章节正文
brother. Then the fifth and sixth maidens each holding a rein,
walked on either side of the prancing horse of the chief's brother.
They advanced and circled the large gathering and finally
stopped directly in front of the two brothers, who immediately
arose and taking their bows and arrows vaulted lightly upon their
war steeds, and singing their death song, galloped off amid a great
cry of grief from the people who loved them most dearly.
Heading straight for the tepee that had been placed upon the
highest point, adjacent to the village, they soon arrived at their
destination and, dismounting from their horses, turned, waved their
hands to their band, and disappeared within the tepee. Scarcely
had they entered the lodge when the rumblings of distant thunder
could be heard. Nearer, and nearer, came the sound, until at last
the storm overspread the locality in all its fury. Flash upon
flash of lightning burst forth from the heavens. Deafening peals
of thunder followed each flash. Finally, one flash brighter than
any of the others, one peal more deafening than those preceding it,
and the storm had passed.
Sadly the warriors gathered together, mounted their horses and
slowly rode to the tepee on the high point. Arriving there they
looked inside the lodge and saw the two brothers lying cold and
still in death, each holding the lariat of his favorite war horse.
The horses also lay dead side by side in front of the tent. (From
this came the custom of killing the favorite horse of a dead
warrior at the burial of the owner).
As the Indians sadly left the hill to return home, they heard a
noise at the top of the tepee, and looking up they saw the crow
sitting on one of the splintered tepee poles. He was crying most
pitifully, and as they rode off he flew up high in the air and his
pitiful "caw" became fainter and fainter till at last they heard it
no more. And from that day, the story goes, no crow ever goes near
the village of that band of Indians.
THE "WASNA" (PEMMICAN) MAN AND THE
UNKTOMI (SPIDER)
Once upon a time there appeared from out of a large belt of timber
a man attired in the fat of the buffalo. On his head he wore the
honeycomb part of the stomach. To this was attached small pieces
of fat. The fat which covered the stomach he wore as a
cloak. The large intestines he wore as leggings, and the kidney
fat as his moccasins.
As he appeared he had the misfortune to meet "Unktomi" (spider)
with his hundreds of starving children. Upon seeing the fat,
Unktomi and his large family at once attacked the man, who, in
order to save his life, started to run away, but so closely did
Unktomi and his family pursue him that in order to make better time
and also get a little better start, he threw off his head covering,
which the Unktomi family hastily devoured, and were again closing
in upon him. He then threw off his cloak and they devoured that,
and were close upon him again, when he threw off his leggings.
These were hastily eaten up, and, as they drew near to a lake, the
man threw off the kidney fat, and, running to the edge of the lake,
dived down into the water and kept beneath the surface, swimming to
the opposite shore. After the Unktomi family had eaten the kidney
fat they came to the water's edge, and the grease was floating on
the surface of the water which they lapped up, until there was not
a grease spot left floating on the surface.
The small morsels had only sharpened their appetites, and as they
saw the man sitting on the opposite shore, Unktomi and his family
proceeded around the lake and came upon two men sitting on
the shore. Unktomi saw that the other man was "Wakapapi" (pounded
beef). The family surrounded the two and Unktomi ordered them to
fight. Fearing Unktomi and his large family, they at once
commenced to fight and Pounded Meat was soon killed. The hungry
family at once fell to eating him. So busy were they that none
noticed the fat man sneak off and disappear.
When they had finished the pounded beef man they looked around to
fall upon the fat man, but nowhere could he be seen. Unktomi said,
"I will track him and when I find him, I will return for you, so
stay here and await my return."
He followed the fat man's tracks until farther east on the shore of
the lake he found the fat man in the act of skinning a deer, which
he had killed. (He had held on to his bow and arrows when he
jumped into the lake). "My," said Unktomi, "this will make a fine
meal for my hungry children. I will go after them, so hurry and
cut the meat up into small pieces so they each can have a piece."
