Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-09-12
BATCH OF OHIO SNAKE STORIES
Some Ancient Tales About Reptiles In
the Middle West.

| OOTC NTSlCHS dISo Nbobh iNSHh'SS ~
the Middle West
| The first serpent Of its race which
started out by destroying the pros
poets of the whole human family In
the Garden of Eden. the Midgard ser
prmt Of Morse mythology. and the al
most equally ancient sea serpent of
periodical bathing place notoriety
have perhaps stimulated more imagi-
nations than any other individuals of
their species. but none Of them has
anything to do with one fine cOllec-
! tion Gf snake stories which Is familiar
to every student of North American
cthnOlogy.
These stories. says The New York
sun. begin 1900 or perhaps 1000
years back. when the parent stock of
all the AlgOnkian tribes still lived up
i'm Canada north Of the strait OF
Mackinac and most Of the IrOquoian
family lived north of the st. Lawrence.
The country south Of the lakes, the
Ohio valley. was the abiding place of
a tribe Of scrpents of tremendous size,
who when not doing business else
where were likely to appear suddenly
and unexpectedly in the Algonkian or
he IrOquOian country. To the ConSter-
nation Of the peaceful human inhabi-
tants. Sometimes a single serpent
would come rolling across the cOun-
try. his head sticking up like a factory
chimney above the top Of the tallest
forest and sometimes a party of them
made day and night hideous for the
wretched villagers, whom they re-
garded as suitable fare.
The first of these invaders. accord
ing to one Algonkian story. desired to
destroy all human beings out of pure
unadulterated cuSSedness, a trait
showing his close relationship to the
serpent of the Garden of Eden. Not
satisfied. apparently. with his own
swallowing capacity for that purpose.
he brought with him an undescribed
monster. three other individuals Of un-
classified kind. and a flood.
The flood and the monsters together
materially reduced the AlgOnkian
population, but the remainder climb
ed up on the Turtle Island, or Mack
mac. until MichabOu, the Hercules of
Algonkian mythology. came to their
assistance and put a quietus on the
flood and its author together.
Another AIgOntian story preserved
by the Chippewas is that a number of
serpents. perhaps to retaliate for the
first ones defeat. attempted to blot
MichabOu himself out of the universe.
They were taught the difference be-
tween a man warrior and a wide
awake, full-sZed demi god when Mich
abuu skinned the white chief snake
of the party alive, and covering him
self with the skin as convenient kind
of armUrplate chased the remaining
reptiles back into their own country
before they realized that they had
been headed in that direction.
The IrOquoians, competitors of the
AlgUnkians in everything else, seem To
have resolved early not TO be outdone
by the latter in the telling of snake
StOrics The SenecaS relate that q SER
pent besieged their fOrefathers in a
fort on the hill Gerundewah. in north
ern New York, by the effective process
of cuiling himself entirely around the
fort. Some of the inmates. attempting
To escape walked down his throat,
whrreupon one of the tribe who from
the inside of the defenceS had pru-
IDENTITY watched the disappearance OF
his relatives conceived the idea of eX-
perimentimg upon the monsters vitalS
with Il poisoned arrow.
The eXpedient was so successful
that the serpent Went rolling down
the hill. clearing off the timber as he
went. and disgOrging the heads of the
people whom he had swallowed into
Lake Canandaigua, where they still
remain IN the shape Of large black
boulderS Some patriotic Seneca.
realizing the deficiencies Of this mar
rative. seems to have improved upon
il. for his tribeSmen have another
version. asserting that two serpentS
beSieged the fort and that both were
disposed of by reckless young war
rior. who made love to the female
snake Of the pair.
The TGScarOras apparently under
stood that the snake idea per Sc had
been developed to the limit in the
Seneca legend and, therefore. to ac-
quit themselves creditably added
horns to the enormous reptile. which,
they affirm, once appeared south OF
Lake Ontario provided with a breath
SO poisonous that a multitude of the
IrOquOianS died from inhalng the in
fectcd atmosphere This last snake OF
the series 50 far OutclaSsed the Sene-
ca serpent in fOrmidableneSs that pre-
Sumably poisoned arrows We're mad
eQuate to the occasion, for a storm OF
thunderbOltS was required to eXpel
him from the IroquOis country.
The inleStrurtiNeneSS of this norm
ed serpent so impressed the imagina-
tiOnS of the CherOkeeS that they be-
lievr him to be still i'm existence and
i'm some of their sacred formulas in
woke his favor and help as a great
medicine god.
Some archaeologists do not regard
these tales as mere examples of the
human minds inherited ambition to
excel i'm snake fiction. They recognize
them as myths. that is historical ac-
counts with most of the facts left out
and the remainder popularity eXagger-
ated.
They find other statements i'm the
ancient histories of the Algonkian
and Iroquoan tribes which show
clearly that the mOnStrOus snakes
were. really human tribes. who. like
the ancient MexicanS and Central
Americans. worShpped snake god
along with the sun deity These snake
people built more than one earthern
representative of their ophidian deity
i'm what is now southwestern Ohio
The celebrated Serpent Mound in
Adams county. Ohio. which is a quar-
ter Of a mile long. seems to be the
model from which the AlgOnkian and
Iroquoian historians got their idea of
proportion i'm describing the size of
their forefatherS adverSaries.
Made Fast Time.-The New York