"Nushka! you shall have a sweetheart, You shall have a handsome husband! "Wagemin, the thief of corn-fields! Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens, And from all the neighboring tree-tops Cawed and croaked the black marauders. "Ugh!" the old men all responded, From their seats beneath the pine-trees! 188 XIV. PICTURE-WRITING. In those days said Hiawatha, - The achievements of the warriors, 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 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, And each figure had a meaning, Each some word or thought suggested. Gitche Manito the Mighty, He, the Master of Life, was painted As an egg, with points projecting To the four winds of the heavens. |