 section 11 of the song of Hiawatha this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yersley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow section 11 Hiawatha's wedding feast you shall hear how power Pukkiwis how the handsome Yenedizzee danced at Hiawatha's wedding how the gentle Chibiabos he the sweetest of musicians sang his songs of love and longing how Iago the great poster he the marvelous storyteller told his tales of strange adventure that the feast might be more joyous that the time might pass more gaily and the guests be more contented sumptuous was the feast Nakomis made at Hiawatha's wedding all the bowls were made of basswood white and polished very smoothly all the spoons of horn of bison black and polished very smoothly she had sent through all the village messengers with wands of willow as a sign of invitation as a token of the feasting and the wedding guests assembled clad in all their richest rainment robes of fur and belts of wampum splendid with their paint and plumage beautiful with beads and tassels first they ate the sturgeon Nama and the pike the maskanoja caught and cooked by old Nakomis then on Pemicon they feasted Pemicon and buffalo marrow haunch of deer and hump of bison yellow cakes of the mandamin and the wild rice of the river but the gracious Hiawatha and the lovely laughing water and the careful old Nakomis tasted not the food before them only waited on the others only served their guests in silence and when all the guests had finished old Nakomis brisk and busy from an ample pouch of otter filled the redstone pipes for smoking with tobacco from the Southland mixed with bark of the red willow and with herbs and leaves of fragrance then she said oh power book kiwis dance for us your merry dances dance the beggars dance to please us that the feast may be more joyous that the time may pass more gaily and our guests be more contented then the handsome power put kiwis he the idle Yenedizee he the merry mischief maker whom the people called the stormfall rose among the guests assembled skilled was he in sports and pastimes in the merry dance of snowshoes in the play of quartz and ball play skilled was he in games of hazard in all games of skill and hazard Pugger saying the bowl and counters can to soothe the game of plumstones though the warriors called him faint heart called him coward chargadier idler gambler Yenedizee little heeded he their jesting little cared he for their insults for the women and the maidens loved the handsome power put kiwis he was dressed in shirt of dough skin white and soft and fringed with Irmin all in wrought with beads of wampum he was dressed in deerskin leggings fringed with hedgehog quills and Irmin and in moccasins of buckskin thick with quills and beads embroidered on his head were plumes of swans down on his heels were tails of foxes in one hand a fan of feathers and a pipe was in the other barred with streaks of red and yellow streaks of blue and bright vermilion shone the face of power put kiwis from his forehead fell his tresses smooth and parted like a woman's shining bright with oil and plaited hung with braids of scented grasses as among the guests assembled to the sounds of flutes and singing to the sounds of drums and voices rose the handsome power put kiwis and began his mystic dances first he danced a solemn measure very slow in step and gesture in and out among the pine trees through the shadows and the sunshine treading softly like a panther then more swiftly and still swifter whirling spinning round in circles leaping over the guests assembled eddying round and round the wigwam till the leaves went whirling with him till the dust and wind together swept in eddies around about him then along the sandy margin of the lake the big seawater on he sped with frenzy to gestures stamped upon the sand and tossed it wildly in the air around him till the wind became a whirlwind till the sand was blown and sifted like great snowdrifts over the landscape heaping all the shores with sand dunes sandhills of the naga would do thus the merry power put kiwis danced his beggars dance to please them and returning sat down laughing there among the guests assembled sat and fanned himself serenely with his fan of turkey feathers then they said to chibi our boss to the friend of higher watha to the sweetest of all singers to the best of all musicians sing to us oh chibi our boss songs of love and songs of longing that the feast may be more joyous that the time may pass more gaily and our guests be more contented and the gentle chibi our boss sang in accents sweets and tender sang in tones of deep emotions songs of love and songs of longing looking still at higher watha looking at fair laughing water sang he softly sang in this wise on away awake beloved thou the wild flower of the forest thou the wild bird of the prairie thou with eyes so soft and fawn like if thou only lookest at me I am happy I am happy as the lilies of the prairie when they feel the dew upon them sweet thy breath is as the fragrance of the wild flowers in the morning as their fragrance is at evening in the moon when leaves are falling does not all the blood within me leap to meet thee leap to meet thee as the springs to meet the sunshine in the moon when nights are brightest on away my heart sings to thee sings with joy when thou art near me as the sighing singing branches in the pleasant moon of strawberries when they are not pleased beloved then my heart is sad and darkened as the shining river darkens when the clouds drop shadows on it when they are smilest my beloved then my troubled heart is brightened as in sunshine gleam the ripples that the cold wind makes in rivers smiles the earth and smile the waters smile the cloudless skies above us but I lose the way of smiling when the art no longer near me I myself myself behold me blood of my beating heart behold me oh awake awake beloved on away awake beloved thus the gentle chibi Arbos sang his song of love and longing and Iago the great boaster he the marvellous story teller he the friend of old Nicomis jealous of the sweet musician jealous of the applause they gave him saw in all the eyes around him saw in all their looks and gestures that the wedding guests assembled longed to hear his pleasant stories his immeasurable falsehoods very boastful was Iago never heard he an adventure but himself had met a greater never any deed of daring but himself had done a bolder never any marvellous story but himself could tell a stranger would you listen to his boasting would you only give him credence no one ever shot an arrow half so far and high as he had ever caught so many fishes ever killed so many reindeer ever trapped so many beaver none could run so fast as he could none could dive so deep as he could none could swim so far as he could none had made so many journeys none had seen so many wonders as this wonderful Iago as this marvellous story teller thus his name became a byword and a jest among the people and when air a boastful hunter praised his own address too highly or a warrior home returning talked too much of his achievements all his hearers cried Iago here's Iago come among us he it was who carved the cradle of the little Hiawatha carved its framework out of linden bound it strong with reindeer sinews he it was who taught him later how to make his bow and arrows how to make the bows of ash tree and the arrows of the oak tree so among the guests assembled at my Hiawatha's wedding sat Iago old and ugly sat some marvelous storyteller and they said oh good Iago tell us now a tale of wonder tell us of some strange adventure that the feast may be more joyous that the time may pass more gaily and our guests be more contented and Iago answered straight away you shall hear a tale of wonder you shall hear the strange adventures of Oseo the magician from the evening star descending end of section 11 section 12 of the song of Hiawatha this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yersley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow section 12 the Sun of the Evening Star can it be the Sun descending or the level plane of water or the red swan floating flying wounded by the magic arrow staining all the waves with crimson with the crimson of its lifeblood filling all the air with splendor with the splendor of its plumage yes it is the Sun descending sinking down into the water all the sky is stained with purple all the water flushed with crimson no it is the red swan floating diving down beneath the water to the sky its wings are lifted with its blood the waves are reddened over it the star of evening melts and trembles through the purple hangs suspended in the twilight no it is a bead of wampum on the robes of the great spirit as he passes through the twilight walks in silence through the heavens this with joy beheld the argue and he said in haste behold it see the sacred star of evening you shall hear a tale of wonder hear the story of Oseo Sun of the Evening Star Oseo once in days no more remembered ages nearer the beginning when the heavens were closer to us and the gods were more familiar in the Northland lived a hunter with ten young and comely daughters tall and live as wands of willow only oh we need the youngest she the willful and the wayward she the silent dreamy maiden was the fairest of the sisters all these women married warriors married brave and haughty husbands only oh we need the youngest laughed and flattered all her lovers all her young and handsome suitors and then married old Oseo old Oseo poor and ugly broken with age and weak with coughing always coughing like a squirrel ah but beautiful within him was the spirit of Oseo from the Evening Star descended star of evening star of woman star of tenderness and passion all its fire was in his bosom all its beauty in his spirit all its mystery in his being all its splendor in his language and her lovers the rejected handsome men with belts of wampum handsome men with paint and feathers pointed at her in derision followed her with jest and laughter but she said I care not for you care not for your belts of wampum care not for your paint and feathers care not for your jests and laughter I am happy with Oseo once to some great feast invited