FOOTNOTES

Hony, kee bee, lā ā-weis, ag-les, huntip.

The inflection on the last word is always a rising one. This is especially true on the last syllable of the last word, "tip." The counting out is not very different from that of white children. They all place two fingers of each hand in a circle; the one who repeats the doggerel, having one hand free, touches each finger in the circle saying,Hony, kee bee, lā ā-weis, ag-les, huntip. Each finger that thehuntipfalls on is doubled under, and this is repeated again and again until there are but three fingers left. The persons corresponding to these start to run, and the one caught has to play asSquaw-oc-t'moos.[32]To the Indian mind "counting out" has a significance, and even the simplehuntipis a magic word, bringing good luck, as it lessens the chance of being "squaw-oc-t'moos." ["Journal of American Folk-Lore," vol. iii. No. 8, pp. 71, 72.]

One of the songs, said to be a salutation, which was sung on the cylinders, has been written out from the phonograph by the late Mr. S.P. Cheney. The words, as nearly as I can make them out, are as follows:—

T'wā too boo hen ee too boo ho [to be way] blaTel ey wees ee luHoi kay yu kar, heno yah ha,Kaye yu kar, hen o yar-hah,Kay yu kar, hen o yah-hah, kay yu kar, hen o yar-hah.

The first two lines are sung first to the upper staff, then repeated to the music on the second, which differs somewhat from the first. Then follows the third and fourth lines, which are sung to the third staff, and repeated with slight variation from the fourth.

music

[Listen] [View Lilypond]

music

[Listen] [View Lilypond]

The question of whether the Indians originally had characters to designate tones has been discussed by Theodor Baker ("Ueber die Musik der Nord Amerikanischen Wilden"). Although the Micmacs seemed to have had an elaborate system of hieroglyphics[33]to designate sounds, neither they nor their immediate neighbors, according to Vetromile, had characters to designate tones. The songs were probably committed to memory, and possibly on that account were often somewhat modified.

The cylinder with Passamaquoddy words and the English equivalents has the following records, which I have written down as nearly as I could from the phonograph, and verified by repeating them from my spelling to the Indians. With two exceptions, the Indians, were able to understand the word meant, and to give me an English equivalent identical with that originally recorded. I have made these experiments of verification in order to test the capabilities of the phonograph. In the cases where my spelling of the word has failed to convey the sound of the word, the phonograph was perfectly understood by the Indian interrogated. This fact seemed to me to bring out a serious defect in the use of the phonetic method, which may not be confined to me alone. I doubt very much if the Indians could understand many of the words in some of the vocabularies of other Indians which have been published, if the words were pronounced as they are spelled. The records of the phonograph, although of course sometimes faulty, are as a general thing accurate.When I wrote out the Passamaquoddy words given below, I was wholly ignorant of their meaning. I wrote them as I heard them on the cylinder, placing at their side the English equivalent. I then pronounced the word to an Indian, and he gave the same English word which I had myself written from the phonograph:—

k'tālgus (gin),ear.Wee tin,nose.Hük,body.K'telobāgen,arms.Sqăt,fire.K'tāgen,foot.Wittuk,forehead.(Puks que nor wūk), Pugorken,blood.Tups kuk,neck.Wusquān,elbow.Kort,leg.Qūtque,knee.Wukum,heel.Wus quout,liver (heart).Wee bee,tooth.p'kŭtt,smoke.

The object of the above list is simply to show how nearly one can obtain the sound of the word phonetically by the phonograph. It is thought to illustrate a possible use of this instrument.

Vocabularies of Passamaquoddy words have been published, but as a general thing they are very incomplete. Miss Abby Alger, of Boston, has printed a short list of common words and phrases, and in Kilby's "History of Eastport" the Passamaquoddy names of certain localities, rivers, etc., are given.

It is probably impossible to get the same story in all its details from two different Indians. The variations in incidents are very numerous. Consequently the observer who follows me will undoubtedly find a great difference between the tale as I give it and as he hears it. That is to be expected, nor is it probable that these stories admit of absolute accuracy as long as human memory is fallacious. These stories aremembra dejectaof older ones, and, although lineal descendants of ancient tales, are probably more or less modified or changed.

