Others thrushes, others blackbirds; Then returned her youth and beauty, 200 'And again the wigwam trembled, Swayed and rushed through airy currents, Through transparent cloud and vapor, And amid celestial splendors On the Evening Star alighted, As a snow-flake falls on snow-flake, As the thistle-down on water. 210 'Forth with cheerful words of welcome Came the father of Osseo, He with radiant locks of silver, 'At the door he hung the bird-cage, 220 230 Changed your sisters and their husbands; Changed them thus because they mocked And the boy grew up and prospered, And Osseo, to delight him, Made him little bows and arrows, Opened the great cage of silver, And let loose his aunts and uncles, All those birds with glossy feathers, For his little son to shoot at. 250 260 Round and round they wheeled and Filled the Evening Star with music, 'But, O wondrous transformation! With the arrow in her bosom ! 270 When her blood fell on the planet, 28c On the sacred Star of Evening, Broken was the spell of magic, Powerless was the strange enchantment, On an island, green and grassy, After him he saw descending 290 And the lodge with poles of silver, Then the birds, again transfigured, 300 310 'Still their glittering lodge is seen there, On the tranquil Summer evenings, And upon the shore the fisher Sometimes hears their happy voices, Sees them dancing in the starlight!' When the story was completed, When the wondrous tale was ended, 320 There are great men, I have known such, Whom their people understand not, All the wedding guests delighted "When I think of my beloved, Ah me! when I parted from him, 330 340 Let me go with you, he whispered, By the tree he still was standing, By the fallen tree was standing, That had dropped into the water, O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! "When I think of my beloved, Ah me! think of my beloved, When my heart is thinking of him, O my sweetheart, my Algonquin ! '1 Such was Hiawatha's Wedding, Such the dance of Pau-Puk-Keewis, Such the story of Iagoo, Such the songs of Chibiabos; Thus the wedding banquet ended, And the wedding guests departed, Leaving Hiawatha happy With the night and Minnehaha. XIII BLESSING THE CORNFIELDS 2 SING, O Song of Hiawatha, 350 360 370 1 The original of this song may be found in Oreóta, p. 15. (LONGFELLOW.) 2 The Indians hold the maize, or Indian corn, in great veneration. They esteem it so important and divine a grain,' says Schoolcraft, that their story-tellers invented various tales, in which this idea is symbolized under the form of a special gift from the Great Spirit. The Odjibwa-Algonquins, who call it Mon-damin, that is, this Spirit's grain or berry, have a pretty story of the kind, in which the stalk in full tassel is represented as descending from the sky, under the guise of a handsome youth, in answer to the prayers a young man at his fast of virility, or coming to manhood. of 'It is well known that corn-planting and corn-gathering, at least among all the still uncolonized tribes, are left entirely to the females and children, and a few superannuated old men. It is not generally known, perhaps, that this labor is not compulsory, and that it is assumed by the females as a just equivalent, in their view, for the onerous and continuous labor of the other sex, in providing meats, and skins for clothing, by the chase, and in defending their villages against their enemies, and keeping intruders off their territories. A good Indian housewife deems this a part of her prerogative, and prides herself to have a store of corn to exercise her hospitality, or duly honor her husband's hospitality in the entertainment of the lodge guests.' Ôneóta, p. 82. (LONGFELLOW.) In the land of the Ojibways, In the pleasant land and peaceful! Once, when all the maize was planted, 20 50 Neither burrowing worm nor insect, On the tree-tops near the cornfields At the words of Hiawatha. 'Hear him!' said they; 'hear the Wise Man, Hear the plots of Hiawatha !' When the noiseless night descended Walked securely round the cornfields. Of her footprints round the cornfields. So that none might see her beauty, 80 90 1A singular proof of this belief, in both sexes, of the mysterious influence of the steps of a woman on the vegetable and insect creation, is found in an ancient custom, which was related to me, respecting cornplanting. It was the practice of the hunter's wife, when the field of corn had been planted, to choose the first dark or overclouded evening to perform a secret circuit, sans habillement, around the field. For this purpose she slipped out of the lodge in the evening, unobserved, to some obscure nook, where she completely disrobed. Then, taking her matchecota, or principal garment, in one hand, she dragged it around the field. This was thought to insure a prolific crop, and to prevent the assaults of insects and worms upon the grain. It was supposed they could not creep over the charmed line.' - Oneóta, p. 83. (LONGFELLOW. Crows and blackbirds, jays and ravens, 'We will drag Mondamin,' said they, 'From the grave where he is buried, Spite of all the magic circles Laughing Water draws around it, Spite of all the sacred footprints Minnehaha stamps upon it!' But the wary Hiawatha, Ever thoughtful, careful, watchful, He had risen before the daybreak, In the neighboring grove of pine-trees, Soon they came with caw and clamor, From his place of ambush came he, Only Kahgahgee, the leader With his prisoner-string he bound him, 120 130 140 150 Tied him fast with cords of elm-bark To the ridge-pole of his wigwam. 