through the damp and dusk of evening walked together the ten sisters walked together with their husbands slowly followed old Oseo with fair oh we need beside him all the others chatted gaily these two only walked in silence at the western sky Oseo gazed intent as if imploring often stopped and gazed imploring at the trembling star of evening at the tender star of woman and they heard him murmur softly ah shawain nemeshin no sir pity pity me my father listen said the eldest sister he is praying to his father what a pity that the old man does not stumble in the pathway does not break his neck by falling and they laughed till all the forest rang with their unseemly laughter on their pathway through the woodlands lay an oak by storms uprooted lay the great trunk of an oak tree buried half in leaves and mosses mouldering crumbling huge and hollow and Oseo when he saw it gave a shout a cry of anguish leaped into its yawning cavern at one end went in an old man wasted wrinkled old and ugly from the other came a young man tall and straight and strong and handsome thus Oseo was transfigured thus restored to youth and beauty but alas for good Oseo and for oh we need the faithful strangely too was she transfigured changed into a weak old woman with a staff she tottered on wood wasted wrinkled old and ugly and the sisters and their husbands laughed until the echoing forest rang with their unseemly laughter but Oseo turned not from her walked with slower step beside her took her hand as brown and withered as an oak leaf is in winter called her sweetheart Nenemusha soothed her with soft words of kindness till they reached the lodge of feasting till they sat down in the wigwam sacred to the star of evening to the tender star of woman wrapped in visions lost in dreaming at the banquet sat Oseo all were merry all were happy all were joyous but Oseo neither food nor drink he tasted neither did he speak nor listen but as one bewildered sat he looking dreamily and sadly first at O and E then upward at the gleaming sky above them then a voice was heard a whisper coming from the starry distance coming from the empty vastness low and musical and tender and the voice said oh Oseo oh my son my best beloved broken are the spells that bound you all the charms of the magicians all the magic powers of evil come to me ascend Oseo taste the food that stands before you it is blessed and enchanted it has magic virtues in it it will change you to a spirit all your bowls and all your kettles shall be wood and clay no longer but the bowls be changed to wampum and the kettles shall be silver they shall shine like shells of scarlet like the fire shall gleam and glimmer and the women shall no longer bear the dreary doom of labor but be changed to birds and glisten with the beauty of the starlight painted with the dusky spenders of the skies and clouds of evening what Oseo heard as whispers what as words he comprehended was but music to the others music as of birds afar off of the Whipple will afar off of the lonely while when I saw singing in the dark some forest then the lodge began to tremble straight began to shake and tremble and they felt it rising rising slowly through the air ascending from the darkness of the treetops fourth into the dewy starlight till it passed the topmost branches and behold the wooden dishes all were changed to shells of scarlet and behold the earthen kettles all were changed to bowls of silver and the roof poles of the wigwam were as glittering rods of silver and the roof of bark upon them as the shining shards of Beatles then Oseo gaze around him and he saw the nine fair sisters all the sisters and their husbands changed to birds of various plumage some were jays and some were magpies others thrushes others black birds and they hopped and sang and twitted perched and fluttered all their feathers strutted in their shining plumage and their tales like fans unfolded only a winnie the youngest was not changed but sat in silence wasted wrinkled old and ugly looking sadly at the others till Oseo gazing upward gave another cry of anguish such a cry as he had uttered by the oak tree in the forest then returned her youth and beauty and her soiled and tattered garments were transformed to robes of ermine and her staff became a feather yes a shining silver feather and again the wigwam trembled swayed and rushed through airy currents through transparent cloud and vapor and amid celestial splendours on the evening star alighted as a snowflake falls on snowflake as a leaf drops on a river as the thistle down on water forth with cheerful words of welcome came the father of Oseo he with radiant locks of silver he with eyes serene and tender and he said my son Oseo hang the cage of birds you bring there hang the cage with rods of silver and the birds with glistening feathers at the doorway of my wigwam at the door he hung the bird cage and they entered in and gladly listened to Oseo's father ruler of the star of evening as he said oh my Oseo I have had compassion on you given you back your youth and beauty into birds of various plumage changed your sisters and their husbands changed them thus because they mocked you in the figure of the old man in that aspect sad and wrinkled could not see your heart of passion could not see your youth immortal only Oene the faithful saw your naked heart and loved you in the lodge that glimmers yonder in the little star that trinkets through the vapours on the left hand lives the envious evil spirit the Wabano the magician who transformed you to an old man take heed lest his beams fall on you for the rays he darts around him are the power of his enchantment are the arrows that he uses many years in peace and quiet on the peaceful star of evening dwelt Oseo with his father many years in song and flutter at the doorway of the wigwam hung the cage with rods of silver and fair Oene the faithful bore a son unto Oseo with the beauty of his mother with the courage of his father and the boy grew up and prospered and Oseo 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 round and round they wheeled and darted filled the evening star with music with their songs of joy and freedom filled the evening star with splendor with the fluttering of their plumage till the boy the little hunter bent his bow and shot an arrow shot a swift and fatal arrow and a bird with shining feathers at his feet fell wounded sorely but oh wondrous transformation it was no bird he saw before him it was a beautiful young woman with the arrow in her bosom when her blood fell on the planet on the sacred star of evening broken was the spell of magic powerless was the strange enchantment and the youth the fearless bowman suddenly felt himself descending held by unseen hands but sinking downward through the empty spaces downward through the clouds and vapours till he rested on an island on an island green and grassy yonder in the big sea water after him he saw descending all the birds with shining feathers fluttering falling wafted downward like the painted leaves of autumn and the lodge with poles of silver with its roof like wings of beetles like the shining shards of beetles by the winds of heaven uplifted slowly sank upon the island bringing back the good oseo bringing oh and e the faithful then the bird again transfigured re-assumed the shape of mortals took their shape but not their stature they remained as little people like the pygmies the pukewudges and on pleasant nights of summer when the evening star was shining hand in hand they danced together on the island's craggy headlands on the sand beach low and level 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 looking round upon his listeners solemnly Iago added there are great men I have known such whom their people understand not whom they even make a jest of scoff and girat in derision from the story of oseo let us learn the fate of jesters all the wedding guests delighted listened to the marvellous story listened laughing and applauding and they whispered to each other does he mean himself I wonder and are we the aunts and uncles then again sang chibiabos sang a song of love and longing in those accents sweet and tender in those tones of pensive sadness sang a maiden's lamentation for her lover her algonquin when I think of my beloved oh me think of my beloved when my heart is thinking of him oh my sweetheart my algonquin oh me when I parted from him round my neck he hung the wampum as a pledge the snow white wampum oh my sweetheart my algonquin I will go with you he whispered ah me to your native country let me go with you he whispered oh my sweetheart my algonquin far away away I answered very far away I answered ah me is my native country oh my sweetheart my algonquin when I looked back to behold him where we parted to behold him after me he still was gazing oh my sweetheart my algonquin by the tree he still was standing by the fallen tree was standing that had dropped into the water oh my sweetheart my algonquin when I think of my beloved oh me think of my beloved when my heart is thinking of him oh my sweetheart my algonquin such was Hiawatha's wedding such the dance of Power Porquisis such the story of Iago such the songs of Chibiabos thus the wedding banquet ended and the wedding guests departed leaving Hiawatha happy with the night and minnehaha end of section 12 section 13 of the song of Hiawatha this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yersley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow section 13 blessing the cornfields sing oh song of Hiawatha of the happy days that followed in the lands of the Ojibwe's in the pleasant land and peaceful sing the mysteries of Mondamin sing the blessing of the cornfields buried was the bloody hatchet buried was the dreadful war club buried were all war-like weapons and the war cry was forgotten there was peace among the nations unmolested roved the hunters built the birch canoe for sailing caught the fish in lake and river shot the deer and trapped the beaver unmolested worked the women made their sugar from the maple gathered wild rice in the meadows dressed the skins of deer and beaver all around the happy village stood the maze fields green and shining waved the green plumes of Mondamin waved his