Indian Legends

We have written previous stories about the Indians who lived here temporarily and how they lived, what they ate and other facts about them. However, very little has been written locally about their superstitious and the stories which were told hundreds of times around their campfires by the old story teller of the tribe.

Every tribe had its own version of how the Indian first came into existence. Here, we are concerned with the Delaware and the Iroquois.

The Delaware nation was divided into three clans. The Minsi or wolf; Unamis or turtle and the Unalachtigos or turkey. Each clan had its own version as to how they first came upon this earth. The Minsi say that in the beginning, they all lived in the underworld beneath a great lake. Finally one discovered an opening and managed to crawl out on the surface. Here he found many wonderful things. He killed a deer which he carried back down to his tribe. They all found its meat was delicious, so they all decided to come up on earth where they could enjoy the light of the heavens where game would be plentiful.

The Unamis and Unalachtigos had much the same version except that they did not believe the part of living under a large lake.

The Iroquois and Delaware believed their first ancestors consisted of one or two families to a tribe and that naming themselves after animals was a very old custom.

It was an ancient custom for certain Indian tribes not to eat rabbit and they advised the white man not to eat its flesh, but were reluctant to say why. It was finally discovered that if they were to eat its flesh they would become infected with a veneral disease. Neither did certain tribes eat the groundhog because they believed if they ate this animal they might be eating one who was related to them.

Some tribes had a great respect for the rattlesnake. They called it their grandfather and at no time would they kill it. They believed it was placed on this land to guard them and to warn them of danger by its rattles. They believed that if they even killed one snake soon all the rattlesnakes would know about it and the whole race of snakes would rise upon them and bite them, thus they were very careful not to irritate the rattlesnakes. They wanted to always be on good terms so that neither would hurt each other.

The Lenape tribe believed the turtle has a great island on its back, because it lives on land and in the water, which none of the other tribes can do. The merits of the Unalachtigos or turkey are that it remains about them always, while the Wolf tribe took its name because by nature they were continually going from one place to another in search of game, and, they also considered him as their benefactor because of his cunningness in getting the Indians out of the interior of the earth. Furthermore, it was the wolf, with the help of the great spirit, killed the deer on the surface of the earth and showed them how to live here instead of the dark damp underground world. These tales are traditions which are passed down from generation to generation. They are proud of their origins from the turtle, the wolf and turkey.

The Indians tribes considered themselves far superior to all animals and were very proud of that superiority. Yet, they believed that the animals of the forest, the birds of the air and the fishes of the waters were created by the great spirit for their use.

The Iroquois had a different version of their origin. They told of a sky world of spirits who resembled the Iroquois. According to their legend, a young squaw was pregnant. She kept her husband busy searching the forests for many kinds of foods which pregnant women were supposed to crave. In the sky world, there grew a very great tree which was sacred and was never to be touched. The pregnant wife insisted she wanted a piece of the root bark. Her husband knew the taboo of the tree, but to satisfy her demands he dug a hole in the earth to obtain a small root. Upon digging, he opened a large hole into the ground. The wife, being curious attempted to look down the hole. As she leaned over, she fell, still holding to the sacred roots of the elm tree. However, the birds spread out their wings and gave her support in her fall. A giant turtle gave her a dry place to rest. The fishes went to the bottom of the water and brought up soil in which she planted the sacred roots. She then began to walk around the roots in the same direction as the sun moved. Soon, she gave birth to a daughter. In time this daughter grew to womanhood and gave birth to twin sons. Their birth caused their mother's death. The twins were different in dispositions. One was honest. The other obstinate and deceitful. From their mother's grave grew the Three Sisters-corn beans and squash. Each twin had been given certain creative powers, thus they made all living plants and animals which the Indians came to know. The deceitful twin made the poisonous plants and creatures of prey while the good twin also created men out of clay and baked them in his campfire. The baked figures, which were not heated enough, were white men. Those who were heated too much were the black men and all those who were baked to the right heat were Indian.

The twins could not agree on any matter. They were continually fighting. Finally the good twin killed his bad brother and threw his body over the edge of the world. It so happened that the bad twin did not die. Instead, he recovered and became the ruler of his world of darkness.

The twins' grandmother always favored the bad one. When she became angry at the good twin he then killed her. He cut her head from her body and threw it up in the sky. She became Grandmother Moon. All women of the tribes prayed to her for their health. The men always looked to her for signs of good luck in their hunting.

The Iroquois firmly believed this tale long before the white man came to his land. They continued to hold to this legend in opposition to what tales the white man tried to tell them about their theory of creation.

The sun, they believed, came from the face of the earth mother. It was thought he was the messenger of the Sky Chief and a God of War. He had his home in the great tree which grew in the sky land, and every morning he lifted the sky to the east to start his journey to watch the Indians on the earth below. Each night he returned to the sky land to his resting-place. Here he told the sky chief all he had seen in his journey.

The Morning Star was a very important Spirit. Her appearances were looked upon as either good or evil. On the evil side, she appeared as a siren to woo hunters to wander in search of her. Her good spirit was looked upon as one who would provide for them in time of famine in their villages.

The Storm Wind was believed to be a great head flying through the sky with long strands of hair. He had the power to blow down great trees and destroy their crops and villages.

The good wind was called Ga'ha. He was very gentle because he helped the plants to grow, the fruits and berries to ripen by his warm breath.

The Frost God was Ha'Tho. He lived far away in a cold lodge. It was he who brought the snows and frost. Many times in the winter he could be heard knocking on the trees with his icy hammer and pounding on the ice covered rivers and lakes causing them to sound like giant drums. Each spring he was chased by a young Spirit. This spirit loved to wrestle. Ha'Tho was always defeated thus he would always return to his lodge 'way up north. A second version of spring was also prevalent among the various villages. This spirit was in the form of a beautiful maiden who had a warm smile and was kind and gentle. Her warm charms and presence would drive Ha'Tho to his home up in the north.

The Iroquois believed all the animals, trees and flowers had souls and their crops of beans, corn and squash were guarded over by the Three Sisters of the harvest.

Indian folk lore and legends are fascinating. Each tribe had its own. Many books have been written and will be written about them. They are the real AMERICANA.