The times., 1899-07-23
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tribal customs, which form a somewhat
formidable barrier between the average stu
dent and the average book OF folklore, the
Indian legends prove essentially poetic and
beautiful. Here for instance, is a tale of
Lake Superior and an Indian who under
the guidance OF Matchi Manitou, the Indian
| devil who lived at the bottom of the lake,
secured charm giving him all power. The
outcome was tragic. The Matchi Manitou
/ promised to give him more power each
time he was called on but demanded one
! of the Indians children as a price. The
events which followed are thus described:
Though obscure till then, the man took on i'm
] portance in his tribe. He increased in size and
strength, and did such killing in the war and
/ hunt that they made chief Of him. He read
the future 50 clearly that he became the leading
! prophet. His spoils in war and his levies in
! peace so grew that he had TO build the largest
lodge in the country TO hold his furs, his arms,
his embroidered clothing, his wampum his cop
per implements and ornaments, his store OF
maize, dried fruit and meat, his carved pipes
and tobacco. He had more dogs than any other
man He took TWO new wives lie painted his
face and dyed his feathers with more brilliant
coloTs than his neighbcrs had ever seen. His
lodge-coverng gay with pictures. With each
increase in strength he assumed more command.
until at last he became a tyrant obeyed, but
only through fear, met with dark looks followed
with scowls When he absent people gath
cred in knots and whispered. He returned to
the lake for new strength and new favors, and
one after another his children disappeared At
the last he called to Matchi Manitou in vain, for
he could offer more sacrifice. He began to
waste, fever laid hold on him, the wives he
had bought barter fed when they thought
il safe to do so, for they had never loved Him.
his wealth began 10 melt under pressure Of his
needs, his proud spirit failed, and the common
scorn was no longer whispered. Deserted, feeble
filled with pains, impotently raging at his fate
he resolved on one last appeal. He went to the
lake, beat it with his medicine stick and began
his chant Yes! he was heard Again the wa
ter began to swirl; il rose about him; it swept
him from his feet, it whirled him 10 the vor-
tex and with one despairing cry he was sucked
into the depths
A great many of the legends. however,
are more comic than tragic or romantic.
Here is New Brunswick legend which has
a humorous side:
Students in the university at Fredericton,
had organized a glee club, which for
its own slfety's sake did most of its singing in
cant farms and graveyards and one
night it shifted the scene 10 a place in the
woods, having noticed certain threatening exhi-
biiions on the part OF citizens near the places OF
its other rehearsals AS it happened they had
posted themselves beside the grave of a certain
French general, and they had not been at work
than ten minutes before this officer scram-
bled out of the earth with hair on end, tears
in his eyes and distraction in his aspect. He
adlured them by ali they held saered-if people
who made such noises could hold even the Ten
Commandments sacred-to go and sing to the
others II only they would let him alone he
would tell them where n cannon had been hid
den with which they could create a less ter
rible noise, though louder one, than they were
engaged in making. They accepted the bribe,
imperiled their lives and those Of other people
by practicing elsewhere. and found the gun, so
that Fredericton had, for a time, two kinds
of disturbances instead OF
It will be seen from this narrative that
Mr.. Skinner is fully capable of appreciating
the fun of some of his stories. There is
also good deal of history in the book. in
spots. II will interest students of United
American Colonial days to know
that the famous raid made on Deerfeld,
Mass, by the French and Indians was
made primarily to recover a bell which
had been captured by the English from
ship which was bringing 1t to the Indians
on Caughnawaga. The congregation of
Father Nicholas, at that place, had con-
tributed enough beaver, fox, and otter
skins to buy the bell, and it had a proper
inscription on the side, which inscription
was carefully filed off by the Puritan cap
tors. When it was discovered that the
bell was at Deerfeld, the raid followed;
and Father Nicholas accompanied the raid
ers and secured his treasure. 1t was car
ried as far as Lake Champlain and buried:
anu spaAIb IL Was up
and carried to its original destination, the
Saut 81. Louis Church of Caughnawaga,
opposite Montreal. The people met the
bearers of the bell as they emerged from
the forest, wreathed it in flowers and bore
it triumphantly TO the belfry.
Again, there are some curious records of
the impressions which the early explorers
got of the country, so utterly strange to
them. Telling of the st. Lawrence, Mr..
Skinner says:
Farther north is race that frightened back
the first explorers, people who had only one
leg apiece, and not stomach among them all.
They lived on scenery.
1t will be seen from these extracts that
the book is Of an entertaining as well as
A useful character. Some of the stories and
traditions might well be woven into less
matter-of-fact and more enduring form
philadelphia: ]. B. Lippincott Company.
s125.)