Piqua Central High School - Piquonian Yearbook (Piqua, OH)

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' ...EX . .. . gfwl ra Old Indian Myths N traveling through an Indian reservation I came upon a friendly old Indian chief, who told me some old legends handed down by his forefathers. As these myths impressed me very much I shall try to tell them to you as they were told to me. Two little Indian boys went swimming. After their swim, they lay down on a huge boulder to dry themselves in the sunshine. It was such a beautiful day that they soon fell asleep. As they slept the boulder grew and grew until it reached high into the sky and out of sight of their tribe who looked for them in vain. Finally the animals gathered for a council to find a way to bring the boys down. Each animal jumped, leaped, and climbed as high as he could but none could reach the top. Then tiny Measuring XYorm began to creep and finally reached the top. He awoke theboys and led them back to their tribe. There- fore the Indians called the great rock after the little Measuring lYorm which was Tutckanula, but white men call it El Capitan. According to an Old Indian myth the first part of the earth to be created was Mount Shasta. The Indians believed the great spirit broke a hole through heaven with a rock, and where the rock landed he Hung more rocks until he could step from the sky to the summit. He created the forest by running his hand over the sides of the hills, then plucked some leaves from the trees, breathed on them, tossed them into the air and they were birds. In this manner the world was created. The powerful beings dwelled in the Catskill and Adirondacks while the Highlands of the Hudson confined the rebellious spirits. The White Mountains were the home of the great and blessed spirits and the great spirit lived there and looked down upon his children. The red men were afraid to tread upon this high and holy ground. The White Mountains were created in a different manner from the others. An Indian hunter, exhausted from his fruitless hunt, lay down in the snow to die. He dreamed of a wonderful hunting ground. Vllhen he awoke from his dream he called to the Great Spirit, VVhere is this country I have seen? The Great Spirit gave him a coal and a spear. He dropped the coal, and fire and smoke spread from it. A wonderful hunting ground was created and a voice sounded the promise, Here shall the Great Spirit live and watch over his children. As the smoke cleared, the hunter gazed upon the mighty peaks. God stood upon their crest. The great valley known as Yosemite, but which meant to the Indians 'fGrizzly Bear , has many beautiful falls. In this valley a great chief fell in love with beautiful Tisayac, spirit of the valley. As he was about to win her she vanished as a bird of the sky. The chief left his tribe after she had vanished. The members of his tribe were soon scattered and Yosemite became a desert. When Tisayac returned she wept bitterly and called on the Great Spirit to return life to the valley: this he did. He also smote the mountain and let the 93

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I A.. .wx is ' 'YN'1twm,X 151 ' .. . '. 1 ' X!I!iYK'i'3fKXXX'3'.'S.'X'X'. . -. ' R'If.SX.X? X ,,, --.isp ., Q , ., ,.,,, ,.,L,, P , .,,,., WQlQNm'N:.- ,,, X,, ,,,. , ,.... ..,,..s Sf snow and water come through in a channel. Now the great chief, hearing this, returned and went up the mountain to the top of the channel and here carved his likeness with his hunting knife, that his tribe might remember him. As he hnished his work he looked down at the falls and saw Tisayac, who smiled and beckoned to him. lYith joy he leaped into the falls and disappeared with her. ll'e call the falls Bridal Veil Falls. I When we think of the great Niagara Falls we do not think the same as the Indians did, for to them it meant a sacrifice. Each year a bride was chosen to go over the precipice. One year the chief's daughter who was chosen, was the favorite among her people. She was very beautiful in the white canoe which was decorated with fruit and flowers. The heart of the great chief, Eagle Eye, was heavy as he saw the swift strong current carry the little bark into mid-stream. VVithout a word he leaped into his own canoe and sped after his daughter. This great double sacrifice pleased the Great Spirit and he changed them into spirits of strength and beauty-VVhite Cloud was changed into a maid of mist and Eagle Eye into the power of waterfall. Now the voice does not call the Indians to sacrifice but is as music to their ears. They send no more white canoes down the river but they love to watch the clouds of mist play in the sunlight above the beautiful waters of the Great Niagara. ANNA MARIE KIENLE. Indian Poetry HE other evening while looking over some old literature I found a few poems that I thought were characteristic of the Indian and his life. Today in the hustle and bustle of busy America we oft times pass by the beauties of this world. Two hundred years ago this was not the case. The Indians hunted and camped in the hills and valleys where now stand some of our largest cities. They were the true children of Nature. To them the Sun, the Moon, and the Wind with other elements of nature were gods to be worshipped. The flowers, trees, plains, and other beauties of the country were blessings showered on them by the gods above. Consequently many of their poems dwell on this chain of thought, and some true feelings are found in their chants, prayers, and pleas to the Great One above. The life of the Indian is one of interest and one that can be studied from many angles. He saw America when it was truly America the Beautiful. He knew of the beautiful rolling plains, the wonderous caverns, tinted with thousands of colors, and the flowers blooming beside the little streamlets in the cool of the woods. The Indians knew America the Beautiful. Truly their poems bespeak the fact. The literary ability of the Indians was possibly not the highest in the world but their thoughts somewhat incoherently put together were beautiful and their poems express their feelings. Two poems have been selected as examples of Indian poetic art, one a prayer, the other a song of farewell. 94