NO. 3
��PENOBSCOT TRANSFORMER TALES
��201
��pska"tag w nul si-'bual namazi-'
branch streams rivers and all
soTjgade'tagwal ktci'si-'buk wadji
river inlets into the big river so
ki-'si'dabi-'te ktci'sr'bu namazi-'
originated the great river, and all
a'lnpbak edu'dji ka'dawusmo'ldrhi'dit the people so were thirsty
namazi udja'u'pigi'daho'ldi'no. nona'nagwutc then all jumped into the water, then some
name"s'Ha 1 uladowak tcigwa'lsuHa'uladowak became fish, became frogs,
to'lbaHa'uladowak wa"kesuak i-'bi
became turtles, a few only
we'dauzo'ldi'djik ni'"kwup' nawe'dji' survived. Now from this
madje'gedit' kada-'gik a'lnpbak
they increased others people.
ni'"kwup'. we'dji- ude'dagwabr'ta'mana Now hence they inhabit the length of
pan-awa'mpske w tu'k' w nawe'dji' ni-"kwup'. Penobscot River. Thence now
a'li'wi-zo'ldi'dit na'nagwatc na'me's-ak they are named some fishes
na'me's-Ho'ldi'dit uda'ln^be'mnaga
having become fish their departed relatives.
ni'"kwup' nawe'dji- wr'kwu'modit
Now thence so they took
eli'wi'zo'ldi'dit eki-'ki'git na'me's'ak their namings all kinds fishes
na'ga do'lbak and turtles.
TRANSLATION
He came to a village where the people looked feeble. Up the river, a monster frog (aTjglabe'mu) held back the water from these Indians. Some even died on account of thirst for water. Then Gluskp'be came there. He saw his people looking sickly. He asked them', "What is the trouble?" They told him, "Guards-Water has almost killed us all. He is making us die with thirst. He forbids us
��water." Then Glusk/be said, "I will make him give you water." Then they went with Gluskp'be, their chief, to where Guards- Water is. Then he said to him, "Why do you enfeeble our grandchildren? Now, you will be sorry for this, for enfeebling our grandchildren. Now, I shall give them the water, so that all will receive an equal share of the water. The benefit will be shared." Then he grabbed him and broke his back. Hence all bull-frogs are now broken-backed. Even then he did not give up the water. So Gluskp'be took his axe and cut down a big tree, a yellow birch, cut- ting it so that when it fell down upon Guards- Water, the yellow birch killed him. That is how the Penobscot River originated. The water flowed from him. All the branches of the tree became rivers. All emptied into the main river. From this came the big river. Now all the Indians were so thirsty, nearly dying, that they all jumped into the river. Some turned into fish, some turned into frogs, some turned into turtles. A few survived. Now, that's why from them other Indians increased. Now, that's why they inhabit the length of the Penobscot River. Thence now they took their names. Some took fishes' names, since their departed relatives turned into fish. Now thence in this way they took their family names from all kinds of fish and turtles.
NOTE
To this transformation certain fish, crus- taceans, and amphibians owe their origin. As the myth explains, though perhaps rather vaguely for a matter of such importance in the social life of the tribe, the human creatures who escaped transformation took the names, and assumed some associated characteristics, of their transformed relatives. From this de- veloped some of the totemic family groups with totemic associations in naming, paternal descent, and imaginary physical peculiarities. Like the other eastern and northern Algonkian, the Penobscot families each possessed inher-
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