133. The Story of the White Pigeon, the Chief of the Pigeons
It is said that among wild pigeons the white ones are the chiefs of their communities. According to tradition, a white pigeon once flew into the forest lodge of a noted old man, the Wild Cat. The visitor [[695]]did not appear ill at ease but stood in the lodge wherever it seemed good to him, and then without remark he flew away.
The old man, Wild Cat, somewhat amazed by the quiet conduct of his visitor, related the incident to his neighbors, saying that this visit portended that something out of the ordinary was about to happen. But an entire year passed and nothing unusual had happened to old Wild Cat and his fellows and neighbors.
But at about the same season the next year the same White Pigeon again visited the old man’s lodge. At this visit the old man believed that the White Pigeon was a man (i.e., one of his own kind of beings), so he conversed with him on many subjects. During this visit White Pigeon informed the old man, Wild Cat, that all the various tribes of birds had held a council at which it had been decided that the wild pigeons should furnish a tribute to mankind, because their Maker had selected the wild pigeons for this important duty as most other birds had only very little to give up because their mode of life required them to live dispersed here and there, and so what they had to offer could be obtained only with difficulty, while the others had nothing to offer toward the support of mankind.
So, the pigeons being the only tribe of birds which built their nests and reared their young in a single community, it was resolved by the various tribes of birds that the pigeons should spare some of their young to men for food. White Pigeon continued by saying that he had come purposely to notify old man Wild Cat of this momentous decision, and to tell him the young pigeons were to be taken at the proper season, and the manner in which this must be done.
He said: “In the season of the roost, when the young pigeons have attained a suitable size for eating, the people should select a suitable person as superintendent or master of the hunt, and he should give the needful directions to the people for making their preparations for the hunt before starting for the hunting grounds in which the pigeons have their roost in the forest.”
On such a hunting expedition the entire community was engaged, and so it was not unusual to have a very large multitude of people moving along a common path at this time. But to secure order and obedience certain rules for the march must be observed by all. Of these, one was that when the party halted to rest, to eat, or to camp for the night, the leader would place a rod, suitably painted, across the path, and no one was permitted to pass over it or to go around it for the purpose of continuing the journey regardless of the rest of the party. It was held that should one break this injunction some misfortune would inevitably befall the party. When the party was ready to proceed the leader would take up the rod and then the journey would be resumed. [[696]]
Upon nearing the roosting place of the pigeons it was customary to make a collection of gifts from the people, consisting of various articles of ornament and trinkets of all kinds, for an offering to the pigeons. These freely given gifts were placed in a bark bowl and this was borne solemnly into the forest to some swampy place where tall weeds were plentiful, and these gifts were spread out on a piece of elm bark while native tobacco was burned and an invocation to the offering was made to the pigeons and their Maker.
Tradition reports that for the first hunting expedition the people as a whole did not observe the rules of the master of the hunt, which he had learned from the White Pigeon. So some went around the painted rod placed across the path when the party halted for any purpose; others withheld presents from the offering, and many accidents happened to them; some broke their legs, others their arms, some fell sick, and some died. A great number of misfortunes befell the expedition.
After the expedition had returned to the home lands this fact aroused much discussion. So the old man, Wild Cat, questioned his people as to their conduct, and they informed him. He declared that they had brought these ills upon themselves and urged them to observe strictly the rule which the White Pigeon had given them for their guidance if they wished to avoid these misfortunes. So the following season the people went out to the hunt, but they carefully observed the rules laid down for their guidance and all went well, and so every spring for 20 years they continued to go out on these expeditions without any marked untoward events taking place.
But toward the end of this period many factions had arisen among the people. The young people asked, What is the need for these things? Pigeons may be killed at any time of the year. They are fit for food at all seasons of the year. What can pigeons do with these offerings of ornaments and trinkets which they are not able to wear or make any use of? Another faction of the people killed the pigeons wherever and whenever they found them, killing both the young and the old pigeons. Another faction boasted that its members had no faith in what was done, and so they had no desire to engage in pigeon hunting, even refusing to eat any of the pigeon meat when it was offered to them. But it was not long before misfortune began to assail these seditious factions. The members of the faction which had refused to eat any of the pigeon meat died off one by one. Before the visit of the White Pigeon they never died, they seemed to be immortal; but now disease and death abounded among them because they had failed to obey the regulations prescribed by the White Pigeon for their guidance.
These conditions continued for some time, becoming more and more distressful as time elapsed. Then, for the third time, the [[697]]White Pigeon visited the old man, being just 20 years after the second visit. The old man did not know that he was talking to the chief of the pigeons, for he appeared to him in all respects as a man.
The White Pigeon informed the old man that thereafter as long as the world should last men and women would die because they had disobeyed the rules proclaimed by the Pigeon people. And, further, that in the future people must not kill any white pigeon, and that they must observe the rules for the hunting of pigeons, and that this was his last visit to him. And immediately he flew away.
