 | Yamoyden, a tale of the wars of King Philip : in six cantos |  |
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!
| Yamoyden, a tale of the wars of King Philip : in six cantos | |