"This term is taken as the basis of the cereal chorus, or corn song, as sung by the Northern Algonquin tribes.It is coupled with thephrase Paimosaid,--a permutative form of the Indian substantive, made from the verb pim-o-sa, to walk.Its literal meaning is, hewho walks, or the walker; but the ideas conveyed by it are, he who walks by night to pilfer corn.It offers, therefore, a kind of parallelism in expression to the preceding term." -- Oneota, p.
254.
Pugasaing, with thirteen pieces.
This Game of the Bowl is the principal game of hazard among the Northern tribes of Indians.Mr.Schoolcraft gives a particular account of it in Oneota, p.85."This game," he says, "is very fascinating to some portions of the Indians.They stake at it their ornaments, weapons, clothing, canoes, horses, everything in fact they possess; and have been known, it is said, to set up their wives and children and even to forfeit their own liberty.Of such desperate stakes I have seen no examples, nor do I think the gameitself in common use.It is rather confined to certain persons, who hold the relative rank of gamblers in Indian society,--men who are not noted as hunters or warriors, or steady providers for their families.Among these are persons who bear the term of Iena-dizze-wug, that is, wanderers about the country, braggadocios, or fops.
It can hardly be classed with the popular games of amusement, by which skill and dexterity are acquired.I have generally found the chiefs and graver men of the tribes, who encouraged the young men to play ball, and are sure to be present at the customary sports, towitness, and sanction, and applaud them, speak lightly and disparagingly of this game of hazard.Yet it cannot be denied that some of the chiefs, distinguished in war and the chase, at the West, can be referred to as lending their example to its fascinating power."See also his history, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes, Part II, p.72.
To the Pictured Rocks of sandstone.
The reader will find a long description of the Pictured Rocks in Foster and Whitney's Report on the Geology of the Lake Superior Land District, Part II.p.124.From this I make the following extract:--"The Pictured Rocks may be described, in general terms, as a series of sandstone bluffs extending along the shore of Lake Superior for about five miles, and rising, in most places, vertically from thewater, without any beach at the base, to a height varying from fifty to nearly two hundred feet.Were they simply a line of cliffs, they might not, so far as relates to height or extent, be worthy of a rank among great natural curiosities, although such an assemblage of rocky strata, washed by the waves of the great lake, would not, under any circumstances, be destitute of grandeur.To the voyager, coasting along their base in his frail canoe, they would, at all times, be an object of dread; the recoil of the surf, the rock-bound coast, affording, for miles, no place of refuge,--the lowering sky, the rising wind,--all these would excite his apprehension, and induce him to ply a vigorous oar until the dreaded wall was passed.
But in the Pictured Rocks there are two features which communicate to the scenery a wonderful and almost unique character.These are, first, the curious manner in which the cliffs have been excavatedand worn away by the action of the lake, which, for centuries, has dashed an ocean-like surf against their base; and, second, the equally curious manner in which large portions of the surface have been colored by bands of brilliant hues.
"It is from the latter circumstance that the name, by which thesecliffs are known to the American traveller, is derived; while that applied to them by the French voyageurs ('Les Portails') is derived from the former, and by far the most striking peculiarity.
"The term Pictured Rocks has been in use for a great length of time;but when it was first applied, we have been unable to discover.
It would seem that the first travellers were more impressed with thenovel and striking distribution of colors on the surface than with the astonishing variety of form into which the cliffs themselves have been worn....
"Our voyageurs had many legends to relate of the pranks of the Menni-bojou in these caverns, and, in answer to our inquiries, seemed disposed to fabricate stories, without end, of the achievements of this Indian deity."Toward the Sun his hands were lifted.
In this manner, and with such salutations, was Father Marquette received by the Illinois.See his Voyages et Decouvertes, Section V.
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THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH
I
MILES STANDISH
In the Old Colony days, in Plymouth the land of the Pilgrims, To and fro in a room of his simple and primitive dwelling, Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather, Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain.
Buried in thought he seemed, with his hands behind him, and pausing Ever and anon to behold his glittering weapons of warfare, Hanging in shining array along the walls of the chamber,--Cutlass and corselet of steel, and his trusty sword of Damascus, Curved at the point and inscribed with its mystical Arabic sentence, While underneath, in a corner, were fowling-piece, musket, and matchlock.
Short of stature he was, but strongly built and athletic, Broad in the shoulders, deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron;Brown as a nut was his face, but his russet beard was already Flaked with patches of snow, as hedges sometimes in November.
Near him was seated John Alden, his friend, and household companion, Writing with diligent speed at a table of pine by the window;Fair-haired, azure-eyed, with delicate Saxon complexion, Having the dew of his youth, and the beauty thereof, as the captives Whom Saint Gregory saw, and exclaimed, "Not Angles, but Angels."Youngest of all was he of the men who came in the Mayflower.
