 | Yamoyden, a tale of the wars of King Philip : in six cantos |  |
TO THE MANITTO
Or Spirit. The word is thus written by Heckewelder. By the
English authors it is written Manitou, whence Mr. Campbell has it
so in “Gertrude of Wyoming.”
“As when the evil Manitou that dries
The Ohio woods,” &c.
The mistake may have arisen from the French authors writing it
Manitou, which is pronounced Maneetou.
The incantation which I have introduced in this place, is founded
on the subsequent passages from Charlevoix; which are, I believe,
abundantly sufficient to justify the expressions in the text, unless
it be, perhaps, those in the second of verse the third Stanza, where
the Spirit is apostrophized as the Muse, or personification of the
imagination itself. I have also taken the liberty of ascribing to one
Spirit, the congenial attributes of many. If, Father Charlevoix
has not been deceived, and led too far by his own fancy, surely, the
elements of poetry cannot be denied to our Aborigines.
“Before we launch out into the particulars of their worship, it
will be proper to remark that the savages give the name of Genius
or Spirit to all that surpasses their understanding, and proceeds
from a cause that they cannot trace. Some of their Spirits they
take to be Good, and some Bad; of the former sort are the Spirit
of Dreams, &c. Of the latter sort are Thunder, Hail falling upon
their corn, a great Storm,” &c.—
La Hontan, Vol. ii. p. 30.
The Manittos of the Lenapé are the same as the Okkis of the Iroquois.
—
Charlevoix, p. 345.
When the Indians had dreams, it was indispensable to their quiet,
that the vision should be immediately accomplished. One of them,
who dreamed that he was tormented by his enemies, had himself
tied to a stake, and would not be pacified, until he had been severely
mangled. Many stories of this kind are told by Charlevoix, p.
354. The longest and most curious is that of a Huron woman, narrated
p. 230, in the third volume. It is too long to be here inserted;
though several ideas in the text are taken from it.
OF DREAMS.
Or Spirit. The word is thus written by Heckewelder. By the English authors it is written Manitou, whence Mr. Campbell has it so in “Gertrude of Wyoming.”
“As when the evil Manitou that driesThe Ohio woods,” &c.
The mistake may have arisen from the French authors writing it Manitou, which is pronounced Maneetou.
The incantation which I have introduced in this place, is founded on the subsequent passages from Charlevoix; which are, I believe, abundantly sufficient to justify the expressions in the text, unless it be, perhaps, those in the second of verse the third Stanza, where the Spirit is apostrophized as the Muse, or personification of the imagination itself. I have also taken the liberty of ascribing to one Spirit, the congenial attributes of many. If, Father Charlevoix has not been deceived, and led too far by his own fancy, surely, the elements of poetry cannot be denied to our Aborigines.
“Before we launch out into the particulars of their worship, it will be proper to remark that the savages give the name of Genius or Spirit to all that surpasses their understanding, and proceeds from a cause that they cannot trace. Some of their Spirits they take to be Good, and some Bad; of the former sort are the Spirit of Dreams, &c. Of the latter sort are Thunder, Hail falling upon their corn, a great Storm,” &c.— La Hontan, Vol. ii. p. 30. The Manittos of the Lenapé are the same as the Okkis of the Iroquois. — Charlevoix, p. 345.
When the Indians had dreams, it was indispensable to their quiet, that the vision should be immediately accomplished. One of them, who dreamed that he was tormented by his enemies, had himself tied to a stake, and would not be pacified, until he had been severely mangled. Many stories of this kind are told by Charlevoix, p. 354. The longest and most curious is that of a Huron woman, narrated p. 230, in the third volume. It is too long to be here inserted; though several ideas in the text are taken from it.
I.
1.
“Spirit! thou Spirit of subtlest air,Whose power is upon the brain,
When wondrous shapes, and dread, and fair,
At thy bidding flies,
To sight and sense are plain!
2.
“Thy whisper creeps where leaves are stirred;“Et l'on prétend que la présence de l'Esprit se manifeste par un Vent impétueux, qui se leve tout à coup; ou par un Mugissement, que l'on entend sous terre, &c.” Charlevoix is here speaking, however, of the Spirit which occasions mental wandering in sickness; which I have identified with the Spirit of Dreams.
Thou sighest in woodland gale;
Where waters are gushing thy voice is heard;
And when stars are bright,
At still midnight,
Thy symphonies prevail!
3.
