of men, hurrying to obey the summons of Hiawatha.
; All, but the wise anaH hhariself, had been
there fbr; three-days, anxiously awaiting the
arrival of Hiawatha, when: messengers were despatched
after him. They' Tound him- gloomy
and depressed. Some great burthen appeared
to hang on his mind. He told' them that evil
lay in his path, and that he- had a fearful foreboding
of ill fortune. He felt that he was called
to make some great sacrifice,' hut he did not
know what it was. Least of all, did h i think it
was to bé his daughter. Ever careful of* her, he
bade her kindly«tO‘ accompany: him. - Nothing
happened to hinder, or at all interrupt their voyage.
The talismahic white canoe, which held
them, glided silently down 'the deep waters of
the Seneca. Not a paddle wasneeessary to give
it impetus while it pursued the downward course
of the stream till they reached .Sohaheé, or the
point of the lake outlet. At this point Hiawatha
took hia paddle and gave it impetus against the
current, until they entered om. the bright and
level surface of the Onondaga, cradled as this
pure sheet of Water is, among lofty and tar
sweeping hills. When the white canoe of the
venerable chief appeared, a shout of welcome rang
among these hills. The day was calm and serene.
No wind ruffled the lake,, and scarcely a cloud
floated in the sky overhead. But while the wise
man was measuring his steps towards the council
ground, and up an ascent from the water’s edge,
a long and low sound was heard, as if it were
caused by the approach of a violent, rushing
wind. Instantly all eyes were turned upwards,
/#here a «mall and compact mass of cloudy
darkness appeared. - It gatheredsize a rid velocity
as? it approached» and;‘appeared to be directed
inevitably to fall in the midst of the assembly.
Every one fled in consternation but Hiawatha and
his daughter. He stood erect, with ornaments
waying in his frontlcfl.and besought his daughter
Calmly db await the tissue. - ££ For it is impossible,”
said;hèT “ to escape thepower of the Great
Spirit; if he has determined our destruction, we
Cannot, by„ running, fly from it.” She modestly
-assented;, ;and they stood together, while horror
was depfoted in> every other face. , But the force
of the descending body, was like that of a sudden
storm. They had hardly taken the resolution to
halt, when an immense bird, with long distended
swings, came down, with a swoop, and crushed
the daughter to the earth. This gigantic agent
of; the skies came, with itc h force, that the
whole apsemblyffelt the shock, and werp blown
back several rods: The gifl, who was beautiful
in her looks and form, was completely crushed,
and the head, beak and neck of the bird were
buried in the ground- from-the mere force of the
fall. The very semblance ©f a human being
could not be recognised among -the shattered
remains of the daughter; These Were, however,
'collected and buried.
But Hiawatha was inconsolable for his loss.
He grieved sorely, day and night; and wore a