soft and sunny tresses filling all the land with plenty it was the women who in springtime planted the broad fields and fruitful buried in the earth Mondamin it was the women who in autumn stripped the yellow husks of harvest stripped the garments from Mondamin even as Hiawatha taught them once when all the maze was planted Hiawatha wise and thoughtful spake and said to Minnehaha to his wife the laughing water you shall bless tonight the cornfields draw a magic circle round them to protect them from destruction blast of mildew blight of insect wagamin the thief of cornfields pymocide who steals the masier in the night when all is silence in the night when all is darkness when the spirit of sleep napawin shuts the doors of all the wigwams so that not an ear can hear you so that not an eye can see you rise up from your bed in silence lay aside your garments holy walk around the fields you planted round the borders of the cornfields covered by your tresses only robed with darkness as a garment thus the fields shall be more fruitful and the passing of your footsteps draw a magic circle round them so that neither blight nor mildew neither burrowing worm nor insect shall pass over the magic circle not the dragonfly cornacea nor the spider subbikashi nor the grasshopper papukkina nor the mighty caterpillar weymook quana with the bearskin king of all caterpillars on the treetops near the cornfields sat the hungry crows and ravens kargagi the king of ravens with his band of black marauders and they laughed at hyawatha till the treetops shook with laughter with their melancholy laughter at the words of hyawatha hear him said they hear the wise man hear the plots of hyawatha when the noiseless night descended broad and dark or field and forest when the mournful wawa naisa sorrowing sank among the hemlocks and the spirit of sleep napawin shuts the doors of all the wigwams from her bed rose laughing water laid aside her garments holy and with darkness clothed and guarded unashamed and unafrighted walked securely round the cornfields drew the sacred magic circle of her footprints round the cornfields no one but the midnight only saw her beauty in the darkness no one but the wawa naisa heard the panting of her bosom guske wow the darkness wrapped her closely in his sacred mantle so that none might see her beauty so that none might boast i saw her on the morrow as the day dawned karguggy the king of ravens gathered all his black marauders crows and blackbirds jays and ravens clamorous on the dusky treetops and descended fast and fearless on the fields of hyawatha on the grave of the mondamin 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 mini ha ha stamps upon it but the wary hyawatha ever thoughtful careful watchful had or heard the scornful laughter when they mocked him from the treetops core he said my friends the ravens karguggy my king of ravens i will teach you all a lesson that shall not be soon forgotten he had risen before the daybreak he had spread or all the cornfields snares to catch the black marauders and was lying now in ambush in the neighboring grove of pine trees waiting for the crows and blackbirds waiting for the jays and ravens soon they came with core and clamour rush of wings and cry of voices to their work of devastation settling down upon the cornfields delving deep with beak and talon for the body of mondamin and with all their craft and cunning all their skill in wiles of warfare they perceived no danger near them till their claws became entangled till they found themselves imprisoned in the snares of hyawatha from his place of ambush came he striding terrible among them and so awful was his aspect that the bravest quailed with terror without mercy he destroyed them right and left by tens and twenties and their wretched lifeless bodies hung aloft on poles for scarecrows round the consecrated cornfields as a signal of his vengeance as a warning to marauders only kagagi the leader kagagi the king of ravens he alone was spared among them as a hostage for his people with his prisoner string he bound him let him captive to his wigwam tied him fast with cords of elm bark to the ridgepole of his wigwam kagagi 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 salky 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 summer passed and shawandassi breathed his sighs over all the landscape from the southland sent his ardour wafted kisses warm and tender and the maze-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 maze ears full and shining gleamed from bursting sheaths of verdure then nikomis the old woman spake and said to minihar tis the moon when leaves are falling all the wild rice has been gathered and the maze 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 nikomis 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 maze 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 labour 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 when air some lucky maiden found a red ear in the husking found a maze ear red as blood is nushka cried they all together nushka you shall have a sweetheart you shall have a handsome husband oh the old men all responded from their seats beneath the pine trees and when air a youth or maiden found a crooked ear in husking found a maze ear in the husking blighted mildewed or miss shapen then they laughed and sang together crept and limped about the cornfields mimicked in their gates and gestures some old man bent almost double singing singly or together wagging in the thief of cornfields pymoside who steals the maze ear till the cornfields rang with laughter till from Hiawatha's wigwam Kar-gagi the king of ravens screamed and quivered in his anger and from all the neighbouring treetops cored and croaked the black marauders oh the old men all responded from their seats beneath the pine trees end of section 13 section 14 of the song of Hiawatha this Librivox recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yersley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow section 14 picture writing in those days said Hiawatha low how all things fade and perish from the memory of the old men pass away the great traditions the achievements of the warriors the adventures of the hunters all the wisdom of the madas all the crafts of the webenos all the marvellous dreams and visions of the jossikeeds the prophets great men die and are forgotten wise men speak their words of wisdom perish in the ears that hear them do not reach the generations that as yet unborn are waiting in the great mysterious darkness of the speechless days that shall be on the grave posts of our fathers are no signs no figures painted who are in those graves we know not only know they are our fathers of what kith they are and kindred from what old ancestral totem be it eagle bear or beaver they descended this we know not only know they are our fathers face to face we speak together but we cannot speak when absent cannot send our voices from us to the friends that dwell afar off cannot send a secret message but the bearer learns our secret may pervert it may betray it may reveal it unto others thus said Hiawatha walking in the solitary forest pondering musing in the forest on the welfare of his people from his pouch he took his colors took his paints of different colors on the smooth bark of a birch tree painted many shapes and figures wonderful and mystic figures and each figure had a meaning each some word or thought suggested kitschy manito the mighty he the master of life was painted as an egg with points projecting to the four winds of the heavens everywhere is the great spirit was the meaning of this symbol mitchy manito the mighty he the dreadful spirit of evil as a serpent was depicted as kanabic the great serpent very crafty very cunning is the creeping spirit of evil was the meaning of this symbol life and death he drew as circles life was white but death was darkened sun and moon and stars he painted man and beast and fish and reptile forests mountains lakes and rivers for the earth he drew a straight line for the sky a bow above it whites the space between for daytime filled with little stars for nighttime on the left a point for sunrise on the right a point for sunset on the top a point for noontide and for rain and cloudy weather waving lines descending from it footprints pointing toward the wigwam were a sign of invitation were a sign of guests assembling bloody hands with palms uplifted were a symbol of destruction were a hostile sign and symbol all these things did hire was a show unto his wondering people and interpreted their meaning and he said behold your grave posts have no mark no sign nor symbol go and paint them all with figures each one with its household symbol with its own ancestral totem so that those who follow after may distinguish them and know them and they painted on the grave posts on the graves yet unforgotten each his own ancestral totem each the symbol of his household figures of the bear and reindeer of the turtle crane and beaver each inverted as a token that the owner was departed that the chief who bore the symbol lay beneath in dust and ashes and the jossikeeds the prophets the webanos the magicians and the medicine men the maidas painted upon bark and deerskin figures for the songs they chanted for each song a separate symbol figures mystical and awful figures strange and brightly colored and each figure had its meaning each some magic song suggested the great spirit the creator flashing light through all the heaven the great serpent the kana beak with his bloody crest erected creeping looking into heaven in the sky the sun that listens and the moon eclipsed and dying owl and eagle crane and hen hawk and the cormorant bird of magic headless men that walk the heavens bodies lying pierced with arrows bloody hands of death uplifted flags on graves and great war captains grasping both the earth and heaven such as these the shapes they painted on the birch bark and the deerskin songs of war and songs of hunting songs of medicine and of magic all were written in these figures for each figure had its meaning each its separate song recorded nor forgotten was the love song the most subtle of all medicines the most potent spell of magic dangerous