Folk-lore of the Musquakie Indians of North America : and catalogue of Musquakie beadwork and other objects in the collection of the Folk-lore Society

Preface

At the meeting of the British Association at Toronto in 1897, a paper on the folklore of the Musquakie Indians was received from Miss Owen, the author of the following pages, who unfortunately was herself unable to be present. After the meeting was over, the paper in question was, with some others, forwarded by the recorder of Section H (Anthropology) to me, for examination with a view to publication by the Folk-lore Society. It was read at a meeting of the Society in the course of the following winter. But, while in some respects a valuable contri¬ bution to our knowledge of the tribe, it was short, and lacked the details desirable in a scientific account of the tribe. The writer was known to be intimately acquainted with the Musquakies, and it was obvious that the paper contained only a small part of the information she, and probably she only, could give. The Council of the Society therefore requested me to invite her to expand it. Accord¬ ingly I wrote to her. The result of the correspondence was that she not only acceded to the wish of the Council, but also with rare generosity offered to present to the Society her collection of Musquakie bead work and cere¬ monial implements. This collection had been slowly accumulated during many years of direct personal inter¬ course with members of the tribe. The objects it con¬ tained were genuine products of native industry, and implements actually used in the religious ceremonies of

VI

Preface.

the tribe. Many of them, indeed, had grown obsolete in the gradual abandonment of the indigenous customs and civilization; and they were consequently impossible now to obtain. The gift, therefore, was one of special, if not unique, importance. The Council gratefully accepted an offer so generous, only asking that Miss Owen would add a formal Catalogue, to which her promised monograph on the tribe might be prefixed by way of introduction and further explanation.

The Collection reached the Society in the Spring of 1901. It was exhibited at a Joint Meeting of the Folk¬ lore Society and the Anthropological Institute held at the rooms of the latter on the 19th June of that year; and it was then placed in the University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Cambridge.

The Monograph and Catalogue now before the reader complete the gift and ensure its permanent utility. The anthropological student with this book in hand will need no other reminder of the value of the collection for the history of culture. Under the name of Sacs and Foxes the Musquakies have played a part by no means con¬ temptible in the struggle against the white race and its civilization. They have been beaten ; and they are now a dying people. Their blood may be mingled with that of their conquerors, and thus their life may in some measure be perpetuated. But their ancient beliefs and institutions are passing away for ever. We cannot recover their details uncontaminated by European ideas. Miss Owen's account, however, is hardly the less valuable for that. It exhibits them as they were at the close of the nineteenth century, and comprises the more important traditions then preserved of their mythology and previous history. Together with the collection, it affords us a glimpse of the effect on the Musquakies of what Miss Kingsley called in an expressive phrase “the clash of cultures.” The introductory paragraph of the Catalogue

Preface.

vii

describes the situation better than any words of mine could do so. It should be read and read again by all who desire to understand how archaic objects and archaic ceremonies and sayings survive among civilized and bar¬ barous peoples alike; for it enshrines the very secret of Folk-lore.

Formal votes of thanks, such as have been passed by the Society, express but a small part of the sense of indebtedness which all students will feel towards Miss Owen for thus placing her collection and her unrivalled knowledge of the Musquakies at the service of science. In the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology the objects will always be accessible for study. It is the earnest wish of the Society, as well as of the donor, that in this way the purpose of the gift may be fulfilled.

At the suggestion of Dr. Haddon, Miss A. Kingston made a large number of coloured copies of the bead-work patterns and forwarded them to Miss Owen, in order that the latter might endeavour to obtain further informa¬ tion from the Musquakies concerning them. This Miss Owen was kind enough to do, making a special journey from her home, St. Joseph, Missouri, for the purpose; and much fresh and most valuable information was forth¬ coming, which would never have been recovered had it not been for the trouble taken by Miss Kingston in making the drawings. The Society is indebted to Dr. Kaddon not only for the original suggestion which elicited this additional information, but also for preparing, with Miss Kingston’s assistance, the technical description of the objects figured.

E. SIDNEY HARTLAND.

Highgarth,

Gloucester, %ih August, 1904.

Contents

FOLKLORE OF THE MUSQUAKIE INDIANS.