“Where the forest ocean, in quick commotion,Is waving to and fro,
Thy form is seen, in the masses green,
Dimly to come and go.
From thy covert peeping, where thou layest sleeping,
Beside the brawling brook,
Thou art seen to wake, and thy flight to take
Fleet from thy lonely nook.
4.
Where the moonbeam has kistThe sparkling tide,
In thy mantle of mist
Thou art seen to glide.
Far o'er the blue waters
Melting away,
On the distant billow,
As on a pillow,
Thy form to lay.
5.
Where the small clouds of evenAre wreathing in heaven
Their garland of roses,
O'er the purple and gold,
Whose hangings enfold
The hall that encloses
The couch of the sun,
Whose empire is done,—
There thou art smiling,
For thy sway is begun;
Thy shadowy sway,
When the light fades away,
And thy vapour of mystery o'er nature ascending,
The heaven and the earth,
The things that have birth,
And the embryos that float in the future is blending.
II.
1.
“From the land, on whose shores the billows break“They (four savages from the west) farther informed us, That the Nation of the Asseni poulaes, whose lake is down in the map, and who lie North-East of the Issatti, was not above six or seven Days Journey from us: That none of the Nations within their Knowledge, who lie to the West and North-West of them, had any great Lake about their Countries, which were very large, but only Rivers, which coming from the North, run cross the Countries of their Neighbouring Nations, which border on their Confines, on the side of the Great Lake, which in the Language of the Savages is the same as sea. That Spirits, and Pigmies, or men of little Stature, did inhabit them, as they had been informed by People that lived farther up than themselves; and that all the nations which lie beyond their Country, and those which are next to them, do dwell in Meadows and large Fields, where are many wild Bulls and Castors, which are greyer than those of the North, and have their Coat more inclining to Black; with many other wild Beasts, which yield very fine Furrs.”— Hennepin's New Discovery of a Vast Country in America, &c. London, translated, with additions, 1699.
It is probable that Father Hennepin confounded the general name of the sea, among the savages, with the particular name given to the Assinapoil lake. Charlevoix says, “Le veritable Pays des Assinaboils est aux environs d'un Lac, qui porte leur nom, et que l'on connoit peu. Un François, que j'ai vu à Montreal m'a assûré y avoir été, mais il l'avoit vû, comme on voit la mer dans un Port, et en passant, L'opinion commune est que ce Lac a six cent lieues de circuit; qu'on ne peut y aller que par des chemins presque impratiquables; que tous les Bords en sont charmans, &c. Quelques Sauvages le nomment Michinipi, qui veut dire la Grande Eau. C'est bien dommage que ce Lac n'ait pas été connû des Sçavans, qui ont cherché partout le Paradis Terrestre; il auroit été pour le moins aussi bien placé là que dans la Scandinavie.” iii. pp. 185.
The sounding waves of the mighty lake;
From the land where boundless meadows be,
Where the buffalo ranges wild and free;
With silvery coat in his little isle,
Where the beaver plies his ceaseless toil;
The land where pigmy forms abide,
Thou leadest thy train at the even tide;
And the wings of the wind are left behind,
So swift through the pathless air they glide.
2.
Then to the chief who has fasted long,“Celui qui doit commander ne songe point à lever des Soldats qu'il n'ait jeûné plusieurs jours, pendant lesquels il est barbouillé de noir, n'á presque point de conversation avec personne, invoque jour et nuit son Esprit tutelaire, observe surtout avec soin des Songes. La persuasion où il est, suivant le génie présomptueux de ces Barbares, qu'il va marcher à une Victoire certaine, ne manque guéres de lui causer des Rêves selon ses desirs.”— Charlevoix, iii. pp. 216.
When the chains of his slumber are heavy and strong,
His weary lids are with heaviness weighed;
But his soul is abroad on the hurricane's pinion,
Where foes are met in the rush of fight,
In the shadowy world of thy dominion
Conquering and slaying, till morning light!
3.
Then shall the hunter who waits for thee,“C'est toujours un Chef de Guerre, qui marque le tems de la chasse de l'ours, et qui a soin d'inviter les chasseurs. Cette invitation est suivie d'une Jeùne de huit jours, pendant lesquels il n'est pas même permis de boire une goutte d'eau. Le Jeûne s'obverve pour obtenir des Espirits qu'ils fassent connôitre où l'on trouvera beaucoup d'ours.” &c. &c.— Charlevoix, p. 115.
