TO A BIRD, SEEN UNDER MY WINDOW IN THE GARDEN.

By the late Mrs. H. R. Schoolcraft, who was a grand daughter of the war chief Wabojeeg.

Sweet little bird, thy notes prolong,

And ease my lonely pensive hours;

I love to list thy cheerful song,

And hear thee chirp beneath the flowers.

The time allowed for pleasures sweet,

To thee is short as it is bright,

Then sing! rejoice! before it fleet,

And cheer me ere you take your flight.

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.

NIAGARA, AN ALLEGORY.

An old grey man on a mountain lived,

He had daughters four and one,

And a tall bright lodge of the betula bark

That glittered in the sun.

He lived on the very highest top,

For he was a hunter free,

Where he could spy on the clearest day,

Gleams of the distant sea.

Come out—come out! cried the youngest one,

Let us off to look at the sea,

And out they ran in their gayest robes,

And skipped and ran with glee.

Come Su,[54] come Mi,[55] come Hu,[56] come Sa,[57]

Cried laughing little Er,[58]

Let us go to yonder broad blue deep,

Where the breakers foam and roar.

And on they scampered by valley and wood,

By earth and air and sky,

Till they came to a steep where the bare rocks stood,

In a precipice mountain high.

Inya![59] cried Er, here's a dreadful leap,

But we are gone so far,

That if we flinch and return in fear,

Nos,[60] he will cry ha! ha!

Now each was clad in a vesture light,

That floated far behind,

With sandals of frozen water drops,

And wings of painted wind.

And down they plunged with a merry skip,

Like birds that skim the plain;

And hey! they cried, let us up and try

And down the steep again.

And up and down the daughters skipped,

Like girls on a holiday,

And laughed outright, at the sport and foam

They called Niagara.

If ye would see a sight so rare,

Where nature's in her glee,

Go, view the spot in the wide wild west,

The land of the brave and free.

But mark—their shapes are only seen

In fancy's deepest play,

But she plainly shews their wings and feet

In the dancing sunny spray.

A PSALM.

OR SUPPLICATION FOR MERCY, AND A CONFESSION OF SIN, ADDRESSED TO THE AUTHOR OF LIFE, IN THE ODJIBWA-ALGONQUIN TONGUE.

BY THE LATE MRS. HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

1. Gaitshe minno pimaudizzeyun, Gezha Monedo, gezhigong aibeyun.
2. Keen, maumauwaikumig waozhemigoyun.
3. Keen, kah ozhiéeyong, keen gaugegaikumig, kai nuhwaunemeyong, aikoobemaudizzeyong.
4. Keen, kainuhwaubaimeyong, geezhig tibbikuk tibishko.
5. Keen, Keozheahn-geezhik-geezis, dibbik-geezis, aunungug gia.
6. Keen, kegeozhetoan tshe kimmewung, gia tshe annimikeeaug, tshe sai sai yung, tshe sogepoog gia.
7. Keen kau ozheiyong tshe unnewegauboweyaung, kakinnuk kau ozheudjig akeeng.
8. Kee, gemishemin odjechaugwug, wekaukaine bosigoog. Kee gemishemin kebauzhigo kegwiss Jesus Christ, tshe oonjenebood neenowind.
9. Mozhug issuh nemudjee-inaindumin, kagait mozhug nemudjee-ekidomin; nahwudj neminwaindumin tshe mudjee-dodumaung.
10. Kagaitego me kaisoondje izhauyaungebun mudjee Moneto.
11. Showainemishinaum, Gezha Monedo.
12. Showainemishinaum, Jesus Christ.
13. Maishkoodjetoan ne mudjee-odai-enaunin.
14. Meezhishenaun edush oushke odaiyun.
15. Apaidush nah saugeigsayun, gia dush todumaung kau izhe gugeekwayun.
16. Me ozhissinaum odaiyun tshe minwaindumaung, tshe annahme autogoyun.
17. Showainim neendunahwaitmaugunenaunig unishenaubaig.
18. Showainim kukinnuh menik pemaudizzejig akeeng.
19. Showainemishenaum kaidokoo pemaudizzeyong, appe dush neeboyong.
20. Showainemishenaum neen jeechaugonaunig tshe izhowaud keen.
21. Kaugegaikumig edush tshe menawaunegooz eyong ozaum ne mudje-pemaudizzewin auno unnahmeyauyongin.
22. Kauween edush kewee pemaudizzewin, kishpin aitah appainemoyong Kegwiss Jesus Christ.
23. Aioetainemud kegwiss showainemishenaum. Kunnah gai kunnah.

TRANSLATION.

