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<div style="background:#fff;border:#bbb dashed 1px;padding:5px"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none"><div style="margin:10px 0"><strong>The Song of Hiawatha X: Hiawatha's Wooing</strong></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">'As unto the bow the cord is,<br>So unto the man is woman,<br>Though she bends him, she obeys him,<br>Though she draws him, yet she follows,<br>Useless each without the other!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Thus the youthful Hiawatha<br>Said within himself and pondered,<br>Much perplexed by various feelings,<br>Listless, longing, hoping, fearing,<br>Dreaming still of Minnehaha,<br>Of the lovely Laughing Water,<br>In the land of the Dacotahs.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">'Wed a maiden of your people,'<br>Warning said the old Nokomis;<br>'Go not eastward, go not westward,<br>For a stranger, whom we know not!<br>Like a fire upon the hearth-stone<br>Is a neighbor's homely daughter,<br>Like the starlight or the moonlight<br>Is the handsomest of strangers!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Thus dissuading spake Nokomis,<br>And my Hiawatha answered<br>Only this: 'Dear old Nokomis,<br>Very pleasant is the firelight,<br>But I like the starlight better,<br>Better do I like the moonlight!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Gravely then said old Nokomis:<br>'Bring not here an idle maiden,<br>Bring not here a useless woman,<br>Hands unskilful, feet unwilling;<br>Bring a wife with nimble fingers,<br>Heart and hand that move together,<br>Feet that run on willing errands!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Smiling answered Hiawatha:<br>'In the land of the Dacotahs<br>Lives the Arrow-maker's daughter,<br>Minnehaha, Laughing Water,<br>Handsomest of all the women.<br>I will bring her to your wigwam,<br>She shall run upon your errands,<br>Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight,<br>Be the sunlight of my people!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Still dissuading said Nokomis:<br>'Bring not to my lodge a stranger<br>From the land of the Dacotahs!<br>Very fierce are the Dacotahs,<br>Often is there war between us,<br>There are feuds yet unforgotten,<br>Wounds that ache and still may open!</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Laughing answered Hiawatha:<br>'For that reason, if no other,<br>Would I wed the fair Dacotah,<br>That our tribes might be united,<br>That old feuds might be forgotten,<br>And old wounds be healed forever!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Thus departed Hiawatha<br>To the land of the Dacotahs,<br>To the land of handsome women;<br>Striding over moor and meadow,<br>Through interminable forests,<br>Through uninterrupted silence.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">With his moccasins of magic,<br>At each stride a mile he measured;<br>Yet the way seemed long before him,<br>And his heart outran his footsteps;<br>And he journeyed without resting,<br>Till he heard the cataract's laughter,<br>Heard the Falls of Minnehaha<br>Calling to him through the silence.<br>'Pleasant is the sound!' he murmured,<br>'Pleasant is the voice that calls me!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">On the outskirts of the forests,<br>'Twixt the shadow and the sunshine,<br>Herds of fallow deer were feeding,<br>But they saw not Hiawatha;<br>To his bow be whispered, 'Fail not!'<br>To his arrow whispered, 'Swerve not!'<br>Sent it singing on its errand,<br>To the red heart of the roebuck;<br>Threw the deer across his shoulder,<br>And sped forward without pausing.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">At the doorway of his wigwam<br>Sat his ancient Arrow-maker,<br>In the land of the Dacotahs,<br>Making arrow-heads of jasper,<br>Arrow-heads of chalcedony.<br>At his side, in all her beauty,<br>Sat the lovely Minnehaha,<br>Sat his daughter, Laughing Water,<br>Plaiting mats of flags and rushes;<br>Of the past the old man's thoughts were,<br>And the maiden's of the future.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">He was thinking, as he sat there,<br>Of the days when with such arrows<br>He had struck the deer and bison,<br>On the Muskoday, the meadow;<br>Shot the wild goose, flying southward,<br>On the wing, the clamorous Wawa;<br>Thinking of the great war-parties,<br>How they came to buy his arrows,<br>Could not fight without his arrows.<br>Ah, no more such noble warriors<br>Could be found on earth as they were!<br>Now the men were all like women,<br>Only used their tongues for weapons!</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">She was thinking of a hunter,<br>From another tribe and country,<br>Young and tall and very handsome,<br>Who one morning, in the Spring-time,<br>Came to buy her father's arrows,<br>Lingered long about the doorway,<br>Sat and rested in the wigwam,<br>Looking back as he departed.<br>She had heard her father praise him,<br>Praise his courage and his wisdom;<br>Would he come again for arrows<br>To the Falls of Minnehaha?<br>On the mat her hands lay idle,<br>And her eyes were very dreamy.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Through their thoughts they heard a footstep,<br>Heard a rustling in the branches,<br>And with glowing cheek and forehead,<br>With the deer upon his shoulders,<br>Suddenly from out the woodlands<br>Hiawatha stood before them.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Straight the ancient Arrow-maker<br>Looked up gravely from his labor,<br>Laid aside the unfinished arrow,<br>Bade him enter at the doorway,<br>Saying, as he rose to meet him,<br>'Hiawatha, you are welcome!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">At the feet of Laughing Water<br>Hiawatha laid his burden,<br>Threw the red deer from his shoulders;<br>And the maiden looked up at him,<br>Looked up from her mat of rushes,<br>Said with gentle look and accent,<br>'You are welcome, Hiawatha!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Very spacious was the wigwam,<br>Made of deer-skins dressed and whitened,<br>With the Gods of the Dacotahs<br>Drawn and painted on its curtains,<br>And so tall the doorway, hardly<br>Hiawatha stooped to enter,<br>Hardly touched his eagle-feathers<br>As he entered at the doorway.