See how fares it with my father,
At the doorways of the WestWind, At the portals of the Sunset!"
From his lodge went Hiawatha, Dressed for travel, armed for hunting; Dressed in deerskin shirt and leggings,
170
Richly wrought with quills and wampum; On his head his eagle-feathers,
Round his waist his belt of wampum, In his hand his bow of ash-wood, Strung with sinews of the reindeer;
In his quiver oaken arrows,
Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers; With his mittens, Minjekahwun,
With his moccasins enchanted. Warning said the old Nokomis, "Go not forth, O Hiawatha!
To the kingdom of the WestWind, To the realms of Mudjekeewis,
Lest he harm you with his magic, Lest he kill you with his cunning!" But the fearless Hiawatha
Heeded not her woman's warning; Forth he strode into the forest,
At each stride a mile he measured; Lurid seemed the sky above him, Lurid seemed the earth beneath him, Hot and close the air around him, Filled with smoke and fiery vapors, As of burning woods and prairies, For his heart was hot within him, Like a living coal his heart was.
So he journeyed westward, westward,
Left the fleetest deer behind him, Left the antelope and bison; Crossed the rushing Esconaba, Crossed the mighty Mississippi,
Passed the Mountains of the Prairie, Passed the land of Crows and Foxes, Passed the dwellings of the Blackfeet, Came unto the Rocky Mountains,
To the kingdom of the WestWind, Where upon the gusty summits
Sat the ancient Mudjekeewis, Ruler of the winds of heaven. Filled with awe was Hiawatha At the aspect of his father.
On the air about him wildly
Tossed and streamed his cloudy tresses, Gleamed like drifting snow his tresses, Glared like Ishkoodah, the comet,
Like the star with fiery tresses. Filled with joy was Mudjekeewis When he looked on Hiawatha, Saw his youth rise up before him In the face of Hiawatha,
Saw the beauty of Wenonah
From the grave rise up before him. "Welcome!" said he, "Hiawatha,
To the kingdom of the WestWind! Long have I been waiting for you! Youth is lovely, age is lonely,
Youth is fiery, age is frosty;
You bring back the days departed,
171
You bring back my youth of passion, And the beautiful Wenonah!"
Many days they talked together, Questioned, listened, waited, answered; Much the mighty Mudjekeewis
Boasted of his ancient prowess, Of his perilous adventures,
His indomitable courage, His invulnerable body. Patiently sat Hiawatha,
Listening to his father's boasting; With a smile he sat and listened, Uttered neither threat nor menace, Neither word nor look betrayed him, But his heart was hot within him, Like a living coal his heart was.
Then he said, "O Mudjekeewis,
Is there nothing that can harm you? Nothing that you are afraid of ?" And the mighty Mudjekeewis, Grand and gracious in his boasting,
Answered, saying, "There is nothing, Nothing but the black rock yonder, Nothing but the fatal Wawbeek!" And he looked at Hiawatha
With a wise look and benignant, With a countenance paternal, Looked with pride upon the beauty Of his tall and graceful figure, Saying, "O my Hiawatha!
Is there anything can harm you? Anything you are afraid of ?"
But the wary Hiawatha Paused awhile, as if uncertain, Held his peace, as if resolving,
And then answered, "There is nothing, Nothing but the bulrush yonder, Nothing but the great Apukwa!"
And as Mudjekeewis, rising,
Stretched his hand to pluck the bulrush, Hiawatha cried in terror,
Cried in well-dissembled terror, "Kago! kago! do not touch it!" "Ah, kaween!" said Mudjekeewis, "No indeed, I will not touch it!"
Then they talked of other matters; First of Hiawatha's brothers,
First of Wabun, of the East-Wind, Of the South-Wind, Shawondasee, Of the North, Kabibonokka;
Then of Hiawatha's mother, Of the beautiful Wenonah,
Of her birth upon the meadow, Of her death, as old Nokomis Had remembered and related. And he cried, "O Mudjekeewis,
It was you who killed Wenonah, Took her young life and her beauty,
172
Broke the Lily of the Prairie, Trampled it beneath your footsteps; You confess it! you confess it!"
And the mighty Mudjekeewis Tossed upon the wind his tresses, Bowed his hoary head in anguish, With a silent nod assented.
Then up started Hiawatha,
And with threatening look and gesture
Laid his hand upon the black rock, On the fatal Wawbeek laid it,
With his mittens, Minjekahwun, Rent the jutting crag asunder,
Smote and crushed it into fragments, Hurled them madly at his father,
The remorseful Mudjekeewis,
For his heart was hot within him, Like a living coal his heart was. But the ruler of the WestWind
Blew the fragments backward from him, With the breathing of his nostrils,
With the tempest of his anger, Blew them back at his assailant; Seized the bulrush, the Apukwa, Dragged it with its roots and fibres From the margin of the meadow, From its ooze the giant bulrush; Long and loud laughed Hiawatha! Then began the deadly conflict,
Hand to hand among the mountains; From his eyry screamed the eagle, The Keneu, the great war-eagle,
Sat upon the crags around them, Wheeling flapped his wings above them. Like a tall tree in the tempest
Bent and lashed the giant bulrush; And in masses huge and heavy Crashing fell the fatal Wawbeek;
Till the earth shook with the tumult
And confusion of the battle,
And the air was full of shoutings, And the thunder of the mountains, Starting, answered, "Baim-wawa!" Back retreated Mudjekeewis,
Rushing westward o'er the mountains, Stumbling westward down the mountains, Three whole days retreated fighting,
Still pursued by Hiawatha
To the doorways of the WestWind, To the portals of the Sunset,
To the earth's remotest border, Where into the empty spaces Sinks the sun, as a flamingo Drops into her nest at nightfall, In the melancholy marshes.
"Hold!" at length cried Mudjekeewis, "Hold, my son, my Hiawatha!
'T is impossible to kill me,
173
For you cannot kill the immortal. I have put you to this trial,
But to know and prove your courage; Now receive the prize of valor!
"Go back to your home and people, Live among them, toil among them, Cleanse the earth from all that harms it, Clear the fishing-grounds and rivers, Slay all monsters and magicians,
All the Wendigoes, the giants,
All the serpents, the Kenabeeks, As I slew the Mishe-Mokwa,
Slew the Great Bear of the mountains. "And at last when Death draws near you, When the awful eyes of Pauguk
Glare upon you in the darkness,
I will share my kingdom with you, Ruler shall you be thenceforward
Of the Northwest-Wind,