The following are a few of the mythological characters which play a part in many of the stories of the Passamaquoddies. They are all given on one of the cylinders of the phonograph:—

Leux.Mischief-maker. In certain stories, simple fellow.Kewok.A formless being with icy heart, and when mentioned regarded as a terrible one.Pedogiic.Thunder.Pesok que tuk.Lightning.Ooargamess.Small beings who live about rocks and chatter in unknown tongue. Have been seen in late times.Lumpagonosis.Water beings.Kelphit.A shapeless (medicine) being who is turned over twice each year. Under him are found flowers.Pogumpt.Black Cat, Fisher.k'Chebollock.The Spirit of the Air. This being is said to be without body, but to have a heart, wings, head, and legs.Cadoux.Spirit of Night. Said to have been seen lately. An evil spirit which tears bark from the wigwam, and in many ways frightens the Indians.Pook-jin-squess.The Jug. Called also the toad woman. In some Indian stories spoken of as governor.Noosagess.A being associated with the wind.Squaw-oc-t'moos.Swamp woman.Mousham.Grandfather.Glooscap.The beneficent being whose deeds are generally superhuman, and who figures in many heroic tales of the Passamaquoddies. The term as applied to a man is one of contempt. To call a man glooscap, or a woman glooscapess, is to call them liars.Chematiquess.The big rabbit. There are many tales in relation to Chematiquess. The new one which I have treats of his efforts to escape Glooscap.Mickemnise.The good fellow. I have also heard the Ouargamiss called Mickeminn.Hespens.The raccoon.Quarbet.The giant beast.M'Sartoo.The Morning Star.Consuce.The ancients; said to be the fabricators of stone things. These were the makers of the stone axes or tomahawks which are found in the territory once inhabited by the Passamaquoddies.

Leux.Mischief-maker. In certain stories, simple fellow.

Kewok.A formless being with icy heart, and when mentioned regarded as a terrible one.

Pedogiic.Thunder.

Pesok que tuk.Lightning.

Ooargamess.Small beings who live about rocks and chatter in unknown tongue. Have been seen in late times.

Lumpagonosis.Water beings.

Kelphit.A shapeless (medicine) being who is turned over twice each year. Under him are found flowers.

Pogumpt.Black Cat, Fisher.

k'Chebollock.The Spirit of the Air. This being is said to be without body, but to have a heart, wings, head, and legs.

Cadoux.Spirit of Night. Said to have been seen lately. An evil spirit which tears bark from the wigwam, and in many ways frightens the Indians.

Pook-jin-squess.The Jug. Called also the toad woman. In some Indian stories spoken of as governor.

Noosagess.A being associated with the wind.

Squaw-oc-t'moos.Swamp woman.

Mousham.Grandfather.

Glooscap.The beneficent being whose deeds are generally superhuman, and who figures in many heroic tales of the Passamaquoddies. The term as applied to a man is one of contempt. To call a man glooscap, or a woman glooscapess, is to call them liars.

Chematiquess.The big rabbit. There are many tales in relation to Chematiquess. The new one which I have treats of his efforts to escape Glooscap.

Mickemnise.The good fellow. I have also heard the Ouargamiss called Mickeminn.

Hespens.The raccoon.

Quarbet.The giant beast.

M'Sartoo.The Morning Star.

Consuce.The ancients; said to be the fabricators of stone things. These were the makers of the stone axes or tomahawks which are found in the territory once inhabited by the Passamaquoddies.

The accompanyingplateillustrates the above mentioned story of Pogump and Pookjinsquess, the original of which was drawn on birch bark by Noel Josephs.

Since the above was written, I have spent some time at Zuñi Pueblo, New Mexico, during which my studies of aboriginal language with the phonograph were continued. While it is too early to state the exact value of the records obtained, it may be interesting to know that I have succeeded in obtaining some important specimens of the songs, stories, and prayers of this tribe in the course of the summer. The songs of the sacred dances of the Zuñians are particularly adapted to successful recording with the phonograph. Of these there were obtained several so-calledKo-kosongs, such as are sung in theKor-kok-shior rain dances. The song sung at theHam-po-ney, an ancient dance celebrated every eight or ten years by the women, was also obtained from one of the participants. This dance, an elaborate corn-dance, is said to be an ancient ceremony, and is, next in importance to the dedication of the houses, one of the most striking events in the Zuñian calendar. The rarity of its performance, and the possibility that when next performed it may be greatly modified, give a unique value to this record.

The most important of the ceremonies of the winter at Zuñi Pueblo is undoubtedly theSha-la-ko, at which certain of the houses to the number of seven, which have been built during the past year,are dedicated. The song and prayer of theSha-la-kowas sung for me into the phonograph by one of the Zuñians, who had, as I was told, taken part in the celebration a few years ago.

