188 XIV. PICTURE-WRITING. In those days said Hiawatha, All the wisdom of the Medas, All the craft of the Wabenos, All the marvellous dreams and visions Of the Jossakeeds, the Prophets ! "Great men die and are forgotten, Wise men speak; their words of wisdom Perish in the ears that hear them, "Face to face we speak together, But we cannot speak when absent, Cannot send our voices from us To the friends that dwell afar off; Cannot send a secret message, But the bearer learns our secret, May pervert it, may betray it, May reveal it unto others." Thus said Hiawatha, walking In the solitary forest, Pondering, musing in the forest, From his pouch he took his colors, Each some word or thought suggested. Gitche Manito the Mighty, He, the Master of Life, was painted To the four winds of the heavens. Was the meaning of this symbol. He the dreadful Spirit of Evil, As Kenabeek, the great serpent. Life and Death he drew as circles, Life was white, but Death was darkened; Man and beast, and fish and reptile, Footprints pointing towards a wigwam Were a sign of invitation, Were a sign of guests assembling; All these things did Hiawatha And he said: "Behold, your grave-posts Have no mark, no sign, nor symbol. Go and paint them all with figures; Each one with its household symbol, So that those who follow after May distinguish them and know them." And they painted on the grave-posts Of the graves yet unforgotten, Each his own ancestral Totem, Each the symbol of his household; |