Part 5
While in the Happy Island, the prince had learned all about the use of the bow and arrow, but this was the first time he had an opportunity to show his skill, and the wise men were anxious that he should not fail, because they knew that the friends of Wunzh would not have much respect for him if he did. They could not understand how he could be so smiling and unconcerned.
The fame of Wunzh as a bowman was known far and wide and the descendants of the Mound Builders were certain he would win. At daybreak the next morning there was a solid line of warriors around the ring where the trial was to be made, and they were as motionless and stolid looking as if they had been carved out of wood. No one could tell by their faces what they were thinking and they would not have turned their heads for anything. Some of them made a kind of music on a tom-tom or Indian drum and Wunzh and the Golden Hearted marched in step like soldiers, and smiled and bowed to everybody as they came into the ring. The Golden Hearted knew all the time that he was the doubtful one, and just for a moment he glanced at the anxious faces of the wise men. Though not sure in their hearts they nodded encouragingly and before he had touched a bow every eye in the crowd was upon him.
The keepers of the bows and arrows were very fair minded, and were careful to see there were no knots or gnarls or cracks in the waxy brown hunting bow made of straight grained mulberry wood. The one to be used was six feet long and its tips were of polished elk horn, and there was a buckskin handhold in the center. The hickory arrows were as smooth as glass with very sharp saw-teeth edges on the flint heads. Around the notch end there were three vanes of eagle feathers.
The descendants of the Mound Builders were courteous enough to give their guest the first shot. As the Golden Hearted pulled a buckskin shield over his right hand he looked up at the wise men, and his eyes said:
"Trust me! I shall not fail."
Then he stooped quickly and raised the bow from the ground and placed it against his knee cap to get a good purchase. With an upward body movement he drew the long bow as far as he could, faced the painted disc target and let fly. Like the arrow that sped so swiftly that it caught fire as it flew, this one sang through the air and imbedded itself in the blue ring where it rocked and shook violently.
"The Great White Hare has won five points!" shouted the tally keepers in the Judge's corner.
"What skill!" said one pointing to the still quivering arrow. "What strength!" said another, while the wise men began to feel very proud indeed.
It was such hard work that the face of Golden Hearted was flushed but he shut his teeth together hard, and was determined to make a still better effort.
His second shot sent the arrow into the red ring nearly opposite the blue, and this scored him seven points.
"There is fine aiming!" said the judges to each other, while the other people leaned over in their seats and watched intently.
There was just a shadow of a smile on the lips of the Golden Hearted, as he made ready for the final shot from the first station.
"Ping!" and the third arrow fairly whistled as it hit the exact center of the yellow spot.
Instantly the whole crowd were on their feet, all talking at once and making so much noise that the tally keepers could not be heard.
"Five--seven--nine are the points; twenty-one for final score," they shouted.
The Golden Hearted flung down his bow and stepped to one side to make room for Wunzh. He stood wiping the perspiration off his forehead and was pleased because he saw that every one felt kindly toward him.
"Now the jossakeeds will learn how to shoot!" exclaimed the men who had backed Wunzh.
"He will never equal the first score," said others who were skillful with a bow and arrow themselves and knew how hard it was to make such fine shots.
Wunzh sent his first arrow with a vim and energy that showed he had been in constant practice, but all three of his darts sped feebly and barely indented the black ring.
"The jossakeeds hold the first station," announced the judges. "Move on to the next one."
Now came the real test of skill, and every man was interested because they all made use of the bow and arrow, in hunting and in war, and had no other kind of weapon except a knife. Hundreds of the spectators left their seats and crowded around the contestants.
The heavy hunting bow was laid aside now and one made of elastic but tough yew was substituted. The arrows had finely-pointed obsidian heads, matched and smooth but sharp as a needle.
The Golden Hearted was careful to see that the yew was properly seasoned and when satisfied, he placed the arrow on the left side of the bow with its notch set on the string. He drew the string back to just below the chin, aimed over the arrow tip and let fly.
The spectators were quick to see that his aim, draw, finish and loose was perfect even in speeding the arrows so fast they could scarcely be seen. When shooting three at a time he drove all of them into the yellow center within a quarter of an inch of each other!
The friends of Wunzh shouted and screamed:
"It is not fair! He uses too many arrows. Give us justice!" until the judges were compelled to order the warriors to drive the crowd back again with the points of their spears.
In the noise, confusion and excitement every one forgot the birds perched on a cross bar at the top of the pole supporting the target. There was a blue jay, a raven, a white dove and a green parrot. Each had a string attached to one leg. Now of course they remembered and crowded around to hear what the judges would say.
