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History and folklore of the Cowichan Indians / [translated by Martha Douglas Harris] ; cover and illustrations by Margaret C. Maclure.
Kislak Center for Special Collections - Schimmel Collection Schimmel Fiction 2055
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Kislak Center for Special Collections - Schimmel Collection Schimmel Fiction 2054
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- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Harris, Martha Douglas.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Cowichan Indians--History.
- Cowichan Indians.
- Cowichan Indians--Folklore.
- Tales--British Columbia.
- Tales.
- History.
- British Columbia.
- Genre:
- Folklore.
- Penn Provenance:
- Schimmel, Caroline F. (donor) (Schimmel Collection copy 1 & 2)
- Physical Description:
- 89 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm
- Other Title:
- Indian legends
- Place of Publication:
- Victoria, B.C. : The Colonist Printing and Publishing Company, 1901.
- Summary:
- In the late 1800s, Martha Douglas Harris, the daughter of the former governor of British Columbia, observed that "civilization" was destroying the "native dignity and wholesome life" of the Cowichan tribe of Vancouver, "substituting much evil for the real good found in their former customs and character." She herself was part Cree Indian-a fact that her father was none too eager to make public. But he and her mother had long since passed away, and so she wrote this book of 20 folktales in 1901, partly to honor her Native American heritage.
- Contents:
- Part I Folklore of the Cowichan Indians 21
- 1 The Story of the First Man on Earth 23
- 2 Sowittan, or The Grumbler 27
- 3 The Story of the Flood by the Cowichan Indians 31
- 4 History of the Cowichans 35
- 5 The War Song 39
- 6 The Story of Quamichan 41
- 7 Scallighan, or The Thunder and Lightning Bird 45
- 8 The Adventures of a Young Man with Crooked Eyes 53
- 9 The Story of Ten Brothers and the Sea Lion 59
- 10 The Story of Semmelth 65
- 11 Stetalht, or Spirit People 73
- 12 Chee-che-ka 77
- 13 Chiltsop, or Fire-stick 81
- 14 Children of the Moon 85
- Part II Folklore of the Cree Indians 91
- 15 Wie-sah-ke-chack 93
- 16 The Story of the Four Winds 101
- 17 The Enchanted Bear 105
- 18 Chis-tapistaquhn, or The Rolling Head 109
- 19 The Two Sisters 115
- 20 The Adventures of Hyas 121.
- Notes:
- Translator's name from cover. Note on verso of t.p. signed: M.D.H.
- Local Notes:
- Schimmel Collection copies 1 and 2 presented to the Penn Libraries in 2014 by Caroline F. Schimmel.
- ISBN:
- 0922993114
- 9780922993116
- OCLC:
- 5043050
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