[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 a m' 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."

[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.

[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's Algonquin 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. The a is very long, and possibly can be best represented by aw.

[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.