Thirty Indian legends — Inside the Classic

(0 User reviews) 2741

In Category - Folklore

Authors: Bemister, Margaret, 1877-1984 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2008 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Indians of North America -- Canada -- Folklore Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 43,117

Reading time 188 min

Text sections 5

The catalog record for Thirty Indian legends — Inside the Classic provides practical reading context through 43,117 words, 3 hr 8 min estimated reading time, and 5 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 16.2 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Indians of North America -- Canada -- Folklore,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #24978

Margaret Bemister's 1912 collection retells thirty Canadian Indigenous legends, drawing from original sources and authorities like 'The Indian in his Wigwam.' The excerpts show transformation, trickery, and moral lessons, with recurring motifs of enchanted objects, shape-shifting, and tests of will.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg24978

Read the Text

They had passed all the bones now and were becoming very tired.

"Brothers," said the leader, "I dreamed that when we were hard pressed and running for our lives, we saw a lodge where an old man lived, and he helped us. I hope my dream will come true."

Just then they saw, a short distance away, a lodge with smoke curling from the top. They ran to it, and an old man opened the door.

"Grandfather," they gasped, "will you save us? A Manitou is after us."

"Who is a Manitou but I?" said he. "Come in and eat." They entered the lodge and he gave them food. Then, opening the door, he looked out and saw the bear coming with great strides. Shutting the door, he said, "He is indeed a mighty Manitou and will take my life; but you asked for my help and I shall give it. When he comes, you run out of the back door."

Going to a bag which hung from a tree, he took out two small, black, dogs. He patted the sides of the dogs, and they began to swell until they filled the doorway. The dogs had strong, white teeth and growled fiercely. The bear had now reached the door, and with one bound the first dog leaped out, followed by the second. The brothers ran out of the back of the lodge. They could hear the howls of the animals as they fought, and looking back, they saw first one dog killed, then the other, and at last the shrieks of the old man came to them as the bear tore him in pieces. They doubled their speed now, as they saw the bear beginning to follow them again. The food they had eaten gave them new strength, so they were able to run very swiftly for a time. But at last they all felt their strength fail again, for the bear was close behind them now.

"Brothers, I had another dream," said the leader. "It was that an old Manitou saved us. Perhaps his lodge is near us now."

Even as he spoke, they came in sight of another lodge, and as they ran up to the door an old man opened it.

"Save us from the Manitou," they cried as they rushed in.

"Manitou?" he said. "Who is a Manitou but I? Come in and eat," and he closed the door. He brought food for them; then he looked out of the door. The bear was only a few yards away now. Hastily closing the door, he said, "This is indeed a mighty Manitou. You have brought trouble to me, my children; but you run out the back way and I shall fight him."

He then went to his medicine sack and drew out two war-clubs of black stone. As he handled them they grew to an immense size. He opened the door, and as he did so, the brothers ran out the back way. They could hear the blows like claps of thunder as he hit the bear on the head. After that came two sharp cracks, and they knew the clubs were broken with the force of the blows. Then came his shrieks, as he met the fate of the first old man. They tried to run faster than ever now, for they knew the bear must be after them again, but their strength was nearly gone.

"Oh, brother," they asked, "have you no other dream to help us?"

"Yes, I dreamed, when we were running like this, that we came to a lake and on the shore of it was a canoe with ten paddles in it waiting for us. We jumped in and were saved."

As he spoke, there appeared in front of them a lake just as he had dreamed, and a canoe waiting. Getting in, they quickly paddled to the middle of the lake, and waited to see what the bear would do.

He came on with his slow, powerful strides until he reached the water's edge. Then, rising on his hind legs, he took a look around. Dropping down, he waded into the water, but slipped and nearly fell. He waded out and began to walk around the lake. When he reached the spot he had started from, he bent down his head and began to drink the waters of the lake. He drank in such large mouthfuls that the brothers could see the water sinking, and the current began to flow so swiftly towards his mouth that they could not keep their canoe steady. It floated in the current straight to him.

