 | The pink book |  |
AN ECHO LEGEND.
The red man sings in the valley,
And the great rock Shasta hearing,
Calls to the rocks around him,
And they echo and answer him. Hark!
All down the valley, they speak.
And the great rock Shasta hearing,
Calls to the rocks around him,
And they echo and answer him. Hark!
All down the valley, they speak.
Once Shasta loved a maiden,
The Indian maid Unenainwee.
Fair was she as the young moon
On the lake that glistens, called Tahoe
Beautiful as a day-dawn,
Or a star-crownéd twilight,
And Shasta thought that she loved him.
She danced on his great bare bosom,
And her feet seemed as light as the snowflakes
That fall from a cloud when the wind sleeps,
And her heart was as light as her footsteps,
But 'twas not for love of Shasta.
The Indian maid Unenainwee.
Fair was she as the young moon
On the lake that glistens, called Tahoe
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Or a star-crownéd twilight,
And Shasta thought that she loved him.
She danced on his great bare bosom,
And her feet seemed as light as the snowflakes
That fall from a cloud when the wind sleeps,
And her heart was as light as her footsteps,
But 'twas not for love of Shasta.
Ah, no! Her soul was with Uba
Uba, the brave, the strong-hearted,
The hunter of bears and of bisons;
And the great rock, when he heard it,
Burnt with wild hate, and his anger
Lay in his heart, for he spake not.
Uba, the brave, the strong-hearted,
The hunter of bears and of bisons;
And the great rock, when he heard it,
Burnt with wild hate, and his anger
Lay in his heart, for he spake not.
One day the great thirsty spirit,
The hot-hearted terrible whirlwind,
Came rushing over the prairies,
Madly seeking for water:
He caught up poor Unenainwee,
And ran with her into the mountains.
She cried and called upon Uba,
“Help me! Thy love Unenainwee!”
But Uba was far in the forest
Tracking the bear, and he heard not:
And the whirlwind was strong, and he bore her
As she had been a feather;
And Shasta heard, but he spake not.
The hot-hearted terrible whirlwind,
Came rushing over the prairies,
Madly seeking for water:
He caught up poor Unenainwee,
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She cried and called upon Uba,
“Help me! Thy love Unenainwee!”
But Uba was far in the forest
Tracking the bear, and he heard not:
And the whirlwind was strong, and he bore her
As she had been a feather;
And Shasta heard, but he spake not.
With the stars to see Unenainwee
Uba came from the forest
Unto the place of their meeting.
He waited, and waited, and waited,
All through the night till the dawning,
He stayed, but she never came to him.
Down to the village of wigwams
Went he, and asked of her people,
Where was the maid Unenainwee?
But they answered him not, for they knew not,
She was gone, but they knew not whither;
And Uba went forth to seek her.
Uba came from the forest
Unto the place of their meeting.
He waited, and waited, and waited,
All through the night till the dawning,
He stayed, but she never came to him.
Down to the village of wigwams
Went he, and asked of her people,
Where was the maid Unenainwee?
But they answered him not, for they knew not,
She was gone, but they knew not whither;
And Uba went forth to seek her.
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Patiently, sadly, he sought her,
All through the village of wigwams,
All through the plains and the forests,
In the land of the great mole spirit,
In the blue-grey land of the mountains;
Sought her, but never found her.
Far to the north did he wander,
Far to the south. Toward sunrise,
To where the sun falls in the water,
He travelled by daylight and star-shine,
Seeking the lost Unenainwee.
Day by day did his heart-break
Grow on him; till hopeless and weary
He came again to the valley,
And camped by the great rock Shasta.
All through the village of wigwams,
All through the plains and the forests,
In the land of the great mole spirit,
In the blue-grey land of the mountains;
Sought her, but never found her.
Far to the north did he wander,
Far to the south. Toward sunrise,
To where the sun falls in the water,
He travelled by daylight and star-shine,
Seeking the lost Unenainwee.