The conditions among the people did not change for the better; the several factions still existed, and there seemed to be no common purpose in the community; some of the factions observed the rules for hunting, some only in part, while still others paid no attention to them, even mocking those who did. Some years passed when a stranger came among this people and finding his way to the lodge of the old man he said to him, “You must accompany me.” Without any question the old man followed him, for he regarded him as a man like himself.
They traveled for a number of days until finally they came to the place in which lived the tribe of the stranger, which was a place situated on the top of very lofty mountains. The stranger’s friends received the old man with every mark of respect and kindness. This people were the Donyonda (i.e., Eagle people), although to the old man they appeared to him as men like himself.
There were among the old man’s people persons without faith in the teachings of the old man which he reported he had learned from the White Pigeon. And there came a day when a man of the Crow tribe of people told one of these disbelievers that the old man, their chief, was at that time living among the Donyonda, or Eagle people, and offered to conduct him to the land of the Donyonda people. The disbeliever accepted the proposal of the Crow man and so they set out together. The Crow man and his companion finally reached the land of the Donyonda people on the top of a very lofty mountain.
The old chief recognized the man from his home, but he would have nothing at all to do with him either by word or act. He even went so far as to say to his adopted friends, “This man has come here for no good purpose; the working of his mind is very different from that of ours.” Consequently, the chief man of the Donyonda people ordered one of their warriors to take this man away and to throw him onto the moon. So on the following day the warrior placed the man on his back and bore him swiftly away; and when he reached the side of the moon he cast the man onto the moon’s side and left him there, and he remains there to this day.
But old Chief Wild Cat lived with the Donyonda people for a number of years. As time passed, however, the mind of the old chief [[698]]became affected and he became morose and despondent, which resulted in his becoming obnoxious to the people of his adoption. Things went from bad to worse, and so finally the Donyonda people held a council, where it was stated that because the old chief could or would not think the things which harmonized with their thoughts they would send him to a tribe of people who agree with no one, not even with their own people, and who were hostile to all other tribes of people. So they chose one of their principal men to take the old chief the next day to the brink of the mountain and to roll him down the mountain.
This was done, and the old chief rolled swiftly down the mountain side. He went down so swiftly that he screeched with fear; but finally he reached the foot of the mountain and the level ground. Upon reaching the foot of the mountain he was transformed into the bodily form of a wolf and also found that he was in a swamp in which the Wolf tribe dwelt. They welcomed him in a most friendly manner. So he lived here among the Wolf people for some time.
But the old man had not lived here long before trouble arose between him and the Wolf people. The lapse of time only emphasized the disagreements and the hostility of the Wolf people against the old man. Finally the Wolf people began to be very angry with the Wild Cat for his provocative acts, and then it was not long before the Wolf tribe fell upon the old man, Wild Cat, and tore him in pieces and devoured him. They left his bones gnawed clean on the ground.
At the time that the Eagle man visited the old man, Wild Cat, the old man had a grandson who was a mere boy—a child. But at the time the old man was devoured by the Wolf people the grandson of old Wild Cat had grown up to be a young man. And he still remembered his grandfather, Wild Cat, and at times he would wonder where his grandfather had gone and what had become of him.
So there came a day when the grandson said, “I will now travel to see what has become of my grandfather. I will seek for him in the lands toward the sunrise.” So, after making suitable preparations, he started on his quest for his grandfather.
He journeyed eastward for many days, when finally he met a man who questioned him, asking, “Where are you going? Where are you from?” The grandson replied, “I am traveling in search of my grandfather.” After this conversation each went on his way. The grandson continued his journey for some time when he met the second man, who asked, “Where are you going? Where are you from?” The grandson replied, “I am traveling in search of my grandfather.” Then the man said, “I have seen your grandfather living among the Eagle people.” The grandson continued his journey eastward until [[699]]he finally came to the dwelling place of the Eagle people on the mountain. Here he was informed that his grandfather had been expelled from these people, and that he had been rolled down the mountain to the Wolf tribe. “What am I to do?” asked the grandson. “You had better go home,” said the old chief of the Eagle people, “for if you do not return home you shall lose your mind and the mind of your people; you shall become something else, someone else.” Then the grandson asked, “Can you change me now so that I may go to the place where my grandfather is?” They replied, “Yes; we can change you so that you can go thither with perfect safety.”
The grandson having given his consent to this proposition, he was soon changed into a panther and then rolled down the mountain into Wolf swamp, where many Wolf people lived. The presence of the panther aroused the bitter hostility of the Wolf people, who attacked him savagely in an attempt to kill him. But owing to his great strength they were unable to accomplish their purpose.
So he traveled from place to place in the Wolf country, where he was regarded as an open enemy, although he was engaged only in looking for his grandfather. There came a day when he found his bones, and placing together the bones under a large hickory tree he pushed against the tree, shouting “Arise, oh, grandfather. The tree is about to fall on you.” His grandfather heard his warning and at once sprang up. He recognized his grandson.
