The Path of Life

"Our ancestors taught us, and the Midewewin (order of medicine men) teaches us that there is a Land of Souls. In that land there is no sickness, no hunger, no sorrow, no anger, and not envy. It is a land of peace inhabited by men and women of peace. For them there is plenty and comfort and joy.
     Our ancestors tell us that only men and women of peace may enter there. Others will suffer hardship and misfortune and sickness in this life. Or they will be caught in the river that divides that Land of the Living from the Land of Souls.
     The Midewewin tells us that we must lead good lives - following the Path of Life. The Path of Life will give us good fortune, good health, and peace of heart in this world and bring us admission into the Land of Souls.
     And the Midewewin tells us what the Path of Life is. We must honor Kitchie Manitotou (Great Spirit of Mystery) and thand him for life - for the winds, the sun, the water, and the land we live on.
     We must honor our elders - for they are the recipients of the great gift of long life fro Kitchie Manitou. If they are slow and feeble and sometimes infirm, we must feed them, help them, listen to them, and be patient. That is also our destiny. Someday we, too, will be old.
     We must honor our elder brothers - the wolf and the bear, the eagle and the robin, the snake and the turtle, the butterfly and the snail, the whitefish and the trout. We must honor the rose and the corn. On them we depend for food and clothing. Treat them well, so that when you want them they will allow you to take them. You will never need. They will look after you.
     We must honor women - our grandmothers and mothers, our wives and our sisters, and all the others. Treat your wife with kindness. She is your companion and friend on the Path of Life. Look after her comfort her, cheer her, and speak well of her and all her sisters.
     We must keep our promises and uphold our pledges. If we undertake to do something for another, we must fulfill our word by deed - otherwise we are false. If we receive a vision, we must live out the vision - otherwise we are untrue. Without truth to self and to others there is no trust.
     We are to be kind to everyone. Children listening to their parents: that is kindness. Parents teaching their children: that is kindness. A medicine man or woman healing the sick: that is kindness. A woman feeding a stranger: that is kindness. Do something for your people. Use your gifts and your dreams for good.
     We are peaceful. Dark dreams beget more dark dreams, and cause clouded, troubled thoughts. Twisted thoughts stir up violent passions; boiling passions give rise to burning words; and fiery speech breeds hurts and bad deeds. Seek good dreams. Temper your thoughts, your passions, your words, and your deeds. All this is hard to achieve. But we must strive for peace of heart in this life and peace of soul in the next.
     We are to be courageous. The more you know, the more you trust, and the less you fear. We see this in children. A boy will start in fright when he first hears a wolf howl at night. His grandmother tells him, 'It is only a wolf, he is talking, listen to him. Someday you will understand the wolf.' And the child's fear subsides because he begins to understand, and because he trusts his grandmother. A girl will recoil in fear when she first sees a snake. Her mother tells her: 'the snake means no harm she is out foraging for food for her little ones.' And the child loses her fear of the snake when she learns something of its nature... if you are at peace and remember that your totem and patron watch over you, you will be courageous.
     Lastly, we are to be moderate in our dreams, thoughts, words, and deeds. We are never to indulge too much in one things at the expense of another. Do not play too much, do not sleep too long, do not eat too much, and do not talk too often. Listen and watch. Someday you will be wise.

Source: Johnston, B. (1982). "Ojibway Ceremonies." Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, McClelland and Stewart, p. 134.
   
   

A Deer's Tale

Bernie and Earl were preparing for the most important time of the year, Hunting Season. The stores selling hunting licenses, bullets, and other hunting necessities were buzzing with activity. Cases of Old Milwaukee and pasties were loaded on the pick up trucks. The women were gearing up for two blissful weeks minus the time they came home for Thanksgiving to quiet bliss without the sounds of snoring, farting and snorting of their beloveds.

            Sometimes the ground in certain areas of the U.P. was dusted with snow. Other areas were hit hard and the driving and walking through the woods was made more difficult. The hunters wanted some snow to help them track the deer they shot.

            Many hunting camps were often built rugged and with minimal hints at being a place of residence. Bernie and Earl’s camp was rustic. It was set in the middle of the woods with only a two track to get to and from the road. They managed to hook up electricity by the use of a generator and the outhouse was equipped with a gas lantern. A wood stove sat in the very center of the one room cabin. They kept the beer and pasties in large coolers. Two large wooden tables were located on both sides of the wood stove with mismatched camping chairs. A gas lantern was sitting on one of the wooden tables.

            Plastic forks, knives and spoons were placed in a large coffee tin in middle of one of the tables. A basin of water was sitting on a small cupboard by the doorway. The hunters used a large drum to collect rain water. This water was used to clean up when they felt it was necessary, which wasn’t too often. Three sets of bunk beds lined three of the walls. There was a window by the door and the door had a small window. The larger window was covered with an old torn green bed sheet.

