"Hark!" she said; "I hear a rushing, Hear a roaring and a rushing, Hear the Falls of Minnehaha Calling to me from a distance!""No, my child!" said old Nokomis, "'T is the night-wind in the pine-trees!""Look!" she said; "I see my father Standing lonely at his doorway, Beckoning to me from his wigwam In the land of the Dacotahs!""No, my child!" said old Nokomis.
"'T is the smoke, that waves and beckons!""Ah!" said she, "the eyes of Pauguk Glare upon me in the darkness, I can feel his icy fingers Clasping mine amid the darkness!
Hiawatha! Hiawatha!"
And the desolate Hiawatha, Far away amid the forest, Miles away among the mountains, Heard that sudden cry of anguish, Heard the voice of Minnehaha Calling to him in the darkness, "Hiawatha! Hiawatha!"Over snow-fields waste and pathless, Under snow-encumbered branches, Homeward hurried Hiawatha, Empty-handed, heavy-hearted, Heard Nokomis moaning, wailing:
"Wahonowin! Wahonowin!
Would that I had perished for you, Would that I were dead as you are!
Wahonowin! Wahonowin!"
And he rushed into the wigwam, Saw the old Nokomis slowly Rocking to and fro and moaning, Saw his lovely Minnehaha Lying dead and cold before him, And his bursting heart within him Uttered such a cry of anguish, That the forest moaned and shuddered, That the very stars in heaven Shook and trembled with his anguish.
Then he sat down, still and speechless, On the bed of Minnehaha, At the feet of Laughing Water, At those willing feet, that never More would lightly run to meet him, Never more would lightly follow.
With both hands his face he covered, Seven long days and nights he sat there, As if in a swoon he sat there, Speechless, motionless, unconscious Of the daylight or the darkness.
Then they buried Minnehaha;
In the snow a grave they made her In the forest deep and darksome Underneath the moaning hemlocks;Clothed her in her richest garments Wrapped her in her robes of ermine, Covered her with snow, like ermine;Thus they buried Minnehaha.
And at night a fire was lighted, On her grave four times was kindled, For her soul upon its journey To the Islands of the Blessed.
From his doorway Hiawatha Saw it burning in the forest, Lighting up the gloomy hemlocks;From his sleepless bed uprising, From the bed of Minnehaha, Stood and watched it at the doorway, That it might not be extinguished, Might not leave her in the darkness.
"Farewell!" said he, "Minnehaha!
Farewell, O my Laughing Water!
All my heart is buried with you, All my thoughts go onward with you!
Come not back again to labor, Come not back again to suffer, Where the Famine and the Fever Wear the heart and waste the body.
Soon my task will be completed, Soon your footsteps I shall follow To the Islands of the Blessed, To the Kingdom of Ponemah, To the Land of the Hereafter!"XXI
THE WHITE MAN'S FOOT
In his lodge beside a river, Close beside a frozen river, Sat an old man, sad and lonely.
White his hair was as a snow-drift;
Dull and low his fire was burning, And the old man shook and trembled, Folded in his Waubewyon, In his tattered white-skin-wrapper, Hearing nothing but the tempest As it roared along the forest, Seeing nothing but the snow-storm, As it whirled and hissed and drifted.
All the coals were white with ashes, And the fire was slowly dying, As a young man, walking lightly, At the open doorway entered.
Red with blood of youth his cheeks were, Soft his eyes, as stars in Spring-time, Bound his forehead was with grasses;Bound and plumed with scented grasses, On his lips a smile of beauty, Filling all the lodge with sunshine, In his hand a bunch of blossoms Filling all the lodge with sweetness.
"Ah, my son!" exclaimed the old man, "Happy are my eyes to see you.
Sit here on the mat beside me, Sit here by the dying embers, Let us pass the night together, Tell me of your strange adventures, Of the lands where you have travelled;I will tell you of my prowess, Of my many deeds of wonder."From his pouch he drew his peace-pipe, Very old and strangely fashioned;Made of red stone was the pipe-head, And the stem a reed with feathers;Filled the pipe with bark of willow, Placed a burning coal upon it, Gave it to his guest, the stranger, And began to speak in this wise:
"When I blow my breath about me, When I breathe upon the landscape, Motionless are all the rivers, Hard as stone becomes the water!"And the young man answered, smiling:
"When I blow my breath about me, When I breathe upon the landscape, Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows, Singing, onward rush the rivers!""When I shake my hoary tresses,"
Said the old man darkly frowning, "All the land with snow is covered;All the leaves from all the branches Fall and fade and die and wither, For I breathe, and lo! they are not.
From the waters and the marshes, Rise the wild goose and the heron, Fly away to distant regions, For I speak, and lo! they are not.
And where'er my footsteps wander, All the wild beasts of the forest Hide themselves in holes and caverns, And the earth becomes as flintstone!""When I shake my flowing ringlets,"
Said the young man, softly laughing, "Showers of rain fall warm and welcome, Plants lift up their heads rejoicing, Back into their lakes and marshes Come the wild goose and the heron, Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow, Sing the bluebird and the robin, And where'er my footsteps wander, All the meadows wave with blossoms, All the woodlands ring with music, All the trees are dark with foliage!"While they spake, the night departed:
From the distant realms of Wabun, From his shining lodge of silver, Like a warrior robed and painted, Came the sun, and said, "Behold me Gheezis, the great sun, behold me!"Then the old man's tongue was speechless And the air grew warm and pleasant, And upon the wigwam sweetly Sang the bluebird and the robin, And the stream began to murmur, And a scent of growing grasses Through the lodge was gently wafted.
And Segwun, the youthful stranger, More distinctly in the daylight Saw the icy face before him;It was Peboan, the Winter!
