ODJIBWA SONG.
The following song, taken from the oral traditions of the north, is connected with a historical incident, of note, in the Indian wars of Canada. In 1759, great exertions were made by the French Indian department, under Gen. Montcalm, to bring a body of Indians into the valley of the lower St. Lawrence, and invitations, for this purpose reached the utmost shores of Lake Superior. In one of the canoes from that quarter, which was left on their way down, at the lake of Two Mountains, near the mouth of the Utawas, while the warriors proceeded farther, was a Chippewa girl called Paig-wain-e-osh-e, or the White Eagle, driven by the wind. While the party awaited there, the result of events at Quebec, she formed an attachment for a young Algonquin belonging to the French mission of the Two Mountains. This attachment was mutual, and gave origin to the song, of which the original words, with a literal prose translation, are subjoined:
| I. |
| Ia indenaindum |
| Ia indenaindum |
| Ma kow we yah |
| Nin denaindum we. |
Ah me! when I think of him—when I think of him—my sweetheart, my Algonquin.
| II. |
| Pah bo je aun |
| Ne be nau be koning |
| Wabi megwissun |
| Nene mooshain we |
| Odishquagumee. |
As I embarked to return, he put the white wampum around my neck—a pledge of truth, my sweetheart, my Algonquin.
| III. |
| Keguh wejewin |
| Ain dah nuk ke yun |
| Ningee egobun |
| Nene mooshain we |
| Odishquagumee. |
I shall go with you, he said, to your native country—I shall go with you, my sweetheart—my Algonquin.
| IV. |
| Nia! nin de nah dush |
| Wassahwud gushuh |
| Aindahnuk ke yaun |
| Ke yau ninemooshai wee |
| Odishquagumee. |
Alas! I replied—my native country is far, far away—my sweetheart; my Algonquin.
| V. |
| Kai aubik oween |
| Ain aube aunin |
| Ke we naubee |
| Ne ne mooshai we |
| Odishquagumee. |
When I looked back again—where we parted, he was still looking after me, my sweetheart; my Algonquin.
| VI. |
| Apee nay we ne bow |
| Unishe bun |
| Aungwash agushing |
| Ne ne mooshai we |
| Odishquagumee. |
He was still standing on a fallen tree—that had fallen into the water, my sweetheart; my Algonquin.
| VII. |
| Nia! indenaindum |
| Nia! in denaindum |
| Ma kow we yuh |
| Nin de nain dum we |
| Odishquagumee. |
Alas! when I think of him—when I think of him—It is when I think of him; my Algonquin.
Eloquence on the part of the speakers, is not so much the result of superior force of thought, as of the strong and clear positions of right, in which they have been placed by circumstances. It is the force of truth, by which we are charmed.
An Indian war song, sung in public, by the assembled warriors on the outbreak of hostilities, is a declaration of war.