The Woodcraft Girls in the City Part 8

"We can all begin together on carpentry and at times when we are not together, or you new members are not in on some of the things we do, you can catch up on those easy winners," said Zan.

So the entry was made in the Tally Book directly after the note reading: "Nita will find new folk songs for a dance before next Council."

It read: "Begin some object in carpentry using own designs and material, suitable to claim a _coup_ with all provisions met."

"Now that that is off our minds let's have Miss Miller tell us an Indian myth or story. We haven't heard one since that last week on the farm,"

pet.i.tioned Jane.

"And I happen to know that she received a package of books from the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution at Was.h.i.+ngton," added Zan.

"How! How!" chorused the other girls, so the Guide felt called upon to contribute her share to the Council meeting.

"I really had planned something so different from this, that I must have a moment in which to think," murmured the Guide.

"Oh dear me! That's always the way with us! We are so impatient to make Miss Miller work for her honourable position, that we generally manage to 'cut off our noses to spite our faces,'" sighed Elena so plaintively that the others laughed.'"

"My original idea will not spoil by delay, so I will tell the story now which is really much easier than the work I planned," rejoined Miss Miller.

"Well, at least tell us what your plan was and let us judge of its merits," declared Zan, coaxingly.

"I never satisfy idle curiosity if I recognise it, but I will tell you a story of what happened to some Eskimo Indian children who indulged in this undesirable inclination to their undoing.

CHAPTER FOUR-THE ESKIMO INDIAN LEGEND

"This myth is told by the Sea Lion-town People from Alaska and is called, 'A Tale of a Red Feather,'" began Miss Miller.

"A group of children were playing ball with a woody excrescence which they had found in the bole of a tree. It had been rubbed down and polished until it was smooth and s.h.i.+ny as could be.

"As they knocked the ball back and forth, shouting with glee if one of their band happened to miss it, a small red feather floated down from the clouds and blew gently to and fro just over their heads. As it was wafted about in the eddying breeze, it attracted the attention of the youngsters who watched it with eager curiosity.

"It never came nearer the earth than just above the heads of the children and as they speculated concerning it, one of the boys declared it must be a magic feather. Another said it might be a prince bewitched by an evil spell-binder, and still another said it was from a Red Eagle that soared from the Happy Hunting Grounds.

"The latter idea seemed to take hold of the children and they cried 'We want it if it fell from the Happy Hunting Grounds.'

"So most of them jumped up trying to catch it as it floated over their heads. The tallest boy, making a high leap, seized it, but instead of bringing it down to the ground with him, his hand stuck fast as if by some unseen power. He struggled but could not release himself and gradually he was drawn up from the earth.

"He screamed, and his brother seeing the awful magic working, caught hold of his hand to stay him. But he, too, was stuck fast to his brother's hand and was lifted up against his will.

"Then another boy caught hold on to the second lad's feet and he, too, was drawn up unwillingly. Soon, all the children, then the parents who sought to save their little ones, next the townspeople, and lastly the dogs and cats and donkeys, and every living creature in the town-all but the niece of the Town Chief were drawn up.

"This girl remained sleeping upon a couch behind a screen and was quite unaware of what was happening to her kinsmen and townspeople and the creatures that had lived in the town.

"The victims of Red Feather were carried up, up, up, to a great cloud that hung waiting to receive them. There they were kept until the waters in the cloud washed them all to bones and then bleached the bones white.

But that comes later.

"The niece, strangely enough, was awakened by the great stillness. She listened and then sprang out of bed wondering what kept everyone so silent. No shouting of children, no braying of donkeys, no fighting of cats and dogs, no bargaining of townspeople!

"She peered from behind the screen and found no moving or living being, so she quickly dressed and ran out to call, but no answer came. She ran through the houses and found them vacant, and left as if they had been abandoned in a great hurry. The canoes were still tied to their posts or lying upon the beach, so it was quite evident that her people had not gone by the water-way. The great mountains back of the village offered no temptation to the villagers and the maiden knew they had not disappeared that way.

"She went home to think over this strange thing and as she thought, she feared some evil worker had succeeded in making magic against her people. Reaching this conclusion, the maiden ran out and stood near the spot where her cousins first saw the feather. She, too, saw a tiny red feather dance about her head but she was too troubled to account for her friends to give the temptation another thought.