PAGE

I. Mythical Origin, .i

I. Mythical Origin

The Musquakies, as they call themselves, Outagamies or Foxes as they are known to the whites and to the other Indian tribes within and without the great Algonquin family to which they belong, say that they are descended from a woman whom they call He-nau-ee (Mother). This He-nau-ee came down from the Upper World in a storm, the like of which has not been before or since, the sky and the sea struck each other, and rocks were ground into sand. When He-nau-ee fell into the water on her back the storm ceased, an island, “green [or blue—one word serves for the two colours] and fertile, with berries ready ripened for her use, and trees with acorns to make her bread, and sweet white roots easy to dig,” rose up under her. On it, she told her children, she lived for eighty days. On the eightieth day she gave birth to two sons, who grew to manhood in a few hours, received some instruction from their mother, built a boat, and at sundown paddled over to the mainland, leaving her behind, because “she, the pleasant of speech and beauti¬ ful of face, looked from her eyes so terribly that they, the unfearing, sweated with fear.” When they touched shore, they turned to see if she by magic was able to

A follow, and saw her instead sinking with her island beneath the waves.

The Brothers ran a little way. When they stopped, the larger, Hot Hand, said to the smaller, Cold Hand; “ I smell something I do not like; let us stop and fight with it.” Cold Hand said ; “ Let us stop and fight with it.” Then each tore up a young tree, for many trees grew on top of rocks in that place, stripped it of branches, smoothed and shaped it with the finger-nails, split the end with the eye [I don’t know what this means, nobody would explain], fitted-in stone torn by the hand and bitten by the teeth, and made fast by the hair from his scalp-lock. The hair was not enough, so they felt poor in mind till a deer came, saying, “ I give you,” and gave them sinew from his leg. With the sinew the stone was made fast, a good spear was made, for not yet had the old women come to teach the Brothers to make bows.

The black thing was coming; they smelled him. Cold Hand said : “ Shall I go ” Hot Hand said : “ The stink¬ ing meat is for me to take.” He spat on his spear. It was sharp ; it took the Black Wolf coming, in the throat, in the breast, in the belly. Black Wolf could not make medicine; he was very sick. He said: “Take the skin.” Hot Hand took the fine black skin. Naked, Black Wolf ran away. Hot Hand hung the skin on a tree, he had no wife to throw it to. Black Wolf, far off, danced and sang his song; the medicine cured him. At night he stole the skin.

The Brothers went on with a bad heart; they wanted the skin. After a while Cold Hand said: “ I smell some¬ thing I do not like; let us stop and fight with it.” Hot Hand said: “ Let us stop and fight with it.” Cold Hand spat on his spear; it was sharp; it took Black Wolf coming, in the throat, in the breast, in the belly. Black Wolf was very sick. He said: “Take the skin.” Cold

Hand hungf the skin on his spear. Black Wolf ran away; he danced, he sang his song; the medicine cured him. The Brothers slept; he tried to steal the skin. The spear said: “ Come up ! come up ! ” Cold Hand waked. Black Wolf ran away ; he was very cold.

Hot Hand said: “ Give me the black skin. I took it.” Cold Hand gave it. They went on. Hot Hand made the skin into a bundle; he tied it with grass, and with grass bound it upon his back. They crossed a river. Black Wolf was there ; his medicine made the water black; he hid in it, he followed the brothers, he cut the grass ropes, he stole the skin, he made himself small, as fish-spawn he went down the river. Hot Hand was on the bank; he felt his back, he was ashamed that the skin was gone. He went on, not talking. When it was night he put himself to dream ; he dreamed of the lake into which the river flowed ; he saw Black Wolf in the lake. He waked; he went on with his brother. They went to the lake. Hot Hand fought with Black Wolf; he was at the water’s edge; he had no time to make medicine, to change. Hot Hand took him in the throat, in the breast, in the belly. Black Wolf gave up the skin. At night he stole it from under Hot Hand’s head. He made himself small like a young water-rat; he hid in the mud of the lake.

In the morning the Brothers went on ; they went along the lake shore, for they could see the town of old women. They had no boat, no tree to make a boat. They made signs to the old women, but they came not.

