"Koasati"

This blog post is comprised of my notes about the background information headnote given on the Koasati as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Koasati people are a branch of Muskogean speakers who originally lived in Southwestern Louisiana and Eastern Texas. 
• The trickster character in Koasati tales is called Rabbit or Cokfi.
• All Koasati tales must be told in their specific, prescribed orders; however, outside of order, story-tellers have the leeway to embellish or condense, add or omit parts of the stories as suits their style and purpose.
• The tales of the Koasati are meant to reiterate and solidify cultural norms and culturally acceptable behavior.

"Ikto Conquers Iya, The Eater"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes and reactions to the Sioux trickster tale, "Ikto Conquers Iya, The Eater" as it is printed in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• This story begins with Iktomi wandering the world.  He reaches the top of a hill at the same time as Iya, and expects that he will die; despite the thought of his impending death, Iktomi wonders which of the two is the eldest.
• Iktomi asks Iya when Iya was created before recalling that he himself created Iya just after he created the sky and the earth.
• The two are heading for the same village, so they decide to go together.  They stop for the night, and while Iya sleeps, Iktomi looks inside him (through his mouth) and sees all the villages he has already eaten all living happily within him as they did before they were consumed.
• Iktomi is frightened by Iya nd wants to capture him, so he devises a plan.
• When Iya wakes up, Iktomis asks him what he fears.  Iya confides that he fears "the sound of rattles, and drums, the hooting of owls, and the shouts of men" (85).  Iktomi claims to fear those exact same things.
• Next, Iktomi makes a deal with Iyo to each eat half of the village beginning at either end.  The winner (i.e. he who gets to the middle of the village first) will be rewarded by being able to eat his brother.  Iyo agrees to the contest.
• When Iktomi heads to the village in order to mark the center tipi, he warns all the people that Iya is close at hand and tells them what Iya is afraid of.  He then instructs them to go to where Iya is and frighten him.
• The people, accompanied by Iktomi go to Iya and scare him.  Iktomi tears Iya open from the inside out, thus releasing all the people trapped inside.  For masterminding this, Iktomi is praised, but also blamed for the world being full of people and for causing land to become more scarce.

My Thoughts:

It is clear just from reading this one story that the Sioux do, in fact, give a lot more credit to Iktomi for his role in the beginning of the world than the Winnebago give to their trickster, Wakjankaga. 

I think that it is fun that the role of the trickster as a wanderer is present in both Winnebago and Sioux cultures.  The similarities do not seem to extend much farther than that, though.  Where Wakjankaga was a foolish sort of being who did more harm to himself than to injure others (and, from the reading at least, caused more shame to people than permanent physical harm). 

The idea of self-gain that Wakjankaga seems to have in the excerpts of Winnebago stories does not seem to carry over to the Sioux Iktomi either.  In contrast to Wakjankaga's desire to get ahead by marrying a chief's son so he may eat through though the winter, Iktomi has a much less frivolous desire to ensure that people remain on the earth rather than being eaten up by Iya.  Nevertheless, both tricksters create a bad situation for those he leaves behind after his trick is over.  In Wakjankaga's case, he brings shame upon the family of the chief's son.  Iktomi, on the otherhand, creates a much more wide-spread effect.  By destroying Iya, he keeps people from continuing to be consumed; however, he also releases the people who have already been eaten thus populating the world far more than it was.  In short, Wakjankaga brings shame on one family; Iktomi brings hardship on all people by limiting the land available.

