Legends of the Northwest Part 18

but rocked her clamorous babes to rest.

By gra.s.sy mere the elk and deer gazed on the hunter as he came; Nor fled with fear from bow or spear;--"so wild were they that they were tame."

[a] Lodges.

[b] Wanm-dee--the war-eagle of the Dakotas.

[c] Lake Superior.

Ah, birch canoe, and hunter, too, have long forsaken lake and sh.o.r.e: He bade his father's bones adieu and turned away forevermore.

But still, methinks, on dusky brinks the spirit of the warrior moves; At crystal springs the hunter drinks, and nightly haunts the spot he loves.

For oft at night I see the light of lodge-fires on the shadowy sh.o.r.es, And hear the wail some maiden's sprite above her slaughtered warrior pours.

I hear the sob on Spirit k.n.o.b [a] of Indian mother o'er her child; And on the midnight waters throb her low _yun-he-he's_ [b] weird and wild.

And sometimes, too, the light canoe glides like a shadow o'er the deep At midnight, when the moon is low, and all the sh.o.r.es are hushed in sleep.

[a] Spirit k.n.o.b is a small hill up on a point in the lake in full view from Wayzata. The spirit of a Dakota mother whose only child was drowned in the lake during a storm, many, many years ago often wails at midnight (so the Dakotas say), on this hill. So they called it _Wa-na-gee Pa-ze-dan_--Spirit k.n.o.b. (Literally--little hill of the spirit.)

[b] p.r.o.nounced _Yoon-hay-hay_--the exclamation used by Dakota women in their lament for the dead, and equivalent to "woe is me."

Alas--Alas!--for all things pa.s.s; and we shall vanish, too, as they; We build our monuments of bra.s.s, and granite, but they waste away.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: Called in the Dakota tongue "Hok-see-win-na-pee Wo-han-pee"--Virgins Dance (or Feast).]

[Footnote 2: One of the favorite and most exciting games of the Dakotas is ball-playing. A smooth place on the prairie, or in winter, on a frozen lake or river, is chosen. Each player has a sort of bat, called "Ta-kee-cha-pse-cha," about thirty two inches long with a hoop at the lower end four or five inches in diameter, interlaced with thongs of deer-skin, forming a sort of pocket. With these bats they catch and throw the ball. Stakes are set as bounds at a considerable distance from the centre on either side. Two parties are then formed, and each chooses a leader or chief. The ball (Ta-pa) is then thrown up half way between the bounds, and the game begins, the contestants contending with their bats for the ball as it falls. When one succeeds in getting it fairly in the pocket of his bat he swings it aloft and throws it as far as he can towards the bound to which his party is working, taking care to send it, if possible, where some of his own side will take it up. Thus the ball is thrown and contended for till one party succeeds in casting it beyond the bound of the opposite party. A hundred players on a side are sometimes engaged in this exciting game. Betting on the result often runs high. Moccasins, pipes, knives, hatchets, blankets, robes and guns are hung on the prize-pole. Not unfrequently horses are staked on the issue, and sometimes even women. Old men and mothers are among the spectators praising their swift-footed sons, and young wives and maidens are there to stimulate their husbands and lovers. This game is not confined to the warriors, but is also a favorite amus.e.m.e.nt of the Dakota maidens who generally play for prizes offered by the chief or warriors.

See Neill's Hist. Minn. pp 74-5; Riggs' "Takoo Wakan," pp 44-5, and Mrs Eastman's Dacotah, p 55.]

[Footnote 3: p.r.o.nounced Wah-zee-yah. The G.o.d of the North, or Winter. A fabled spirit who dwells in the frozen North, in a great teepee of ice and snow. From his mouth and nostrils he blows the cold blasts of winter. He and "I-to-ka-ga Wi-cas-ta"--the spirit or G.o.d of the South (literally the "South Man"), are inveterate enemies, and always on the war-path against each other. In winter Wa-zi-ya advances southward and drives "I-to-ka-ga Wi-cas-ta" before him to the Summer-Islands. But in Spring the G.o.d of the South, having renewed his youth and strength, in the "Happy Hunting Grounds," is able to drive Wa-zi-ya back again to his icy wigwam in the North. Some Dakotas say that the numerous granite boulders, scattered over the prairies of Minnesota and Dakota, were hurled in battle by Wa-zi-ya from his home in the North at "I-to-ka-ga Wi-cas-ta." The Wa-zi-ya of the Dakotas is substantially the name as "_Ka-be-bon-ik-ka_"--the "Winter-maker" of the Ojibways.]

[Footnote 4: Mendota--(meeting of the waters) at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. See view of the valley?front cut. The true Dakota word is Mdo te--applied to the mouth of a river flowing into another,--also to the outlet of a lake.]

[Footnote 5: p.r.o.nounced Wee-wah-stay; literally--a beautiful virgin, or woman.]