            Every man in the U.P. no matter what their talent is for hunting thought they were the best hunters in the world. It was their god given right to inherit this gift, but Earl could not hit the side of a barn at fifty yards.

            “Earl, buddy, did you practice shooting like we tolds you to do last summer,” asked Bernie.

            “Like I’s told you before, I don’t need da practice. I haven’t bagged me a deer yet because those crazy deer know when I am comin.’”

            “I don’t know Earl. I hate getting my deer every year and you have to tell yer old lady that you didn’t get yers. I feel bad for ya. Let’s go out shooting tonight.”

            Earl looked a little bothered by his bud’s suggestion and turned around and left the store in a huff.

            “Oh, come on buddy. Get back here,” said Bernie.

            Earl didn’t look back. He kept on walking.

            Bernie finished shopping and he was trying not to let Earl get him in a bad mood. This was Bernie’s favorite time of year and nothing was going to get in between him and the outdoors. He loved going to camp, telling stories, playing poker and hunting from dawn to dusk. This is what he lived for and he knew his buddy would pull out of his funk and join the fun.

           

            The day finally arrived, November 14^th.   It was time to load up the truck with gas, load up the tank with gas for the generator and the backup tank too. Can never be too sure if it is going to be too cold to hunt and they may be stuck inside playing poker.

            Bernie was so excited. Gertrude, Earl’s wife, made all the pasties for the trip. Ellie, Bernie’s wife, cured the strips of beef and smoked it to make beef jerky. Big tins of cookies were prepared by the other wives. Things were really looking good for the two week excursion.

            Earl showed up at the last minute to load his gear in Bernie’s truck. He wasn’t smiling but that didn’t dampen Bernie’s spirits.

            The first night started out with a bang. Everyone wanted to wet their whistles and play poker. They downed quite a lot of beer that first night and woke up the next morning with the eye of the dog biting them really hard. They were all drinking the mountain ice tea one of the wives prepared. Didn’t seem to do the trick so they went back to bed and woke up a few hours later ready to hit the woods after eating a couple of pasties.

            “Bernie, I am sorry I got so mad at you last week,” said Earl

            “It’s okay buddy. We are out in God’s country right now and there isn’t ain’t a thing to be concerned with,” replied Bernie.

            They headed to their blinds to sit and wait for the deer to come to them. Both sprayed deer pee on themselves to hide their human scent and off they went.

            Earl was settling in and started gazing toward a group of trees and he crawled out of this blind and aimed at a young buck off in the distance. He tried to hold his gun steady. He took aim and shot. The deer fell to the ground. Earl was amazed that he finally hit a deer. When he almost reached where the deer fell, the deer jumped up and ran off.

            Earl scratched his head and went back to his blind. He thought for sure he hit the deer.

            Earl dozed for a while and when he woke up he saw the same deer a short distance away from his blind. He quietly crawled out of his blind, stood up, took aim and shot. The deer fell down again. Earl smiled and walked quickly over to where the deer fell. He couldn’t find the deer.

            I have to ask Bernie if he is having the same luck I am tonight at da dinner table.

            Earl started walking towards Bernie’s blind to see how he was doing.

            “Bernie, did you see any deer today,” asked Earl.

            “Ya, I did. I even shot at a deer today. But the funniest thing happened. When I got close to where the deer fell, dat deer got up and ran away,” replied Bernie.

            “Dat’s been happening to me today too. Never happened before. Most years I don’t see any deer.”

            “We gots to ask the other guys tonight if they had any luck,” said Earl.

            The poker game was going well that evening. It was nickel and dime so the losses didn’t hurt too much. Earl had a bunch of money sitting in front of him. It was his lucky night.

            “Hey guys, I have to ask you something. I shot at a deer today and it fell down. When I walked up to dat deer, it ran away. Did that happen to you today?” asked Earl.

            “No, we didn’t see any deer today,” replied Gerald, one of their hunting buddies.

            “Dat’s strange what you are saying, Earl,” said Billy, another hunting buddy.

            “I know. I usually don’t have any luck at seeing any deer all hunting season. I finally get a chance to shoot at deer and they run away after falling down,” said Earl. He looked disappointed and opened another can of Old Milwaukee.

            They called it an evening a lot sooner than the night before. Gerald woke up the whole camp in middle of the night when he appeared to be farting a sound in his sleep. The covers of his sleeping bag rose with each fart. The rest of the guys covered their ears with their pillows and went back to sleep.

            The next day was a nice day. The sun was shining. The dusting of snow on the ground made a slight crunching sound when the hunters walked over it. The light mist rain that fell during the early evening froze over the night in the below freezing temperatures. The hunters trudged through the woods to their perspective blinds to get in another day of hunting.

