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!p*'.IItIIt*from the !ij8 of his grandmother, MisSophia (»rav* ratf. who spent much other 1 if*‘ among the* Michigan IndiansWh* ii he* grew older tin* author in*(luiroel inilt;» the old legend. heard itgstI'lt*I*lifrom Jjraves of the* Ottawa tribe almost exactly aa his grandmother hadtold it, and later discovered that itwas a universal myth.Examining some old records hifound that Eat her Da Won, an earlsFrench missionary, in one* of his re*ports had narrated a Sioux versionthat varies tom the Ottawa legend inonly two minor details.Story of Petahsega.The story tells of the* journey ofPetahsega. the light/’ a leader of histribe, to the happy huntingr before death, and of his return to hispeople again. Thd poem attempts asmuch as the length permits to cm•phasize the religious feature by introeducing into the narrative some of tinnative superstitions and beliefs.For instance, in describing tinescrossing of the stream which leads tothe future world, a touch of traditioni-slends color to the picture:In the stream where many minnowsLittle children who had 11 it deCrossing on the logs and bowlders,But fell in the swollen tide.s“It is a curious fact,” said Mr.!teWright in talking of his work, “thatilthe Indians will never catch little.PiVI*Tminnows. This old superstition that ,they are the spirits of little children 1who failed to reach the happy hunt*5 grounds always lingered with them.”Another belief of peculiar intercut jis referred to later in the poem. NowKoQua, the hero’s mother, has fol*»t
Newspaper Details
Traverse City Evening Record
Traverse City, Michigan, US
Wed, Jul 22, 1908
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Robert W.
USA 30 Jul 2020
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