more than war or hunting thus the love song was recorded symbol and interpretation first a human figure standing painted in the brightest scarlet is the lover the musician and the meaning is my painting makes me powerful over others then the figure seated singing playing on a drum of magic and the interpretation listen it is my voice you hear my singing then the same red figure seated in the shelter of a wigwam and the meaning of the symbol I will come and sit beside you in the mystery of my passion then two figures man and woman standing hand in hand together with their hands so clasped together that they seemed in one united and the words thus represented are I see your heart within you and your cheeks are red with blushes next the maiden on an island in the center of an island and the song this shape suggested was though you were at a distance were upon some far off island such the spell I cast upon you such the magic power of passion I could straightaway draw you to me then the figure of the maiden sleeping and the lover near her whispering to her in her slumbers saying though you were far from me in the land of sleep and silence still the voice of love would reach you and the last of all the figures was a heart within a circle drawn within a magic circle and the image had this meaning naked lies your heart before me to your naked heart I whisper thus it was that Hiawatha in his wisdom taught the people all the mysteries of painting all the art of picture writing on the smooth bark of the birch tree on the white skin of the reindeer on the grave posts of the village end of section 14 section 15 of the song of Hiawatha this LibriVox recording is in the public domain the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow section 15 Hiawatha's lamentation in those days the evil spirits all the manateaus of mischief fearing Hiawatha's wisdom and his love for Chibi Arbos jealous of their faithful friendship and their noble words and actions made at length a league against them to molest them and destroy them Hiawatha wise and weary often said to Chibi Arbos oh my brother do not leave me lest the evil spirits harm you Chibi Arbos young and heedless laughing shook his cold black tresses answered ever sweet and childlike do not fear for me oh brother harm and evil come not near me once when pebo and the winter roofed with ice the big seawater when the snowflakes whirling downward hissed among the withered oak leaves changed the pine trees into wigwams covered all the earth with silence armed with arrows shod with snowshoes heeding not his brother's warning fearing not the evil spirits forth to hunt the deer with antlers all alone went Chibi Arbos right across the big seawater sprang with speed the deer before him with the wind and snow he followed oh the treacherous ice he followed wild with all the fierce commotion and the rapture of the hunting but beneath the evil spirits lay in ambush waiting for him broke the treacherous ice beneath him dragged him downward to the bottom buried in the sand his body Unk Tahi the god of water he the god of the Dakotas drowned him in the deeper bisses of the lake of Kichigumi from the headlands Hiawatha sent forth such a wail of anguish such a fearful lamentation that the bison paused to listen and the wolves howled from the prairies and the thunder in the distance starting answered by him wah wah then his face with black he painted with his robe his head he covered in the wigwam sat lamenting seven long weeks he sat lamenting uttering still this moan of sorrow he is dead the sweet musician he the sweetest of all singers he has gone from us forever he has moved a little nearer to the master of all music to the master of all singing oh my brother Chibiabos and the melancholy fir trees waved their dark green fans above him waved their purple cones above him sighing with him to console him mingling with his lamentation their complaining their lamenting came the spring and all the forest looked in vain for Chibiabos sighed the rivulet seborwisher sighed the rushes in the meadow from the treetops sang the bluebird sang the bluebird the oysa Chibiabos Chibiabos he is dead the sweet musician from the wigwam sang the robin sang the robin the opechi Chibiabos Chibiabos he is dead the sweetest singer and at night through all the forest went the whipper will complaining whaling went the wawan isa Chibiabos Chibiabos he is dead the sweet musician he the sweetest of all singers then the medicine men the madas the magicians the wabanos and the jocikids the prophets came to visit Hiawatha built a sacred lodge beside him to appease him to console him walked in silent grave procession bearing each a pouch of healing skin of beaver lynx or otter filled with magic roots and symbols filled with very potent medicines when he heard their steps approaching Hiawatha ceased lamenting called no more on Chibiabos not he questioned nor he answered but his mournful head uncovered from his face the morning colors washed he slowly and in silence slowly and in silence followed onward to the sacred wigwam there a magic drink they gave him made of nama wusk the spear mint and wabano wusk the yarrow roots of power and herbs of healing beat their drums and shook their rattles chanted singly and in chorus mystic songs like these they chanted i myself myself behold me it is i the great gray eagle talking come ye white crows come and hear him the loud speaking thunder helps me all the unseen spirits help me i can hear their voices calling all around the sky i hear them i can blow you strong my brother i can heal you Hiawatha hi alha replied the chorus way ha way the mystic chorus friends of mine are all the serpents hear me shake my skin of hen hawk mang the white loon i can kill him i can shoot your heart and kill it i can blow you strong my brother i can heal you Hiawatha hi oh ha replied the chorus way ha way the mystic chorus i myself myself the prophet when i speak the wigwam trembles shakes the sacred lodge with terror hands unseen begin to shake it when i walk the sky i tread on bends and makes a noise beneath me i can blow you strong my brother rise and speak oh Hiawatha hi alha replied the chorus way ha way the mystic chorus then they shook their medicine pouches or the head of Hiawatha danced their medicine dance around him and up starting wild and haggard like a man from dreams awakened he was healed of all his madness as the clouds are swept from heaven straight away from his brain departed all his moody melancholy as the ice is swept from rivers straight away from his heart departed all his sorrow and affliction then they summoned Chibi Arbos from his grave beneath the waters from the sands of Kichigumi summoned Hiawatha's brother and so mighty was the magic of that cry and invocation that he heard it as he lay there underneath the big sea water from the sand he rose and listened heard the music and the singing came obedient to the summons to the doorway of the wigwam but to enter they forbade him through a chink a coal they gave him through the door a burning firebrand ruler in the land of spirits ruler or the dead they made him telling him a fire to kindle for all those that died thereafter campfires for their night encampments on their solitary journey to the kingdom of Poneima to the land of the hereafter from the village of his childhood from the homes of those who knew him passing silent through the forest like a smoke wreath wafted sideways slowly vanished Chibi Arbos where he passed the branches moved not where he trod the grasses bent not and the fallen leaves of last year made no sound beneath his footstep for whole days he journeyed onward down the pathway of the dead men on the dead men's strawberry feasted crossed the melancholy river on the swinging log he crossed it came unto the lake of silver in the stone canoe was carried to the islands of the blessed to the land of ghosts and shadows on that journey moving slowly many weary spirits saw he panting under heavy burdens laden with war clubs bows and arrows robes of fur and pots and kettles and with food that friends had given for that solitary journey hey why do the living said they lay such heavy burdens on us better were it to go naked better were it to go fasting than to bear such heavy burdens on our long and weary journey fourth then issued higher water wandered eastward wandered westward teaching men the use of symbols and the antidotes for poisons and the cure for all diseases thus was first made known to mortals all the mystery of medam in all the sacred arts of healing end of section 15 section 16 of the song of higher water this libra vox recording is in the public domain recording by peter yersley the song of higher water by henry wadsworth longfellow section 16 power put key wiss you shall hear how power put key wiss he the handsome yennadize whom the people called the stormfall vexed the village with disturbance you shall hear of all his mischief and his flight from higher water and his wondrous transmigrations and the end of his adventures on the shores of getchagumi on the dunes of nagawadju by the shining big sea water stood the lodge of power put key wiss it was he who in his frenzy world these drifting sands together on the dunes of nagawadju when among the guests assembled he so merrily and madly danced at higher water's wedding danced the beggars dance to please them now in search of new adventures from his lodge went power put key wiss came with speed into the village found the young man all assembled in the lodge of old jagu listening to his monstrous stories to his wonderful adventures he was telling them the story of ojig the summer maker how he made a hole in heaven how he climbed up into heaven and let out the summer weather the perpetual pleasant summer how the otter first assayed it how the beaver lynx and badger tried in turn the great achievement from the summit of the mountain smote their fists against the heavens smote against the sky their foreheads cracked the sky but could not break it how the wolverine uprising made him ready for the encounter bent his knees down like a squirrel drew his arms back like a cricket once he leaped said all the jagu once he leaped and lo above him bent the sky as ice