第 12 节
作者:竹水冷      更新:2021-02-19 00:59      字数:9322
  envy and jealousy。
  The warning conveyed in the story of Unk…to…mee was ever used with
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  success by Indian parents; and especially grandparents; in the instruction
  of their children。      Ish…na…e…cha…ge; on the other hand; was a demigod and
  mysterious teacher; whose function it was to initiate the first man into his
  tasks and pleasures here on earth。
  After   the   battle   with   the   animals;   there   followed   a   battle   with   the
  elements; which in some measure parallels the Old Testament story of the
  flood。    In this case; the purpose seems to have been to destroy the wicked
  animal people; who were too many and too strong for the lone man。
  The   legend   tells   us   that   when   fall   came;   the   First…Born   advised   his
  younger brother to make for himself a warm tent of buffalo skins; and to
  store up much food。         No sooner had he done this than it began to snow;
  and   the   snow   fell   steadily   during   many   moons。       The   Little   Boy   Man
  made for himself snow…shoes; and was thus enabled to hunt easily; while
  the   animals   fled   from   him   with   difficulty。    Finally   wolves;   foxes;   and
  ravens came to his door to beg for food; and he helped them; but many of
  the fiercer wild animals died of cold and starvation。
  One day; when the   hungry ones appeared; the   snow was higher   than
  the tops of the teepee poles; but the Little Boy Man's fire kept a hole open
  and clear。     Down this hole they peered; and lo! the man had rubbed ashes
  on his face by the advice of his Elder Brother; and they both lay silent and
  motionless on either side of the fire。
  Then the fox barked and the raven cawed his signal to the wandering
  tribes; and they all rejoiced and said: 〃Now they are both dying or dead;
  and we shall have no more trouble!〃              But the sun appeared; and a warm
  wind   melted   the   snow…banks;   so   that   the   land   was   full   of   water。  The
  young man and his Teacher made a birch…bark canoe; which floated upon
  the surface of the flood; while of the animals there were saved only a few;
  who had found a foothold upon the highest peaks。
  The youth had now passed triumphantly through the various ordeals of
  his   manhood。      One   day  his   Elder   Brother   spoke   to   him  and   said:   〃You
  have   now   conquered   the   animal   people;   and   withstood   the   force   of   the
  elements。      You   have   subdued   the   earth   to   your   will;   and   still   you   are
  alone!     It is time to go forth and find a woman whom you can love; and
  by whose help you may reproduce your kind。〃
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  〃But   how   am   I   to   do   this?〃   replied   the   first   man;   who   was   only   an
  inexperienced boy。        〃I am here alone; as you say; and I know not where to
  find a woman or a mate!〃
  〃Go forth and seek her;〃 replied the Great Teacher; and forthwith the
  youth set out on his wanderings in search of a wife。               He had no idea how
  to   make    love;   so  that  the   first  courtship   was   done    by   the  pretty  and
  coquettish maidens of the Bird; Beaver; and Bear tribes。                 There are some
  touching   and   whimsical   love   stories   which   the   rich   imagination   of   the
  Indian has woven into this old legend。
  It is said; for example; that at his first camp he had built for himself a
  lodge of green boughs in the midst of the forest; and that there his reverie
  was     interrupted    by   a   voice   from    the   wildernessa      voice   that   was
  irresistibly and profoundly  sweet。          In   some   mysterious   way;  the  soul of
  the young man was touched as it had never been before; for this call   of
  exquisite tenderness and allurement was the voice of the eternal woman!
  Presently a charming little girl stood timidly at the door of his pine…
  bough wigwam。          She was   modestly dressed in gray;  with a touch of jet
  about her pretty face; and she carried a basket of wild cherries which she
  shyly   offered   to   the   young   man。    So   the   rover   was   subdued;   and   love
  turned loose upon the world to upbuild and to destroy!                 When at last she
  left him; he peeped through the door after her; but saw only a robin; with
  head turned archly to one side; fluttering away among the trees。
  His next camp was beside a clear; running stream; where a plump and
  industrious maid was busily at work chopping wood。                  He fell promptly in
  love with her also; and for some time they lived together in her cosy house
  by   the   waterside。    After   their   boy   was   born;   the   wanderer   wished   very
  much to go back to his Elder Brother and to show him his wife and child。
  But the beaver…woman refused to go; so at last he went alone for a short
  visit。    When   he   returned;   there   was   only   a   trickle   of   water   beside   the
  broken dam; the beautiful home was left desolate; and wife and child were
  gone forever!
  The deserted husband sat alone upon the bank; sleepless and faint with
  grief; until he was consoled by a comely  young woman in glossy black;
  who   took   compassion   upon   his   distress   and   soothed   him   with   food   and
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  loving attentions。       This was the bear…woman; from whom again he was
  afterward separated by some mishap。              The story goes that he had children
  by   each   of   his   many   wives;   some   of   whom   resembled   their   father;   and
  these became the ancestors of the human race; while those who bore the
  characteristics   of   their   mother   returned   to   her   clan。  It   is   also   said   that
  such as were abnormal or monstrous in form were forbidden to reproduce
  their kind; and all love and mating between man and the animal creation
  was   from   that   time   forth   strictly   prohibited。    There   are   some      curious
  traditions     of   young     men     and    maidens     who     transgressed      this  law
  unknowingly;   being   seduced   and   deceived   by   a   magnificent   buck   deer;
  perhaps; or a graceful doe; and whose fall was punished with death。
  The   animal   totems   so   general   among   the   tribes   were   said   to   have
  descended   to   them   from   their   great…grandmother's   clan;   and   the   legend
  was often quoted in support of our close friendship with the animal people。
  I have sometimes wondered why the scientific doctrine of man's descent
  has not in the same way apparently increased the white man's respect for
  these our humbler kin。
  Of the many later heroes or Hiawathas who appear in this voluminous
  unwritten book of ours; each introduced an epoch in the long story of man
  and his environment。         There is; for example; the Avenger of the Innocent;
  who sprang from a clot of blood; the ragged little boy who won fame and
  a wife by shooting the Red Eagle of fateful omen; and the Star Boy; who
  was the off…spring of a mortal maiden and a Star。
  It was this last who fought for man against his strongest enemies; such
  as   Wazeeyah;   the   Cold   or   North…Wind。         There   was   a   desperate   battle
  between these two; in which first one had the advantage and then the other;
  until   both   were   exhausted   and   declared   a   truce。    While   he   rested;   Star
  Boy continued to fan himself with his great fan of eagle feathers; and the
  snow   melted   so   fast   that   North…Wind   was   forced   to   arrange   a   treaty   of
  peace; by which he was only to control one half the year。                   So it was that
  the orderly march of the seasons was established; and every year Star Boy
  with his fan of eagle feathers sets in motion the warm winds that usher in
  the spring。
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  VI ON THE BORDER…LAND OF
  SPIRITS
  Death      and    Funeral     Customs。        The      Sacred     Lock     of    Hair。
  Reincarnation and the Converse of Spirits。              Occult and Psychic Powers。
  The Gift of Prophecy。
  The attitude of the Indian toward death; the test and background of life;
  is   entirely   consistent   with   his   character   and   philosophy。   Death   has   no
  terrors for him; he meets it with simplicity a