The Washington herald., 1908-02-21

nearness OF seed time, there comes re-
vival of old customs In regard to plant
ing. old superstitions about bird and
beast. for when "the fires of spring come
up TO clear the brain" they bring echoes
of world-old fancies and lore of other
days. It is then that lovers OF folklore
set about collecting notes and bend their
energies toward preserving that little OF
superstition. or custom. or whatever It
is, that we have inherited from our re-
mote ancestors. Twenty years ago the
American Folklore Society was organ
ized for the purpose Of preserving these
things, and In the period Of its existence
has done much toward collecting old say
ings. ballads, charms. superstitions, and
faith cure" ideas that might otherwise
have been lost. State branches have bceh
organized in Missouri, Arizona, Iowa. and
California, while local ones affiliated with
the general society are scattered through
cut the country.
The headquarters OF the society are in
Cambridge Mass, where it was founded
in 1855 by William Wells Newell, and
magazine devoted TO the interests of the
work. and bearing reports If the so
ciety's Investigations is published o'.ar-
terly under the editorship of Prof. Franz
BOas. of Columbia University -Four hun
dred members are zealously AZ work col
lecting such data as the society may
need, and keeping their eyes continually
open that nothing In the way OF folksong
and folk lore may be lost in Oblivion.
America. with its population Of such
-Videly diverse racial characteristics, Of
fers a rich field for the student Of folk
lore. for. from the aboriginal inhabitants
in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,
and from the negroes who came of
slave stock to the most enlightened rep
resentatives Of the Anglo-Saxon lace.
there are stories Of gods and heroes of
witches and brownies. OF animal and bird
life, Of the winds, and the waves. and
sky. OF the silences OF forest and hill
that are as old as the forces Of nature
themselves. and present curious siini-
larity. Among all these different people
the society members are working in tho
interest OF their science.
The object OF the society is tersely
stated in its first report: For the collec-
tion Of tast-vanshing remains Of folk
lore in America There are ballads OF
seventeenth century England that found
their way over 10 the New World in the
Mayfiower and it's successors, and traces
New England homes. There are old Eng
lish tales there. TOO. old superstitions,
and traces OF quaint shire dialects OF
long ago. There is the negro lore of
the Southern States, a queer mixture
of African fetichism and voodoo worship.
and superstitions and beliefs that have
belonged for untold ages to the branches
OF the Aryan race. There are myths and
stories of the culture heroes OF the Indian
tribes, stories Of eerie things still current
among the people of Canada and Mexico
and signs and faith cures still po-
tent among the poor whites OF the South
ern hills and lowlands. All these that
are available the society means to pre-
serve for the chronological and historical
values.
Already folklorists have pointed out
the marked similarity between the folk
tales OF races that are apparently not
allied in the most remote degree. Some
years ago a. traveller among the Indians
of the Amazon country found the story
current among them of how the tortoise
once beat the deer I'm a race long ago. A
South Carolina man chronicled the same
story as one Of the old folktales OF his
plantation negroes. Uncle Remus" au-
thority on negro tales, found similarity
between other Amazon Indian tales. and
those of Southern negroes. The society,
tracing the name ''voodOo'' from the
Vaudois. or Waldenses of Piedmont OF
1855. and OF "wehr-wolf'' fame. TO its
perverted meaning among the negroes Of
the West Indies and New Orleans. has
traced also the ''loUp-garou'' of France
through Haiti and Canada. and has dis
covered that old French lore has inf1u-
enced the folktales Of the AlgOnkin In
dians
There are certain points Of similarity in
the religious lore of all peoples. IL seems,
for there is ever a culture god who comes
TO his people. teaching them the arts of
peace and contentment, and promising to
come again 10 restore his people 20 power.
The Mexican Indians had Quetzacoatl;
the Yucatans. Kukulcan. and the people
Of Peru Viracocha. while the tribal name
'Lenape' applied to one OF the eastern
Indian tribes Of this country means "the
man comes" and is interpreted by a So
ciety member TO refer TO the tribal Mes
siah. Fer this belief in a Messiah be-
longs to all people OF all uges. Christian,
Moslem. Jew. and far west Indian alike
belief in a Messiah who will come 10 the
relief Of his people when the cares Of life
have grown heavy, when the enemy is
away.
An interesting study OF the society
shows the wide popularity Of the rabbit
in folklore tales of every land in which
he is found. Why 50 timid and unassum-
ing a beast as the rabbit could ever have
been endowed with all the traits of bra
very. cunning. and cleverneSs none can
explain. The tales go back too far into
the days of the raconteur and the tribal
campfires. "Brer Rabbit has been the
hero Of negro stories on Southern planta-
tons from the time the first slave took
The child OF his master on his knee and
told him the tales he had learned from
his people in his own faraway land
Among the Indians, who never knew the
negro. was found similar faith in pre-
historic prowess of the rabbit. The Chero-
KEGS tell that when great set of antlers
was once offered TO that animal who
could put them on his head and thread a
dense forests with the greatest speed. the
snOw-white rabbit came near winning II
An enemy followed him. however. as he
went to look over the course beforehand
and found the rabbit swiftly biting away
all branches that might have interfered
with his antsers. He was tried and exiled
while the antlers were awarded 10 the
deer. The rabbit was already a winner
Of the prize for the finest coat, having
defrauded the otter of it, and he took his
revenge for the last defeat on the deer
by filing away that animals teeth.
Certain similar customs have been found
10 obtain among the most alien races.
Counting out in games of children goes
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