The Feast of the Virgins and Other Poems Part 22

Then forth from the side of the chief stepped DuLuth and he looked on the boaster; "The words of a warrior are brief,-- I will run with the brave," said the Frenchman; "But the feet of Tamdoka are tired; abide till the cool of the sunset."

All the hunters and maidens admired, for strong were the limbs of the stranger.

"_Hiwo Ho!_"[AE] they shouted and loud rose the cheers of the mult.i.tude mingled; And there in the midst of the crowd stood the glad-eyed and blus.h.i.+ng Winona.

[AE] Hurra there!

Now afar o'er the plains of the west walked the sun at the end of his journey, And forth came the brave and the guest, at the tap of the drum, for the trial.

Like a forest of larches the hordes were gathered to witness the contest; As loud as the drums were their words and they roared like the roar of the _Ha-ha._ For some for Tamdoka contend, and some for the fair, bearded stranger, And the betting runs high to the end, with the skins of the bison and beaver.

A wife of tall _Wazi-kute_-- the mother of boastful Tamdoka-- Brought her handsomest robe from the _tee_ with a vaunting and loud proclamation: She would stake her last robe on her son who, she boasted, was fleet as the _cabri_, And the tall, tawny chieftain looked on, approving the boast of the mother.

Then fleet as the feet of a fawn to her lodge ran the dark-eyed Winona, She brought and she spread on the lawn, by the side of the robe of the boaster, The lily-red mantel DuLuth, with his own hands, had laid on her shoulders.

"Tamdoka is swift, but forsooth, the tongue of his mother is swifter,"

She said, and her face was aflame with the red of the rose and the lily, And loud was the roar of acclaim; but dark was the face of Tamdoka.

They strip for the race and prepare,-- DuLuth in his breeches and leggins; And the brown, curling locks of his hair down droop to his bare, brawny shoulders, And his face wears a smile debonair, as he tightens his red sash around him; But stripped to the moccasins bare, save the belt and the breech-clout of buckskin, Stands the haughty Tamdoka aware that the eyes of the warriors admire him; For his arms are the arms of a bear and his legs are the legs of a panther.

The drum beats,--the chief waves the flag, and away on the course speed the runners, And away leads the brave like a stag,-- like a bound on his track flies the Frenchman; And away haste the hunters once more to the hills, for a view to the lakeside, And the dark-swarming hill-tops, they roar with the storm of loud voices commingled.

Far away o'er the prairie they fly, and still in the lead is Tamdoka, But the feet of his rival are nigh, and slowly he gains on the hunter.

Now they turn on the post at the lake,-- now they run full abreast on the home-stretch: Side by side they contend for the stake for a long mile or more on the prairie They strain like a stag and a hound, when the swift river gleams through the thicket, And the horns of the riders resound, winding shrill through the depths of the forest.

But behold!--at full length on the ground falls the fleet-footed Frenchman abruptly, And away with a whoop and a bound springs the eager, exulting Tamdoka Long and loud on the hills is the shout of his swarthy admirers and backers, "But the race is not won till it's out,"

said DuLuth, to himself as he gathered, With a frown on his face, for the foot of the wily Tamdoka had tripped him.

Far ahead ran the brave on the route, and turning he boasted exultant.

Like spurs to the steed to DuLuth were the jeers and the taunts of the boaster; Indignant was he and red wroth at the trick of the runner dishonest; And away like a whirlwind he speeds-- like a hurricane mad from the mountains; He gains on Tamdoka,--he leads!-- and behold, with the spring of a panther, He leaps to the goal and succeeds, 'mid the roar of the mad acclamation.

Then glad as the robin in May was the voice of Winona exulting; Tamdoka turned sullen away, and sulking he walked by the river; He glowered as he went and the fire of revenge in his bosom was kindled: Dark was his visage with ire and his eyes were the eyes of a panther.

THE WAKAN-WACEPEE, OR SACRED DANCE. [81]

Lo the lights in the _"Teepee-Wakan!"_ 'tis the night of the _Wakan Wacepee_.

Round and round walks the chief of the clan, as he rattles the sacred _Ta-sha-kay_; [81]

Long and loud on the _Chan-che-ga_ [81]

beat the drummers with magical drumsticks, And the notes of the _Cho-tanka_ [81]

greet like the murmur of winds on the waters.

By the friction of white-cedar wood for the feast was a Virgin-fire [20] kindled.

They that enter the firm brotherhood first must fast and be cleansed by _E-nee-pee_;[81]

And from foot-sole to crown of the head must they paint with the favorite colors; For _Unktehee_ likes bands of blood-red, with the stripings of blue intermingled.

In the hollow earth, dark and profound, _Unktehee_ and fiery _Wakinyan_ Long fought, and the terrible sound of the battle was louder than thunder; The mountains were heaved and around were scattered the hills and the boulders, And the vast solid plains of the ground rose and fell like the waves of the ocean.

But the G.o.d of the waters prevailed.

_Wakin-yan_ escaped from the cavern, And long on the mountains he wailed, and his hatred endureth forever.

