Native American Legends
How Master Lox as a Raccoon killed the Pear and the Black Cats, and performed other notable feats of skill, all to his great discredit
A Passamaquoddy Legend
Now of old time there is a tale of Hespuns, the Raccoon, according
to the Passamaquoddy Indians, but by another record it is Master
Lox, to whom all Indian deviltry truly belongs. And this is the
story. One fine morning Master Lox started off as a Raccoon; for
he walked the earth in divers disguises, to take his usual roundabouts,
and as he went he saw a huge bear, as the manuscript reads, "right
straight ahead of him."
Now the old Bear was very glad to see the Raccoon, for he had made
up his mind to kill him at once if he could: firstly, to punish
him for his sins; and secondly, to eat him for breakfast. Then the
Raccoon ran into a hollow tree, the Bear following, and beginning
to root it up.
Now the Coon saw that in a few minutes the tree would go and he
be gone. But he began to sing as if he did not care a bean, and
said, "All the digging and pushing this tree will never catch me.
Push your way in backwards, and then I must yield and die. But that
you cannot do, since the hole is too small for you." Then Mooin,
the Bruin, hearing this, believed it, but saw that he could easily
enlarge the hole, which he did, and so put himself in arrear; upon
which the Raccoon seized him, and held on till he was slain.
Then he crawled out of the tree, and, having made himself a fine
pair of mittens out of the Bear's skin, started off again, and soon
saw a wigwam from which rose a smoke, and, walking in, he found
a family of Begemkessisek, or Black Cats. So, greeting them,
he said, "Young folks, comb me down and make me nice, and I will
give you these beautiful bear-skin mittens." So the little Black
Cats combed him down, and parted his hair, and brushed his tail,
and while they were doing this he fell asleep; and they, being very
hungry, took the fresh bear-skin mitts, and scraped them all up,
and cooked and ate them. Then the Coon, waking up, looked very angry
at them, and said in an awful voice, "Where are my bear-skin mitts?"
And they, in great fear, replied, "Please, sir, we cooked and ate
them." Then the Coon flew at them and strangled them every one,
all except the youngest, who, since he could not speak as yet, the
Raccoon, or Lox, thought could not tell of him. Then, for a great
joke, he took all the little dead creatures and set them up by the
road-side in a row; as it was a cold day they all froze stiff, and
then he put a stick across their jaws, so that the little Black
Cats looked as if they were laughing for joy. Then he made off at
full speed.
Soon the father, the old Black Cat, came home, and, seeing his
children all grinning at him, he said, "How glad the dear little
things are to see me." But as none moved he saw that something was
wrong, and his joy soon changed to sorrow.
Then the youngest Black Cat, the baby, came out of some hole where
he had hid himself. Now the baby was too young to speak, but he
was very clever, and, picking up a piece of charcoal, he made a
mark from the end of his mouth around his cheek. Then the father
cried, "Ah, now I know who it was, the Raccoon, as sure
as I live!" And he started after him in hot pursuit.
Soon the Raccoon saw the fierce Black Cat, as an Indian, coming
after him with a club. And, looking at him, he, said, "No club can
kill me; nothing but a bulrush or cat-tail can take my life." Then
the Black Cat, who knew where to get one, galloped off to a swamp,
and, having got a large cat-tail, came to the Coon and bit him hard
with it. It burst and spread all over the Raccoon's head, and, being
wet, the fuzz stuck to him. And the Black Cat, thinking it was the
Coon's brains and all out, went his way.
The Raccoon lay quite still till his foe was gone, and then went
on his travels. Now he was a great magician, though little to other
folks' good. And he came to a place where there were many women
nursing their babes, and said, "This is but a slow way you have
of raising children." To which the good women replied, "How else
should we raise them?" Then he answered, "I will show you how we
do in our country. When we want them to grow fast, we dip them into
cold water over night. Just lend me one, and I will show you how
to raise them in a hurry." They gave him one: he took it to the
river, and, cutting a hole in the ice, put the child into it. The
next morning he went to the place, and took out a full-grown man,
alive and well. The women were indeed astonished at this. All hastened
to put their babes that night under the ice, and then the Raccoon
rushed away. So they all died.
Then he came to another camp, where many women with fine stuff
and furs were making bags. "That is a very slow way you have of
working," he said to the goodwives. "In our country we cook them
under the ashes. Let me see the stuff and show you how!" They gave
him a piece: he put it under the hot coals and ashes, and in a few
minutes drew out from them a beautiful bag. Then they all hurried
to put their cloth under the fire. Just then he left in haste. And
when they drew the stuff out it was scorched or burned, and all
spoiled.
Then he came to a great river, and did not know how to get across.
He saw on the bank an old wiwillmekq', a strange worm which
is like a horned alligator; but he was blind. "Grandfather," said
the Raccoon, "carry me over the lake." "Yes, my grandson," said
the Wiwillmekq', and away he swam; the Ravens and Crows above began
to ridicule them. "What are those birds saying?" inquired the Old
One. "Oh, they are crying to you to hurry, hurry, for your life,
with that Raccoon!" So the Wiwillmekq', not seeing land ahead, hurried
with such speed that the Raccoon made him run his head and half
his body into the bank, and then jumped off and left him. But whether
the Wiwillmekq' ever got out again is more than he ever troubled
himself to know.
So he went on till he came to some Black Berries, and said, "Berries,
how would you agree with me if I should eat you?" "Badly indeed,
Master Coon," they replied, "for we are Choke-berries." "Chokeberries,
indeed! Then I will have none of you." And then further he found
on some bushes, Rice-berries. "Berries," he cried, "how would you
agree with me if I should eat you?" "We should make you itch, for
we are Itch-berries." "Ah, that is what I like," he replied, and
so ate his fill. Then as he went on he felt very uneasy: he seemed
to be tormented with prickles, he scratched and scratched, but it
did not help or cure. So he rubbed himself on a ragged rock; he
slid up and down it till the hair came off.
Now the Raccoon is bare or has little fur where he scratched himself,
to this very day. This story is at an end.
Native American Legends
Back to Top
Other Native American Legends
|
Native American Legends A-B