. . . The
leader of a war party commonly carries several fastened about his
waist, and if, in the course of the fight, any one of his young men
take a prisoner, it is his duty to bring him immediately to the
chief, to be tied, and the latter is responsible for his safe
keeping." -- Narrative of Captivity and Adventures, p. 412.
Wagemin, the thief of cornfields,
Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear.
"If one of the young female huskers finds a red ear of corn, it is
typical of a brave admirer, and is regarded as a fitting present to
some young warrior. But if the ear be crooked, and tapering to a
point, no matter what color, the whole circle is set in a roar, and
wa-ge-min is the word shouted aloud. It is the symbol of a thief in
the cornfield. It is considered as the image of an old man stooping
as he enters the lot. Had the chisel of Praxiteles been employed to
produce this image, it could not more vividly bring to the minds of
the merry group the idea of a pilferer of their favorite
mondamin. . . .
"The literal meaning of the term is, a mass, or crooked ear of
grain; but the ear of corn so called is a conventional type of a
little old man pilfering ears of corn in a cornfield. It is in this
manner that a single word or term, in these curious languages,
becomes the fruitful parent of many ideas.
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