Suspect Tecumseh quote

[Jonathan Lighter]

Fascinating. It sounds suspiciously like a potpouri of things a Native
American sage might be expected by a white romantic to say.

If the passage were even partially genuine, early texts should be easy to
find. But there's nothing in American Periodicals, JSTOR, or Anthropology
Plus that I see.

Teachings of Don Juan, anyone?

JL

On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 8:24 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Suspect Tecumseh quote
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Jon and list members: The same author, Ernest Thompson Seton,
> published a book with a section presenting "THE TEACHINGS OF WABASHA
> I" in 1912. The teachings in 1912 overlap the later longer version
> that you referenced, but I have not performed a detailed comparison.
>
> Title: The Book of Woodcraft and Indian Lore
> Author: Ernest Thompson Seton
> Publisher: Doubleday Page and Company
> Year: 1912
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=Y_g1AAAAMAAJ&q=%22of+Wabasha%22#v=snippet&
>
>
> [Here are some examples of overlaps:]
>
> (Begin excerpt)
> In the day of his strength no man is fat. Fat is good in a beast, but
> in a man it is disease and comes only of an evil life.
> (End excerpt)
>
> (Begin excerpt)
> Touch not the poisonous firewater that makes wise men turn fools.
> Neither touch food nor taste drink that robs the body of its power or
> the spirit {of its vision}.
> (End excerpt)
>
> [The text in braces has been added to the later version].
>
> I am using the version of "The Gospel of Red Man" given at the
> following link in the comparison. This text is in Google Books preview
> mode:
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=aABmgeR4C1cC&
>
> Garson
>
> On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 6:51 PM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Suspect Tecumseh quote
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > For Garson:
> >
> > In 1936 the naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton (and Julia Moss Seton)
> > published a multipage passage beginning with these words:
> >
> > "So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
> > Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and
> > demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life,
> beautify
> > all things in your life. ..."  (_The Gospel of the Red Man_, pp. 60ff.)
> >
> > Seton called it "The Teachings of Wabasha," but he wrote that it was
> "Also
> > ascribed to Tecumseh, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Wovoka."
> >
> > The action thriller _Act of Valor_ (2012) closes with a slightly edited
> > version. The first line at least has been quoted frequently, usually
> > credited to Tecumseh.
> >
> > But where did Seton get it? Hathi & GB show nothing before 1936.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > --
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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