Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1855-12-01
POETRY.
THE SONG OF HIAwATHA.


Sat an old man, (1) sad and lonely
White his hair was as n snow drift;
Dull and low his fire was burning,
And the old man shook and trembled,
Folded in his Waubewyon, (2)
In his tattered dwhite-skin-wrapper.
Hearing nothing but the tempest
As Il roared along the forest,
Seeing nothing but the snow-storm,
As il whirled and hissed and drifted.
All the Goals were white with ashes,
And the FIRE was slowly dying.
As young man (3) walking lightly,
AT the open doorway entered.
Red with blood Of youth his checks were,
Soft his eyes, as stars in Spring-time,
Bound his forehead was with grasses;
Bound and plumed with scented grasses;
On his lips smile Of beauty,
Filling all the lodge with sunshine,
In his hand bunch Of blossoms
Filling all the lodge with sweetness.
"Ah, my son!'' exclaimed the old man,
"Happy are my eyes to see you.
Sit here on the mat beside me,
Sit here by the dying embers,
Let us pass the night together.
Tell me OF your strange adventures,
or the lands where you have travelledi
will tell you Of my prowess,
OF my many deeds Of Wonder
Very old and strangely fashioned
Made Of rod-stone was the pipe-head,
And the stem a reed with feathers;
Filled the pipe with bark Of willow,
Placed burning coal upon it,
Gave It to his guest, the stranger,
And began to speak in this wise:-
"When blow my breath about me,
When breathe upon the landscape,
Motionless are all the rivers,
Hard as stone becomes the waterl"
And the young man answered, smiling
"When blow my breath about me,
When breathe upon the landscape,
Flowers spring up DER al the meadows,
Singing. onward rush ih- sivers!'
'When shake my hoary tresses,''
Said the old man, darkly frowning,
"All the land with snow is covered;
All the leaves from all the branches
Fall and fade and die and wither,
For breathe, and 10! they are not.
From the waters and the marshes
Rise the wild goose and the heron,
Fly away to distant regions,
For speak, and loi they are not
And where'er my footsteps wander,
All the wild beasts OF the forest
Hide themselves in holes and caverns,
And the earth becomes fintstone"
"when | shake my flowing ringlets,"
Said the young man, softly laughing,
"Showers Of rain fall warm and welcome,
Plants lift up their heads rejoicing,
Back unto their lakes and marshes
Come the wild goose and the heron,
Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow,
Sing the blue bird and the robin.
And where'er my footsteps wander.
All the meadows wave with blossoms,
All the woodlands ring with music,
All the trees are dark with foliager'
While they spake the night departed,
From the distant realms of Wabun, az
From his shining lodge of silver.
Like a warrior rObed and painted,
Game the sun, and said. "Behold mel
Gheezis, the great sun, behold mel'
Then the old mans tongue was speechless,
And the air grew warm and pleasant,
And upon the wigwam sweetly
Sang the blue-bird and the robin,
And the stream began to murmur,
And scent of growing grasses
Through the lodge was gently waited.
And Segwun, (5) the youthful stranger,
More distinctly in the daylight
Saw the icy face before him;
II was Peboan, the Winterl
From his eyes the tears we're flowing,
As from melting lakes the streamlets,
And his body shrunk and dwindled
As the shouting sun assembled
Till into the air it faded,
Till into the ground it vanished,
And the young man saw before him,
On the hearth-stone Of the wigwam,
Where the fire had smoked and smouldered,
Saw the earliest flower of Spring-time,
Saw the Beauty Of the Spring-time,
Saw the Miskodeed (6) in blossom.
Thus it was that in the Northland
After that unheard-of coldness,
That intolerable Winter,
Came the spring with all its splendor,
All its birds and all its blossoms.
All its flowers and leaves and grasses.
Sailing on the wind to northward,
Flying in great fiocks like arrows,
Like huge arrows shot from heaven,
Passed the swan, the Mahnahbezee,
Speaks almost as man speaks;
And in long lines waving, bending
Like bow-string snapped asunder,
The white goose. the Waw-be-wawa;
And in pairs, or sngly flying,
Mahng the loon, with dangerous pinions,
The blue heron, the Shuh- shuh-gah,
And the growse, the Mushkodasa-
In the thickets and the meadows
Piped the blue-bird, the Owaissa,
On the summit Of the lodges
Sang the Opechee, the robin,
In the covert of the pine trees
Cooed the 0memee, the Pigeon,
And the sorrowing Hiawatha,
Speechless in his infinite sorrow,
Heard their voices calling to him,
Went forth from his gloomy doorway,
Stood and gazed into the Heaven,
Gazed upon the earth and waters.
From his wandering far to eastward,
From the regions of the morning,
From the shining land Of wabun,
Homeward now rctaircl lagoo,
The great traveller, t4s great boaster,
Full OF new and strange adventures,
Marvels many and many wonders.
And the people of the village
Listened to him as he told them
or his marvellous adventures,
Laughing answered him in this wise:--
"Ughl it is indeed Iagool
No one else beholds such wonders"
He had seen, he had said, q water
Bigger than the Big Sea-Water,
Broader than the Gitche Ounce,
Bitter so that none could drink i'll
AT each other looked the warriors,
Looked the women at each other,
Smiled and said, at cannot be sol'
Kaw!' ~ they said, sit cannot be so!'
O'er it, said he, o'er this water
Came great canoe with pinions,
A canoe with wings came flying,
Bigger than grove Of pine trees,
Taller than the tallest tree-tops!
And the old men and the women
Looked and Uttered at each other,
"Kaw!" they said, Eve don't believe itl''
From its mouth, he said, to greet him,