THE ancient Greeks, as has been noted from time to time in this column, thought of the four cardinal winds as persons, attributing to each the human traits that seemed to suit its meteorological characteristics. The American Indians did the same, and the personalities are: beautifully described in Longfellow's epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.
The father and keeper of the winds was Mudjekeewis, a brave warrior who had earned his stewardship by slaying Mishe Mokwa, the Great Bear of the Mountain that had terrorised the Indian tribes for generations. "Honour be to Mudjekeewis", exclaimed the elders after this great feat:
Henceforth, he shall be the
West Wind,
And hereafter and forever
Shall he hold supreme dominion
Over all the winds of heaven.
Mudjekeewis divided out the winds among his family:
For himself he kept the
West Wind,
Gave the others to his children,
Unto Wabun gave the
East Wind,
Gave the South to
Shawondasee,
And the North wind, wild and cruel,
To the fierce Kabibonokka.
The three had characters ideally suited to their new responsibilities:
Young and beautiful was
Wabun,
It was he who brought the morning,
He it was whose silver arrows
Chased the dark across the valley;
He it was whose cheeks were painted
With the brightest streaks of crimson.
Now one might wonder a bit as to how young Wabun might turn out, but there were no fears on that score with his brother, Kabi:
But the fierce Kabibonokka
Had his dwelling among icebergs
In the everlasting snowdrifts.
He it was who sent the snowflakes,
Sifting, hissing through the forest,
Froze the ponds, the lakes, the rivers.
Shawondassee, however, was the nicest of them all - a languid, warm, and easygoing soul:
Shawondasee, fat and lazy,
Had his dwelling far to southward
In the drowsy, dreamy sunshine,
In the never ending summer.
It was he who sent the migratory birds northward in the springtime, provided the right conditions for fertile crops and rich hunting, and...
Filled the air with dreamy softness,
Gave a twinkle to the water,
Brought the tender Indian
Summer
To the melancholy north-land.