Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature :: :: University of Virginia Library

Ouâbi : or the virtues of nature

an Indian tale in four cantos

Morton, Sarah Wentworth (1759-1846)

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SHE.

See a graceful form arise!
Now it fills my ravish'd eyes,
Brighter than the morning star,
'Tis Ouâbi, fam'd in war:
Close before my bosom spread,
O'er thy presence casts a shade,
Full on him these eyes recline,
And his person shuts out thine.
Let us to his home retire,
Where he lights the social fire:
Do not thro the desert roam,
Find with me his gen'rous home;
There the Illinois obey
Great Ouâbi's chosen sway.

The Indian women of America are very chaste after marriage, and if any person makes love to them, they answer, “The Friend that is before my eyes, prevents my seeing you.”