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CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 Ehrenreich's mythological theory and the assumption 
 
 of an historically primary version 3 
 
 Myth analysis 6 
 
 The plot 7 
 
 Plot elaboration 9 
 
 Dramatis personae 26 
 
 The episodes 28 
 
 The motifs 30 
 
 T_.e myth-complex as a unit 30 
 
 The myth as transmitted 35 
 
 The novelette as transmitted 41 
 
 The novelette as remodelled by the author-raconteur 42 
 
 Psychological-literary elements in the plot 44 
 
 Diffusion of myths from the above point of view 47 
 
 The literary interpretation and the position of Ehrenreich . . 50 
 
June 15, 1915. 
 
 Canada 
 
 Geological Survey 
 
 Museum Bulletin No. 16. 
 
 ANTHROPOLOGICAL SERIES, No. 6. 
 
 Literary Aspects of North American Mythology. 
 By Paul Radin. 
 
 \v 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The mythology of primitive people was for so long a time 
 identified with folk-lore and philosophy, that practically all the 
 problems discussed were those that developed from an exclusive 
 occupation with this aspect of the subject. Only within the 
 last two decades have ethnologists seriously applied themselves 
 to the examination of primitive mythology from its literary side. 
 Although it is no longer necessary to demonstrate the a priori 
 existence of literary elements in mythology, it appears to me 
 quite essential to demonstrate their precise nature. Certain 
 attempts in this direction have been made by Boas, Lowie, 
 Dixon, and Swanton. Ehrenreich and Boas have likewise 
 inspired a considerable amount of work in connexion with the 
 tabulation of motifs.^ All these studies have, however, for the 
 most part concerned themselves with a mechanical analysis of 
 myths and the tabulation of the motifs, episodes, and themes of 
 
 1 Boas, in numarous scattered papers; Lowie, "The test-theme in North American myth- 
 ology," Journ. Amer. Folk-lore, Vol. XXI, pp. 97-148; and "Catch-words for mythological 
 motives," ibid, pp, 24-27; Dixon, "The mythology of the Central and Eastern Algonkins," 
 ibid. Vol. XXII, pp. 1-10; Swanton, "Some practical aspects of the study of myths," ibid.. Vol. 
 XXIII, pp. 1-8; Ehrenreich, "Die Mythen and Legenden der Siidamerikanischen Urvolker," 
 1905; "Getter and Heilbringer," Zeitschrift fur Ethnologic, Vol. 38, pp. 536-610; and "All- 
 gemeine Mythologie," 1910. 
 
MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 which they consisted.^ Most of these investigators seem, how- 
 ever, to have been quite oblivious of the implications necessarily 
 entailed by the recognition that in primitive mythology we are 
 often dealing with literature in the true sense of the word.^ 
 
 For, the moment such an admission is made, we are justified 
 in applying to this primitive literature, the same methods of 
 analysis and criticism that we apply to our own — paying due 
 regard to the personality of the author, or, if you will, the author- 
 raconteur ; to his literary peculiarity ; to the stylistic peculiarity 
 of the area, etc. 
 
 A preliminary step in such studies would have to be what 
 Prof. Boas has long proposed — the detailed characterization of 
 the different mythological areas. For the correct understanding 
 of the role of the author-raconteur, however, something else is 
 needed, something which, unfortunately, is most frequently 
 neglected, namely, a fairly extensive collection of variants of the 
 same tale. Only then will we really be in a position to determine 
 how great has been the play of imagination among different 
 author-raconteurs ; whether certain versions have originated in a 
 certain area or not, or whether they have been severally borrowed ; 
 and, finally, what is considered by the raconteur-authors to be 
 the difference between "folklore-mythology "^ and literature. 
 Variants also serve one other useful purpose, that of actually 
 demonstrating the existence of literary units. 
 
 With the exception of Boas, Lowie, and a few others, most 
 discussions, as noted above, have concerned themselves primarily 
 with problems suggested by regarding myths as the expressions 
 of primitive philosophy. But more important than this assump- 
 tion, which is apparently a heritage from the students of classical 
 mythology, is the attitude taken toward the myth-complex 
 itself. Almost all mythologists are aware of the different ele- 
 ments that go to form the myth-complex and of the fluctuations 
 between different versions of the same myth; yet in their dis- 
 
 i Cf. especially Dixon's paper mentioned before and T. T. Waterman, "The explanatory 
 element in the Folk-lore of the North American Indians," Journ. Amer. Folk-lore, Vol. XXVII, 
 pp. 1-54. 
 
 ' This has, however, been frequently recognized by Prof. Boas in his lectures. 
 
 ' I use this compound "folklore-mythology" advisedly. The specific meaning I attach to 
 It will be discussed later. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 3 
 
 cussions myths are so frequently treated as simple units, that we 
 are immediately led to the conclusion that over and above their 
 analytical separation into constituent elements lie certain theo- 
 retical assumptions. What these are in the case of Ehrenreich, 
 Lowie has clearly demonstrated.^ But Lowie was concerned 
 primarily with an examination of Ehrenreich's mythological 
 theory as such and paid only passing attention to the manner in 
 which the latter may have justified his treatment of the myth. 
 It is, however, precisely by an analysis of Ehrenreich's handling 
 of the myth that a refutation of his position is at all possible. 
 Such an analysis brings out quite clearly that he started with the 
 definite assumption that for every myth one correct and histori- 
 cally primary version existed. It is hardly necessary to go to the 
 trouble of proving this as a main element in Ehrenreich's theory, 
 for it is quite transparent. Our line of argument will, therefore, 
 consist in examining, first, how Ehrenreich arrived at this con- 
 clusion, and then, in turn, to inquire whether it is tenable. 
 
 ehrenreich's mythological theory and the assumption 
 
 OF AN historically PRIMARY VERSION. 
 
 It would, I believe, be an injustice to assume that the thesis 
 of an historically primary version was based merely on a priori 
 reasoning. A study of the subject matter and dramatis personae 
 in many different areas seemed to point clearly to the fact that 
 myths are frequently concerned with phenomena of nature or 
 more specifically with the celestial bodies — sun, moon, and 
 stars. Again, it was noted that many non-celestial episodes and 
 actors were interpreted in terms of celestial phenomena. It was 
 thus easy enough to generalize and assume that myths originally 
 dealt with natural phenomena, further circumscribed to mean 
 specifically the sun, moon, and stars. Some students of myth- 
 ology went even further and attempted to prove that the myth 
 primarily dealt only with one of these luminaries. Into these 
 discussions we need not enter. All that we wish to point out is 
 that theoretically there exists a certain amount of justification 
 for the assumption of the naturalistic school of mythologists. 
 
 » Lowie, ibid., pp. 97-106. 
 
4 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16, 
 
 Having demonstrated the nature of the original subject- 
 matter of mythology, it was quite logical to argue that in those 
 cases where divergent versions of the same myth occurred, that 
 version which approached the original subject-matter most close- 
 ly, was historically the older. Where there existed clear-cut 
 references to celestial actors such an interpretation seemed natural 
 enough. But how are we to deal with those myths where the 
 references are either extremely attenuated or, to the naive eye, 
 even absent entirely ? For these Ehrenreich provided by predi- 
 cating certain criteria as distinctive of celestial actors and celestial 
 activities. It is in these criteria and the use made of them that 
 Ehrenreich seems at his weakest. Lowie has shown this quite 
 clearly. But, after all is said and done, Lowie's analysis merely 
 makes it clear that Ehrenreich's position was not the only possible 
 one, and that, for instance, it was possible to reverse the inter- 
 pretation and insist that the activities of celestial heroes were but 
 the transferred activities of human heroes. Ehrenreich realized 
 this clearly and answered quite correctly that here we were dealing 
 with a matter of opinion. Speaking of certain phenomena of the 
 heavens, he says, "Fiir manche Forscher, zu denen u.a, auch 
 Lowie zu gehoren scheint, sind derartige Vorkommnisse freilich 
 die natiirlichsten Dinge von der Welt, an dessen irdischer 
 Unterlage nicht zu zweifeln ist. Das ist eben Ansichtssache, die 
 keiner weiteren Diskussion bedarf."^ Ehrenreich, it seems to me, 
 had a much better answer, for he might easily have pointed to 
 the fact that celestial heroes and celestial events had of necessity 
 to be represented in terms of human heroes and human activi- 
 ties. 
 
 In fact, any general critique of a theory like Ehrenreich's 
 hardly touches the core of his position. From his point of view 
 it would represent merely another position. Even a more specific 
 critique, like the demonstration of a literary tendency for a 
 specific area, as in the case of the Pawnee, where practically all 
 myths are interpreted as star myths, would fare no better, for 
 Ehrenreich would conceivably answer that in so far as you chose 
 to call this identification of myths with stars a literary tendency, 
 it was a matter of opinion ; for him it was a survival. 
 
 1 "AUgemeine Mythologie," pp. 104, 105. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 5 
 
 In the critique of Ehrenreich's position his antagonists have 
 relied on arguments of too general a nature. The interpretation 
 of celestial activities is, after all, largely a matter of opinion, 
 and the unanimity of "star" interpretations among the Pawnee 
 might conceivably operate against its validity as a literary ten- 
 dency. On the other hand, the all important fact it demonstrates 
 to me, the existence of a definite literary tendency, does not 
 stand out as sharply as it should, just because it is here, first, 
 a characteristic of a general kind, and secondly, a characteristic 
 of a large area. In order to have an easily accepted proof of 
 literary elements in myt)iology, we must turn to something more 
 specific. 
 
 For Ehrenreich, as we have pointed out, there always existed 
 in each area a "correct" version of a myth. We have tried to 
 show in the preceding paragraphs in what way he may have 
 arrived at this assumption. However, we passed over one ele- 
 ment that, consciously or unconsciously, may have swayed him 
 in reaching his conclusions, namely, the evolutionary hypothesis 
 of a norm that diverges. Has he not to a certain extent recon- 
 structed certain norms, somewhat in the fashion of general 
 averages, and then predicated their former existence ? There 
 is, I believe, a certain justification for such an inference. Let us, 
 however, pass over this phase of his general theory and grant for 
 the present that the versions of the myths themselves, plus cer- 
 tain justifiable theoretical assumptions, one reinforcing the other, 
 led to the formulation of his views. What versions of myths 
 were at his disposal ? In the overwhelming majority of cases, 
 only one from each tribe. But that is not all. A selection had 
 set in at the very outset; for, partly due to informant, partly 
 to investigator, the version obtained was the one which the two 
 regarded as the "correct" one. An artificial selection had thus 
 begun in the field itself. 
 
 We have now, starting from two entirely different points, 
 found ourselves confronted with the notion of one "correct" 
 version for each myth. Ehrenreich's assumption of a "correct" 
 version can best be attacked after a critical examination of a 
 certain number of myths and their variants has been made, but 
 the field-worker's and Indian's assumption of such a version can 
 be examined directly. 
 
6 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 The field worker, is, as a rule, guided by very vague con- 
 ceptions in predicating correctness for one version as against 
 another. In the main he depends upon his informant. The 
 informant has, it is true, very definite ideas on this subject. 
 But what exactly is the value of these ideas ? After analysing 
 the reasons advanced it will be found that in all cases the Indian 
 bases his concept of a correct version on individual circumstances : 
 the specific manner of narrating a certain myth, the individual 
 who narrates it, certain characteristic expressions and intona- 
 tions, etc. In the last analysis, then, the correct version of the 
 Indian is not a dispassionately formed opinion but merely the 
 expression of a purely local-emotional attitude. 
 
 MYTH ANALYSIS. 
 
 We will now turn our attention to the specific examination 
 of Ehrenreich's concept of a correct version. 
 
 Let us assume for the sake of argument that only one correct 
 version of a myth exists and that the variants represent devia- 
 tions from this correct version. Are we to consider any constant 
 element appearing in the "original" version and the variants as 
 the essential nucleus of the myth, or are only certain common 
 elements to be regarded as significant ? If, for instance, we were 
 to find in a number of places a plot dealing with a warrior who 
 goes on a warpath, is captured, and informs his captors that on 
 a certain day, no matter how well he is guarded, he will escape — 
 the probability of such a plot developing in a number of North 
 American tribes quite independently is considerable. The 
 plot, consequently, must be of a specific nature. If, however, 
 we find in the same tribe two versions of a myth in which the 
 plots are identical but the episodes quite distinct, which are we 
 to regard as the original ? Or again, we may find two tales in 
 which the episodes are identical but the plots different; or, finally, 
 two versions in which both plot and episodes are identical, but 
 where the plot is developed in characteristically different ways. 
 In other words, there are conceivably three kinds of identities: 
 that of plot, that of episodes, and that of plot elaboration. 
 What is the reason for this differentiation, and have we a right 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 7 
 
 to claim for any one of these three identities a special importance 
 in the development of the myth complex ? Can any of them be 
 used as criteria for determining which one of a number of versions 
 of a myth is primary ? These questions must be answered ten- 
 tatively, at least. 
 
 To me the reasons for the differences in the various versions 
 of the same myth are due mainly to certain literary tendencies 
 at work. To demonstrate this contention I shall discuss at some 
 length the nature of the plot and its elaboration, the episodes, 
 and the motifs, of a number of North American myths. 
 
 THE PLOT. 
 
