Cassie Edwards: "Racing Moon", "Savage Heart"

[wombat1138]

Hah-- found an Edwards book in the library's booksale zone: Racing Moon, New York: Signet, May 2003. Appropriately enough, we begin with some stolen breechcloth material.

RM p. 2:

The clout had three pieces, a strip of buckskin covering the genitals, supported at each end by a belt, and two beaded broadcloth flaps falling over the front and rear.

Racing Moon wore neat, skintight leggings of buckskin with a broad flap fringed at the edge. His buckskin shirt was beaded about the collar, over the shoulders, and down over the chest.

Paul Radin, The Winnebago Tribe, U of Nebraska Press 1970, pp 58-59, quoting another source cited as "Skinner, 'Notes Concerning New Collections,' Anthr. Papers Amer. Mus. Nat Hist., vol IV, part II, pp 292-293":

The men's garments obtained in Wisconsin consisted of leggings of ribbon-worked cloth, or of plain buckskin. ...Some of the latter are made skin-tight, with a broad flap fringed at the edge. [...]The clout is of three pieces, a strip of plain, cheap material to cover the genitals, supported at each end by a belt, and two beaded broadcloth flaps falling over the front and rear, and sometimes merely two ornamented flaps tying on like aprons fore and after and not passing between the legs at all. [...]Shirts of cloth or buckskin are beaded about the collar, over the shoulders, and down the front over the chest, where the head opening is.

[Google Books' description of this book: "Based on Paul Radin's field work in 1908–13, The Winnebago Tribe was originally published as an annual report of the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1923."]

If I may draw the reader's attention to Skinner's observations being localized to the Winnebago in Wisconsin...?

Racing Moon takes place in the Louisiana bayou, among the Chitimacha tribe. No, I'd never heard of them before either-- apparently at this point, their "reservation" is only about 1 square kilometer, occupied by ~400 people (by comparison, this paperback of Racing Moon is ~340 pages).

As far as I can tell, there's no particular connection between them. The Winnebago (now called the Ho-Chunk) live in, well, Wisconsin (with a bit of sprawl into Illinois and Minnesota), and are linguistically/culturally linked to the large Siouan family of tribes; one Siouan branch, the Biloxi tribe, did emigrate south along the Mississippi River, but not all the way to the coastal bayous where the Chitimacha lived (having themselves emigrated eastward from Texas). Although the Chitimacha language is now extinct, extant notes from the early 20th century seem to indicate that it was a linguistic isolate, i.e. with no clear relationship to any other language.

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RM p. 80:

"Beading and basketry are very important to Chitimacha women. We make everything that is needed in our daily life. From hemp, a common weed around here, and the inside bark of the mulberry, we weave a strong cloth. From these same materials we make ropes and packet carriers."

Caroline Dorman, "The Last of the Cane Basket Makers", reprinted on p. 14 of "The Chitimacha Newsletter" July 1999 (http://www.chitimacha.com/Archive%20pdf/July%201998.pdf); originally printed in Hollands: The Magazine of the South October 1931:

The women made everything that was needed in their daily life. From Indian hemp, a common weed, and the inside bark of mulberry, they wove a strong cloth. From these same materials they made ropes and packet carriers.

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RM pp. 91-92:

"The tribe supports themselves mainly by corn and other vegetables, but they also eat the products of the hunt, which consist of deer and other smaller animals," she said, sitting down beside Maureen on the blanket. "The women provide for the household by collecting pastiche; wild beans; a plant called kupinu; another called woman's potatoes; the seed of the pond lily, which in our language is called akta and tastes like a hickory nut; and, oh so many other things from the wild."

John R. Swanton, Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 43) Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911; quoting the writings of a "Doctor Gaschet" on p. 345:

In their original state the tribe supported themselves mainly by vegetable food; but they also ate the products of the hunt, which consisted of deer and other smaller animals. The women had to provide for the household by collecting pistaches, wild beans, a plant called kiupinu, (kantak in Cha'hta,) and another called woman's potatoes, the seed of the pond-lily (akta)[*], grains of the palmetto, the rhizoma of the common Sagittaria, and that of the Sagittaria with the large leaf, persimmons (plaquemine in Creole, nanu in Shetimasha).

