. Early Mackinac. A sketch historical and descriptive . ne form that the legend took was thatAtahenstic, a woman of the upper world, had been banished from thesky, and falling, dropped on the back of a turtle in the midst of thewaters. The turtle consulted with the other aquatic animals and one ofthem, generally said to have been the musk-rat, fished up some soil, andfashioned the earth. Here the woman gave birth to twins and thus beganthe peopling of the globe. Thus in the crude fancy of the Western In-dians do we find a reflection or fragment of the ancient myth which onceprevailed in the or
. Early Mackinac. A sketch historical and descriptive . ne form that the legend took was thatAtahenstic, a woman of the upper world, had been banished from thesky, and falling, dropped on the back of a turtle in the midst of thewaters. The turtle consulted with the other aquatic animals and one ofthem, generally said to have been the musk-rat, fished up some soil, andfashioned the earth. Here the woman gave birth to twins and thus beganthe peopling of the globe. Thus in the crude fancy of the Western In-dians do we find a reflection or fragment of the ancient myth which onceprevailed in the oriental mitid that the world rested on the back of aturte. 16 EARLY MACKINAC. physical resemblance of the island could easilywork in with their mythical idea of the turtle,apart from its having any etymological connec-tion. And thus whatever way the name is studiedit becomes associated with some Indian concep-tion of spirit. All singular or striking forma-tions in the work of nature—objects that were ofan unusual kind, or very large and imjDosiDg, as. OTTAWA CANOE lofty rocks, overhanging cliffs, mountains, lakesand such like — these poor untutored childrenlooked upon as the habitations of spirits. Our is-land, therefore, physically so different from theothr islands and the mainland about it, with itsglfc. nd crags, and its many remarkable and strange-looking stone formations, would easily bepeopled for them with spectres and spirits. Theyregarded it as their sacred island—a sort of shrine— LEGENDARY. 17 and a favorite haunt of their gods, and cherishedfor it feelings akin to awe; and from the sur-rounding regions would bring their dead for burialin its soil. It seems to have been rather theirplace of resort and temporary sojourn than ofpermanent abode. There is something very fascinating in thefragments of early Indian fancies and traditionsand legends which are associated with our is interesting, too, to note how the legends andthe mythology of the Indians an
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