one of whom, Quaagagp, came upon earth and taught the Indians the arts, and instructed them in religion. Finally, through hatred, the Indians killed him; but although dead, he is incorruptible and beautiful. Blood flows constantly from him, and though he does not speak, he has a tlacoti, or owl, who speaks for him. To him they pay adoration, as the mediatory power between earth and the supreme Niparaga. The Iroquois had also a beneficent being, uniting in himself the character of a god and man, who was called Hiawatha, or Tarengawagan. "He taught the Iroquois," says Schoolcraft, "hunting, gardening, the knowledge of medicine, and the arts. He imparted to them the knowledge of the laws of the Great Spirit, established their form of government, etc." According to the tradition, after fulfilling his mission on earth, and consolidating the five tribes into one confederacy, he went up to heaven in his white magic canoe, which moved at his wish.* | structed the Indians in the arts, instituted the rites and mysteries of their religion, taught them the cultivation of vegetables, grandmother of the human race; and in order that we should never invoke her in vain, it has been strictly enjoined upon the old woman never to quit her dwelling. Hence when an Indian makes the collection of roots and herbs which are to serve him as medicines, he deposits at the same time, on the earth, a small offering to this great-grandmother. During his different excur sions over the earth, Nanaboojoo killed all such animals as were hurtful to us, as the mammoth and mastodon. He has placed four beneficent spirits at the four cardinal points of the compass, for the purpose of contributing to the happiness of the human race. That of the North procures for us ice and snow, in order to aid us in discov ering and following wild animals. He of the South gives us that which occasions the growth of our pumpkins, melons, maize, and tobacon The spirit of the West gives us rain, and that of the East light, and causes the sun to make his daily walks around the globe. The thunder we hear is the voice of manitous having the forms of large birds, which Nanaboojoo has placed in the clouds. When they cry very loud, we burn some tobacco in our cabins, as a smoke-offering to ap pease them." "In all their festivities and assemblies, con tinues this author, "their songs turn upon some one or other of the fables connected with Nana Among the Algonquins, and particularly among the Ojibways and other remnants of that stock at the North-west, this intermediate great teacher (denominated by Mr. Schoolcraft the "great incarnation boojoo. When the chief had finished this history, of the North-west,") is fully recognized. I asked him if he had any faith in what he had He bears the name of Manabozho, Nanni-related. He replied, 'Assuredly I have had the bush, Michabou, or Michabozho. In some of the early travels he is called Messou. The accounts concerning his origin are confused and conflicting. He is, however, usually represented as the first-born son of a great celestial Manitou or spirit, by an earthly mother, and is esteemed the friend and protector of the human race. He in *Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, p. 270. + De Smet's Oregon Missions, p. 347. See also James, Schoolcraft, Hoffman, and others on the traditions connected with Manabozho. The Wisakeshak of the Crees, the Santeaux, and the Blackfeet, and the Etalapasse of the Chinooks, can both be traced up to the same personage, corresponding with Manabozho. De Smet presents the relation of Potogojees, a chief of the Potawotomies, in respect to Manabozho or Nanaboojoo, from which the following paragraphs are taken : 'Nanaboojoo is our principal intercessor with the Great Spirit; he it was that obtained for us the creation of animals for our food and raiment. He has caused to grow the roots and herbs which cure our maladies, and enables us, in times of famine, to kill wild animals. He has left the Pre of them to Mesakkummikokwi, the great happiness to see and entertain those old men of "The accounts which the Indians hand down who waged a warfare against monsters, per- -in short, corresponded in his acts and attributes with the various personages already noticed. His terrestrial power was very great; he effected transformations and controlled the elements. The mountains are the piles of stone which he raised to mark the days of his journeyings over the earth, and the valleys are the prints of his feet. By some he is supposed to be dead and buried in an island in the midst of Lake Superior; by others, still to live in the distant regions of the North; and by others, to repose on a great flake of ice in the Northern Sea, which retreat some of the Indians fear the whites will yet discover, in which case they suppose the world will be brought to an end; for as soon as he shall put his feet on the earth again, it will burst into flames, and all living things will be destroyed. THE TRADITION. One day, returning to his lodge from a long journey, Manabozho missed from it his young cousin who resided with him; he called his name aloud, but received no answer. He looked around on the sand for the tracks of his feet, and he then for the first time discovered the trail of Meshekenabek, the serpent. He then knew that his cousin had been seized by his great enemy. He armed himself, and followed on his track; he passed the