"Sioux"

This blog post is comprised of my notes on the headnote about the Sioux people and culture (and their trickster tales) as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Sioux make up a large group of Native Americans who speak the Nakota, Dakota, and Lakota languages; The Sioux are comprised of seven different nations and their territory originally spanned from Minnesota to South Dakota.  They were originally a plains-dwelling people.
• Hunter cultures (like the Sioux) emphasize the transformer/culture-maker aspects of the trickster character and also focus on both his foolish and his dangerous aspects.
• Trickster is called Iktomi, and there is also a Coyote trickster mentioned in Sioux stories.
• Iktomi is presented as a danger to the welfare of people.
• He is one of the first beings that was created; he is the one who named animals, created language, and discovered color.
• Iktomi is often thought of and referred to as being 'spider-like;' however, he does not have the ability to take the shape of a spider.
• In Sioux tradition, Iktomi has an adversary called Iya who attempts to drive him to further evil (eating people).

"From 'The Winnebago Trickster Cycle'"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes and thoughts on The Winnebago Trickster Cycle as it is presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes on Story 19:

• This story opens with Trickster wandering about the world.  As the tale progresses, he encounters (one at a time) a little fox, a jay, and a nit.  Each in turn agrees that they should all live together because separately, each was looking for a place to settle down.
• The group decides that a patch of land where a river forks and red oaks grow is a good place to live, so they build their home there.
• In the autumn, food is plentiful, but when winter and snow come, the group becomes very hungry.  To solve this problem, the Trickster proposes a plan to take the form of a woman in order to marry a nearby single man who happens to be a chief's son.  Thus, he proposes, the group will be able to eat what the chief's son hunts until Springtime.  The tale ends with all four agreeing that this plan is a good one.

Text Notes on Story 20:

• Trickster begins this story by creating female parts for himself and becoming a woman.  Upon doing so, he allows the fox, the jay, and the nit each to impregnate him before finally donning female apparal and going to the village to court the chief's son.
• When the Trickster arrives in the village, there is an emphasis placed on the inappropriate roles and the incorrect order in which things are done (i.e. a woman courting a man).  Nevertheless, they are married and a traditional wedding meal is consumed.
• The Trickster proceeds to be impregnated by the chief's son and give birth to a son on three separate occasions. 

Reactions to Story 20:

It is only the footnotes provided by the anthology that explicitly state that the order of things is wrong.  The old woman who points out that a woman has clearly come to court the chief's son appears to play a pivotal role in this role-reversal humor, though.  

I am disturbed by the absence of follow-through with the Trickster's having been impregnated six times (once each by the fox, the jay, and the nit  and three times by the chief's son) but only bearing three children.  Perhaps in a different version of the story there is some sort of allowance for the other three pregnancies, but in this translation, I find it a bit confusing.

Text Notes on Story 21:

• The third son that Trickster bears to the chief's son cries incessantly.  Finally, the crying son asks for a white cloud (and recieves snow), a piece of the blue sky (and receives blue grass), a green leaf (which he also gets), and finally for a roasting ear (of corn).  All of these items are obtained and given because it is the chief's son who is requesting them.
• While roasting the corn, the Trickster's 'sister-in-law' teases the Trickster and chases him around until he jumps over the fire pit and drops "something very rotten" (the liver-vagina he made himself in story 20) (80).  
• Immediately, all know that it is the Trickster, so he and his three friends must flee the village immediately (because what they have done is an exceptionally bad thing).

Reactions to Story 21:

Again, there are footnotes about how very bizarre the interactions between Trickster and his mother/sister-in-law is.  The absurdity evidently stems from the Trickster's true gender being male.  Because no man's mother-in-law would ever be permitted to tease him, the story instead calls her a sister-in-law; however, without the technically inappropriate teasing, the fact that it was inappropriate (because the Trickster is a son-in-law) would not have been discovered.  When one thinks about it in this way, the absurdity of the tale becomes a bit more obvious.

It is also important to note that Trickster has shamed the chief's son mightily by making him unwittingly perform homosexual acts.  This is why he must flee so quickly.

Text Notes on Story 22:

• Trickster thinks on his actions towards the chief's son and decides that it is time he should return to his true wife and son and get his life in order there.  He does so and is a good father until his son is grown.  Then, Trickster decides to travel once again.

