Part X: Hiawatha's Wooing
- "As unto the bow the cord is,
- So unto the man is woman;
- Though she bends him, she obeys him,
- Though she draws him, yet she follows;
- Useless each without the other!"
- Thus the youthful Hiawatha
- Said within himself and pondered,
- Much perplexed by various feelings,
- Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,
- Dreaming still of Minnehaha,
- Of the lovely Laughing Water,
- In the land of the Dacotahs.
- "Wed a maiden of your people,"
- Warning said the old Nokomis;
- "Go not eastward, go not westward,
- For a stranger, whom we know not!
- Like a fire upon the hearth-stone
- Is a neighbor's homely daughter,
- Like the starlight or the moonlight
- Is the handsomest of strangers!"
- Thus dissuading spake Nokomis,
- And my Hiawatha answered
- Only this: "Dear old Nokomis,
- Very pleasant is the firelight,
- But I like the starlight better,
- Better do I like the moonlight!"
- Gravely then said old Nokomis:
- "Bring not here an idle maiden,
- Bring not here a useless woman,
- Hands unskilful, feet unwilling;
- Bring a wife with nimble fingers,
- Heart and hand that move together,
- Feet that run on willing errands!"
- Smiling answered Hiawatha:
- 'In the land of the Dacotahs
- Lives the Arrow-maker's daughter,
- Minnehaha, Laughing Water,
- Handsomest of all the women.
- I will bring her to your wigwam,
- She shall run upon your errands,
- Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight,
- Be the sunlight of my people!"
- Still dissuading said Nokomis:
- "Bring not to my lodge a stranger
- From the land of the Dacotahs!
- Very fierce are the Dacotahs,
- Often is there war between us,
- There are feuds yet unforgotten,
- Wounds that ache and still may open!"
- Laughing answered Hiawatha:
- "For that reason, if no other,
- Would I wed the fair Dacotah,
- That our tribes might be united,
- That old feuds might be forgotten,
- And old wounds be healed forever!"
- Thus departed Hiawatha
- To the land of the Dacotahs,
- To the land of handsome women;
- Striding over moor and meadow,
- Through interminable forests,
- Through uninterrupted silence.
- With his moccasins of magic,
- At each stride a mile he measured;
- Yet the way seemed long before him,
- And his heart outran his footsteps;
- And he journeyed without resting,
- Till he heard the cataract's laughter,
- Heard the Falls of Minnehaha
- Calling to him through the silence.
- "Pleasant is the sound!" he murmured,
- "Pleasant is the voice that calls me!"
- On the outskirts of the forests,
- 'Twixt the shadow and the sunshine,
- Herds of fallow deer were feeding,
- But they saw not Hiawatha;
- To his bow he whispered, "Fail not!"
- To his arrow whispered, "Swerve not!"
- Sent it singing on its errand,
- To the red heart of the roebuck;
- Threw the deer across his shoulder,
- And sped forward without pausing.
- At the doorway of his wigwam
- Sat the ancient Arrow-maker,
- In the land of the Dacotahs,
- Making arrow-heads of jasper,
- Arrow-heads of chalcedony.
- At his side, in all her beauty,
- Sat the lovely Minnehaha,
- Sat his daughter, Laughing Water,
- Plaiting mats of flags and rushes
- Of the past the old man's thoughts were,
- And the maiden's of the future.
- He was thinking, as he sat there,
- Of the days when with such arrows
- He had struck the deer and bison,
- On the Muskoday, the meadow;
- Shot the wild goose, flying southward
- On the wing, the clamorous Wawa;
- Thinking of the great war-parties,
- How they came to buy his arrows,
- Could not fight without his arrows.
- Ah, no more such noble warriors
- Could be found on earth as they were!
- Now the men were all like women,
- Only used their tongues for weapons!
- She was thinking of a hunter,
- From another tribe and country,
- Young and tall and very handsome,
- Who one morning, in the Spring-time,
- Came to buy her father's arrows,
- Sat and rested in the wigwam,
- Lingered long about the doorway,
- Looking back as he departed.
- She had heard her father praise him,
- Praise his courage and his wisdom;
- Would he come again for arrows
- To the Falls of Minnehaha?
- On the mat her hands lay idle,
- And her eyes were very dreamy.
- Through their thoughts they heard a footstep,
- Heard a rustling in the branches,
- And with glowing cheek and forehead,
- With the deer upon his shoulders,
- Suddenly from out the woodlands
- Hiawatha stood before them.
- Straight the ancient Arrow-maker
- Looked up gravely from his labor,
- Laid aside the unfinished arrow,
- Bade him enter at the doorway,
- Saying, as he rose to meet him,
- 'Hiawatha, you are welcome!"
- At the feet of Laughing Water
- Hiawatha laid his burden,
- Threw the red deer from his shoulders;
- And the maiden looked up at him,
- Looked up from her mat of rushes,
- Said with gentle look and accent,
- "You are welcome, Hiawatha!"
