it became wedged
in between them, and the waters rose
over IL, thus f%ashioning the horseshoe,
which remains to this day.
The Cherokees are very much AFRAID
of certain mythical horned alltgators
which are supposed to reside I'm several
different places in deep holes in the
rivers. There is one locality in Okla
homa where a creature of this description
has an underground TUNE from one river !
to another. In the southern Allegheny
region, on the dividing ridge, Is an en-
chanted lake that is the haunt Of several
animals possessed Of magic |
powers. one of these is a great snaSe |
which has the power OF fascinating Us |
human victim. and Il is so poisonous that |
a single drop of it's spittle falling upon |
a person is death. Equally formidable |
IS an enormous leech which lives in the |
Hiwassee river. in the same country. Oc-
sionally, a certain ledge of rock is eX-
posed when the water is low, and any
one who attempts to walk across is in
sucked down.
In the Indian mythology nearly every
animal is descended from an ancestral
giant of ferocious n dangerous attrl-
Jutes, which was finally destroyed by
tribal hero. The KiOwas, for eX-
ample, say that the deer used TO be a
,ery terrific creature-more so, indeed,
han the panther, being equally fierce
md with superior running powers. In
Mexico is, or rather was, a lake, |
low long dried up. When the Indians
irst came TO that part Of the country
many Of them who ventured TO approach
he lake were dragged into IL and destroy
ID by a mysterious agency. But at length
here came along a god who dried up the
water. and found at tho bottom Of IL an
enormous frog, which was responsible for |
he mischief. There were also a great |
many little frogs, but they were left UNI
injured, being harmless, as they are to-
day.