. Kitchi-Gami : wanderings round Lake Superior. to give me a more certainanswer. Thus I spoke one day to a half-breed andan entire Indian, with whom I was discussing thesematters on the shore of the Anse, Tell me, now, howdo you Ojibbeways regard the matter, and what tra-ditions you possess of the migration of your deceasedto paradise, and of the things that happen to themalong the road, as well as those that await them onentering ? Here my friends began telling me of a great, straightpath, and its branch and side roads, of a great straw-berry that lay in the path of souls, of a river, and ase
. Kitchi-Gami : wanderings round Lake Superior. to give me a more certainanswer. Thus I spoke one day to a half-breed andan entire Indian, with whom I was discussing thesematters on the shore of the Anse, Tell me, now, howdo you Ojibbeways regard the matter, and what tra-ditions you possess of the migration of your deceasedto paradise, and of the things that happen to themalong the road, as well as those that await them onentering ? Here my friends began telling me of a great, straightpath, and its branch and side roads, of a great straw-berry that lay in the path of souls, of a river, and aserpent before the entrance to paradise. I did notreadily understand it all, so the full-blood Indian atlength said to me, Hadst thou a pencil and a pieceof paper, I could draw all this accurately for thee, andthen explain it much better. I gave him what he wanted, and my man began THE STRAWBERRY. 215 drawing and measuring, as if he were preparing a map,very thoughtfully and silently. When he had finished,he laid the following sketch before me :. Listen, now, he said, and see. This is theearth (A, a rectangular parallelogram). On the earthGod has planted his law, like a tree straight upwards,or like a path straight forward. Some wander theright path (B), but many get on to the side-paths ofthe lane {a a a a). These run into the desert. When men die, they all go, after death, along thepath of souls (C). On the centre of this path (at D)thou seest the strawberry lying on one side. It isextraordinarily large, and is said to taste very man stands by it, who invites all passers-by to tasteit. But they must not accept it, for whatever souldoes so is lost at once. Those that resist continuetheir journey prosperously till they come near para-dise. It is altogether a journey of from three to fourdays. Then a large broad river bars the way. Overit there is no regular bridge. Something that lookslike a great tree-stump lies across it. Its roots are 216 THE TREE OF DEATH. firmly fast
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade186, booksubjectindiansofnorthamerica