"All right, go ahead and get your family," said Fat Man. During
Unktomi's absence, the fat man hurriedly cut the meat up into small
pieces and carried them up into a tree that stood near to the
shore. When he had carried it all up he threw sand and
dirt upon the blood, and so left no trace of the deer.
On the arrival of Unktomi and his family, no signs of the fat man
or the deer could be found. They wandered about the spot looking
for tracks which might lead them to where the fat man had cached
the meat, as Unktomi said he could not have carried it very far.
Now the fat man was up in the tree and sat watching them. The
reflection of the tree was in the water, and some of the children
going close to the shore, discovered it as they looked at the
reflection. The fat man cut a piece of meat and extending it
towards them, drew back his hand and put the meat into his mouth.
"Come quick, father, here he is eating the meat," said the
children. Unktomi came and seeing the reflection, thought the fat
man was down in the lake. "Wait, I will bring him up for you." So
saying, he dived down, but soon arose without anything. Again and
again he tried, but could not reach the bottom. He told the
children to gather rock for him. These he tied around his neck and
body, and dived down for the last time. The last the children saw
of their father was the bubbles which arose to the surface of the
lake. The rocks being too heavy for him, held him fast to the
bottom, and some hungry fish soon made a feast out of the body of
poor "Unktomi."
THE RESUSCITATION OF THE ONLY
DAUGHTER
There once lived an old couple who had an only daughter. She was
a beautiful girl, and was very much courted by the young men of the
tribe, but she said that she preferred single life, and to all
their heart-touching tales of deep affection for her she always had
one answer. That was "No."
One day this maiden fell ill and day after day grew worse. All the
best medicine men were called in, but their medicines were of no
avail, and in two weeks from the day that she was taken ill she lay
a corpse. Of course there was great mourning in the camp. They
took her body several miles from camp and rolled it in fine robes
and blankets, then they laid her on a scaffold which they had
erected. (This was the custom of burial among the Indians). They
placed four forked posts into the ground and then lashed strong
poles lengthwise and across the ends and made a bed of willows and
stout ash brush. This scaffold was from five to seven feet from
the ground. After the funeral the parents gave away all of their
horses, fine robes and blankets and all of the belongings of the
dead girl. Then they cut their hair off close to their heads, and
attired themselves in the poorest apparel they could secure.
When a year had passed the friends and relatives of the old couple
tried in vain to have them set aside their mourning. "You have
mourned long enough," they would say. "Put aside your mourning and
try and enjoy a few more pleasures of this life while
you live. You are both growing old and can't live very many more
years, so make the best of your time." The old couple would listen
to their advice and then shake their heads and answer: "We have
nothing to live for. Nothing we could join in would be any
amusement to us, since we have lost the light of our lives."
So the old couple continued their mourning for their lost idol.
Two years had passed since the death of the beautiful girl, when
one evening a hunter and his wife passed by the scaffold which held
the dead girl. They were on their return trip and were heavily
loaded down with game, and therefore could not travel very fast.
About half a mile from the scaffold a clear spring burst forth from
the side of a bank, and from this trickled a small stream of water,
moistening the roots of the vegetation bordering its banks, and
causing a growth of sweet green grass. At this spring the hunter
camped and tethering his horses, at once set about helping his wife
to erect the small tepee which they carried for convenience in
traveling.
When it became quite dark, the hunter's dogs set up a great barking
and growling. "Look out and see what the dogs are barking at,"
said the hunter to his wife. She looked out through the door and
then drew back saying: "There is the figure of a woman advancing
from the direction of the girl's scaffold." "I expect it is the
dead girl; let her come, and don't act as if you were afraid," said
the hunter. Soon they heard footsteps advancing and the steps
ceased at the door. Looking down at the lower part of the door the
hunter noticed a pair of small moccasins, and knowing that it was
the visitor, said: "Whoever you are, come in and have something to
eat."
At this invitation the figure came slowly in and sat down by the
door with head covered and with a fine robe drawn tightly over the
face. The woman dished up a fine supper and placing it before the
visitor, said: "Eat, my friend, you must be hungry." The figure
never moved, nor would it uncover to eat. "Let us turn our back
towards the door and our visitor may eat the food," said the
hunter. So his wife turned her back towards the visitor and made
herself very busy cleaning the small pieces of meat that were
hanging to the back sinews of the deer which had been killed.