 Only a detailed study of every mythological area in America 
 will enable us to decide whether there exist characteristic plots 
 for every definite area. Whether this can be demonstrated or 
 not, there can be no doubt that certain plots are found distributed 
 over enormous areas. Where these plots are of a very general 
 nature and refer to possible happenings within almost any tribe 
 in North America, there is no need of predicating either a com- 
 mon origin or diffusion. Where, however, we find specific types 
 of plot, such as, for instance. Blood-clot and Thrown-away or the 
 Twins; Turtle's Vv^ar party; Wi'sa'ka^^'- and his brother; Tar- 
 baby; etc., they must be regarded as either having sprung from 
 some older myth which was shared in common by all the tribes or 
 as having been diffused from some centre. 
 
 We shall give a brief summary of the contents of the myths 
 mentioned : 
 
 (A) Blood-Clot and Thrown- Away, or the Twins. A 
 woman is killed and twins are taken from her womb. One is 
 hidden but is found upon the return of the father ; the other dis- 
 appears entirely. He reappears afterward as a playmate of his 
 brother and is finally captured by a stratagem. Then, in 
 disobedience to their father's wish, they go out to seek ad- 
 ventures. 
 
 (B) Turtle's War Party. Turtle decides to go on the war- 
 path and wishes to obtain companions. Various animals ask 
 
 1 The culture hero of the Fox Indiana. 
 
8 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16 
 
 permission to go along and show him of what use they can be. 
 He refuses all except some small turtles who approach so noise- 
 lessly that he does not notice them. On the raid Turtle is cap- 
 tured and because of his professed fear of water is thrown into a 
 lake and thus escapes. 
 
 (C) Wi'sa'ka." and His Brother. Wi'sa'ka* tells his brother 
 never to cross a certain lake, but the brother disobeys and is 
 seized and killed by water-spirits. Wi'sa'ka^ finds out what has 
 happened to his brother and is told by an animal who the mur- 
 derers are. Subsequently he meets a person who is hastening to 
 the aid of the wounded animals. He kills this person, dresses 
 himself in his skin, and, arriving at the home of the water-spirits, 
 kills them under pretense of trying to cure them. He then seizes 
 the skin of his brother, which was being used as a door-flap, and 
 succeeds in making good his escape. Then he endeavours to re- 
 store his brother to life but fails. 
 
 (D) Tar-baby. An animal commits depredations on a chile 
 field owned by an old woman who, after vainly trying to discover a 
 method of capturing him, hits upon the plan of putting a number 
 of decoys in the shape of tar or wax figures. The animal, ap- 
 proaching the following night, sees the decoys, and, in endeavour- 
 ing to push them aside, is held fast and captured, but succeeds 
 subsequently in making his escape.^ 
 
 With the possible exception of (D), the similarity of the plot 
 in the examples given above has led to the assumption of the 
 identity of the myths. Such an assumption is quite justifiable 
 if the myth is regarded as essentially a question of plot. For the 
 study of the specific significance of a myth, identity of plot is, 
 however, only one of a number of features to be considered. 
 
 Before proceeding to the discussion of plot elaboration, it 
 may be noted that the above analyses are to a certain extent 
 artificial, for certain episodes and motifs will probably be found 
 to be invariably associated with definite plots. 
 
 ' This is the Mexican version. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 9 
 
 PLOT ELABORATION. 
 
 The action of a plot is generally developed in one of three 
 ways: either the sequence of events is brought about by the 
 actions of the actors themselves without the intermediation of a 
 figure foretelling the various episodes; or it is outlined before- 
 hand by some individuals and the episodes appear in full force 
 only then; or, finally, the plot is developed in the form of a 
 dialogue. 
 
 The first method is found exemplified in many of the trick- 
 ster cycles of North America, e.g., in the Nenebojo cycle of the 
 Ojibwa, the Icdinige cycle of the Omaha, the Wak'djui)k«a-'ga 
 cycle of the Winnebago, and the Rabbit and Coyote cycle of 
 the Zapotecan Indians of Mexico. The second method is found 
 in the legend of the origin of the Thunderbird war-bundle of 
 the Winnebago,^ the Winnebago myth of "Holy-one and his 
 brother, "2 the Omaha "Haxige,"^ etc. The third method 
 is found in many Zapotecan myths. As an illustration of the 
 first method we will select the Ojibwa Nenebojo cycle ;^ as 
 examples of the second the Omaha Haxige, its Winnebago 
 version "Holy One," and the Winnebago "The man who visited 
 the Thunderbirds;" and as an example of the third, the Zapotecan 
 Creation Myth.^ 
 
 "They (Nenebojo and his grandmother) walked along until 
 they came to the shores of Lake Erie. ... At Lake St. 
 Clair Nenebojo saw a number of ducks and he thought to him- 
 self, 'Just how am I going to kill them ?' After a while, he took 
 one of his pails and started to drum and sing at the same time. . . 
 When the ducks saw Nenebojo standing near the shore, they swam 
 toward him and as soon as he saw this, he sent his grandmother 
 ahead to build a little lodge, where they could live. In the 
 meantime, he killed a few of the ducks, so, while his grandmother 
 started out to build a shelter, Nenebojo went towards the lake 
 
 1 p. Radin, "Winnebago tales." Jour. Amer. Folk-lore, Vol. XXII, 1909, pp. 288-313. 
 
 2 P. Radin, Winnebago MS. 
 
 » J. O. Dorsey, "Dhegiha Texts," Contributions to North American ethnology. Vol. VI, 
 p. 289. 
 
 * P. Radin, "Some myths and tales of the Ojibwa of southeastern Ontario," Geological 
 Survey of Canada, Memoir 48, Anthropological Series, No. 2, 1914, pp. 2, 3. 
 
 B?. Radin, Zapotecan Myths (MS.). 
 
10 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 where the ducks and geese were floating around and around. 
 Nenebojo jumped into a sack and then dived into the water. 
 The ducks and geese were quite surprised to see that he was 
 such an excellent diver, and came closer and closer. Then 
 Nenebojo challenged them to a contest at diving. He said that 
 he could beat them all. The ducks all accepted the challenge, 
 but Nenebojo beat them. Then he went after the geese and beat 
 them too. For a time he was alternately diving and rising to the 
 surface, all around. Finally he dived under the geese and started 
 to tie their legs together with some basswood bark. When the 
 geese noticed this, they tried to rise and fly away, but they were 
 unable to do so, for Nenebojo was hanging on to the other end 
 of the string. The geese, nevertheless, managed to rise, gradually 
 dragging Nenebojo along with them. They finally emerged 
 from the water and rose higher and higher into the air. Nene- 
 bojo, however, hung on, and would not let go, until his hand was 
 cut and the string broke. 
 
 "He fell down into the hollow of a big tree. There he lay 
 until he heard somebody chopping wood near by. . . ." 
 
 It will not be necessary to continue, for this short extract 
 exemplifies the method clearly. 
 
 Let us now turn to the Omaha Haxige, exemplifying the 
 second method. 
 
 "In the morning Haxige went hunting. When he was re- 
 turning, behold a person had gone across the road again. . . . 
 When he had come right upon him, Haxige stood up suddenly. 
 'Really! the venerable man walks as if something was the 
 matter,' said he, trying to draw him out. 'Yes, very much like 
 it,' said he. 'How can it be that at this late day you have not 
 been hearing it in your travels ?' 'Why, venerable man, what- 
 ever may be the matter ? I have been walking without hearing 
 anything at all,' said Haxige. 'Yes, Haxige's younger brother 
 having been killed, Haxige wounded two of the water-monster's 
 most dearly beloved children. I have been going thither to 
 powwow over them,' said he. 'Really! venerable man, it may 
 be very desirable to witness the treatment,' said Haxige. 'Yes, 
 it is so,' said the buzzard. 'I make it a rule to have no witnesses 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 11 
 
 at all.' 'Really! venerable man, it may be very desirable I may 
 witness you. I too walk hunting,' said Haxige. 'Yes, it is so. 
 You can see me perform,' said the buzzard. 'Yet, venerable 
 man, I will hear from you how you do every one of the deeds,' 
 said Haxige tempting him. 'You shall gaze on me,' said the 
 buzzard. Singing his song, he danced saying, 
 
 Heke tako, heke heke tako. 
 
 'Well, venerable man, if it be always just so it looks very nice 
 to me. Venerable man, how do you usually perform it ? I 
 wish to hear the whole of it from you,' said Haxige. 'I said that 
 when I reached there this time I will perform the cure. There 
 are four peaks which are flat on top. When I reach the fourth, 
 they usually come thither for me. . . . They put me in a 
 robe and they carry me on it. When I get there this time, I 
 will say, "Let the water stand hot. When I heat two irons red- 
 hot and press them repeatedly against the wounds, they will 
 live.' "1 
 
 The following is the Winnebago account. 
 
 "Holy One heard some one singing and when he got nearer 
 he saw that the singer was chopping wood. Holy One went to 
 an old burnt stump and blackened his face. Then he approached 
 the singer and noticed that it was an old woman. She was 
 singing: 
 
 'Chiefs, O ye chiefs!' 
 
 Holy One approached and said, 'Grandmother, why are you 
 saying that ?' 'Oh,' said the old woman, 'grandson, are you 
 Holy One?' 
 
 'No, grandmother, I am not Holy One. I suppose he has 
 cried himself to death by this time.' Then said the old woman, 
 'Grandson, the two sons of the chief have been shot with arrows 
 and I am chopping wood for them.' 'Grandmother,' said Holy 
 One, 'what are they going to do about it ?' 'Grandson, are you 
 Holy One ?' 'Don't be foolish, grandmother. I have been 
 
 »J. O. Dorsey, ibid., p. 240. 
 
12 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 fasting over yonder hill for some time, and as I heard you chop- 
 ping wood, I came here. I have not been to the village for 
 some time. That is why I am asking you these questions. As 
 for Holy One, he must be dead long ere this.' 'Grandson, you 
 are right,' she said. 'In the morning the water-spirits will go 
 after the hawk to cure their wounded relatives.' 
 
 " 'If hecomesin time, what will be the result ?' said Holy One. 
 'If he comes in time, they will live.' 'Grandmother, at what 
 time will the hawk come ?' 'Oh grandson, are you Holy One ?' 
 'How can I be Holy One ? He must be dead long ere this.' 
 
 " 'Well, grandson, the hawk will be here at noon.' 'Grand- 
 mother, from what direction will he come?' 'He will come from 
 the east.' 'What will they do to Holy One ?' he asked. 'Grand- 
 son, they are going to kill him.' 'Grandmother, how will they 
 kill him ?' he asked. 'They will kill him by sending snakes after 
 him.' 'Grandmother, if they do that he will put on his turtle- 
 shell shoes and trample the snakes to death.' 
 
 " 'Surely, grandson, you are the Holy One who is talking ?' 
 "No, grandmother, I am not the Holy One. What will they do 
 after he has killed the snakes ?' 'Grandson, they will make it 
 snow and have his lodge entirely covered with snow, and when he 
 has eaten up all his food and has begun to eat his bow-string, then 
 a four-cornered drove of buffalo will trample him to death.' 
 'Grandmother, if they do that, he will kill many buffaloes and 
 obtain very much meat for eating.' 'Now, grandson, are you 
 not the Holy One ?' 'O, grandmother, how can I be the Holy 
 One ? If they fail in that, what will they do next ?' 'Well, 
 grandson, if they fail in that, they will cause a flood to come and 
 they will flood the world.' 'Well, grandmother, what will they do 
 if he gets into his metal boat ?' 'Well, grandson, the water-spirits 
 will then tip the boat over with their tails.' 'Now, grandmother, 
 if they do that, he will take his metal oars and amuse himself 
 cutting off the tails of water-spirits.' 'Grandson, are you really 
 not the Holy One ?' 'Grandmother, how can you talk in that 
 way ? How can I be Holy One ? What will they do then ?' 
 he asked. 'My dear grandson, the spirit muskrats will chew a 
 hole through the bottom of his boat.' 'Well, grandmother, if 
 they do that, he will take his metal oars and cut the spirit musk- 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 13 
 
 rats in two.' 'Grandson, are you not the Holy One ?' she said. 
 'How can I be the Holy One, grandmother ?' he answered, 
 'Grandmother, is that all they will do ?' 'Yes, except that I 
 will be one of those to chew through the boat.' 'Grandmother, 
 you are quite old to do that. How are your teeth ? Won't 
 you show them to me ?' 'Well, grandson, my teeth are thus,' 
 she said and, closing her eyes and opening her mouth very wide, 
 she showed him her teeth. He then took his bow and struck her 
 in the mouth, knocking out her teeth and killing her. Then 
 she fell to the ground an old female muskrat." 
 
 As a last example of the second method we will quote from 
 "The Man who visited the Thunderbirds." 
 
 "He took the trail of his brothers and followed it till he came 
 to two camps, a small and a large one. He entered the first one 
 and found a very old woman sitting there As soon as she saw 
 him, she addressed him thus: 'My poor grandchild, sit down 
 here, I am very sorry for you.' And then she went on to tell 
 him what had happened to his sister and brothers. She told 
 him that the person who had been talking to his sister the last 
 time was a bad spirit; but that the sister had mistaken him for 
 the father of her child and had accompanied him to his camp. 
 However, he was not the father of her child, as she afterward 
 found out. All his brothers had been killed by this bad spirit 
 and she did not believe that he, the youngest, would escape their 
 fate. The old woman then proceeded to tell him that his sister 
 was by this time so completely under the influence of this bad 
 spirit that she was as bad as he and preferred to help her husband 
 rather than her brother. 
 