"Now, Mudjekeewis," said the leader, "this is your chance to show us how you would treat your enemy."

Continue Reading →

Margaret Bemister's Thirty Indian Legends (1912) gathers stories from Canadian Indigenous sources, including Okanagan and Manitoba traditions. The excerpts reveal a world where characters routinely transform into animals, trees shoot to the sky, and enchanted moccasins travel on their own. The preface credits contributors such as Chief Antowyne and Mr. C. Linklater, grounding the collection in specific oral accounts rather than generic folklore.

The catalog subject 'Indians of North America -- Canada -- Folklore' accurately reflects the geographic focus, but the stories themselves emphasize individual agency and magical logic over ethnographic description. Readers encounter brothers who fast for dreams, sisters who control a tree's height, and a boy who becomes a dead moose to escape pursuit. These are not passive tales; they are driven by cleverness, disobedience, and the consequences of breaking promises.

Shape-Shifting and Survival

Transformation is the central mechanism in several excerpts. The boy pursued by a vengeful brother changes into a squirrel, then a dead moose, and finally an old man in a garden. Each shift buys him time, but the brother's persistence shows that shape-shifting alone does not guarantee safety. The enchanted moccasins, which leave footprints to mislead the pursuer, act as a decoy—a tool of misdirection rather than direct power.

This pattern recurs in other legends: the ability to alter one's form is often tied to survival, not conquest. The boy does not fight the brother directly; he outwits him through metamorphosis and trickery. The brother's downfall comes when hunger overcomes his vow not to eat, breaking his resolve. The moral is less about magic than about discipline and the cost of vengeance.

The Role of Dreams and Fasting

The opening of 'The Giant Bear' establishes a ritual: the youngest brother blackens his face and fasts for several days before declaring his dreams are good. This act of spiritual preparation sets the war journey in motion. Yet the same story undercuts the solemnity when Mudjekeewis, despite promising secrecy, blurts the plan to his wife. The contrast between the fasting brother's discipline and Mudjekeewis's loose tongue suggests that dreams alone are not enough—character matters.

In the excerpts, dreams are treated as reliable guides, but they are never described in detail. The text reports that the dreams 'are good' without specifying their content. This vagueness keeps the focus on the characters' responses: the brothers agree to follow, and the journey proceeds. The reader is left to infer that dream interpretation was a shared cultural practice, but the book does not explain it.

Enchanted Objects and Their Limits

Objects in these legends possess will and agency. The enchanted moccasins obey the boy's command to 'travel on and on till you come to the end of the earth,' leaving tracks that fool the brother. Similarly, a tree rises or falls depending on which sister is addressed. These items are not mere tools; they act as extensions of the user's intent, but they also have limitations. The moccasins cannot kill or hide the boy—they only delay the inevitable.

The brother eventually sees through the ruse when he reaches the end of the earth and finds only footprints. The magic is clever but finite. This pattern suggests that in Bemister's source material, enchantment is a temporary advantage, not an ultimate solution. The boy's final escape depends on the brother's hunger, not on the moccasins. The stories thus balance wonder with a pragmatic sense of consequence.

Readers approaching Thirty Indian Legends should note that the excerpts represent only a fraction of the collection. The table of contents lists thirty titles, including 'The Sleep Fairies,' 'The Red Swan,' and 'A Battle with the Sioux'—the last described as a true account rather than a legend. The variety suggests that Bemister aimed for breadth across different nations and narrative types. Pay attention to the credited sources in the preface; they hint at the collaborative, region-specific origins of these stories.

This collection reminded me of winter evenings with my grandmother, who told stories as softly as falling snow. Flipping through these legend retellings, that same hushed, patient atmosphere settled over me—like I’d found an old photograph. Indian Story and Song, from North America — Edition Insights once stirred this exact quiet ache, preserving another voice against time’s hush.