Seminole Tale of the White Man's Origin - 1856 Article

Seminole Tale of the White Man's Origin - Article in The Latter-Day Saints Millennial Star 1856

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Among the Seminole Indians there is a singular tradition regarding the white man's origin and superiority. They say that when the Great Spirit made the earth, he also made three men, all of whom were fair complexioned; and that after making them, he led them to the margin of a small lake, and bade them leap in and wash. One obeyed, and came out of the water purer and fairer than before; the second hesitated a moment, during which time the water, agitated by the first, had become muddy, and when he bathed, he came up copper-coloured; the third did not leap till the water became black with mud, and he came out with its own colour. Then the Great Spirit laid before them three packages, and out of pity for his misfortune in colour, gave the black man the first choice. He took hold of each of the packages, and having felt the weight chose the heaviest; the copper-coloured man then chose the next heaviest, leaving the white man the lightest. When the packages were opened, the first was found to contain spades, hoes, and all the implements of labour; the second enwrapped hunting, fishing, and warlike apparatus; the third gave the white man pens, ink, and paper, the engine of the mind—-the means of mutual, mental improvement, the social link of humanity, the foundation of the White man's superiority.—Traits of Indian Life.