Part VIII: Hiawatha's Fishing
- Forth upon the Gitche Gumee,
- On the shining Big-Sea-Water,
- With his fishing-line of cedar,
- Of the twisted bark of cedar,
- Forth to catch the sturgeon Nahma,
- Mishe-Nahma, King of Fishes,
- In his birch canoe exulting
- All alone went Hiawatha.
- Through the clear, transparent water
- He could see the fishes swimming
- Far down in the depths below him;
- See the yellow perch, the Sahwa,
- Like a sunbeam in the water,
- See the Shawgashee, the craw-fish,
- Like a spider on the bottom,
- On the white and sandy bottom.
- At the stern sat Hiawatha,
- With his fishing-line of cedar;
- In his plumes the breeze of morning
- Played as in the hemlock branches;
- On the bows, with tail erected,
- Sat the squirrel, Adjidaumo;
- In his fur the breeze of morning
- Played as in the prairie grasses.
- On the white sand of the bottom
- Lay the monster Mishe-Nahma,
- Lay the sturgeon, King of Fishes;
- Through his gills he breathed the water,
- With his fins he fanned and winnowed,
- With his tail he swept the sand-floor.
- There he lay in all his armor;
- On each side a shield to guard him,
- Plates of bone upon his forehead,
- Down his sides and back and shoulders
- Plates of bone with spines projecting
- Painted was he with his war-paints,
- Stripes of yellow, red, and azure,
- Spots of brown and spots of sable;
- And he lay there on the bottom,
- Fanning with his fins of purple,
- As above him Hiawatha
- In his birch canoe came sailing,
- With his fishing-line of cedar.
- "Take my bait," cried Hiawatha,
- Dawn into the depths beneath him,
- "Take my bait, O Sturgeon, Nahma!
- Come up from below the water,
- Let us see which is the stronger!"
- And he dropped his line of cedar
- Through the clear, transparent water,
- Waited vainly for an answer,
- Long sat waiting for an answer,
- And repeating loud and louder,
- "Take my bait, O King of Fishes!"
- Quiet lay the sturgeon, Nahma,
- Fanning slowly in the water,
- Looking up at Hiawatha,
- Listening to his call and clamor,
- His unnecessary tumult,
- Till he wearied of the shouting;
- And he said to the Kenozha,
- To the pike, the Maskenozha,
- "Take the bait of this rude fellow,
- Break the line of Hiawatha!"
- In his fingers Hiawatha
- Felt the loose line jerk and tighten,
- As he drew it in, it tugged so
- That the birch canoe stood endwise,
- Like a birch log in the water,
- With the squirrel, Adjidaumo,
- Perched and frisking on the summit.
- Full of scorn was Hiawatha
- When he saw the fish rise upward,
- Saw the pike, the Maskenozha,
- Coming nearer, nearer to him,
- And he shouted through the water,
- "Esa! esa! shame upon you!
- You are but the pike, Kenozha,
- You are not the fish I wanted,
- You are not the King of Fishes!"
- Reeling downward to the bottom
- Sank the pike in great confusion,
- And the mighty sturgeon, Nahma,
- Said to Ugudwash, the sun-fish,
- To the bream, with scales of crimson,
- "Take the bait of this great boaster,
- Break the line of Hiawatha!"
- Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming,
- Rose the Ugudwash, the sun-fish,
- Seized the line of Hiawatha,
- Swung with all his weight upon it,
- Made a whirlpool in the water,
- Whirled the birch canoe in circles,
- Round and round in gurgling eddies,
- Till the circles in the water
- Reached the far-off sandy beaches,
- Till the water-flags and rushes
- Nodded on the distant margins.
- But when Hiawatha saw him
- Slowly rising through the water,
- Lifting up his disk refulgent,
- Loud he shouted in derision,
- "Esa! esa! shame upon you!
- You are Ugudwash, the sun-fish,
- You are not the fish I wanted,
- You are not the King of Fishes!"
- Slowly downward, wavering, gleaming,
- Sank the Ugudwash, the sun-fish,
- And again the sturgeon, Nahma,
- Heard the shout of Hiawatha,
- Heard his challenge of defiance,
- The unnecessary tumult,
- Ringing far across the water.
