Wabanaki STORY

Glooscap Grants Three Wishes – Algonquin


Even the great Glooscap can behave like a trickster, especially when people ask him for the frivolous.

When men had heard that Glooscap, the lord of men and beasts, would grant a wish to anyone who could come to him, 3 Indians resolved to attempt the journey. One was a Maliseet from St. John, and the other 2 were Penobscots from Old Town. The path was long and the way hard, and they suffered much during the 7 years that it took them. But while they were still 3 months' journey from his home, they heard the barking of his dogs, and as they drew nearer day by day, the noise was louder. And so after great trials, they found him, and he made them welcome and entertained them.

Before they went, he asked them what they wanted. And the eldest, an honest, simple man with no standing at home because he was a bad hunter, said he wanted to be a master at catching and killing game. Then Glooscap gave him a flute, or magic pipe, which pleases every ear and has the power of persuading every animal to follow him who plays it. The man thanked the lord and left.

The 2^nd Indian, on being asked what he would have, replied, "the love of many women." And when Glooscap asked how many, he said, "I don't care how many, just so there are enough and more than enough." The god seemed displeased to hear but, smiling, gave the man a bag which was tightly tied and told him not to open it until he reached home. So the second Indian thanked the lord and left.

The 3^rd Indian was a gay and handsome but foolish young fellow whose whole heart was set on making people laugh. When asked what he chiefly wanted, he said he would like to be able to make a certain quaint and marvelous sound, like breaking wind or belching, which was frequently heard in those primitive times among all the Wabanaki. The effect of this noise is such that they who hear it always burst out laughing. And to him Glooscap was also affable, securing from the woods a certain magic root which, when eaten, would create the miracle the young man sought. But Glooscap warned him not to touch the root until he got home. Elated, the man thanked the lord and left.

It had taken the 3 Indians 7 years to get there, but 7 days were all they needed to return home. Yet only one of the men ever saw his lodge again. This was the hunter, who trudged through the woods with his pipe in his pocket and peace in his heart, happy to know that as long as lived he would always have venison in his larder.

But the man who loved women, yet had never even won a wife, was anxious to know whether Glooscap's magic would work. He hadn't gone very far into the woods before he opened the bag. And there flew out by the hundreds, little white doves swarming about him, beautiful girls with black burning eyes and flowing hair. Wild with passion, they threw their arms around him and kissed him as he responded to their embraces. But they crowded thicker and thicker, wilder and more passionate. He asked them to give him air, but they would not, and he tried to escape, but he could not; and so, panting, crying for breath, he smothered. And those who came that way found him dead, but what became of the girls no man knows.

Now, the 3^rd Indian went merrily along the path when all at once it flashed on his mind that Glooscap had given him a present. And without the least though of Glooscap's warning, he drew out the root and ate it. Scarcely had he done this before he realized that he had the power of uttering the weird and mystic sound to perfection. It rang over the hills and woke the distant echoes until it was answered by a solemn owl, and the young man felt that it was indeed wonderful. So he walked on gaily, trumpeting as he went, happy as a bird.

But by and by he began to feel weary of his performance. Seeing a deer, he drew an arrow, stole closer, and was just about to shoot when in spite of himself the wild, unearthly sound broke forth like a demon's warble. The deer bound away, and the young man was cursed. By the time he reached Old Town half dead with hunger, he was not much to laugh over, though at first the Indians did chuckle, which cheered him up a little. But as the days went on they wearied of his joke and began to avoid him. His unpopularity made him feel that his life was a burden, and he went into the woods and killed himself.

From a legend reported in 1884 by Charles G. Leland

Glooskap and His People - Algonquin

In the beginning, there were just the forest and the sea; no people and no animals. Then Glooskap came. Where this wondrous giant was born and when, none can tell, but he and his brother Malsum came from somewhere in the Sky to the part of North America nearest the rising sun. There, anchoring his canoe, he turned it into a granite island covered with spruce and pine. He called the island Uktamkoo. (the land we know today as Newfoundland) This, in the beginning, was Glooskap's lodge. 

The Great Chief Glooskap looked and lived like an ordinary man except that he was twice as tall, twice as strong, and possessed great magic. He was never sick, never married, never grew old, and never died. He had a magic belt which gave him great power, and he used this power only for good. Malsum, his twin brother, also great of stature, had the head of a wolf and the body of an Indian. Malsum knew magic too, but he used his power for evil. 