The land of the game rejoicing see;
Through the leafless wood,
O'er the frozen flood,
And the trackless snows
His spirit goes,
Along the sheeted plain,
Where the hermit bear, in his sullen lair,
Keeps his long fast, till the winter hath past,
“Le tems de la chasse de l'Ours est l'Hyver. Alors ces Animaux sont cachés dans les creux d'arbres; ou s'ils en trouvent d'abattus, ils se font de leurs Racines une Taniere, dont ils bouchent l'entrée, avec des Branches de Sapin, et où ils sont parfaitément à l'abri des rigueurs le da Saison. Si tout cela leur manque, ils font un Trou en Terre, et ont grand soin, quand ils y sont entrés, d'en bien fermer l'ouverture. On est bien assûré qu'il n'y porte ancune provision, et par conséquent que pendant tout ce temps-là il ne boit, ni ne mange.”— Charlevoix, 117.
With regard to the state in which the savages supposed the soul to be during sleep, Charlevoix has this passage. “Il n'y a rien sur quoi ces Barbares ayent porté plus loin la supersitition, et l'extravagance, que ce qui regarde les Songes; mais ils varient beaucoup dans la maniere, dont ils expliquent leurs peusées sur cela. Tantôt c'est l'Ame raisonnable, qui se promene, tandis que l'Ame sensitive continue d'animer le corps. Tantôt c'est le Génie familier, qui donne des avis salutaires sur ce qui doit arriver: tantôt c'est une visite, qu'on reçoit de l'Ame de l'Objet, auquel on rêve; mais de quelque façon, que l'on conçoive le Songe, il est toujours regardé comme une chose sacrée, et comme le moyen le plus ordinaire, dont les Dieux se servent pour faire connôitre aux Hommes leurs volontés.”— Charlevoix, 354.
And the boughs have budded again.
Spirit of dreams! all thy visions are true,
Who the shadow hath seen, he the substance shall view!
III.
1.
“Thine the riddle, strange and dark,It formed, according to our author, a great amusement of the savages, to tell their dreams in an ænigmatic manner, and compel each other to divine them. A feast of dreams, as it was ordinarily called, but which was named by the Iroquois “the confusion of brains,” was occasionally held. Its orgies were fantastical, and sometimes dangerous; for if any one took it into his head to say, that he had dreamed of killing another, the person threatened, had need of ready wit, to avert the literal fulfilment of the vision. An account of this festival is given in Charlevoix, p. 356. There was another strange custom growing out of this superstition. Previous to entering the enemies country, the warriors ran about their camp, proclaiming their obscure visions; and he, whose riddle was not satisfactorily guessed, had the privilege of returning without comment or dishonour. “Voila,” says Charlevoix, “qui donne beau jeu aux Poltrons.” p. 237. These ænigmas, as this author repeatedly remarks, were always ascribed to the inspiration of a genius.
Woven in the dreamy brain:—
Thine to yield the power to mark
“Il n'est pas étonnant après cela que les Sauvages croyent aux Revenans: aussi en font-ils des contes de toutes les façons. J'ai vû un pauvre Homme, qui à forcé d'en entendre parler; s'étoit imaginé qu'il avoit toujours une troupe de Morts a ses trousses, et comme on avoit pris plaisir aà augmenter sa frayeur, il en etoit devenu fou.” p. 374.
Wandering by, the dusky train;
Warrior ghosts for vengeance crying,
Scalped on the lost battle's plain,
Or who died their foes defying,
Slow by lingering tortures slain.
2.
Thou the war-chief hovering near,Breathest language on his ear;
When his winged words depart,
Swift as arrows to the heart;
When his eye the lightning leaves;
When each valiant bosom heaves;
Through the veins when hot and glowing
Rage like liquid fire is flowing;
Round and round the war pole whirling,
Furious when the dancers grow;
Promised vengeance on the foe;
Thine assurance, Spirit true!
Glorious victory gives to view!
3.
When of thought and strength despoiled,“On ne refuse rien au malade de ce qu'il demande, parce que, dit-on, ses desirs en cet état sont des ordres du Génie, qui veille a sa conservation; et quand on appelle les Jongleurs, c'est moins a cause de leur habilité, que parce qu' on suppose, qu'ils peuvent mieux sçavoir des Espirits la cause du mal, et les remedes, qu'il y faut appliquer.” “Selon les Iroquois, toute Maladie est un desir de l'Ame, et on ne meurt, que parce que le desir n'est pas accompli.” pp. 367. 370.