Day by day did his heart-break
Grow on him; till hopeless and weary
He came again to the valley,
And camped by the great rock Shasta.
Many suns dawned on the mountains,
Many snows fell and were melted,
Still Unenainwee came not.
And Uba, grown heart-sick with waiting,
Said to himself, “I will get me
Far away from this valley.
Why should I haunt it for ever?
Why should I linger? She comes not:
Shall I seek when I may not find her?
No! I will go to the eastward,
And live with the beasts in the forest,
That I may forget I am Uba,
That I may forget Unenainwee,
That I may forget I have lost her!
Yet ere I depart let me call her
Once more, for perchance she might hear me.”
Many snows fell and were melted,
Still Unenainwee came not.
And Uba, grown heart-sick with waiting,
Said to himself, “I will get me
Far away from this valley.
Why should I haunt it for ever?
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Shall I seek when I may not find her?
No! I will go to the eastward,
And live with the beasts in the forest,
That I may forget I am Uba,
That I may forget Unenainwee,
That I may forget I have lost her!
Yet ere I depart let me call her
Once more, for perchance she might hear me.”
So he stood at the head of the valley,
Close to the great rock Shasta,
And cried, “O my loved Unenainwee,
I am going to the woods to forget thee.
I go, Unenainwee. Ah, hear me!
Call to me! Tell me, where art thou?
Tell me, that I may come to thee!”
But he listened in vain for an answer,
And his last hope slain by the silence,
The grief that had long lain within him
Burst all its bonds, and the warrior
Bowed down his head in his anguish,
Bowed and cried out like a woman,
Cried like a heart-broken woman,
In his despair, “Wahonowin!
She answers me not! Wahonowin!
She is dead! She is dead! Wahonowin!”
And nobody heard him but Shasta.
Close to the great rock Shasta,
And cried, “O my loved Unenainwee,
I am going to the woods to forget thee.
I go, Unenainwee. Ah, hear me!
Call to me! Tell me, where art thou?
Tell me, that I may come to thee!”
But he listened in vain for an answer,
And his last hope slain by the silence,
The grief that had long lain within him
Burst all its bonds, and the warrior
Bowed down his head in his anguish,
Bowed and cried out like a woman,
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In his despair, “Wahonowin!
She answers me not! Wahonowin!
She is dead! She is dead! Wahonowin!”
And nobody heard him but Shasta.
And Shasta, seeing the warrior,
Uba, the chieftain, his rival,
Bent like a weak-hearted woman,
Robbed of his pride by his sorrow;
Chuckled in hatred and mocked him.
And cried in mock grief, “Wahonowin!
She is dead! She is dead! Wahonowin!”
And all the rocks round about him,
Laughed with him, and called “Wahonowin!”
Till the whole valley laughed “Wahonowin!”
And Uba, when he had heard them,
Went in sad shame from the valley,
Far o'er the plains to the eastward
And lived out his life in the forest.
Uba, the chieftain, his rival,
Bent like a weak-hearted woman,
Robbed of his pride by his sorrow;
Chuckled in hatred and mocked him.
And cried in mock grief, “Wahonowin!
She is dead! She is dead! Wahonowin!”
And all the rocks round about him,
Laughed with him, and called “Wahonowin!”
Till the whole valley laughed “Wahonowin!”
And Uba, when he had heard them,
Went in sad shame from the valley,
Far o'er the plains to the eastward
And lived out his life in the forest.
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That chief has slept long with his fathers,
Long since he met Unenainwee
In the land of the shining shadows,
In the high plains of the blesséd.
But for ever and ever and ever,
If it be red-man or pale-face
That calls or sings in the valley,
The mountains will echo and mock him,
Thinking him Uba returnéd.
Long since he met Unenainwee
In the land of the shining shadows,
In the high plains of the blesséd.
But for ever and ever and ever,
If it be red-man or pale-face
That calls or sings in the valley,
The mountains will echo and mock him,
Thinking him Uba returnéd.
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