Chapter III: The Origin of the Rattlesnakes

[_Passamaquoddy_]

_Ntʾladwewâgʾnuk aʿtosis yut the snake._[15]

You know Aʿtosis, the Snake?
Truly all snakes are evil,
But worst among them all
Is the Rattlesnake their master.
Well! In the olden time,
The Rattlesnakes were Indians,
And they were very saucy:
Men said they were all face,
And never could be frozen;
They could not be put down by much,
And they rose for very little.
When the Great Flood was coming,
Kulóskap the awful prophet,
Gave them full warning of it.
They answered, “They did not care.”
He told them that the water
Would rise o’er the heads of all;
They said, “Should this come to pass,
We shall all be very wet.”
He bade them be good and quiet,
And pray to escape from drowning;
They whooped and hurrahed to mock him.
He said, “The Great Flood is coming!”
They gave three cheers for the Flood.
Then he added, “’Twill drown you all!”
The Indians whooped again,
And got out all their rattles,
Which were made of turtle shell
Containing little pebbles,
And rattled with all their might
In a daring dance to the Flood.

Yes, ’twas a rattling dance!
The rain began to fall,
But the Indians danced on.
The thunder roared, and they answered
With rattles and with war-cries
The Indians danced on.
To the flash and crash of lightning
Amid the rising waters
The Indians danced on!

Then Kulóskap was angry
Yet in the rising flood
He did not drown a soul,
But for their arrogance
Changed all to serpent form--
That of the Rattlesnake,
Which crawls about the rocks,
And so unto this day,
Whene’er they see a man,
They lift their heads and hiss;
And move them up and down--
That is the way snakes dance,
Shaking their rattles, too,
As we do when we dance.
How do you like the sound? L.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] In my language _aʿtosis_ is the snake.