(This the Indians use as thread.) The hunter, filling his pipe,
turned away and smoked in silence. Finally the dish was pushed
back to the woman, who took it and after washing it, put it away.
The figure still sat at the door, not a sound coming from it,
neither was it breathing. The hunter at last said: "Are you the
girl that was placed upon that scaffold two years ago?" It bowed
its head two or three times in assent. "Are you going to sleep
here tonight; if you are, my wife will make down a bed for you."
The figure shook its head. "Are you going to come again tomorrow
night to us?" It nodded assent.
For three nights in succession the figure visited the hunter's
camp. The third night the hunter noticed that the figure was
breathing. He saw one of the hands protruding from the robe. The
skin was perfectly black and was stuck fast to the bones of the
hand. On seeing this the hunter arose and going over to his
medicine sack which hung on a pole, took down the sack and, opening
it, took out some roots and mixing them with skunk oil and
vermillion, said to the figure:
"If you will let us rub your face and hands with this medicine it
will put new life into the skin and you will assume your complexion
again and it will put flesh on you." The figure assented and the
hunter rubbed the medicine on her hands and face. Then she arose
and walked back to the scaffold. The next day the hunter moved
camp towards the home village. That night he camped within a few
miles of the village. When night came, the dogs, as usual, set up
a great barking, and looking out, the wife saw the girl
approaching.
When the girl had entered and sat down, the hunter noticed that the
girl did not keep her robe so closely together over her face. When
the wife gave her something to eat, the girl reached out and took
the dish, thus exposing her hands, which they at once noticed were
again natural. After she had finished her meal, the hunter said:
"Did my medicine help you?" She nodded assent. "Do you want my
medicine rubbed all over your body?" Again she nodded. "I will
mix enough to rub your entire body, and I will go outside and let
my wife rub it on for you." He mixed a good supply and going out
left his wife to rub the girl. When his wife had completed the
task she called to her husband to come in, and when he came in he
sat down and said to the girl: "Tomorrow we will reach the village.
walked on either side of the prancing horse of the chief's brother.
They advanced and circled the large gathering and finally
stopped directly in front of the two brothers, who immediately
arose and taking their bows and arrows vaulted lightly upon their
war steeds, and singing their death song, galloped off amid a great
cry of grief from the people who loved them most dearly.
Heading straight for the tepee that had been placed upon the
highest point, adjacent to the village, they soon arrived at their
destination and, dismounting from their horses, turned, waved their
hands to their band, and disappeared within the tepee. Scarcely
had they entered the lodge when the rumblings of distant thunder
could be heard. Nearer, and nearer, came the sound, until at last
the storm overspread the locality in all its fury. Flash upon
flash of lightning burst forth from the heavens. Deafening peals
of thunder followed each flash. Finally, one flash brighter than
any of the others, one peal more deafening than those preceding it,
and the storm had passed.
Sadly the warriors gathered together, mounted their horses and
slowly rode to the tepee on the high point. Arriving there they
looked inside the lodge and saw the two brothers lying cold and
still in death, each holding the lariat of his favorite war horse.
The horses also lay dead side by side in front of the tent. (From
this came the custom of killing the favorite horse of a dead
warrior at the burial of the owner).
As the Indians sadly left the hill to return home, they heard a
noise at the top of the tepee, and looking up they saw the crow
sitting on one of the splintered tepee poles. He was crying most
pitifully, and as they rode off he flew up high in the air and his
pitiful "caw" became fainter and fainter till at last they heard it
no more. And from that day, the story goes, no crow ever goes near
the village of that band of Indians.
THE "WASNA" (PEMMICAN) MAN AND THE
UNKTOMI (SPIDER)
Once upon a time there appeared from out of a large belt of timber
a man attired in the fat of the buffalo. On his head he wore the
honeycomb part of the stomach. To this was attached small pieces
of fat. The fat which covered the stomach he wore as a
cloak. The large intestines he wore as leggings, and the kidney
fat as his moccasins.