- Very spacious was the wigwam,
- Made of deer-skins dressed and whitened,
- With the Gods of the Dacotahs
- Drawn and painted on its curtains,
- And so tall the doorway, hardly
- Hiawatha stooped to enter,
- Hardly touched his eagle-feathers
- As he entered at the doorway.
- Then uprose the Laughing Water,
- From the ground fair Minnehaha,
- Laid aside her mat unfinished,
- Brought forth food and set before them,
- Water brought them from the brooklet,
- Gave them food in earthen vessels,
- Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood,
- Listened while the guest was speaking,
- Listened while her father answered,
- But not once her lips she opened,
- Not a single word she uttered.
- Yes, as in a dream she listened
- To the words of Hiawatha,
- As he talked of old Nokomis,
- Who had nursed him in his childhood,
- As he told of his companions,
- Chibiabos, the musician,
- And the very strong man, Kwasind,
- And of happiness and plenty
- In the land of the Ojibways,
- In the pleasant land and peaceful.
- "After many years of warfare,
- Many years of strife and bloodshed,
- There is peace between the Ojibways
- And the tribe of the Dacotahs."
- Thus continued Hiawatha,
- And then added, speaking slowly,
- "That this peace may last forever,
- And our hands be clasped more closely,
- And our hearts be more united,
- Give me as my wife this maiden,
- Minnehaha, Laughing Water,
- Loveliest of Dacotah women!"
- And the ancient Arrow-maker
- Paused a moment ere he answered,
- Smoked a little while in silence,
- Looked at Hiawatha proudly,
- Fondly looked at Laughing Water,
- And made answer very gravely:
- "Yes, if Minnehaha wishes;
- Let your heart speak, Minnehaha!"
- And the lovely Laughing Water
- Seemed more lovely as she stood there,
- Neither willing nor reluctant,
- As she went to Hiawatha,
- Softly took the seat beside him,
- While she said, and blushed to say it,
- "I will follow you, my husband!"
- This was Hiawatha's wooing!
- Thus it was he won the daughter
- Of the ancient Arrow-maker,
- In the land of the Dacotahs!
- From the wigwam he departed,
- Leading with him Laughing Water;
- Hand in hand they went together,
- Through the woodland and the meadow,
- Left the old man standing lonely
- At the doorway of his wigwam,
- Heard the Falls of Minnehaha
- Calling to them from the distance,
- Crying to them from afar off,
- "Fare thee well, O Minnehaha!"
- And the ancient Arrow-maker
- Turned again unto his labor,
- Sat down by his sunny doorway,
- Murmuring to himself, and saying:
- "Thus it is our daughters leave us,
- Those we love, and those who love us!
- Just when they have learned to help us,
- When we are old and lean upon them,
- Comes a youth with flaunting feathers,
- With his flute of reeds, a stranger
- Wanders piping through the village,
- Beckons to the fairest maiden,
- And she follows where he leads her,
- Leaving all things for the stranger!"
- Pleasant was the journey homeward,
- Through interminable forests,
- Over meadow, over mountain,
- Over river, hill, and hollow.
- Short it seemed to Hiawatha,
- Though they journeyed very slowly,
- Though his pace he checked and slackened
- To the steps of Laughing Water.
- Over wide and rushing rivers
- In his arms he bore the maiden;
- Light he thought her as a feather,
- As the plume upon his head-gear;
- Cleared the tangled pathway for her,
- Bent aside the swaying branches,
- Made at night a lodge of branches,
- And a bed with boughs of hemlock,
- And a fire before the doorway
- With the dry cones of the pine-tree.
- All the travelling winds went with them,
- O'er the meadows, through the forest;
- All the stars of night looked at them,
- Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber;
- From his ambush in the oak-tree
- Peeped the squirrel, Adjidaumo,
- Watched with eager eyes the lovers;
- And the rabbit, the Wabasso,
- Scampered from the path before them,
- Peering, peeping from his burrow,
- Sat erect upon his haunches,
- Watched with curious eyes the lovers.
- Pleasant was the journey homeward!
- All the birds sang loud and sweetly
- Songs of happiness and heart's-ease;
- Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa,
- "Happy are you, Hiawatha,
- Having such a wife to love you!"
- Sang the robin, the Opechee,
- "Happy are you, Laughing Water,
- Having such a noble husband!"
- From the sky the sun benignant
- Looked upon them through the branches,
- Saying to them, "O my children,
- Love is sunshine, hate is shadow,
- Life is checkered shade and sunshine,
- Rule by love, O Hiawatha!"
- From the sky the moon looked at them,
- Filled the lodge with mystic splendors,
- Whispered to them, "O my children,
- Day is restless, night is quiet,
- Man imperious, woman feeble;
- Half is mine, although I follow;
- Rule by patience, Laughing Water!"
- Thus it was they journeyed homeward;
- Thus it was that Hiawatha
- To the lodge of old Nokomis
- Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight,
- Brought the sunshine of his people,
- Minnehaha, Laughing Water,
- Handsomest of all the women
- In the land of the Dacotahs,
- In the land of handsome women.
B A C K | F O R W A R D
|