As Glooskap set about his work, the air was fragrant with balsam and the tang of the sea. 

First, out of the rocks, he made the Little People; the fairies, or Megumoowesoos. These were small hairy creatures who dwelt among the rocks and made such wonderful music on the flute that all who heard it were bewitched. 

From amongst the Megumoowesoos, Glooskap chose a servant, Marten, who was like a younger brother to him. Next Glooskap made men. Taking up his great bow, he shot arrows into the trunks of ash trees. Out of the trees stepped men and women. They were a strong and graceful people with light brown skins and shining black hair. Glooskap called them the Wabanaki, which means "those who live where the day breaks." 

In time, the Wabanaki left Uktamkoo and divided into separate tribes and are today a part of the great Algonquin nation, but in the old days, only the Micmacs, Malicetes, Penobscots and Passamaquoddies, living in the eastern woodlands of Canada and the United States, were Glooskap's People. 

Gazing upon his handiwork, Glooskap was pleased and his shout of triumph made the tall pines bend like grass. 

He told the people he was their Great Chief and would rule them with love and justice. He taught them how to build birch bark wigwams and canoes, how to make weirs for catching fish, and how to identify plants useful in medicine. He taught them the names of all the Stars, who were his brothers. 

Then, from among them, he chose an elderly woman whom he called Noogumee, or Grandmother, (a term of respect amongst Indians for any elderly female.) Noogumee was the Great Chief's housekeeper all her days. 

Now, finally, out of rocks and clay, Glooskap made the animals: Miko the squirrel, Team the moose, Mooin the bear, and many, many others. Malsum looked on enviously, thinking he too should have had a hand in creation. But he had not been given that power. He whispered an evil charm, and the remainder of the clay in Glooskap's hands twisted and fell to the ground in the form of a strange animal. This animal was not beaver, not badger, not wolverine, but something of all three, and capable of taking any of these forms he chose. 

"His name is Lox!" said Malsum triumphantly. 

"So be it," said Glooskap. "Let Lox live amongst us in peace, so long as he remains a friend." Yet he resolved to watch Lox closely, for he could read the heart and knew that Lox had Malsum's evil in him. 

Now Glooskap had made the animals all very large, most of them larger and stronger than man. Lox, the trouble maker, at once saw his chance to make mischief. 

He went in his wolverine body to Team the moose and admired his fine antlers, which reached up to the top of the tallest pine tree. "If you should ever meet a man," said Lox, "you could toss him on your horns up to the top of the world." 

Now Team, who was just a little bit stupid, went at once to Glooskap and said, "Please, Master, give me a man, so I can toss him on my horns up to the top of the world!" 

"I should say not!" cried Glooskap, and touched Team with his hand. The moose was suddenly the size he is today. 

Then Lox went in his badger form to the squirrel and said, "With that magnificent tail of yours, Miko, you could smash down every lodge in the village." 

"So I could," said Miko proudly, and with his great tail he swept the nearest wigwam right off the ground. But the Great Chief was near. He caught Miko up in his hand and stroked the squirrel's back until he was as small as he is today. 

"From now on," said his Master, "you will live in trees and keep your tail where it belongs." And since that time Miko the squirrel has carried his bushy tail on his back. 

Next, Lox put on his beaver shape and went to Mooin the bear, who was hardly any bigger than he is today, but had a much larger throat. 

"Mooin," said Lox slyly, "supposing you met a man, what would you do to him?" The bear scratched his head thoughtfully. "Eat him," he said at last, with a grin. " I'd swallow him whole!" And having said this, Mooin felt his throat begin to shrink. 

"From now on," said Glooskap sternly, "you may swallow only very small creatures." And today the bear, big as he is, eats only small animals, fish and wild berries. 

Now the Great Chief was greatly annoyed at the way his animals were behaving, and wondered if he should have made them. He summoned them all and gave them a solemn warning: 

"I have made you man's equal, but you wish to be his master. Take care, or he may become yours!" 

This did not worry the troublemaker Lox, who only resolved to be more cunning in the future. He knew very well that Malsum was jealous of Glooskap and wished to be lord of the Indians himself. He also knew that both brothers had magic powers and that neither could be killed except in one certain way. 

What that way was, each kept secret from all but the Stars, whom they trusted. Each sometimes talked in the starlight to the people of the Sky. 

