Thrice they wrestled there together
In the glory of the sunset,
Till the darkness fell around them, Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, From her nest among the pine-trees, Uttered her loud cry of famine,
And Mondamin paused to listen. Tall and beautiful he stood there, In his garments green and yellow; To and fro his plumes above him,
Waved and nodded with his breathing,
177
And the sweat of the encounter Stood like drops of dew upon him. And he cried, "O Hiawatha!
Bravely have you wrestled with me, Thrice have wrestled stoutly with me, And the Master of Life, who sees us, He will give to you the triumph!"
Then he smiled, and said: "Tomorrow
Is the last day of your conflict,
Is the last day of your fasting.
You will conquer and o'ercome me; Make a bed for me to lie in,
Where the rain may fall upon me,
Where the sun may come and warm me; Strip these garments, green and yellow, Strip this nodding plumage from me,
Lay me in the earth, and make it Soft and loose and light above me. "Let no hand disturb my slumber, Let no weed nor worm molest me, Let not Kahgahgee, the raven, Come to haunt me and molest me, Only come yourself to watch me, Till I wake, and start, and quicken, Till I leap into the sunshine."
And thus saying, he departed; Peacefully slept Hiawatha,
But he heard the Wawonaissa,
Heard the whippoorwill complaining, Perched upon his lonely wigwam; Heard the rushing Sebowisha,
Heard the rivulet rippling near him, Talking to the darksome forest; Heard the sighing of the branches, As they lifted and subsided
At the passing of the night-wind, Heard them, as one hears in slumber Far-off murmurs, dreamy whispers: Peacefully slept Hiawatha.
On the morrow came Nokomis, On the seventh day of his fasting, Came with food for Hiawatha, Came imploring and bewailing,
Lest his hunger should o'ercome him, Lest his fasting should be fatal.
But he tasted not, and touched not, Only said to her, "Nokomis,
Wait until the sun is setting,
Till the darkness falls around us, Till the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, Crying from the desolate marshes, Tells us that the day is ended." Homeward weeping went Nokomis, Sorrowing for her Hiawatha,
Fearing lest his strength should fail him, Lest his fasting should be fatal.
He meanwhile sat weary waiting
For the coming of Mondamin,
178
Till the shadows, pointing eastward,
Lengthened over field and forest,
Till the sun dropped from the heaven, Floating on the waters westward,
As a red leaf in the Autumn Falls and floats upon the water, Falls and sinks into its bosom.
And behold! the young Mondamin, With his soft and shining tresses, With his garments green and yellow, With his long and glossy plumage, Stood and beckoned at the doorway. And as one in slumber walking,
Pale and haggard, but undaunted, From the wigwam Hiawatha
Came and wrestled with Mondamin. Round about him spun the landscape, Sky and forest reeled together,
And his strong heart leaped within him, As the sturgeon leaps and struggles
In a net to break its meshes. Like a ring of fire around him Blazed and flared the red horizon,
And a hundred suns seemed looking At the combat of the wrestlers. Suddenly upon the greensward
All alone stood Hiawatha, Panting with his wild exertion, Palpitating with the struggle;
And before him breathless, lifeless, Lay the youth, with hair dishevelled, Plumage torn, and garments tattered, Dead he lay there in the sunset.
And victorious Hiawatha
Made the grave as he commanded, Stripped the garments from Mondamin, Stripped his tattered plumage from him, Laid him in the earth, and made it
Soft and loose and light above him; And the heron, the Shuh-shuh-gah, From the melancholy moorlands, Gave a cry of lamentation,
Gave a cry of pain and anguish! Homeward then went Hiawatha To the lodge of old Nokomis, And the seven days of his fasting
Were accomplished and completed. But the place was not forgotten Where he wrestled with Mondamin; Nor forgotten nor neglected
Was the grave where lay Mondamin, Sleeping in the rain and sunshine,
Where his scattered plumes and garments
Faded in the rain and sunshine. Day by day did Hiawatha
Go to wait and watch beside it; Kept the dark mould soft above it, Kept it clean from weeds and insects,
179
Drove away, with scoffs and shoutings, Kahgahgee, the king of ravens.
Till at length a small green feather From the earth shot slowly upward, Then another and another,
And before the Summer ended Stood the maize in all its beauty, With its shining robes about it, And its long, soft, yellow tresses; And in rapture Hiawatha
Cried aloud, "It is Mondamin!
Yes, the friend of man, Mondamin!" Then he called to old Nokomis
And Iagoo, the great boaster,
Showed them where the maize was growing, Told them of his wondrous vision,
Of his wrestling and his triumph, Of this new gift to the nations, Which should be their food forever. And still later, when the Autumn
Changed the long, green leaves to yellow, And the soft and juicy kernels
Grew like wampum hard and yellow, Then the ripened ears he gathered,
Stripped the withered husks from off them, As he once had stripped the wrestler,
Gave the first Feast of Mondamin, And made known unto the people This new gift of the Great Spirit. VI
HIAWATHA'S FRIENDS
Two good friends had Hiawatha, Singled out from all the others, Bound to him in closest union,
And to whom he gave the right hand Of his heart, in joy and sorrow; Chibiabos, the musician,
And the very strong man, Kwasind. Straight between them ran the pathway, Never grew the grass upon it;
Singing birds, that utter falsehoods, Story-tellers, mischief-makers, Found no eager ear to listen,
Could not breed ill-will between them, For they kept each other's counsel, Spake with naked hearts together, Pondering much and much contriving How the tribes of men might prosper. Most beloved by Hiawatha
Was the gentle Chibiabos,
He the best of all musicians, He the sweetest of all singers. Beautiful and childlike was he, Brave as man is, soft as woman, Pliant as a wand of willow, Stately as a deer with antlers.
180
When he sang, the village listened; All the warriors gathered round him, All the women came to hear him; Now he stirred their souls to passion, Now he melted them to pity.
From the hollow reeds he fashioned
Flutes so musical and mellow, That the brook, the Sebowisha, Ceased to murmur in the woodland,
That the wood-birds ceased from singing, And the squirrel, Adjidaumo,
Ceased his chatter in the oak-tree, And the rabbit, the Wabasso,
Sat upright to look and listen. Yes, the brook, the Sebowisha, Pausing, said, "O Chibiabos, Teach my waves to flow in music, Softly as