The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-02-25

II q N.4croKee must shoot II bear, he
begs pardon first. That is etiquette and
soothing to bruins spirit-at least the
Indians say So They should know, for
bruin has been a totem or taboo among
them for a hundred generations. II ne
were a totem, he would be taboo, of course,
because q totem is a crestor household goa
or guardian spirit, and therefore sacred.
II bruin is the ancestral spirit OF q tribe
or of a clan, each member holds bears I'D
peculiar veneratien. 1t is this venerat1on
that provokes the hunters apology. Bruin
is a. stickler and has no patience whatever
with those who neglect good
In some cases bruin is not a totem, but
is taboo from other reasons and to par
ticular individuals only, irrespective OF
clan. These individuals must apologize
before they let fly the arrow or pull the
trigger, but other hunters need not stand
on etiquette. Their relations are much
freer with the lord Of the American for
ests. Not only do they not apologize be-
fore killing him, but they cat him alter
ward in the most formal .7ay, each man
cutting off a hunk and cooking it for HIM
self il the ashes or in u pot with sa6isfac-
tion evident enough, but with veneration,
If there is any. admirably concealed. NO
matter how humbly he may apologize,
however, the man to whom bear is taboo
may not cut a hunk after the killing. re
may have been living on parched corn 1or
a week and so have an appetite the size
of the Mammoth cave, but all he dare
take is the head and claws. MOI should he
be overmerry in feasting on these. He
must MUNICH r~eyercntly and carefully pre-
serve the bones in some exalted place, such
as the shelf over the hearthstone OF his
shack or above all heads in the peak OF
his tepee.
Mothers-in-law are taboo too. They
hold themselves aloof from their sons=1n-
law, who do not venture to look on them.
1t is only when a young warrior has
killed his man and secured his victims
SCALP ID that he ventures to her pres
ence with due humility, presenting to her
the trophies and making inquiries con-
corning her health. She deigns some little
conversation on such occasions and enjoys
her position hugely, for it is the only
chance an Indian squaw has to purr. In
everything almost she is the drudge. But
this brave young man, her son-in-iaw,
fresh from conquest in war, must bow be-
fore her. 1t is joy. She lunches up her
back, grasps the earth with hen feet and
purrs and purrs and purrs.
Besides bears and mothers-in-law, any
| old thing may be ta~boo-snakes, for In
stance-but more often it is some such
| small animal as a squirrel or a small bird.
Snakes are naturally taboo; unless they
are large enough to eat. Dreams often de-
termine taboo. A chief dreamed he saw a
buffalo come up half way u of the
ground and s~traightway, being much I'M
pressed. would not eat buffalo meat nor
kill a buffalo without ~apologizing before
/ hand. Another dreamed Of q man with an
ear of red corn in his mouth. Forthwith
red corn was on his good wife's blacklist
and must not go into her pot nor the ashes
on the hearth. The elk is taboo with some
Indians, especially if they are subject to
boils. Persons who are ill are taboo. They
may not see strangers, though they may
talk with them through a doorway, or
possibly through the wall of a tent.
The Cherokees tell of two hunters who
| sought long after game and, when wear
led by hope long deferred, shot a squirrel.
Squirrel was taboo to them, because they
had had rheumatism, and the way a squir-
rel humps himself up when he sits sug-
gests rheumatism. Therefore, such In
dams should eschew his flesh. Oneof these
two was oyerhungry, however, and, in
spite of his brothers. warnings, went on to
prepare a meal.
"You will be changed to a snake, and
that is worse than the h~unchback of rheu-
matism, If you eat squirrel. You know
how the medicine man spoke"
THAT is q conundrum, the younger re
piled.
sAll the old men Of the tribe say it is
true
Yes, but they are not as hungry as ]
am"
"Do not eat until the morning, then.
said the elder, hoping to steal the meat
while his brother slept and prevent his
doing evil.
But just then a Whit Of the roasting
flesh blew toward the younger's nostrils.
He had too little strength to resist longer
and would not listen to his brother. He
ate the squirrel and then lay down to
sleep, saying the medicine man was 9
dreamer.
In the middle of the night the elder
brother awakened and heard the younger
!. grooming piteously and begging for help