I dreamt that I ran away from three people. I ran towards the southeast. These three people, however, ran after me in order to kill me. I was alone and there were three of the others.

I finally came to a lake about half a mile from where I lived. I intended to swim across this lake and thus get away from them. As I reached the lake there was one man in front of me and two behind.

I jumped into the water and turned around immediately to watch the man. When I was about half way across I saw two of the men in the water following me. One fellow was pretty close to me. I had nothing in my hand with which to defend myself. This fellow soon got so close that I could almost reach him. Then I struck him and knocked out one of his eyes.

The second man behind me then came along but I got to the other side before he reached me. I thought then that I had gotten away from all three. I walked towards the west, towards a river, but when I had walked about half a mile, I found two of the men in front of me again. One of them said, "This is the man who almost killed my brother." He was a very big fellow. Then he again spoke to his partner and said, "If you can kill him, do so!"

Then I thought to myself, "I am going to fight him and the best man will live." We all walked a little farther together along the shore. I felt I was as mad as the devil and thought to myself, "I'm going to kill him (the man who had spoken) if I can."

Then this one stopped and went back. He told his partner that he wouldn't fight. "This Indian is going to kill us," he said. "We had better run away."

Then I went to the river to see what kind of a boat these people had. As they paddled back I saw the occupants. They were the muskrat, mink and otter.

COMMENT

This is the first dream I have ever had. Everything was going along nicely when I dreamt it. That winter I made $200.

EDITOR'S NOTE

J.P. was an Ottawa Indian interviewed around age 73-75 in 1927 by ethnographer Paul Radin. An afternote (p.295) by Jackson Lincoln claims the dream is about "an effort to escape from the bonds of the old culture", with Muskrat, Mink and Otter as symbols of traditionalism JP is rejecting. I don't buy it. The idea JP wants to escape the "oppression" of Ottawa culture and be modern and white is just Lincoln's patronizing projection. Elsewhere he subjects shamanic dreams to Freudian analysis, which shows you where he's at...

JP's other dreams show he lived for years as a trapper. The dream reverses it--his prey hunts him--but he defends himself in a 3-on-1 fight with the spirits regulating his line of work, and wins their grudging respect. I interpret that exactly as JP does--a dream suggesting a good hunting year, which was borne out.

I suspect a transcription error in JP's comment "first dream I have ever had". JP told other dreams that seem earlier. "Best dream I have ever had" makes more sense. Not in the sense of "happiest dream", but "most successful"--he meets a hard challenge and wins good luck.

--Chris Wayan--

SOURCE: The Dream in Primitive Cultures edited by Jackson Lincoln, 1935, p 277-8 in 1970 reprint. Primary source: interviews of Ottawa Indians in 1927; unpub. field notes by Paul Radin. Date of dream uncertain. Title added to aid searches.

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