In the day Cold Hand said : “ I smell the wolf; let us stop and fight with him.” He struck his spear into mud. ‘He brought up Black Wolf on his spear; he spoiled his medicine. The spear made the rat-skin a wolf-skin ; he took it away with him. At night he hung it on the spear. Black Wolf could not take it off.

In the morning Hot Hand said: “ Give it to me; it is mine.” Cold Hand gave it to him. They walked by the lake. Black Wolf made himself into a vapour. The vapour rolled before the wind ; it rolled past the Brothers; it took away the skin Hot Hand had tied on his shoulders. The vapour rolled over the lake; it changed to a louse; the louse went under the wing of a duck swimming on the lake. The duck swam to the middle of the lake; she dived to the bottom. Cold Hand said : “ Let Black Wolf go; he has had enough.” Hot Hand was ashamed. He said: “Go first, brother; you are first.” Cold Hand would not go first.

They stopped ; they called the old women. The old women would not help them. When the old women would not help them, the bird Hee-wa-nee-ka-kee came flying out of the woods with a twig; she beat on the twig till it was hollow ; she blew on it with her breath till it was large ; she made it a boat. The Brothers took the boat; they made an oar; they rowed on the lake. A dreadful large snake was in the lake; it rose up through the water ; it showed its hard, white scales below its head with deer’s horns; it had eyes dreadful with fire; it had teeth ; it spat fire; it burned the Brothers. Hot Hand, his tears had not come; he made medicine with spittle; he spat in the snake’s mouth; he spat on his burns; he spat on his brother’s burns ; he sent the snake to the bottom of the lake; he kept it there; he was well, his brother was well.

They went to the land; they saw old women digging in a field. “Give to us,” they said to the old women. The old women said, “Yes” to them. To themselves the old women said : “ These men are meat for the pots. Let us kill them.” The Brothers heard them, but gave no sign (kept a hard face). “Take from the heap of roots on the ground,” said the old women. They had bones in their hands to strike with. The Brothers bent down; they had their spears over their shoulders. The spears caught the blows of the old women. The old women turned to stone.

The Brothers went on.

They saw other old women. The old women were cooking. I smell something I like,” said the Brothers ; “give it.” “Yes,” said the old women. To themselves, the old women said : “ These men are meat for the pots. Let us kill them.” The Brothers heard them. “ Take from the pot,” said the old women. They had firebrands in their hands to strike with. “We are meat for the pot, said the Brothers; “ we will go in, if you will go in when we come out.” “ We will go in when you come out, ’ said the old women. The Brothers went into the pot, they cooled it with their breath, for their tears had not yet come. They stayed in the pot. Then they said; “ It is time to get out.” They jumped out. They said to the old women : “ Get in, it is your turn.” The old women were afraid, they would not go into the pot. The Brothers pushed them in. The old women were burned up, all but their thigh-bones. The thigh-bones the Brothers took with them.

They came to two old women winnowing parched corn, tossing it in a buffalo-robe. “ I smell something I like; give it,” said the Brothers. “Yes,” said the old women. To themselves they said ; “ These men are meat for the pot. Let us kill them.” The Brothers heard, they kept a hard face. The old women lowered the robe to the ground. The corn was in the middle of it. “ Take,” said the old women. The Brothers stepped on the robe. The old women tossed it high, brought it hard against the ground. The Brothers’ spears struck the ground first, the Brothers came down softly on their feet. The spears touched the old women, turned them into corn-worms.

The Brothers went on, taking the robe with them.

They came to two old women pounding meal. Their

Folk-Lore of the Musquakie Indians.

mill was a hollow log set on a stone. They pounded with hickory staves. “ I smell something I like ; give it," said the Brothers. “Yes,” said the old women. To themselves they said : “ These men are meat for the pot. Let us kill them.” The Brothers kept a hard face. The old women took the staves from the mill. “Take from the mill,” said the old women. The Brothers stooped over the mill. The staves of the old women struck hard, but the spears caught the blows. The old women were thrown into the meal, they became weevils in the meal.

The Brothers took the mill, they poured out the meal, they covered the top of the mill with the buffalo-hide, they played on the hide with the thigh-bones, they went on, drumming and singing.

