With his plumes and tufts of swan's down,

Till he reached the farthest wigwam,

Reached the lodge of Hiawatha.

Silent was it and deserted;

No one met him at the doorway,
No one came to bid him welcome ;
But the birds were singing round it,
In and out and round the doorway,
Hopping, singing, fluttering, feeding,
And aloft upon the ridge-pole
Kahgahgee, the King of Ravens,
Sat with fiery eyes, and, screaming,
Flapped his wings at Pau-Puk-Keewis.

"All are gone! the lodge is empty!"
Thus it was spake Pau-Puk-Keewis,
In his heart resolving mischief;-
"Gone is wary Hiawatha,

Gone the silly Laughing Water,
Gone Nokomis, the old woman,
And the lodge is left unguarded!"

By the neck he seized the raven,
Whirled it round him like a rattle,

Like a medicine-pouch he shook it,
Strangled Kahgahgee, the raven,
From the ridge-pole of the wigwam
Left its lifeless body hanging,

As an insult to its master,

As a taunt to Hiawatha.

With a stealthy step he entered,

Round the lodge in wild disorder

Threw the household things about him,

Piled together in confusion

Bowls of wood and earthen kettles,

Robes of buffalo and beaver,

Skins of otter, lynx, and ermine,

As an insult to Nokomis,

As a taunt to Minnehaha.

Then departed Pau-Puk-Keewis,

Whistling, singing through the forest, Whistling gayly to the squirrels,

Who from hollow boughs above him
Dropped their acorn-shells upon him,
Singing gayly to the wood-birds,

Who from out the leafy darkness
Answered with a song as merry.

Then he climbed the rocky headlands,

Looking o'er the Gitche Gumee,
Perched himself upon their summit,
Waiting full of mirth and mischief

The return of Hiawatha.

Stretched upon his back he lay there; Far below him plashed the waters, Plashed and washed the dreamy waters;

Far above him swam the heavens,

Swam the dizzy, dreamy heavens ;

Round him hovered, fluttered, rustled,
Hiawatha's mountain chickens,

Flock-wise swept and wheeled about him,
Almost brushed him with their pinions.

And he killed them as he lay there,

Slaughtered them by tens and twenties,
Threw their bodies down the headland,
Threw them on the beach below him,
Till at length Kayoshk, the sea-gull,
Perched upon a crag above them,
Shouted: "It is Pau-Puk-Keewis!
He is slaying us by hundreds!
Send a message to our brother,
Tidings send to Hiawatha!"

224

XVII.

THE HUNTING OF PAU-PUK-KEEWIS.

FULL of wrath was Hiawatha

When he came into the village,
Found the people in confusion,
Heard of all the misdemeanors,

All the malice and the mischief,

Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis.

Hard his breath came through his nostrils, Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered Words of anger and resentment, Hot and humming, like a hornet. "I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis, Slay this mischief-maker!" said he.