INTRODUCTIONl xvii

Wabanaki that did not know Glooscap, the Great Chief.

The legends of Glooscap, which Dr. Band and those who have followed him have gathered, are parts of a great mythology telling the story of a hero whom Leland asserts is the most Aryan-like character ever conceived by the mind of a savage race. Aside from their in- terest as stories they involve many intricate problems in the field of literature and racial development. We do not know precisely hOW. they originated, whether they are entirely the creation of the Indian, or Whether they have been influenced greatly by contact with other people-s, by the great waves of migration that have from time to time swept Over the world.

Leland points out curious similarities be- tween the Wabanaki (which includes the Mic- mac) mythology and the Norse. In both, man was made from the Ash tree, and was without sense until the creator endowed him with it. Odin ’s messengers were two ravens. The mes— sengers of Glooscap were two loons. Both were often troubled by the unreliability of these servants. For his “dogs” (beasts of burden) Glooscap had two wolves, one white and the other black, typifying day and night. In the Eddas we read,

“Magic songs they sang:

Rode on wolves, The God and gods.”