The Feast of the Virgins and Other Poems Part 23

Said Winona,--"The wail of the sprite for her babe and its father unfaithful, Is heard in the midst of the night, when the moon wanders dim in the heavens."

"Wild-Rose of the Prairies," he said, "DuLuth listens not to the _Ha-ha_, For the wail of the ghost of the dead for her babe and its father unfaithful; But he lists to a voice in his heart that is heard by the ear of no other, And to-day will the White Chief depart; he returns to the land of the sunrise."

"Let Winona depart with the chief,-- she will kindle the fire in his _teepee_; For long are the days of her grief, if she stay in the _tee_ of Ta-te-psin,"

She replied, and her cheeks were aflame with the bloom of the wild prairie lilies.

"_Tanke_[AK], is the White Chief to blame?"

said DuLuth to the blus.h.i.+ng Winona.

"The White Chief is blameless," she said, "but the heart of Winona will follow Wherever thy footsteps may lead, O blue-eyed, brave Chief of the white men.

For her mother sleeps long in the mound, and a step-mother rules in the _teepee_, And her father, once strong and renowned, is bent with the weight of his winters.

No longer he handles the spear,-- no longer his swift, humming arrows Overtake the fleet feet of the deer, or the bear of the woods, or the bison; But he bends as he walks, and the wind shakes his white hair and hinders his footsteps; And soon will he leave me behind, without brother or sister or kindred.

The doe scents the wolf in the wind, and a wolf walks the path of Winona.

Three times have the gifts for the bride[55]

to the lodge of Ta-te-psin been carried, But the voice of Winona replied that she liked not the haughty Tamdoka.

And thrice were the gifts sent away, but the tongue of the mother protested, And the were-wolf[52] still follows his prey, and abides but the death of my father."

[AI] The Dakotas say the humming-bird comes from the "Land of the rain-bow."

[AJ] See Legend of the Falls, or Note 28--Appendix.

[AK] My Sister.

"I pity Winona," he said, "but my path is a pathway of danger, And long is the trail for the maid to the far-away land of the sunrise; And few are the braves of my band, and the braves of Tamdoka are many; But soon I return to the land, and a cloud of my hunters will follow.

When the cold winds of winter return and toss the white robes of the prairies, The fire of the White Chief will burn in his lodge at the Meeting-of-Waters;[AL]

And when from the Sunrise again comes the chief of the sons of the Morning, Many moons will his hunters remain in the land of the friendly Dakotas.

The son of Chief Wazi-Kute guides the White Chief afar on his journey; Nor long on the _Tanka Mede_[AM]-- on the breast of the blue, bounding billows-- Shall the bark of the Frenchman delay, but his pathway shall kindle behind him."

[AL] Mendota--properly Mdo-te--meaning the out-let of a lake or river into another, commonly applied to the region about Fort Snelling.

[AM] _Tanka-Mede_--Great Lake, i.e. Lake Superior. The Dakotas seem to have had no other name for it. They generally referred to it as _Mini-ya-ta--There at the water_.

She was pale, and her hurried voice swelled with alarm as she questioned replying-- "Tamdoka thy guide?--I beheld thy death in his face at the races.

He covers his heart with a smile, but revenge never sleeps in his bosom; His tongue--it is soft to beguile; but beware of the pur of the panther!

For death, like a shadow, will walk by thy side in the midst of the forest, Or follow thy path like a hawk on the trail of a wounded _Mastinca_.[AN]

A son of _Unktehee_ is he,-- the Chief of the crafty magicians; They have plotted thy death; I can see thy trail--it is red in the forest; Beware of Tamdoka,--beware.

Slumber not like the grouse of the woodlands, With head under wing, for the glare of the eyes that sleep not are upon thee."

[AN] The rabbit. The Dakotas called the Crees "Mastincapi"--Rabbits.

"Winona, fear not," said DuLuth, "for I carry the fire of _Wakinyan_[AO]

And strong is the arm of my youth, and stout are the hearts of my warriors; But Winona has spoken the truth, and the heart of the White Chief is thankful.