[Footnote 6: Cetan-wa-ka-wa-mani--"He who shoots pigeon-hawks walking"--was the full Dakota name of the grandfather of the celebrated "Little Crow" (Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta.--His Red People) who led his warriors in the terrible outbreak in Minnesota in 1862-3. The Chippewas called the grandfather "Ka-ka-kee"--crow or raven--from his war-badge, a crow-skin; and hence the French traders and _courriers du bois_ called him "_Pet.i.t Corbeau_"--Little Crow. This sobriquet, of which he was proud, descended to his son, Wakinyan Tanka--Big Thunder, who succeeded him as chief; and from Big Thunder to his son Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta, who became chief on the death of Wakinyan Tanka. These several "Little Crows" were successively Chiefs of the Light-foot, or Kapoza band of Dakotas. Kapoza, the princ.i.p.al village of this band, was originally located on the east bank of the Mississippi near the site of the city of St. Paul. Col. Minn. Hist. Soc., 1864, p. 29. It was in later years moved to the west bank. The grandfather, whom I, for short, call Wakawa, died the death of a brave in battle against the Ojibways (commonly called Chippewas)--the hereditary enemies of the Dakotas. Wakinyan Tanka.--Big Thunder, was killed by the accidental discharge of his own gun. They were both buried with their kindred near the "Wakan Teepee,"

the sacred Cave--(Carver's Cave). Ta-o-ya-te-du-ta, the last of the Little Crows, was killed July 3, 1863, near Hutchinson, Minnesota, by one Lamson, and his bones were duly "done up" for the Historical Society of Minnesota. For a part of the foregoing information I am indebted to Gen. H. H. Sibley. See Heard's Hist. Sioux War, and Neill's Hist.

Minnesota, Third Edition.]

[Footnote 7: Harps-te-nah. The first-born _daughter_ of a Dakota is called Winona; the second, Harpen; the third, Harpstina; the fourth.

Waska; the fifth, Weharka. The first born _son_ is called Chaske; the second, Harpam; the third, Hapeda; the fourth, Chatun; the fifth, Harka.

They retain these names till others are given them on account of some action, peculiarity, etc. The females often retain their child-names through life.]

[Footnote 8: Wah-pah-sah was the hereditary name of a long and ill.u.s.trious lineof Dakota Chiefs. Wabashaw is a corrupt p.r.o.nounciation.

The name is a contraction of "Wa-pa-ha-sa," which is from "Wa-ha-pa,"

the standard or pole used in the Dakota dances, and upon which feathers of various colors are tied, and not from "Wa-pa"--leaf or leaves, as has been generally supposed. Therefore Wapasa means the Standard--and not the "Leaf-Shaker," as many writers have it. The princ.i.p.al village of these hereditary Chiefs was Ke-uk-sa, or Ke-o-sa,--where now stands the fair city of Winona. Ke-uk-sa signifies--The village of law-breakers; so-called because this band broke the law or custom of the Dakotas against marrying blood relatives of any degree. I get this information from Rev. Stephen R. Riggs, author of the Dakota Grammar and Dictionary, "_Takoo Wakan_," etc. Wapasa, grandfather of the last Chief of that name, and a contemporary of Cetan-Wa-ka-wa-mani, was a noted Chief, and a friend of the British in the war of the Revolution. Neill's Hist.

Minn., pp. 225-9.]

[Footnote 9: E-ho, E-to--Exclamations of surprise and delight.]

[Footnote 10: Mah-gah--The wild-goose.]

[Footnote 11: Tee-pee--A lodge or wigwam, often contracted to "tee."]

[Footnote 12: p.r.o.nounced Mahr-pee-yah-doo-tah--literally, Cloud Red.]

[Footnote 13: p.r.o.nounced Wahnmdee--The War-Eagle. Each feather worn by a warrior represents an enemy slain or captured--man, woman or child; but the Dakotas, before they became desperate under the cruel warfare of their enemies, generally spared the lives of their captives, and never killed women or infants, except in rare instances, under the _lex talionis_. Neill's Hist. Minn., p. 112.]

[Footnote 14: Mah-to--The polar bear--_ursus maritimus_. The Dakotas say that, in olden times, white bears were often found about Rainy Lake and the Lake of the Woods, in winter, and sometimes as far south as the mouth of the Minnesota. They say one was once killed at White Bear Lake (but a few miles from St. Paul and Minneapolis), and they therefore named the lake Mede Mato--White Bear Lake.]

