Ohio History Journal

Minutes of the Annual Meeting      561

listened to some arguments I made there, and now he

will get even by forcing me to listen to him. He holds

a policy in the same life insurance company in which I

hold a policy, but I will not give the name of the com-

pany myself, but I will say that this man has a great

gift of getting into good company, and I want to con-

gratulate him this afternoon on getting into this com-

pany here. He belongs to a race that is a hundred per

cent American, and they were here before we were, and

some still are here. I think we all rejoice in the fact that

we have here a representative of the American, indeed,

a minister of the Gospel of Christ, a fine citizen of our

commonwealth. If you will read this little sketch of him

on the program in your hand, you will find that you have

the pleasure of listening to a man, a graduate of Yale,

who comes along with our American traditions, and

stands today as a sort of linch-pin-as we used to call it

in the old days-of a wagon, a contact between the

things talked about and the things present today. I

count it a privilege to present the speaker this afternoon,

and as I said before, he was the only Cloud on the hori-

zon, but I am sure he will have a silver lining-Doctor

Henry Roe Cloud. (Applause.)

 

MYTHOLOGIES OF OUR ABORIGINES

Dr. Henry Roe Cloud then spoke as follows on the

"Mythologies of Our Aborigines in Relation to Pre-

historic Mound Builders in America":

It was with the greatest reluctance that I accepted the invi-

tation to speak before this group of distinguished men and

women. The reasons for this hesitancy were that there is ex-

ceedingly little that I can contribute to a gathering of this kind.

Generous-minded persons would justify my coming here were I

Vol. XXXVIII-36.

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562       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications able to give one connecting link, however slight, to the chain of knowledge gradually being welded together between the definitely known history of man and that of the beginning of man's exist- ence on this continent. I come actuated rather by more humble motives. It is my conviction that it is in the power of just such groups of scientists as this to bring to light and to perpetuate

something of the achievements, the nobility and dignity of the Red Man of America-that by the intensive and patient study of the physical remains of unrecorded history, "probing into the night of the unknown ages" that antiquity which rightfully be- longs to our American Indians and correspondingly to our infant nation, may some day be unmistakably established; that the sis- ter sciences of paleontology, geology and archaeology, which have played and are playing such an important part in the old world, will more than ever open her vast vistas of the past, revealing

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Minutes of the Annual Meeting           563

 

to us the character, habits and achievements of long-forgotten

races of men. However much these statements may fail of car-

rying conviction of my motives today, I can at least take this op-

portunity to express the deepest appreciation to the late Dr. Wil-

liam C. Mills and others who did so nobly in discovering what we

now know of the past and to those of our day who are so effec-

tively carrying on the great task. It may not be amiss to men-

tion here the name of Professor Warren K Moorehead, of An-

dover.

As I stood a few days ago on the summit of the great Caho.

kia mound, situated in the center of the American bottoms near

East St. Louis, that greatest of earthen temples of the dead in

America and the world, I pictured to myself a teeming popula-

tion of a race all over that alluvial plain, stretching far out into

our interior valleys. The discovery of mica in this and other

burial-grounds showed that the extent of their roamings reached

to our far eastern mountains, and the presence of obsidian arti-

facts in the mounds attests their trade with regions of the west.

Exceedingly suggestive are the presence of burial vases of tem-

pered clay beside the dead, and the use of pendants or plum-

mets, red paint from hematite and water, found in the mounds;

-and also suggestive are the symbolic meanings of crescent, ser-

pent, animal and circular-shaped mounds.

The work of constructing the prehistoric history of races long

vanished from the earth, by the study of the structures, the monu-

ments and memorials left behind, is extremely interesting to one

who, it might be said, looks at it from the inside out of a primitive

race, rather than inward from some outside vantage-point. One

such pauses in admiration of the accuracy of inductive reasoning,

especially of those whose interpretations are conservative and

tinged with true human instincts.

Much has been accomplished in the study of the American

Indian,-more and more there is the tone of certitude as to his

origin, migrations and the interpretive value of his own coming

on the stage in relation to his predecessors. It seems to me, how-

ever, that but scant notice has been taken of his cosmogonies,

mythologies and religious lore. Is there not some value here for

the seeker? To be sure, we hear not the voice of the prehistoric

races and never shall, but may we not yet hear him speaking in the

voices of our aboriginal Americans when they speak in terms of

humanity's hopes, of self-preservation, of fear, and in the articula-

tion of his most fundamental aspirations ? By what we find buried

in the earth we can reconstruct something of the manner of life of

the prehistoric man, can visualize his domestic scenes and catch the

longing for immortality in the mode of his burial. But by con-

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564       Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications

 

fining our interpretations strictly to these remains, may we not be

overlooking some valuable contribution from the lore of our first

Americans? For such a task one needs only to guard against the

infiltration of modern ideas and more than ever delve into the laws

governing the mentality of a race in primitive settings.