in rivers when the water's rise beneath it twice he leaped and lo above him cracked the sky as ice in rivers when the freshet is at highest thrice he leaped and lo above him broke the shattered sky asunder and he disappeared within it and ojig the fisher weasel with a bound went in behind him ha kyu shouted power book kiwis as he entered at the doorway i am tired of all this talking tired of old jagu's stories tired of hire wather's wisdom here is something to amuse you better than this endless talking then from out his pouch of wolfskin fourth he drew with solemn manner all the game of bowl and counters puga saying with 13 pieces white on one side were they painted and vermilion on the other two cana beaks or great serpents two in the newug or wedge men one great war club pugamorgan and one slender fish the keego four round pieces ozawa beaks and three sheshebwug or ducklings all were made of bone and painted all except the ozawa beaks these were brass on one side burnished and were black upon the other in a wooden bowl he placed them shook and jostled them together through them on the ground before him thus exclaiming and explaining red side up are all the pieces and one great cana beak standing on the bright side of a brass piece on a burnished ozawa beak thirteen tens and eight are counted then again he shook the pieces shook and jostled them together through them on the ground before him still exclaiming and explaining white are both the great cana beaks white the in newug the wedge men red are all the other pieces five tens and an eight are counted thus he taught the game of hazard thus displayed it and explained it running through its various chances various changes various meanings twenty curious eyes stared at him full of eagerness stared at him many games said all the argue many games of skill and hazard have i seen in different nations have i played in different countries he who plays it all the argue must have very nimble fingers though you think yourself so skillful i can beat you power perkiwis i can even give you lessons in your game of bowl and counters so they sat and played together all the old men and the young men played for dresses weapons wampum played till midnight played till morning played until the yenadize till the cunning power perkiwis of their treasures had dispoiled them of the best of all their dresses shirts of deerskin robes of ermine belts of wampum crests of feathers warlike weapons pipes and pouches twenty eyes glared wildly at him like the eyes of wolves cleared at him said the lucky power perkiwis in my wigwam i am lonely in my wanderings and adventures i have need of a companion fein would have a meshinowa an attendant and pipe bearer i will venture all these winnings all these garments heaped about me all this wampum all these feathers on a single throw will venture all against the young man yonder it was a youth of sixteen summers it was a nephew of a yagu face in a mist the people called him as the fire burns in a pipe head dusky red beneath the ashes so beneath his shaggy eyebrows glowed the eyes of old yagu he answered very fiercely they answered all and each one seized the wooden bowl the old man closely in his bony fingers clutched the fatal bowl an argon shook it fiercely and with fury made the pieces ring together as he threw them down before him red were both the great kenabiks red the ininewug the wedgmen red the sheshebwug the ducklings black the four brass ozawabiks white alone the fish the keego only five the pieces counted then the smiling pauper kiwis shook the bowl and threw the pieces lightly in the air he tossed them and they fell about him scattered dark and bright the ozawabiks red and white the other pieces and upright among the others one ininewug was standing even as crafty pauper kiwis stood alone among the players saying five tens mine the game is twenty eyes glared at him fiercely like the eyes of wolves glared at him as he turned and left the wigwam followed by his meshinawa by the nephew of yagu by the tall and graceful stripling bearing in his arms the winnings shirts of deerskin robes of ermine belts of wampum pipes and weapons carry them said pauper kiwis pointing with his fan of feathers to my wigwam far to eastward on the dunes of nagawaju hot and red with smoke and gambling were the eyes of pauper kiwis as he came forth to the freshness of the pleasant summer morning all the birds were singing gaily all the streamlets flowing swiftly and the heart of pauper kiwis sang with pleasure as the birds sing beat with triumph like the streamlets as he wandered through the village in the early gray of morning with his fan of turkey feathers with his plumes and tufts of swans down till he reached the farthest wigwam reached the lodge of Hiawatha silent was it and deserted no one met him at the doorway no one came to bid him welcome but the birds were singing round it in and out and round the doorway hopping singing fluttering feeding and aloft upon the ridgepole cargagie the king of ravens sat with fiery eyes and screaming flapped his wings at pauper kiwis all are gone the lodge is empty thus it was spake pauper kiwis in his heart resolving mischief gone is wary Hiawatha gone the silly laughing water gone the comis the old woman and the lodge is left unguarded by the neck he sees the raven world it round him like a rattle like a medicine pouch he shook it strangled cargagie the raven from the ridgepole of the wigwam left its lifeless body hanging as an insult to its master as a taunt to Hiawatha with a stealthy step he entered round the lodge in wilds disorder through the household things about him piled together in confusion bowls of wood and earthen kettles robes of buffalo and beaver skins of otter lynx and ermine as an insult to the comis as a taunt to minnehaha then departed pauper kiwis whistling singing through the forest whistling gaily to the squirrels who from hollow boughs above him dropped their acorn shells upon him singing gaily to the wood birds who from out the leafy darkness answered with a song as merry then he climbed the rocky headlands looking over the gitchigumi perched himself upon their summit waiting full of mirth and mischief the return of Hiawatha stretched upon his back he lay there far below him splashed the waters plashed and washed the dreamy waters far above him swam the heavens swam the dizzy dreamy heavens round him hovered fluttered rustled Hiawatha's mountain chickens flockwise swept and wheeled about him almost brushed him with their pinions and he killed them as he lay there slaughtered them by tens and twenties through their bodies down the headland through them on the beach below him till that length kiosk the seagull perched upon a crag above them shouted it is pauper kiwis he is slaying us by hundreds send a message to our brother tidings send to Hiawatha end of section 16 section 17 of the song of Hiawatha this Librivox recording is in the public domain recorded by Peter Yearsley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow section 17 the hunting of pauper kiwis full of Ross was Hiawatha when he came into the village found the people in confusion heard of all the misdemeanors all the malice and the mischief of the cunning pauper kiwis hard his breath came through his nostrils through his teeth he buzzed and muttered words of anger and resentment heart and humming like a hornet i will slay this pauper kiwis slay this mischief maker said he not so long and wide the world is not so rude and rough the way is that my Roth shall not attain him that my vengeance shall not reach him then in swift pursuit departed Hiawatha and the hunters on the trail of pauper kiwis through the forest where he passed it to the headlands where he rested but they found not pauper kiwis only in the trampled grasses in the wortlebury bushes found the couch where he had rested found the impress of his body from the lowlands far beneath them from the muscaday the meadow pauper kiwis turning backward made a gesture of defiance made a gesture of derision and a loud cried Hiawatha from the summit of the mountains not so long and wide the world is not so rude and rough the way is but my Roth shall overtake you and my vengeance shall attain you over rock and over river through bush and brake and forest ran the cunning pauper kiwis like an antelope he bounded till he came on to a streamlet in the middle of the forest to a streamlet still and tranquil that had overflowed its margin to a dam made by the beavers to a pond of quiet water where knee deep the trees were standing where the water lilies floated where the rushes waved and whispered on the dams stood pauper kiwis on the dam of trunks and branches through whose chink the water spouted or whose summit flowed the streamlet from the bottom rose the beaver looked with two great eyes of wonder eyes that seemed to ask a question at the stranger pauper kiwis on the dam stood pauper kiwis or his ankles flowed the streamlet flowed the bright and silvery water and he spake unto the beaver with a smile he spake in this wise oh my friend amic the beaver cool and pleasant is the water let me dive into the water let me rest there in your lodges change me too into a beaver cautiously replied the beaver with reserve he thus made answer let me first consult the others let me ask the other beavers down he sank into the water heavily sank he as a stone sinks down among the leaves and branches brown and matted at the bottom on the dam stood pauper kiwis or his ankles flowed the streamlet spouted through the chinks below him dashed upon the stones beneath him spread serene and calm before him and the sunshine and the shadows fell in flecks and gleams upon him fell in little shining patches through the waving rustling branches from the bottom rose the beavers silently above the surface rose one head and then another till the pond seemed full of beavers full of black and shining faces to the beavers pauper kiwis spake in treating said in this wise very pleasant is your dwelling oh my friends and safe from danger can you not with all your cunning all your wisdom and contrivance change me too into a beaver yes replied amic the beaver he the king of all the beavers let yourself slide down among us