mishikinakwa

Updated: May 8, 2025

Again will I wear Bright gold in my hair, And my eyes shall be bright As the beam of light. Come, my lover, come! 'Come quick, my lover, come! And thou shall be prest To a faithful breast, And thou shalt be led To a bridal bed. Mishikinakwa, come! "Thus called to the shades of happiness by so bright, and beautiful, and beloved, a being, how can I remain on the earth?

James Athearn Jones - Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 2

It came in tones soft and sweet as the wind of summer lightly sweeping the bosom of a prairie, and these were the words which belonged to them: "'Mishikinakwa, it is not hatred of thee that makes me refuse to be seen by thee save at a distance, it is not hatred of thee which makes me refuse to re-animate that mass of stone and re-shape it to the proportions thou didst say were so beautiful.

James Athearn Jones - Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 2

At last, he went away, no one could say with certainty whither. Some of the Indians supposed they could see him at times walking on the high hills beyond the tides; others thought that he had gone back to his master; the Evil Spirit. The days of Mishikinakwa, or the Little Turtle, were numbered, and the signs made visible of his approaching dissolution.

James Athearn Jones - Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 2

And so died Mishikinakwa, the Little Turtle of the Winnebagoes, of love for a phantom woman. The Hottuk Ishtohoollo, or Holy People. p. 273. Almost every hill and cavern has, in the eye of the Indian, its tutelary deity. The tradition entitled "The Mountain of Little Spirits" is one which paints a genuine belief.

James Athearn Jones - Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 2

There had been voices calling from the hills in the hour of the silent night, "Come, Mishikinakwa! she waits for thee."

James Athearn Jones - Traditions of the North American Indians, Vol. 2