'Kahgahgee, my raven !" said he, "You the leader of the robbers, You the plotter of this mischief, The contriver of this outrage, I will keep you, I will hold you, As a hostage for your people, As a pledge of good behavior!' And he left him, grim and sulky, Sitting in the morning sunshine On the summit of the wigwam, Croaking fiercely his displeasure, Flapping his great sable pinions, Vainly struggling for his freedom, Vainly calling on his people! 160 170 Summer passed, and Shawondasee Breathed his sighs o'er all the landscape, From the South-land sent his ardors, Wafted kisses warm and tender; And the maize-field grew and ripened, Till it stood in all the splendor Of its garments green and yellow, Of its tassels and its plumage, And the maize-ears full and shining Gleamed from bursting sheaths of verdure. Then Nokomis, the old woman, Spake, and said to Minnehaha: "Tis the Moon when leaves are falling; All the wild rice has been gathered, And the maize is ripe and ready; Let us gather in the harvest, Let us wrestle with Mondamin, Strip him of his plumes and tassels, Of his garments green and yellow!' And the merry Laughing Water Went rejoicing from the wigwam, With Nokomis, old and wrinkled, And they called the women round them, Called the young men and the maidens, To the harvest of the cornfields, To the husking of the maize-ear. On. the border of the forest, Underneath the fragrant pine-trees, Sat the old men and the warriors Smoking in the pleasant shadow. In uninterrupted silence Looked they at the gamesome labor Of the young men and the women; Listened to their noisy talking, To their laughter and their singing, Heard them chattering like the magpies, Heard them laughing like the blue-jays, Heard them singing like the robins. And whene'er some lucky maiden 181 190 200 Found a red ear in the husking, Found a maize-ear red as blood is, 'Nushka!' cried they all together, 'Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart, You shall have a handsome husband!' "Ugh!' the old men all responded From their seats beneath the pine-trees. And whene'er a youth or maiden Found a crooked ear in husking, Found a maize-ear in the husking Blighted, mildewed, or misshapen, Then they laughed and sang together, Crept and limped about the cornfields, Mimicked in their gait and gestures Some old man, bent almost double, Singing singly or together: 'Wagemin, the thief of cornfields ! Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear ! '1 Till the cornfields rang with laughter, Till from Hiawatha's wigwam Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, Screamed and quivered in his anger, And from all the neighboring tree-tops Cawed and croaked the black marauders. Ugh!' the old men all responded, From their seats beneath the pine-trees! XIV PICTURE-WRITING In those days said Hiawatha, 'Lo! how all things fade and perish! From the memory of the old men 210 220 230 If one of the young female huskers finds a red ear of corn, it is typical of a brave adınirer, and is regarded as a fitting present to some young warrior. But if the ear be crooked, and tapering to a point, no matter what color, the whole circle is set in a roar, and wa-ge-min is the word shouted aloud. It is the symbol of a thief in the cornfield. It is considered as the image of an old man stooping as he enters the lot. Had the chisel of Praxiteles been employed to produce this image, it could not more vividly bring to the minds of the merry group the idea of a pilferer of their favorite mondamin.... 'The literal meaning of the term is, a mass, or crooked ear of grain; but the ear of corn so called is a conventional type of a little old man pilfering ears of corn in a cornfield. It is in this manner that a single word or term, in these curious languages, becomes the fruitful parent of many ideas. And we can thus perceive why it is that the word wagemin is alone competent to excite merriment in the husking circle. This terin is taken as a basis of the cereal chorus, or corn song, as sung by the Northern Algonquin tribes. It is coupled with the phrase Paimosaid, permutative form of the Indian substantive, made from the verb pim-o-sa, to walk. Its literal meaning is, he who walks, or the walker; but the ideas conveyed by it are, he who walks by night to pilfer corn. It offers, therefore, a kind of parallelism in expression to the preceding term.'-Oneóta, p. 254. (LONGFELLOW.) Pass away the great traditions, All the marvellous dreams and visions 'Great men die and are forgotten, 'Face to face we speak together, Thus said Hiawatha, walking From his pouch he took his colors, Mitche Manito the Mighty, |