*: Said to taste like a hickory nut. -- J.R.S.

The footnote is Swanson's.

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RM p. 92:

"My people eat many wild berries," Star Woman said, smiling. "There are strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and a white berry that grows near the bayou, but again, corn is our chief crop. There are three kinds-- white, yellow, and blue or black."

Swanson in his own words, p. 346:

To the above list must of course be added wild berries, such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, and a white berry growing near Plaquemine bayou, also the fruits of certain trees, the seeds of a species of cane, and at least two varieties of turtles. Salt was obtained by boiling sea water. Three kinda of native corn are remebered-- white, yellow, and blue or black.

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RM pp. 93-94:

She wore a knee-length dress, which was a single piece of broadcloth. The ends were handsomely ribbon-worked in applique on the outer side, wrapped around the body, and met in front.

Radin (apparently quoting Skinner again), p. 59:

The skirt is a single piece of broadcloth, the ends of which are handsomely ribbon-worked in applique on the outer side. The garment is wrapped around the body, the ends meeting in front, bringing the ribbon-worked horizontal bands together, the opening being in front.

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RM, pp 99-101:

"A weaver must find a bank where piya grows straight and tall," Star Woman explained as they came to a place that was jungle thick, the canebrake shrouded in its own shadows.

[...]"The stalks with the longest joints are selected and taken home," Star Woman said, cutting and laying them aside on dry land. "They will be kept damp until splitting time. For splitting, a round stalk is notched across one end with a sharp knife, then twisted with a wringing motion of both hands. The strips are split and split again until each one is about half an inch wide. The smooth outside layer is then peeled with the teeth from the pithy white inner layer. These peeled splits are placed in the dew for two weeks to bleach out the natural green color."

"Chitimacha Basketry" (http://www.chitimachacrafts.com/basketry.htm), citing "Interview with Ada V. Thomas. Carpenter, Gwen. 'Two Hands Hold the Secret of Chitimacha Basketry,' Louisiana Life Nov./Dec. 1984. 92-93":

First, a weaver must find a bayou bank where the piya, a bamboo-like cane common around Charenton, grows straight and tall. Stalks with the longest joints are selected and taken home, where they are kept damp until splitting time. For splitting, a round stalk is notched across one end with a sharp knife, then twisted with a wringing motion of both hands. The strips are split and split again until each one is about half an inch wide. The smooth outside layer is then peeled with the teeth from the pithy, white inner layer. These peeled splits are placed in the dew for two weeks to bleach out the natural green color of the cane.

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RM p. 144:

"How long have my people been here?" Racing Moon repeated, pleased that she had asked. "Always," he answered simply. "When the first French settlers came to this part of Louisiana, they found it inhabited by a tribe of peaceful Indians, the Chitimacha-- or Cetimacha, as the French called them. Our clan is the Thunderbird, but our totem is the snake."

[...]"Long ago, at the beginning of time,the Chitimacha built a big clay pot. Two rattlesnakes came and begged to ride out the big flood with our people," he said, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he told the tale. "The people said, 'You'll bite us.' The argued back and forth all day long. When night came, the rattlesnakes said, 'Look, we snakes are drowning. We have to ride out this flood with you, and we promise never to bite Chitimacha again.' So my people let them, and that's how the snake became the the Chitimacha totem."

Dorman:

When the first French settlers came to this part of Louisiana, they found it inhabited by a tribe of peaceful Indians, the Chitimacha-- or Cetimacha, as the French called them. How long had they been there? Ask those who are left today. "Always," they answer simply.