"Will the prince of the jossakeeds take a shot at the birds before being crowned with the Yew wreath of valor?"
As soon as the Golden Hearted could make himself heard he said:
"I am willing to comply with your request, but I hope I shall not hurt any of the birds."
"The parrot shall cry your aim, and must remain unharmed. You may kill the blue or the black bird, but you must release the peaceful dove uninjured. Will you remember these conditions?"
The Golden Hearted came within range and waited for a favorable opportunity. By a sudden jerk of the cord coming down the side of the pole the cross bar was set to whirling rapidly and this frightened the birds until they tried to fly away. The parrot was chained fast and to make the aim more difficult, the other birds were fastened by strings of different lengths. The marksman must free each one of them and then hit it before it could escape. The first liberated was the blue jay. The Golden Hearted cut the cord neatly and wounded the bird while it was still rising. The arrow fell near the base of the pole bringing the right wing with it.
This won him the wreath, and he now turned to the wise men for a signal. They could demand the last three shots. Would they do it? He inclined his head toward them as one of the number picked up a black flag and waved it. There was an answering shout and a cheer, and the Golden Hearted prepared to shoot again. This time he aimed at the raven and cut the string near the pole. Its weight caused the captive to fly in an oblique line downward for a moment. Quick as a flash the second arrow sped and the raven fell to the ground pierced through the heart! Without looking to see what had happened the Golden Hearted shot at the dove and as it flew up in a circle everybody saw that it was unharmed.
Then they fought and struggled with each other for the privilege of carrying the victor off the grounds, but the Golden Hearted escaped through a side door and ran away as fast as he could. He did not wish to speak to any one nor have them see how unhappy he felt. He really was heartbroken because he had killed the raven.
The Birth of Corn
Wunzh was greatly disturbed and downcast over his defeat because he thought the Great Spirit had sent the Golden Hearted in answer to his supplications, and he now felt certain that he was in disfavor. He lay awake all night thinking what he could do to win a token of good will from the Great Spirit. He knew better than to ask anything for himself, but begged and implored that it should be something for the benefit of his tribe.
"Michabo says I eat too much flesh, and that I must learn to fast before any good will come to me," he said over and over to himself. "He shall see that I know how to obey even if my arrows do go wide of the mark." There was a great lump in his throat and to tell the truth there were a few tears trickling down his cheeks, but he brushed them away quickly as he rose to his feet and shook out the buffalo robes which had answered for his bed.
"I will go to a secret place in the forest and build me a lodge, and there I will stay and fast until the Great Spirit grants my wish."
He told no one of his intention and was gone several days before he was missed at the council fires where the wise men were instructing the medicine men in the use of a wampum belt made of different colored beads. The colors were the same as the Quippos and the counting with them was done in the same manner. While the women were weaving a very handsome wampum belt to be used as a council brand of authority, the wise men helped build a Long House in the center of the confederation of tribes to put it in. Then they ordered four other Long Houses built on the north, east, south and west corners of the country, so that the runners would have some place to stay when they started with the wampum belt to let the outside tribes know the will of the council.
The Golden Hearted did not seem to take any interest in this work at all, but went among the people playing all kinds of pranks. Sometimes he frightened them nearly to death, and then again he would set them into roars of laughter by the funny things he did. He invented so many tricks and was so full of mischief that every one was on the lookout and attributed all the happenings they could not account for in any other way to him whether he did them or not.
"What has become of Wunzh? Has anybody seen him?" began to be constant queries, and his family looked very sad indeed. The Golden Hearted knew where he was and that he was fasting, so he waited until nightfall and then dressed himself in rich garments of green and yellow shading into light and dark tints. Putting on his crown with the long green Quetzal plumes he slipped off into the woods to find Wunzh. Approaching the lodge he said:
"I am sent to you, my friend, by that Great Spirit who made all things in the sky and on the earth. He has seen and known your motives in the fasting. He sees that it is from a kind and benevolent wish to do good to your people and to procure a benefit for them and not for strength in war or the praise of warriors. I come to show you how to do your kindred good, but you must rise and wrestle with me."
Wunzh knew that he was weak from fasting, but felt his courage rising in his heart, and he got up immediately determined to die rather than fail.
He instantly clinched with the Golden Hearted and wrestled with him until nearly exhausted.
"My friend, this is enough for to-day. I will come again to try you to-morrow at the same hour."
The Golden Hearted came dressed in the same fashion and wrestled with Wunzh for three successive evenings. Each day the faster's strength grew less and less, but he was more determined than ever.
"To-morrow will be your last trial. Be strong, my friend, for this is the only way you can overcome me and obtain the boon you seek."
The next day the poor youth exerted his utmost power and after awhile the Golden Hearted ceased wrestling.
