(3.) In both faiths this is the
first birth on earth. (4.) The six-headed demon appears in a Micmac
tale. (5.) There is in both the Eddaic and the Wabanaki account a very
remarkable coincidence in this: that there is a Titanic or giant birth
of twins on earth, followed by the creation of man from the ash-tree.
(6.) The Evil principle, whether it be the Wolf-Lox, in the Wabanaki
myths, or Loki in the Norse, often turns himself into a woman. Thus the
male and female sex of the first-born twins is identified.
According to the Edda, the order of births on earth was as follows:--
First, two giants were born from the mother's armpit.
Secondly, the dwarfs were created.
Thirdly, man was made from the ash-tree.
According to the Wabanaki, this was the order:--
First, two giants were born, _one_ from his mother's armpit.
Secondly, the dwarfs (Mikumwessuk) were created from the bark of the
ash-tree.
Thirdly, man was made from the _trunk_ of the ash.
The account of the creation of the dwarfs is wanting in the present
manuscript.
_Of the Great Deeds which Glooskap did for Men; how he named the
Animals, and who they were that formed his Family._
(Passamaquoddy.)
_Woodenit atbk-hagen Gloosekap_: [Footnote: Passamaquoddy.] this
is a story of Glooskap. It is told in traditions of the old time that
Glooskap was born in the land of the Wabanaki, which is nearest to the
sunrise; but another story says that he came over the sea in a great
stone canoe, and that this canoe was an island of granite covered with
trees.
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