Reaction to Story 22:

Trickster's doing things outside of the traditional normal way is much more evident to the modern reader than the occurrences in the previous stories.  The father leaving home upon his son's adulthood is clearly backwards; even today it is generally accepted that a child grows up and leaves his/her parents' home.  

Text Notes on Story 23:

• This story is primarily scatalogical humor.  Trickster hears a bulb on a bus repeatedly saying, "He who chews me, he will defecate; he will defecate" (80), so he eats it in order to prove it wrong.
• As Trickster continues on his travels, he begins "to break wind again and again" (81).  He continues to do so with such force that he lifts himself off the ground repeatedly (and higher each time) until it gets to the point that he hurts himself from the fall.  At this point, he must secure himself to the earth by holding onto a tree and finally by being buried under a dissembled lodge upon which people sit.
• After he scatters the lodging and people on it, Trickster finally feels that he must defecate, and once he does, he is unable to stop.  He winds up having to climb a very tall tree in order to stay out of his own feces; however the story ends with the pile of excrement slowly reaching him on his high branch.

Reaction to Story 23:

Apparently poop humor has been around forever.

Text Notes on Story 24:

• This is an extremely short story.
• Trickster falls off his tree and into a pile of his own excrement, thus becoming filthy.  Even the box in which he keeps his penis is very dirty, so he empties it and continues on.

 Text Notes on Story 25:

• The Trickster makes his way to water with the help of trees that guide him (by talking to him).  Once in the water, he takes an extremely long time to clean all the filth off of himself and his possessions.
• It is noted that without the help of the trees, Trickster would probably have died because the excrement had blinded him.

Reaction to Story 25:

This story kind of strays away from the poop-humor of the previous two stories and forces the reader to see that Trickster's humorous ways are actually very detrimental to his well-being.  By wanting to prove a bush wrong, he eats a fruit that leads to him severely injuring himself after falling from a severe fart.  This isn't the only ill thing to happen to him though!  He also falls into the excrement and gets it in his eyes, thus blinding him and leaving him helpless and vulnerable.

I think that there is something to be said for the trees helping him though.  After all, Trickster is the "first son" of the Earth, so he is not simply left to die.  It also illustrates that Trickster has some extraordinary help keeping him alive and in the position of a trickster.  If anything, the closing of these excerpts suggests that Trickster is an integral part of human life and that he cannot simply die and leave people in peace.  Thus, the trials he puts people through are also an integral part of life.

"Felix White Sr.'s Introduction to Wakjankaga"

This blog is comprised of my notes, reactions, and comments to Felix White Sr.'s "Introduction to Wakjankaga" as it is printed in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• "Stories about Wakjankaga"
• This opening tells the reader (or listener) that there will be four stories told in the story-telling session to come.
• The use of "ah" throughout this selection indicates that this is a literal transcripion ofstorytelling that creates a highly authentic feeling for the reader.
• "His Name"
• Wakjankaga earns his name by failing to save people from evil being (lines 35-38). 
• Remember that the literal translation of his name is "The Foolish One."
• Prior to this, Wakjankaga has been called Kununa, which means "the first son" (line 12).
• "His Duties"
• This tale explains a bit more specifically what Wakjankaga is supposed to have done when he came to Earth (his purpose as originally referenced in "His Name").
• "His Folly and His Travels"
• This again expounds on the original reference to Wakjankaga's job in "His Name."
• In this story, there is an explanation of how he becomes "fascinated by" people and "started to tease them" which led to his forgetting the original purpose of saving them from the evil beings (lines 8-9).
• This story ends with Wakjankaga beginning to travel.
• "His Longing"
• Wakjankaga's longing is for people and people's company. Specifically, he longs for the Winnebago people.  
• It is this longing that leads Wakjankaga to always return from his travels to the Winnebago people.

