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"Joseph Nicolar's "The Life and Traditions of the Red Man," reissued with Annette Kolodny's excellent prefatory material, provides students and scholars of American Indian literatures with a valuable text in a reader-friendly edition, which is, crucially, endorsed by the Penobscot Nation."-- Eric Cheyfitz, editor of "The Columbia Guide to American Indian Literatures of the United States since 1945"

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THE LIFE AND TRADITIONS OF THE RED MAN

Duke University Press

Contents

Illustrations.........................................................................................................................................viiPreface by Charles Norman Shay........................................................................................................................ixAcknowledgments.......................................................................................................................................xiiiA Summary History of the Penobscot Nation by Annette Kolodny..........................................................................................1Introduction to Joseph Nicolar's 1893 The Life and Traditions of the Red Man by Annette Kolodny.......................................................35A Note on Nicolar's Text..............................................................................................................................89PREFACE...............................................................................................................................................95CHAPTER I. The Creation.-Klose-kur-beh's Journey.-Meeting his Companions.-The Marriage................................................................97CHAPTER II. With the aid of May May, Klose-kur-beh destroyed the Serpent.-The Sea Voyage..............................................................114CHAPTER III. Klose-kur-beh's hunting.-The first mother changed into corn and tobacco..................................................................130CHAPTER IV. The winter and the seven years famine.-The discovery of the first white man's track.......................................................142CHAPTER V. The fish famine-The capture of the white swan and the white spiritual men driven away......................................................161CHAPTER VI. The winding up the war with the May-Quays.-The grand council established-The arrival and settlement of the white man......................184CONCLUSION............................................................................................................................................195Notes to the Nicolar Text.............................................................................................................................201Afterword by Bonnie D. Newsom.........................................................................................................................213Works Consulted and Recommendations for Further Reading...............................................................................................215Illustration Credits..................................................................................................................................221

Chapter One

Klose-kur-beh, "The Man from Nothing," first called the minds of the "Red Children" to his coming into the world when the world contained no other man, in flesh, but himself. When he opened his eyes lying on his back in the dust, his head [was] toward the rising of the sun and his feet toward the setting of the sun, the right hand pointing to the north and his left hand to the south. Having no strength to move any part of his body, yet the brightness of the day revealed to him all the glories of the whole world; the sun was at its highest, standing still, and beside it was the moon without motion and the stars were in their fixed places, while the firmament was in its beautiful blue. While yet his eyes were held fast in their sockets, he saw all that the world contained. Besides what the region of the air revealed to him, he saw the land, the sea, mountains, lakes, rivers, and the motion of the waters, and in it he saw the fishes. On the land were the animals and beasts, and in the air the birds. In the direction of the rising sun he saw the night approaching.

While the body clung to the dust he was without mind, and the flesh without feeling. At that moment the heavens were lit up, with all kinds of bright colors most beautiful, each color stood by itself, and in another moment every color shot a streak into the other, and soon all the colors intermingled, forming a beautiful brightness in the center of the heavens over the front of his face. Nearer and nearer came the brightness toward his body until it got almost to a touching distance, and a feeling came into his flesh, he felt the warmth of the approaching brightness, and he fell into a deep sleep. The wind of the heavens fanned his brow, and the sense of seeing returned unto him, but he saw not the brightness he beheld before, but instead of the brightness, a person like unto himself, standing at his right hand, and the person's face was toward the rising of the sun. In silence he raised his right hand, in the direction of the rising sun, passed it from thence to the setting of the sun, and immediately a streak of lightning followed the motion of his hand from one side of the earth to the other. Again he raised his right hand to the south, passing it to the north, and immediately another streak of lightning followed the motion of his hand. Immediately after the passing of the lightning over his body, a sense of thought came unto him [i.e., Klose-kur-beh]. The first thought that came unto him was, that he believed the person was able to bring strength unto him, and the "Great Being" answered his thought saying these words: "Thou doest well believing in me, I am the head of all that thou beholdest, and as thou believest, arise from thy bed of dust, and stand on thy feet, let the dust be under thy feet, and as thou believest, thou shalt have strength to walk." Immediately strength came unto him, and he arose to his feet, and stood beside the "Great Being."

After this the "Great Being" moved and turned half around towards his right hand, facing the sun. Lifting both hands and looking up he said: "Go thy way!" and immediately the whole heavens obeyed. The sun, moon and all the stars moved towards the setting of the sun. The night coming slowly toward their standing, when the Great Being sending up his voice, saying: "Let us make man in our own image," and immediately dropped his two hands and cast his eyes upon the land and moved half way around again toward his right hand, facing the setting of the sun, and passed his right hand from the north to the south. The lightning followed the motion of his hand, from the north to the south, and again passing his hand from the setting of the sun to the rising of the sun, immediately the lightning followed the motion of his right hand, from the setting of the sun to the rising of the sun, and when the lightning came upon the night which was approaching it disappeared; the darkness of the night hid from them, what was beyond the night.

Immediately the dust of the land began to shake and to heave, in the form of a cross, where the motion had been made. And there was an image of a man lay on the ground.-his head toward the north, and his feet toward the south-his right hand pointing to the setting of the sun, and his left hand toward the rising of the sun, his face lay towards the blue skies over their heads, and his face was white with the paleness, because life was not yet in him; Klose-kur-beh said, "and immediately the Great Being said unto me, 'Turn thy face to the setting of the sun,' and I obeyed him; and again the Great Being spoke unto me,...