"A young Indian was invited one day," so runs the legend,

"by the ten sons of Wa-kan-jah, the god of lightning and thunder,

to compete with them for the hand of a beautiful Indian maiden

living in a distant place. Blessed already with a few supernatural

powers by his devotion to sacrifices of the gods, he sets forth with

them on his mission. Traveling with the rapidity of lightning

they far outstripped him. But, in due time, the narrator relates

the manner of their ignominious failure and his success. The

mother of the maiden being outwitted and greatly displeased, gave

chase as the young man took away his beloved companion. At a

critical point the lover shot into a tree two arrows. As the mother

came in hot pursuit she noticed the two arrows. Soliloquizing,

she exclaimed,-'Years ago some hunter drove his arrows into

this tree and just overshot his deer. The arrows are weatherworn

and the tree is in process of decay.' Then away she went, resum-

ing the chase. As a matter of fact, had she pondered more, she

would have discovered that the two arrows were that of her

daughter and the young lover. Thereafter having released a magic

pair of moccasins to travel to the end of the earth in an opposite

direction the lovers again betook themselves to the distant lodges

of his own people." In this case her very interpretation of the

arrows and the tree obscured the real fact,-the object of her

chase. So it often has been in our archaeological researches when

we neglect the study of the creative functions of the spirit of

man, as given in our folk tales and religious conceptions.

"In the beginning," runs another legend, "the Wa-gonz-zla,

Creator, was lying flat on his back in void and space. Something

entered into him that gave him consciousness. He sat up, looked

about and saw nothing. His heart became exceedingly sad for

loneliness; his tears that flowed became the waters. Instinctively

he grasped a piece of his flesh and stretched it out at arm's length.

That became the sun. He grasped a piece of his flesh again and

that became the moon. A third time he stretched out his arm and

that became the earth. But the earth shook and fell apart. To

make it cohere he set into it trees, and, not succeeding, he set into

it grasses and roots of every sort. Then he weighed it down with

innumerable rocks and stones until rest and equilibrium were

attained." This conception of creation is characterized by sim-

plicity, straightforwardness, altogether primitive, but we catch

the sense of its majesty, sweep and greatness.

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Minutes of the Annual Meeting          565

 

"The Great Wa-gonz-zla, Creator, had four sons. After the

establishment of man on the face of the earth, great monsters were

abroad, hunters failed to return, death stalked in the land; the race

raised one cry to the Ma-u-na, earthmaker, for succor. He sent

his sons one by one to lead them out of their anguish and desola-

tion. Kay-chung-gay-gah, the first son, taught courage and built

up the society of self-control. Wak-chung-ka-gah set up the so-

ciety of the cheerful. Wa-sjing-gay-gah set up the society of the

reverent, the worshippers of the Great Spirit. He alone sum-

moned all the great spirits of the universe together in a lodge that

reached from the rising sun to the setting sun. The poles thereof

were great snakes. The door faced the rising sun. Wa-sjing-

gay-gah came from the rising sun singing the song of life and of

a way back to the home of the soul, the Great Spirit. As he en-

tered the lodge he sat in the midst of the fire altar, but the flames

thereof failed to consume him. Four times he circled the lodge

and they beheld him as a child, a youth, a man and as one at the

sunset of life. At each encircling he saluted the four ruling spirits

and sang for each." From these major conceptions there grew up

the belief in the immortality of the soul. Clan organization with

its comprehensive divisions, detailed functions and practical work-

ings in war, the chase and social life had to conform to the great

announced purpose of the major spirits of the universe. Life

here and now must conform to the fact of the immortality of the

soul.

From the most primitive times of our own aborigines we

have known them to use ceremonially and socially the red ochre.

At every death the appointed member of the same clan as the de-

ceased must come and paint the clan insignia on the face of the

one about to leave. This ancient practice has been faithfully car-

ried out to insure proper recognition upon his arrival by the mem-

bers of his clan who preceded him. Every warrior has been

taught to paint himself with the clan insignia immediately before

the charge upon the enemy so that in the event of his death he

could insure to himself recognition in the land of souls. At his

burial additional supplies of red ochre are placed for use if occa-

sion should so demand. Moreover the death song is sung for the

soul which he in turn is to sing upon approaching the gathering-

place of his fathers as a means of assuring recognition by them.

