Sweet friends 08-13-10 - How Glooscap Created Sugarloaf Mountain & Glooscap Turns Bad Into Good - An Abenaki Legend

Hello my beautiful friends, I wish you a wonderful weekend of love, laughter, peace and joy. Blessings & Pure Energy coming your way, Melodie


four universal love:

1) having empathy towards others and loving others is called metta love,
2) feeling the pain of others and still loving others is called karuna compassion love
3) feeling the joy of others and yet loving others with no envy or jealousy is called mudita or sympathetic love
4) just loving others without showing it regardless of how they are is called EQUANIMITY
which is the foundation or base
for ultimate enlightenment.



How Glooscap Created Sugarloaf Mountain - An Abenaki Legend

Glooscap Sugarloaf mountain map


A long time ago, the people used to live near the riverbanks in the summer time, and they could watch all the salmon going up the river to spawn. One day, they noticed the salmon could not get up the river anymore.

Remember, in those days the beaver were very, very big. And they had built a dam across the Restigouche River. That is why the salmon could not get up the river to spawn.

The people were very upset indeed! Because they knew if the salmon could not get up the river to have their babies, there would be no more salmon and they would have none for food in the winter.

So they held a council with all the people. They said that they didn't want to rely on Glooscap. They decided they would go out in their canoes to fight the beavers.

The men got in their canoes but when they got close to the beavers, they splashed the water with their huge tails. The canoes and the men went flying up into the air and fell into the water.

They could not get past the beavers in order to destroy the dam. The beavers were just too big.
So they swam ashore and they reconsidered calling Glooscap. At the time, Loon was Glooscap's messenger. They asked Loon to call him.

Loon made his wailing sound and called Glooscap. It was carried across the water to Glooscap, and our friend soon came riding on the back of his whale.

Glooscap asked them, "Why did you call me?"

They tell him about the beavers and how they had made a dam all the way across the river, and how the salmon could no longer get up the river to spawn.

They say that they will not have any more salmon to eat if they can't get up the river and have their babies.

So Glooscap walked to the middle of the dam and hit it with his club. When he hit the dam, parts of it flew away. One of these parts became an island. It is now called Heron Island.

Another part that flew away is now called Bantry Point.

Glooscap caught the leader of the beavers and swung him around and around by his tail. When Glooscap let go, the beaver landed many miles away and turned into rock. Today, that rock is called Sugarloaf Mountain.

Glooscap then turned to the other beavers. They were afraid, so instead, he stroked their heads. And with each stroke, they became smaller and smaller, until they reached the size they are today.

Glooscap promised the people that the beavers in New Brunswick would never grow that big again. The beavers will not build a dam so big that it stops the salmon from getting through.

The people will never have to worry about that problem again.

Sugar Mountain

Glooscap Turns Bad Into Good - An Abenaki Legend

When Glooscap came in from the sea, he was riding his canoe, which was made of stone. He ran aground near what we now call St. John. He had been chasing two giant beavers. He was trying to stop them from raising any trouble.

Reversing Falls St Johns River

He tried to stop them right there, where the Reversing Falls is today. He built a dam so they couldn't go up the river. But still, the beavers managed to get past Glooscap, and traveled up the "Beautiful River", which is now called the St. John River.

Glooscap took two stones and threw them at these beavers. One stone landed a long way up the river and became Grand Falls.

The other stone hit the beaver. It landed in a rocky area, which is now called Plaster Rock. To this day, you can still see the red clay on the river bank. They say that this comes from the blood of the beaver.

Glooscap often used animals who were bad to make something good. He paddled up and down this Beautiful River (St. John) many times.

Even near Kingsclear where Glooscap came up, long before the Mactaquac Dam was built, he used the ledges to hold on to when he fell. Glooscap even left his image on those rocks. And where he left his snowshoes is where they were transformed and turned into The Snowshoe Islands.

These are all sacred places. Even the little people lived near the village of Kingsclear.

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