"Little does Malsum know," said Glooskap to the Stars, "that I can never be killed except by the blow of a flowering rush." And not far off, Malsum boasted to those same Stars, "I am quite safe from Glooskap's power. I can do any thing I like, for nothing can harm me but the roots of a flowering fern." 

Now, alas, Lox was hidden close by and overheard both secrets. Seeing how he might turn this to his own advantage, he went to Malsum and said with a knowing smile, "What will you give me, Malsum, if I tell you Glooskap's secret?" 

"Anything you like," cried Malsum. "Quick, tell me!" 

"Nothing can hurt Glooskap save a flowering rush," said the traitor. "Now give me a pair of wings, like the pigeon, so I can fly." 

But Malsum laughed instead. 

"What need has a beaver of wings?" And kicking the troublemaker aside, he sped off to find a flowering rush. Lox picked himself up furiously and hurried to Glooscap. 

"Master!" he cried, "Malsum knows your secret and is about to kill you. If you would save yourself, know that only a fern root can destroy him!" 

Glooskap snatched up the nearest fern, root and all, and just in time: his evil brother was upon him, shouting his war cry. All of the animals (who were angry at Glooskap for reducing their size and power) cheered Malsum, but the Indians were afraid for their Master. 

Glooskap braced his feet against a cliff, and Malsum paused. For a moment, the two crouched face to face, waiting for the moment to strike. Then the wolf-like Malsum lunged at Glooskap's head. Twisting his body aside, the Great Chief flung his weapon. It went swift to its target, and Malsum leapt back, but too late. The fern root pierced his envious heart, and he died. 

Now the Indians rejoiced, and the animals crept sullenly away. Only Lox came to Glooskap, impudently. 

"I'll have my reward now, Master," he said, "a pair of wings, like the pigeon's." 

"Faithless creature!" Glooskap thundered, knowing full well who had betrayed him, "I made no such bargain. Be gone!" And he hurled stone after stone at the fleeing Lox. Where the stones fell (in Minas Basin) they turned into islands and are there still. And the banished Lox roams the world to this day, appealing to the evil in men's hearts and making trouble wherever he goes. 

Now Glooskap called his people around him and said, "I made the animals to be man's friends, but they have acted with selfishness and treachery. Hereafter, they shall be your servants and provide you with food and clothing." 

Then he showed the men how to make bows and arrows and stone tipped spears, and how to use them. He also showed the women how to scrape hides and turn them into clothing. 

"Now you have power over even the largest wild creatures," he said. "Yet I charge you to use this power gently. If you take more game than you need for food and clothing, or kill for the pleasure of killing, then you will be visited by a pitiless giant named Famine, and when he comes among men, they suffer hunger and die." 

The people readily promised to obey Glooskap in this, as in all things. But now, to their dismay, they saw Marten launch the Master's canoe and Noogumee entering it with Glooskap's household goods. Glooskap was leaving them! 

"I must dwell now in a separate place," said the Great Chief, "so that you, my people, will learn to stand alone, and become brave and resourceful. Nevertheless, I shall never be far from you, and whoever seeks me diligently in time of trouble will find me." 

Then, waving farewell to his sorrowful Wabanaki, Glooskap set off for the mainland. Rounding the southern tip of what is now Nova Scotia, the Great Chief paddled up the Bay of Fundy. 

In the distance, where the Bay narrows and the great tides of Fundy rush into Minas Basin, Glooskap saw a long purple headland .It looked like a moose swimming, with clouds for antlers, and he headed his canoe in that direction. 

Landing, he gazed at the slope of red sandstone, with its groves of green trees at the summit, and admired the amethysts encircling its base like a string of purple beads. 

"Here I shall build my lodge," said Glooskap, and he named the place Blomidon. 

Glooskap dwelt on Blomidon a very long time, and during that time did many wonderful things for his People. 

from Archives of BLUE PANTHER

Lox deceived the DUCKS, cheated the CHIEF, & beguiled the BEAR

 a Micmac story

Somewhere in the forest lived Lox, with a small boy, his brother. When winter came they went far into the woods to hunt. And going on, they reached at last a very large and beautiful lake. It was covered with water-fowl. There were wild geese and brant, black ducks and wood-ducks, and all the smaller kinds down to teal and whistlers.

The small boy was delighted to see so much game. He eagerly asked his brother how he meant to catch them. He answered, "We must first go to work and build a large wigwam. It must be very strong, with a heavy, solid door." 

