Indian Legends of Minnesota

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

25794

Title

Indian Legends of Minnesota

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Mrs. Cordenio A. Severance compiles a collection of Dakota and Ojibway legends from Minnesota, blending verse with prose to preserve the state's romantic history. Featuring tales of tragic love, spiritual journeys, and the creation of the peace-pipe, this volume captures the fading romance of the vanished Red Man against the encroaching commerce of the white man.

Summary up to 500 words

Compiled by Mrs. Cordenio A. Severance, *Indian Legends of Minnesota* serves as a poetic anthology designed to preserve the romance and scenery of the state through the stories of its former inhabitants. The volume explicitly aims to link incident and scene indissolubly, ensuring that the poetry of those who lived and loved in Minnesota is not displaced by the 'prosaic commerce' of modern civilization. The collection opens with Elaine Goodale Eastman's *The Lone War-Path*, a dramatic narrative of a Sioux twin who embarks on a solitary war-path. His journey leads him to encounter a Blackfoot maiden, a meeting that transcends tribal enmity and resolves ancient hostilities through love. The anthology also features Henry W. Longfellow's celebrated works, including *The Song of Hiawatha* and *Hiawatha's Wooing*, which depict the courtship of Minnehaha and the creation of the peace-pipe by Gitche Manito to unite the nations. Other significant contributions include E. L. Fales's lyrical meditation *The River-Lake* on the St. Croix and Sir E. L. Bulwer's *Song of a Nadowessee Chief*, which honors a warrior's death and his transition to the spirit-land. The volume presents *Mahnusatia*, a tragic tale where a maiden perishes in a forest fire, only to transform into the moccasin flower, Minnesota's floral emblem. It includes *The Descending Star*, an Ojibway tradition related by Chief Kah-ge-gah-bawh, and *The Trailing Arbutus*, a version of the first spring flower legend. The collection concludes with *Death of Winona*, a poignant account of a maiden's suicide to avoid an unwanted marriage. Throughout the text, the compiler expresses gratitude to the various writers who allowed their works to reappear, emphasizing the importance of keeping the memory of the 'vanished Red Man' alive through his loves, wars, and adventures.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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Categories

• Folklore
• Poetry