As he appeared he had the misfortune to meet "Unktomi" (spider)
with his hundreds of starving children. Upon seeing the fat,
Unktomi and his large family at once attacked the man, who, in
order to save his life, started to run away, but so closely did
Unktomi and his family pursue him that in order to make better time
and also get a little better start, he threw off his head covering,
which the Unktomi family hastily devoured, and were again closing
in upon him. He then threw off his cloak and they devoured that,
and were close upon him again, when he threw off his leggings.
These were hastily eaten up, and, as they drew near to a lake, the
man threw off the kidney fat, and, running to the edge of the lake,
dived down into the water and kept beneath the surface, swimming to
the opposite shore. After the Unktomi family had eaten the kidney
fat they came to the water's edge, and the grease was floating on
the surface of the water which they lapped up, until there was not
a grease spot left floating on the surface.
The small morsels had only sharpened their appetites, and as they
saw the man sitting on the opposite shore, Unktomi and his family
proceeded around the lake and came upon two men sitting on
the shore. Unktomi saw that the other man was "Wakapapi" (pounded
beef). The family surrounded the two and Unktomi ordered them to
fight. Fearing Unktomi and his large family, they at once
commenced to fight and Pounded Meat was soon killed. The hungry
family at once fell to eating him. So busy were they that none
noticed the fat man sneak off and disappear.
When they had finished the pounded beef man they looked around to
fall upon the fat man, but nowhere could he be seen. Unktomi said,
"I will track him and when I find him, I will return for you, so
stay here and await my return."
He followed the fat man's tracks until farther east on the shore of
the lake he found the fat man in the act of skinning a deer, which
he had killed. (He had held on to his bow and arrows when he
jumped into the lake). "My," said Unktomi, "this will make a fine
meal for my hungry children. I will go after them, so hurry and
cut the meat up into small pieces so they each can have a piece."
"All right, go ahead and get your family," said Fat Man. During
Unktomi's absence, the fat man hurriedly cut the meat up into small
pieces and carried them up into a tree that stood near to the
shore. When he had carried it all up he threw sand and
dirt upon the blood, and so left no trace of the deer.
On the arrival of Unktomi and his family, no signs of the fat man
or the deer could be found. They wandered about the spot looking
for tracks which might lead them to where the fat man had cached
the meat, as Unktomi said he could not have carried it very far.
Now the fat man was up in the tree and sat watching them. The
reflection of the tree was in the water, and some of the children
going close to the shore, discovered it as they looked at the
reflection. The fat man cut a piece of meat and extending it
towards them, drew back his hand and put the meat into his mouth.
"Come quick, father, here he is eating the meat," said the
children. Unktomi came and seeing the reflection, thought the fat
man was down in the lake. "Wait, I will bring him up for you." So
saying, he dived down, but soon arose without anything. Again and
again he tried, but could not reach the bottom. He told the
children to gather rock for him. These he tied around his neck and
body, and dived down for the last time. The last the children saw
of their father was the bubbles which arose to the surface of the
lake. The rocks being too heavy for him, held him fast to the
bottom, and some hungry fish soon made a feast out of the body of
poor "Unktomi."
THE RESUSCITATION OF THE ONLY
DAUGHTER
There once lived an old couple who had an only daughter. She was
a beautiful girl, and was very much courted by the young men of the
tribe, but she said that she preferred single life, and to all
their heart-touching tales of deep affection for her she always had
one answer. That was "No."
One day this maiden fell ill and day after day grew worse. All the
best medicine men were called in, but their medicines were of no
avail, and in two weeks from the day that she was taken ill she lay
a corpse. Of course there was great mourning in the camp. They
took her body several miles from camp and rolled it in fine robes
and blankets, then they laid her on a scaffold which they had
erected. (This was the custom of burial among the Indians). They
placed four forked posts into the ground and then lashed strong
poles lengthwise and across the ends and made a bed of willows and
stout ash brush. This scaffold was from five to seven feet from
the ground. After the funeral the parents gave away all of their
horses, fine robes and blankets and all of the belongings of the
dead girl. Then they cut their hair off close to their heads, and
attired themselves in the poorest apparel they could secure.