"Winnebago"

This blog entry is comprised of my notes on the headnote about the Winnebago people and their trickster tales as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The Winnebago people are also known as the Ho-Chunks.  They are a Siovan-speaking group of people who were originally located in Wisconsin.
• They lived by hunting; fishing; planting squash, corn, and beans; and by gathering rice and berries.
• Trickster tales are very popular with the group and include two different tricksters.  
• First, there is Wakjankaga ('The Foolish One').
• There is also the Hare trickster.  

"Native American Trickster Tales"

This blog is comprised of my notes on the headnote for trickster tales as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• "trickster" - a term of somewhat vague origins used to describe a character who is "wandering, bawdy, gluttonous, and obscene" (72).  A trickster is usually male and sexually alligned, and though he is "selfish, amoral, foolish, destrcutive, and [...] given to duping others," his attitude against order is often 'new' because he is often one who helped to establish the original world order (72).  
• Trickster tales are some of the most ancient stories in Native American culture and have probably survived becasue they both instruct and please the listeners/readers.
• Culteral context enhances the enjoyment from trickster tales because they are not merely etiological.
• Like any tale in oral tradition, trickster tales may be different from one telling to another.
• The Norton editors encourage readers to try not to let their modern ideas of tricksters or the tricksters present in other cultural tales influence their readings of the Native American ones.

"From 'The Complete Works of Captain John Smith'"

This blog is comprised of my notes on and reactions to The Complete Works of Captain John Smith as presented in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.  The text used in the anthology is the version edited by Philip L. Barbour (1986). 

Text Notes:

