Then he remembered that the giant had told him he would think of him in seven years; and it came clearly before him what it all meant, and that he was erelong to have magical power given to him, and that he should become aMegumoowessoo. This he told his wife, who, not being learned in darksome lore, would fain know more nearly what kind of a being he expected to be, and whether a spirit or a man, good or bad; which was, indeed, not easy to explain, nor is it clearly set down in the chronicles beyond this,—that, whatever it might be, it was all for the best, and that there was a great deal of magic in it.
That day they saw a great shark cruising about in their bay, chasing fish, and this they held for an evil omen. But, soon after, there came trotting towards them over the sea the same small dog who had been their pilot from the Land of the Giants. So he, full of joy, as before, at seeing them and the children, wagged his tail and danced for glee, and then looked earnestly at the man as if for some message. And to him the man said, "It is well. In three years' time I will make you a visit. I will look to the southwest." Then the dog licked the hands and the ears and the eyes of the man, and went home as before over the sea, running on the water.
And when the three years had passed the Indian entered his canoe, and, paddling without fear, found his way to the Land of the Giants. He saw the wigwams standing on the beach; the immense canoes were drawn up on the water's edge; from afar he beheld the old giant coming down to welcome him. But he was alone. And when he had been welcomed, and was in the wigwam, he learned that all the sons were dead. They had died three years before, when the shark, the great sorcerer, had been seen.
They had gone, and the old man had but lingered a little longer. They had made the magic change, they had departed, and he would soon join themin his own kingdom. But ere he went he would leave their great inheritance, their magic, to the man.
Therewith the giant brought out his son's clothes, and bade the Indian put them on. Truly this was as if he had been asked to clothe himself with a great house, since the smallest fold in them would have been to him as a cavern. But he stepped in, and as he did this he rose to great size; he filled out the garments till they fitted; he was a giant, of Giant-Land. With the clothes came the wisdom, them'teoulin, themanitoupower of the greatest and wisest of the olden time. He was indeedMegumoowessoo, and had attained to the Mystery.
This very remarkable and evidently ancient tale is one of that kind which the keepers of tribe chronicles among the pagan Indians do not tell to the world, and which they conceal from white men. It is not a fragment, nor is it unfinished, as some readers may suppose. Its plot is of a much higher nature than a novel, which ends in a marriage. To an Indian, whose ideas of earthly happiness were not in money, houses, and lands, personal power was the one thing to be most desired. As a Passamaquoddy said once to me, "To be rich in those days meant to be a great hunter and always have plenty of meat for everybody." Hence the desire to be great and strong, to be able to entice wild animals, to run like the wind, to be crafty in all things, especially in making war; hence to have prophetic dreams. All of this was to be attained bym'teoulin, or magic. The highest ambition of an Indian was to become aMegumoowessoo, a mystical being, which is explained differently as fairy, faun, sylvan deity, but which means one who enjoys all the highest privileges of humanity allied to the supernatural. This is what the hero of this story gets by favor of the giant.
It may be observed that in this tale the Indian cannot explain to his wife what he nevertheless perfectly understands; that is, the exact nature of aMegumoowessoo. The giant, by speaking of his own kingdom, gives the true key of the whole mystery. He has attained magic power so far as one can exercise it in this life. Like Glooskap he can be, or unlike him prefers, to be habitually, a giant. He has battled with the Chenoo and Kookwess; he has, like Hercules, fulfilled his mission; and now he departs for his own realm, that of theMegumoowessoo, as Arthur went to Fairy-Land, as Buddha to the unknown Nirvana,—that is, to something beyond the conception of poet or theosophist.
I suspect that the period of seven years, and again of three years, had been employed by the Indian in preparing himself by penance form'teoulin. The respect of the Indians for the numbersevenis so remarkable, that if it be true thatDeus imparibus numeris gaudet, they are in that respect, at least, like deities. Wheneversevenor a white bear's skin occurs in these tales, there always lies hidden a magical mystery.
It is not the least remarkable feature of this tale that it abounds in that quiet small humor which recalls the adventures of Captain Lemuel Gulliver. The Indian, like, the Norseman, was such animplicitbeliever in his own myths, and he had evolved them so entirely from himself without borrowing,—since we may regard him as one in this respect with the Eskimo,—that no human characteristic detracted from the dignity of the Manitou.
There is a strong suggestion in this story that the giants were whales. This and the incident of their inhabiting a mysterious country beyond the sea and the fog would identify them with the enchanted land of the Eskimo, visited by the Angakok in their trances, and by others inkayaks. This country was namedAkilinek, "a fabulous land beyond the sea." The whole story of Malaise, the man who traveled to Akilinek, is in every detail extremely like an Indian tale. (Rink, page 169.) It has also a Norse affinity. The land of the giants was supposed by both Icelanders and Indians to be in the North Atlantic. There is a Norse tale of a man changed to a whale which indicates a common origin with the one here given.
It is believed that them'teoulincan, when speaking, make themselves heard to whom they will, at any distance. They, can confer with one another secretly when miles away, or make themselves known to many. I was informed by an Indian in all faith that an old witch who died in 1876, twelve miles from Pleasant Point, was heard to speak in the latter place when at her last. A very intelligent Passamaquoddy told me that when Osalik (Sarah) Hequin died he himself heard all she said, though sixty-five miles distant. I am certain that he firmly believed this. This woman died a strange death, for she was found standing up, dead, in the snow, with her arms extended and "hands sticking out." It is generally believed that she was killed by otherm'teoulin.
There are really very few ideas in modern mesmerism not known to Eskimo or Indian Shamans. Clairvoyance is called by the PassamaquoddiesMeelah bi give he.
N'loan pes-sans, mok glint ont-avenGlint ont-aven, nosh mor-gunN'loan sep-scess syne-ducMach-ak wah le-de-born harlo kirkPes-sauk-wa morgun pa-zazeu.Dout-tu eowall, yu' eke ne-mess comallDow-dar bowsee des ge-che-ne-wes skump,Na-havak dunko to-awk w'che-mon wh'oakNo-saw yu-wellMooennillMask da-ah gawank la me la-tak-a-dea-onDi-wa godamr Kudunk-ah dea-onGlor-ba dea-on glom-de-necGlint-wah-gnour pes sausmok.
We are the stars which sing,We sing with our light;We are the birds of fire,We fly over the sky.Our light is a voice;We make a road for spirits,For the spirits to pass over.Among us are three huntersWho chase a bear;There never was a timeWhen they were not hunting.We look down on the mountains.This is the Song of the Stars.
"Ahboohe b'lo maryna Piel to-marcess"We poual gee yuaaMar-yuoncordectdelo sonNe morn-en nute magk med-agonOn-e-est Molly duse-alca-soo-son nen.
Tumbling end over end, goes Piel tomercess,With feathers on his eyes.To the maple-sap ridgewe are going,Our lunch a cod-fish skin;One estMolly's daughter goes with us.