Beasts and birds heard the drumming and singing, they came to the Brothers. The ones with bad heart fought the Brothers. The Brothers killed many. Some went away to make medicine for the hurts they had. The Brothers had no hurts.

They went into a valley. Four days and four nights (four suns, four sleeps) they were in the valley. Some¬ thing came at night, it tore the drum-head, it tore the clothes of the brothers, it growled, it was Moo-in, the bear. They awakened, they ran, they saw no bear, by day they saw a fat old man sitting. They said: “ Uncle, did you see a bear.?” He looked at his paunch, he said, “ Grandfathers, I see only myself.” The last morning. Cold Hand said : “ Brother, I see a fat bear at night, I see a fat man in the morning. There is grease in the tracks of the bear, let us see if there is grease in the tracks of the man.” “Let us see,” said Hot Hand. So when they came up to the man, and he said, “I see only myself,” Cold Hand said: “ See my spear, it is asking for you ”; and he made the spear stand alone, he made it walk, he made it bend toward the old man. The fat old man ran, there was grease in his tracks. By that they knew he had a devil in his nose, that he could have many shapes at night. Cold Hand ran, he caught the fat old man, he killed him before he could make medicine, he scalped him.

The Brothers went on.

Hot Hand said: “ I struck first.’’ [Meaning that he touched the dead body first. This blow is the coup which entitles whosoever gives it to the scalp, without any consideration for the one who dealt the death-stroke.] Cold Hand gave him the scalp.

They came to a wigwam made of elm-bark. An old man was in the wigwam by a great fire. He watched a stone pot that was in the midst of the fire. “ I smell something I like; give it,” said the Brothers. “Take it,” said the old man, “ if you will swallow as I pour, without cooling.” “Give it,” they said. The old man poured from the pot for Hot Hand, for Cold Hand. They drank, they had a glad heart, the broth did not burn them. “Let us make a trial,” said the old man. “If I win, all is mine; if you win, all is yours.” The Brothers said: “ Let us make a trial.” They tied the door, they piled wood on the fire. The old man sweated. The old man smoked. He made medicine, but he panted and thirsted. His roll of furs (on which he sat) was singed. The Brothers said : “ We are not warm enough.” They piled wood on the fire. The water in the jar boiled. The old man drank it, groaning. He screamed. “We are not warm enough,” said the Brothers. They piled wood on the fire. The old man became a crow, he flew up toward the smoke-hole. [A wigwam has no outlet for the smoke of the fire built on its floor, but a hole in the centre of the roof.] The smoke strangled the crow, he fell and was burned up. The wigwam caught fire and burned up. The Brothers jumped out of the flames, they waited till the fire went out. They stirred the ashes with their spears, they found a crow’s

Folk-Lore of the Musquakie Indians.

heart, they found a crow's neck-bone. For good luck, they took them.

They went on.

At night, they slept in a wood. The trees were devils, they walked, they became men and women, the women made love to the Brothers; when the Brothers would not have them, they fought, the men-devils fought to help them. The Brothers could not make a fire to drive away the devils, the brush would not burn, but they fought with their spears, they overthrew, they pierced. By day, the devils were trees. Then the Brothers brought wood, they burned the trees. Then they made medicine, they made themselves well. They slept.

In the morning, they went on.

They saw an antelope. All day, they ran after it. It jumped over a ravine, it was gone. The Brothers jumped, they fell into the ravine, they fell through the bottom of it into a cave. The cave had in it the Ancestors [the ancestral animals]. The Ancestors sat round a fire. The Brothers saluted them, beginning with the Musquakie (Fox) and ending with the Ah-tha-ba-nee (Raccoon). Cold Hand saluted first. When the Brothers went down, Hot Hand fell on his back. Cold Hand fell on his feet, he saluted. Grandfather Fox (Hee-to-gwaw-Mus-qua-kie) saluted before the other Animals. Grandfather Raccoon (Hee-to-gwa-Ah-tha-ba-nee) saluted last. These were the Ancestors, the Animals: Fox (Mus-qua-kie), Eagle (Sclar), Bear (Moocha), Beaver (Ha-ma-qua), Fish(Na-mathee). Antelope (Esqua-ba-qua-wah-see-qua-thee-way), Raccoon (Ah-tha-ba-nee).

