The American Indians: Their History, Condition and Prospects, from Original Notes and ManuscriptsSchoolcraft, Henry Rowe
History
The American Indians: Their History, Condition and Prospects, from Original Notes and Manuscripts
Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe
Indians of North America
After this the young man paid the stranger a visit, at her lodge of
cedar boughs, and partook of her dish of milk. She then told him she was
his real mother, and that he had been stolen away from her by the
detestable Toad-Woman, who was a witch. He was not quite convinced. She
said to him, "Feign yourself sick, when you go home, and when the
Toad-Woman asks what ails you, say that you want to see your cradle; for
your cradle was of wampum, and your faithful brother, the dog, bit a
piece off to try and detain you, which I picked up, as I followed in
your track. They were real wampum, white and blue, shining and
beautiful." She then showed him the pieces. He went home and did as his
real mother bid him. "Mother," said he, "why am I so different in my
looks from the rest of your children?" "Oh," said she, "it was a very
bright clear blue sky when you were born; that is the reason." When the
Toad-Woman saw he was ill, she asked what she could do for him. He said
nothing would do him good, but the sight of his cradle. She ran
immediately and got a cedar cradle; but he said, "That is not my
cradle." She went and got one of her own children's cradles, (for she
had four,) but he turned his head and said, "That is not mine." She then
produced the real cradle, and he saw it was the same, in substance, with
the pieces the other had shown him; and he was convinced, for he could
even see the marks of the dog's teeth upon it.
He soon got well, and went out hunting, and killed a fat bear. He and
his dog-brother then stripped a tall pine of all its branches, and stuck
the carcass on the top, taking the usual sign of his having killed an
animal--the tongue. He told the Toad-Woman where he had left it, saying,
"It is very far, even to the end of the earth." She answered, "It is not
so far but I can get it," so off she set. As soon as she was gone, the
young man and his dog killed the Toad-Woman's children, and staked them
on each side of the door, with a piece of fat in their mouths, and then
went to his real mother and hastened her departure with them. The
Toad-Woman spent a long time in finding the bear, and had much ado in
climbing the tree to get down the carcass. As she got near home, she saw
the children looking out, apparently, with the fat in their mouths, and
was angry at them, saying, "Why do you destroy the pomatum of your
brother." But her fury was great indeed, when she saw they were killed
and impaled. She ran after the fugitives as fast as she could, and was
near overtaking them, when the young man said, "We are pressed hard, but
let this stay her progress," throwing his fire steel behind him, which
caused the Toad-Woman to slip and fall repeatedly. But still she pursued
and gained on them, when he threw behind him his flint, which again
retarded her, for it made her slip and stumble, so that her knees were
bleeding; but she continued to follow on, and was gaining ground, when
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account