The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1889-10-04
nv H,ewatba

All your prayers are heard in heaven;
For you pray not like the othcrs,
Not for greater skill in hunting,
NOtfor greater Graft in fishing.
Not for triumph In the battle,
Nor renOwn among the warriors.
But for profit of the people,
For advantage of the nation,
From the master Of life descending,
i, the friend Of man, Mondamin,
Come to warn you und instruct YOU
How by struggle and by labor
You shall gain wliat You have prayed for.
Rise up from your bed of branches,
Rise, oh youth, and wrestle with mo-"
The young warrior rose and grapplcd with
his antagonist. Finally, Mondamin. smil-
ing upon the young warrior. said: ut is
enough; tomorrow l will come again."
And so again on the morrow and the next
day he came. and again they wrestled.
Thrice had Hinwathn failed. Then said
Mondamin. smiling still upon the youth:
Tomorrow. OH my Hinwatha,
10 the last day of our fasting;
| You will conquer and o'ercome me,
Make q bed for mo to lilo in,
Where the rain may fall around me,
| Where the sun may come and warm mo.
Strip these garments, green and yellow.
Strip these nodding plumage from me.
Lay mo in the earth mad make it
Soft and loose and light above me;
Let no hand disturb my 6lumbcr,
Let no weed or worm modest me,
Only come yourself to witch me,
Till I wake and aturt and quicken,
Till I loap into the sunshine"
And so it was. On the next day as the
purple sunshine flonted over the meadows
Mondamin came as before. They wrcstlcd.
but this time Hiawatha conquered and his
| antagonist lay dead before him.
Tcndcrly then did Hiawatlia bury him.
Carefully he stripped from him his green.
and yellow garments: carefully le watched
and watcred and tended the grave of Nom
DAMN, waiting for the time when he would
again leap into tho sunshine, till ut length n
email otsaoN fnnfhnr fr,,n, tho np,tI. .J,nk
slowly upward. Then another and another:
and before the summer ended stood tho
corn in all its beauty. and its shining robes
about it. with its long. soft yellow tressese'
and in rapture Hiawatlla cried aloud: 1T
is Mondamin: yes. the bread of man, Mon
damin."
Thus uns the beautiful legend ofthe birth
of Corn. To the untutorcd Indian Mondamin
was his savior. And 1t is fitting that We
who live in h land mndc blessed and pros
ple to his glory. And tonight we once
again crown him king, once moro place
upon his brow this diadcm OF beauty
wrought by fair n fairy fingers. place lii
his hand the !sccpter OF universal empire.
section Of our land. proclaim that Corn is
King. Yonder Mississippi. Louisiana and
Tennessee take up the glad refrain and
echo. Corn is King!!"' Over there Nebraska
and Dakota join In the chorus and proclaim
that Corn IS King" And here In his own
loved city. in tho capital of his broad do
main. in the corn palace city OF the world.
We claim him as our monarch, IN to this.
his palace. his home. worthy Of him alone,
we welcome you with a welcome that words
cannot express. that our hearts alone can
feel. We welcome you as fellow subjects OF
our sovereign. children Of the empire Of
corn, brothers In the prosperity that he
alone can bring. Welcome! thrice welcomed
to our city and our homes. In the name Of
aud for tho citizens of Sioux CityI bid you
welcome. thrice welcome, to the corn palace
City Of the world.
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