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ID, MARSHALL COUNTY, IOWA, FRIDAY, AUGUSTaDEVIL’S ANVIL” AN INDIAN LEGENDtYoung Bear, of the Mesquakie Tribe, Gives Origin jof Name of Famous Old Hill.Atat tt quiet MissMore than the usual numbers of LeGrand people'availed themselves Han.. 4 - • m * * • * . |of the opportunity this year of witnessing the Mesquakie Indian Pow- form wow held at the reservation,oh the Lincoln Highway west of Tama, enee August ?-10. The presence and active interest of Edgar B. Harlan, the t t | of Des Moine^ curator of the State Historical Department, had much Tfc T. to do with,the-success of the event. Mr. Harlan is working on a pian silk, ^ to establish state park in the vicinity of Tama, and one of the main in cc f_ things he is bent on is,to couple up The Mesquakies as a feature in the , M proposed park. The Indians themselves have entered heartily into the Daviplan and will aid in every way they -can' in its realization. A keb: of j yourmotion pictures were taken: the first-day of the pow.-wdw, which ,will she be preserved by the State 6fTow» ai historical data to show coming She geherafcionAthe eustoiij%of the original Americans. / .• .; . schoThe writer confesses this is the first time the pow-wow has sufficiently L ’ Cl _ | appealed to him to draw him to the' reservation, bnfc.it will not: be the, Mrs last. The spirit with? which; the Indians—meh. women and children— 30 inaid^ive their various dances, and the .novelty. and.brilliaQce of their native two 16 Costumes, lends a charm to- the occasion which : is . hard to describe. - willppn,;s-raThe day,program is the best to attend, for it is tben;thafc the coloring| wbeJr oftfie Indian;finery shows up to best advantage. The announcements 1 bar! Q‘ 'given by M r. - Harlan of -the origin -of the • dances, their; significance,-' 'A etc., add greatly'to'the •interest;. He evidently has their ^goodwill fcdjnew a remarkable extent, iudgipg'by their ready response to his every re- Jn£. Quest and by the generous gifts qf beadtyork and jewelry they show- sistt ered oo him on the elosing-day.; r - -- ;'y 'I MaiIn this connection-we desire to reduce to print a matter/; which will prove of interest to many; Reporter readers, . especially those blder people whom we have on- numerous occasions questioned as ; fco : the •. T origin of .the title “Devil’s Anvil, ” the name:the huge rocky hill east .eve of LCGrahd has always borne.- ; iWA have chased this matter like a' the will-o’-the-wisp and have always felt; as if there.was something.lackibg ay I in the, theories a Ay^anced by’ those of the early settlers most apt to khovv. I'was In, j The hearesfc abd most plausible idea came, through Mr. Jonas Dunham; of Montour,' who stated his father, .Jonas Duchain, Sr., lived pm the “ Ahvii” in ah early, day arid he claimed,the fine spring at the north: west corner of the big bill. was the real source of: the . puzzling; name,and that the Indian word for “spring” sounded like the English word*r * *•*’ ..**• , . . ..1 anvil.51 ;^:So far so good j but the op port o hi ty never presented ..itself Prc to ask one:of the Mesquakies for t^if /word for “spring.?5... In ..bhej b.1?1 coming bLMr.^Haflah the/writer tho fight w'The o pening-he Lhad j Pei;y,heIr.ithraltripdenehawaf a ncm-d.,:heofto.rs.inges-ike?edleirmisIsituilting: °ftichforcoveted to delve into the - matter; to his heart’s, cpc ten t-f ah d; to that end passed .aletter to. the Dek Moines man pa ving the ,-way/ - - Friday,in company:with Mf:,B. H. Beane.- the Beporter. editor' visited the pow-1 hoilen-hiswho)rthlastlod-me-nng'anymanskill4£ is earn , the. we■wow ahd:ihtroduced;himself; ' Mr. • Harlam singled out Young Bear.» * . - * ■ ' ‘ * ^ ^ 4- . m. _ * *son of the. Mesquakie-chief, Pushcfcon.eiicq.ua, and made, known.to/him' what was wanted, His word for “spring5?: sounded nothing .whatever like' “anvil,’5 nor did any other .word we could mention. - The intelligent light in Young Bear’s eye and;a knowing glance to .another. Indian near by who had caught the drift of the conversation, showed, plainly they knew well enough what was wanted and Young Bear explained: “Old people tell me blacksmith back in hill; .leave broken brass kettle in spring* go away; come back next day and kettle mended.5.5 His word for blacksmith sbunds nothing like “spring.” ,‘Asked if, by placing an ear to the ground anywhere on the hill .pne; could, hear a rumbliog or pound ing-sound, as some have claimed, he shook his head and said there was nothing in it to his knowledge. ; ’■ ;The niame plainly originates in an Indian legend repeated- by the older Indians to the rising generation, and smacks of the nursery tales iike-“Litfcle Red/Esding Hood,” dear.to the hearts of English children: Asked by Mr. Harlah if he ever tried out the theory., by leaving a broken kettle in the spring over night, he shook. his head “ISTo.” Whether he believes in the legend is an:open question.Mr. Harlan, in company with Messrs. Beane and. O’Neal, made-, .a quick trip to the “Anvil” and inspected the spring Young Bear was telling about, also took a hurried run, up throngh the LeGrand quarries and back to the Tama reservation Friday^ evening following the. afternoon program. Mr. George Coffin, the present- owner of the “Anvil” farm, showed the party a stone ax he found on the place. Later, in response to a query a3 to whether the Mesquakies ever used these implements, Young Bear said, “No.” “The people back of your own ustfd them, then?” he was askedi “Yes, a thousand-years,5/ was his response. Young Bear is fcbe champion swimmer and diver of tbe-Mesquakie tribe, being the winner this year in the distance dive.sli;boirivspsIncb •chiloctalOifrcmeshehhaofK;loB.reFiefc hi cch£arcc wRoise
Newspaper Details
Le Grand Reporter
Le Grand, Iowa, US
Fri, Aug 15, 1919
Page 3
Full Page
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Anonymous
IA, USA 06 Sep 2019
Other Publications Near Le Grand, Iowa
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