Saturday, July 15, 2006

Snippets From A Primary Source

by JimP
John Josselyn twice spent time on his brother's land in Black Point, ME -- in 1639 and 1663. From his writings it's obvious he had an almost daily relationship with the Native people who lived there. Because he was not a Puritan, his books have an entirely different flavor from most primary sources. For the most part he was a naturalist and a tourist, and writes from those angles.

There are two quotes from his works that I think are important clues concerning Native spirituality and rocks around the time of first contact. I haven't seen these quotes mentioned at all on any of the usual sites, so I thought it would be good to post them -- especially considering all the split-wedged and split-filled rocks that we see in photos here.

"And I have heard it reported from credible persons, that (whilst I was there in the Countrie) there happened a Terrible earthquake amongst the French, rending a huge rock asunder even to the center, wherein was a vast hollow of an immeasurable depth, out of which came many infernal spirits."
speaking about the work of Medicine Men in healing the sick:
"if the sick recover they send rich gifts, their Bowes and Arrows, Wompompers, Mohacks, Beaver skins, or other rich furs to the Eastward, where there is a vast rock not far from shore, having a hole in it of an unsearchable profundity, into which they throw them."

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