121. A Corn Legend and a Flood Story
There is a story that in ancient times there occurred a great calamity, which was caused by a rain that lasted three months. The result of this long rain was that the waters rose high and soon flooded the whole extent of the dry land. Only one man was saved. He climbed a tree to save himself from the waters.
The waters rose high in every place except on one tract of land on which stood a village of about six families, from which all the game had disappeared; so the people of these families had nothing to eat. This village was situated on the bank of a small stream where grew a large number of slippery-elm trees. The absence of all other food compelled the miserable wretches to strip the bark from these trees to use as food. They dried the bark and then pounded it into a kind of coarse meal, which they mixed with water to make a sort of bread to satisfy their hunger.
During this terrible time of scarcity, one night when all others were fast asleep one of the young men of the small village, being awake, heard some person walking with very heavy tread. He was not moved to fear by this experience, so he decided not to inform his companions of what he had heard. For 30 successive nights he heard this tramping and walking to and fro, as he surmised. But the young man had been thinking deeply on the meaning of the sounds he had been hearing night after night, and on the morning of the day following the thirtieth night he informed his companions that some person was about to pay them a visit. The sounds of the walking had appeared to him to come from the east.
Not long after this the people realized the truth of what he had told them, for a strange woman[441] came to their lodge. No one knew whence she came, for they were surrounded by water, and there was no land in sight. The strange woman did not remain at this lodge, but went directly to the lodge of the brother of the young man who had heard her walking. When the brother, who had been outside the lodge, reentered it he found the woman seated. He had never before seen another woman like her, for she was beyond measure [[637]]attractive in person, in manner, and in her words and actions. The brother questioned her, asking her whence she came and whither she was going. The woman replied: “I have come from the south to assist you and your people in obtaining food for your needs. I came because my mother sympathizes greatly with her people, and it is she who has sent me here to become the wife of your elder son.” Answering her, the man said: “It seems very strange that your mother should send you here, but of course she probably knows that we are in despair, expecting nothing but death from hunger and starvation.” By way of reply to this the young woman asked: “Will you grant me the pleasure of having my mother’s request fulfilled?” The man, whose mind had already begun to hope for better things for his people, replied, “Yes; her request will be granted, and you will become the wife of my son.” She did become his wife, and they lived as husband and wife.
The bride wife the next morning said to her brother-in-law: “You must have the corn bins cleared out and ready, just as if you expected to use them for storing corn.” The brother-in-law at once told his sister to clear out the corn bins just as if they expected to store corn in them. Having done this, the sister informed her sister-in-law that they were ready. The younger brother exclaimed: “I am glad that our family has increased.” At the dawn of day the next morning the people, awakening as if they had been frightened, heard sounds which indicated that corn was falling into their corn bins, which had been empty so long. Some hardly believed their ears, and doubted that they had received so much corn freely. So when the bride wife asked that corn be prepared and cooked, her husband told his sister to make it ready, although in his mind he felt that his wife had said this just because she knew well that they had nothing to eat and nothing with which to prepare anything.
Then the bride wife said to her brother-in-law: “You go to the river and catch for us some fish, so that we may have fish to eat with our corn bread.” But the young man replied: “It is strange that you should think that there are fish in the river, for I have not seen one there for many months.” But the woman insisted that he should go, saying: “You will, however, find fish there.” He, in some doubt still, answered: “Very well, I will go, although I know that I shall not find any fish there.” Finally he went, as she had asked him to do, for the sake of his people. On reaching the stream he saw a fish; it was indeed the first he had seen since the great rainstorm had begun. He planned his measures so well that he caught the fish, which was very large, and at once started for the lodge. Arriving there, he said that it was the only fish he saw. The bride wife said: “This is the fish I meant. Now your sister will clean it and place it in the kettle to cook it.” When the sister was told to get some corn and [[638]]to prepare it for cooking, she said: “I have indeed cleared out the bins; all are empty, and not a cob is left on the poles on which hung the corn strings. Before this terrible rain came we had an abundance, but now we have not even a kernel for seed; all has indeed strangely disappeared.” The brother insisted, however, on her going to the bins, saying: “Go to see what you can. I heard a strange sound at dawn this morning, the sound of falling grains of corn.” To satisfy him the sister went to the bins where she was so fortunate as to find enough to fill both hands full. Delighted at finding even this small quantity, the girl returned and set to work preparing the corn for pounding into meal. It was not long before she had prepared and cooked a loaf of corn bread about two spans of the hand in circumference.
