Indian Legends from the Land of Al-ay-ek-sa

9781465673183

213 pages

Library of Alexandria

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Overview

“Many, many moons ago, long before the Pale Faces invaded the land which the Indians called Al-ay-ek-sa (Alaska, “Big Country”), the Great Spirit caused the waters to rise and blot out all the land, even to the tops of the highest mountains.” So runs an ancient Indian legend. “At that time there was a mighty roaring like the pounding of the waves upon a rocky shore, and suddenly death and destruction were upon the people. Some of the terror-stricken natives fled to the mountains, but the water overtook them and they were drowned. Only a very few escaped in their canoes. These drifted around until the water went down and their canoes grated and came to rest on dry land. There they settled and built their lodges and continued to follow the customs of their people. “This is how blood relations became so widely separated. So a stranger in an Indian village may enter any lodge before which stands a totem surmounted by the crest of his family. He is given food and shelter and may take freely that which he needs. “In the days when slaves were as plentiful as the salmon berries that grow by the running water an Indian chief would free all his prisoners whose crest was the crest of his clan, even if their tongue was unknown to him and sounded hostile in his ears. “But a member of the Raven clan may not marry a raven or an eagle an eagle. They belong to the same family and are forbidden to marry.”