 " 'Now, listen, my grandchild. The first thing that the bad 
 spirit will ask you to do to-night will be to prepare a sweatbath 
 for him, and in order to do that he will tell you to fetch a certain 
 stone. That stone belongs to him and was put there for a certain 
 purpose. Just as you touch it, it will begin to roll down hill 
 and you will roll with it. That is how some of your brothers met 
 their death. Now, you just take a pole, walk up the opposite 
 side of the hill, touch the stone with the pole, and it will then roll 
 down the hill. As soon as it has stopped rolling, you can pick it 
 
14 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 Up and take it home. When you have brought this home, your 
 brother-in-law will tell you to get the bark of a certain very large 
 tree. That tree belongs to him and it is there for a certain pur- 
 pose. Just as you touch the tree, it will fall upon you and 
 kill you. Some of your brothers met their death in that way. 
 Now you take a stick and go as near to the tree as you can and 
 throw the stick at it. It will hit the bark, which will fall off. 
 Then you take as much of it as you want and bring it to him. 
 When you have brought this, he will send you out again and tell 
 you to fetch the pole for the sweathouse. When you get to the 
 place where he has sent you, you will find four large rattlesnakes 
 lying curled up. These are what he meant you to get. Some 
 of your brothers met death there. They were killed by the snakes. 
 So now, my grandson, take some tobacco with you and give 
 it to them and tell them not to hurt you. I shall put in my 
 influence to help you with them. These snakes do not belong 
 to him; but he is more powerful than they and he keeps them 
 there as his slaves. He just gives them enough to eat and to drink. 
 However, they have never had anything to smoke, and they will 
 be glad to accept your gift and not molest you. When you 
 come to your brother-in-law's place, put their heads in the ground 
 and twist their tails, and so you will have the finest kind of 
 lodge structure. After this has been done, he will tell you to 
 pick up the stone with your naked hand and burn you up. That 
 is how some of your brothers met their fate. Now, my grand- 
 son, when it comes to that point, try to find some excuse to leave 
 him and come over to see me before you pick up the stone.' " 
 In the cases cited, the figures of the buzzard and old woman 
 seem to exist for the sole purpose of foretelling what is to happen. 
 They seem to have no connexion whatsoever either with the 
 hero of the plot or his enemy. Their role is quite similar to that 
 of the good or bad fairy of European folklore, who turns up at the 
 opportune moment. How are we to explain their r61e ? If we 
 wish to remain on firm ground and eschew general assumptions 
 that can be neither proven nor disproven, the best procedure 
 would be to explain it by the function it fulfils. From this 
 point of view they are indisputable literary devices, at least 
 now. The plot demands them. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 15 
 
 It is not only in so general a manner as is indicated by the 
 above selections that the second method of plot elaboration is 
 used. Even in myths where the first method is used for the 
 general elaboration of the plot, the second is frequently found 
 employed for specific episodes and motifs. For instance in the 
 Winnebago Twin myth, when the boys have to disguise them- 
 selves in order not to be detected by the giant who is carrying 
 the head of their slain uncle, instead of going to the scene of 
 action and disguising themselves there, an old man tells them 
 what to do, or, according to another version, one of the boys 
 disguises himself and the other judges of the adequacy of the 
 success. 
 
 For the third method of plot elaboration, I will select the 
 Zapotec legend of "The Rooster and the Bull." 
 
 "A rooster, walking along in a happy frame of mind, chanced 
 upon a place so dreary-looking that it did not seem possible 
 that any other animal lived there. Our valiant rooster trudged 
 along singing with that sonorous voice that we know he possesses. 
 Coming after a while to a very beautiful place, he said, 'How 
 beautiful is this earth ! Why have I not a companion with whom 
 I might converse ? Indeed, I would like to know how it was 
 that the world was created.' After he had spoken a good deal, 
 a bull who was sleeping there jumped up and said, 'O my friend, 
 little rooster, it is but a moment since you asked why you had 
 no companion. Now listen. I have hastened to meet you 
 because your words made me feel a deep pity for you.' The 
 rooster immediately said, 'How fine this is! Where were you 
 when you heard my voice ?' Ah, my friend, I was resting under 
 a tree which you may notice near here, but as soon as I heard 
 your sighs I hastened to meet you that I might talk with you. 
 But before I begin, tell me what you would like to have me speak 
 of.' 'My friend, I would like to have you tell me something 
 of how the world was created,' answered the rooster. The bull 
 answered, 'Very well, my friend, I will commence.' 
 
 " 'When I was a young child, I remember very well how 
 my father would speak of this at night, that is, of the creation 
 of the world. Our ancestors created the world. And how did 
 
16 MUSEUM BITLLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 they create it ? Our ancestor, on a certain day, took a piece of 
 clay to form something like a stone. That was the first day 
 . . . "'But,' said the rooster, 'there are many things to be 
 seen in this world that our ancestors must have formed, for in- 
 stance the water, that the plants might grow '" 
 
 This third method is found only in Mexico, as far as I know, 
 and it may represent a peculiar historical development. I do 
 not believe, however, that it is connected with European influence. 
 
 Whether any of these types of plot elaboration are distinctive 
 of certain areas, only future research can definitely determine. 
 It is, however, quite likely, to judge from the complete absence 
 of the second type of plot elaboration in all trickster myths, that 
 certain myths are traditionally elaborated according to one type 
 and others according to another. The type of plot elaboration 
 may also be utilized in determining more precisely the source 
 for certain versions of a myth. For instance, where, as in the 
 case of the Omaha Haxige and the Winnebago Holy One, not 
 only details but likewise plot elaboration are identical, there 
 is a strong presumption that the versions belong together. 
 Finally, though it be significant neither of an area nor a tribe, 
 plot elaboration may at times be a characteristic of individual 
 raconteurs and thus acquire considerable importance in the study 
 of myth variants. 
 
 The three types of plot elaboration are, however, of impor- 
 tance not merely because they represent different ways of un- 
 folding a plot, but because they indirectly regulate the relation 
 of the component elements of the plot to one another. In the 
 first type, where the plot is unfolded by the actions of the dra- 
 matis personae, the interest centres naturally on the separate 
 actions as such, whereas in the second and third type, the interest 
 lies in the descriptions of the actions. The various episodes 
 and motifs are in the latter type described in groups and 
 when subsequently the actions are performed they have a 
 tendency to be slurred over. At the same time the various 
 incidents are described with a precision and detail in type I 
 not to be found in type II, because the interest culminates at 
 the end of each incident. This is not true for type II, where the 
 literary purpose seems to be to incite interest up to a certain 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 17 
 
 point and then arrest it. As a result, the various episodes are 
 practically told in two unequal narrations, neither of which is 
 complete in itself, for all interest in future elaboration of the 
 plot would cease if the first description were complete in itself 
 and, on the other hand, the second description of the episode — 
 in which the action is performed — being the denouement, 
 cannot be stressed in the same manner as the first. A few 
 examples will bring this out clearly. 
 
 Let us compare, for instance, the episodes described by the 
 old woman on pages 13 and 14 with the following elaboration. 
 
 "Shortly after the old woman had finished speaking, the 
 sister entered and, seeing her brother, addressed him, 'Brother, 
 I have brought you something to eat.' Then she handed him a 
 wooden bowl containing a large amount of liver as dry as bone. 
 He took the bowl and as soon as he noticed its contents, threw 
 it straight into the face of his sister, saying, 'I am not accustomed 
 to food of this kind. My brothers, who brought me up, never 
 gave me any food like this.' His sister then left the lodge and, 
 it being supper-time, the old woman cooked him a supper of 
 vegetables. After he had finished his supper his sister came in 
 again. 'Tenth-son, your brother-in-law wants you to prepare 
 his sweatbath. He is accustomed to using a certain stone which 
 you will find on yonder hill and which he wishes you to get for 
 him.' Then she left the lodge. Her brother went to the hill and, 
 following his grandmother's advice, ascended it on the side 
 opposite the stone, touched it with his stick, and it rolled rapidly 
 down the hill. He then carried it to his brother-in-law's lodge, 
 but left it outside. Then he went to inform the latter that he 
 had brought the stone. His brother-in-law merely nodded and 
 told him to bring the bark for the lodge structure. This he 
 set out to do, and when he came near the tree he carefully took 
 a place of safety and touched the bark with his stick. It fell 
 with a terrific crash. Then he took as much of it as he wanted 
 and carried it to his brother-in-law. The latter merely nodded 
 and sent him to get the lodge-poles. When he came to the 
 place where the snakes were confined he took some tobacco 
 and threw it to them. They accepted it and allowed him 
 to seize them and carry them to his brother-in-law. Having 
 
18 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 arrived there, he stuck their heads into the ground and twisted 
 their tails, thus forming the poles of the sweatlodge. Then 
 he put the bark over these poles and the structure was complete. 
 
 "As soon as everything was in readiness, his brother-in-law 
 told him to place the stone in the lodge. Instead of doing this, 
 however, he got up some excuse and went to see his grandmother. 
 She prepared something for him, rubbed his arms with it thor- 
 oughly, and told him to return to the sweatbath immediately 
 and do as his brother-in-law had asked. This he did and, 
 much to the disgust of the latter, the stone did not burn in the 
 least. Indeed he got so provoked that he said to him ironically, 
 'You think you are a clever fellow, don't you ? I don't want 
 to take a bath at all . . . . ' " 
 
 Let us also compare the episodes described on pages 11-13 
 with the following elaboration. 
 
 "They (the water-spirits) caused the water to rush out 
 with them, but when it rushed up to Holy One, he would shoot 
 it back with his bow and arrows and go on. Finally the 
 spirits said, 'Let us quit, as we are losing men.' Thus they said 
 after he had killed a great many of them. 
 
 "One day the snakes began to come, but Holy One put 
 on his shoes which he had kept handy, and began to step on their 
 heads. Finally the snakes said, 'Come, let us stop, for many of 
 us are getting killed.' 
 
 "Again some time after this it began to snow, but as Holy 
 One had known of this, he was prepared and had plenty of wood 
 and food set aside. He was now entirely covered with snow, 
 as the snow had fallen to a great depth, and he could only see 
 through a little hole in the top of the lodge. This was his situa- 
 tion. Finally one day the spirits said, 'It is about time that some- 
 one should go and see how he is getting along. So let us send 
 our brother-in-law there! So the son-in-law who was a little 
 bird went there. He came a second and a third time to see 
 how Holy One was getting along. When he came the fourth 
 time, he peeped in through the hole and he heard Holy One say, 
 'O my, if I could only have a little bird to eat I might be able 
 to live four days longer. Why should I say that ? I have 
 my bowstring still. I will eat that as a last resort.' So saying, 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 19 
 
 he took the bow and laid it upon some coals of fire. Then the 
 little bird went home and reported that Holy One was eating 
 his bowstring and that he had said that he wanted to eat the 
 bird. 'Aha! It is about time,' they said. Then, getting a 
 large drove of buffaloes together, they tried to trample him to 
 death. But he had gone out and was waiting for them, so 
 when they came and trampled all over the place where he was 
 supposed to be staying, he stood to one side and shot them, 
 killing a great many. After a while the buffaloes said, 'Come, 
 let us get away, for we are being killed very fast.' Then they 
 stopped and went away. Then Holy One discovered that the 
 snow was only on his lodge, and that in other places the ground 
 was dry. Then he began dressing the buffaloes and drying them 
 and packing them away. 
 
 "One day it began to rain and it did not stop until the earth 
 was flooded. Then Holy One got into a metal boat that he had 
 prepared and went floating around. Suddenly he heard some- 
 thing rap against his boat. He took his metal oar and struck 
 the edge of his boat and cut the water-spirit in two. Soon 
 another one rapped against his boat and still another one, and 
 Holy One amused himself all this time cutting off water-spirits' 
 tails. After a while he heard something chewing at the bottom 
 of the boat, and he took his metal oar and swung it around 
 the bottom and up came a spirit muskrat cut in two. Again 
 and again this happened, but he kept on cutting them with his 
 oars, until finally the spirits said, 'Come, let us quit, for we 
 are being killed fast.' " 
 
 In both these examples the repetition of the episode is stressed 
 far more weakly and in both cases additions have been made 
 in the repetition in order that it may be strong enough for the r61e 
 it has been called upon to play in the plot. In the first example 
 these additions are apparently intended to set off the characters 
 of the sister and the brother-in-law, while in the second example 
 they are intended to set off one particular episode — that of the 
 snow storm and the attempt to starve Holy One — probably 
 to prevent a monotonous repetition of the episodes narrated 
 before. In using the word "additions," we lay ourselves open 
 to the legitimate criticism that the first narration of the episode 
 
20 MUSBUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 may at times represent a slurring and the repetition be the com- 
 plete description. This may happen, and we have an example 
 of it in the above snow storm episode. The complete description 
 of the episode would, however, have been quite impossible 
 in the first part of the plot and we have here an admirable illustra- 
 tion of how a certain type of plot elaboration does necessitate 
 an alteration in the form of an episode. Why however, is the 
 episode given completely when repeated ? In addition to the 
 literary reason given above, two other reasons are possible. 
 It may be a true episode and not merely a motif, as the pursuit 
 with water which is shot back and the snakes unquestionably 
 are, or the author-raconteur did not feel that he could take the 
 liberty of slurring it and, since it could not possibly be grouped 
 with the other motifs and episodes in the first part of the plot, 
 it had to be given afterwards. But why was the flood episode 
 slurred both in the first description and in the repetition ? It 
 cannot, therefore, be hesitancy on the part of the author- 
 raconteur which has preserved the complete account of the snow 
 storm, but really his realization of its necessity from a literary 
 view-point. A complete narration of the flood incident would 
 have been ridiculous and, consequently, it is not given. The 
 same point comes out admirably in the following episode of the 
 Holy One. 
 
