| Contents |
Chapter 1 -- The creation -- Klose-Kur-Beh's journey -- Meeting his companions -- The marriage -- Chapter 2 -- With the aid of May May, Klose-kur-beh destroyed the serpent -- The sea voyage -- Chapter 3 -- Klose-kur-beh's hunting -- The first mother changed into corn and tobacco -- Chapter 4 -- The winter and the seven years famine -- The discovery of the first White man's track -- Chapter 5 -- The fish famine -- The capture of the white swan and the white spiritual men driven away -- Chapter 6 -- The winding up the war with the May-Quays -- The Grand Council established -- The arrival and settlement of the White man -- Conclusion |
| Abstract |
Joseph Nicolar's "The Life and Traditions of the Red Man" tells the story of his people from the first moments of creation to the earliest arrivals and eventual settlement of Europeans. Self-published by Nicolar, this is one of the few sustained narratives in English composed by a member of an Eastern Algonquian-speaking people during the nineteenth century. At a time when Native Americans' ability to exist as Natives was imperiled, Nicolar wrote his book in an urgent effort to pass on Penobscot cultural heritage to subsequent generations of the tribe and to reclaim Native Americans' right to self-representation. This extraordinary work weaves together stories of Penobscot history, precontact material culture, feats of shamanism, and ancient prophecies about the coming of the white man. An elder of the Penobscot Nation in Maine and the grandson of the Penobscots' most famous shaman-leader, Old John Neptune, Nicolar brought to his task a wealth of traditional knowledge. providing historical context and explaining unfamiliar words and phrases. "The Life and Traditions of the Red Man" is a remarkable narrative of Native American culture, spirituality, and literature. |
| Local note | Joyner Rare copy has bookplate: "Ex libris Franklin Folsom, Roosevelt New Jersey." |
| General note | "Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1893, by Joseph Nicolar, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington"--Verso, title page |
| Acquisitions source |
Joyner Rare copy Purchased from Spruce Gum Books, 10/1/2022 |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Nicolar, Joseph, 1827-1894. Life and traditions of the red man. Bangor, Me., C.H. Glass & Co., printers, 1893 |
| Genre/form | Folklore. |
| Genre/form | History. |
| LCCN | 02016136 |
