The Myths of the North American IndiansSpence, Lewis
History
The Myths of the North American Indians
Spence, Lewis
Indian mythology -- North America; Indians of North America -- Folklore
village Blue Jay became conscious of a stranger in the midst of the
people. He straightway betook himself to the house of the Mice. He
then returned to his chief, saying that a strange chief wished to hold
a shooting match. Blue Jay's chief seemed quite willing to enter into
the contest with the stranger, so he sent Blue Jay back to the house to
inform the young chief of his willingness. Blue Jay led the stranger
down to the beach where the targets stood. Soon the old chief arrived
and the shooting match began. But the adventurer's skill could not
compare with the old chief's, who finally defeated him. Blue Jay now
saw his opportunity. He sprang upon the stranger, tore out his hair,
cut off his head, and severed the limbs from his body. He carried the
pieces to the house and hung up the head. At nightfall the Mice fed
the head and managed to keep it alive. This process of feeding went on
for many months, the old women never tiring of their task. A full year
had passed, and the unfortunate adventurer's sons began to fear for his
safety. They decided to search for him. Arming themselves, they made
their way to the large village in which their father was imprisoned.
They entered the house of the Mice, and there saw the two old women,
who asked: "Oh, chiefs, where did you come from?"
"We search for our father," they replied. But the old women warned
them of Blue Jay's treachery, and advised them to depart. The young
men would not heed the advice, and succeeded in drawing from the {340}
women the story of their father's fate. When they heard that Blue Jay
had used their father so badly they were very angry. Blue Jay,
meanwhile, had become aware of the arrival of two strangers, and he
went to the small house to smell them out. There he espied the youths,
and immediately returned to inform his chief of their presence in the
village. The chief then sent him back to invite the strangers to a
shooting match, but they ignored the invitation. Three times Blue Jay
made the journey, and at last the youths looked upon him, whereupon his
hair immediately took fire. He ran back to his chief and said: "Oh,
these strangers are more powerful than we are. They looked at me and
my hair caught fire." The chief was amazed, and went down to the beach
to await the arrival of the strangers. When the young men saw the
targets they would not shoot, and declared that they were bad. They
immediately drew them out of the ground and replaced them by their own,
the brilliance of which dazzled the sight of their opponent. The chief
was defeated. He lost his life and the people were subdued. The
youths then cast Blue Jay into the river, saying as they did so: "Green
Sturgeon shall be your name. Henceforth you shall not make chiefs
miserable. You shall sing 'Watsetsetsetsetse,' and it shall be a bad
omen." This performance over, they restored their father from his
death-slumber, and spoke kindly to the Mice, saying: "Oh, you pitiful
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