 (It will be remembered that the old woman has told Holy 
 One that the hawk is to cure the wounded water-spirits) . 
 
 "Then he (Holy One) went home. The next morning, at 
 noon, he went to the place that the old woman had mentioned as 
 the place where the hawk would come. Just at noon the hawk 
 came in sight. The hawk was singing : 
 
 'Hawk, they went after you as a doctor. 
 Hawk, what will you do ? 
 Hawk, you may carry your gourd, 
 Hawk, you may carry your gourd. 
 Hawk, you may carry your gourd. 
 Aho! ' 
 
 "Thus the hawk sang as he went along carrying on his back 
 a black sack with a gourd on top of it. As he turned from side 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 21 
 
 to side the gourd would rattle, keeping time with his song. 
 When the hawk came to the place where Holy One was waiting, 
 the latter said, 'Grandfather, how pretty you look!' The hawk 
 stopped and then Holy One said again, 'Grandfather, why are 
 you travelling around ?' He answered, 'Grandson, the sons 
 of the chief have been shot with arrows and it is to their place 
 that I am going.' 'Grandfather, what will you do when you get 
 there ?' 'Well, grandson, I will go on singing as I have been doing 
 and when I get there they will open the door for me and I will 
 go in.' 'You look very pretty, grandfather. Would you mind 
 going back a little bit and coming again ? But turn from side to 
 side a little more and come down lower.' 'All right,' said the 
 hawk, and he went back a little way and started again, singing 
 as he went. 'Grandfather, make a few more turns and come 
 down a little bit lower,' said Holy One. The hawk did as he 
 was told and came down a little lower. As he went by. Holy 
 One caught him and killed him. Then he skinned him and put 
 the skin on himself and acted exactly as the hawk had done." 
 
 There are two literary reasons why this hawk episode 
 is repeated and given in detail. First, because Holy One has 
 to reach the home of the water-spirits in disguise; secondly, 
 because the episode of the killing of the water-spirits, owin^ 
 to its importance, has to be carefully motivated. 
 
 It is quite interesting to note the different way in which 
 the incidents have been grouped in the various tales cited as 
 illustrative of the second type of plot elaboration. In the tale 
 of Holy One, the whole plot is foretold in part by the wood- 
 pecker and in part by the old woman. In the case of the tale 
 of Haxige, it is only in one of J. O. Dorsey's versions that a large 
 portion of the plot is foretold, while in the tale of "The man who 
 visited the Thunderbirds " only that part of the plot which refers 
 to the various tests of the hero is foretold. In the last tale the 
 old woman foretells the various tests in three instalments instead 
 of one. In a Mixe and Huave myth obtained in the state of 
 Oaxaca, Mexico, in two versions, the incidents are in one version 
 foretold in a single instalment and in the other in three. How 
 are we best to account for this variability ? It is certainly not 
 due to mere chance. It can, we believe, be best explained, 
 ir^ the main, by literary considerations. 
 
22 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 It is quite clear that the raconteur who told the version of 
 Holy One quoted above was desirous of not only carefully moti- 
 vating the main elements of the plot, but also of clearly centring 
 interest upon them, and he accomplished the latter by attracting 
 and at the same time arresting the attention of the listener. 
 Take, for example, the following starting point of the myth. 
 
 "Once there lived a person together with his younger brother. 
 One day the older brother said, 'Brother, you need not fear any- 
 thing, for I am the holiest person in existence and am very power- 
 ful.' 
 
 "One day, all the spirits in the heavens and all the spirits 
 on earth held a council about this man, because he had said 
 he was the only holy person. There was a lake near his place 
 and a water-spirit village not far off. The water-spirits were 
 the people chosen to do the deed (i.e., kill the younger brother). 
 Holy One did not know of this at all. 
 
 "One day his younger brother did not return and Holy One 
 waited for him in vain. Then he went in search of him. During 
 his search he wept and wherever he stopped and wept, there a 
 large lake would be formed from his tears. Whenever he sobbed, 
 the hills would tumble down and valleys would form in their 
 place." 
 
 Here we have the initial incident, the death of Holy One's 
 brother, stated in the briefest and barest manner. Our ra- 
 conteur was apparently not interested in particularly motivating 
 this episode. He was, however, concerned with the search for 
 the murderers, as can be seen by the following detail. 
 
 "In his search he came across the wolf. Said he to the wolf, 
 'Little brother, do you happen to know anything about my brother 
 who is lost? I feel that he is dead somewhere.' Then the 
 wolf said, 'Brother, I go all over the earth, but I have no knowl- 
 edge of him.' 'All right, all right,' said the Holy One, and started 
 to walk away. Just then the wolf said, 'Holy One, I am not the 
 one to look after your brother.' 'Oh,' said Holy One, 'is that 
 it ?' and raced after him. The wolf ran with all his might but 
 Holy One overtook him, and, taking his bow, broke open his 
 jaws and killed him, saying, 'I suppose you too took part in the 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 23 
 
 conspiracy against me.' Then he hung him on a tree and went 
 on. 
 
 "As he was going along he came across the fox and he ad- 
 dressed him, saying, 'Little brother, I feel that something has 
 befallen my brother. Now you are a cunning fellow; perhaps 
 you know something of his whereabouts.' Then the fox re- 
 plied, 'Brother, I go all over the earth, but I have not heard 
 anything about him.' Then Holy One started to walk away, 
 but just then the fox said, 'Holy One, I am not supposed to take 
 care of your brother.' Then he ran away. 'Ho', said Holy 
 One, 'is that it ? I suppose you too are one of those who con- 
 spired against me.* Then he ran after the fox, overtook him, 
 broke open his jaws, and killed him, hanging his body on a tree. 
 
 "Thus he went along encountering different animals. The 
 next one he met was the raven and he addressed him, saying, 
 'Little brother, you are a cunning fellow; perhaps you know what 
 has befallen my brother ?' 'Brother,' said the raven, 'I roam all 
 over the world and the heavens, but I have not seen your brother.' 
 Then, as Holy One started to go away, the raven said, 'Holy 
 One, I am not supposed to take care of your brother.' There- 
 upon Holy One said, 'What! you little rascal. I suppose that 
 even such little fellows as you were present at the conspiracy.' 
 Then he knocked him down just as he started to fly away. He 
 pulled his jaws open and hung him on a tree. 
 
 "It was now getting toward evening and Holy One was going 
 home. On the way home a little bird crossed his path, almost 
 hitting him in the face. Again and again this happened. The 
 fourth time the bird did it Holy One said, 'Ho!' and looked up 
 to see who it was. It was the woodpecker. Then Holy One 
 said, 'I wanted to cry here in peace, but what little bird is it 
 that peeks into my face ?' Then the woodpecker said, 'Oh, I 
 have news for you, my grandson.' 'My, my, said Holy One, 
 'I did not know it was you, grandmother, or I would not have said 
 that. Please do tell me all you know and I will give you my paint 
 so that you can paint your face, and my awl so that you can use 
 it for your bill.' 'All right, grandson, your brother is used as a 
 door-flap by the chief of the water-spirits, who lives yonder in 
 the lake near your place. Every one of the spirits was called 
 
24 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 to the council in order to conspire against you, but my husband 
 and myself were not invited, and that is why I am telling you 
 this. Furthermore, at the sand-bar south of the lake is a place 
 where some of the water-spirits go to bask in the sun on nice 
 days.' 'Grandmother, it is good,' said Holy One, and he took 
 the paint which was red and painted the woodpecker's face and 
 then took his awl and placed it in her bill. Thereupon she flew 
 away to a hardwood tree and pecked into it, sending her bill 
 clear through. She felt very proud of her new bill." 
 
 The disguise of Holy One and the wounding of the 
 water-spirits follows, then the meeting with the old woman 
 then the various incidents of which she has spoken, and finally 
 Holy One's attempt to restore his brother to life. The motiva- 
 tion of the search and the incidents connected with the water- 
 spirits' pursuit of Holy One occupies fully one-half of the entire 
 tale. The incident of the death of the brother and the attempt 
 to restore him to life have become dwarfed. The type of plot 
 elaboration demanded first a heaping up of incidents to be fore- 
 told and then their actual occurrence, and this naturally crowded 
 out other things. In both versions of the Haxige tale^ (12) the 
 episode of the buzzard hurrying to cure the wounded water- 
 spirits is strongly stressed and he tells Haxige all that the latter 
 desires to know about the whereabouts of the wounded animals 
 and how to approach them, but the pursuit of Haxige, after he 
 has killed the water-spirits, is dismissed in the following manner. 
 
 "They went homeward to attack him. When they had 
 come very close to their home, Haxige went rushing homeward, 
 carrying his brother on his arm. . . . But though they 
 became all kinds of animals, they did not overtake Haxige and 
 his brother. 'There is cause for anger! Make ye an efifort. 
 You will be apt to fail,' said they. They went along after him. 
 It happened that Haxige, when on his way home, drew near a 
 spring which boiled up repeatedly. It was a very dense forest 
 at the foot of a cliff", a very high hill, whose perpendicular sur- 
 face was concave. 'Do ye make an effort. You have almost 
 overtaken him,' said they. At length Haxige became a bullet. 
 
 ij. O. Dorsey, ibid., pp. 226-253. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 25 
 
 He had gone headlong into the water, 'tcu.' In a moment he 
 made himself become a stone beneath the water. And they went 
 homeward, having failed in attacking him. . . ." 
 
 (In the second version Haxige is not pursued at all). 
 
 The r61e of the old woman, which is so important in Holy 
 One, has become changed in the following manner in Haxige: 
 
 "Haxige departed. At length there was an aged beaver- 
 woman making a boat. 'Hu,' said she, 'there is a very strong 
 Haxige odor.' 'Old woman, there is no cause for complaint, as 
 his brother was killed by the water-spirits, that Haxige is wander- 
 ing around at random and is killing himself by crying,' said he. 
 'Old woman, are you not indeed making a boat ?' said Haxige. 
 'Yes. Have you not been hearing it up to this time ?' said the 
 old woman. 'As his younger brother was killed, Haxige killed 
 two of the chief water-monsters; and as they have failed to kill 
 him, they have threatened to make the whole earth full of water. 
 And I am making a dug-out for myself,' said she. He said as 
 follows: 'Old woman, Haxige ever wishes to have an abundance 
 of sense. He has made a dug-out and if he pile up wood at the 
 bow, filling the bottom with earth, he will sit by a fire blazing 
 very brightly; and, seizing the animals that come floating along, 
 he will continue eating them.' 'Even if they fail so, they speak 
 of making an abundance of snakes on the earth,' said the old 
 woman. 'He will put shells of red-breasted turtles on his feet 
 and will cover his hands in like manner. So when the snakes come 
 to bite, having made a thick skin for himself, he will continue to 
 crush in their heads by treading on them.' . . . 'Even if 
 they fail so, they threaten to make darkness over the whole earth. 
 They say that if he get himself in a gorge unawares, he will die 
 from the fall,' said the old woman. . . . 'Old woman, when 
 he sits in a gorge and fills it with wood, he will sit by a very good 
 fire. What animal reaches him by leaping, will lie dead from the 
 fall, and he will take it and sit eating it.' 'Even if they fail so, 
 they threaten to make a deep snow over the whole earth. They 
 say that he will die from the snow that will press down on him,' 
 said she. 'Having made a very large grass-lodge, he will make a 
 very high pile of wood for himself, and then he will make snow- 
 shoes. What animals get buried unawares in the deep snow, 
 
26 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. l6. 
 
 having killed them at his pleasure, he will stand eating them,' 
 said Haxige. 'What sort of person are you that you despise 
 Haxige ?' he said, and, crushing her head many times with an 
 axe, he killed her." 
 
 (In the second version the old woman is given far less space.) 
 Both versions of the tale practically end with the old woman's 
 narration. None of the things she speaks of take place. Why, 
 then, does the old woman appear and speak of these things ? 
 The best answer seems to be that they originally formed incidents 
 of the tale, as it was told among the Omaha, and that their simple 
 enumeration is a secondary feature that developed in conse- 
 quence of the prominence of the type of plot development used. 
 However, the prominence of this type of plot development is 
 not due to any general preference on the part of the raconteur 
 but apparently to his artistic belief that in such a way certain 
 episodes in his plot could best be motivated. 
 
 Summing up, we can say that a certain amount of the 
 variability found in versions of the same myth or tale is due to 
 the influence of different types of plot elaboration, which in 
 turn is due to the artistic individuality of the raconteur. 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS. 
 
 The nature of the actors in myths has, we know, played a 
 considerable part in discussions. The German school sought to 
 interpret them all as impersonations of the forces of nature. 
 We will not go into an analysis of their point of view, but instead 
 approach the problem in another way. To what extent, let us 
 inquire, is the specific character of the actor essential to the plot ? 
 Would it make any difference, for instance, if we substituted 
 one character for another ? In other words, what we will try 
 to examine is whether the nature of the actor and his acts flow 
 from the myth-content or not. Let us look at a few examples. 
 
