---
title: Opening, part 19 — Kulóskap the master, and other Algonkin poems · full text with trees
description: Opening, part 19, «Kulóskap the master, and other Algonkin poems»: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: And yet this evil soul Was reckless through it all And jolly, for he had With every devilish vice One virtue, as I said, One saving gift, and that 
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# Opening, part 19

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Opening, part 19 of «Kulóskap the master, and other Algonkin poems»: the whole text, 132 sentences and 2636 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself.

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**1** [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg78673/19/page/2/)

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And yet this evil soul Was reckless through it all And jolly, for he had With every devilish vice One virtue, as I said, One saving gift, and that Was, that of all the beasts Who in the forest dwelt, Or devils in Hʿlamkîk (That is the Indian hell), He had the hardest heart, Toughest, as all allowed, And most unconquerable.[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") He was the first to fight And last one to give in (Indeed, he never did Give in, nor meant to do), From which it came that he Was specially admired By all the blackguard beasts Who prowled about the woods; Wherein they differed little From many among men.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics")

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Now, as of all the rogues, Rowdies and rascal roughs, The Wolves are just the worst, You may right well believe That ’twas with wondrous joy Lox heard, as night came on, Afar a long sad howl, Betokening the presence Of a pack of these pleasant folk; It was music to the ears Of the Indian Devil, Lox.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics")

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So he lifted up his voice All in the Wolfish tongue; For he was deeply learned In many languages; And soon was in the midst Of a score of howling beasts Of lupine land-loafers, Who danced and rolled and screamed, Biting each other for joy At seeing him again-- The Indian Devil, Lox.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics")

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And then the eldest wolf The Sagem or the chief, Said unto him: “I hope Thou’lt camp with us to-night; For truly it is ill For any gentleman To be alone where he Might meet with vulgar beasts!”[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") And Lox replied as if He did a favor, all With condescending air; And ate their best dried meat, And took the highest place Beside their fires, and smoked The chief’s best \_tomawe\_, That is tobacco, from The chieftain’s choicest pipe; While all the others grinned At his tremendous cheek, To see him put it on-- The Indian Devil, Lox.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics")

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And when they laid them down To sleep, the Sagamore Said to the younger wolves: “Be sure and cover up The stranger with your tails.”[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") But Lox, who thought it was A blanket made of fur, Soon threw the cover off, And then the chief and all Admired the plucky guest Who seemed to have no care Of cold, or for their care; And little did he care-- The Indian Devil, Lox.[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics")

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Then in the early morn When he would wend his way, The Sagem of the Wolves Said to the Wolverine: “Oh Uncle--thou hast yet Before thee three long days All in a land where there Is neither house nor hearth, And thou wilt find it hard To camp without a fire; Now by good luck I have An admirable spell By which thou canst have fires, And only three--yet they Will serve thee to the end-- This is the way ’tis done: Build up a pile of sticks, And then jump over it, Even as children do, And thou wilt see it blaze.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") This is a sacred charm Of great antiquity A secret ’mong the wolves.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") Thou art the very first, Not of our holy race, To whom it hath been given; No Gentile knoweth it.”[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") And so he bade farewell To the Indian Devil Lox.[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics")

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So Lox went trudging on, Away unto the West; And, as he went, he thought Of the great gift of the Peculiar pious race, And, wondering to himself If ’twere not all a flam, Since ’twas his nature to Suspect all kinds of deeds, As he had ne’er done one Save to some evil end, And being curious And very anxious to Behold some strange new thing, He said unto himself: “Tush\![13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") I will try it now.”[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") So piling up some sticks He bounded over them; They burst into a blaze.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") So all had come to pass As the Wolf prophesied: Which greatly did amaze The Indian Devil Lox.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics")

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So having warmed himself He went his way with joy, But very soon observed That it grew cold again.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") The wind blew sharp and shrill, The snow began to fall, And Lox began to think How very nice ’twould be, And pleasant, to be \_warm\_.[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") Now ’tis a curious truth All very wicked men Have always \_one\_ weak spot, So Lox the Wolverine Without reflection piled More sticks together; then Jumped over them at once.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") Up leaped a jolly blaze As if to dance with him; This was the second fire And he had still three nights Of bitter killing cold, Ere he could reach his home-- The Indian Devil Lox\![20](20/ "tree and pragmatics")

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And yet this Wolverine Who was wise in all that’s bad, Wicked and witty in sin, Had not indeed gone far Or out-walked the afternoon, Before he began to think, As he shivered and cursed the cold, Of lighting another fire.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") “Ah--hem!” he said, “who knows But the weather may take a turn To a thaw, and give us a night Which \_may\_ be rather warm\![22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") \_Hum! ha\![23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") \_ Methinks by the look Of the clouds that the wind may be South-westerly\![24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") I think I have heard my grandmother say: That a color such as I see, Of red in the sky, means something-- I forget what it is--but it may be A change for the better--or worse\![25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") Well, I’ll take the chance.”[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") Thus saying, He piled up the sticks again, And had a third fire--although The first night had not come.[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") But he warmed himself and was happy-- The Indian Devil Lox\![28](28/ "tree and pragmatics")

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Then gayly jumping over Awaited the cheerful blaze.\][29](29/ "tree and pragmatics")

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Then as it grew dark and darker, As the coals and sticks grew blacker, When a fire is dying away, He came to his camping place, And then it grew cold in earnest, A cold to split a flint.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") However, Lox the Believing, Said, “What is good for once Must surely be good for ever,” And made up a pile of sticks, Then gayly jumping over Awaited the cheerful blaze.[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") But all in vain, not a sparkle, Not a hint of anything burning, Not even a tiny crackle Came from the silent wood.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") But as Lox was persevering, He hopefully kept on jumping, Till after some thirty efforts There arose a little smoke Which came as if it were angry At being so frequently called, And then returned no more.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") But Lox to himself repeating “All smoke has fire behind it,” Kept bravely at his leaping Until the Indian Devil Of madness and desperation Awoke within his soul, And he swore by it that he ever Would keep straight on with his jumping Till something blazed--or burst\![34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") He himself was almost blazing-- The Indian Devil Lox.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics")

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So he kept on a-leaping, But to him there came no comfort, Not even the glow of a spark; And being at last aweary He fell in a swoon on the wood-pile, And so he froze to death, And that was the last that winter, Which was heard of him in the land.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") Yet I think in time he recovered, For since then, he very often Has appeared among the people-- Lox, The Indian Devil, The Indian Devil Lox.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") L.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics")

FOOTNOTES:[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics")

\[69\] Lox, the Indian Devil, is the worst beast in the woods.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics")

=L’Envoi=[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics")

L’ENVOI[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics")

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O happy sylvan hours and days of yore\![43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") O quaint old speech which echoes in our ears\![44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") From you we learn our country’s early lore, The forest people’s sorrows, joys and fears.[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") So pass in peace, ye simple woodland race\![46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") We may no longer hope to bid you live.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") In our mad turmoil ye can have no place, But we have taken what ye have to give.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") P.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics")

APPENDIX[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics")

=The Passamaquoddy Wampum Records=[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics")

APPENDIX[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics")

THE PASSAMAQUODDY WAMPUM RECORDS[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics")

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\[This is an emendation of the text published by me in Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, xxxvi., pp.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") 479 ff.[55](55/ "tree and pragmatics") P.\][56](56/ "tree and pragmatics")

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