Let us make them ma-coupee [full of magic, fetish. Can’t translate exactly]. Grandfather Fox said it.

“No,” said the other Animals. “They will know too much, they will trouble us.”

“They will help us,” said Grandfather Fox.

“ They will help us,” said Grandfather Antelope. “ It is promised. They will have a new place. I dreamed it.”

“Make them ma-coupeel^ said the Animals.

Grandfather Raccoon filled the pipe and gave it to Grandfather Fox. Grandfather Fox smoked. He gave the pipe to Grandfather Eagle. The Animals smoked in turn, Grandfather Raccoon last. He offered the pipe to Cold Hand. Cold Hand said: “To him first, he is Elder Brother.” Hot Hand had it first, he passed it in his right hand across his left to Cold Hand, he fell down asleep. At the first whiff. Cold Hand trembled ; at the second, he was faint; at the third, he was blind; at the fourth, he was breathless. He handed back the pipe as he was falling, he slept.

The Animals cut out their hearts, they cut out their livers, their lungs, their stomachs, their bowels, they puri¬ fied all with water and the smoke of medicine, they returned them to the bodies. The Brothers slept a moon (twenty-seven days). They had dreams. The dreams told of the people to come, the Brothers’ people. They awoke, they stretched themselves, they stood up. The Animals said : “ Ho, Brothers.” They were brothers to the Animals [received as equals by the Animals]. Their hearts were large, they were happy; they were sad in knowledge, their tears came. They remembered their dreams, they stood in a dark place together and talked of the dreams, they asked the Animals; “ Do we go back? Do we go to the upper world? ” “Not now,” said the Animals, “ you are not finished.” The Animals made the Brothers fast nine days. The Brothers could not feel the sun, the Animals told them the days. The Brothers dreamed. They dreamed of their medicine [the fetish each was to wear under his left arm]. The fast ended, the Brothers were instructed. They learned the ceremonials for puberty, they learned the laws for the government of a tribe, they learned the laws of the secret lo Folk-Lore of the Musquakie Indians.

societies, they learned the dances, they learned all good magic, they learned to counteract the bad magic that had been taught to the tribes already made, by little devils (stha-och) and great devils (meitche-manito-og).

Eighty days from the day of the chase of the ante¬ lope, the Brothers were sent back. They were sent back to the Middle World. An eagle came down through the smoke-hole. The Animals called the eagle, they set the Brothers on him. The eagle flew up, he flew down, he sat under a tree. “Strip off the branches,” he said to the Brothers. “ Make a house of the branches.” He flew away. They stripped off the branches, they made a house of the branches, a woven wee-ka-ya-up. They sat down in it, they said : “ What is this for” When they had sat awhile, Hot Hand said: “ I got a louse from that bird.” He scratched a lump swelling on his shoulder. “ I got a louse from that bird,” said Cold Hand. He scratched a lump on his side. The lump broke. Hot Hand took out a boy. The lump broke. Cold Hand took out a girl. The boy was the size of a duck’s egg. The girl was the size of a plover’s egg. They grew to be man and woman that day, they were given each other in marriage. In a year they had seven sons and seven daughters. From the seven sons and seven daughters came the seven clans of the Musquakies. The seven clans are named for the seven ancestral animals. The boy that was the first of the clan started the name. The seven boys that came first could each take the shape of his Animal (Totem). The oldest boy was a Mus-qua-kie, he gave his name to his clan, to the tribe; the others were under him. His father was Hee-to-gwaw (Grandfather), his mother was Hee-coo-nee (Grandmother).

The Brothers taught the boy and girl. They told them all the laws of the Animals. The boy and girl learned all the laws. Then the Brothers went on. They

Mythical Origin.

went away to kill or conquer all the demons (wo-skaypee-sku-nee-og), all the little devils ^ (stha-wah) and all the great devils (mitche-manito-wah), they left the boy and girl to build up the tribe.

^Creatures that make diseases in individual bodies. Great devils bring wars and pestilence, all the great evils. Demons are vampires, wer-wolves, nightmares, etc.

