INTRODUCTORY—THE INDIANS’ PRESENT CONDITION
he present condition of the Indians is very different from that when the tribes roved for thousands of miles either in pursuit of enemies or for food.
Now they are prevented by law from fishing or hunting outside the boundaries of their various reservations, to which they were sent by the government for different reasons. For many years meat and flour were given to some tribes as rations at certain periods of the year, when they also received money and blankets. A number of tribes have become much like the white man, and live in houses and have large numbers of horses and cattle upon the plains or on their farms in the east; other tribes, proud of their ancient customs, still try to live as nearly as possible in the way of their ancestors. [[218]]
Their love for their nation, tribe, and family is very great, and that is one reason why a few of the Indian students become once more Blanket Indians. They cannot endure the taunt that they have forgotten their own people.
The old myths of years ago are repeated in Indian homes, and many of the stories, like those told in the poem of Hiawatha, are familiar tales to little children in western teepees. Hiawatha the Wise we now know is an Iroquois hero; Menabozho, who is called the Foolish or Sly One, is an Algonquin hero, and they are two very different characters in the lore of two different Indian nations. Hiawatha the Iroquois is always dignified; Menabozho the Algonquin is very powerful but full of boyish tricks.
Menabozho, or the Great White Hare
From the east side to the west side of America the Algonquin Indians all have their stories of Menabozho. When the story is of some great deed of Nanabush, or of Missaba, you must remember that these names are only another way of speaking of Menabozho. In the different Indian tribes the languages are different; but those who have been most among these many tribes of red men find that nearly all have some name for this Great Manitou, or Spirit. [[219]]
Whatever was the first cause of their belief in such a being, there is no way of knowing. All people, no matter how wild, believe in God; but the wilder the people the more gods they believe in. It is so with the Indian.
The red man seemed to believe every stone, every bush, and almost every animal had its manitou or spirit. These manitous were something to be feared, and to which prayer ought to be offered. So we will call them the gods of the Indians. But these gods were ruled over by greater ones that had wonderful powers.
The Indians watch the sun, moon, and stars a great deal and know much more about them than many white people who have no time for such study. When they saw the power of the sun in bringing life out of the earth in the shape of growing plants from hidden seeds, then the sun seemed like a living spirit to them.
The name Menabozho has been found to mean in the Indian language the Great White Hare. It has been found to mean more than that. Some one who has studied into the meanings of Indian words says that it means the “god of light,” or “ruler of the sun.” When you read marvelous stories of Menabozho remember then that the Indians who told these tales first had in mind one of their strong gods,—one who was swift and powerful as the light of the sun; one who was [[220]]as kind as the sun is to the earth, bringing food and blessing to every one.
The sun hides away every night; so Menabozho often rested. The sun is often troubled by clouds and storms; and Menabozho has many troubles, but usually comes out very bravely from every hindrance.
This manitou could take many forms. He very often appeared upon the earth as a man, for that is the highest form of all life. He is said to have many homes.
Some say Menabozho’s home is in the east. He rules over the east wind and watches the sun that it may follow the right path through the sky. He rules the sun. It could not leave the east without him.
The Indians in some nations have a kind of picture to represent Menabozho. It looks something like a child’s picture of a rabbit. People have thought of many reasons why the red men should have called him the Great White Hare. The Indians themselves do not seem to explain why they did it.
We know from many Indian customs and from their records, for they have kept many records, that the red men lived in America for hundreds of years before Columbus came. Where the first Indians came from the most learned white man cannot tell. He can only guess.
Some of the Indian stories tell that the red man was [[221]]created here in America. That is not strange for them to say, for they have no remembrance of another land. If they came from across the great ocean at the west, or drifted across the one at the east, they may have brought this story of Menabozho, the god of light, with them. Early travelers found some tribes expecting the Great Spirit to come among them again in the shape of palefaced men. The same belief was found far south in Mexico. It seems very strange to us. Many have thought that it was the coming of Menabozho the red men expected when the white men came.
This same Great Spirit who was to come was kind and good. He would be a brother to all creatures, man and beast. Menabozho called everything his brother. Stories that the Indians are telling of him to-day speak of him as calling the trees his brothers.
Those who are much among the Indians now, as the hunters in the northern forests are, tell of how real this kindly manitou is to the red man in his every-day life.
There is a certain little black swimming bird that looks much like a duck, which is called a diver. When this bird rushes from the reeds by the river into the water, the Indian who sees it often cries out, “There goes the bird Menabozho kicked.”
If the white fisherman tells a story of some great fish that he has caught, or that nearly came into his [[222]]net, then the Indians, among themselves, grunt and scoff at his story. They can tell of a larger fish than any white man ever saw or brought to shore. Menabozho sailed into its mouth in his canoe. And so this same being is as real to them as any we have learned of in our childhood’s days.
The stories recently collected are interesting in showing how alive is all Nature to those who live nearest to her. The Indian still seems to understand with the heart of a poet the voices of trees, stones, and brooks. We are glad to know that many whites have learned that the red men have a strong love for justice and truth and can show mercy to those who have been merciful.
The Indian is not a dull-minded being. His wits are keen, and his judgment as fine as many a civilized man can claim. But he lives a life far apart from the busy city or town life of the white man, and it is hard for each to understand the life of the other. [[223]]