Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1901-08-03

Chinese Foik-raies-
One OF the most difficult questions
that florists and ethnologists have
to deal with Is the existence OF parallel
legends Almost any tale Ia any
country can be matched By similar
tale told in some distant part OF the
world. There is not mythology or
cluster OF folk-legends that can claim
originality. II we might look Tor
such originality at all We should ex-
pete 1t in the land OF the Mongols, In
the vast Celestial empire which for
tens of centuries was apparently I'M
touched by western culture, ana whIcn
has a language utterly unlike any
with which Europeans are familiar.
That peoples OF similar race should
possess similar traditions Is not sur
prising. but that this should be 80
with peoples OF quite dlsslmilar race
POINTS to some link OF klnshlp which
We have not yet fathomed. There Is,
for instance, the Rip Van Wrinkle To-
gend, OF which Washington irving
made so much. The American writer
OF course, borrowed the idea from
classic and Christian myth-from the
I tale OF Epimenides and OF the Seyea
Sleepers OF Ephesus The Chinese tell
us how Wang Chi. father Of Tapu-
I ism, was one day gathering Arew00d.
| Coming to a cave. he found some old
/ men therein playing chess, that game
\ CT immemorial antiquity. While he
/ stood and watched the game one OF
the players gave him something 70
/ put in his mouth. After he had
watched for some time, one Of the
old men remarked to him. You have
been here long while. you should
/ go home now" He went out Of the
cave, but on picking up his AK no
found the handle had crumblcd 20
dust Returning 10 his home he found
II place OF strangers; he had been
watching that game OF chess while
centuries had passed by. We might
fancy this to be sarcastic thrust ut
the slowness with which chess IL some
times played, but Chinese are not
generally given TO double-enten1res Of
that sort There Is another tale. which
we suppose peculiar TO Wales. but
which is really almost uuiYergal--that
of the dog Gellert. In different YER
slons OF the story, the faithful crea-
ture Ia not always a dog: It Is falcon.
or a weasel or pole-eat In the
Chinese tale II is pet ichueumon
who watches womans child while
she goes to fetch water. A snake comes
stealing in and would bite the child.
but the brave Ichneumon attacks and
kills 1t. Having done so, II goes forth
proudly to meet the mother. but i'm
mediately on seeing II stained with
blood she concludes that II has killed
her child, and In her rage she slayg
II The child Is found alive and we'll
In almost every collection of folk
stories we read OF mermaid or river
spirit or swan-maiden who becomes
the wife Of human being but at last
deserts him. One specimen Is thu
familiar story of Melusina: another
version has been told for us by Sit
Lewis Morris in his poem, 1.-THE Phys,
icians of Myddfai." The Chinese tai,
resembles those OF Europe in YER,
marked degree A farmer one da,
discovers a woman bathing in his well
her clothes hanging on his pine-tree
Annoyed at what he thought both i'm
modest and intrusive, he hides hel
clothing, and when the woman vail
for 1t and begs to have II back. h,
asks her why she fouled his water
She answers that the Creator made tn.
well for the use Of all. HE has mean
you for my wife at any rate" replie
the man; 80 he retains her garments
and she becomes his wife. At last
after having borne son and daugb
ter, she finds the clothes and an lrre
sistible longing comes over nor !,
put them on and return to her old life
Bidding good-by to her children ah
vanishes on cloud. Probably ar
is one OF the cloud-maidens OF AslatI
mythology. Household Word,