The presence of hematite in the prehistoric burial mounds,

which produces a sort of red paint when brought into contact with

water is exceedingly suggestive in the light of the practices of our

original Americans.

"An Indian young man one day went into the wilderness and,

upon hearing a great booming sound, betook himself speedily to

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the source of the phenomenon. He suddenly came upon the scene

of a gigantic struggle between the Wa-kan-jah, the god of light-

ning and thunder, and the Wak-chay-xi, the god of all waters.

The Wa-kan-jah was trying to take the Wak-chay-xi up into the

skies to dash it to pieces on some cliff. The Wak-chay-xi was

trying to take the Wa-kan-jah down into the water to drown his

adversary. 'My brother,' said the spirit of the skies to the Indian,

'Shoot him for me, for he has exhausted me. If you do, long

life, success in war, the chase and all tribal honors shall be yours.'

Thereupon the Wak-chay-xi said, 'Shoot him for me, my nephew,

for he has exhausted me. If you don't, you shall die the first time

you drink of my kingdom.' The water would come with the body

of the Wak-chay-xi as he was lifted up by the Wa-kan-jah. At

every return made towards the water this great booming sound

would go forth."

In my most audacious moments I would most likely shock

all my archaeological friends by saying that the great carving of

the figure of the Piasa on high cliffs along the Mississippi, at

Alton, Illinois, universally attributed to the handiwork of the pre-

historic peoples, is nothing more nor less than the Wak-chay-xi,

the dreaded god of all waters, worshipped by our aborigines from

time immemorial.

"As you go through life you come upon a patch of morning-

glory vines. So extensive is it that it reaches the two ends of the

earth. Go through it, for these represent the bad and the foolish

thinkings of the children of men. You will encounter next

briars, thistles and thorns growing in wild profusion. These rep-

resent all of life's human ills. Go through it as a son worthy of

your fathers. You will then encounter a wall of fire, representing

the burning fire of man's tongue. However much you may suffer,

go through it. Your last encounter is a deep chasm in the earth,

reaching to the ends of the earth. This is the grave of man. You

must needs go through this also to discover the dwelling-place of

the soul."

If we concede to these prehistoric peoples a civilization, a cer-

emonial system of worship expressive of their faith-these "wis-

dom words" just given are at least suggestive of the type of cul-

ture they enjoyed.

"On the road to the land of the setting sun you will come

upon a lodge with an entrance toward the rising sun and one to-

ward the setting sun. As you enter you will be greeted by an old

woman sitting on your right-hand side. It is grandmother Earth,

sitting there in human form. She will say, 'You must be very

weary. What do you wish? Make your request known.' You

will then say, 'My Great-grandmother, as I was leaving the face

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Minutes of the Annual Meeting          567

 

of the earth, my people urged me to make four requests,-First,

that the flame of their fireplace may not sway to and fro (sick-

ness). Second, that their weapon may be sharpened on both

sides (Success in war. Legends say that there was once a race

that had a sharp, bony structure growing out on both sides of their

forearms for use in war). Third, that the number of days I left

behind me may be proportionately divided among my relatives.

Fourth, that nuts and fruits and all growing things may abound

in plenty on the face of the earth."

Then she will place before you a wooden dish, containing

some wild beans. Partake only a taste of the dish and shove it

back to her. Then she will say, 'My Great Grandchild, you have

a wise head on young shoulders. That dish represents the vege-

tables, nuts, fruits and all growing things on earth. Inasmuch as

you have taken so little and left so much in the dish, so much will

abound on the face of the earth. As for all your other requests,

they are granted'."

Civilizations change. Some lie deep buried in the earth. But

the longing for immortality is common to them all. In our inner-

most longings for the continuity and solidarity of life, we are part

and parcel of our prehistoric brethren.

The audience then proceeded to the corridor south

of the Rotunda of the Museum and Library Building to

witness the unveiling of the

STATUE OF THE PREHISTORIC BASKET WEAVER

President Johnson: I will ask Director Shetrone to

explain the significance of this sculpture.

Mr. Shetrone: Ladies and Gentlemen: You are all

more or less familiar with the male figure of the Mound

Builder, The Prehistoric Sculptor, which stands in the

rotunda. The creation of that figure was the outcome of

the sentiment developed as a result of twenty-five years,

or more, exploration of Indian Mounds and the conse-

quent accumulation of data and material which caused

us to think that we might well attempt to show some-

thing of the physical aspect of our first Ohioans. So,

taking a typical skeleton from one of the Ohio mounds,

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