down into the tranquil water down into the pond among them silently sank pauper kiwis black became his shirt of deerskin black his moccasins and leggings in a broad black tail behind him spread his fox tails and his fringes he was changed into a beaver make me large said pauper kiwis make me large and make me larger larger than the other beavers yes the beaver chief responded when our lodge below you enter in our wigwam we will make you 10 times larger than the others thus into the clear brown water silently sank pauper kiwis found the bottom covered over with the trunks of trees and branches hordes of food against the winter piles and heaps against the famine found the lodge with arching doorway leading into spacious chambers here they made him large and larger made him largest of the beavers 10 times larger than the others you shall be our ruler said they chief and king of all the beavers but not long had pauper kiwis sat in state among the beavers when there came a voice of warning from the watchman at his station in the water flags and lilies saying here is higher water higher water with his hunters then they heard a cry above them heard a shouting at a tramping heard a crashing and a rushing and the water round and oar them sank and sucked away in eddies and they knew their dam was broken on the lodge's roof the hunters leapt and broke it all asunder streamed the sunshine through the crevice sprang the beavers through the doorway hid themselves in deeper water in the channel of the streamlet but the mighty pauper kiwis could not pass beneath the doorway he was puffed with pride and feeding he was swollen like a bladder through the roof looked higher water tried aloud oh pauper kiwis vain are all your craft and cunning vain your manifold disguises well i know you pauper kiwis with their clubs they beat and bruised him beat to death poor pauper kiwis pounded him as maize is pounded till his skull was crushed to pieces six tall hunters lithe and limba bore him home on poles and branches bore the body of the beaver but the ghost the jeebie in him thought and felt as pauper kiwis still lived on as pauper kiwis and it fluttered strove and struggled waving hither waving thither as the curtains of a wigwam struggle with their thongs of deerskin when the wintery wind is blowing till it drew itself together till it rose up from the body till it took the form and features of the cunning pauper kiwis vanishing into the forest but the wary higher wather saw the figure ere it vanished saw the form of pauper kiwis glide into the soft blue shadow of the pine trees of the forest toward the squares of white beyond it toward an opening in the forest like a wind it rushed and panted bending all the boughs before it and behind it as the rain comes came the steps of higher wather to a lake with many islands came the breathless pauper kiwis where among the water lilies pishniku the brant was sailing through the tufts of rushes floating steering through the reedy islands now their broad black beaks they lifted now they plunged beneath the water now they darkened in the shadow now they brightened in the sunshine pishniku cried pauper kiwis pishniku my brothers said he changed me to a brant with plumage with a shining neck and feathers make me large and make me larger ten times larger than the others straightway to a brant they changed him with two huge and dusky pinions with a bosom smooth and rounded with a bill like two great paddles made him larger than the others ten times larger than the largest just as shouting from the forest on the shore stood higher wather up they rose with cry and clamour with a whir and beat of pinions rose up from the reedy islands from the water flags and lilies and they said to pauper kiwis in your flying look not downward take good heed and look not downward lest some strange mishance should happen lest some great mishap befall you fast and far they fled to north wood fast and far through mist and sunshine fed among the moors and fenlands slept among the reeds and rushes on the morrow as they journeyed buoyed and lifted by the south wind wafted onward by the south wind blowing fresh and strong behind them rose a sound of human voices rose a clamour from beneath them from the lodges of a village from the people miles beneath them for the people of the village saw the flock of brant with wonder saw the wings of pauper kiwis flapping far up in the aether broader than two doorway curtains pauper kiwis heard the shouting knew the voice of higher wather knew the outcry of iago and forgetful of the warning drew his neck in and looked downward and the wind that blew behind him caught his mighty fan of feathers sent him wheeling whirling downward all in vain did pauper kiwis struggle to regain his balance whirling round and round and downward he beheld in turn the village and in turn the flock above him saw the village coming nearer and the flock receding farther heard the voices growing louder heard the shouting and the laughter saw no more the flocks above him only saw the earth beneath him dead out of the empty heaven dead among the shouting people with a heavy sound and sullen fell the brant with broken pinions but his soul his ghost his shadow still survived as pauper kiwis took again the form and features of the handsome yenidizi and again went rushing on wood followed fast by higher wather crying not so wide the world is not so long and rough the ways but my wrath shall overtake you but my vengeance shall attain you and so near he came so near him that his hand was stretched to seize him his right hand to seize and hold him when the cunning pauper kiwis whirled and spun about in circles fanned the air into a whirlwind danced the dust and leaves about him and amid the whirling eddies sprang into a hollow oak tree changed himself into a serpent gliding out through root and rubbish with his right hand higher wather smote a main the hollow oak tree rent it into shreds and splinters left it lying there in fragments but in vain for pauper kiwis once again in human figure full in sight ran on before him sped away in gust and whirlwind on the shores of gitigumi westward by the big sea water came unto the rocky headlands to the pictured rocks of sandstone looking over lake and landscape and the old man of the mountain he the manator of mountains opened wide his rocky doorways opened wide his deep abysses giving pauper kiwis shelter in the caverns dark and dreary bidding pauper kiwis welcome to his gloomy lodge of sandstone there without stood higher wather found the doorways closed against him with his mittens minjikaw and smote great caverns in the sandstone cried aloud in tones of thunder open i am higher wather but the old man of the mountain opened not and made no answer from the silent crags of sandstone from the gloomy rock abysses then he raised his hands to heaven called imploring on the tempest called wewassimo the lightning and the thunder and amiki and they came with night and darkness sweeping down the big sea water from the distant thunder mountains and the trembling pauper kiwis heard the footsteps of the thunder saw the red eyes of the lightning was afraid and crouched and trembled then wewassimo the lightning smoked the doorways of the caverns with his war club smoked the doorways smoked the jutting crags of sandstone and the thunder and amiki shouted down into the caverns saying where is pauper kiwis and the crags fell and beneath them dead among the rocky ruins lay the cunning pauper kiwis lay the handsome yenadize slain in his own human figure ended were his wild adventures ended were his tricks and gambles ended all his craft and cunning ended all his mischief making all his gambling and his dancing all his wooing of the maidens then the noble hire watha took his soul his ghost his shadow spake and said oh pauper kiwis never more in human figure shall you search for new adventures never more with jest and laughter dance the dust and leaves in whirlwinds but above there in the heavens you shall soar and sail in circles i will change you to an eagle to canoe the great war eagle chief of all the fowls with feathers chief of hire watha's chickens and the name of pauper kiwis lingers still among the people lingers still among the singers and among the storytellers and in winter when the snowflakes whirl in eddies round the lodges when the wind in gusty tumult or the smoke flu pipes and whistles there they cry comes pauper kiwis he is dancing through the village he is gathering in his harvest end of section 17 section 18 of the song of hire watha this liberox recording is in the public domain recording by peter yearsley the song of hire watha by henry wadsworth longfellow section 18 the death of quacind far and wide among the nations spread the name and fame of quacind no man dared to strive with quacind no man could compete with quacind but the mischievous pukwagis they the envious little people they the fairies and the pygmies plotted and conspired against him if this hateful quacind said they if this great outrageous fellow goes on thus a little longer tearing everything he touches rending everything to pieces filling all the world with wonder what becomes of the pukwagis who will care for the pukwagis he will tread us down like mushrooms drive us all into the water give our bodies to be eaten by the wicked nibbana bakes by the spirits of the water so the angry little people all conspired against the strongman all conspired to murder quacind yes to rid the world of quacind the audacious overbearing heartless haughty dangerous quacind now this wondrous strength of quacind in his crown alone was seated in his crown too was his weakness there alone could he be wounded nowhere else could weapon pierce him nowhere else could weapon harm him even there the only weapon that could wound him that could slay him was the seed cone of the pine tree was the blue cone of the fir tree this was quacind's fatal secret known to no man among mortals but the cunning little people the pukwagis knew the secret knew the only way to kill him so they gathered cones together gathered seed cones of the pine tree gathered blue cones of the fir tree in the woods by taqwomenor brought them to the river's margin heaped