When a hunter vanishes from his companions on Lake Mistassini’s shores, he reappears claiming to have visited the lake’s bottom, encountering fish of every kind and a colossal perch unable to turn in deep waters. His account gives rise to the timeless and wondrous “big perch” legend, passed from father to son, eclipsing modern sea serpent stories and preserving its rich ancestral lore.
Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905
► Themes of the story
Underworld Journey: The hunter’s descent to the lake’s bottom parallels a voyage into a realm beyond the living world.
Mythical Creatures: The colossal perch transcends ordinary biology, embodying a legendary beast.
Echoes of the Past: The tale’s transmission from father to son preserves ancestral memory across generations.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Cree people
Some Indian hunters were camped along the shores of Lake Mistassini. As fish and game were plentiful they were happy and contented. One evening they missed one of their number, and though they searched everywhere could not find him. They had many days given him up for dead, when he surprised them by calmly walking into camp. On their asking him where he had been he told the following story:
“That night you lost me I was at the bottom of the lake, where I saw all kinds of fish, some pretty, some ugly, and some savage. There was one perch so large that he could not turn around in the lake, but had to swim up and down without turning.”
► Continue reading…
The above story has been handed down from father to son, and even today Indians refer to the “big perch,” just as seriously as if it really existed. Lake Mistassini is 120 miles long and 20 miles wide, so the legend far eclipses the white man’s story of the sea serpent.
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Dreamtime Whispers 