LITMIR.BIZ

        Crosswise then did Hiawatha

      Drag his birch-canoe for safety,

      Lest from out the jaws of Nahma,

      In the turmoil and confusion,

      Forth he might be hurled and perish.

      And the squirrel, Adjidaumo,

      Frisked and chattered very gayly,

      Toiled and tugged with Hiawatha

      Till the labor was completed.

        Then said Hiawatha to him,

      "O my little friend, the squirrel,

      Bravely have you toiled to help me;

      Take the thanks of Hiawatha,

      And the name which now he gives you;

      For hereafter and forever

      Boys shall call you Adjidaumo,

      Tail-in-air the boys shall call you!"

        And again the sturgeon, Nahma,

      Gasped and quivered in the water,

      Then was still, and drifted landward

      Till he grated on the pebbles,

      Till the listening Hiawatha

      Heard him grate upon the margin,

      Felt him strand upon the pebbles,

      Knew that Nahma, King of Fishes,

      Lay there dead upon the margin.

        Then he heard a clang and flapping,

      As of many wings assembling,

      Heard a screaming and confusion,

      As of birds of prey contending,

      Saw a gleam of light above him,

      Shining through the ribs of Nahma,

      Saw the glittering eyes of sea-gulls,

      Of Kayoshk, the sea-gulls, peering,

      Gazing at him through the opening,

      Heard them saying to each other,

      "'Tis our brother, Hiawatha!"

        And he shouted from below them,

      Cried exulting from the caverns:

      "O ye sea-gulls! O my brothers!

      I have slain the sturgeon, Nahma;

      Make the rifts a little larger,

      With your claws the openings widen,

      Set me free from this dark prison,

      And henceforward and forever

      Men shall speak of your achievements,

      Calling you Kayoshk, the sea-gulls,

      Yes, Kayoshk, the Noble Scratchers!"

        And the wild and clamorous sea-gulls

      Toiled with beak and claws together,

      Made the rifts and openings wider

      In the mighty ribs of Nahma,

      And from peril and from prison,

      From the body of the sturgeon,

      From the peril of the water,

      They released my Hiawatha.

        He was standing near his wigwam,

      On the margin of the water,

      And he called to old Nokomis,

      Called and beckoned to Nokomis,

      Pointed to the sturgeon, Nahma,

      Lying lifeless on the pebbles,

      With the sea-gulls feeding on him.

        "I have slain the Mishe-Nahma,

      Slain the King of Fishes!" said he;

      "Look! the sea-gulls feed upon him,

      Yes, my friends Kayoshk, the sea-gulls;

      Drive them not away, Nokomis,

      They have saved me from great peril

      In the body of the sturgeon,

      Wait until their meal is ended,

      Till their craws are full with feasting,

      Till they homeward fly, at sunset,

      To their nests among the marshes;

      Then bring all your pots and kettles,

      And make oil for us in Winter."

        And she waited till the sun set,

      Till the pallid moon, the Night-sun,

      Rose above the tranquil water,

      Till Kayoshk, the sated sea-gulls,

      From their banquet rose with clamor,

      And across the fiery sunset

      Winged their way to far-off islands,

      To their nests among the rushes.

        To his sleep went Hiawatha,

      And Nokomis to her labor,

      Toiling patient in the moonlight,

      Till the sun and moon changed places,

      Till the sky was red with sunrise,

      And Kayoshk, the hungry sea-gulls,

      Came back from the reedy islands,

      Clamorous for their morning banquet.

        Three whole days and nights alternate

      Old Nokomis and the seagulls

      Stripped the oily flesh of Nahma,

      Till the waves washed through the rib-bones,

      Till the sea-gulls came no longer,

      And upon the sands lay nothing

      But the skeleton of Nahma.