There are numerous versions of the
Legend of the Sleeping Giant and one is not necessarily more valid than
another. This particular one was published in a booklet entitled "Tales
of The Tom Tom", written probably in the 1950s or 1960s, by Hubert
Limbrick, a former Fort William alderman.
Standing on the
shores of Thunder Bay at the head of the great Lake Superior, one can
perceive, on looking out across the waters of Thunder Bay, a great land
formation situated directly in the mouth of the Bay. It requires
no imagination whatever to see that this form resembles the sleeping
body of a giant, arms folded across his massive chest as in the majesty
of death. Mystery and legend surround the origin of this strange
phenomenon of nature and down through the ages the following story seems
to have survived.
On an island just
outside Thunder Bay, now known as "Isle Royale", once lived a great
tribe of Ojibway Natives.
Because of their
loyalty to their Gods, and their peaceful and industrious mode of
living, Nanabijou, the Spirit of the Deep Sea Water, decided to reward
them. One day he called their Chief to his great Thunder Temple on the
mountain and warned him that if he told the secret to the white man,
that he, Nanabijou would be turned to stone and the Ojibway tribe
perish. The Chief gave his promise, and Nanabijou told him of the
rich silver mine, now known as "Silver Islet". The Great Spirit told him
to go to the highest point on Thunder Cape, and here he would find the
entrance to a tunnel that would lead him to the centre of the mine.
Apparently the
Chief and his people found the mine, for the Ojibway became famous for
their beautiful silver ornaments. So beautiful indeed were they, that
the Sioux warriors on seeing them upon their wounded enemies, strove to
wrest their secret from them. However, torture and even death
failed to make the gallant Ojibway divulge their secret and the Sioux
chieftains had to devise another scheme to find the source of the
Ojibway silver.
One day they
summoned their most cunning scout to a pow-wow and a plan was formed.
The scout was to enter the Ojibway camp disguised as one of them. This
he did and in a few days succeeded in learning the secret of the island
of silver.
Going to the mine
at night he took several large pieces of the precious metal in order to
prove to his chieftain that he had fulfilled his mission. The
scout however never returned to his camp, for on his way back he stopped
at a white traders post to purchase some food. Having no furs or money
with which to pay for the goods, he used a piece of the silver.
Upon seeing such a large piece of the gleaming metal, two white men
sought to obtain the whereabouts of its source, in order to make
themselves fabulously rich. After filling the Sioux scout with liquor
they persuaded him to show them the way to the mine.
When almost in
sight of "Silver Islet" a terrific storm broke over the Cape. The white
men were drowned and the Native was found in a crazed condition floating
aimlessly in his canoe, but the most extraordinary thing that had
happened during the storm, was that where once was a wide opening to the
bay, now lay what appeared to be a great sleeping figure of a man. The
Great Spirit's warning had been fulfilled and he had been turned to
stone.
On a little island
at the foot of the Sleeping Giant, can still be seen the partly
submerged shafts of what was once the richest silver mine in the
northwest. White men have tried again and again to pump out the water
that keeps flooding it from Lake Superior but without success. Is it
still under the curse of Nanabijou, Spirit of the Deep Sea Water...
perhaps...who can tell?