• "From 'The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles'"
• Opens with starvation in Virginia; Though the small folk are without food or alcohol, the President has diverted supplies for himself and thus continues to eat well.
• The lack of food, manner of living, and the hard work of building the palisade in the heat has weakened the settlers.
• May-September: Fifty people die and there is a political shift; President Wingfield is ousted and Radcliffe is made president instead.  After this shift, the surgeon general, Master Thomas Wotten is praised for saving those who are ill.
• During this period, the people ate and lived off of sturgeon and sea crabs.
• When no provisions, sturgeon, or sea crabs remain to the settlers, the natives are moved to bring "plenty of their fruits and provisions" so that there is no further wanting (58).
• The blame for this period of want is put on those who sailed the settlers to Virginia because they were ignorant of their endeavor and took five months - significantly longer than it should have take - and thus robbed the settlers of provisions once they got there while also causing them to miss the planting season.
• President Radcliffe and Captain Martin are not good about foreseeing the dangers present to the colony, so they assign the management of all outside the palisade to John Smith.
• Smith is praised as working hard to ensure that the settlers have lodgings, though neglecting any for himself. He is further exalted for heading out to find trade despite lacking language skill and skill with boats (as opposed to ships).
• The first trade is marked as being "contrary to his commission" because he puts courtesy by the wayside and fires at the Kecoughton Indians (59).  He then waits for the native warriors to arrive at which point he opens fire again to ultimately receive a peace treaty for food and other provisions in exchange for some weapons and the shot idol of the native gods.
• The provisions thus provided by John Smith along with others gathered from the towns of Warraskoyah and Chickahominy are carelessly consumed rather than saved for the inevitable future hardships.  
• Upon returning from one of his trips, John Smith learns of a plot made between Wingfield and Kendall to abandon the colony; he stops this plot from coming to fruition, and ultimately Kendall is killed.
• Smith stops a similar plot between President Radcliffe and Captain Anchor.
• As winter approaches, the natives give the settlers corn and the settlers hunt birds, fish, and fruit to eat well.
• Finally, Smith takes a group up the Chickahominy River to discover its source.  During this endeavor, he is put under siege by two-hundred 'savages' and taken prisoner for six or seven weeks during which time he almost becomes one of them, ensuring that they do not put the settlement under siege and eventually is set free.
•  Smith's experience in captivity is as follows:
• After being wounded by archers, Smith makes it to his canoe to discover his two comrades are dead; he is then seized and warmed up by his captors. 
• Smith is introduced to Opechancanough (Powhatan's younger half-brother) (King of Pamunkey), who is to be his captor.
• Natives are fascinated by Smith's compass and the way it moves.
• Just as he is to be executed, Opechancanough raises Smith's compass in the air, so Smith is untied from the tree he is bound to and taken to the village, Orapaks.
• In the village, Smith is guarded through three dances, then fed repeatedly with bread and venison so that he thinks the natives "would fat him to eat him" (62).
• Guards protect Smith from being killed by one wishing to avenge a dying son, but Smith assures his captors that he has 'water' that could save the dying man if he could return to Jamestown for it.  His release is denied, but they carry a letter to Jamestown for him and return with the medicine and an answer for Smith.
• The Native Americans do not understand the concept of writing, so they do not realize that Smith has warned Jamestown of the native plot to attack, nor do they realize how the medicine and supplies are 'magically' presented to them.
• Smith is moved from Orapaks to the Youghtanunds to the Mattapients to the Pianatanks to the Nantaughtacunds to the Onawmanients and finally to the king's village, Pamunkey.
• At Pamunkey, Smith is made part of a ceremony intended to discern whether he means the natives harm or not.
• Afterwards, Smith is fed and moved once again to Werowocomaco, where Powhatan is located.  Here, he is once again feasted and seemingly condemned to death.  Two stones are brought out and Smith expresses that he believes his head to be smashed by clubs; however, Pocahontas rescues him by placing herself between him and any who would do him harm.
• Pocahontas is cast as the heroine for the first time in this version of the story.  In previous versions, she has been a person mentioned but not given a figuring role.
• Finally, Powhatan tells Smith that he will hither forth be as a son and will be returned to Jamestown and given the land in exchange for two 'great guns' and a grindstone.
• Upon his return to Jamestown, Smith gives two cannons and a millstone to be returned to Powhatan and other gifts intended to please the women and children.
• Once he is back in Jamestown, Smith foils yet another attempt by leaders to flee the colony.  He is threatened with death for the deaths of his two companions who were killed when he was captured; however, he escapes that fate.
• Pocahontas and her attendants provide food once or twice a week to prevent the settlers from starving and creates higher spirits in the settlers by doing so.
• 'From "The Fourth Book'"
•  This section is merely a brief acknowledgement by Smith that his time in Virginia is at an end and that he's a little bitter about it: "it may be that they would judge me more charitably of my imperfections" (66).
• "From 'A Description of New England'"
• Smith opens this section by posing many questions about the virtue, honor, and praise that may come from colonizing a new land and toiling in order to succeed.
• He next questions why people would live their lives in any baser way than the one originally described as praiseworthy (i.e. that of a settler).
• Smith goes on to rally those who wish to expand their fortunes and live productive lies to explore the new lands rather than feigning ignorance to the possible greatness they could attain.
• He also expresses his own interest in rekindling his own involvement in such affairs.
• Smith tempers his praise with the warning that success is not guaranteed, particularly if bad leadership comes into play
• labor and diligence vs. vain pleasure
• gives an example of fishing to illustrate how one might provide for one's self as well as earning money/making profit
• change fouling and fishing in place of hawking and hunting
• none should grow poor in New England, Smith suggests
• "From 'New England's Trials'"
•  This selection opens with an explanation of why the massacre of settlers in March 1622 occurred.
• It was for weapons and novelty items/commodities, but Smith does not believe this should act as a deterrence for future settlers.
• Smith furthers his argument by giving examples of his own power over the Native Americans - both the laypeople and their chiefs.  Furthermore, he asserts he never suffered great hurt at the hands of the natives.
• The reiteration about the freshness of the air and the plenty of food as a reason to colonize.
• Smith asserts that he would do all that he did over again if he is given the chance.  
•  The selection ends Smith's argument by asserting the truth of what he has stated and firmly maintains his stance that many should desire to go to the colonies and "freely...adventure" with him (72).

