[THE ASH TREE]
THE ash tree, the leaves and bark of which were the universal specific for the poison of the rattlesnake, had its origin in a warrior whose wife and two children died from the bite of a rattlesnake that had found its way into their wigwam. The brave's grief was so violent that the Great Spirit gave him permission to turn into a tree, the branches of which would make bows and arrows with which his people could kill their deadly enemies; the green leaves placed in a circle around the sleeping warriors would form a barrier through which the reptiles would not crawl; the bruised leaves would act as a poultice to draw the venom from the wound, and from the bark could be brewed a draught that would drive the delirium from the body of the suffering victim.
A form of words was pronounced as the Indians approached the ash tree to draw on its resources for any of the purposes named. They would say: "Oh, my brother, the mighty friend of the Indian, your red brother comes to you for help. He has met the forked-tongue whose bite is like the sting of bad arrows. He knows not where to turn except to his noble brother, whose goodness is known to all the Indians. Help me, my brother, for the sting of the forked-tongue is deep and the eyes of your brother close in sleep if you do not help him. I wound you, my brother, but my fathers have told me of your goodness and of your hatred of the forked-tongue."
[THE HUNTER]
KANISTAGIA, the hunter, was loved by all the animals with gentle natures. He never pursued them in wantonness, and he took the life of none except in case of stern necessity. To the wild, fierce monsters that inhabited the forests and preyed upon the weak and timid ones, Kanistagia was a constant foe, and so swift was the flight of his arrow, so powerful the blow of his hunting club, so unerring his knowledge of their haunts in the mountains, that they feared him deeply and hid away with low and sullen mutterings when they heard his ringing shout upon the chase.