Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk-Lore — John Shaqi
Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk-LoreFewkes, Jesse Walter
History
Contribution to Passamaquoddy Folk-Lore
Fewkes, Jesse Walter
Passamaquoddy Indians -- Folklore
The old wolf said, "How far are you going?" Leux answered, "Three
days' journey." The wolf said then, "I will do for you the very best
thing I can. I will give you three fires, one for each night." The
wolf told him to gather some dry wood, put it in a pile, jump over it,
and it would burn.[22]
[Footnote 22: It was possible that the wolf gave him some charm or
medicine with which to accomplish this.]
Leux parted from the wolf, and as soon as he was out of sight he
thought he would try to make a fire as directed by the wolf, remarking
that he did not think it would burn. So he gathered some dry wood,
made a little pile, and jumped over it, as he had been directed. The
wood was ignited, as the wolf had predicted, much to the surprise of
Leux. Leux then put out the fire. After walking a short distance he
kindled another in the same way. This he put out as before, and at
noon tried again, kindling the fire as before and putting it out
immediately after. Now when night came Leux made a camp and collected
a pile of good dry wood and jumped over it, as he had done previously,
and as he had been directed by the wolf. But this time the wood did
not burn. He repeatedly jumped over the wood, but in vain. The wood
gave off a cloud of smoke, but no blaze appeared. That night it was
bitter cold,--so cold that Leux was nearly frozen to death.[23]
[Footnote 23: The above story is told substantially as here given by
Leland, but with many additions. The source from which Leland obtained
his account is not given. The account which I give is from Noel
Josephs. In Leland's account Leux froze to death.]
One day two young girls (in Leland's account the two girls are
weasels) were walking along, and k'Cheebellock came to them and
carried them to his home in another world high up in the sky. The
girls became homesick in the strange place, and every day they longed
more and more to get back to the earth. Every day they cried for their
homes. At last k'Cheebellock offered to carry them back to the earth,
and took them up to transport them to their native land. But
k'Cheebellock's wings were so large that he could not get to the
ground on account of the high trees. So he left them in the top of a
very high hemlock in the midst of the forest.[24]
[Footnote 24: Notice, also, that the thunder-birds were not able to
approach the trees, and the Indian who was turned into a thunder-bird
was warned not to approach the forest, for he moved so rapidly that he
would get caught in the crotch of a tree.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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