Heckewelder, in a letter
published
in the Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, Vol.
American Philosophical Society, Vol.
Longfellow
And here, also, the peace-breathing calumet was born,
and fringed with the eagle's quills, which has shed its thrilling
fumes over the land, and soothed the fury of the relentless savage.
"The Great Spirit at an ancient period here called the Indian
nations together, and, standing on the precipice of the red pipe-
stone rock, broke from its wall a piece, and made a huge pipe by
turning it in his hand, which he smoked over them, and to the North,
the South, the East, and the West, and told them that this stone was
red,--that it was their flesh,--that they must use it for their
pipes of peace,--that it belonged to them all, and that the war-club
and scalping-knife must not be raised on its ground. At the last
whiff of his pipe his head went into a great cloud, and the whole
surface of the rock for several miles was melted and glazed; two
great ovens were opened beneath, and two women (guardian spirits of
the place) entered them in a blaze of fire; and they are heard there
yet (Tso-mec-cos-tee aud Tso-me-cos-te-won-dee), answering to the
invocations of the high-priests or medicine-men, who consult them
when they are visitors to this sacred place. "
Hark you, Bear! you are a coward.
This anecdote is from Heckewelder. In his account of the Indian
Nations, he describes an Indian hunter as addressing a bear in
nearly these words. "I was present," he says, "at the delivery of
this curious invective; when the hunter had despatched the bear, I
asked him how he thought that poor animal could understand what he
said to it. 'O,' said he in answer, 'the bear understood me very
well; did you not observe how ashamed he looked while I was
upbraiding him? "'--Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, Vol. I. p. 240.
Hush! the Naked Bear will hear thee!
Heckewelder, in a letter published in the Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, Vol. IV. p. 260, speaks of this
tradition as prevalent among the Mohicans and Delawares.
"Their reports," he says, "run thus: that among all animals that had
been formerly in this country, this was the most ferocious; that it
was much larger than the largest of the common bears, and remarkably
long-bodied; all over (except a spot of hair on its back of a white
color) naked. . . . .
"The history of this animal used to be a subject of conversation
among the Indians, especially when in the woods a hunting. I have
also heard them say to their children when crying: 'Hush! the naked
bear will hear you, be upon you, and devour you,'"
Where the Falls of Minnehaha, etc.
"The scenery about Fort Snelling is rich in beauty. The Falls of
St. Anthony are familiar to travellers, and to readers of Indian
sketches. Between the fort and these falls are the 'Little Falls,'
forty feet in height, on a stream that empties into the Mississippi.
and fringed with the eagle's quills, which has shed its thrilling
fumes over the land, and soothed the fury of the relentless savage.
"The Great Spirit at an ancient period here called the Indian
nations together, and, standing on the precipice of the red pipe-
stone rock, broke from its wall a piece, and made a huge pipe by
turning it in his hand, which he smoked over them, and to the North,
the South, the East, and the West, and told them that this stone was
red,--that it was their flesh,--that they must use it for their
pipes of peace,--that it belonged to them all, and that the war-club
and scalping-knife must not be raised on its ground. At the last
whiff of his pipe his head went into a great cloud, and the whole
surface of the rock for several miles was melted and glazed; two
great ovens were opened beneath, and two women (guardian spirits of
the place) entered them in a blaze of fire; and they are heard there
yet (Tso-mec-cos-tee aud Tso-me-cos-te-won-dee), answering to the
invocations of the high-priests or medicine-men, who consult them
when they are visitors to this sacred place. "
Hark you, Bear! you are a coward.
This anecdote is from Heckewelder. In his account of the Indian
Nations, he describes an Indian hunter as addressing a bear in
nearly these words. "I was present," he says, "at the delivery of
this curious invective; when the hunter had despatched the bear, I
asked him how he thought that poor animal could understand what he
said to it. 'O,' said he in answer, 'the bear understood me very
well; did you not observe how ashamed he looked while I was
upbraiding him? "'--Transactions of the American Philosophical
Society, Vol. I. p. 240.
Hush! the Naked Bear will hear thee!
Heckewelder, in a letter published in the Transactions of the
American Philosophical Society, Vol. IV. p. 260, speaks of this
tradition as prevalent among the Mohicans and Delawares.
"Their reports," he says, "run thus: that among all animals that had
been formerly in this country, this was the most ferocious; that it
was much larger than the largest of the common bears, and remarkably
long-bodied; all over (except a spot of hair on its back of a white
color) naked. . . . .
"The history of this animal used to be a subject of conversation
among the Indians, especially when in the woods a hunting. I have
also heard them say to their children when crying: 'Hush! the naked
bear will hear you, be upon you, and devour you,'"
Where the Falls of Minnehaha, etc.
"The scenery about Fort Snelling is rich in beauty. The Falls of
St. Anthony are familiar to travellers, and to readers of Indian
sketches. Between the fort and these falls are the 'Little Falls,'
forty feet in height, on a stream that empties into the Mississippi.