            A short distance away from Earl’s blind, the deer that showed up the previous day was standing by a small group of trees. The deer appeared to be pacing back and forth in front of the trees taunting Earl. Earl stayed in his blind this time and aimed at the deer and shot. The deer fell again. Earl climbed out of his blind and walked over to the spot the deer fell. The deer got up before Earl reached the spot and ran off.

            Earl decided to follow the deer. The deer joined a couple of other deer in a small meadow. It appeared as if they were communicating with one another and then one deer fell to the ground and it looked like he was laughing. His legs were flailing and the other deer looked as if they were laughing with him. Earl could not believe his eyes. He needed to tell Bernie what he saw.

            Earl walked to Bernie’s blind and asked he could talk to him. Bernie and Earl sat on the ground in front of a large tree and Earl commenced to tell Bernie what he saw.

            “I can’t believe I saw da deer fall, get up and then run off again today. I decide to follow dat deer and he was meeting with other deer. They seemed to be laughing and this is going to sound crazy, but I think they are making fun of me,” said Earl.

            “You know what I thinks we should do. We can’t tells the other guys,” said Bernie.

            “What’s that?”

            “We need to go into town and see that fortune tell and see if she can shed some light on this problem.”

            “I have some beer money left. We can use that,” said Earl.

********

            Eloise the fortune teller was busy with another client. He was one of the hunters from another camp. Earl and Bernie stared at him when he walked out of the front door of the establishment.

            Eloise asked Earl and Bernie to come into the room in the back and had them sit at a round table. She looked into her crystal ball and asked them why they came to visit her. Earl told her the story about the deer.

            She closed her eyes and asked said a little chant. Earl thought she said the word “cheetos” or he thought maybe he was getting hungry because it was after lunch. He closed his eyes too to help with the process. Eloise stopped chanting and asked the Earl and Bernie to open their eyes.

            She told them, “I saw the deer in my crystal ball and I was told by them that they are not going to let you shoot them and kill them. They said they pretend to die to fool you and they know that you are terrible at using your fire sticks. They want you to go back to your homes and leave them alone.”

            Earl and Bernie were stunned at learning that the deer were smart enough to play tricks on them. They always felt they were smarter than any animal.

            “Are ya sure dat’s what they told you,” asked Bernie.

            “Yes, I am. They spoke loud and clear,” replied Eloise.

            “I don’t know about you buddy, but I don’t think we should tell the other guys about what we learned,” said Bernie.

            “I think we should keep it a secret, too,” responded Earl.

            Eloise accepted the 20 pasties and $50. from Earl and Bernie and sent them on their way.

            They didn’t tell a soul and went home this year without a deer.                

                     

 Bernie has bagged his buck every season, but Earl has not been so lucky.

America's First Newspaper

In the early years of its publication the News-Letter was filled mostly with news from London journals detailing the intrigues of English politics, and a variety of events concerning the European wars. The rest of the newspaper was filled with items listing ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, political appointments, fires, accidents and the like.

One of the most sensational stories published when the News-Letter was the only newspaper in the colonies was the the account of how Blackbeard the pirate was killed in hand-to-hand combat on the deck of a sloop that had engaged his ship in battle.

Campbell relinquished his stewardship of the paper in 1722 to Bartholomew Green, its printer. As editor, Green devoted less space to overseas events and more to domestic news. When Green died after a decade as its editor, the News-Letter was inherited by his son John Draper, also a printer.

Draper proved to be a better editor and publisher than his predecessors. He enlarged the paper to four good-sized pages, filling it with news from Boston, other towns throughout the colonies, and from abroad.

On view here is the May 14, 1761 issue of the News-Letter. The front page is displayed in its entirety. Notice the credit line Printed by J. Draper appearing under the masthead. 

In the early years of its publication the News-Letter was filled mostly with news from London journals detailing the intrigues of English politics, and a variety of events concerning the European wars. The rest of the newspaper was filled with items listing ship arrivals, deaths, sermons, political appointments, fires, accidents and the like.

One of the most sensational stories published when the News-Letter was the only newspaper in the colonies was the the account of how Blackbeard the pirate was killed in hand-to-hand combat on the deck of a sloop that had engaged his ship in battle.

Campbell relinquished his stewardship of the paper in 1722 to Bartholomew Green, its printer. As editor, Green devoted less space to overseas events and more to domestic news. When Green died after a decade as its editor, the News-Letter was inherited by his son John Draper, also a printer.

Draper proved to be a better editor and publisher than his predecessors. He enlarged the paper to four good-sized pages, filling it with news from Boston, other towns throughout the colonies, and from abroad.

On view here is the May 14, 1761 issue of the News-Letter. The front page is displayed in its entirety. Notice the credit line Printed by J. Draper appearing under the masthead.

Source: www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/firsts/newspaper