INTRODUCTION

Three centuries of uninterrupted contact with the European settlers of North America have brought to the native Indian inhabitants a notable modification in their entire civilization. Socially and economically they are approaching yearly to the white man's standard. It is in the life of the imagination-in art and literature-that peoples are most conservative. Yet even in their folktales the Indians have gradually taken over a large admixture of European material.

It is the purpose of this paper to study a portion of these European motives current in North America Indian legend. Only such stories have been treated here as are fairly complete examples of well-known folk-tales of the Old World. No cases where there was reasonable doubt of direct borrowing have been admitted. Hundreds of interesting parallels existing in tales belonging otherwise to native cycles have been left out of consideration, because this whole class of analogues demands separate study. Besides these, discussion of several special incidents, such as the Obstacle Flight and the Swan Maiden*, which offered peculiar difficulties, has been postponed, except where they have been found in obvious borrowings§. In every case the tales admitted have gone back to definite European cycles.

These familiar stories have come to the Indian at various times and from several sources. The two or three centuries' contact with the French in Canada. has been the most powerful influence; it has introduced the largest number of different tales to the natives. The Spanish conquerors at the South and Southwest have

* See Boas, "Mythology and Folk-Tales of the North American Indians", JAFL xxvii, 386.

§ See pp. 348 ff. and 366 ff. below.

caused a group of European tales of the animal cycle to find very wide adoption, but the variety of stories coming from this source seems to be very limited. How long these tales in the Southwest have been current among the natives is hard to say, but throughout the rest of the country the influx of European material seems to be of comparatively recent origin. It is but fair to say, however, that the collectors until the last few years likely to disregard foreign material in the native tales.

This study is thus strictly limited in its scope. It attempts no solution of the problem of remote parallels in tales, or of possible pre-Columbian contact with the Old World. It seeks rather, in connection with such versions of European tales as have been admitted to the body of Indian legend, to display clearly their relation to the well-known originals as seen in the great French, French Canadian, German, or Spanish collections. It tries to show by concrete examples how the material of folk-tales behaves under a different environment from that which gave it birth.

This paper as here presented is an expansion of a portion of my dissertation, "European Borrowings and Parallels in North American Indian Tales," presented to the faculty of Harvard University in 1914 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. A portion of the same dissertation appeared under the title, "Sunday School Stories among Savages," in The Texas Review for January, 1918. The conclusions of the dissertation have been greatly strengthened by the publication, in the Journal of American Folk-Lore in 1916 and 1917, of a large body of French Canadian tales.

I. THE SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON.

In its world-wide distribution, the tale of "The Seven-headed Dragon" occurs in several well-defined forms, nearly all of which find a place in this discussion. For a full account of the wanderings and the forms of this tale see Hartland, The Legend of Perseus, passim, and Bolte und Polívka, i, 528. Wherever possible in the following treatment, French or French Canadian versions have been chosen for the European type.

TYPE I.

1. French: Cosquin, No. 5.

A. Heroes' magic animals: King of the Fishes. On three successive days, a fisherman catches the same beautiful fish, which asks him to put it back into the water. On the first and the second day he grants the fish's request, and his wife scolds him for his foolishness; but on the third he fears his wife's upbraiding and keeps the fish. The King of the Fishes-for it is he that the man has caught-tells the fisherman to feed a part to his wife, and a part to his bitch hound, and a part to his mare. The blood he is to keep. The fisherman obeys, and at the end of nine months his wife gives birth to three boys, the hound to three pups, and his mare to three colts.

B. Life-token. As they grow up, each of the boys adopts one of the dogs and one of the colts as his own. The fish's blood acts as a life-token. If it boils the brothers may know that misfortune has come upon one of the others. The eldest of the brothers-the hero-starts on his adventures.

C. Dragon rescue. The hero hears of a seven-headed dragon that is demanding the sacrifice of a princess. By the aid of his dog he kills the dragon.