them in great piles together where the red rocks from the margin jutting overhang the river there they lay in wait for quacind the malicious little people it was an afternoon in summer very hot and still the air was very smooth the gliding river motionless the sleeping shadows insects glistened in the sunshine insects skated on the water filled the drowsy air with buzzing with a far resounding war cry down the river came the strongman in his birch canoe came quacind floating slowly down the current of the sluggish taqwomenor very languid with the weather very sleepy with the silence from the overhanging branches from the tassels of the birch trees soft the spirit of sleep descended by his airy hosts surrounded his invisible attendants came the spirit of sleep napawin like a burnished dash quaneshi like a dragonfly he hovered over the drowsy head of quacind to his ear there came a murmur as of waves upon a seashore as of far off tumbling waters as of winds among the pine trees and he felt upon his forehead blows of little airy war clubs wielded by the slumberous legions of the spirit of sleep napawin as of someone breathing on him at the first blow of their war clubs fell a drowsiness on quacind at the second blow they smoked him motionless his paddle rested at the third before his vision reeled the landscape into darkness very sound asleep was quacind so he floated down the river like a blind man seated upright floated down the taqwomenor underneath the trembling birch trees underneath the wooded headlands underneath the war encampment of the pygmies the pygmies there they stood all armed and waiting hurled the pine cones down upon him struck him on his brawny shoulders on his crown defenseless struck him death to quacind was the sudden war cry of the little people and he sideways swayed and tumbled sideways fell into the river plunged beneath the sluggish water headlong as an otter plunges and the birch canoe abandoned drifted empty down the river bottom upward swerved and drifted nothing more was seen of quacind but the memory of the strongman lingered long among the people and whenever through the forest raged and roared the wintry tempest and the branches tossed and troubled creaked and groaned and split asunder quacind cried they that is quacind he is gathering in his firewood end of section 18 section 19 of the song of Hiawatha this LibriVox recording is in the public domain recording by Peter Yersley the song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow section 19 the ghosts never stooped the soaring vulture on his quarry in the desert on the sick or wounded bison but another vulture watching from his high aerial lookout sees the downward plunge and follows and a third pursues the second coming from the invisible aether first a speck and then a vulture till the air is dark with pinions so disasters come not singly but as if they watched and waited scanning one another's motions when the first descends the others follow follow gathering flock wise round their victim sick and wounded first a shadow then a sorrow till the air is dark with anguish now all adreary northland mighty peboan the winter breathing on the lakes and rivers into stone had changed their waters from his hair he shook the snowflakes till the planes were strewn with whiteness one uninterrupted level as if stooping the creator with his hand had smoothed them over through the forest wide and wailing roamed the hunter on his snowshoes in the village worked the women pounded maize or dressed the deerskin and the young men played together on the ice the noisy ball play on the plane the dance of snowshoes one dark evening after sundown in her wigwam laughing water sat with old necomis waiting for the steps of Hiawatha homeward from the hunt returning on their faces gleamed the firelight painting them with streaks of crimson in the eyes of old necomis glimmered like the watery moonlight in the eyes of laughing water glistened like the sun in water and behind them crouched their shadows in the corners of the wigwam and the smoke in wreaths above them climbed and crowded through the smoke flew then the curtain of the doorway from without was slowly lifted brighter glowed the fire a moment and a moment swerved the smoke wreath as two women entered softly past the doorway uninvited without word of salutation without sign of recognition sat down in the farthest corner crouching low among the shadows from their aspect and their garments strangers seemed they in the village very pale and haggard were they as they sat there sad and silent trembling cowering with the shadows was it the wind above the smoke flew muttering down into the wigwam was it the owl the cocoa coho hooting from the dismal forest sure a voice said in the silence these are corpses clad in garments these are ghosts that come to haunt you from the kingdom of pomeyna from the land of the hereafter homework now came higher water from his hunting in the forest with the snow upon his tresses and the red deer on his shoulders at the feet of laughing water down he threw his lifeless burden nobler handsomer she thought him then when first he came to woo her first threw down the deer before her as a token of his wishes as a promise of the future then he turned and saw the strangers cowering crouching with the shadows said within himself who are they what strange guests has minnehaha but he questioned not the strangers only spake to bid them welcome to his lodge his food his fireside when the evening meal was ready and the deer had been divided both the pallid guests the strangers springing from among the shadows seized upon the choicest portions seized the white fat of the robuck set apart for laughing water for the wife of higher water without asking without thanking eagerly devoured the morsels flitted back among the shadows in the corner of the wigwam not a word spake higher water not a motion made no comis not a gesture laughing water not a change came over their features only minnehaha softly whispered saying they are famished let's them do what best delights them let's them eat for they are famished many a daylight dawned and darkened many a night shook off the daylight as the pine shakes off the snowflakes from the midnight of its branches day by day the guests unmoving sat there silent in the wigwam but by night in storm or starlight forth they went into the forest bringing firewood to the wigwam bringing pine cones for the burning always sad and always silent and whenever higher water came from fishing or from hunting when the evening meal was ready and the food had been divided sliding from their darksome corner came the pallid guests the strangers seized upon the choicest portions set aside for laughing water and without rebuke or question flitted back among the shadows never once had higher water by a word or look reproved them never once had old and a comis made a gesture of impatience never once had laughing water shown resentment at the outrage all had they endured in silence that the rites of guest and stranger at the virtue of free giving by a look might not be lessened by a word might not be broken once at midnight higher water ever wakeful ever watchful in the wigwam dimly lighted by the brands that still were burning by the glimmering flickering firelight heard a sighing oft repeated from his couch rose higher water from his shaggy hides of bison pushed aside the deerskin curtain saw the pallid guests the shadows sitting upright on their couches weeping in the silent midnight and he said oh guests why is it that your hearts are so afflicted that you sob so in the midnight has perchance the old and a comis has my wife my minne ha ha wronged or grieved you by unkindness failed inhospitable duties then the shadows seized from weeping seized from sobbing and lamenting and they said with gentle voices we are ghosts of the departed souls of those who once were with you from the realms of chibiabos hither have we come to try you hither have we come to warn you cries of grief and lamentation reach us in the blessed islands cries of anguish from the living calling back their friends departed sadden us with useless sorrow therefore have we come to try you no one knows us no one heeds us we are but a burden to you and we see that the departed have no place among the living think of this oh higher water speak of it to all the people that hence thought and forever they no more with lamentations sadden the souls of the departed in the islands of the blessed do not lay such heavy burdens in the graves of those you bury not such weight of fur and wampum not such weight of pots and kettles for the spirits faint beneath them only give them food to carry only give them fire to light them four days is the spirit's journey to the land of ghosts and shadows for its lonely night encampments four times must their fires be lighted therefore when the dead are buried let a fire as night approaches four times on the grave be kindled that's the soul upon its journey may not lack the cheerful firelight may not grope about in darkness farewell noble higher water we have put you to the trial to the proof have put your patience by the insult of our presence by the outrage of our actions we have found you great and noble fail not in the greater trial faint not in the harder struggle when they ceased a sudden darkness fell and filled the silent wigwam higher water heard a rustle as of garments trailing by him heard the curtain of the doorway lifted by a hand he saw not felt the cold breath of the night air for a moment saw the starlight but he saw the ghosts no longer saw no more the wandering spirits from the kingdom of panema from the land of the hereafter end of section 19 section 20 of the song of higher water this libra box recording is in the public domain recording by peter yersley the song of higher water by henry wardsworth longfellow section 20 the famine oh the long and dreary winter oh the cold and cruel winter ever thicker thicker thicker froze the ice on lake and river ever deeper deeper deeper fell the snow over all the landscape fell the covering snow and drifted through the forest round the village hardly from his buried wigwam could the hunter force a passage with his mittens