More Legends
I:A Legend of Devil's Lake AFTER the death of Smoky Day,old Weyuha was regarded as the greatest story-teller among the Wahpeton Sioux.
"Tell me,good Weyuha,a le-gend of your father's country,"I said to him one evening,for I knew the country which is now known as North Dakota and South-ern Manitoba was their ancient hunting-ground.
I was prompted by Uncheedah to make this re-quest,after the old man had eaten in our lodge.
"Many years ago,"he began,as he passed the pipe to uncle,"we traveled from the Otter-tail to Minnewakan (Devil's Lake).At that time the mound was very distinct where Chotanka lies buried.The people of his immediate band had taken care to preserve it.
"This mound under which lies the great medi-cine man is upon the summit of Minnewakan Chantay,the highest hill in all that region.It is shaped like an animal's heart placed on its base,with the apex upward.
"The reason why this hill is called Minnewakan Chantay,or the Heart of the Mysterious Land,I will now tell you.It has been handed down from generation to generation,far beyond the memory of our great-grandparents.It was in Chotanka's line of descent that these legends were originally kept,but when he died the stories became everybody's,and then no one believed in them.It was told in this way."I sat facing him,wholly wrapped in the words of the story-teller,and now I took a deep breath and settled myself so that I might not disturb him by the slightest movement while he was reciting his tale.We were taught this courtesy to our elders,but I was impulsive and sometimes forgot.
"A long time ago,"resumed Weyuha,"the red people were many in number,and they inhabi-ted all the land from the coldest place to the re-gion of perpetual summer time.It seemed that they were all of one tongue,and all were friends.
"All the animals were considered people in those days.The buffalo,the elk,the antelope,were tribes of considerable importance.The bears were a smaller band,but they obeyed the mandates of the Great Mystery and were his favorites,and for this reason they have always known more about the secrets of medicine.So they were held in much honor.The wolves,too,were highly re-garded at one time.But the buffalo,elk,moose,deer and antelope were the ruling people.
"These soon became conceited and considered themselves very important,and thought no one could withstand them.The buffalo made war up-on the smaller tribes,and destroyed many.So one day the Great Mystery thought it best to change the people in form and in language.
"He made a great tent and kept it dark for ten days.Into this tent he invited the different bands,and when they came out they were greatly changed,and some could not talk at all after that.How-ever,there is a sign language given to all the ani-mals that no man knows except some medicine men,and they are under a heavy penalty if they should tell it.
"The buffalo came out of the darkened tent the clumsiest of all the animals.The elk and moose were burdened with their heavy and many-branched horns,while the antelope and deer were made the most defenseless of animals,only that they are fleet of foot.The bear and the wolf were made to prey upon all the others.
"Man was alone then.When the change came,the Great Mystery allowed him to keep his own shape and language.He was king over all the animals,but they did not obey him.From that day,man's spirit may live with the beasts be-fore he is born a man.He will then know the animal language but he cannot tell it in human speech.He always retains his sympathy with them,and can converse with them in dreams.
"I must not forget to tell you that the Great Mystery pitched his tent in this very region.
Some legends say that the Minnewakan Chantay was the tent itself,which afterward became earth and stones.Many of the animals were washed and changed in this lake,the Minnewakan,or Mysterious Water.It is the only inland water we know that is salt.No animal has ever swum in this lake and lived.""Tell me,"I eagerly asked,"is it dangerous to man also?""Yes,"he replied,"we think so;and no In-dian has ever ventured in that lake to my know-ledge.That is why the lake is called Mysterious,"he repeated.
"I shall now tell you of Chotanka.He was the greatest of medicine men.He declared that he was a grizzly bear before he was born in human form."Weyuha seemed to become very earnest when he reached this point in his story."Listen to Chotanka's life as a grizzly bear.""'As a bear,'he used to say,'my home was in sight of the Minnewakan Chantay.I lived with my mother only one winter,and I only saw my father when I was a baby.Then we lived a little way from the Chantay to the north,among scattered oak upon a hillside overlooking the Minnewakan.
"'When I first remember anything,I was playing outside of our home with a buffalo skull that I had found near by.I saw something that looked strange.It walked upon two legs,and it carried a crooked stick,and some red willows with feathers tied to them.It threw one of the wil-lows at me,and I showed my teeth and retreated within our den.
"'Just then my father and mother came home with a buffalo calf.They threw down the dead calf,and ran after the queer thing.He had long hair upon a round head.His face was round,too.
He ran and climbed up into a small oak tree.
"'My father and mother shook him down,but not before he had shot some of his red willows into their sides.Mother was very sick,but she dug some roots and ate them and she was well again.'It was thus that Chotanka was first taught the use of certain roots for curing wounds and sickness,"Weyuha added.