great river, and crossed mountains and valleys, to the shores of the deep and gloomy lake now called Manitou Lake, Spirit Lake, or the Lake of Devils. The trail of Meshekenabek led to the edge of the water. At the bottom of this lake was the dwelling of the serpent, and it was filled with evil spirits, his attendants and companions. Their forms were monstrous and terrible, but most, like their master, bore the semblance of serpents. In the centre of this horrible assemblage was Meshekenabek himself, coiling his volumes around the hapless cousin of Manabozho. His head was red as with blood, and his eyes were fierce and glowed like the fire. His body was all over armed with hard and glistening scales of every shade and color. Though the object of no particular worship, he is nevertheless highly venerated, and his adventures occupy a conspicuous place in the lodge-lore of the North-west. He is always placed in antagonism to a great serpent, a kakodæmon, a genuine spirit of evil. This serpent corresponds very nearly with the Egyptian Typhon, the Indian Kaliya, and the Scandinavian Midgard. He is connected with the Algonquin notions of a deluge; and as Typhon is placed in antagonism to Osiris or Apollo, Kaliya to Suyra, the Sun, and Mid-ing spirits of evil, and he vowed deep regard to Woden, so does he bear a corresponding relation to Manabozho, who, as we have seen, partakes somewhat of the character of Osiris. The conflicts of Manabozho with Meshekenabek, or the serpent, are frequent, and though the struggle is often long and doubtful, he is usually, in the end, successful against his adversary. One of these contests involved the destruction of the earth by water, and its reproduction by the powerful and beneficent Manabozho. The tradition in which this grand event was embodied was thus related by Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh, GEORGE COPWAY, a chief of the Ojibways; and though its substance has often been presented, it has never before been published in its full and perfect form. cation. Scarcely any two persons agree in all the minor circumstances of the story, and scarcely any omit the leading incidents."-Schoolcraft's Algic Res., vol. i., p. 134. Manabozho looked down upon the writh venge. He directed the clouds to disappear from the heavens, the winds to be still, and the air to become stagnant over the lake of the manitous, and bade the sun shine upon it with all its fierceness; for thus he sought to drive his enemy forth to seek the cool shadows of the trees that grew upon its banks, so that he might be able to take vengeance upon him. Meantime Manabozho seized his bow and arrows, and placed himself near the spot where he deemed the serpents would come to enjoy the shade. He then transformed himself into the broken stump of a withered tree, so that his enemies might not discover his presence. The winds became still, the air stagnant, and the sun shone hot on the lake of the evil manitous. By-and-by the waters became troubled, and bubbles rose to the surface, for the rays of the sun penetrated to the horrible brood within its depths. The commotion increased, and a serpo lifted its head high above the centre of the lake, and gazed around the shores. Directly another came to the surface, and they listened for the footsteps of Manabozho, but they heard him nowhere on the face of the earth, and they said, one to the other, "Manabozho sleeps." And then they plunged again beneath the waters, which seemed to hiss as they closed over them. It was not long before the lake of the manitous became more troubled than before: it boiled from its very depths, and the hot waves dashed wildly against the rocks on its shores. The commotion increased, and soon Meshekenabek, the Great Serpent, emerged slowly to the surface, and moved towards the shore. His blood-red crest glowed with a deeper hue, and the reflections from his glancing scales were like the blinding glitter of a sleet-covered forest, beneath the morning sun of winter. He was followed by all the evil spirits, so great a number that they covered the shores of the lake with their foul trailing carcases. They saw the broken, blasted stump into which Manabozho had transformed himself, and suspecting it might be one of his disguises, for they knew his cunning, one of them approached, and wound his tail around it, and sought to drag it down. But Manabozho stood firm, though he could hardly refrain from crying aloud, for the tail of the monster tickled his sides. The Great Serpent wound his vast folds among the trees of the forest, and the rest also sought the shade, while one was left to listen for the steps of Manabozho. When they all slept, Manabozho silently drew an arrow from his quiver; he placed it in his bow, and aimed it where he saw the heart beat against the sides of the Great Serpent. He launched it, and with a howl that shook the mountains and startled the wild beasts in their caves, the monster awoke, and, followed by its frightened companions, uttering mingled sounds of rage and terror, plunged again into the lake. Here they vented their fury on the helpless cousin of Manabozho, whose body they tore into a thousand fragments; his mangled lungs rose to the surface and covered it with whiteness, and this is the origin of the foam on the water. When the Great Serpent knew that he was mortally wounded, both he and the evil spirits around him were