My Thoughts:

I don't think much about the first section taken from"The General History..."  I think that in general it serves to paint Smith in a nice light and present intrigue so that people will want to read his book.  The final two sections (from the "Description of New England" and "New England's Trials") get much more at the heart of what John Smith was aiming to do with his book.  As for the third section (from "The Fourth Book"), I think that it indicates very strongly Smith's love for the New World and asserts a level of authority and veracity about his later statements about wanting to go back and being willing to do it all over again.

The final two selections of the Smith readings virtually sell the American dream (long before the American dream really existed as we know it today).   I find this particularly arguable because Smith essentially equates hard work with gain in Virginia and New England.  He presents scenarios in which people can toil, hunt, fish, and work in order to profit and elevate their situation from anything they could hope for in England.

It seems to me that Smith is merely making a sale's pitch.  His writing is overtly persuasive in the final two sections.

"John Smith"

This blog post is comprised on my notes on the "John Smith" author introduction as presented in the 7th edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• John Smith lived from 1580 until 1631.
• He played a crucial role in establishing the colony at Jamestown and ensuring its continuance under the corporate colony model that was established and favored during the 1600s.
• After an early life with multiple military experience, John Smith was named to the ruling council of Virginia by London partners in December of 1606.
• Despite being rather volatile of temper and inclined to the use of excessive force at times, Smith was voted to be president of the ruling council; this essentially made him the governor of Virginia.
• Smith was not able to garner the lasting influence that he craved from his political career in Virginia, but his published version of events surrounding his imprisonment by Powhatan and his perceived rescue by Pocahontas (he may have only been part of a ceremony inducting him as an adopted member of the tribe) created the fame and immortality he wanted when it was written 15 years after he left Virginia for good.
• Smith's writings are considered as means that bridge the gap between Virginia and New England.

"A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia"

This blog post is comprised of my notes and thoughts about the excerpt of A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia by Thomas Harriot as it appears in the seventh edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• The entire excerpt presented is based on a single thesis-like statement that Harriot makes near the beginning:  The natives are not to be feared by the English because they (the natives) only have reason to "both fear and love" those who intend to colonize their land (49).
• Harriot first describes the Native American way of dressing, their proportions, and their weaponry.
• The purpose of this, no doubt, is to illustrate how easily the English may overpower and rule over the Native Americans.
• Harriot continues with the theme of describing the ease of colonizing by describing the towns.  He notes that most are comprised of a scant ten to twelve houses and that the largest town they encountered has thirty houses.  
• Just as he drove home the lack of defense that the Native Americans have in the first section, he drives home how little the houses should be regarded by equating them to English garden arbors. 
• Fences and walls, Harriot goes on to describe, are either made of tree bark and stakes or are palisade-style - again, easy to circumvent.
• Next, the government of the Native Americans is described.  Harriot notes that the governments over towns are highly varied.  Some chief Lords govern only one town while others govern many.
• Even those who have many towns are unable to call upon more than seven or eight hundred men to fight in battles.  This is yet another weakness that Harriot points out, and he furthers the explanation of this weakness by describing that Native Americans don't fight in open battles with one another, but instead use ambush attacks at night or meet in battle in forested areas where they can fight with the aid of trees as barricades and vantage points.
• Harriot finally drives the point he's making home by asserting that any attack made by the English against the Native Americans will be an English victory.
• Next, the descriptive text goes on to inspect the poverty of the Native Americans, who are described as being very poor compared to the English.  Furthermore, they are noted for lacking the ability to discern between that which is valuable and that which is merely a trifle.  
• Harriot tempers his criticism of the Native Americans by adding that they are clever and ingenious when it comes to things that they do understand.
• This temperance is used to postulate that perhaps the natives will be easily civilized and indoctrinated to Christianity.
•  Harriot uses this as a segue-way to discuss the Native American religious beliefs.  They already have religion, he asserts before going on to explain the important aspects for comparison.
• The Native Americans believe in the following order:  many gods called 'Mantoac,' but only one chief, great God.  
• God --> lesser gods --> sun, moon, and stars (or petty gods) --> waters --> creatures --> women --> men
• The fact that there is no timeline or idea of time wrapped into this order of creation is noted.
• Gods have human shape, so the natives have idols of them called 'Kewasowok' which are placed in temples; some see the Kewasowok as gods themselves, thus creating idolatry.
• The natives believe in the immortality of the soul which either goes to Heaven or to a great pit of torment called Popogusso.
• Harriet repeats in this section stories of two men who have risen from their graves to give accounts of journeys that they have taken when their souls left their bodies and wondered before returning and granting them another chance at life.
• Harriot notes that these religious beliefs keep the people easy to govern because they do not want to be condemned to Popogusso after death.
• Because the Native Americans already have religion, Harriot presents his experience in explaining Christianity to the Wiroance priests.  He states that they desire to learn more about Christianity and doubt their own religion when presented with the alternative.  Furthermore, the natives believe that God favors the English by giving them complex items or otherwise giving them the superior knowledge to create them.
• Harriet next describes times when the Native Americans entreat the English to pray for those who are sick and/or dying or for the crops that suffer from drought.  
• Finally, there is great detail given regarding illness and death in towns where altercations had arisen between the natives and the English.  Harriot describes the way in which the natives believe the English to be punishing them for their transgressions, and they thus entreat the British to strike down their enemies.
• Though the English refuse, the enemies to the Winoans fall ill anyway, so the English are given praise and credit for the event.
• The footnote that the anthology adds lets the reader know that neither the Native Americans nor Harriot properly understand the spread of infection, making this something of a mystery to both.

