University of Virginia Library

3. CHAPTER III.

The party encamped about twenty miles from the village.
The women plant the poles of their teepees firmly
in the ground and cover them with a buffalo skin. A fire
is soon made in the centre and the corn put on to boil.
Their bread is kneaded and put in the ashes to bake, but
flour is not very plenty among them.

The next day parties were out in every direction; tracks
of deer were seen in the snow, and the hunters followed
them up. The beautiful animal flies in terror from the death
which comes surer and swifter than her own light footsteps.

The hunter's knife is soon upon her, and while warmth and
even life are left, the skin is drawn off.

After the fatigues of the day comes the long and pleasant
evening. A bright fire burned in the wigwam of the
chief, and many of the Indians were smoking around it, but
Wenona was sad, and she took but little part in the laughter
and merriment of the others.

Red Cloud boasted of his bravery and his deeds of valor;
even the old men listened to him with respect, for they
knew that his name was a terror to his enemies. But
Wenona turned from him! she hated to hear the sound of
his voice.

The old men talked of the mighty giant of the Dahcotahs,
he who needed not to take his gun to kill the game
he wanted; the glance of his eye would strike with death
the deer, the buffalo, or even the bear.

The song, the jest, the legend, by turns occupied them
until they separated to sleep. But as the warriors stepped
into the open air, why does the light of the moon fall upon
faces pale with terror? “See!” said the chief, “how flash
the mysterious lights! there is danger near, some dreadful
calamity is threatening us.”

“We will shoot at them,” said Red Cloud; “we will
destroy their power.” And the Indians discharged their
guns in quick succession towards the northern horizon,
which was brilliantly illuminated with the Aurora Borealis;
thus hoping to ward off coming danger.

The brother and sister were left alone at the door of the
teepee. The stern warrior's looks expressed superstitious
terror, while the maiden's face was calm and fearless.
“Do you not fear the power of the woman who sits in the

north, Wenona? she shows those flashes of light to tell us
of coming evil.”

“What should I fear,” said Wenona; “I, who will soon
join my mother, my father, my sisters, in the land of spirits?
Listen to my words, my brother: there are but two of
us; strife and disease have laid low the brave, the good,
the beautiful; we are the last of our family; you will soon
be alone.

“Before the leaves fell from the trees, as I sat on the banks
of the Mississippi, I saw the fairy of the water. The moon
was rising, but it was not yet bright enough for me to see
her figure distinctly. But I knew her voice; I had often
heard it in my dreams. `Wenona,' she said, (and the
waves were still that they might hear her words), `Wenona,
the lands of the Dahcotah are green and beautiful—but
there are fairer prairies than those on earth. In that bright
country the forest trees are ever green, and the waves of
the river flow on unchilled by the breath of winter. You
will not long be with the children of the earth. Even now
your sisters are calling you, and your mother is telling
them that a few more months will bring you to their side!”

“The words were true, my brother, but I knew not that
your harshness would hasten my going. You say that I
shall marry Red Cloud; sooner will I plunge my knife into
my heart; sooner shall the waves of the Mississippi roll
over me. Brother, you will soon be alone!”

“Speak not such words, my sister,” said the chief; “it
shall be as you will. I have not promised Red Cloud. I
thought you would be happy if you were his wife, and you
shall not be forced to marry him. But why should you
think of death? you saw our braves as they shot at the

lights in the north. They have frightened them away.
Look! they flash no more. Go in, and sleep, and to-morrow
I will tell Red Cloud that you love him not.”

And the cloudless moon shone on a happy face, and the
bright stars seemed more bright as Wenona gazed upon
them; but as she turned to enter the wigwam, one star
was seen falling in the heavens, and the light that followed
it was lost in the brightness of the others. And her dreams
were not happy, for the fairy of the water haunted them.
“Even as that star, Wenona, thou shalt pass from all that
thou lovest on earth; but weep not, thy course is upward!”

The hunters were so successful that they returned to
their village soon. The friends of Wenona rejoiced in her
happy looks, but to Harpstenah they were bitterness and
gall. The angry countenance of Red Cloud found an
answering chord in her own heart.

“Ha!” said she to him, as he watched Wenona and
her lover talking together, “what has happened? Did
you not say you would marry the chief's sister—why then
are you not with her? Red Cloud is a great warrior, why
should he be sad because Wenona loves him not? Are
there not maidens among the Dahcotahs more beautiful
than she? She never loved you; her brother, too, has
treated you with contempt. Listen to my words, Red
Cloud; the Virgin's Feast is soon to be celebrated, and she
will enter the ring for the last time. When she comes forward,
tell her she is unworthy. Is she not a disgrace to
the band? Has she not shamed a brave warrior? Will
you not be despised when another is preferred to you?”

The words of the tempter are in his ear—madness and
hatred are in his heart.

“I said I would take her life, but my revenge will be
deeper. Wenona would die rather than be disgraced.”
And as he spoke Harpstenah turned to leave him, for she
saw that the poison had entered his soul.