Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1Jones, James Athearn
History
Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 1
Jones, James Athearn
Indians of North America -- Folklore
If my brother will go abroad in a clear evening in the Moon of Falling
Leaves[A], and turn his eyes towards the cold regions of the Hunter's
Star, and the north wind, and the never-melting snows, he will often see
the skies flushed with a hue like that which mounts to the cheeks of a
young maiden, when the name of her lover is whispered in her ear, or
when that same lover presses her to his heart in the presence of curious
eyes and slandering tongues. At first, he will see a faint beam darting
up in the north, like the spray which shoots into the air, when the
waters dash upon a rocky frontlet. Gradually he will behold it arise,
till half the heavens, and sometimes the whole, is lit up with exceeding
brightness. Then will he hear in the skies a noise as of half-suppressed
laughter, and sometimes, though more rarely, he will behold the
light-winged aerial forms of the merry laughers, as they thread the
mazes of their dance among the clustering stars. The sight fills the
soul of an Indian with great joy, for he thinks that it is occasioned by
the spirits of his departed friends, indulging in the sport they loved
so well on earth, and dancing merrily to the music of the stars. The red
blush which tinges the face of night with a hue like that which mounts
to the cheeks of a beautiful maiden, when the name of her beloved youth
is whispered in her ear, is the flame which arises from the fires
kindled by the kind spirits of the north, to thaw the frozen mist which
impedes their light footsteps across the face of the heavens. And the
laugh is the laugh of eager joy, which those spirits utter when,
indulging in their loved pastime, they remember the occurrence which led
to their glorious destiny, and made the bright and starry north their
place of residence after death.
[Footnote A: This month (November) is sometimes called by them the
"Beaver-Moon," being the month in which they commence their hunt of that
animal.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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