This was done; and Lox, being a great magician, thus arranged his plans for taking the wild-fowl. He sent the boy out to a point of land, where he was to cry to the birds and tell them that his brother wished to give them a kingly reception. (Nakamit, to act the king.) He told them their king had come. Then Lox, arraying himself grandly, sat with dignity next the door, with his eyes closed, as if in great state. Then the little boy shouted that they might enter and hear what the great Sagamore had to say. They flocked in, and took their seats in the order of their size. The Wild Geese came nearest and sat down, then the Ducks, and so on to the smallest, who sat nearest the door. Last of all came the boy, who entering also sat down by the door, closed it, and held it fast. So the little birds, altumadedajik (M.), sat next to him.

Then they were all told "Spegwedajik!" "Shut your eyes!" and were directed to keep them closed for their very lives, until directed to open them again. Unless they did this first, their eyes would be blinded forever when they beheld their king in all his magnificence. So they sat in silence. Then the sorcerer, stepping softly, took them one by one, grasping each tightly by the wings, and 'ere the bird knew what he was about it had its head crushed between his teeth. And so without noise or fluttering he killed all the Wild Geese and Brant and Black Ducks. 

Then the little boy began to pity the poor small wild-fowl. He thought it was a shame to kill so many, having already more than they needed. So stooping down, he whispered to a very little bird to open its eyes. It did so, but very cautiously indeed, for fear of being blinded. Great was his horror to see what Lox was doing! He screamed, "Kedumeds'lk!" "We are all being killed!" 

Then they opened their eyes, and flew about in the utmost confusion, screaming loudly in terror. The little boy dropped down as if he had been knocked over in the confusion, so that the door flew wide open, and the birds, rushing over him, began to escape, while Lox in a rage continued to seize them and kill them with his teeth. Then the little boy, to avoid suspicion, grasped the last fugitive by the legs and held him fast. But he was suspected all the same by the wily sorcerer, who caught him up roughly, and would have beaten him cruelly but that he earnestly protested that the birds knocked him down and forced the door open, and that he could by no means help it: which being somewhat slowly believed, he was forgiven, and they began to pluck and dress the game. The giblets were preserved, the fowls sliced and dried and laid by for the winter's store. Then having plenty of provisions, Lox gave a feast. Among the guests were Marten and Mahtigwess, the Rabbit, who talked together for a long time in the most confidential manner, the Rabbit confiding and the Marten attending to him.

Now while this conversation had been going on, Lox, who was deeply addicted to all kinds of roguery and mischief, had listened to it with interest. And when the two little guests had ceased he asked them where their village was, and who lived in it. Then he was told that all the largest animals had their homes there: the bear, caribou or reindeer, deer, wolf, wild cat, to say nothing of squirrels and mice. 

And having got them to show him the way, he some time after turned himself into a young woman of great beauty, or at least disguised himself like one, and going to the village married the young chief. And having left little Marten alone in a hollow tree outside the village, the boy, getting hungry, began to howl for food; which the villagers hearing were in a great fright. But the young chief's wife, or the magician Lox, soon explained to them what it meant. "It is," she-he said, "Owoolakumooejit, the Spirit of Famine. He is grim and gaunt; hear how he howls for food! Woe be unto you, should he reach this village! Ah, I remember only too well what happened when he once came among us. Horror! starvation!"

"Can you drive him back?" cried all the villagers.

Yes, 't is in my power. Do but give me the well-tanned hide of a yearling moose and a good supply of moose-tallow, then the noise will cease." And seizing it, and howling furiously the name of his brother after a fashion which no one could understand,--Aa-chowwa'n!--and bidding him begone, he rushed out into the night, until he came to Marten, to whom he gave the food, and, wrapping him up well in the moose-skin, bade him wait a while. And the villagers thought the chief's wife was indeed a very great conjurer.

And then she-he announced that a child would soon be born. And when the day came Badger handed out a bundle, and said that the babe was in it. "Noolmusugakelaimadijul," "They kiss it outside the blanket." But when the chief opened it what he found therein was the dried, withered embryo of a moose-calf. In a great rage he flung it into the fire, and all rushed headlong in a furious pack to catch Badger. They saw him and Marten rushing to the lake. They pursued him, but when he reached the bank the wily sorcerer cast in a stick; it turned into a canoe, and long ere the infuriated villagers could reach them they were on the opposite shore and in the woods.

