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