, 1856-02-08
The Song Of HIavvatlla,

by HENRY WADSWOkTH LONOfELLOW.
should you ask me, whence these stories?
Whence these legends and traditions,
With the odOrs OF the forest,
With the dew and damp Of meadows,
With the curling smOke Of wigwams
With the running of great rivers,
With their frequent repetitiOns,
And their wild pverberations,
As Of thunder in the mountainsg ...t
1 should answer | should tell you,
From the forests from the prliries,
From the great lakes Of the FortMand,
From the land Of the 0Jbways,
From the land Of the DacOtahs,
From the mountains, meers, and fen-lands,
Where the heron, the Shuh-slmh-gah,
D Feeds among the reeds and rushes, .rt ..
repeat them a. heard them
From the lips Of EaWadaha, s..-
The musician, the sweet singer"
Should you ask where Naw'adaha
Found these songs, 80 wild and waywrad,
Found these legends and traditions,
should answer, should tell you,
"In the birds nests OF the forest,
In the lodges Of the beaver,
In the footprints Of the bison,
In the eyry Of the eaglel -Ht
D :" All ths wild fowl sang them 70 him,
In the mOorlands and the fcn-lands,
In the melancholy marsbesi I'D. rI.T|
Chetowaik, the plover sang them,
Mahng, the loon the wild-gOOso1 WRva, no.
The blue heron, the Shuh-shuhgah,
And the grouse the Mshkodasan 100
If still further you should ask me, %.
Saying: Who was Nawadahag
Tell US Of this Nawadahn,y g t I'D
should answer your inquiries
6traitway in such words as follow;
H " In the vale Of TaEasentha, .........
In the green and silent valley,
By the pleasant water-eourses, Ir, .8l .t.
Dwelt the singer Nawadaha.
Round about the Indian village d. 8ll. .r
Spread the meadows and the eorn1ields,
And beyond them stood the foref, ''
k3tOod tie groves Of thging pine trees; Z -r
. Green In Summer, white Id Winter,
Ever sighlng, ever singing. Gi g.
"And the pleasant water course, ..--
You could trace them through the valley,
by the mshmg IN the Sprngtime, '..4
BY the alders in the summer,
BY the white fog IN the AutnmnS aiirI
BY the black line in the Winter,
And beside them dwelt the singer, fHh.n
In the Vale Of Tawasentha, .....n ......
In the green and silent valley,
There he sang OF HAwatha, or e
Sang the song Of Hiawatha,
Sang his wondrous birth and being,
How he prayed and how be tasted,
How he lived, and t0lled, and suffered
That the tribes of men might prosper, aa.
That he might advance his peopleV
. iYe who love the haunts OF Nature,
Love the sunshine Of the meadow,
Love the shadow Of the forest,
Love the wind among the branches,
And the iain-shower and the snow-storm,
.rnAnd the gushing Of great rivers vHet
o. Through their palssade OF pine-trees,
p 20 And the thunder Of the mountains,
Whose innumerable echoes !. .f,
FLAP like eagles In their eyries;-
Listen TO those wild traditions, si l.|i4..
To this song Of Hiawatbal
Ye who love nations legends, '|
Love the ballads Of the people,
That like voices from afar on
Call 10 Us 70 pause and listen,
Speak in tones so plain and ehildike,
Scarcely can the ear distinguish
Whether they are sung or spokeni-
Listen 10 this Indian legend,
e To this song Of Hiawatha- !. .-... f......
Ye whose hearts are fresh and simple,
B Who have faith in God and Nature, U'
Who believe that in all ages
Every hamah heart Is human,
That In even savage bosoms r. .
There are longlngs, yearnings, strivings,
For the good they comprehend not;
That the feeble hands and helpless
Cropping blndy In the darkness,
Touch Gods right hand in that darkness
And are lifted up and strengthened
Liaen TO this simple story, ~
,e'r To this song Of Hiawatha,
IYe who something's, in your rambles
D. Through the green lanes Of the country,
Where the tangled barbeny bushes
Hang their tltfts Of crimson berries
Over stone wells gray and mosses, '
Pause by some. neglected graveyard, pea.
For q while to muse and ponder
0na halfeifhced Inscription, 600 ii'
Written with little skill Of songcraft,
Homey porases' but each letter
Eull Of hope, but yet Of heartbreak
Full Of all the tender pathos OF
or the Here and the Hereafter-- t.r.
Stay and read this rude inscription,
Read this song OF Hiawatha.