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In the beginning, there were just the forest and the sea; no people and
no animals.
Then Glooskap came.
Where this wondrous giant was born and when, none can
tell, but he and his brother Malsum came from somewhere
in the Sky to the part of North America nearest the
rising sun.
There, anchoring his canoe, he turned it into
a granite island covered with spruce and pine. He called
the island Uktamkoo. (the land we know today as
Newfoundland) This, in the beginning, was Glooskap's
lodge.
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The Great Chief
Glooskap looked and lived like an ordinary man
except
that he was twice as tall, twice as strong, and possessed
great magic. He was never sick, never married, never grew
old, and never died. He had a magic belt which gave him
great power, and he used this power only for good.
Malsum, his twin brother, also great of stature, had the
head of a wolf and the body of an Indian. Malsum knew
magic too, but he used his power for evil.
As Glooskap set about
his work, the air was fragrant with balsam and the tang
of the sea.
First, out of the
rocks, he made the Little People; the fairies, or
Megumoowesoos. These were small hairy creatures who dwelt
among the rocks and made such wonderful music on the
flute that all who heard it were bewitched.
From amongst the
Megumoowesoos, Glooskap chose a servant, Marten, who was
like a younger brother to him.
Next Glooskap made
men. Taking up his great bow, he shot arrows into the
trunks of ash trees. Out of the trees stepped men and
women. They were a strong and graceful people with light
brown skins and shining black hair. Glooskap called them
the Wabanaki, which means "those who live where the
day breaks."
In time, the Wabanaki
left Uktamkoo and divided into separate tribes and are
today a part of the great Algonquin nation, but in the
old days, only the Micmacs, Malicetes, Penobscots and
Passamaquoddies, living in the eastern woodlands of
Canada and the United States, were Glooskap's People.
Gazing upon his
handiwork, Glooskap was pleased and his shout of triumph
made the tall pines bend like grass.
He told the people he
was their Great Chief and would rule them with love and
justice. He taught them how to build birch bark wigwams
and canoes, how to make weirs for catching fish, and how
to identify plants useful in medicine. He taught them the
names of all the Stars, who were his brothers.
Then, from among them,
he chose an elderly woman whom he called Noogumee, or
grandmother, (a term of respect amongst Indians for any
elderly female.) Noogumee was the Great Chief's
housekeeper all her days.
Now, finally, out of
rocks and clay, Glooskap made the animals: Miko the
squirrel, Team the moose, Mooin the bear, and many, many
others. Malsum looked on enviously, thinking he too
should have had a hand in creation. But he had not been
given that power. He whispered an evil charm, and the
remainder of the clay in Glooskap's hands twisted and
fell to the ground in the form of a strange animal. This
animal was not beaver, not badger, not wolverine, but
something of all three, and capable of taking any of
these forms he chose.
"His name is Lox!" said Malsum triumphantly.
"So be it,"
said Glooskap. "Let Lox live amongst us in peace, so
long as he remains a friend." Yet he resolved to
watch Lox closely, for he could read the heart and knew
that Lox had Malsum's evil in him.
Now Glooskap had made
the animals all very large, most of them larger and
stronger than man. Lox, the trouble maker, at once saw
his chance to make mischief.
He went in his
wolverine body to Team the moose and admired his fine
antlers, which reached up to the top of the tallest pine
tree. "If you should ever meet a man," said
Lox, "you could toss him on your horns up to the top
of the world."
Now Team, who was just
a little bit stupid, went at once to Glooskap and said,
"Please, Master, give me a man, so I can toss him on
my horns up to the top of the world!"
"I should say
not!" cried Glooskap, and touched Team with his
hand. The moose was suddenly the size he is today.
Then Lox went in his
badger form to the squirrel and said, "With that
magnificent tail of yours, Miko, you could smash down
every lodge in the village."
"So I
could," said Miko proudly, and with his great tail
he swept the nearest wigwam right off the ground. But the
Great Chief was near. He caught Miko up in his hand and
stroked the squirrel's back until he was as small as he
is today.
"From now
on," said his Master, "you will live in trees
and keep your tail where it belongs." And since that
time Miko the squirrel has carried his bushy tail on his
back.
Next, Lox put on his
beaver shape and went to Mooin the bear, who was hardly
any bigger than he is today, but had a much larger
throat.
"Mooin,"
said Lox slyly, "supposing you met a man, what would
you do to him_" The bear scratched his head
thoughtfully. "Eat him," he said at last, with
a grin. " I'd swallow him whole!" And having
said this, Mooin felt his throat begin to shrink.
"From now
on," said Glooskap sternly, "you may swallow
only very small creatures." And today the bear, big
as he is, eats only small animals, fish and wild berries.