When a year had passed the friends and relatives of the old couple
tried in vain to have them set aside their mourning. "You have
mourned long enough," they would say. "Put aside your mourning and
try and enjoy a few more pleasures of this life while
you live. You are both growing old and can't live very many more
years, so make the best of your time." The old couple would listen
to their advice and then shake their heads and answer: "We have
nothing to live for. Nothing we could join in would be any
amusement to us, since we have lost the light of our lives."
So the old couple continued their mourning for their lost idol.
Two years had passed since the death of the beautiful girl, when
one evening a hunter and his wife passed by the scaffold which held
the dead girl. They were on their return trip and were heavily
loaded down with game, and therefore could not travel very fast.
About half a mile from the scaffold a clear spring burst forth from
the side of a bank, and from this trickled a small stream of water,
moistening the roots of the vegetation bordering its banks, and
causing a growth of sweet green grass. At this spring the hunter
camped and tethering his horses, at once set about helping his wife
to erect the small tepee which they carried for convenience in
traveling.
When it became quite dark, the hunter's dogs set up a great barking
and growling. "Look out and see what the dogs are barking at,"
said the hunter to his wife. She looked out through the door and
then drew back saying: "There is the figure of a woman advancing
from the direction of the girl's scaffold." "I expect it is the
dead girl; let her come, and don't act as if you were afraid," said
the hunter. Soon they heard footsteps advancing and the steps
ceased at the door. Looking down at the lower part of the door the
hunter noticed a pair of small moccasins, and knowing that it was
the visitor, said: "Whoever you are, come in and have something to
eat."
At this invitation the figure came slowly in and sat down by the
door with head covered and with a fine robe drawn tightly over the
face. The woman dished up a fine supper and placing it before the
visitor, said: "Eat, my friend, you must be hungry." The figure
never moved, nor would it uncover to eat. "Let us turn our back
towards the door and our visitor may eat the food," said the
hunter. So his wife turned her back towards the visitor and made
herself very busy cleaning the small pieces of meat that were
hanging to the back sinews of the deer which had been killed.
(This the Indians use as thread.) The hunter, filling his pipe,
turned away and smoked in silence. Finally the dish was pushed
back to the woman, who took it and after washing it, put it away.
The figure still sat at the door, not a sound coming from it,
neither was it breathing. The hunter at last said: "Are you the
girl that was placed upon that scaffold two years ago?" It bowed
its head two or three times in assent. "Are you going to sleep
here tonight; if you are, my wife will make down a bed for you."
The figure shook its head. "Are you going to come again tomorrow
night to us?" It nodded assent.
For three nights in succession the figure visited the hunter's
camp. The third night the hunter noticed that the figure was
breathing. He saw one of the hands protruding from the robe. The
skin was perfectly black and was stuck fast to the bones of the
hand. On seeing this the hunter arose and going over to his
medicine sack which hung on a pole, took down the sack and, opening
it, took out some roots and mixing them with skunk oil and
vermillion, said to the figure:
"If you will let us rub your face and hands with this medicine it
will put new life into the skin and you will assume your complexion
again and it will put flesh on you." The figure assented and the
hunter rubbed the medicine on her hands and face. Then she arose
and walked back to the scaffold. The next day the hunter moved
camp towards the home village. That night he camped within a few
miles of the village. When night came, the dogs, as usual, set up
a great barking, and looking out, the wife saw the girl
approaching.
