Injun Summer by John T. McCutcheon
Yep, sonny, this is sure enough Injun summer. Don't know what that is, I reckon, do you?   Well, that's when all the homesick Injuns come back to play. You know, a long time ago, long afore yer granddaddy was born even, there used to be heaps of Injuns around here - thousands - millions, I reckon, fas as that's concerned. Reg'lar sure 'nough Injuns - none o' yer cigar store Injuns, not much. They wuz all around here - right here where you're standin'.   Don't be skeered - hain't none around now, leastways no live ones. They been gone this many a year.   They all went away and died, so they ain't no more left.   But every year, 'long about now, they all come back, leastways their sperrits do. They're here now. You can see 'em off across the fields. Look real hard.	See that kind o' hazy, misty look out yonder? Well, them's Injuns - Injun sperrits marchin ' along an' dancin' in the sunlight. That's what makes that kind o' haze that's everywhere - it's just the sperrits of the Injuns all come back. They're all around us now.   See off yonder; see them tepees? They kind o' look like corn shocks from here, but them's Injun tents, sure as you're a foot high. See 'em now? Sure, I knowed you could. Smell that smoky sort o' smell in the air? That's the campfires a-burnin' and their pipes a-goin'.   Lots o' people say it's just leaves burnin', but it ain't. It's the campfires, an' th' Injuns are hoppin' 'round 'em t' beat the old Harry.   You just come out here tonight when the moon is hangin' over the jill off yonder an' the harvest fields is all swimmin' in the moonlight,	an' you can see the Injuns and the tepees jest as plain as kin be. You can, eh? I nowed you would.   Jever notice how the leaves turn red 'bout this time o' year?" That's jest another sign o' redskins. That's when an old Injun sperrit gits tired dancin' an' goes up an' squats on a leaf t' rest. Why, I kin hear 'em rustlin' an' whisperin' an' creepin' 'round among the leaves all the time; an' ever' once'n a while a leaf gives way under some fat old Injun ghost and comes floatin' down to the ground. See - here's one now. See how red it is? That's the war paint rubbed off'n an Injun ghost, sure's you're born.   Purty soon all the Injuns'll go marchin' away agin, back to the happy huntin' ground, but next year you'll see 'em troopin' back - th' sky jest hazy with 'em and their campfires smolderin' away jest like they are now.
(roll your mouse over and off the cartoon to switch views)

Technical Notes The version of "Injun Summer" that I have was printed in the Chicago Tribune sometime in the early 1970s (guessing from the style of clothing in the ad on the flip side, and the fact that our family was living there about that time). A footnote on the sheet states, "John T. McCutcheon's "Injun Summer" was first published in 1907. The original of this cartoon hangs in the museum of the Chicago Historical society[sic]." If you're interested in reading more about McCutcheon, here's a link to one biography. Another guess is that the version I have is one of at least three different versions. For one thing, the night scene is far less blue than some other web sites have published. Here are two, but beware: these sites impose music upon you, so if you're at work, mute your speakers. At the first site below, there is also a small-scale version of the layout, and the colors seem different than either of what we have in large scale. The last one is a cleaner version than I have, too. www.tuxjunction.net/injunsummer.html mariah.stonemarche.org/poetry/injunsummer.htm www.tkinter.smig.net/Chicago/InjunSummer If you actually want to purchase a copy from the Tribune, write them a check for $10 (last I heard - I haven't called to confirm this) made out to the Chicago Tribune, and send it to: Chicago Tribune Attn: Injun Summer Poster 435 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 I have no idea what the dimensions of the poster are, or what version of the cartoon is published. Collect 'em all! :-) Definite deviations come from my own editing of the daylight scene. I've shifted the positions of the old man, boy, some corn shocks, and some fence posts all a bit left. this way, the objects in the two images line up a bit better for the transition. Here's a tiny version to show what the full, original layout looks like: