The sun., 1914-09-27
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Myths ana Legends Of the Ni..is-
sippi tnIIr, Indians.

o''Ni'i'idl iltlSs anu WIN TIC lIfdkluZ
,sp or the hon" l.l,raries of specialists
percUlatas volume 10y volume through
the more or less romanti, chaos oi the
'sccond han6' hooh business The COM
mon knowledge ut him. tho true native
American. * "A compound ui iunumcr-
able variOusly Colurud representations.
all vitiatcd by confinement of considera-
tion to the lnal phase of the rcd mans
racial hiStnrr, the era of his dcgcncra-
tion and decay in contact with the con-
1ucring. cradicatins whites, allied with
The giant alcohol y little book com
piled w.th excellent simplicity uf editor
ship 10y kATuNISL Il. JrusuN. author of
similar collectors from California aud
Tho old Southwoe,. tho pdritic North
west. the Great Plains and Naska.
MythS 0ud Lc1CpdS of the Mississippi
fdhcV ann ~" ,frcut taxes "a. &. Nc
''lurg and Company. ChiCaguI. gives an
enjoyable view of the unspoiled indian.
without effort ~ l!'crIr,. effect. hence
with excellent ltor1r, cf','t and with
out burden of s, holasti, apparatus ~
annoiIti"u TN" author presents hum
drcd items If native mythology. legends
of mans creation and of various other
"orie!us.' ana Lulo fables uf animal
Ire. II WI interest persons Of curious
habt pf mind tu trace Tor themselves
IN lniiu'n," Of The teachings of the
earliest whit" missionary explorers and
90 find repeated Boo tine creation my'h
and the flood legend those fanciful OK
plantations ot human existence and the
carly viClssltudCs ot mankind ON earth
that weave through the elementary folk
mind all the world over
what a wonderful creature va. the
noble red man, who used to perform 50
entcrtainiEgly In forest and prairie he
fore the automobile and dcrupiiur drove
him ont Of the boys books. as tho boys
forehears had driven the real indian ont
NJ his ancestral hunting grounds how
difficult 20 Identify with the pitiful
remnant Of his people. now bottled NJ in
the reservations IN make believe
civilization. The Huron "varm.nt" Of
Cooper is 1s clouiod a sinulacrum NJ
indian nature as Us his l'ucas or his
thuCaCl cook of tn, tremendously
Niriu"uS n.iavIr"s cor as Fiwkrvc is
of the white wopdsmau. Humeric all
the heroes and the Villains. J. Fcnirnoro
made thDm rontusingly real IN their
virtue and their viliainy Could tho
Mohawk ThaSendauoGca. Joseph Brant
have he"n 20 monstruus as his MYTH
Tho New England missionaries tn tho
Indians could not STE their CHARGES IN
partihus iuid",ium az th"v We're. hut
eithe- a. autiChriSt or win faith filmed
vision as they wanted them tn be and
were highly resolved tu make them
David Brain'rd in the Hat Jerseys WI.
pretty fair reporter. cant King
'nov"lIzod' hcJthcu terror of tho
plains copper skinned scourge Of In,
prairi"s highly at variance with the
nstter Of fact Journals Of traders and
even the service reports Of Tuclc Sans
offcers. Eleazar Nheelock's pupils be-
Tore Dartmouth College was. and the
Gospel students whom Jonathan Ed
wards knew dlmly at Stockhridgc are
Tar cry from the SIOUX and Dakotahs
the Coma uches and Apach hes. or even
the less turbulent Navaios
Tho mystical and poctical." SAYS Miss
tucson, arc strong In ,hc Indian ma
tlro. In "Hiawstha" Ilngfs How
treated the Oiihwa legends without
N'olenco IN giving them English poetic
form, Iongfellow Is one Of the most
American and the most poetic Of Aueri-
can poets, lot the "highhrows" pretend
~ scorn him as they will: and this In
d m edda is ono of his most American
poems. alonS with Miles S'andish" aud
tlc "Waysid" Inn" lntcrludes. aud Eliza
h"'h' and Lady Wentworth" and
'tFangclin". liawatha is Bcowulf
We has slain th" great Pearl Feather.
S'a'n tho m.ghtit ~ of nnagicians. Him
who som the fiery fever Sent the white
fog from tNH feulands, Sent disease and
death among US Tho philosophy or Y.
in fhe poem, As unto tho bow tho cord
Is. So unto Nh" man Is woman Though
she bends him she oheys him. Though
she draws him set she follows Useless
each without III" other" that phioso-
phv. less profoUud than Kant. is vot not
such aS, quoted Uulahcllod. would sug
gest the Slmpi, child Of IN. Michigan
woods as author. Rut Longfo'luW hnl
to consider both tho source of his in
spiration and tn" audience for i's ut,cr-
ance; aud ho made fine pucm. with
decent respect for the ntt gritty Of In
dian myth,
In the north thu old campfire tales ,ro
Of Gitche Manito and Gitcho Narodo
the good Great ono and tho bad Groa.
one; the one teaching tho Indians how
to plant tho maizc. tn strln and hurry,
Mondamin and how IN gather Tho cron
IN autumn. tho nthor soudinr e,ckn,ss
and distress, and both worl;.nL In nvs.
terry and magic. In the south of tho
great valley among the Ch.rnho.s. g.-