 No one would, for instance, hesitate to identify the Haxige 
 myth given above with the Holy One, merely because the Omaha 
 have the duck and the buzzard where the Winnebago have the old 
 woman (muskrat) and the hawk. It seems, rather, reasonable 
 to suppose that the exact animal nature of these intermediaries is 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 27 
 
 of little importance, as far as the story itself is concerned, al- 
 though it may be of importance in studying the diffusion of 
 versions. The fact that in these two myths the animals that 
 act as intermediaries, although different, belong to the same type, 
 being water animals in the one case and birds of prey in the other, 
 indicates, in all probability, that the Omaha and Winnebago 
 versions are rather closely related. 
 
 If, again, in identical plots the heroes are regarded as human 
 beings until the very end of the myth, where we discover that 
 they are really either animals or celestial objects, it does not 
 disturb us if the explanation is clearly an after-thought. If, 
 however, in the plot itself there are indications of the animal or 
 celestial nature of the hero, are we to regard his human nature 
 as secondary or not ? It is quite likely that if a tendency to 
 identify heroes with stars, for instance, exists that it would 
 influence the type of actions he performs. On the other hand, the 
 nature of an originally celestial hero might become so attenuated 
 that but for the survival of certain "celestial" episodes, it mer- 
 ges completely into a human being. Perhaps the voracious hero 
 who turns out to be the child of the sun and moon represents such 
 a merging of celestial into human hero. It is naturally rather 
 difficult to be certain of the latter process, whereas for the 
 former, the extension of a specific interpretation over all the 
 features of a hero's activities, examples can be easily found, as 
 the following will show. 
 
 The Winnebago have a rather popular myth called "Brother 
 and Sister," with the following plot: A man living with his sister 
 is one day challenged to a fight by a stranger and defeated. 
 His head is then cut off and taken away. His body goes on 
 living, however, and is taken care of by his sister. His sister 
 gives birth to two boys who succeed in killing the conqueror of 
 their uncle and restore the head to the latter's body. Two 
 versions of this myth were obtained. Version A is summarized 
 above; version B was identical with that of A, but the uncle is 
 supposed to be the evening star, the mother the moon, the 
 father the sun, and the children show their parentage in the dis- 
 guises they assume, such as that of vibrating light and heat. 
 At the same time, the boys have become identified with the twins 
 
28 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 who play so great a part in Winnebago mythology, and the 
 entire myth appears in an epic about their adventures. Indeed 
 it may very well be that originally it was connected with them. 
 
 In the above we have, then, a clear illustration of how the 
 heroes of a certain myth have been consistently interpreted in 
 a certain way and how figures like the twins, who could by no 
 manner of means ever be regarded as celestial beings, have been 
 remoulded so as to fit into the general scheme. Now, such a 
 process, it would be fair to assume, must have occurred often, 
 and a careful study and analysis of a body of myths that show 
 a marked preference for "celestial" interpretations, like the 
 Pawnee, would probably bring to light a large number of in- 
 stances. 
 
 In addition to the above causes for variation, one other may 
 be pointed out. In every cultural area or tribe, certain animals 
 or beings have become traditionally associated with certain 
 definite characteristics; one is the fool, another the sloven, a 
 third the humorist, a fourth the boaster, a fifth the fop, a sixth 
 the gossip, etc. Whenever these respective characters are 
 needed, they are supplied from the stock-in-trade of the particu- 
 lar tribe. If a certain myth is borrowed, certain figures are, 
 therefore, likely to be displaced even if the myth content is in 
 no way altered. 
 
 It must be quite clear, then, from the above discussion, that 
 neither the animal, human, or celestial nature of the hero, 
 nor the type or kind of his activities can throw much light on the 
 history of a given myth; that the essential thing to grasp is 
 that to-day the myth is a literary unit that requires a hero whose 
 specific nature and activities will be determined by a large 
 number of factors; that these factors are, in the main, the char- 
 acteristics of a hero as told by different families in a tribe, the 
 influence of some raconteur, and, lastly, the traditional associa- 
 tion of certain figures with definite traits, episodes, and motifs. 
 
 THE EPISODES. 
 
 We have, up to the present, been treating of the general 
 plot of the myth analytically, separated from those other ele- 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 29 
 
 ments that go to form the entire myth-complex. We shall now 
 treat the episodes in the same manner. 
 
 Would we equate two myths merely on the basis of similarity 
 in certain episodes ? Given a general culture-area such as that of 
 the Woodlands or Woodland-Plains, would similarity in certain 
 of the episodes be sufificient to identify two myths ? The answer 
 to this question is of fundamental importance. 
 
 When, indeed, are two episodes identical ? When the general 
 plot is the same or when the plot plus its motivation is the same ? 
 Generally speaking, we seem to regard the similarity of the plot 
 as sufficient. Take, for example, the well-known episode of 
 the trickster and the ducks he wishes to capture. Here the 
 episode consists of the tying of the ducks' legs. That is the 
 essential object. How it is accomplished varies according to 
 the version obtained. In spite of the variability of the moti- 
 vation, we feel confident, nevertheless, that we are always 
 dealing with the same episode. Or, take the episode of the hero 
 in "Haxige" and "Holy One" and the animal who informs 
 him what has become of his brother. Here the essential thing 
 is that the hero obtain the required information. How he act- 
 ually obtains it varies widely. The divergence in motivation 
 may bring in a large amount of detail of a different kind for each 
 version, so that externally the episodes may appear quite dif- 
 ferent. If, for instance, the information is obtained from the 
 woodpecker, the author-raconteur may bring in the whole story 
 of how the woodpecker obtained his present characteristics, 
 whereas if he obtained it from some animal who had been slighted 
 by those who had killed the hero's brother, the whole story 
 of how he had been insulted might be brought in. 
 
 Finally, let us take the Mexican-Indian tale of the rabbit 
 committing depredations on the chile-field of an old woman. 
 The essential feature of the plot is how to catch the rabbit and 
 drive him away. This, according to many versions of the tale, 
 is accomplished by distributing tar-baby decoys over the field. 
 From a New Mexican informant, however, I obtained a version 
 in which the rabbit was driven away by the owner of the chile- 
 field paying insects to crawl into the rabbit's anus. The tar-baby 
 as a decoy, on the other hand, I found in a Mexican-Zapotecan 
 version of Grimm's story of the Golden Apple tree. 
 
30 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 No further illustrations are needed. They can be found in 
 any collection of North American myths. What we discover 
 in every case is that the motivation of the episode is extremely 
 variable and that the constant element is always the plot. 
 
 THE MOTIFS. 
 
 The motifs form the last unit into which the myth-complex 
 can be analytically separated. Every cultural area seems to have 
 a large although by no means unlimited assortment. The ex- 
 treme variability with which one, then another, is used in dif- 
 ferent versions of the same myth seems difficult to explain unless 
 we assume that they are more or less free elements whose use 
 depends in some respects on traditional association with certain 
 episodes or actors, but mainly on the selective powers exercised 
 by the author-raconteur and on the psychological-literary 
 necessities of the plot. 
 
 Summing up the results of our inquiry into the nature of the 
 myth-complex, we may say that there are, broadly speaking, 
 five units; the type of plot elaboration, the dramatis personae, 
 the episodes, the motivation of the episodes, and the 
 motifs; that one or more of these may vary in different 
 versions of the same myth; and that, finally, the main 
 problem we have to solve is to explain this variability. 
 We have sought to indicate that the explanation lay in the 
 manifold literary tendencies at work, particularly in the literary 
 individuality of the author-raconteur. The proof of our conten- 
 tion we will furnish in detail in another part of this essay. 
 
 THE MYTH-COMPLEX AS A UNIT. 
 
 We have discussed in the above sections the separate units 
 of the myth-complex. Our separation was, however, admittedly 
 arbitrary except from a purely analytical point of view. Let us 
 now, therefore, look at the myth-complex as a unit. 
 
 If we examine a number of myths, such as the Trickster 
 cycle of the Winnebago, the Wi-sa'ka^ cycle of the Fox, the 
 Nenebojo cycle of the Ojibwa, and the Coyote cycle of the Mexi- 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 31 
 
 can Indians, and compare them with the Twin cycle of the 
 Winnebago, the Wi'sa'ka'' myth of the origin of the Fox Midewi- 
 win, the cycle of Haxige of the Omaha, and with numerous 
 origin myths of ceremonials, a great difference will be found to 
 exist in the way in which the different elements of the myth- 
 complex have been welded together. 
 
 In the Trickster cycle of the Winnebago and of the Ojibwa 
 of southeastern Ontario and in the Fox Wi'sa'ka^ cycle there is 
 practically no general plot, but merely a sequence of episodes 
 strung together either without a connecting link or by means 
 of a very vague general theme. Frequently this theme consists 
 simply in regarding the episodes as various stages in a journey. 
 Such, for instance, is the case in the Winnebago cycle and in the 
 Nenebojo cycle of southeastern Ontario. In the Mississauga 
 version the theme is the bungling host. The latter is also found 
 in the Wi'sa'ka^ cycle. Whatever unity is found in this last- 
 mentioned cycle consists in the characteristics of the host. 
 Each episode is in itself a unit with this proviso — that some are 
 probably grouped together, in the minds of the people, with other 
 themes, different heroes, and different psychological-literary 
 situations. 
 
 In order to test the constancy of the association of a definite 
 series of episodes in a given story, I had two brothers, among the 
 Winnebago, tell me a myth which they had both derived from 
 the same source, and subsequently I had an individual tell me 
 the same myth at different intervals. The result showed a 
 marked variability in the selections of the episodes. 
 
 Such is the situation we find in the general trickster cycles. 
 The moment, however, we turn to myths like that of the Winne- 
 bago "Twins" and the others mentioned above which have be- 
 come associated with rituals, an entirely different condition con- 
 fronts us. There is, first, a more or less marked unity of plot. 
 Episodes are held together by reference to some literary unit, 
 actions are fairly well motivated, and there is a gradual unfolding 
 of a plot. It is quite apparent immediately that we are dealing 
 with a literary unit. Take for example the Twin cycle. It 
 consists of more than half a dozen myths, but they have, on 
 the whole, been so artistically woven together by general themes, 
 
32 MUSEUM BULLETIN XO. 16. 
 
 unity in the characterization of the heroes and their activities, 
 and by skilful motivation, that one hardly realizes the mosaic 
 nature of the whole. We are here clearly in the presence of an 
 epic. I secured practically all the separate myths found in the 
 epic separately, and a comparison of these separate versions 
 with the versions in the epic showed most illuminatingly the 
 manner in which the author of the epic had subordinated the 
 separate elements of his tale to the unity of the plot. 
 
 The same evidence of literary remodelling is to be seen in 
 the majority of origin myths of rituals. Here even the loose 
 Trickster cycle has become unified and coherent. Compare in 
 this respect the figure of the hare in the Winnebago Hare cycle 
 in general with the same figure in the origin myth of the Medicine- 
 Lodge, or that of the Fox Wi-sa'ka^ in the Trickster cycle with 
 the same figure in the origin myth of the Midewiwin. 
 
 It will, I hope, be understood that the unity predicated of 
 these versions is not perfect. As a matter of fact, if we look 
 at these myths in great detail and analyse them in the way we 
 are accustomed to analyse our own literary productions, a con- 
 siderable amount of the unity disappears. The motivation is 
 not always skilful, sometimes indeed there is no motivation at 
 all, and on the other hand certain episodes, motifs, themes, and 
 characterizations seem at variance with the general character of 
 the plot or the hero. Occasionally one finds a myth perfect from 
 the literary point of view, that is, our literary point of view.^ 
 As such, for instance, I regard the Winnebago myth of "The 
 Traveller." Very few perfect ones, however, were obtained. 
 In the main we find quite a large number of defects of detail 
 interfering with the unity of the plot. It is, however, just these 
 defects that are of the greatest significance in a discussion of 
 Indian mythology, as we will now try to show. 
 
 Many of the myths obtained in North America are, as we 
 have seen, found in two distinct types of versions, one in which 
 they have not, to any appreciable extent, been subjected to 
 
 • The Indian's point of view differs, of course, markedly from our own in a number of re- 
 spects. These will be discussed in the section on "The novelette as remodelled by the author- 
 raconteur." It should, however, be borne in mind that in many essential respects the art 
 of story-telling is alike among all mankind. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 33 
 
 literary workmanship and one in which they have. What signi- 
 ficance is there in the existence of these two types ? Why has 
 not one, for instance, displaced the other, and what exactly is 
 the relation of the one to the other ? It seems to me that the 
 answer to this question is simple, the one represents the myth as 
 folk-lore, the other as literature. The one is static, of the nature 
 of formulae toward which the individual takes a passive attitude ; 
 the other is dynamic, of the nature of free elements with which a 
 specially gifted individual plays and which he endeavours to weld 
 into a literary unit. In other words, the first type of version 
 represents our fairy tale. Fairy tales we know have no real 
 plot, but consist of a series of incidents strung together in an 
 indefinite way. All the incidents, themes, and motifs which 
 belong to the general folkloristic background are to be found in 
 them. Owing to the fact that they have become largely for- 
 mulaic in character, they are handed down in much the same 
 way from generation to generation. 
 