Now the Great Chief
was greatly annoyed at the way his animals were behaving,
and wondered if he should have made them. He summoned
them all and gave them a solemn warning:
"I have made you
man's equal, but you wish to be his master. Take care, or
he may become yours!"
This did not worry the
troublemaker Lox, who only resolved to be more cunning in
the future. He knew very well that Malsum was jealous of
Glooskap and wished to be lord of the Indians himself. He
also knew that both brothers had magic powers and that
neither could be killed except in one certain way.
What that way was,
each kept secret from all but the Stars, whom they
trusted. Each sometimes talked in the starlight to the
people of the Sky.
"Little does
Malsum know," said Glooskap to the Stars, "that
I can never be killed except by the blow of a flowering
rush." And not far off, Malsum boasted to those same
Stars, "I am quite safe from Glooskap's power. I can
do any thing I like, for nothing can harm me but the
roots of a flowering fern."
Now, alas, Lox was
hidden close by and overheard both secrets. Seeing how he
might turn this to his own advantage, he went to Malsum
and said with a knowing smile, "What will you give
me, Malsum, if I tell you Glooskap's secret_"
"Anything you
like," cried Malsum. "Quick, tell me!"
"Nothing can hurt
Glooskap save a flowering rush," said the traitor.
"Now give me a pair of wings, like the pigeon, so I
can fly."
But Malsum laughed
instead.
"What need has a
beaver of wings_" And kicking the troublemaker
aside, he sped off to find a flowering rush. Lox picked
himself up furiously and hurried to Glooscap.
"Master!" he
cried, "Malsum knows your secret and is about to
kill you. If you would save yourself, know that only a
fern root can destroy him!"
Glooskap snatched up
the nearest fern, root and all, and just in time: his
evil brother was upon him, shouting his war cry. All of
the animals (who were angry at Glooskap for reducing
their size and power) cheered Malsum, but the Indians
were afraid for their Master.
Glooskap braced his
feet against a cliff, and Malsum paused. For a moment,
the two crouched face to face, waiting for the moment to
strike. Then the wolf-like Malsum lunged at Glooskap's
head. Twisting his body aside, the Great Chief flung his
weapon. It went swift to its target, and Malsum leapt
back, but too late. The fern root pierced his envious
heart, and he died.
Now the Indians
rejoiced, and the animals crept sullenly away. Only Lox
came to Glooskap, impudently.
"I'll have my
reward now, Master," he said, "a pair of wings,
like the pigeon's."
"Faithless
creature!" Glooskap thundered, knowing full well who
had betrayed him, "I made no such bargain. Be
gone!" And he hurled stone after stone at the
fleeing Lox. Where the stones fell (in Minas Basin) they
turned into islands and are there still. And the banished
Lox roams the world to this day, appealing to the evil in
men's hearts and making trouble wherever he goes.
Now Glooskap called
his people around him and said, "I made the animals
to be man's friends, but they have acted with selfishness
and treachery. Hereafter, they shall be your servants and
provide you with food and clothing."
Then he showed the men
how to make bows and arrows and stone tipped spears, and
how to use them. He also showed the women how to scrape
hides and turn them into clothing.
"Now you have
power over even the largest wild creatures," he
said. "Yet I charge you to use this power gently. If
you take more game than you need for food and clothing,
or kill for the pleasure of killing, then you will be
visited by a pitiless giant named Famine, and when he
comes among men, they suffer hunger and die."
The people readily
promised to obey Glooskap in this, as in all things. But
now, to their dismay, they saw Marten launch the Master's
canoe and Noogumee entering it with Glooskap's household
goods. Glooskap was leaving them!
"I must dwell now
in a separate place," said the Great Chief, "so
that you, my people, will learn to stand alone, and
become brave and resourceful. Nevertheless, I shall never
be far from you, and whoever seeks me diligently in time
of trouble will find me."
Then, waving farewell
to his sorrowful Wabanaki, Glooskap set off for the
mainland. Rounding the southern tip of what is now Nova
Scotia, the Great Chief paddled up the Bay of Fundy.
In the distance, where
the Bay narrows and the great tides of Fundy rush into
Minas Basin, Glooskap saw a long purple headland .It
looked like a moose swimming, with clouds for antlers,
and he headed his canoe in that direction.
Landing, he gazed at
the slope of red sandstone, with its groves of green
trees at the summit, and admired the amethysts encircling
its base like a string of purple beads.
"Here I shall
build my lodge," said Glooskap, and he named the
place Blomidon.
Glooskap dwelt on
Blomidon a very long time, and during that time did many
wonderful things for his People.
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