When the bride wife was informed that the loaf and the fish were ready to eat she said: “You must invite all your neighbors, so that each may have a portion of what you have cooked. You will cut the loaf into as many portions as there are persons in this village, and you must divide the fish in the same manner.” This was done. When the people who had gathered together in response to the invitation were all seated, the elder son of the family, the bridegroom, arose to speak. He said: “The Master of Life has gladdened our hearts with this loaf of bread and with this fish, the kind of food we ate before this water surrounded us. It must indeed be the will of the Master of Life that we should live. Before this young woman came to our lodge we expected to starve to death, and it is she who has invited every one in this village to come here to eat this food. In the future, therefore, it shall be the custom that when anyone shall have good fortune in his hunting or fishing he shall prepare a feast to which all his neighbors shall be made welcome.” His sister was told to serve all the people who had come. It seemed impossible, however, that even a small mite of fish or bread could be given to each of so many persons. But after she had begun to serve out the bread and the fish, she found that she could do this with what she had; and all were satisfied. There indeed seemed to be only a spoonful of broth in which the fish was cooked, but all were given a drink out of it and grew strong. The woman received the thanks of the people for the food which she had brought to them. What they had received seemed enough, and it was their opinion that this was an example for them to follow, so they declared: “Hereafter, if we obtain anything good to eat, it shall be shared equally by all. Such shall be our custom.”
Then the bridegroom’s brother informed the people that the bride desired the people to go to their homes and clear out their corn bins, just as if they were expecting to fill them with grain, and that they must act at once in this matter. So the people quickly returned to [[639]]their lodges to carry out the bride’s request. During the following night the young man who had first heard the walking of the still unknown woman again heard the sound made by falling corn grains. In the morning the people of the several lodges found their corn bins well supplied with corn, and they were greatly rejoiced at this good fortune. Then an old woman, one of the near neighbors of the bride, said: “I will ask the young woman whence she came to us, so that we may know who it is that has been so kind and merciful to us.” So going to the lodge of the newly married couple she addressed the bride, saying: “I have come to ask you to tell us whence you came to us?” The bride willingly replied: “I came from the south, where my mother lives. She knew of your destitute condition and felt very miserable about it, hence she sent me to marry this young man. He indeed knew that I was coming before I arrived here. My mother sent me on this errand so that I could protect you by providing for your most pressing needs.” Replying, the old woman said: “I am thankful and so are all my neighbors that your mother was moved to pity us by seeing our distressing condition and destitution; it is through her that we shall live. We are indeed grateful to her and to you for fulfilling your duty in the matter.” Thus it was made clear to all the people to whom they owed their good fortune. They saw then that it was through the bride and her mother that the bare corncobs that hung in the corn stacks were again filled with grains of corn, and that their corn bins were again full of grain.
After this there came a time when the bridegroom’s younger brother began to dislike his sister-in-law, and he sought in many ways to abuse her, saying rude things to her at times. At first the sister-in-law paid no attention to his abuse.[442] One day she made bread from corn grits, and she gave a loaf of it to her hostile brother-in-law, saying: “I have made this for you.” But he seized it rudely, exclaiming: “Do you mean to insult me? I will not eat such bread as that; it is not fit to eat.” With these words he tossed the loaf of bread into the fire. Without a word of remonstrance the young woman cast herself down on her couch and covered her head in sorrow; and she remained thus until her husband returned. At once he asked the cause of her sorrow. At first she refused to tell him. Finally, however, he prevailed on her to do so. She said: “Lately your brother abuses me at every opportunity. I made him bread of the best material I had, and he sneeringly threw it into the fire. So I will go home to my mother. If you desire to accompany me, you may do so. It will require as much time for me to return to my home as it required to come here. When my mother sent me she did not expect me to return to her home again. But I must go, and all that I brought with me shall go back with me. All is due to your brother’s fault. This is why I am sorrowful.” Her husband was [[640]]deeply grieved at the prospect for his people, and he sought to persuade his wife to change her resolution, but he could not induce her to remain.