In consequence of this superstition, they would not begrudge any trouble or danger, to satisfy the wildest wishes of an invalid. The jugglers or quack doctors among them, take advantage of this belief, to prescribe, in desperate cases, the accomplishment of some impossible task, which they pretend is wished by the patient, as the Spirits have revealed to them.—
Id. p. 368.Lies the brave man like a child;
When discoloured visions fly,
Painful, o'er his glazing eye,
And wishes wild through his darkness rove,
Like flitting wings through the tangled grove,—
Thine is the wish; the vision thine,
And thy visits, Spirit! are all divine!
4.
When the dizzy senses spin,And the brain is madly reeling,
Like the Pów-wah, when first within
The present spirit feeling;
“Il se commence (le Jongleur) par se faire suer, et quand il est bien fatigué à crier, à se debattre, et à invoquer son Génie, &c. Alors, plein de sa prétenduë Divinité, et plus semblable à un Energumene, qu'a un homme inspiré du Ciel,” &c.— Idem.
“The Conjurer is a partner with the Priest, not only in the Cheat, but in the Advantages of it, and sometimes they officiate for one another. When this Artist is in the act of Conjuration, or of Pauwawing, as they term it, he always appears with an Air of Haste, or else in some convulsive posture, that seems to strain all the Faculties, like the Sybils, when they pretended to be under the power of Inspiration.”—
History of Virginia, p. 183.When rays are flashing athwart the gloom,
Like the dancing lights of the northern heaven,
When voices strange of tumult come
On the ear, like the roar of battle driven,—
And thy priest, O Spirit! is full of thee!
IV.
“Spirit of dreams! away! away!It is thine hour of solemn sway;
And thou art holy; and our rite
Forbids thy presence here to-night.
Go light on lids that wake to pain;
Triumphant visions yield again!
If near the Christian's cot thou roam,
Tell him the fire has wrapt his home:
Where the mother lies in peaceful rest,
Her infant slumbering on her breast,
Tell her the red man hath seized its feet,
And against a tree its brains doth beat:
Fly to the bride who sleeps alone,
Her husband forth for battle gone;
Tell her, at morn,—and tell her true,—
His head on the bough her eyes shall view;
While his limbs shall be the raven's prey:—
Spirit of dreams! away! away!”
V.
So sung the Initiates, o'er their riteWhile hung the gloom of circling night.
Nor yet the unholy chant must rise,
Nor blaze the fire of sacrifice,
Until behind yon groves afar,
The Bear hath dipt his westering car;
And shrouded night, with central sway,
Veiled deeds unfit to meet the day.
Then rose the Prophet, on whose eye
Past generations had gone by:
He saw them fall, as some vast oak,
By storms unriven, by bolts unbroke,
Sees all the forest by its side
In countless autumns shed its pride;
Marks, gathering still, as years roll on,
Winter's sere harvest round it strown;—
Yet his gigantic form ascends,
Nor to the howling voice of time,
One sturdy, veteran sinew bends,
Erect in native grace sublime.
Which oft had waved o'er battle shock,
In long and silvery lines were spread,
Like the white honours o'er the head
Of ancient mountain ash;—
His large eyes brightly, coldly shone,
As if their mortal light was gone
With clear, unearthly flash;
With strong arms forth outstretched he sprung;
Loose o'er his frame the bearskin hung;
“Of all the sights I ever saw among them, none appeared so near akin to what is usually imagined of infernal powers, as the appearance of one who was a devout and zealous reformer, or rather restorer, of what he supposed was the ancient religion of the Indians. He made his appearance in his pontifical garb, which was a coat of bear-skins, dressed with the hair on, and hanging down to his toes, a pair of bear-skin stockings, and a great wooden face,” &c.—
Brainerd's Diary. E.“The Habit of the Indian Priest is a Cloak made in the Form of a Woman's Petticoat; but instead of tying it about their middle, they fasten the Gatherings about their neck, and tye it upon the Right Shoulder, always keeping one Arm out to use upon Occasion. This Cloak hangs even at the Bottom, but reaches no lower than the middle of the thigh; but what is most particular in it is, that it is constantly made of a Skin drest soft, with the Pelt or Fur on the Outside, and revers'd; insomuch, that when the Cloak has been a little worn, the Hair falls down in Flakes, and looks very shagged and Frightful.”—
History of Virginia, p. 143.Through every limb quick tremors ran,
As, rapt with fate, that aged man
His lore oracular began.
| Yamoyden, a tale of the wars of King Philip : in six cantos | |