Now listen to this story:

Now it came to pass one day that as Lox sat on a log a bear came by, who, being a sociable fellow, sat down by him and smoked a pipe. While they were talking a gull flew over, and inadvertently offered to Lox what he considered, or affected to consider, as a great insult. And wiping the insult off, Lox cried to the Gull, "Oh, ungrateful and insolent creature, is this the way you reward me for having made you white!"

Now the Bear would always be white if he could, for the White Bear (wabeyu mooin) is the aristocrat of Beardom. So he eagerly cried, "Ha! did you make the Gull white?"

"Indeed I did," replied Lox. "And this is what I get for it."

Could you, my dear friend,--could you make me white?"

Then Lox saw his way, and replied that he could indeed, but that it would be a long and agonizing process; Mooin might die of it. To be sure the Gull stood it, but could a Bear?

Now the Bear, who had a frame as hard as a rock, felt sure that he could endure anything that a gull could, especially to become a white bear. So, with much ceremony, the Great Enchanter went to work. He built a strong wigwam, 3 feet high, of stones, and having put the Bear into it he cast in red-hot stones, and poured water on them through a small hole in the roof. Erelong the Bear was in a terrible steam.

"Ah, Doctor Lox," he cried, "this is awfully hot! I fear I am dying!"

"Courage," said Lox; "this is nothing. The Gull had it twice as hot."

"Can't stand it any more, doctor. O-o-o-oh!"

Doctor Lox threw in more hot stones and poured more water on them. The Bear yelled.

"Let me out! O-o-h! let me out! O-o-o-oh!"

So he came bursting through the door. The doctor examined him critically.

Now there is on an old bear a small white or light spot on his upper breast, which he cannot see. And Doctor Lox, looking at this, said,--

"What a pity! You came out just as you were beginning to turn white. Here is the first spot. Five minutes more and you'd have been a white bear. Ah, you have n't the pluck of a gull; that I can see."

Now the Bear was mortified and disappointed. He had not seen the spot, so he asked Lox if it was really there.

"Wait a minute," said the doctor. He led the Bear to a pool and made him look in. Sure enough, the spot was there. Then he asked if they could not begin again.

"Certainly we can," replied the doctor. "But it will be much hotter and harder and longer this time. Don't try it if you feel afraid, and don't blame me if you die of it."

The Bear went in again, but he never came out alive. The doctor had roast bear meat all that winter, and much bear's oil. He gave some of the oil to his younger brother. The boy took it in a measure. Going along the creek, he saw a Muskrat (Keuchus, Pass.). He said to the Muskrat, "If you can harden this oil for me, I will give you half." The Muskrat made it as hard as ice. The boy said, "If my brother comes and asks you to do this for him, do you keep it all." And, returning, he showed the oil thus hardened to his brother, who, taking a large measure of it, went to the Muskrat and asked him to harden it. The Muskrat indeed took the dish and swam away with it, and never returned.

Then the elder, vexed with the younger, and remembering the ducks in the wigwam, and believing now that he had indeed been cheated, slew him.

Think about this:

This confused and strange story is manifestly pieced together out of several others, each of which have incidents in common. A part of it is very ancient. Firstly, the inveigling the ducks into the wigwam is found in the Eskimo tale of Avurungnak (Rink, ). The Eskimo is told by a sorcerer to let the sea-birds into the tent, and not to begin to kill them till the tent is full. He disobeys, and a part of them escape. In Schoolcraft's Hiawatha Legends, Manobozho gets the mysterious oil which ends the foregoing story from a fish. He fattens all the animals in the world with it, and the amount which they consume is the present measure of their fatness. When this ceremony is over, he inveigles all the birds into his power by telling them to shut their eyes. At last a small duck, the diver, suspecting something, opens one eye, and gives the alarm.

The sorcerer's passing himself off for a woman and the trick of the moose abortion occurs in 3 tales, but it is most completely given in this. To this point the narrative follows the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Chippewa versions. After the tale of the chief is at an end it is entirely Passamaquoddy; but of the latter I have two versions, one from Tomah Josephs and one from Mrs. W. Wallace Brown.

I can see no sense in the account of the bear's oil hardened by ice, but that oil is an essential part of the duck story appears from the Chippewa legend (Hiawatha L. ). In the latter it is represented as giving size to those who partake of it.

The Algonquin Legends of New England or, Myths and Folk Lore of the Micmac, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot Tribes by Charles G. Leland , 1884 

archives of Blue Panther