Among other interesting records may be mentioned the prayer of the hunter to his fetish when on the hunt; and that of the Priest of the Bow, formerly sung when he went to war with the Navajos. I also obtained a song of theShe-vo-ladance, which bears evidence of great antiquity.

I failed to get what I especially desired, viz., a record of the Zuñi ritual or history of the tribe. Although repeatedly promised that it should be given, and while at one time I thought that I had obtained part of it, I must acknowledge an utter failure to accomplish what was hoped in this line. The Zuñi epic, so called, is still unrecorded on the phonograph, although at one time I was so confident that I had obtained it, that I stated such to be the fact, and my statement has appeared in print.

There is among the Zuñians an interesting ceremonial for rain, which is observed on the night before the departure of the pilgrims who visit the Sacred Lake for water, as a preparation for the first of the solstitial rain dances. I have been able to obtain the chant and words of this ceremonial, called theDw-me-chim-che, from one who has taken part in it. The observance is so primitive, and bears so many evidences of antiquity, that a record of the chant has an importance, in the study of the customs of this interesting people, second to none with which I am familiar.

Experience has taught me that records of songs are the best which can be obtained. These are, as a rule, better adapted to the phonograph. Rituals and prayers are repeated in such a low tone that they are, as a general thing, imperfectly reproduced on the wax cylinders of the phonograph. A natural timidity of the Indians with respect to repeating the sacred formulæ, and the absolute fear which some of them have when the records are repeated to them by the phonograph, prevented my obtaining many of these valuable records. Still I have made a beginning, and have obtained enough to demonstrate the value, I think, of the instrument, in the preservation and study of aboriginal folk-lore.

I have prepared an elaborate account of the ceremonies witnessed by me, in many of which the songs, formulæ, and prayers of the participants were repeated on the phonograph, and the records themselves will be published as soon as they are carefully worked out.

J. Walter Fewkes.

birch-bark drawing

[1]This work was undertaken as a preparation for similar observation in connection with the Hemenway Archæological Expedition. I am indebted to Mrs. Mary Hemenway, of Boston, for opportunities to make these observations.

[2]I have given below English versions of these, or the Indian stories told in English.

[3]My surprise at this coincidence was very great, but I confess that I was also interested to hear from the lips of my Indian friend, at parting, the familiar Italian word, "Addio."

[4]Some Indoor and Outdoor Games of the Wabanaki Indians, Trans. Roy. Soc. Canada, Section II. 1889.

[5]I myself have never witnessed the snake-dance. The description which follows was obtained from Mrs. Brown, who has seen it performed twice, as well as from Peter Selmore, Noel Josephs, and other Indians who have frequently taken part in it. The song was recorded on the phonograph from the lips of Josephs, who is recognized by the Indians themselves as one competent to sing the song. Josephs told me that he remembered when this and other dances took place in a large wigwam made of bark.

[6]The last part of this dance somewhat resembles a play among boys, known as "Snap the whip."

[7]The Zuñi folk-tales always begin with a similar introduction, which may be translated, "In the time of the ancients." The Passamaquoddies often end a story by the words which, being translated, mean "this is the end." The same occurs in other Indian stories.

[8]The wind (Wochowsen) is represented as resisting the Thunder-Bird. According to Chamberlain and Leland, "thunder beings are always trying to kill a big bird in the south." It is said by the Passamaquoddies that Wochowsen is the great bird which overspreads all with his wings and darkens the sky. Often when he passes by, the glare of the bright sun is ample to blind them.

[9]The version gives only the incidents as remembered, and can hardly be called a translation.

[10]Probably Sable had am' toulin, or magic power, and his song was heard by Black Cat, although miles away beyond hills and mountains.

[11]Evidently to excite the curiosity of the Snake.

[12]The fire was outside the wigwam, and the Snake put his head out of the wigwam, when he was struck. Possibly the Snake watched the process of straightening the stick through curiosity, and was off his guard.

[13]In another story which was told me, Glooscap turned the eyes of the Snake white in the following manner:—"Once on a time Glooscap was cooking something in his wigwam, and the Snake wished to see what it was. So the Snake crawled up the outside of the wigwam and looked down through the smoke-hole into the cooking vessel. But Glooscap, who was stirring the pot of cooking food, held in his hand a great ladle. He noticed the Snake peering in at the smoke-hole, and, filling the bowl of the ladle full of the hot food, threw it into the eyes of the Snake. From that time the eyes of the Snake have been white."