rendered tenfold more terrible by their great wrath, and they rose to overwhelm Manabozho. The waters of the lake swelled upwards from its dark depths, and with a sound like many thunders, it rolled madly on his track, bearing the rocks and trees before it with resistless fury. High on the crest of the foremost wave, black as the midnight, rode the writhing form of the wounded Meshekenabek, and red eyes glared around him, and the hot breaths of the monstrous brood hissed fiercely above the retreating Manabozho. Then thought Manabozho of his Indian children, and he ran by their villages and in a voice of alarm bade them flee to the mountains, for the Great Serpent was deluging the earth in his expiring wrath, sparing no living thing. The Indians caught up their children and wildly sought safety where he bade them. But Manabozho continued his flight along the base of the western hills, and finally took refuge on a high mountain beyond Lake Superior, far towards the north. There he found many men and animals, who had fled from the flood that already covered the valleys and plains and even the highest hills. Still the waters continued to rise, and soon all the mountains were overwhelmed, save that on which stood Manabozho. Then he gathered together timber and made a raft, upon which the men and women and the animals that were with him all placed themselves. No sooner had they done so, than the rising floods closed over the mountain, and they floated alone on the face of the waters. And thus they floated for many days, and some died, and the rest became sorrowful, and reproached Manabozho that he did not disperse the waters and renew the earth that they might live. But, though he knew that his great enemy was by this time dead, yet could not Manabozho renew the world unless he had some earthin his hands wherewith to begin the work. And this he explained to those that were with him, and he said that were it ever so little, even a few grains of earth, then could he disperse the waters and renew the world. Then the beaver volunteered to go to the bottom of the deep, and get some earth, and they all applauded her design. She plunged in; they waited long, and when she returned she was dead; they opened her hands, but there was no earth in them. Then, said the otter, "will I seek the earth," and the bold swimmer dived from the raft. The otter was gone still longer than the beaver, but when he returned to the surface he too was dead, and there was no earth in his claws. "Who shall find the earth," exclaimed all those on the raft, "now that the beaver and the otter are dead?" and they desponded more than before, repeating, "Who shall find the earth?" "That will I," said the muskrat, as he quickly disappeared between the logs of the raft. The muskrat was gone very long, much longer than the otter, and it was thought he would never return, when he suddenly rose near by, but he was too weak to speak, and he swam slowly towards the raft. He had hardly got upon it, when he too died from his great exertion. They opened his little hands, and there closely clasped between the fingers they found a few grains of fresh earth. These Manabozho carefully collected and dried them in the sun, and then he rubbed them into fine powder in his palms, and rising up he blew them abroad upon the waters. No sooner was this done than the flood began to subside, and soon the trees on the mountains were seen, and then the mountains and hills emerged from the deep, and the plains and the valleys came in view, and the waters disappeared from the land, leaving no trace but a thick sediment, which was the dust that Manabozho had blown abroad from the raft. rect conflict between Manabozho and the Great Serpent. It is, in other cases, caused by a conflict between the serpent, the symbol of evil force, and the "spirits" or "beings." In these Manabozho appears only as the preserver and re-creator. The Otta was, according to James, relate that the flood was produced in consequence of the degeneracy of mankind, but it is suspected that this idea was derived from the early missionaries. The tradition itself is not subject to any such suspicion, nor is it, as some have supposed, of late introduction. It is substantially related by Hennepin as follows: "One day Messou being hunting, his dogs lost themselves in a great lake, which thereupon overflowing, covered the earth in a short time, and swallowed up the world. They say that Messou then gathered a little earth, by the help of some animals, and therewith repaired the world again."* The following little incident, related by Mr. Copway, in connection with the above tradition, may not be uninteresting. THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE CROW. Before the flood caused by Manabozho's contest with his great enemy the serpent, the crow was a bird of song, and his plumage was white as the snow, and fruits and berries were his food. While the raft bearing Manabozho, and the men and animals by which the earth was to be replenished, was floating on the waters, the birds flew abroad during the day, to find food. They returned at night, and Manabozho Then it was found that Meshekenabek, noticed the crow, and he said, "Thou the Great Serpent, was dead, and that the hast gorged thyself on human flesh." evil manitous his companions had returned But the crow denied the accusation. to the depths of the lake of spirits, from