Nicholas L. Stouff, Jr. (Jeanerette, Louisiana),"A Chitimacha Flood Story," transcription #191 in Swapping Stories: Folktales from Louisiana, University Press of Mississippi (http://www.louisianavoices.org/Unit5/edu_ss191_chitimacha_flood.html):

We have a flood story that says when this flood came, that Noah was building this ark for, we built a big clay pot. And we're riding out the flood in the clay pot. Here comes two rattlesnakes who say, "We want to ride out the flood in the pot." Say, "We're about to drown out here."

And Chitimacha and rattlesnake argued back and forth like two little children all day long, "No" and "Yes" and "No" and "Yes."

It gets around to about dark, rattlesnakes say, "Look, we've gotta get in that pot. We're about to drown here." Say, "We'll make a peace pact with you. We promise if you let us ride out the flood, we'll never bite Chitimacha again."

So rattlesnake became the totem of the Chitimacha people.

When the Indian boy went through his rituals to become a man, he tatooed a rattlesnake on his chest to show that he was Chitimacha.

I'm fascinated that Edwards actually *did* manage to paraphrase most of Stouff's folktale instead of just copying it verbatim. Unless someone else paraphrased it into an intermediate text for her to steal. Similarly, there's a lot of surrounding material about thunderbirds which can be clearly traced to Radin, but in the form of many small factoids scattered throughout the book, sharing only a few words at a time.

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RM p. 213:

"I know them so well I fear them not," Racing Moon said, his voice soothing to Maureen's frazzled nerves. "They are fascinating creatures. It has been said they locate their prey in the swamps by using nerve-packed bumps on their jaws so sensitive that they can detect ripples from a single drop of water."

"Truly?" Maureen asked, her eyes widening.

"Alligators have hundreds of such bumps, which cover the face like a beard," Racing Moon said. "Half-submerged alligators rely on them to pinpoint splashes, whether caused by a fallen hatchling or an animal stopping for a drink."

"In a sense, they are armored creatures, are they not?" Maureen said.

"Yes, they have a honeycomb of bumps that do in a sense work as armor," Racing Moon said, nodding.

Andrew Bridges, "Nerve-studded jaws let alligators sense prey", AP article archived at http://www.news-star.com/stories/060902/New_41.shtml:

Alligators locate their prey in the swamps by using nerve-packed bumps on their jaws so sensitive that they can detect ripples from a single drop of water, a study says.

Alligators have hundreds of such bumps that cover the face like a beard, said Daphne Soares, who recently finished work toward her doctorate at the University of Maryland.

Half-submerged alligators rely on the sensory array to pinpoint splashes, whether it is a fallen hatchling or a zebra stooping for a drink, Soares said.

"These are armored creatures, but they have developed this elegant way to be sensitive to their environment," she said. Her study appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

[...]Soares first noticed the honeycomb of bumps while sitting atop an 8-foot bull alligator "hog-tied and duct-taped" in the back of a pickup truck as they bounced down a Louisiana back road.

Although this source is a short news summary, some phrases such as "nerve-packed bumps" are unique to this AP article and do not occur in other descriptions of the same research.

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RM, pp. 239-240:

"A little boy named U'stapu was lying in a bunk close to the shore," Changing Bird said, his eyes moving slowly from child to child. "His people had come to Louisiana land from the prairies and wanted to cross the river, but the wind was too high. As he lay there, U'stau discovered a boy fanning himself with a fan of turkey feathers."

He held his fan out before him. "A fan such as mine," he said, nodding.

Then he resumed fanning and talking. "This boy fanning himself with a fan of turkey feathers was the boy that makes the west wind," he said. "Then U'stapu said to his people, 'I can break the arm of the boy that makes the west wind so that the wind will stop.' All laughed at him, but he took up a shell, threw it at the boy who was making the wind, and broke his left arm."

He smiled from child to child, then said, "Therefore, my children, when the west wind is high, the boy controlling the west wind is using his good arm, and if it is gentle, he is using his broken arm. Before the boy's arm was broken, the west wind used to be very bad, because the west-wind maker could change hands, but since then it has been much gentler. It is possible that this boy made the other winds also.