When the girl had entered and sat down, the hunter noticed that the
girl did not keep her robe so closely together over her face. When
the wife gave her something to eat, the girl reached out and took
the dish, thus exposing her hands, which they at once noticed were
again natural. After she had finished her meal, the hunter said:
"Did my medicine help you?" She nodded assent. "Do you want my
medicine rubbed all over your body?" Again she nodded. "I will
mix enough to rub your entire body, and I will go outside and let
my wife rub it on for you." He mixed a good supply and going out
left his wife to rub the girl. When his wife had completed the
task she called to her husband to come in, and when he came in he
sat down and said to the girl: "Tomorrow we will reach the village.
- advanced [əd´vɑ:nst]
a.先进的；高级的 (初中英语单词) - lightly [´laitli] ad.轻微地，稍微 (初中英语单词)
- lightning [´laitniŋ] n.闪电 a.突然的 (初中英语单词)
- thunder [´θʌndə] n.雷 vi.打雷 vt.吼出 (初中英语单词)
- stomach [´stʌmək] n.胃；胃口，食欲 (初中英语单词)
- pursue [pə´sju:] v.追赶；追踪；从事 (初中英语单词)
- hastily [´heistili] ad.急速地；草率地 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)
- arrival [ə´raivəl] n.到达；到达的人(物) (初中英语单词)
- reflection [ri´flekʃən] n.反射；映象；想法 (初中英语单词)
- affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)
- maiden [´meidn] n.少女 a.未婚的 (初中英语单词)
- mourning [´mɔ:niŋ] n.悲伤；治丧；戴孝 (初中英语单词)
- funeral [´fju:nərəl] n.葬礼，丧葬；困难 (初中英语单词)
- hunter [´hʌntə] n.猎人；猎狗；猎马 (初中英语单词)
- therefore [´ðeəfɔ:] ad.&conj.因此；所以 (初中英语单词)
- stream [stri:m] n.河 vi.流出；飘扬 (初中英语单词)
- knowing [´nəuiŋ] a.会意的，心照不宣的 (初中英语单词)
- visitor [´vizitə] n.访问者；来宾；参观者 (初中英语单词)
- invitation [,invi´teiʃən] n.邀请；请帖；吸引 (初中英语单词)
- succession [sək´seʃən] n.继任；继承(权) (初中英语单词)
- locality [ləu´kæliti] n.位置，地区，发生地 (高中英语单词)
- buffalo [´bʌfələu] n.水牛；野牛 (高中英语单词)
- misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)
- seeing [si:iŋ] see的现在分词 n.视觉 (高中英语单词)
- grease [gri:s] n.脂肪；油脂 vt.涂油 (高中英语单词)
- nowhere [´nəuweə] n.无处；不知道 (高中英语单词)
- apparel [ə´pærəl] n.衣服 vt.给...修饰 (高中英语单词)
- convenience [kən´vi:niəns] n.方便；适当的机会 (高中英语单词)
- saying [´seiŋ, ´sei-iŋ] n.言语；言论；格言 (高中英语单词)
- tightly [´taitli] ad.紧，紧密地 (高中英语单词)
- uncover [ʌn´kʌvə] vt.揭开(盖子)；揭露 (高中英语单词)
- assent [ə´sent] vi.&n.同意，赞成 (高中英语单词)
- perfectly [´pə:fiktli] ad.理想地；完美地 (高中英语单词)
- gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
- adjacent [ə´dʒeisənt] a.接近的；紧接着的 (英语四级单词)
- preceding [pri(:)´si:diŋ] a.在先的；前面的 (英语四级单词)
- hurriedly [´hʌridli] ad.仓促地，忙乱地 (英语四级单词)
- corpse [kɔ:ps] n.尸体 (英语四级单词)
- belongings [bi´lɔŋiŋz] n.所有物；行李 (英语四级单词)
- vegetation [,vedʒi´teiʃən] n.植物；生长 (英语四级单词)
- holding [´həuldiŋ] n.保持，固定，存储 (英语六级单词)
- taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
- leggings [´legiŋz] n.绑腿，裹腿 (英语六级单词)
- kidney [´kidni] n.肾；性格；脾气 (英语六级单词)
- lengthwise [´leŋθwaiz] ad.&a.纵长地(的) (英语六级单词)
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