[Footnote 15: The Ho-he (Ho-hay) are the a.s.siniboins or "Stone-roasters." Their home is the region of the a.s.siniboin river in British America. They speak the Dakota tongue, and originally were a band of that nation. Tradition says a Dakota "Helen" was the cause of the separation and a b.l.o.o.d.y feud that lasted for many years. The Hohes are called "Stone roasters," because, until recently at least, they used "Wa-ta-pe" kettles and vessels made of birch bark in which they cooked their food. They boiled water in these vessels by heating stones and putting them in the water. The "wa-ta-pe" kettle is made of the fibrous roots of the white cedar, interlaced and tightly woven. When the vessel is soaked it becomes watertight. (Footnote Snelling's) Tales of the North west, p 21. Mackenzie's Travels.]

[Footnote 16: Hey-o-ka is one of the princ.i.p.al Dakota deities. He is a Giant, but can change himself into a buffalo, a bear, a fish or a bird.

He is called the Anti-natural G.o.d or Spirit. In summer he shivers with cold, in winter he suffers from heat; he cries when he laughs and he laughs when he cries, &c. He is the reverse of nature in all things.

Heyoka is universally feared and reverenced by the Dakotas, but so severe is the ordeal that the Heyoka Wacipee (the dance to Heyoka) is now rarely celebrated. It is said that the "Medicine-men" use a secret preparation which enables them to handle fire and dip their hands in boiling water without injury, and thereby gain great _eclat_ from the uninitiated. The chiefs and the leading warriors usually belong to the secret order of "Medicine-men," or "Sons of Unktehee"--the Spirit of the Waters.]

[Footnote 17: The Dakota name for the moon is Han-ye-tu-wee--literally, Night-Sun. He is the twin brother of An-pe-tu-wee--the Day Sun. See note 70.]

[Footnote 18: The Dakotas believe that the stars are the spirits of their departed friends.]

[Footnote 19: Tee--Contracted from teepee, lodge or wigwam, and means the same.]

[Footnote 20: For all their sacred feasts the Dakotas kindle a new fire called "The Virgin Fire." This is done with flint and steel, or by rubbing together pieces of wood till friction produces fire. It must be done by a virgin, nor must any woman, except a virgin, ever touch the "sacred armor" of a Dakota warrior. White cedar is "Wakan"--sacred. See note 50. Riggs' "Tahkoo Wakan," p. 84.]

[Footnote 21: All Northern Indians consider the East a mysterious and sacred land whence comes the sun. The Dakota name for the East is Wee-yo-hee-yan-pa--the sunrise. The Ojibways call it Waub-o-nong--the white land or land of light, and they have many myths, legends and traditions relating thereto. Barbarous peoples of all times have regarded the East with superst.i.tious reverence, simply because the sun rises in that quarter.]

[Footnote 22: See Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah, pp. 225-8, describing the feast to Heyoka.]

[Footnote 23: This stone from which the Dakotas have made their pipes for ages, is esteemed "wakan"--sacred. They call it I-yan-ska, probably from "iya," to speak, and "ska," white, truthful, peaceful,--hence, peace-pipe, herald of peace, pledge of truth, etc. In the cabinet at Albany, N.Y., there is a very ancient pipe of this material which the Iroquois obtained from the Dakotas. Charlevoix speaks of this pipe-stone in his History of New France. LeSueur refers to the Yanktons as the village of the Dakotas at the Red-Stone Quarry, See Neill's Hist. Minn., p. 514.]

[Footnote 24: "Ho" is an exclamation of approval?-yea, yes, bravo.]

[Footnote 25: Buying is the honorable way of taking a wife among the Dakotas. The proposed husband usually gives a horse or its, value in other articles to the father or natural guardian of the woman selected--sometimes against her will. See note 75.]

[Footnote 26: The Dakotas believe that the _Aurora Borealis_ is an evil omen and the threatening of an evil spirit, (perhaps Waziya, the Winter-G.o.d--some say a witch, or a very ugly old woman). When the lights appear, danger threatens, and the warriors shoot at, and often slay, the evil spirit, but it rises from the dead again.]

[Footnote 27: Se-so-kah--The Robin.]

[Footnote 28: The spirit of Anpetu-sapa that haunts the Falls of St.

Anthony with her dead babe in her arms. See the Legend in Neill's Hist.

Minn., or my "Legend of the Falls."]

[Footnote 29: Mee-c.o.o.nk-shee--My daughter.]

[Footnote 30: The Dakotas call the meteor, "Wakan-denda" (sacred fire) and Wakan-wohlpa (sacred gift.) Meteors are messengers from the Land of Spirits, warning of impending danger. It is a curious fact that the "sacred stone" of the Mohammedans, in the Kaaba at Mecca, is a meteoric stone, and obtains its sacred character from the fact that it fell from heaven. 31: Kah-no-te-dahn--The little, mysterious dweller in the woods.

This spirit lives in the forest in hollow trees. Mrs. Eastman's Dacotah, Pre. Rem. x.x.xi. "The Dakota G.o.d of the woods--an unknown animal said to resemble a man, which the Dakotas worship; perhaps, the monkey." Riggs'

Dakota Dic. t.i.t--_Canotidan_.]