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

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.Af -f v YiE.Y,R.X',X'.X' Y'N'.N1NN'R'S H9 AN INDIAN PRAYER Lord of the Mountain, Reared within the mountain, Young man, Chieftain, Hear a young man's prayer! Hear a prayer for cleanness. Keeper of the strong rain, Hear a prayer for wholeness. Young man, Chieftain, Hear a prayer for fleetness, Keeper of the deer's way. Reared among the eagles, Clear my feet of slothness, Keeper of the paths of men. Hear a prayer for straightness, Hear a prayer for courage. Lord of the thin peaks, Reared among the thundersg Keeper of the headlands, Holding up the harvest, Keeper of the strong rocks, Hear a prayer for staunchness. Young man, Chieftain, Spirit of the Mountain. FAREWELL SONG OF THE WYANDOT INDIANS Composed by John Grey-eyes, a converted Wyandot Indian, when they re moved from Upper Sandusky in 1843. Adieu to the graves where my fathers now rest! For I must be going to the far distant west. I've sold my possessions: my heart fills with woe To think I must leave them. Alas! I must go. Farewell ye tall oaks in whose pleasant green shade In childhood I sported, in innocence playedg My dog and my hatchet, my arrows, and bow, Are still in remembrance. Alas! I must go. Adieu ye loved scenes, which bind me like chains, Where on my gay pony I chased o'er the plains. The deer and the turkey I tracked in the snow. But now I must leave them. Alas! I must go. Adieu to the trails which for many a year I traveled to spy on the turkey and deer, The hills, trees and flowers that pleased me so I must now leave. Alas! I must go. Sandusky, Tymochtee, and Brokenswood streams, Nevermore shall I see you except in my dreams, Adieu to the marshes where the cranberries grow O'ver the great Mississippi, Alas! I must go. TH ELMA LEWIS 95 X

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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

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.-'YI' Ns S RXXN Y X .X.XNC,k1 IZXXXIN. y X' C , . ' '. R ' X SIXXINSX. ' VYRXIQXXSQ H53 If W W X .X.. . x.x......,..x. . . ..... I xNNxxxx,x., N ., .t xNx,,,N . .... .. , , . .,. ..,, ...,,.xNN . Nx.xx . M Indian Names in Ohio HE Indian has not only given us many customs and many manners of dress, but he has also left behind him as he travelled, many a stray word of his language, which should make a great impression upon us. XYe should be more impressed by this, because we are so closely connected with Indian events. XYe are familiar with the names our of state, city, county, and river but these names bear no significance to us. XYe say Ohio, Piqua, and Miami figuratively not realizing what they really meant when originated. The word Ohio in the Indian language signified Beautiful River . Miami means Mother, while Piqua was given its name when a white man was burned at the stake, for Piqua in their language signified ashes If one would study the counties of Ohio he would be very much interested and surprised to find how many of them still bear their former Indian names. Ashtabula, which is the largest county in Ohio was named after the Ashtabula river which the Indians called fish river. The counties of Coshocton and Cuyahoga were Indian villages where the white people went to trade furs. Cuyahoga was named after the river which in the Indian language meant crooked If one would see the name of Geauga he would immediately realize it was an Indian name, but very few people know what this name really means. The natives gave us raccoon as the meaning of this word. Hocking county is another, named after a river. This was called Hocking because in the Indian language the word Hocking meant bottle. From a bird's-eye view this river has the exact shape of a bottle. XYe all know that Ottawa county was a great trading post and that is why the Indians gave it this name. The Indians have very peculiar names for some of our other counties. Erie is a common name but the meaning is very odd. The Indian called this territory of Erie fireland. Mahoning county derived its name from the river Mahoning which in the Indian days signified at the lick. XVe know that Muskingum is located near a river, but we do not all know why the Indians gave this territory the name of Muskingum? Since the meaning of this word is town on the river side , we can easily see why the natives gave the county this name. Pickaway is derived from the name of a Shawnee Indian tribe: this part of the state was where they had their famous hunting grounds. The cooling waters of the Sandusky river infIuenced the Indian to give the name of Sandusky to the locality surrounding the river. In the early days the Indians had a reservation in the county we now call Seneca. This county was named after the Seneca Indian tribe. The Moravian Indians had a mission in the territory we now call Tuscarawas which means open mouth. This was long before the white man settled in the valley. Many of our cities have at one time been Indian villages or trading posts. lVe are all familiar with Tippecanoe, Chillicothe, and Vllapakoneta, which are of course Indian names. Then too there are such cities as Chickasaw, YVauseon, and Ottawa, located in northern Ohio which received their names from the Indians. Many of our rivers such as Scioto, Miami, Cuyahoga and many others have the same names as the counties in which they are located. These were all given their names by the Indians. If we would stop to study the meanings of all these Indian names we should realize the real significance of them and should remember the red man that gave us these beautiful names. MARGUERITE KERNS. 96