Swanton, p. 359:

A little boy named U'stapu was lying in a bunk close to the shore of a lake. His people had come there from the prairies in order to cross, but the wind was too high. As he lay there U'stau discovered a boy fanning with a fan of turkey feathers. This was the boy that makes the west wind. Then U'stapu said to his people: "I can break the arm of the boy that makes the west wind." All laughed at him, but he took up a shell, threw it at the boy who was making the wind, and broke his left arm. Therefore, when the west wind was high, the Indians used to say this boy was using his good arm, and if it was gentle, they said he was using his broken arm. Before that time the west wind used to be very bad, because the west-wind maker could change hands, but since then it has been much gentler. It is possible that this boy made the other winds also.

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Factual blunder: on RM p. 323, Maureen's bridal regalia includes a "lovely nutria-teeth decorated beaded necklace". Alas, this takes place in 1857, whereas the nutria was not introduced to the Louisiana bayou from South America until the 1930s.

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Addenda-- poking at the limited preview of Savage Heart (Zebra 2007) available on Google Books.

p. 14:

Christa inhaled the pure, sweet smell of the breeze blowing in from the Sound and listened to the slap of fish breaking the surface in a rhythm almost as constant as the beat of the waves.

Gulls wheeled overhead on steady wings, turning their smooth heads slowly as they scanned the water for prey. Cranes flapped heavily into flight, dwarfed by the great mountain that rose in the east with white, cone-streaked peaks and blue-black ridges-- Mount Rainier. It was a ghostly apparition on the horizon, often hidden by heavy, gray clouds which hung low over firs and hemlocks. But[... (end of page)]

Murray C. Morgan, "Doc Maynard and the Indians, 1852-1873" from Skid Road, Viking Press 1960 (http://www2.tpl.lib.wa.us/v2/nwroom/morgan/Maynard.htm):

The great mountain rose in the east, its white cone streaked with blue-black ridges, and to the west stood the Olympics, white with the early snow. Seals bobbed up to stare roundeyed at the black canoe, and porpoises curved through the waters ahead. just below the surface floated translucent jellyfish, and when the Indians paddled close to shore Maynard could see giant starfish clinging to the rocks, and anemones, pink and green and gold, moving in the currents.

Even the barnacles were open and waved pale tentacles in search of food. And fish! When the canoe drifted through the Narrows on the outgoing tide Maynard could look down and see salmon lying head to current in the deep water below the clay cliffs. The slap of fish breaking surface sounded almost as steadily as the beat of the cedar paddles.

Gulls wheeled overhead on steady wings, turning their smooth heads slowly as they scanned the water for prey. When the canoe skirted the shore, cranes flapped heavily into flight. Sometimes mallard and coot skittered along the green surface, or a helldiver flipped under.

Yeah, the fish-slapping passages are relatively loose paraphrases rather than simple cut'n'paste. Yay her.

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SH p. 28:

Shrugging, she left the Sound behind her and began making her way along a small, winding stream with muddy banks and salt grass on the margin, which ran through a partial clearing in the woods.

Mottled trunks of alders overgrown with wild roses stood[... (end of page)]

Frederic James Grant (ed.), History of Seattle, Washington: With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers, New York: American Publishing and Engraving Co., 1891 (via Google Books); p. 64:

Thinking this to indicate an opening in the continuous woods, he climbed up the bank and discovered a gently sloping hillside over which a fire had passed, deadening the trees. Some of these, particularly the alders, of which there were many at that particular place, had fallen over, leaving an opening in the boscage. [...]As they passed slowly along the shore from their noon resting place, they found the bluff diminish in height, lowering from thirty of forty feet down to fifteen, and in less than half a mile, to but five or less. Then it disappeared, and they came upon a little crooked stream, with muddy banks and salt grass on the margin and along the tiny meadow. Near this point was a curious circular mound or knoll thirty or forty feet high, with steep but not bluffy sides. Beyond that was observed an Indian house, no longer inhabited, but ledt to stand and it was now partly overgrown with wild rose bushes, which flourished along this shore.