 The relation of the myth as such to the myth as novelette is a 
 very direct one. Just as among the Greeks, so among the Indians, 
 the main subject matter of their literature is based on their my- 
 thology. There is, it is true, a not inconsiderable body of real tales 
 among the Indians, consisting of specific happenings that have been 
 cast into a literary mould, but with these we have no concern here. 
 However, in thus bodily taking over their mythology for their 
 literary themes, the Indian author-raconteurs took with them a 
 large amount of the lack of coherence and poor motivation of the 
 myths and only in cases of fairly perfect workmanship has this 
 been eliminated. Similar things have taken place in our own 
 literature. In the dramas of Shakespeare, especially in his early 
 work, we find at times a number of situations that are quite 
 out of place and poorly motivated, explained when recourse is 
 had to the sources from which he drew his plots. ^ 
 
 The novelette, then, is generally only a myth cast in an im- 
 perfect literary mould. The contrast between the myth and its 
 novelette form is not anything like as great as that which existed, 
 
 ' Two such situations come to my mind: one, the seemingly incongruous fact that Romeo 
 is represented as being in love when the play opens; the second, Hamlet's failure to kill his 
 uncle when he finds him in prayer. Both these situations are poorly motivated and can be 
 most intelligibly explained when the original sources of the plots are consulted. 
 
34 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 for instance, between Greek mythology and the subject-matter 
 of the Greek plays. Just as among the latter, however, so among 
 the Indians, incidents, episodes, etc., have in the hands of skilful 
 author-raconteurs become entirely subordinated to a general 
 theme. The Wrath of Achilles finds its counterpart in the Twins' 
 Search for their Blankets, in the Enmity of the Water-spirit 
 and the Thunderbird, and in the Hare's Succour of the Human 
 Race. 
 
 It is perhaps along these lines — the lack of complete liter- 
 ary remodelling — that the figure of the trickster can best be 
 explained. Assuming the original existence of a series of clown- 
 ish adventures grouped around an indefinite personage, all that 
 is needed for an understanding of the trickster's r61e in North 
 America, with its apparent contradictions of buffoon and bene- 
 factor, is to imagine a partial literary remodelling of the older 
 myth. It is quite clear from myth collections made among the 
 Winnebago, Sauk and Fox, Ojibwa, and others thatWak'djuk'a-'ga, 
 Wi-sa'ka^, and Nenebojo have, in the main, become different 
 personages in the ritualistic myths. They have become con- 
 scious benefactors. But as this character has merely been added 
 to the older conception without any systematic attempt having 
 been made always to harmonize the older with the newer con- 
 ception, a peculiar incongruity has resulted which has sorely 
 puzzled mythologists. The interpretation I have ventured to 
 give here explains, it seems to me, the nature and significance of 
 this incongruity in conception in a simple and adequate manner 
 and does not leave as many inexplicable features as the interpre- 
 tations of Brinton and Boas. 
 
 Although I have rather insisted upon the association of the 
 trickster with a ritual as the reason for the development of his 
 role as benefactor, such a role may have developed in a number of 
 other ways. The possibility for such a growth is given in the 
 fact that the trickster is one of the very oldest figures in the myth- 
 ology of the human race and must have, in almost all cases, 
 become identified with the race of heroes and creators. 
 
 In speaking before of the myth as static, as a cultural ele- 
 ment toward which the individual assumed a passive attitude, we 
 did not have in mind so much the myth as the myth elements. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 35 
 
 There are innumerable variants of the trickster cycle, but this 
 variability in the selection of episodes, motifs, dramatis personse, 
 etc., is not really conditioned by literary considerations. It is 
 due mainly to two facts; first, to a lack of definite association 
 between episodes and motifs, it often being of little consequence 
 what particular ones are selected from the vast stock-in-trade of 
 any given folkloristic background; and, secondly, to borrowing 
 both from within the tribe itself and from without. What we 
 find here are passive accretions, losses, readjustments, etc., not 
 really comparable to the conscious subordination of the parts 
 to the whole or to the specific "thematic" developments of liter- 
 ary productions.^ 
 
 THE MYTH AS TRANSMITTED. 
 
 The Indian has a firm belief in the existence of a "correct" 
 version for each myth, which seems to evidence itself in his re- 
 fusal to tell a myth unless he knows it perfectly. The moment 
 
 ^ Swanton has discussed some of these problems in his paper entitled "Some practical 
 aspects of the study of myths," Journ. of American Folk-Lore, Vol. XXIII, pp. 5, 6, in a general 
 but very suggestive manner. He says, "Broadly we may distinguish between those myths 
 which appear to be the special property of the people among whom they are found, and those 
 which may be shown to be exotic. When a myth is learned by an individual belonging to 
 another tribe, but still located in the country from which it was obtained, we have simple repe- 
 tition of that myth. When, however, it is applied to some place or people within the limits 
 of the tribe borrowing, it may be said to be 'adopted;' and, if the scene of it is laid at some 
 particular place, it may be said to be 'relocalized.' When it is taken into an older story of the 
 tribe borrowing it, we have 'incorporation.' This incorporation may be due to one of several 
 causes. Stories referring to the origin of any natural feature or custom would by a Haida 
 or Tlingit naturally be incorporated into the Raven story, because the larger number of such 
 stories are gathered there. In other cases two stories are combined merely because they present 
 certain superficial similarities, and we then have 'combination on account of similars.' Two 
 stories resembling each other closely may in certain details become fused and reduced to one, 
 or there may be 'transfusion of elements' between them. In still another case we have a kind 
 of 'myth metathesis,' the hero of one narrative having become a monster overcome by the 
 hero in the other. 'Alteration of motive' occurs where a myth told for one purpose in one place 
 is given a different explanation in another, here accounting for a certain crest, there for a place 
 name, a custom, or the origin of a secret society. 'Mythification' might be applied to that 
 presented by an historical Haida war-story into which has been implanted the common mythic 
 story of a man ascending to the sky-world and throwing down timbers or coals thence. More 
 important is the process by which a tale is rendered more and more consistent either (1) to 
 agree with altered tribal circumstances, or (2) to keep pace with a rising level of intelligence and 
 a consequently greater demand for consistency. The first of these is that process which gives 
 rise to many folk-etymologies, explanations of names and things which have nothing to do 
 with their real origin; while the second results in those elaborate attempts to explain myths 
 as allegorical representations of real events. 'Ritualization of myths' takes place when an 
 attempt is made to weave together the sacred legends into a consistent tribal, clan, or society 
 story, the telling of which is frequently accompanied by external ceremonies. . . ." 
 
36 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 we try, however, to control this beUef by comparing different 
 versions of the same myth, this belief does not seem justified. 
 As a matter of fact, among the Winnebago I have called an 
 informant's attention to the difference between his version and 
 another one obtained and he expressed no surprise, saying that 
 there were different ways of telling this particular myth, depend- 
 ing upon the band in the Medicine-Dance to which he belonged. 
 Such instances as this make it seem probable that the Indian 
 does not really postulate a tribal version, but one associated with 
 much smaller units. Among tribes living in definite village groups 
 we might expect to have a myth vary from village to village; 
 among other tribes from camp to camp or even from family 
 to family. The question that we have to answer then is how, 
 in myth collections obtained to-day, we are to interpret our 
 variants. Let us first discuss intertribal variants. 
 
 There seems to be little doubt that a number of distinct 
 myth-centres existed in North America, between which dif- 
 fusion has taken place from time immemorial. In addition to 
 these large centres there also grew up smaller areas with charac- 
 teristic ways of telling certain myths and with a marked tendency 
 toward grouping together certain episodes, toward using certain 
 motifs and dramatis personse, and even, it may be said, toward 
 employing a definite type of plot elaboration. It is with these 
 smaller centres and the variability within them, that we wish to 
 deal specifically. Dixon has summarized the data for one such 
 area in his paper entitled "The Mythology of the Central and 
 Eastern Algonkins," and as it is of considerable importance for 
 our discussion, we will quote it in extenso.^ 
 
 "At the outset we may divide the whole mass of these 
 tales into two parts — those which form a more or less connected 
 series recounting the birth and adventures of the two brothers, 
 ending with the deluge and the re-creation of the world; and, 
 on the other hand, those other tales which recount the exploits 
 of the culture-hero alone, some of which are of the trickster 
 type. 
 
 "Taking this more or less connected cycle, we may separate 
 it, for purposes of comparison, into four portions — the origin 
 
 ^ Jouraal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. XXII, pp. 6-8. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 37 
 
 and birth of the hero and his brother or brothers, the brother's 
 death, the deluge, and the re-creation of the world. As a whole, 
 the cycle as told shows two contrasting forms, an Eastern and a 
 Western. Considering the latter of these, it is evident, that so 
 far as the first part is concerned, there is considerable variation. 
 The Ojibwa, Menominee, Pottawatomi and Ottawa have in 
 common two incidents of the virgin or abnormal birth and the 
 death of the mother. These features are lacking in the Fox, 
 while there are no tales relative to the origin of the culture-hero 
 given from the Cree and Saulteaux. While the Ojibwa, Menomi- 
 nee and Ottawa agree in there being but two brothers. Fox and 
 Pottawatomi both speak of four, Menominee and Ottawa agree 
 in associating the younger brother with the wolf, whereas the 
 former stands alone in having one of the brothers die at birth, 
 to be later resuscitated as a companion for the other. The 
 most noteworthy difference, however, in this first portion of the 
 cycle, lies in the appearance among the Pottawatomi and Ottawa 
 of the Flintman as one of the brothers: of his opposition and 
 enmity to the culture-hero; and final destruction by the latter, 
 as a result of what may be called the "deceitful confidence." 
 These various elements are typically Iroquoian, and are found 
 most fully developed, apparently among the Wyandot-Huron, 
 
 "The second part of the cycle also shows variety. Among 
 the Menominee and Pottawatomi, the Ojibwa and the Ottawa, 
 the culture-hero's brother is killed by evil water-frequenting 
 manitous, when the brother, neglecting his elder brother's warn- 
 ing, crosses a lake on the ice. The Menominee and Pottawatomi 
 agree in the return of the brother in the form of a ghost, and in 
 his departure westward to be the guardian of the land of the dead. 
 These elements do not appear in the Ojibwa or Ottawa, however. 
 A somewhat similar combination appears in the Fox, where the 
 incident of the lake does not occur, the manitous killing the cul- 
 ture-hero's brother, after decoying him away to a distance. 
 The incident of the ghost's return is, however, present. The 
 afifiliation of the Cree-Saulteaux in this portion of the cycle 
 is again unknown, for lack of data. 
 
 "For the third part there is fuller material, as, although 
 the incidents are not available from the Pottawatomi, both 
 
38 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 Cree and Saulteaux may here be taken account of. As far as 
 regards the incident of the "bird informant" Cree, Saulteaux, 
 Ojibwa and Fox stand together. In the "stump disguise" 
 and the wounding of the manitous, all are in accord except 
 the Fox, which here has the unique incident of the floating 
 spider-web. The Menominee has also a special incident in the 
 introduction of the ball game. In the impersonation of the Frog 
 shaman by the culture-hero, and his subsequent completion of 
 the revenge by killing the manitous, all are in accord except the 
 Ottawa, which lacks this incident. All in all, the Cree, Saulteaux, 
 Ojibwa, and Menominee are in closest agreement in this part of 
 the cycle. 
 
 "In the essential elements of the deluge, the escape from it, 
 the "earth-diver" and the reconstruction of the world, all the 
 tribes are in substantial accord. The Menominee-Ojibwa alone 
 have the incident of the stretching tree, and the Cree-Ojibwa 
 alone tell of the measuring of the new earth by the wolf. Taken 
 as a whole, all the members of the Western and Central groups 
 form a fairly accordant body. The Fox, having several unique 
 features, stands somewhat apart, as does the Pottawatomi, by 
 reason of its strong Iroquoian element. 
 
 "Turning now to the Eastern tribes, it appears at a glance 
 that there is little in common with the tribes just discussed. 
 There is here the incident of the abnormal birth, but this is also 
 found among the Iroquois and widely elsewhere. Among 
 the Abnaki there is the association of the culture-hero's brother 
 with the wolf, but all the remainder of the cycle is missing. 
 The only other points of contact with the cycle as described, 
 lie in the opposition of the two brothers, and the slaying of one 
 by the other as a result of the "deceitful confidence." These 
 incidents are, however, typically Iroquoian, and are found only 
 in the Ottawa and Pottawatomi farther west. Practically, 
 therefore, we may say that the cycle found in fairly accordant 
 form through the west is here wholly lacking. 
 
 "In a consideration of the other incidents relating to the 
 culture-hero, we unfortunately have little information relating 
 to the Pottawatomi or the tribes of the central group, and must 
 thus confine the comparisons largely to the other western tribes 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 39 
 
 and those of the east. Of incidents not falling into the con- 
 nected cycle just discussed, there are about eighteen, an investi- 
 gation of whose distribution reveals the following points. About 
 half of these, including such as the "hoodwinked dancers," 
 "stolen feast," "rolling rock," "body punished," "reflection 
 devices," "tree holds prisoner," and "sun trap," are common to 
 a group composed of the Cree, Saulteaux, Fox, and Menominee, 
 the Ojibwa having but three out of eight. The other half, 
 including the "wolf companions," "Jonah," "Hippogrif," 
 "caught by the head," "visit to the culture-hero," and "bungling 
 host," are common to the group made up of the Saulteaux, 
 Ojibwa, Fox, and Menominee. In other words, the Saulteaux- 
 Menominee-Fox have a series of about eighteen incidents in 
 common, one-half of which are also found among the Cree, 
 and the other half among the Ojibwa. 
 
