Fig. 655.—Myth of Atosis.
Fig. 655, another specimen of the same class, refers to one of the tales about At-o-sis, the Snake, who was the lover of a beautiful Abnaki woman. He appeared to her from out the surface of a lake as a young hunter with a large shining silvery plate on his heart and covered with brilliant white brooches as fish are covered with scales. He provided her with all animals for food. The bow attached to the semi-human head in the illustration may refer to this expertness in the chase. The head of the female figure is covered or masked by one of the insignia of rank and power mentioned in Chap. XIII, Sec. [2]. She became the mother of the Black Snakes.
Fig. 656.—Myth of the Weasel girls.
Fig. 656, from the same locality, shows simply a crane, and a woman who bears in her hand two branches; but this is a sufficient indication of the tale of the Weasel girls, who had come down from Star-land by means of a diminishing hemlock tree, and flying from Lox had come to a broad river which they could not cross. But in the edge of the water stood motionless a large crane, or the Tum-gwo-lig-unach, who was the ferryman. “Now, truly, this is esteemed to be the least beautiful of all the birds, for which cause he is greedy of good words and fondest of flattery. And of all beings there were none who had more bear’s oil ready to annoint every one’s hair with—that is to say, more compliments ready for everybody—than the Weasels. So, seeing the Crane, they sang:
Wa wela quis kip pat kasqu',
Wa wela quis kip pat kasqu'.
The Crane has a very beautiful long neck,
The Crane has a very beautiful long neck.
“This charmed the old ferryman very much, and when they said: ‘please, grandfather, hurry along,’ he came quickly. Seeing this, they began to chant in chorus sweetly as the Seven Stars themselves:
Wa wela quig nat kasqu',
Wa wela quig nat kasqu'.