When _Unktehee_ had finished the earth, and the beasts and the birds and the fishes, And men at his bidding came forth from the heart of the huge hollow mountains,[69]

A band chose the G.o.d from the hordes, and he said: "Ye are the sons of _Unktehee_: Ye are lords of the beasts and the birds, and the fishes that swim in the waters.

But hearken ye now to my words,-- let them sound in your bosoms forever: Ye shall honor _Unktehee_ and hate _Wakinyan_, the Spirit of Thunder, For the power of _Unktehee_ is great, and he laughs at the darts of _Wakinyan_.

Ye shall honor the Earth and the Sun,-- for they are your father and mother; [70]

Let your prayer to the Sun be:-- _Wakan Ate; on-si-md-da ohee-nee_."[AF]

And remember the _Taku Wakan_[73]

all-pervading in earth and in ether-- Invisible ever to man, but He dwells in the midst of all matter; Yea, he dwells in the heart of the stone-- in the hard granite heart of the boulder; Ye shall call him forever _Tunkan_-- grandfather of all the Dakotas.

Ye are men that I choose for my own; ye shall be as a strong band of brothers, Now I give you the magical bone and the magical pouch of the spirits,[AG]

And these are the laws ye shall heed: Ye shall honor the pouch and the giver.

Ye shall walk as twin-brothers; in need, one shall forfeit his life for another.

Listen not to the voice of the crow.[AH]

Hold as sacred the wife of a brother.

Strike, and fear not the shaft of the foe, for the soul of the brave is immortal.

Slay the warrior in battle, but spare the innocent babe and the mother.

Remember a promise,--beware,-- let the word of a warrior be sacred When a stranger arrives at the _tee_-- be he friend of the band or a foeman, Give him food; let your bounty be free; lay a robe for the guest by the lodge-fire; Let him go to his kindred in peace, if the peace-pipe he smoke in the _teepee_; And so shall your children increase, and your lodges shall laugh with abundance.

And long shall ye live in the land, and the spirits of earth and the waters Shall come to your aid, at command, with the power of invisible magic.

And at last, when you journey afar-- o'er the s.h.i.+ning "_Wanagee Ta-chan-ku_,"[68]

You shall walk as a red, s.h.i.+ning star[8]

in the land of perpetual summer."

[AF] "Sacred Spirit! Father! have pity on me always."

[AG] Riggs' Takoo Wakan, p. 90.

[AH] Slander.

All the night in the _teepee_ they sang, and they danced to the mighty _Unktehee_, While the loud-braying _Chan-che-ga_ rang and the shrill-piping flute and the rattle, Till _Anpetuwee_ [70] rose in the east-- from the couch of the blus.h.i.+ng _Han-nan-na_, And thus at the dance and the feast sang the sons of _Unktehee_ in chorus:

"Wa-du-ta o-hna mi-ka-ge!

Wa-du-ta o-hna mi-ka-ge!

Mini-yata ite wakande maku, Ate wakan--Tunkansidan.

Tunkansidan pejihuta wakan Micage--he Wicage!

Miniyata ite wakande maku.

Taukansidan ite, nape du-win-ta woo, Wahutopa wan yuha, nape du-win-ta woo."

TRANSLATION.

In red swan-down he made it for me; In red swan-down he made it for me; He of the water--he of the mysterious face-- Gave it to me; Sacred Father--Grandfather!

Grandfather made me magical medicine.

That is true!

Being of mystery,--grown in the water-- He gave it to me!

To the face of our Grandfather stretch out your hand; Holding a quadruped, stretch out your hand!

Till high o'er the hills of the east _Anpetuwee_ walked on his journey, In secret they danced at the feast, and communed with the mighty _Unktehee_.

Then opened the door of the _tee_ to the eyes of the wondering Dakotas, And the sons of _Unktehee_ to be, were endowed with the sacred _Ozuha_[82]

By the son of tall Wazi-kute, Tamdoka, the chief of the Magi.

And thus since the birth-day of man-- since he sprang from the heart of the mountains,[69]

Has the sacred "_Wacepee Wakan_"

by the warlike Dakotas been honored, And the G.o.d-favored sons of the clan work their will with the help of the spirits.

WINONA'S WARNING.

'Twas sunrise; the spirits of mist trailed their white robes on dewy savannas, And the flowers raised their heads to be kissed by the first golden beams of the morning.

The breeze was abroad with the breath of the rose of the Isles of the Summer, And the humming-bird hummed on the heath from his home in the land of the rainbow.[AI]

'Twas the morn of departure. DuLuth stood alone by the roar of the _Ha-ha_; Tall and fair in the strength of his youth stood the blue-eyed and fair-bearded Frenchman.

A rustle of robes on the gra.s.s broke his dream as he mused by the waters, And, turning, he looked on the face of Winona, wild-rose of the prairies, Half hid in her dark, flowing hair, like the round, golden moon in the pine-tops.

Admiring he gazed--she was fair as his own blooming Flore in her orchards, With her golden locks loose on the air, like the gleam of the sun through the olives, Far away on the vine-covered sh.o.r.e, in the sun-favored land of his fathers.

"Lists the chief to the cataract's roar for the mournful lament of the Spirit?"[AJ]