The Magic Speech Flower Part 8

"All the bears agreed to this, and the council broke up without any plan for dealing with their cruel enemies.

"The deer were the next to hold a council. Each one had some story to tell about the cruelty of men. Each one had lost his father or his mother, his wife or his children, his brother or his sister.

"After much talk, their chief, Little Deer, spoke. 'It is a law,' said he, 'among all the kindreds that each may kill to supply his needs. The men folk need our flesh to eat and our skins for clothing.

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"'But there is another law. It is that no one shall kill cruelly or needlessly. Upon such as do so, let us send pains and aches. Let us make their joints swell and become stiff, so that they cannot follow us and kill us. Besides, let us make another law, that when a hunter kills one of the deer family, he must pray to the spirit of the deer for pardon.

If he has killed to supply his needs and without cruelty, he shall be pardoned. If not, he shall become a helpless cripple.'

"The deer people all agreed to this and sent word to the nearest Indian village, to tell the hunters about the new law.

"Since that time every Indian hunter is careful to pray to the spirit of the deer which he has killed.

"Next the fishes and the snakes held a council. Each one had complaints to make against the cruelty of men. After much talk, A-tos-sa the chief of the snakes spoke.

"'We of the snake kindred,' said he, 'will afflict men with diseases of their nerves. They shall tremble and shake when there is nothing to be afraid of. And when they draw the bow-strings, their arrows shall go wide of the mark by reason of the unsteadiness of eye and hand. And we will send upon them in their sleep evil dreams. The ghosts of the snakes which they have needlessly killed shall twine about them, with fearful fangs, ready to pierce their flesh, and the cold sweat of terror shall ooze from their skin, and they shall awake with cries and tremblings.'

"After him the chief of the fishes spoke.

"'We,' said he, 'will afflict men with diseases of the stomach. In their sleep, they shall dream of eating raw or decayed fish and their appet.i.tes shall pa.s.s from them.'

"These plans were agreed upon, and the council of the fishes and the snakes broke up.

"After this, the smaller animals, the birds and the insects, gathered themselves together in a common council. Here, too, all were bitter against the useless cruelty of mankind. After all complaints had been heard, Am-wee-soo the Wasp addressed the council.

"'Each creature,' said he, 'has the right to live. Our cruel enemies deprive us of our lives which they cannot restore. It is just that they shall be punished. We, the wasps, the bees, and the flies, will send upon men boils and wasting fevers, which shall sap their strength and bring them to their graves.'

"'And we,' said Da-hin-da the Bull Frog, 'will afflict men with colds and coughs, which shall make them weak and short of breath.'

"'We, the birds,' declared E-kes-ke the Blue Jay, 'will afflict them with sores and diseases of the skin.'

"And so it went on. Each of the tribes of the wild folk agreed to afflict mankind with some sort of sickness.

"A-bal-ka the Chipmunk alone spoke in favor of the men. But he had hardly said ten words, before the others became so enraged that they fell upon and drove him from the council. He barely escaped with his life.

"And as it was, Up-wee-kis the Lynx fastened his claws on A-bal-ka's neck and tore four gashes the length of his back. You can see the marks to this day. That is the way the chipmunk got his black stripes."

XVI. HOW A-BAL-KA THE CHIPMUNK HELPED MEN

"The wounded ground squirrel hid himself in his den beneath the roots of a great oak, where his enemies could not get at him. There he remained until the other creatures had departed and his wounds were somewhat healed.

"When he was well enough to get about again, he visited the villages of the Red Men. Everywhere he went, he found sickness and death. The kind-hearted chipmunk was sorry to see so much suffering and sorrow.

So he revealed the secret plans which had been formed in the councils of the wild folk.

"Men now knew what was the cause of their troubles. But this knowledge did little good, since it did not heal their diseases or save them from death. For a time, it seemed as if the human race would be entirely destroyed.

"In their despair, they appealed to their kind friend A-bal-ka the little ground squirrel. 'What shall we do?' they wailed. 'Cannot you, who are so kind of heart and so wise, help us?'

"'I will do my best,' he replied, 'but I must take time to think about it.' After turning the matter over in his mind carefully, he went about among the plants and trees and told them what had been done by the wild folk against their friends the men.

"'Cannot you,' said he, 'do something to heal their diseases and save the human race from destruction?'

"After much coming and going on the part of A-bal-ka the ground squirrel, and much talking and thinking on the part of the plants and trees, it was resolved that they, too, should hold councils, to see what they could do toward checking and overcoming the evils which had befallen the human race.

"First the big trees of the forest and the shrubs held their council.

They talked over the matter and agreed that each should do all in its power to furnish remedies to cure the diseases which the wild folk had inflicted upon men.

"'We,' said the pine, the spruce, and the balsam trees, 'will give our gums and our balsam.' The slippery elm offered its bark; the sa.s.safras its roots; the cherry tree its bark and its berries. One after another, the other trees and shrubs offered their berries, their bark, their leaves, or their roots as medicine to heal the diseases of men.

"Next the plants held their council and resolved to come to the aid of men in their distress. 'I,' said the ginseng plant, 'will give my roots to make a healing drink. It shall be good for headaches and for cramps and for many other kinds of pains and aches.'

"'And I,' said the snake-root, 'will give my roots also for a healing drink. It shall cure fevers and coughs and many other diseases.'

"And so it went on. The silkweed, the skull-cap, catnip, boneset, the peppermint, wild ginger, wintergreen, and scores of other plants, all gladly offered their roots, their berries, or their leaves.

"Their number was so great that the little striped squirrel, who had attended both councils, was scarcely able to remember them all.

"After the councils were over, he went about among the villages of the Red Men and told them what the trees and the plants had said. They at once began to gather and prepare the medicines which they needed to cure the different diseases from which they suffered. And from this time, on account of the use of these medicines, they were sometimes able to heal their diseases and save many of their people from death.

"This is the story of how diseases came upon men and medicines to cure them were found.

"The Red Men were grateful to the little ground squirrel for the help he had given them, and loved him more than any other of the wild folk, and to this day no Indian boy will injure a chipmunk."

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