The next night the crow again returned which for the fear of Manabozho they never to the raft, and its flight was slow and more dared to come forth. And in grati-heavy, for it was full. Then said Manatude to the beaver, the otter, and the muskrat, those animals were ever after held sacred by the Indians, and they became their brethren, and they never killed nor molested them, until the medicine of the pale-faces made them forget their relations, and turned their hearts to ingratitude. bozho, "Deniest thou that thou hast feasted on human flesh ?" and the crow dared not deny it. "From this day thou art accursed," said Manabozho; "thy feathers shall be black as the night, thy flesh too shall be of the same color, thy voice *Hennepin, p. 55. See also James's MSS. N. G. Hist. Soc. Coll.; Tanner's Narrative, pp. 352, 357. Hoffman's Wild Scenes of the West; Schoolcraft's Oneota, and Algic Res., vol i. p. 134; McKin In this account, the destruction of the world appears but as an incident in the di-ney's Indians, etc. shall be harsh and grating, thy food shall be carrion, and thy companions shall be the loathsome buzzard and the vulture." And so it was that the crow became degraded and his feathers black. It may here be mentioned that among the North-western Indians, the serpent was not only an object of great veneration, but was usually, as in the above tradition, regarded as an emblem of evil force or power. We thus frequently find, in the transmitted songs, hostile tribes denounced as "snakes," or "snake people." Among the ancient Mexicans, on the other hand, the symbolical significance of the serpent corresponded more nearly with that assigned it in some of the Eastern mythologies. It symbolized the greatest gods of the Aztec pantheon, and, in some combination or other, was interwoven with the whole fabric of Aztec superstition. snake. 66 One of | ited by giants like himself. Accompanied by the two Mandans, they went out to hunt buffaloes. The giants killed the animals by throwing stones, but the Mandans destroyed many with their arrows, which greatly delighted the giants. At that time the giants were at war with the eagles, which are very numerous, and which they slew by flinging stones. The Mandans, however, shot them with arrows, by which means they procured a large quantity of eagle's feathers. They then took leave of the giants, and were permitted to depart with their spoils. On their return they found the cave blocked up by a colossal serpent. At first they were at a loss how to make a passage, but they soon collected a large quantity of wood, and burned the monster. them tasted the roast flesh of the serpent, and, finding it palatable, partook of more. They proceeded on their way, when the head of the one who had eaten swelled prodigiously, and an intolerable itching came over his face. He begged his friend not to leave him, but to take him home. On the second day he continued to swell increased in length, felt an irritation all over, and was soon transformed into a serpent; upon which he entreated his companion to take him to the Missouri, which the latter accomplished in three days. As soon as the serpent reached the water, he dived, but speedily rose to the surface, and said, There are many like me below, but they hate me, therefore carry me to the long water, three days' journey from the Missouri.' This, too, was done; but the serpent not liking his new abode, his comrade was obliged to carry him to a secord lake, called Histoppa-Naumaugka, (the place of the tattooed face,) when the serpent was satisfied, and resolved to remain. He commissioned the young man to bring him four things, viz.: a white wolf, a pie cat, some pounded maize, and eagles'tals: after this he was to go to war four times, On reaching the further end they and kill an enemy in each combat. All were surprised at seeing a picturesque this accordingly took place. The serpent country, wholly unknown to them, with added he would always remain in the lake, herds of buffaloes grazing. Suddenly, never die, be medicine, and when the however, an immense giant stood before Mandans desired anything, they might them, who demanded, Who are you, little come hither, do penance, or make ofer people? I am afraid if I were to lay holdings, that is to say, hang robes, eagles' of you, I should crush you.' He then tails, or other articles of value, on poles on ted them in his hands very carefully, and the borders of the lake, which the Indians d them to a village, which was inhab- | do to this day." It is a fact worth noticing that, according to James, the Menomines translate the Manito (Spirit) of the Chippeways by Ahwahtoke, which means particularly a Whether," he observes, "this word was first formed as a name for a surprising or disgusting object, and thence transferred to spiritual beings, or whether the extension of its signification has been in an opposite direction, it is difficult to determine." The Arkansas believed in the existence of a great spirit, to which they made sacrifices, under the form of a serpent; and the Mandans also had a singular tradition of one, which they supposed resided in a lake, and to which they made offerings. The following is their tradition concerning it, as related by Maximilian: THE SERPENT OF THE MANDANS. "Two young men were strolling along the bank of the river, and observed a cavern, through which curiosity led them to go. E. G. S. |