"I am conquered," he said, and went into the lodge and began to teach Wunzh. "You have wrestled manfully and have fasted seven days. Now you must strip off my clothing and throw me down. Clean the earth of roots and reeds; make it soft and bury these garments here. When you have done this be careful never to let the grass grow over the spot. Once a month cover it with fresh earth. If you follow these instructions you will do great good to your fellow creatures."
In the morning the father of Wunzh came with some slight refreshments, saying:
"My son, you have fasted long enough. If the Great Spirit intends to favor you he will do it now. It is seven days since you tasted food and you must not sacrifice your health. That the Master of Life does not require of you."
"Wait, father, until the sun goes down. I have a particular reason for extending my fast until that hour."
"Very well," said the father, kindly. "I will wait until you feel inclined to eat."
Even though he was hungry the young man felt strangely renewed and strengthened and when it was night he was ready to wrestle with the Golden Hearted again. When he thought he had killed the prince he took off his garments and plumes and buried them as he had been told to do. Afterwards he returned to his father's lodge and partook sparingly of food, but he never for a moment forgot the new-made grave.
Because he was so full of pranks and tricks, the descendants of the Mound Builders saw something mysterious and strange in everything the Golden Hearted did, and when he built a boat to go down the great river in, they said it was a magic canoe and expected almost anything to happen. However before he and the wise men went away, they made him the father and guardian of their nation, and they have considered him as such ever since.
Weeks went by and the summer was drawing to a close when Wunzh returned after a long absence in hunting. Going to his father he invited him to come to the quiet lonesome spot where he had fasted so long. There in a circle freed from weeds stood a tall graceful plant with bright colored silken hair surmounted by nodding plumes, luxuriant green leaves and clusters of golden grain on each side.
"It is my friend, and the friend of all mankind. It is Mondamin, the spirit of corn. We need no longer rely on hunting alone for so long as this gift is cherished and taken care of the ground itself will give us a living. See, my father," said Wunzh, pulling off an ear, "this is what I fasted for. This is why Michabo put me through so many trials. But the Great Spirit has listened to my voice and sent us something new. Our people need no longer depend upon the chase and the water for food."
Then he told his father how he had wrestled with the Golden Hearted, and how he had torn off his garments.
"He said I was to treat the ear in the same manner, and when it was stripped I must hold it to the fire until the outer skin becomes brown while all the milk is retained in the grain."
The whole family of Wunzh joined in a feast on the roasted ears, and were very grateful for such a rich blessing. And this is the way the Indians say corn came into the world.
We learned its use from them, and also to hold the old-fashioned husking bees where all the young people got together and pulled off the husks after the ripe ears of corn had been gathered into the barn. It was always great fun, especially when they found red ears, but let us see what the Indians used to say about it:
Then Nokomis, the old woman, Spake and said to Minnehaha: "'Tis the moon when leaves are falling All the wild rice has been gathered And the maize is ripe and ready; Let us gather in the harvest, Let us wrestle with Mondamin, Strip him of his plumes and tassels, Of his garments green and yellow." And the merry Laughing Water Went rejoicing from the wigwam, With Nokomis old and wrinkled, And they called the women round them, Called the young men and the maidens, To the harvest of the cornfields, To the husking of the maize ear. On the border of the forest, Underneath the fragrant pine-trees, Sat the old man and the warriors Smoking in the pleasant shadow In uninterrupted silence Looked they at the gamesome labor Of the young men and the women; Listened to their noisy talking, To their laughter and their singing Heard them chattering like the magpies, Heard them laughing like the blue-jays, Heard them singing like the robins. And whene'er some lucky maiden Found a red ear in the husking Found a maize-ear red as blood is, "Nuska!" cried they all together, "Nuska! you shall have a sweetheart, You shall have a handsome husband!" "Ugh!" the old men all responded From their seats behind the pine-trees. And whene'er a youth or maiden Found a crooked ear in husking, Found a maize-ear in the husking Blighted, mildewed or misshapen, Then they laughed and sang together, Crept and limped about the cornfields, Mimicked in their gait and gestures Some old man bent almost double, Singing singly or together Till the cornfields rang with laughter, "Ugh!" the old men all responded, From their seats behind the pine-trees.
The Indians have many pretty stories about the birth of corn. When the two little slender green leaves come up through the ground they say that it is the long green plumes of the crown buried by Wunzh and when it is ready for harvest they think the green and gold of the leaves and grain are the rest of the garments turned into a plant. They say that if you stand near a cornfield in the moonlight you can hear Mondamin, the corn spirit, murmuring and complaining of the way we treat him to the wind, the stars, and the little insects hidden in the glossy leaves and silken tassels.