and his snowshoes vainly walked he through the forest sought for bird or beast and found none saw no track of deer or rabbit in the snow beheld no footprints in the ghastly gleaming forest fell and could not rise from weakness perished there from cold and hunger oh the famine and the fever oh the wasting of the famine oh the blasting of the fever oh the wailing of the children oh the anguish of the women all the earth was sick and famished hungry was the air around them hungry was the sky above them and the hungry stars in heaven like the eyes of wolves glared at them into higher wasters wigwam came to other guests as silent as the ghosts were and as gloomy waited not to be invited did not parley at the doorway sat there without word of welcome in the seat of laughing water looked with haggard eyes and hollow at the face of laughing water and the foremost said behold me i am famine bukadar wind and the other said behold me i am fever ah say win and the lovely minihaha shattered as they looked upon her shuddered at the words they uttered lay down on her bed in silence hid her face but made no answer lay there trembling freezing burning at the looks they cast upon her at the fearful words they uttered fourth into the empty forest rushed the maddened higher water in his heart was deadly sorrow in his face a stony firmness on his brow the sweat of anguish started but it froze and fell not wrapped in furs and armed for hunting with his mighty bow of ashtray with his quiver full of arrows with his mittens mingekawon into the vast and vacant forest on his snowshoes strode he forward getje manito the mighty cried he with his face uplifted in that bitter hour of anguish give your children food oh father give us food or we must perish give me food for minihaha for my dying minihaha through the far resounding forest through the forest vast and vacant rang that cry of desolation but there came no other answer than the echo of his crying than the echo of the woodlands minihaha minihaha all day long roved higher water in that melancholy forest through the shadow of whose thickets in the pleasant days of summer of that near forgotten summer he had brought his young wife homeward from the land of the dakotas when the birds sang in the thickets and the streamlets laughed and glistened and the air was full of fragrance and the lovely laughing water said with voice that did not tremble i will follow you my husband in the wigwam with nakomis with those gloomy guests that watched her with the famine and the fever she was lying the beloved she the dying minihaha hark she said i hear a rushing here a roaring and a rushing hear the falls of minihaha calling to me from a distance know my child said old nakomis it 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 dakotas know my child said old nakomis it is the smoke that waves and beckons ah said she the eyes of palguk glare upon me in the darkness i can feel his icy fingers clasping mine amid the darkness higher water higher water and the desolate higher water far away amid the forest miles away among the mountains heard that sudden cry of anguish heard the voice of minihaha calling to him in the darkness higher water higher water over snow fields waste and pathless under snow encumbered branches homeward hurried higher water empty handed heavy-hearted heard nakomis moaning wailing wahanowin wahanowin would that i had perished for you would that i were dead as you are wahanowin wahanowin and he rushed into the wigwam saw the old nakomis slowly rocking to and fro and moaning saw his lovely minihaha 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 minihaha at the feet of laughing water at those willing feet that nevermore would lightly run to meet him nevermore 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 minihaha in the snow a grave they made her in the forest deep and dark some underneath the moaning hemlocks clothed her in her richest garments wrapped her in her robes of the ermine covered her with snow like ermine thus they buried minihaha 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 minihaha stood and watched it at the doorway that it might not be extinguished might not leave her in the darkness farewell said he minihaha farewell oh 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 wear 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 pomeyna to the land of the hereafter end of section 20 section 21 of the song of hiawatha this libra vox recording is in the public domain recording by peter yersley the song of hiawatha by henry wadsworth long fellow section 21 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 snowdrift dull and low his fire was burning and the old man shook and trembled folded in his wow be way on in his tattered white skin wrapper hearing nothing but the tempest as it roared along the forest seeing nothing but the snowstorm 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 springtime 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 traveled 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 or all the meadows singing on would 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 low 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 low they are not and where air 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 rainfall warm and welcome plants lift up their heads rejoicing back unto their lakes and marshes come the wild goose and the heron homeward shoots the aroey swallow sing the bluebird and the robin and where air 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 waven from his shining lodge of silver like a warrior robed and painted came the sun and said behold me yeezus 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 segwoon the youthful stranger more distinctly in the daylight saw the icy face before him it was peboan the winter from his eyes the tears were flowing as from melting lakes the streamlets and his body shrunk and dwindled as the shouting sun ascended till into the air it faded till into the ground it vanished and the young man saw before him on the hearthstone of the wigwam where the fire had smoked and smoldered saw the earliest flower of springtime saw the beauty of the springtime saw the miscu deed in blossom thus it was that in the northland after that unheard of coldness that intolerable winter came the spring with all its splendor all its birds and all its blossoms all its flowers and leaves and grasses sailing on the wind to northward flying in great flocks like arrows like huge arrows shot through heaven past the swan the man abezi speaking almost as a man speaks and in long lines waving bending like a bowstring snapped asunder came the white goose wah be wah wah and in pairs or singly flying mang the loon with clangorous pinions the blue heron the shashuga and the grass the muskadasa in the thickets and the meadows piped the bluebird the oysa on the summit of the lodges sang the robin the opechi in the cover of the pine trees cooed the pigeon the omei me and the sorrowing hyal watha speechless in his infinite sorrow heard their voices calling to him went forth from his gloomy doorway stood and gazed into the heaven gazed upon the earth and waters from his wanderings far to eastward from the regions of the morning from the shining land of weyburn home would now returned iagoo the great traveler the great boaster full of new and strange adventures marvels many and many wonders and the people of the village listened to him as he told them of his marvellous adventures laughing answered him in this wise ah it is indeed iagoo no one else beholds such wonders he had seen he said a water bigger than the big seawater broader than the gitigumi bitter so that none could drink it at each other looked the warriors looked the women at each other smiled and said it cannot be so they said it cannot be so or it said he or this water came a great canoe with pinions a canoe with wings came flying bigger than a grove of pine trees taller than the tallest treetops and the old men and the women looked and titted at each other car they said we don't believe it from its mouth he said to greet him came why wasimo the lightning came the thunder an amici and the warriors and the women laughed aloud at poor iagoo car they said what tales you tell us in it said he came a people in the great canoe with pinions came he said a hundred warriors painted white were all their faces and with hair their chins were covered and the warriors and the women laughed and shouted in derision like the ravens on the treetops like the crows upon the hemlocks car they said what lies you tell us do not think that we believe them only hire what the laughed not but he gravely spake and answered to their jeering and their jesting true is all iagoo tells us i have seen it in a vision seen the great canoe with pinions seen the people with white faces seen the coming of this bearded people of the wooden vessel from the regions of the morning from the shining land of weyburn gitche manito the mighty the great spirit the creator sends them hither on his errand sends them to us with his message where so air they move before them swarms the stinging fly the armo swarms the bee the honey maker where so air they tread beneath them springs a flower unknown among us springs the white man's foot in blossom let us welcome then the strangers hail them as our friends and brothers and the heart's right hand of friendship give them when they come to see us gitche manito the mighty said this to me in my vision i beheld to in that vision all the secrets of the future of the distant days that shall be i beheld the westward marches of the unknown crowded nations all the land was full of people restless struggling toiling striving speaking many tongues yet feeling but one heartbeat in their bosoms in the woodlands rang their axes smoked their towns in all the valleys over all the lakes and rivers rushed their great canoes of thunder then a darker dreary a vision passed before me vague and cloudlike i beheld our nation scattered all forgetful of my councils weakened warring with each other saw the remnants of our people sweeping westward wild and woeful like the cloud-rack of a tempest like the withered leaves of autumn end of section 21