- From the white sand of the bottom
- Up he rose with angry gesture,
- Quivering in each nerve and fibre,
- Clashing all his plates of armor,
- Gleaming bright with all his war-paint;
- In his wrath he darted upward,
- Flashing leaped into the sunshine,
- Opened his great jaws, and swallowed
- Both canoe and Hiawatha.
- Down into that darksome cavern
- Plunged the headlong Hiawatha,
- As a log on some black river
- Shoots and plunges down the rapids,
- Found himself in utter darkness,
- Groped about in helpless wonder,
- Till he felt a great heart beating,
- Throbbing in that utter darkness.
- And he smote it in his anger,
- With his fist, the heart of Nahma,
- Felt the mighty King of Fishes
- Shudder through each nerve and fibre,
- Heard the water gurgle round him
- As he leaped and staggered through it,
- Sick at heart, and faint and weary.
- Crosswise then did Hiawatha
- Drag his birch-canoe for safety,
- Lest from out the jaws of Nahma,
- In the turmoil and confusion,
- Forth he might be hurled and perish.
- And the squirrel, Adjidaumo,
- Frisked and chatted very gayly,
- Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha
- Till the labor was completed.
- Then said Hiawatha to him,
- "O my little friend, the squirrel,
- Bravely have you toiled to help me;
- Take the thanks of Hiawatha,
- And the name which now he gives you;
- For hereafter and forever
- Boys shall call you Adjidaumo,
- Tail-in-air the boys shall call you!"
- And again the sturgeon, Nahma,
- Gasped and quivered in the water,
- Then was still, and drifted landward
- Till he grated on the pebbles,
- Till the listening Hiawatha
- Heard him grate upon the margin,
- Felt him strand upon the pebbles,
- Knew that Nahma, King of Fishes,
- Lay there dead upon the margin.
- Then he heard a clang and flapping,
- As of many wings assembling,
- Heard a screaming and confusion,
- As of birds of prey contending,
- Saw a gleam of light above him,
- Shining through the ribs of Nahma,
- Saw the glittering eyes of sea-gulls,
- Of Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, peering,
- Gazing at him through the opening,
- Heard them saying to each other,
- "'T is our brother, Hiawatha!"
- And he shouted from below them,
- Cried exulting from the caverns:
- "O ye sea-gulls! O my brothers!
- I have slain the sturgeon, Nahma;
- Make the rifts a little larger,
- With your claws the openings widen,
- Set me free from this dark prison,
- And henceforward and forever
- Men shall speak of your achievements,
- Calling you Kayoshk, the sea-gulls,
- Yes, Kayoshk, the Noble Scratchers!"
- And the wild and clamorous sea-gulls
- Toiled with beak and claws together,
- Made the rifts and openings wider
- In the mighty ribs of Nahma,
- And from peril and from prison,
- From the body of the sturgeon,
- From the peril of the water,
- They released my Hiawatha.
- He was standing near his wigwam,
- On the margin of the water,
- And he called to old Nokomis,
- Called and beckoned to Nokomis,
- Pointed to the sturgeon, Nahma,
- Lying lifeless on the pebbles,
- With the sea-gulls feeding on him.
- "I have slain the Mishe-Nahma,
- Slain the King of Fishes!" said he'
- "Look! the sea-gulls feed upon him,
- Yes, my friends Kayoshk, the sea-gulls;
- Drive them not away, Nokomis,
- They have saved me from great peril
- In the body of the sturgeon,
- Wait until their meal is ended,
- Till their craws are full with feasting,
- Till they homeward fly, at sunset,
- To their nests among the marshes;
- Then bring all your pots and kettles,
- And make oil for us in Winter."
- And she waited till the sun set,
- Till the pallid moon, the Night-sun,
- Rose above the tranquil water,
- Till Kayoshk, the sated sea-gulls,
- From their banquet rose with clamor,
- And across the fiery sunset
- Winged their way to far-off islands,
- To their nests among the rushes.
- To his sleep went Hiawatha,
- And Nokomis to her labor,
- Toiling patient in the moonlight,
- Till the sun and moon changed places,
- Till the sky was red with sunrise,
- And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gulls,
- Came back from the reedy islands,
- Clamorous for their morning banquet.
- Three whole days and nights alternate
- Old Nokomis and the sea-gulls
- Stripped the oily flesh of Nahma,
- Till the waves washed through the rib-bones,
- Till the sea-gulls came no longer,
- And upon the sands lay nothing
- But the skeleton of Nahma.
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