The Wrathy Chieftain
After sailing down the great river for many days the Golden Hearted and the wise men came into a trackless waste with no means of finding their way out except by watching where the sun rose and shooting an arrow ahead of them. This was very slow work and they all grew quite discouraged over it.
"It is altogether too bad that for fear of getting lost we must halt each time and speed another arrow before we overtake the last one," said the Golden Hearted one day when they were nearly worn out with the heat and dust of a country not much better than a desert. "I have a feeling," he continued, "that we will not be well treated by the people we find here. I do so wish we might come to the cactus and the rock with a serpent at its base where my father commanded me to found a city in honor of the sun."
"We are going in the right direction," answered the wise men, "but the end of our search is not yet."
"And much as my heart yearns for the Happy Island I will not return to my father until all his wishes have been fulfilled."
Through the murky gray clouds the stars did not make much light, and there was only a thin crescent moon, which gave a sense of utter loneliness to the Golden Hearted when he went to bed that night. The coyotes all around him howled and that made it worse, but he finally fell asleep. By and by he was awakened by a cold, wet nose touching his hand, and when he raised up on his elbow to see what it was, there stood a coyote. They are not very dangerous animals but they are sneaking and treacherous. Now we know that the Golden Hearted was gentle and kind to all creatures, and the coyote must have known it too, for it rubbed its head on his hand and did not seem in the least afraid.
"Come, my good fellow, let us be friends," said the Golden Hearted. "I will not hurt you, and you can guide me to my brethren. I have never seen their faces, but wish very much to find them."
The coyote wrinkled up his nose and made a funny little sneezing sound as if he were talking, and he wagged his tail as friendly as a dog. Maybe he did not understand what was said to him, but anyhow he felt safe enough to lie down close to his new friend and go sound asleep. When the wise men saw him the next morning, they said:
"It is a good omen and means that we shall soon come to a stopping place where strange events will happen."
This put the Golden Hearted into a better humor because he felt less doubtful and discouraged and he was much interested in the antics of the sagacious little companion that trudged by his side all day long. The coyote was enterprising enough to kill as many birds as it needed for food, without going far out of the way and was not a whit of trouble to anybody. There was not a tree nor a shrub to hide the nakedness of the dusty plains, nor was it possible to rest with any comfort until after the sun went down.
All of a sudden the coyote stopped short, pricked up its ears and listened intently.
"Yelp! yelp! yelp!" was what the Golden Hearted heard, and it sounded as if there were hundreds of young puppies everywhere. Looking closely he discovered little heaps of earth with a smooth-headed animal sitting on all fours beside it and yelping a protest to being disturbed. They were right in the midst of a village of prairie dogs, which are about the size of a jack-rabbit, but not nearly so destructive.
"Come and see what I have found," called out the Golden Hearted to the wise men who were coming up behind him. At the sound of his voice the prairie dogs gave a quick, short yelp, their heels twinkled in the air for a second, and they fairly turned a somersault diving into their holes. By the time the wise men were ready to look there was not a whisker of an inhabitant to be seen.
"What is it?" they said, "Where! we do not see anything."
"Watch these fresh piles of dirt, and you will see something come out of them," said the Golden Hearted.
"Yes;" said one, "there are some rattlesnakes."
"And here are some owls," said another. "Is it possible that you have never seen these creatures before?" and the wise men laughed at the Golden Hearted and thought they had a good joke on him.
"Let us keep quiet for a while. I tell you there is something else in those burrows besides snakes and owls," he insisted seriously.
Not hearing any more noise, one after another of the little prairie dogs put its head up out of the hole, and then stole forth cautiously to talk the matter over with its next door neighbor. There were regular beaten pathways or lanes from one burrow to another and they were evidently on very friendly footing with each other.
"These are indeed curious little animals," said the wise men, now much interested. "They not only live in communities, but keep the peace with their brothers, the snake and the owl. There is certainly no greater source of knowledge than the book of nature. Here God puts before us the thing He wishes us to learn."
At the very first words of the wise men the prairie dogs scampered back into their holes; and before they showed themselves again a party of husbandmen came along on their way to a harvest field which they said was a day's journey ahead.
"Why do you linger in this desert?" they asked of the Golden Hearted. "There are habitations farther on where the earth is watered."
"We are seeking those who need our assistance and must only tarry where we are welcome," he answered.
"Then come to our commune. We have no one to show us how to heal the sick nor to coax fertility out of this barren soil," they said. "If you will go, we will remain for the night and lead the way."
So it was arranged and to everybody's comfort and joy it began to rain shortly after and then the air was much more cool and pleasant.