Page:The International Folk-Lore Congress of the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, July, 1893.djvu/268

 224 Great God. The second remains as guardian over the grave, and it is usually called the ghost. The third travels about with his relatives. All three become supernatural and are capable of doing anything with the consent of the Great Mystery. Therefore prayers are offered through them. I do not know just how this trinity of soul was originally conceived.

There is a strong implication that the Great Mystery has made man after himself; therefore, whatever the latter enjoys he also appreciates. He is in form like man, with a few exceptions or modifications. He has horns, and his eyes are like the sun; in fact all his senses are unlimited in their sphere of usefulness. A model of dignity, honor, sacredness, power and mystery—all these together create the atmosphere of awfulness to their mind.

Inasmuch as they conceived that there is good and bad—the opposites—they seem to think that the Great Mystery created everything in pairs, with a few exceptions. Therefore there is an evil spirit, as well as the good spirit.

Their strong belief was that the trees, rocks, etc., hear what they say, in other words the Great Mystery is "all ears," "all eyes," etc. Every one of his creation is his ears, eyes, etc., except man, but he, too, becomes as such, as soon as his spirit enters the spirit-land. It is my belief that on this account the natives had no word for swearing and never blasphemed, for the spirit of the Great Mystery is everywhere.

In the old régime the Indian's idea of nobility and strength of character was based on bravery and success in warfare, in hunting, in feast-making, etc., but these are not possible unless the Great Mystery is obeyed and first considered in everything. Therefore all well brought up and ambitious youths usually sought for God's good-will in solitary seasons of prayer and fasting, and gave feasts to the more experienced "medicine-men" for advice. As one of these savage sages once remarked to an ambitious youth," "Without the help of the Great Mystery you need not expect to be a great warrior or a great hunter, and you never could be a feast-maker unless you are a hunter."

And so the Indian youth seeks some manifestation of