Hide this in thy bosom, dear maid,-- 'tis the crucified Christ of the white men.[AP]

Lift thy voice to his spirit in need, and his spirit will hear thee and answer; For often he comes to my aid; he is stronger than all the Dakotas; And the Spirits of evil, afraid, hide away when he looks from the heavens."

In her swelling, brown bosom she hid the crucified Jesus in silver; "_Niwaste_,"[AQ] she sadly replied; in her low voice the rising tears trembled; Her dewy eyes turned she aside, and she slowly returned to the _teepees_.

But still on the swift river's strand, admiring the graceful Winona, As she gathered, with brown, dimpled hand, her hair from the wind, stood the Frenchman.

DULUTH'S DEPARTURE

To bid the brave White Chief adieu, on the shady sh.o.r.e gathered the warriors; His glad boatmen manned the canoe, and the oars in their hands were impatient.

Spake the Chief of _Isantees_: "A feast will await the return of my brother.

In peace rose the sun in the East, in peace in the West he descended.

May the feet of my brother be swift till they bring him again to our _teepees_, The red pipe he takes as a gift, may he smoke that red pipe many winters.

At my lodge-fire his pipe shall be lit, when the White Chief returns to _Kathaga_; On the robes of my _tee_ shall he sit; he shall smoke with the chiefs of my people.

The brave love the brave, and his son sends the Chief as a guide for his brother, By the way of the _Wakpa Wakan_[AR]

to the Chief at the Lake of the Spirits.

As light as the foot-steps of dawn are the feet of the stealthy Tamdoka; He fears not the _Maza Wakan_;[AS]

he is sly as the fox of the forest.

When he dances the dance of red war howl the wolves by the broad _Mini-ya-ta_,[AT]

For they scent on the south-wind afar their feast on the bones of Ojibways."

Thrice the Chief puffed the red pipe of peace, ere it pa.s.sed to the lips of the Frenchman.

Spake DuLuth: "May the Great Spirit bless with abundance the Chief and his people; May their sons and their daughters increase, and the fire ever burn in their _teepees_."

Then he waved with a flag his adieu to the Chief and the warriors a.s.sembled; And away shot Tamdoka's canoe to the strokes of ten sinewy hunters; And a white path he clove up the blue, bubbling stream of the swift Mississippi; And away on his foaming trail flew, like a sea-gull, the bark of the Frenchman.

[AO] i.e. fire-arms which the Dakotas compare to the roar of the wings of the Thunder-bird and the fierey arrows he shoots.

[AP] DuLuth was a devout Catholic.

[AQ] _Nee-wah-shtay_--Thou art good.

[AR] Spirit-River, now called Rum River.

[AS] Fire-arm--spirit-metal.

[AT] Lake Superior--at that time the home of the Ojibways (Chippewas).

[Ill.u.s.tration: TWO HUNDRED WHITE WINTERS AND MORE HAVE FLED FROM THE FACE OF THE SUMMER ...

AH, LITTLE HE DREAMED THEN, FORSOOTH, THAT A CITY WOULD STAND ON THAT HILL SIDE]

Then merrily rose the blithe song of the _voyageurs_ homeward returning, And thus, as they glided along, sang the bugle-voiced boatmen in chorus:

SONG.

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!

Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur._ He rides on the river with his paddle in his hand, And his boat is his shelter on the water and the land.

The clam has his sh.e.l.l and the water-turtle too, But the brave boatman's sh.e.l.l is his birch-bark canoe.

So pull away, boatmen; bend to the oar; Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur._

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!

Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_, His couch is as downy as a couch can be, For he sleeps on the feathers of the green fir-tree.

He dines on the fat of the pemmican-sack, And his _eau de vie_ is the _eau de lac_.

So pull away, boatmen; bend to the oar; Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!

Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

The brave, jolly boatman,--he never is afraid When he meets at the portage a red, forest maid, A Huron, or a Cree, or a blooming Chippeway; And he marks his trail with the _bois brules_[AU]

So pull away, boatmen; bend to the oar; Merry is the life of the gay _voyageur_.

Home again! home again! bend to the oar!