[13]In another story which was told me, Glooscap turned the eyes of the Snake white in the following manner:—

"Once on a time Glooscap was cooking something in his wigwam, and the Snake wished to see what it was. So the Snake crawled up the outside of the wigwam and looked down through the smoke-hole into the cooking vessel. But Glooscap, who was stirring the pot of cooking food, held in his hand a great ladle. He noticed the Snake peering in at the smoke-hole, and, filling the bowl of the ladle full of the hot food, threw it into the eyes of the Snake. From that time the eyes of the Snake have been white."

[14]According to the narrator, the bird that did this was a very large one. Possibly it was Cooloo, the offended husband of Pookjinsquess.

[15]Quahbet, or the Giant Beaver, was not on the best of terms with Black Cat, for Glooscap had slain many of the beavers, whose bones still exist, and are of giant size. This hatred probably arose, says Leland, from the time when Quahbeetsis, the son of the Beaver, inspired Malsumsis to kill Glooscap.

[16]The ants assisted Black Cat in many ways. They were also friendly to Leux, and on one occasion are said to have gathered the bones and fragments of the "Merry God" together and restored his life. Whether in the present instance they tried to keep the tree upright by piling the earth about its trunk or not, the narrator does not say.

[17]Possibly the gnawing of the Beaver is the ripple of the waves around the base of the tree.

[18]Mrs. Brown has identified Wewillemuck as the snail. Some of the Indians say that it is a large lizard like an alligator. The bark picture of this creature, made by Noel Josephs, is that of a nondescript difficult to identify.

[19]In this manner he obtains his revenge. Dr. Boas tells me he has heard a similar story of the origin of the mosquitoes on the West Coast.

[20]Mrs. Brown writes me that the Black Cat referred to is not identical with Glooscap. "There were very many of these mythological personages," she says, "who were able to do things as wonderful as Glooscap, but they were not of his nature. He worked for good, they for selfish purposes."Mr. Leland's work exhibits throughout want of exactness in recording just what the Indians told him. It is in deductions and explanations that error is liable to arise. A story made up from the recital of several Indians is likely to exhibit their attempts to explain doubtful parts of the story.

Mr. Leland's work exhibits throughout want of exactness in recording just what the Indians told him. It is in deductions and explanations that error is liable to arise. A story made up from the recital of several Indians is likely to exhibit their attempts to explain doubtful parts of the story.

[21]It would seem, from Leland's account, that the wolf admired Leux greatly because he cared so little for the cold or their care.

[22]It was possible that the wolf gave him some charm or medicine with which to accomplish this.

[23]The above story is told substantially as here given by Leland, but with many additions. The source from which Leland obtained his account is not given. The account which I give is from Noel Josephs. In Leland's account Leux froze to death.

[24]Notice, also, that the thunder-birds were not able to approach the trees, and the Indian who was turned into a thunder-bird was warned not to approach the forest, for he moved so rapidly that he would get caught in the crotch of a tree.

[25]It would be more in accord with the Indian words to say "have one of them" instead of "have one of them for a wife."

[26]The wigwam may have been so dark that he could not see anything, or perhaps he was blinded by his admiration for the girls.

[27]By combining this story with some given by Leland it would seem that the child was Glooscap. If that is so, this is the only account in Passamaquoddy lore in which his parthenogenetic origin is traced. Mrs. Brown insists, however, that the medicine man was not Glooscap.

[28]The resemblance of this story to the tale of Moses is very great. Whether or not it is derived from the early teaching of the church through Catholic priests, or from still earlier Norse legends, I leave others to decide.

[29]Dr. Rand (American Antiquarian, p. 8, vol. xii. No. 1) mentions a personage (Koolpejot) as "rolled over by means of a handspike." He is a great medicine man: he has no bones, always lies out in the open air, and is rolled over from one side to the other twice a year, during spring and fall. He adds that an intelligent Indian once suggested that this was a figurative representation of the revolution of the seasons.

[30]Quoted from Leland'sAlgonquin Legends.

[31]According to Leland's story.

[32]The word "squat" in Passamaquoddy means fire. Mrs. Brown spells the name of the swamp woman as follows:Squaw-oc-t'moos. Theais very long, and possibly can be best represented byaw.

[33]Pictographic writing, which is so well known among the Micmacs, was also practised by the Passamaquoddies. The sign of the Passamaquoddies is a canoe with two Indians in it and a porpoise. This sign appears on rocks in certain places. The design for the present flag of this tribe is of late conception, and shows the Christian influence.

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