In the evening, having completed her preparations, she started on her return journey, saying to her husband: “When you are hungry, follow my trail. You shall encounter many difficulties, but you must not falter by the way. At all times keep in mind that you are going to your wife. You must not stop to rest either day or night. So take courage and do not falter. Now I go.”
During that night all the people heard the sound of falling grains of corn, which dropped from the cobs hanging on the strings of ears. The next morning the bridegroom asked his sister to go for corn. She went as directed, but found the corn bins empty and the corncobs bare. This was true, indeed, of all the lodges of the village.
The night following the morning which showed the people that all their corn had mysteriously disappeared the old woman who had asked the strange young woman whence she had come visited the lodge of the lone bridegroom and asked him where his wife was. He told her that she had returned to the lodge of her mother because of the abuse which his brother had heaped on her, and that all the good things which she had brought with her had gone away with her; and he told the old woman further that it was all due to his brother’s fault. He said that his wife could not punish the culprit without punishing all the people,[443] and that he could do nothing in the matter.
The direful plight of the village caused the bridegroom to resolve to follow his wife to her home to learn whether it were possible to relieve the distress of his people. After making some necessary preparations, he started out on the trail of his wife. As he followed it he found that there was a well-defined path on the waters which entirely surrounded his people. When he started on this perilous trip the husband remembered what his wife had said to him about the difficulties of the journey, and what he must do to overcome them; so he kept on his way by day and by night without stopping. At all times he could plainly see her trail, which appeared as if it had just been made.
In the meanwhile, when he started his mother-in-law said to her daughter, who had returned home: “Your husband is coming to you and to us; he has now left the home of his people.” It is said that his mother-in-law could hear his footsteps as he followed the trail.
As his wife had told him to give no thought to the great difficulties of the way, he kept them out of his mind; he did not realize the great length of time he was on the journey. After many days he reached a cornfield, and by this sign he was delighted to know that [[641]]he was very near his journey’s end. Stopping for a moment and looking around he saw a column of smoke rising from the middle of the cornfield, and he at once decided that it must come from the lodge of his mother-in-law; thereupon he went directly toward it.
Having arrived in front of the doorway he was gladly surprised to hear the voice of his mother-in-law from the inside saying to him: “Come in, my son-in-law.” On entering the lodge he saw his wife and was made welcome by her and his mother-in-law. His wife said to him: “You have done my bidding, and I am pleased that you have. Is it not good to see our cornfield so exuberantly filled with rich ears of corn? And is it not pleasant to think that we can live here in peace and comfort? Being faithful, you shall be prosperous.” The mother-in-law, who knew that he was approaching, had ready, cooked and prepared, a large bark bowl full of oniasont (crook-necked squash), which she hastily set before him without reserving any portion of it. When he had eaten his fill he thanked her and the Source of All Life. He remained in the lodge of his mother-in-law until the growing corn had ripened. Then he said: “I think that it is time for me to be going back to my people. I can now be of some service to them.” His wife said to him: “Your brother, who found pleasure in abusing me, is dead; he died, indeed, of hunger and starvation. It is, indeed, too bad that he had so evil a disposition.” The husband replied: “I do not mourn for him, for he knew well what he was doing when he heaped abuse on you.” The wife answered: “You will find your people still without food. You must be very cautious on the journey. I am afraid that you may be overcome on the way.” Thereupon she told him of a number of animals which he would find along the path, and which did not exist until after the second creation. The waters of the great flood had then gone down, and the earth had become new. She gave him food for his people; also, for seeding, one ear of corn of each variety, some beans of each variety, and one squash, which his people must use for seeding their land. The wife gave her husband also provisions for his journey, ready cooked for eating cold. She cautioned him not to stop on the way, lest he be overcome by the evil powers which infested the pathway to his home. Then they parted affectionately.
The husband started homeward. He encountered many obstacles and unknown beasts and animals on the way; but at last after many days of travel without stopping to rest, he safely reached his home. He found there only low timber and bushes and weeds growing. On arrival at his own lodge he gave a few kernels of corn to each family, saying: “This corn shall be the chief source of sustenance [[642]]of the people hereafter.” In like manner he did with each of the several kinds of seeds which he had brought back with him. It is from these seeds that were propagated all the food plants which the human race had in ancient times.