But the grandfather would not agree with his grandson as to how to live, where to go, or what to do. So, after much bitter fighting, they finally separated. The grandfather went in search of his own people and the grandson in quest of his.
When the grandfather met the acquaintances of his early life he was no more able to agree with them than he was before he left them; so, after much strife and fighting, the people finally became so enraged at him that they fell on him and for the second time he was killed and eaten up, and his bones were left bleaching on the ground where they had devoured him.
The grandson journeyed from place to place for a long time, and he encountered many difficulties and disappointments in his quest for people of his own tribe.
But one day he was pursued by a hunter with three dogs. When the dogs came within reach the grandson killed them one by one before the hunter could come to their assistance, and thus he escaped from death at the hands of the hunter.
So, passing beyond this place, he met one day a woman of his own tribe. He addressed her pleasantly and she replied in the same mood. This woman finally agreed to marry the grandson. As the years passed they became possessed of a large family, consisting of several boys and girls. It was not many years before these children [[700]]were large enough to look out for themselves. In the meanwhile the father and mother quarreled bitterly, then these boys and girls quarreled among themselves, and lastly with their parents. The result of this condition of affairs was that the family dispersed, each one going off alone.
Again, the grandson was left alone, having no friends or family of his own. He was left completely to his own resources for providing the means of his living and for protecting himself from his enemies. He traveled many dreary days in solitude. But there came a day when he met a woman of the Panther tribe of people, who was cooking some deer meat for herself. As the grandson was very hungry he asked this woman to share some of the deer meat with him, but she refused absolutely to spare him a morsel.
So, hungry as he was, he had to pass on without anything to eat. Some time afterwards he was fortunate enough to kill a deer. So, after dressing it and preparing it properly and cooking it, he sat down to eat. And while he was enjoying his venison the woman who had refused him a portion of venison boldly came up and asked him for some of the venison. He showed his teeth and growled and snarled so fiercely that he finally drove the old woman away.
When he had finished his meal he packed up his belongings and departed. He traveled several days from place to place. Suddenly he became aware that several hunters with three dogs were pursuing him. So he fled from that place until he became wearied and then he climbed a very tall tree. There he hoped to escape his pursuers, but the dogs tracked him so well that soon the hunters were under the tree. Whereupon one of the hunters shot him, mortally wounding him, and he fell to the ground in a dying condition. The dying Panther man said to the hunters, “This, your act, shall cause bitter hostility between your people and my tribe, and many of both tribes will die in consequence.”
As the hunters were bearing the body of the Panther man homeward, a Panther man met them and saw the dead body of the Panther man—one of his own kindred. At once he returned to his people, telling them what he had seen. So with two other Panther men he retraced his steps to find the guilty hunters.
The three Panther men were not long in finding the camping place of the hunters and they quickly succeeded in killing the dogs and the hunters and in devouring them, leaving their bones to bleach on the ground.
The friends and kinsmen of the hunters waited many days for the return of the hunters and their dogs, but they waited in vain. So a number of them formed a party and went out in search of them. They found their bones on the path and also the dead body of the Panther man. In the thickets near by they also found other Panther [[701]]men asleep. These discoveries were reported in the village of the dead hunters, and there was aroused a bitter feeling against the Panther people; and so all who were able to go out to hunt Panther people started out to destroy the Panther tribe.
This resulted in a bitter strife between the people of the village and the Panther tribe, and many of the bravest on both sides were killed without bringing any satisfaction to either side. During this struggle the bones of the grandson lay bleaching on the path in the forest. But it so happened that one of his sons one day passed along that path, and he recognized his father’s bones. So by gathering them together under a large hickory tree and setting them in order the son of the Panther man brought his father back to life by pushing against the hickory tree and shouting, “Father, arise lest the tree topple over on you.”
When the father arose he had the form which he had when he left his home in the village in search of his grandfather. This transformation frightened the son so much that he fled through the forest away from that place, and the grandson made his way home to the village of his own people. He entertained his friends and kindred with the recital of his adventures.
There came a day when the old Eagle, who had enticed away old man Wild Cat, was in a reminiscent mood, and so he wondered what had become of the old man whom he had left among the Wolf tribe. So he finally resolved to pay a visit to the country of the Wolf people. He left his home and traveled along toward the Wolf country. At last he was greatly surprised to find scattered around the bones of the old man, his friend. So he decided to aid his old friend by bringing him to life again. He therefore collected together the bones lying about and placed them in order under a great elm tree, and when he had gathered all the bones he stepped up to the elm tree and suddenly exclaimed, “Be quick, friend, arise, lest the tree fall on you.” At once the old man, Wild Cat, leaped up in his original shape and condition in form and mind, a man. So, after the usual greetings, the old Eagle chief led his friend home to his own people, whence he had taken him so long ago. Having arrived there, old man Wild Cat found his grandson, and to him he related all his adventures while away from his people. He declared, “We must highly esteem the Pigeon tribe of people.” (Then I left there.)