"Having no curiosity or desire to possess the red feather gave her the power to see it as it was. As the feather still fluttered about, the girl was able to witness the whole sight of her people and every living creature of the village excepting herself, drawn up to the black cloud and left dangling there.

"Then she ran back to her tepee and wept. She wept gallons of salty tears before she became reconciled to her fate. But the tears relieved her sorrow and she went forth to seek for a memento of her brothers and sister. Where the children had been playing ball she found a shaving her brother had whittled from the wood from which he was making a spear just before he was caught up. She next found a feather from the arrow her cousin had been making. Then she found a chip of red cedar bark her brother had held, and a wild crab-apple blossom her little sister had plucked. Lastly, the maiden saw the footprints in the mud, of another brother as he had stood catching at the heels of his cousin. All these relics she gathered up carefully and placed them in a blanket.

"The blanket was securely bound by the four corners and the gallons of salty tears poured over it. Then the girl blew her nose violently to call magic, and poured the remainder of her tears over the covering that held the treasures.

"This last rite performed, the maiden carried the blanket to her couch behind the screen and sat down to wait. After many days she opened the blanket again and there she found a babe. It had a small shaving stuck to its forehead. She took the babe out and tied the blanket corners together again. Then she mothered the babe till it grew strong and as fine as her brother had been before it.

"After a time, she opened the blanket again and lo! there she found another fine child, but a bit of cedar bark was stuck to its forehead.

The boy was also mothered and grew to be a fine lad.

"The third time the girl opened the blanket she found a boy with a feather stuck to his forehead. The fourth child had a clod of mud on the sole of each foot, and so on, the children came until nine fine lads had been mothered and reared, and then came a little girl who carried a crab-apple blossom in her hand.

"The ten children were carefully reared and taught many wise things that all Indians should know. They had plenty of food and clothing as every house in the town was there to take from.

"One day, the eldest lad inquired: 'Mother, why lies yonder village so empty?'

"And she replied: 'My child, it is your uncle's town that lies empty because of idle curiosity. And this is what happened to everyone living in the village.'

"Then she told the children the story as I have told it to you, even the punishment that comes with curiosity and the payment demanded from any who deem they can do what others cannot.

"And the boy asked: 'Where is the ball, mother?'

"She replied sadly: 'Ah, my son, I may not show you the hidden place of that ball for it contains magic that brings evil to anyone touching it.

Better leave _skitq! a'-ig. adAn_ in the tree where it grows.'

"But the boys were overcome with curiosity to see and try this magic they were warned against. So, secretly they found the right bole of the tree where an excrescence grew and it was cut out. They worked it smooth and round until it was polished enough to play ball with.

"The little sister had not been told of her brothers' mischief or she would have dissuaded them-or at least, she would have warned the mother that the boys had disobeyed her wishes.

"They tossed the ball gleefully back and forth and soon a tiny red feather floated over their heads but little sister warned them not to touch it as it was the same evil magic that had drawn all their kin away from earth.

"But the oldest lad scoffed at her fears and clutched at the feather.

Instantly, he was turned to mucus, right before their eyes! And this mucus was waved violently back and forth till it was stretched out into a long thread. As it was pulled up to the black cloud overhead, one end of the mucus still stuck fast to the ground and the red feather tugged and tugged to tear it loose.

"The second brother caught hold of the mucus and was turned to a shaving. But this was whirled around and around until it spun dizzily and one end of the shaving reached the cloud but the other still whirled on the ground.

"The third boy ran up and caught hold of it and was instantly turned into a strip of cedar bark. After being rolled and pulled the bark began to stretch and finally one end was up in the clouds and the other still remained upon the earth.

"When the boy with the mud soles caught hold of the red cedar chip, he was turned to mud. As this was spun out, some of it was carried up to the cloud while some of it still clung to the earth but a fine thread of mud stretched between the two mud-lumps.

"But the next boy caught the wild crab-apple blossom from his sister's hand and stamped upon the mud from his brother's sole that lay upon the ground. As he stamped he called to his sister: 'I am strong! Hurry-make medicine to save us.'

"And the sister cried: 'Be a man! Be strong and I will save you!'