D. Impostor. Having cut out the tongues of the dragon, he leaves the princess. An impostor now comes along and claims her, cutting off the seven heads of the dragon as proof of the rescue.

E. Tongues used as proof. A year and a day passes, and the hero arrives again in the city on the wedding day of the princess and the impostor. He lodges in a neighboring inn, and sends his dog into the palace to steal food from the wedding table. This at

tracts the attention of the king, and brings about the producing of the dragon-tongues as proof of the rescue, the discomfiture of the impostor, and the happy marriage of the hero with the princess. F. Transformation by witch. On the night of the wedding, when the hero and the princess are in their room, he sees a great fire out of the window. The princess knows nothing of the fire except that it is seen each evening. The hero insists on going to it, and falls into the power of a witch, who transforms him.

G. The chaste brother. His second brother, who has remained at home, sees the blood of the fish boil, and knows that the hero is in trouble. He arrives at the palace and is mistaken by the princess for her husband, and, although he does not know what to make of her actions, he submits gracefully. They go to their room and he also sees the light and follows it, and falls into the witch's power.

H. Disenchantment of brothers. The third brother has the same experience, but succeeds in killing the witch and in disenchanting his brothers. The two younger brothers marry the princess's younger sisters and live happily.

2. French Canadian: Barbeau, JAFL, xxx, 82. A. Heroes' magic animals: Given by father. Three sons leaving home are each given by their father a dog, a pony, a lion, and a rose.

B.

Life-token. They come to a cross-roads and one of them departs, leaving the rose as a life-token. If it becomes pale, his brothers may know that he is in trouble.

C. Dragon rescue. The hero has a smith make him a giant sword. He finds a village in mourning over the fate of a princess who is to be devoured next day by a seven-headed dragon. The hero kills the dragon, cutting off one head at a time.

D. Impostor. The hero takes off the dragon tongues in a handkerchief. A charcoal-burner takes the heads and claims the princess.

E. Tongues used as proof. The hero arrives on the wedding day and sends in his dog, horse, and lion to steal food from the wedding table. Attention of the king is thus attracted, the tongues are used as proof, and the hero and the princess are married.

F. Transformation by witch. The hero places a sword between himself and his wife when they go to bed. He sees a mys

terious fire out of the window and goes to it. He is transformed by a witch.

G. The chaste brother. The second brother, warned by the paleness of the rose, seeks the hero. He comes to his brother's wife who mistakes him for her husband. He places a sword between them. Following the witch's fire like his brother, he is enchanted.

H. Disenchantment of brothers. The third brother does just as the second had done, but he succeeds in overcoming the witch and disenchanting his brothers. The princess has difficulty in de ciding which one is her husband.

[For the distribution of this story in France see Bolte und Polívka, i, 537.]

3. Ojibwa: Skinner, JAFL, xxix, 330.

A. Heroes' magic animals: King of the Fishes. Grateful fish (as in No. 1) divided and fed to wife, mare, and dog, cause them to give birth to two boys, two colts, and two dogs after a four-day pregnancy. The fins of the fish produce two swords.

B. Life-token. The first boy goes on adventures, leaving sword which will rust if he has trouble. He finds water that makes his horse's and dog's ears silver. The animals can be made large or small at will.

C. Dragon rescue. The hero takes service with a blacksmith. He hears that the king's daughter is to be devoured by an eightheaded "windigo." The boy finds the princess, and she gives him a ring. With the aid of horse and dog he kills the monster-the dog seizing one head and the horse kicking the other.

D. Impostor. The hero cuts out the tongues and give them to the princess. The blacksmith claims the credit for the rescue, and the king is about to marry her to him.

E. Tongues at hand, but not used as proof. The youth appears on the wedding day and is recognized by the princess. (The tongues are at hand but are not used.) The hero and the princess marry.

F. Transformation by witch. The hero sees a mysterious fire out of the window. He follows it and is transformed by a witch.

G. The chaste brother. The hero's brother sees rust on the sword and goes in search of his brother. He is mistaken by the