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Then uprose the Laughing Water,<br>From the ground fair Minnehaha,<br>Laid aside her mat unfinished,<br>Brought forth food and set before them,<br>Water brought them from the brooklet,<br>Gave them food in earthen vessels,<br>Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood,<br>Listened while the guest was speaking,<br>Listened while her father answered,<br>But not once her lips she opened,<br>Not a single word she uttered.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Yes, as in a dream she listened<br>To the words of Hiawatha,<br>As he talked of old Nokomis,<br>Who had nursed him in his childhood,<br>As he told of his companions,<br>Chibiabos, the musician,<br>And the very strong man, Kwasind,<br>And of happiness and plenty<br>In the land of the Ojibways,<br>In the pleasant land and peaceful.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">'After many years of warfare,<br>Many years of strife and bloodshed,<br>There is peace between the Ojibways<br>And the tribe of the Dacotahs.'<br>Thus continued Hiawatha,<br>And then added, speaking slowly,<br>'That this peace may last forever,<br>And our hands be clasped more closely,<br>And our hearts be more united,<br>Give me as my wife this maiden,<br>Minnehaha, Laughing Water,<br>Loveliest of Dacotah women!</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">And the ancient Arrow-maker<br>Paused a moment ere he answered,<br>Smoked a little while in silence,<br>Looked at Hiawatha proudly,<br>Fondly looked at Laughing Water,<br>And made answer very gravely:<br>'Yes, if Minnehaha wishes;<br>Let your heart speak, Minnehaha!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">And the lovely Laughing Water<br>Seemed more lovely as she stood there,<br>Neither willing nor reluctant,<br>As she went to Hiawatha,<br>Softly took the seat beside him,<br>While she said, and blushed to say it,<br>'I will follow you, my husband!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">This was Hiawatha's wooing!<br>Thus it was he won the daughter<br>Of the ancient Arrow-maker,<br>In the land of the Dacotahs!</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">From the wigwam he departed,<br>Leading with him Laughing Water;<br>Hand in hand they went together,<br>Through the woodland and the meadow,<br>Left the old man standing lonely<br>At the doorway of his wigwam,<br>Heard the Falls of Minnehaha<br>Calling to them from the distance,<br>Crying to them from afar off,<br>'Fare thee well, O Minnehaha!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">And the ancient Arrow-maker<br>Turned again unto his labor,<br>Sat down by his sunny doorway,<br>Murmuring to himself, and saying:<br>'Thus it is our daughters leave us,<br>Those we love, and those who love us!<br>Just when they have learned to help us,<br>When we are old and lean upon them,<br>Comes a youth with flaunting feathers,<br>With his flute of reeds, a stranger<br>Wanders piping through the village,<br>Beckons to the fairest maiden,<br>And she follows where he leads her,<br>Leaving all things for the stranger!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Pleasant was the journey homeward,<br>Through interminable forests,<br>Over meadow, over mountain,<br>Over river, hill, and hollow.<br>Short it seemed to Hiawatha,<br>Though they journeyed very slowly,<br>Though his pace he checked and slackened<br>To the steps of Laughing Water.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Over wide and rushing rivers<br>In his arms he bore the maiden;<br>Light he thought her as a feather,<br>As the plume upon his head-gear;<br>Cleared the tangled pathway for her,<br>Bent aside the swaying branches,<br>Made at night a lodge of branches,<br>And a bed with boughs of hemlock,<br>And a fire before the doorway<br>With the dry cones of the pine-tree.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">All the travelling winds went with them,<br>O'er the meadows, through the forest;<br>All the stars of night looked at them,<br>Watched with sleepless eyes their slumber;<br>From his ambush in the oak-tree<br>Peeped the squirrel, Adjidaumo,<br>Watched with eager eyes the lovers;<br>And the rabbit, the Wabasso,<br>Scampered from the path before them,<br>Peering, peeping from his burrow,<br>Sat erect upon his haunches,<br>Watched with curious eyes the lovers.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Pleasant was the journey homeward!<br>All the birds sang loud and sweetly<br>Songs of happiness and heart's-ease;<br>Sang the bluebird, the Owaissa,<br>'Happy are you, Hiawatha,<br>Having such a wife to love you!'<br>Sang the robin, the Opechee,<br>'Happy are you, Laughing Water,<br>Having such a noble husband!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">From the sky the sun benignant<br>Looked upon them through the branches,<br>Saying to them, 'O my children,<br>Love is sunshine, hate is shadow,<br>Life is checkered shade and sunshine,<br>Rule by love, O Hiawatha!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">From the sky the moon looked at them,<br>Filled the lodge with mystic splendors,<br>Whispered to them, 'O my children,<br>Day is restless, night is quiet,<br>Man imperious, woman feeble;<br>Half is mine, although I follow;<br>Rule by patience, Laughing Water!'</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><a href="http://www.citatepedia.com/comments.php?id=409780" style="color:#000;text-decoration:none">Thus it was they journeyed homeward;<br>Thus it was that Hiawatha<br>To the lodge of old Nokomis<br>Brought the moonlight, starlight, firelight,<br>Brought the sunshine of his people,<br>Minnehaha, Laughing Water,<br>Handsomest of all the women<br>In the land of the Dacotahs,<br>In the land of handsome women.</a></div><div style="margin:10px 0"><br /></a><a href="http://poems.citatepedia.com/">poem</a> by <strong><a rel="author" href="http://authors.citatepedia.com/by.php?a=Henry+Wadsworth+Longfellow">Henry Wadsworth Longfellow</a></strong></div>

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