 My Thoughts:

• Based on the assumed thesis that Native Americans have reason to both fear and love the English, I believe each of the topics fall into each category:
• Native should fear the English because:
• The English have superior fighting ability and weaponry.
• The English have God on their side and can kill any who slight them.
• Natives should love the English because:
• The English can civilize them.
• The English can magically eliminate their enemies.
• The English can provide the natives with complex technologies and trinkets.
• Based on the fact that this descriptive work is known to be propaganda, it is easy to see the underlying purpose:  Virginia will be easy to settle because the natives cannot beat us on any front.
• This idea is heavily supported in what Harriot says, but the author headnote informs the reader that he omitted a lot of the difficulties that the first group of settlers encountered with the natives.
• I can only think that the propaganda-ish book must have met with some sense of humor when it was published after the second Roanoke colony simply vanished.

"Thomas Harriot"

This blog is comprised of my notes on the author head-note on Thomas Harriot as it appears in the 7th edition of The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume A.

Text Notes:

• lived 1560-1621
• graduate of Oxford University
• Harriot was probably the person who trained the men in Sir Walter Raleigh's first Roanoke expedition in navigational skills.
• He may have gone on the first expedition with Sir Walter Raleigh in 1584, but he definitely went as a naturalist on the second in 1585.
• Harriot collaborated with John White (painter) to study the flora and fauna of the New World.
• From April of 1585 until July of 1586, Harriot spent his time studying and collecting as a naturalist.  During this time of study by Harriot and White, Roanoke was experiencing political unrest and having poor relations with the Native Americans on the island.
• Harriet's descriptive work A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land includes information on the plants, animals, and Native Americans, but it fails to report on the serious events that occured between the Roanoke settlers and the Roanoke Indians.
• Despite this, he does touch on Ralph Lane's (Lane was the second commander-in-chief of the colony) 'fierce' dealings with Chief Wingina and his people
• He also gives evidence that European disease had begun to destroy the Native American people/population
• Harriot's descriptive text lacks candor because it was written at Sir Walter Raleigh's request during a time that a second colony was being set up in John White's command.  In other words, it was propaganda to gain support for the second colony.
• On a silly note, despite the original intent of the work, it was not published until after the "Lost Colony" had occurred, thus serving as pretty poor propaganda.