No one knows where the phrase “Indian summer” came from, or how it got started. We are sure that the phrase was well known by the year 1778, because Crevecoeur, the French writer, wrote about it. Crevecoeur, who became an American citizen, said this: “A severe frost follows the autumn rains. This prepares the ground to receive the snows of winter. But before the snows come, the earth turns warm once again and there are a few days of smoke and mildness called Indian summer.” There is a story about Indian summer that goes back to the very first settlers of the New World. The Indians, seeing the settlers preparing for winter, told them not to hurry. The weather would turn warm again, mild breezes would blow and the sky turns soft and smoky. And so it did. The sun became hot, and a bright warm haze flowed over the fields and woods. The settlers, remembering the words of the Indians, called this wonderful period Indian summer. But the Indians have their own stories about this late period of warm weather. One of their stories is about a great god called Nanahbozhoo. Nanahbozhoo lived at the North Pole. He always fell asleep when winter set in. But before doing so, he lit his great pipe and smoked tobacco for many days. The smoke rising from his pipe flowed down over the earth and produced the beautiful Indian summer. It was the smoke that made the land look hazy, warm and enjoyable.