 "With the Eastern group there is almost as slight an agree- 
 ment in the class of incidents as in the connected cycle. Four 
 incidents only are found to agree — the "hoodwinked dancers," 
 the "rolHng rock," "visit to the culture-hero," and the "bungling 
 host." The latter, at least, is of such wide distribution that its 
 importance in this case may be regarded as slight." 
 
 The variability in the versions of this Two-Brother myth 
 is, after all, inconsiderable. Let us see of what type they are. 
 We have first the abnormal birth of the hero, present in some and 
 absent in others; then a variability in the number of dramatis 
 personae and in the nature of their relation to one another, 
 whether friendly or inimical; third, differences in the fate of the 
 brother; and fourth, differences in the nature of the hero's dis- 
 guise when seeking revenge. 
 
 The abnormal birth is part of the usual formula for the hero. 
 It may, however, disappear if of little importance for his char- 
 acterization. In the Fox version used by Dixon we are dealing 
 with a ritualistic myth that has undergone marked literary 
 remodelling where the author-raconteur seems to have had two 
 marked themes, revenge for the death of the hero's brother, and 
 the succour of the human race, and everything has been subor- 
 dinated to these themes. The retention of the entire folk-lore 
 hero formula was quite unnecessary. Among th€ Winnebago, 
 
40 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 in the origin myth of the Medicine Dance, the hero, although 
 regarded as a creation of Earthmaker, still retains in vestigial 
 form this part of the old hero formula, although it has been 
 skillfully motivated. 
 
 In the death of the mother we are probably dealing with the 
 persistence of a motif that is of considerable importance in the 
 separate myth of the birth of Nenebojo. There is also present 
 an evident assimilation here with the Twin myth, where the 
 mother is generally killed by an ogre. We may also be dealing 
 with part of the hero formula, for not only must the hero be born 
 of a virgin, but he must be born before his time, generally in 
 seven months with the consequent death of his mother. 
 
 The variability in the number of heroes is probably due to 
 a partial confusion of this myth with the independent myth 
 of the birth of the hero, where he is regarded as one of the four 
 cardinal points. It is the confusion with the same myth that 
 probably accounts for the change from a friendly to an inimical 
 attitude of the heroes. 
 
 The association of the brother with the land of the dead 
 is constant for all these tribes, it having been recently found 
 among the Ojibwa too, but apparently only among those tribes 
 where a ritual is connected with it, like the Menominee, Pot- 
 tawatami. Fox, and Winnebago, is it particularly motivated. 
 
 That the hero's disguise should in all but one case be a 
 "stump," shows how closely this particular motif was associated 
 with the Two-Brother myth in this particular area. 
 
 Summing up, we may say that we are dealing here with a 
 version of the Two-Brother myth that is fairly constant within 
 a restricted area, that the differences found are of an accidental 
 nature or are connected either with the incomplete use of the 
 hero formula or with ritualistic associations. Nowhere, the 
 Fox version always excepted, have they resulted from attempts 
 at literary remodelling. 
 
 All the foregoing changes have arisen during the trans- 
 mission of the myth from one generation to another, and we 
 may, therefore, assume that in the transmission of this particular 
 version of a folk-lore-myth, not only has the plot been kept 
 practically intact in most of its details, but that even a constancy 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 41 
 
 may exist in the details and the sequence of the episodes and 
 motifs. Such a fixity in the associations of plot, episodes, 
 and motifs, with an apparent absence of literary remodelling, 
 is, however, not common. We would ordinarily expect to find 
 only a few episodes or motifs definitely associated, as in the differ- 
 ent folk-lore versions of the "Twins." 
 
 THE NOVELETTE AS TRANSMITTED. 
 
 The literary remodelling of the folk-lore myth or novelette, 
 as we will now call it, has certainly gone on for many generations, 
 longer in some tribes, of course, and shorter in others. A num- 
 ber of myth versions will consequently represent in reality 
 novelettes that have deviated so far from the original folk-lore- 
 myth on which they were based that it is as impossible to re- 
 construct this original myth with their help, as it would be to 
 reconstruct the primitive versions of the Greek myths from the 
 literary versions known to us. However, we are much better 
 off among the Indians than among the Greeks in this respect — 
 that folk-lore versions of the myths have been transmitted with 
 which these literary versions may be, at times, compared. 
 We have, then, one means of determining, within certain limits, 
 the changes a novelette has undergone. The study of these 
 changes will also be facilitated as soon as we know first, in more 
 detail the r61e of the author-raconteur, who unquestionably 
 represents the main agency in the remodelling, and secondly, 
 their approximate number in different tribes and different 
 generations. 
 
 The general opposition against change is perhaps more 
 marked in the case of the novelette than in that of the folk-lore- 
 myth and is evidenced at times in a contemptuous attitude 
 toward the "radicals" who tell myths differently from their 
 fathers. It should also be remembered that the novelette was 
 on the whole neither as generally known nor as popular as the 
 myth and was probably transmitted along distinct family 
 lines. This is particularly true of adventures of ancestors 
 and fasting experiences that have been cast into a literary 
 mould, and it may also be true of the common realistic tale 
 
42 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 not based on mythological subject matter. If to the above 
 reasons we add the fact that in the novelette the different ele- 
 ments of the plot form a more or less fixed unit, we should expect 
 to find a fairly intact transmission, in some cases. Some of the 
 versions must then represent old literary forms and old literary 
 interests. In order to determine this an exhaustive study would 
 have to be made of the mythology-literature of a tribe and a large 
 number of variants of each myth would have to be collected. When 
 this has been done, we will, I am certain, be in a better position 
 to judge of the significance of such features as the star inter- 
 pretations of the Pawnee, the human heroes of the Eskimo, 
 the explanatory element, etc. 
 
 THE NOVELETTE AS REMODELLED BY THE AUTHOR-RACONTEUR. 
 
 It was formerly assumed that the Indian's reverence for 
 the past bound him in shackles that only the very few could 
 break; that cultural possessions were transmitted just as they 
 had been received. The apparent deviations were supposed 
 to be due to unevenness in the power of transmitting exactly 
 what had been heard. This factor in cultural changes has been 
 vastly overrated, it seems to me. On no theory of unevenness 
 in transmission can certain of the differences between versions 
 of the same myth or novelette be accounted for. Even a cursory 
 study must make it clear that we are dealing here with factors 
 of a very specific kind. Let us see what they are. 
 
 Any one who has spent any time among Indians must have 
 been impressed by the fact that only a few Indians in any tribe 
 have the reputation of being excellent raconteurs. And it is a 
 different kind of excellence with which each raconteur is credited, 
 if we are to judge from the Winnebago and Ojibwa. Among 
 the former, where I made definite inquiries, one man was famous 
 for the humorous touches which he imparted to every tale; 
 another, for the fluency with which he spoke and the choice 
 of his language; a third, for his dramatic delivery; a fourth, 
 for the radical way in which he handled time-worn themes; 
 a fifth, for his tremendous memory; a sixth, for the accuracy 
 with which he adhered to the "accepted" version; etc. As 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 43 
 
 born raconteurs, with a different type of genius, they told the 
 story for the sake of story telHng, as raconteurs have done in all 
 ages. They used their specific gifts to attain the greatest effect. 
 For most of them it would be wholly impossible to tell a tale 
 exactly in the same way, even if it had been obtained from a skil- 
 ful raconteur. We know that the artist who has obtained 
 complete mastery over his technique invariably plays with his 
 art. In a similar way the raconteur who has obtained complete 
 mastery over his technique plays with his material and it is this 
 play that becomes an important factor in the origin of different 
 versions. 
 
 The forms in which this play instinct will manifest itself 
 are, of course, manifold. It may lie in the characterization of 
 different personages by special phonetical devices; by gestures; 
 by exaggerating certain incidents or overdrawing certain traits 
 of the characters; and finally — and for our purposes, of para- 
 mount importance — it may lie in the substitution of one episode 
 for another, one theme for another, or one motif for another. 
 Even granted that older literary models and other causes hold 
 him in check, the changes that will take place in the novelette, 
 under the influence of the factors enumerated above, are consider- 
 able. 
 
 One might suppose that such a conception of the r61e of the 
 author-raconteur would imply tremendous changes in the novel- 
 ette, as it passes from generation to generation. Theoretically 
 this is true and if we do not find as great departures from the 
 normal version of a given novelette as anticipated, this is due 
 to the improbability of a line of skilful author-raconteurs apply- 
 ing themselves to any given novelette, reinforced by the conser- 
 vative tendency of a group which will not countenance any 
 marked originality in the handling of traditional themes. 
 
 Every generation will, I think, have its original author- 
 raconteurs, although unquestionabty their most original treat- 
 ment of myths will not survive them. A number of these are, 
 however, likely to fall into the hands of investigators, who 
 must consequently remember that these deviations hardly 
 
44 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 represent the rate of variability of any given myth from gener- 
 ation to generation."^ 
 
 PSYCHOLOGICAL-LITERARY ELEMENTS IN THE PLOT. 
 
 The preceding discussion was concerned with the probability 
 of the origin of the many different versions of myths through 
 the free exercise of the author-raconteur's play instinct. We 
 shall now discuss the probability for still further divergence 
 through the exercise of the author-raconteur's literary-psycho- 
 logical instinct. 
 
 The Indian author-raconteur must have realized as much as 
 any of our own novelists that the effective telling of a story 
 depended on a number of devices, the development of a denoue- 
 ment, cumulative effect, etc. ; also that he was dealing with cer- 
 tain psychological situations. It certainly is not presuming 
 too much to say that he had sufficient power to analyse his 
 myths and separate them in a rough way into the component 
 elements of which they were formed. Let us illustrate this by 
 examining the plot of the Winnebago myth of "Holy One." 
 What the author-raconteur had in mind was clearly the following 
 plot and the following psychological situations. 
 
 Scene I. Holy One's brother must die. He is warned not 
 to take a certain road. 
 
 Scene II. The slayers of Holy One's brother must be dis- 
 covered and punished. Holy One must discover their identity 
 from some unwilling agent. He must transform himself, wound 
 but not kill the slayers. Then he must find out what has become 
 of the slayers, again from an unwilling agent, kill the agent, 
 disguise himself in his shape, and finally kill the slayers of his 
 brother. 
 
 Scene HI. He must be pursued and escape. 
 
 Scene IV. He must attempt to restore his brother to Hfe 
 and fail. 
 
 ' I know particularly of two Winnebago who have the reputation of telling myths remark- 
 ably well, but of deviating considerably from the older versions. The older people look askance 
 at them, but the younger, especially the members of the family, seem to show no displeasure. 
 Under ordinary conditions, we might here have a test case of the perpetuation of markedly 
 divergent versions. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 45 
 
 The death of Holy One is not directly motivated in all 
 versions of this myth, his death, however, being assumed.^ 
 
 Let us see how certain of the above themes are treated in 
 detail; for instance, the manner in which Holy One discovers 
 the slayers of his brother. The motivation is various. The 
 following is the Omaha version. 
 
 "On the bank of the stream the grass was lying in good 
 condition. There he (Haxige) lay down. As he lay two ducks 
 came to him. They went diving. And they came up again. 
 One said as follows: 'My friend, when Haxige's younger brother 
 was killed, I had a great abundance of food. How was it with 
 you ?' 'My friend, I did not have a good time. Only the little 
 finger was left for me; and I said that no matter when I saw 
 him, I would tell him (Haxige) about his own,' said the duck. 
 
 "When Haxige heard it he became a leaf. Having fallen 
 on the water, the leaf went floating in the space between the ducks. 
 When he reached the very place he seized the ducks by the neck."^ 
 
 The following is the Ojibwa version obtained at Rama, 
 Ontario : 
 
 "As he (Nenebojo)was walking along the shore of a lake, he 
 saw a Kingfisher sitting on a branch of a tree, that was bending 
 over the lake, intently looking at something in the water. 'What 
 are you looking at ?' asked Nenebojo. The Kingfisher pretended 
 not to hear him. Then Nenebojo said again, 'If you will tell 
 me what you are looking at, I will make you look very beautiful. 
 I will paint your feathers.' The bird gladly accepted the offer, 
 and as soon as Nenebojo had painted his feathers, he said, 
 'I am looking at Nenebojo's brother whom the water-spirits 
 have killed and whose skin they are using as a door-flap. "^ 
 
 The Winnebago version is given on pages 22-24. 
 
 In the next episode Holy One must wound the water-spirits 
 and thereupon disguise himself in such a way that the water- 
 
 1 Cf., for instance, the first part of the Fox origin myth of the Midewiwin and the end of 
 the Omaha myth of Haxige's Adventures. In the Fox version we have both a specific moti- 
 vation — the spirits' enmity against Wi'sa'ka's — and the traditional belief that Wi.sa.ka's 
 brother is the ruler of the realms of the dead. 
 
 2 J. O. Dorsey, ibid., p. 240. 
 
 ^ P. Radin, "Some myths and tales of the Ojibwa of southeastern Ontario," pp. 19, 20. 
 
46 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 spirits who know they are being pursued are nevertheless de- 
 ceived. 
 
 This is the Omaha motivation. 
 
 "Haxige became an eagle and departed. Behold, the mon- 
 sters lay flat on their backs . . . 'Haxige is coming towards 
 you,' was said. He failed . . . 'What shall I do to get even 
 with them ?' Haxige thought. Then he became a leaf again . . . 
 'Haxige is coming toward you,' v/as said. He failed. Then he 
 became like a blue-backed bird-hawk . . 'Haxige is coming 
 toward you,' he said. He failed ... At length when the 
 fourth day arrived he became a grass-snake, etc." 
 
 Among the Ojibwa of southeastern Ontario we find the fol- 
 lowing commonly used motivation: 
 
 "He (Nenebojo) first pondered about what disguise he should 
 take, so that he could approach them (the water-spirits) without 
 being detected. 'Well, ' said he to himself, 'I think I'll change 
 myself into an old rotten stump.' This he immediately did 
 by means of a long rod that he always carried with him. 
 
 "When the lions came out of the water to sun themselves, 
 one of them noticed the stump and said to one of the others, 
 'I never saw that old stump there before. Surely it can't be 
 Nenebojo ?' But the one he was addressing said, 'Indeed I have 
 seen that stump before.' Then a third one came over to look, 
 in order to make certain. He broke a piece off and he saw 
 that it was rotten. So they were all satisfied."^ 
 
 The Winnebago motivation shows a modification of the 
 Omaha. 
 
 "The next morning Holy One started for the place where 
 the water-spirits bask in the sun. On the way he caught some 
 mice and carried them along with him. He went to the sand-bar 
 and there he turned himself into an old stump of a willow-tree 
 full of mice's nests and mice. Suddenly the lake began to roar 
 and the two spirits floated to the surface in the middle of the lake. 
 Suddenly one of them said, 'Look, there is Holy One!' Then 
 both dived back into the water again. After a while they came 
 up again, but quickly dived back. A third and fourth time they 
 
 1 p. Radin, "Some myths and tales of the Ojibwa of southeastern Ontario," p. 20. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 47 
 
 did this. Finally one of them said, 'Oh, that is merely an old 
 stump. It has always been there.' 'Well, if that is the case, 
 you had better go and look at it.' Then one of them went over 
 to inspect it and the mice ran out in every direction. He then 
 said, 'Surely, this can't be Holy One, for if it were he would 
 not have changed himself into a stump with living mice in it. 
 Besides that, I told you it always stood there, but you wouldn't 
 believe me." 
 
 In a similar way it could be shown by comparing other episodes 
 and themes that the motivation is characteristically different 
 in different versions of the same myth. How are we to explain 
 this variety in motivation ? All we have to assume is a skilful 
 raconteur-author who seizes the different moments of importance 
 in a plot and plays with them, now motivating one in one way, 
 now in another, so that he may best fix the listener's attention 
 and derive the greatest artistic pleasure. In other words, 
 over and above the precise form in which he obtains a myth 
 stands his relation as an artist to the dramatic situations 
 contained in it and to his audience. 
 
 With the psychological situations firmly in his mind the 
 author-raconteur selects from the relatively large stock-in-trade 
 of themes, episodes, and motifs belonging to his cultural back- 
 ground, those he cares to use for developing his plot, showing 
 in some cases a conservative, in others a radical tendency. He 
 may even add entirely new motifs, but this does not seem to be 
 common. As this selection is intimately bound up with the 
 individuality of the author-raconteur, it is presumably im- 
 possible to tell exactly what he is likely to select.^ 
 
 DIFFUSION OF MYTHS FROM THE ABOVE POINT OF VIEW. 
 
 Let us now see what bearing our analysis has upon the 
 problem of myth diffusion. Is it, for instance, the whole myth- 
 complex or the plot that is borrowed as such, or are the episodes, 
 motifs, or themes borrowed separately ? No thorough study 
 
 ^ I am leaving out entirely the important subject of the literary devices used in the nove- 
 lette, reserving a discussion for a separate paper. Suffice it to say that this aspect of the myth- 
 complex more than corroborates the importance assigned to the author-raconteur in the literary 
 remodelling of the myth. 
 
48 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 of this aspect of myth diffusion has as yet been made; but the 
 general impression one gets from a comparison of the similarities 
 of the mythology of the different areas in North America is that 
 while whole myth complexes or very general plots may at times 
 be borrowed in to to, this is rare. The similarities seem to be 
 confined generally to specific themes, motifs, and episodes. 
 
 Investigations of the influence of European on Indian myth- 
 ology ought to furnish us with excellent test cases. Take, for 
 example, the Tar-baby episode or the Race of the Tortoise and 
 the Deer, both of which are probably of European origin. Does 
 their presence in a myth indicate that the entire myth was origin- 
 ally of European origin and has been completely assimilated by 
 the Indians, leaving but these two vestiges ? If these two epi- 
 sodes generally were found in association with other episodes of 
 a myth-complex of unquestioned European origin, there might 
 be some justification for this assumption. But this is not the 
 case, the tar -baby episode or some close variant of it apparently 
 occurring as a free unit in a number of myths. The same is 
 true of the wishing-table motif, which occurs in a Winnebago 
 myth that is clearly aboriginal. A study of Rand's collection of 
 Micmac myths would yield a large number of additional examples. 
 In Prof. Boas' discussion of the tale of John the Bear and the 
 Seven Heads, the diffusion of individual episodes as such is in- 
 dicated again. "^ 
 
 What still further militates against the assumption that 
 myth complexes may be borrowed and then degenerate, leaving 
 only a few vestiges behind, is the fact that in those cases where 
 we know that myths have been borrowed in toto there seems to 
 be no degeneration even when the myth has been almost com- 
 pletely remodelled in terms of the specific Indian culture. I 
 obtained for instance a version of Snow-white among the Ojibwa 
 of southeastern Ontario which had been completely "indianized" 
 yet which retained all the episodes and motifs of the Grimm 
 version. It seems also likely from a study of the Zapotecan 
 myths collected in Mexico that a European myth was at times 
 borrowed in toto and that some striking episode was subsequently 
 
 ^ F. Boas "Notes on Mexican folk-lore," Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. XXV, 
 1912, pp. 204-260. 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 49 
 
 detached from it and used as a free element. This seems to be 
 true, for instance, of the robbers' cave of the AU Baba tale. 
 
 What it is that determines the introduction of a new myth 
 or of new episodes, etc., it is somewhat difficult to say before 
 specific investigations have been made. It depends very likely 
 largely on chance, the individuality of the borrower, the nature 
 of the specific mythology, and the duration and intimacy of the 
 contact between tribes. In some cases, notably in Spanish 
 America, we seem to have a complete or at least almost complete 
 displacement of the Indian mythology by that of the Spaniards. 
 To ascribe that solely to the intimacy of the contact between the 
 Spaniards and the Indians and the duration of that contact seems 
 to me hasty. The .^sopian fables and the riddles found in 
 Mexico are unquestionably European, yet some significance may 
 attach to the fact that they were so readily adopted by the In- 
 dians. Similarly, if the Coyote and the Rabbit cycle found in 
 Mexico turn out eventually to be of unquestioned European 
 origin, the fact that the ancient Mexicans undoubtedly possessed 
 a Coyote and Rabbit cycle may have some bearing upon the 
 fact that the European cycle displaced the older Indian one. In 
 other words, there is likely to be as much significance in the dis- 
 placement of older myths by newer ones as in the rejection of 
 newer ones. 
 
 In the majority of cases, where diffusion occurred In a nor- 
 mal way, we may, therefore, assume that the separate units of the 
 myth were borrowed. Now the borrowing of a myth is, of course, 
 rarely an inert transmission of a tale. An individual brings 
 back to his tribe not simply what he has heard but what has 
 struck his fancy. He naturally interprets the story in terms 
 of his own mythology. He will probably instantaneously asso- 
 ciate some of his episodes with his trickster, others with his trans- 
 former, etc. When he subsequently narrates his own trickster or 
 transformer cycle, what more natural than that he substitute 
 this new episode, etc., for the older one or simply add it to the 
 older ? 
 
 We have, then, in myth-borrowing to distinguish in all 
 cases what has been borrowed, whether the complete myth or 
 individual component elements, and we have always to bear in 
 
50 MUSEUM BULLETIN NO. 16. 
 
 mind that borrowing is a selective process. The problems con- 
 nected with myth borrowing thus assume a far greater complexity 
 than we are apt to give them."- 
 
 THE LITERARY INTERPRETATION AND THE POSITION OF EHREN- 
 
 REICH* 
 
 In a previous section we pointed out that the position of 
 Ehrenreich and the German theorists in general centred prin- 
 cipally on their conception of a single original and correct version 
 of every myth.^ Their prime object was to discover a way in 
 which they could reconstruct these primary versions from the 
 divergent versions with which they were acquainted. To 
 Ehrenreich that seems to have been a comparatively easy matter 
 and could be accomplished by the proper interpretation of certain 
 motifs. "Die Motive geben den urspriinglichern Inhalt des 
 Mythes an, weil sie dasjenige Element sind, das auf konkreter 
 Grundlage beruhend am festesten mit der urspriinglichen Natu- 
 ranschauung verbunden bleibt, ungeachtet aller sekundaren 
 Formveranderungen."^ 
 
 It is rather significant that Ehrenreich resorts to ultimate 
 psychological proofs to establish his position. In many places 
 of his work it is indeed impossible to determine how intimately 
 connected his specific mythological data are with his psychologi- 
 cal formulation.^ In this respect his treatment resembles that of 
 
 1 Perhaps a critical examination of myth -borrowing may show that the greater the diver- 
 gence of a given myth complex from the type prevalent in the recipient culture, the greater the 
 tendency to borrow the myth as a unit; and the greater the similarity, the greater the ten- 
 dency of the selective agency to begin synchronously with the hearing of the myth. 
 
 "* I do not know whether Erhenreich would have admitted this, but it seems to me to be 
 an implied corollary of his position. On page 36 of his "Allgemeine Mythologie" he says, 
 "Jede mythische Handlung besteht aus einer ursachlich verkniipften Folge von Einzelzugen, 
 Situationen und Akzidenzen, die aus der Naturgrundlage abgeleitet, meist sogar geradezu real 
 daraus abgesehen sind. Diese Motive entsprechen den einzelnen Phasen des Naturvorgangs, 
 dem sie den Character einer menschlichen Handlung verleihen." 
 
 As I assume that Ehrenreich is not reasoning on purely a priori grounds, he must have 
 found corroboration for the above from a study of the contents of the myths. 
 
 3 Ibid. 
 
 * "Die Form des Mythus hangt hauptsachlich ab von den Ideenassoziationen die sich auf 
 der Grundvorstellung entwickeln. Sie setzen sich night ins ungemessene fort, sondern be- 
 wegen sich innerhalb des Anschauungskreises der Grundvorstellung, d. h. sie bleiben mit dem 
 Naturkern begrifHich verbunden. So erzeugt die Vorstellung des Mondes als Sichelschwert, 
 zugleich die der Handhabung dieser Waffe als Enthauptung oder Abhauung eines Wesens, 
 unterstutzt durch die AufFassung der Aurora als Blut des Verletzten" (p. 39). 
 
LITERARY ASPECTS OF NORTH AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY. 51 
 
 Schurtz in his "Altersklassen und Geheimbiinde." In the main 
 the same critique that I have applied to the latter^ can be appHed 
 to Ehrenreich. 
 
 The motifs, according to Ehrenreich, are conditioned by 
 man's apperception of the phenomena of nature and what he 
 associates with these phenomena. They thus serve as demon- 
 strations that the myths were originally concerned with these 
 phenomena. As a proof of this, a number of myths were pointed 
 out that still possessed all the features of a nature-myth. Taking 
 these, then, as a starting point and as reinforcing his primary 
 assumption of a single original and correct version, Ehrenreich 
 reconstructed primitive mythology. 
 
 As we have repeatedly pointed out, it is quite essential for 
 Ehrenreichs' theory that motifs and episodes serve as a means 
 for reconstructing his original versions, and it is just here that 
 the importance of the literary analysis becomes apparent; 
 for we have shown that the motifs, themes, and episodes are 
 used as free elements and are altered not through accidental 
 causes but by the exercise of an author-raconteur's artistic instinct. 
 Consequently, even if many of these motifs did conceivably be- 
 long to old versions of a myth, there is no possible way of dis- 
 covering that now. We know, of course, that nature-myths 
 exist, but, considering the nature of the literary tendencies at 
 work, it seems quite justifiable to assume that certain author- 
 raconteurs showed a preference for developing nature-myths 
 or for interpreting any myth in terms of natural phenomena. 
 There is abundant evidence for such a tendency in the mythol- 
 ogies of many North American tribes. Among the Pawnee, for 
 instance, the identification of heroes with stars has become almost 
 a formula. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the discussion of North American 
 mythology from a literary point of view presents the problems 
 customarily dealt with in an entirely different light, and, if it 
 does nothing else, it demonstrates at least how intricate are the 
 facts involved and how great the data still to be obtained before 
 ultimate problems can be attacked. 
 
 1 Cf. p. Radin, "The Ritual and significance of the Winnebago medicine dance," Journal 
 of American Folk-Lore, Vol. XXV, 1911, pp. 149-208. 
 
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