II. Achievements And Fate Of The Brothers

The Brothers went on. They went on to kiil or conquer all the demons and devils. They saw a demon. He had no body; he was all head. He had teeth like bread-stones [the granite boulders on which the women mould their bread]. His mouth was a man’s length, his nose high as a wild-cat’s back, his eyebrows were great as a wolf-skin, his hair like a bull buffalo’s hung down, his eye-holes eyeless a shield’s size were. He slept. He slept where he wallowed a hole, his mouth open, his nose scenting prey a day’s journey off. The sun made him sleep. He slept from sun up to sundown if no prey came. His prey was young children. He drew them by his tongue. His tongue had a snake’s head at the end. He chewed the children, he sucked the blood, he spat them out. They became little devils, little devils that fly into the nose, the throat, the belly, and make the people sick and of bad heart, little devils no man can see but the medicine-man.

The Brothers sounded the war-cry — the cry the Animals taught them. The demon was far off, his name was Kee. He heard the Brothers; he rolled over hills and hollows four days. He came to them. Hot Hand struck first. Kee sang his song. The spear struck his teeth, it jumped back, it jumped back many

Achievements and Fate of the Brothers.

times. Cold Hand shed a tear on his spear; the spear told him to shed it He drove the spear into Kee’s mouth. He struck, all Kee’s upper teeth fell in. He struck, all Kee’s lower teeth fell in. He struck, Kee’s tongue fell in; it leaped from his mouth; it hissed; it slipped in among the bushes. Hot Hand counted coup on Kee ; but Kee was not dead, he rolled away, bleeding. His blood made biting, small beasts- Cold Hand said to Kee: “ Go where the sun is not” Kee went there. He was the first to go. Now all bad men go. Hot Hand said: “ I took him, he is mine.” I have dreamed. He is to you always,” Cold Hand said. Cold Hand did not dream, he heard the spear talk.

The Brothers went on.

They fought more demons, they sent them to the place where the sun was not The demons were blood-suckers. A demon was a leg, tall as a tree. He trampled people, the foot sucked blood. A demon was an arm, long as a blacksnake, the hand sucked blood. A demon was an ear, great as a hillside. The ear sucked in children, it sucked their blood. They fell out dry as old wood, they had moss on them, they were devils. All fought. The Brothers sent them to the place.

The Brothers went on.

They fought three women. The women had no heads. They had eyes in their breasts, they had mouths in their bellies. The women had spears. They fought hard ; they gave out an odour. The Brothers fell down from the odour. Cold Hand said “Strike!” to his spear. The spear struck, it killed the women. The ghosts went to the place.

The Brothers went on.

They took many demons, many great devils, many small devils. The demons and devils could not hide well enough. The Brothers said: “All the Petuns, all the Ho-da-su-nee, all the people feared the demons and the devils, let us go to them for our presents.” The people hated the Brothers; they were jealous; the medicine-men made them jealous, they made them afraid. The people called all the demons and devils left, all the medicine-men, all the birds and beasts that knew sorcery [bad medicine, ma-cou-pee-sku-nee\. They went to a wood-of-trees-that-walk. They stayed all night; they had a council without a fire. Then they dared the Brothers with shouts. The wood-of-trees-that-walk would fall on the Brothers. The Brothers ran to the shouts. They met three women. The women gave them bows, and arrows that came back to the bows. The Brothers conquered many with the bows and arrows. They stood far off from the wood-of-trees-thatwalk, and shot with the arrows that came back to them. They sang their song; they made the demons and devils they shot go to the place. The other demons and devils and the people ran away from the wood-oftrees-that-walk. They ran away at night. In the morning they had a council. They sent away Marko-ga, the owl, to find the demons, Chee-nau-og, the makers of storms, eaters of men, with ice hearts, with hands cold as frost. The owl found the Chee-nau-og, he told them, then he was ashamed, he hid himself, he comes by day no more. The Chee-nau-og came; they fought the Brothers. Hot Hand conquered many; Cold Hand could not conquer. The Chee-nau-og made a storm—rain and snow—between the Brothers. They killed Cold Hand. Hot Hand did not know. He sang his song; he went on. Cold Hand did not come up.