Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 10 (North American).djvu/79

Rh below the powers that send upward the fructifying springs and break forth as spirits of life in Earth s verdure. Further, both the realms above and the realms below are habitations for the souls of departed men; for to the Indian death is only a change of life.

The Chippowa believe that there are four "layers," or storeys, of the world above, and four of the world below. This is probably only a reflection in the overworld and the nether world of the fourfold structure of the cosmos, since four is everywhere the Indian's sacred number. The root of the idea is to be found in the conception of the four cardinal points or of the quarters of the world, from which came the ministering genii when the Earth was made, and in which these spirits dwell, upholding the corners of the heavens. Potogojecs, a Potawatomi chief, told Father De Smet how Nanaboojoo (Manibozho) "placed four beneficial spirits at the four cardinal points of the earth, for the purpose of contributing to the happiness of the human race. That of the north procures for us ice and snow, in order to aid us in discovering and following the wild animals. That of the south gives us that which occasions the growth of our pumpkins, melons, maize and tobacco. The spirit placed at the west gives us rain, and that of the east gives us light, and commands the sun to make his daily walks around the globe." Frequently the Indians identify the Spirits of the Quarters with the four winds. Ga-oh is the Iroquoian Wind Giant, at the entrance to whose abode are a Bear and a Panther and a Moose and a Fawn: "When the north wind blows strong, the Iroquois say, 'The Bear is prowling in the sky'; if the west wind is violent, 'The Panther is whining.' When the east wind blows chill with its rain, 'The Moose is spreading his breath'; and when the south wind wafts soft breezes, 'The Fawn is returning to its Doe.' " Four is the magic number in all Indian lore; fundamentally it represents the square of the directions, by which the creator measured out his work.