1. Great good author of Life, Gezha Monedo, abiding in the heavens
2. Thou hast made all things.
3. Thou art the giver,—Thou, the everlasting preserver of life.
4. Thou hast guarded me, by day and by night.
5. Thou hast made the sun and moon, and the stars.
6. Thou makest the rain, the thunder, the hail, and the snows.
7. Thou didst make man to stand upright, and has placed him over all that is on the earth.
8. Thou hast given us souls, that will never die. Thou hast sent thy son Jesus Christ to die for us.
9. Continually are our thoughts evil, and truly, our words are evil continually.
10. Verily, we deserve punishment with the Spirit of Evil.
11. Show pity on us, Gezha Monedo.
12. Show pity on us, Jesus Christ.
13. Reform our wicked hearts.
14. Give us new hearts.
15. May we love thee with all our hearts, and by our acts obey thy precepts, (or sayings.)
16. Give us hearts to delight in prayer.
17. Show mercy to all our kindred, unishenaubaig, or common people, (means exclusively the Red Men.)
18. Show mercy to all who live on the earth.
19. Pity us, and befriend us, living and dying.
20. And receive our souls to thyself.
21. Ever to dwell in thine abiding place of happiness.
22. Not in our own frail strength of life, do we ask this; but alone in the name of Jesus Christ.
23. Grant us thy mercy, in the name of thy Son. So be it ever.

Those who take an interest in the structure of the Indian languages, may regard the above, as an improvised specimen of the capacity of this particular dialect for the expression of scripture truth. The writer, who from early years was a member of the church, had made a translation of the Lords prayer, and, occasionally, as delicate and declining health permitted, some other select pieces from the sacred writings, and hymns, of which, one or two selections may, perhaps, hereafter be made.

The distinction between the active and passive voice, in the Odjibwa language, is formed by the inflection ego.

Ne sageau,I love.
Ne sageau-ego,I am loved.

TRADITIONARY WAR SONGS

OF THE

ODJIBWA ALGONQUINS.

Whoever has heard an Indian war song, and witnessed an Indian war dance, must be satisfied that the occasion wakes up all the fire and energy of the Indian's soul. His flashing eye—his muscular energy, as he begins the dance—his violent gesticulation as he raises his war-cry—the whole frame and expression of the man, demonstrate this. And long before it comes to his turn to utter his stave, or portion of the chant, his mind has been worked up to the most intense point of excitement: his imagination has pictured the enemy—the ambush and the onset—the victory and the bleeding victim, writhing under his prowess: in imagination he has already stamped him under foot, and torn off his reeking scalp: he has seen the eagles hovering in the air, ready to pounce on the dead carcass, as soon as the combatants quit the field.

It would require strong and graphic language to give descriptive utterance, in the shape of song, to all he has fancied, and seen and feels on the subject. He, himself, makes no such effort. Physical excitement has absorbed his energies. He is in no mood for calm and connected descriptions of battle scenes. He has no stores of measured rhymes to fall back on. All he can do is to utter brief, and often highly symbolic expressions of courage—of defiance—of indomitable rage. His feet stamp the ground, as if he would shake it to its centre. The inspiring drum and mystic rattle communicate new energy to every step, while they serve, by the observance of the most exact time, to concentrate his energy. His very looks depict the spirit of rage, and his yells, uttered quick, sharp, and cut off by the application of the hand to the mouth, are startling and horrific.

Under such circumstances, a few short and broken sentences are enough to keep alive the theme in his mind; and he is not probably conscious of the fact, that, to an unimpassioned and calm listener, with note book in hand, there is not sufficient said to give coherence to the song. And that such a song, indeed, under the best auspices, is a mere wild rhapsody of martial thought, poured out from time to time, in detached sentences, which are, so to say, cemented into lines by a flexible chorus and known tune. The song and the music are all of a piece. Vivid and glowing, and poetic pictures will float in such a train, and often strike the imagination by their graphic truth and boldness; but the poet must look elsewhere for finished melody, and refined and elaborate composition.

The Indian is to be viewed here, as elsewhere, as being in the highest state of his physical, not of his mental phasis. Such glimmerings may however be picked out of these warlike rhapsodies, as denote that he is of a noble and independent tone of thinking. We shall at least enable the reader to judge. The following specimens, which have been derived from actors in the depths of the forest, consist of independent songs, or stanzas, each of which is sung by a different or by the same warrior, while the dance is in progress. The words have been taken down from a young Chippewa warrior of lake Superior, of the name of Che che-gwy-ung. It will be perceived that there is a unity in the theme, while each warrior exercises the freest scope of expression. This unity I have favoured by throwing out such stanzas as mar it, and afterwards arranging them together.

WAR SONG.

a. In beginning this song the warrior has turned his eyes to the clouds.

O shá wan ong(From the place of the south)
Un dos´ e wug,(They come,) repeat.
Pe nä´ se wug,(The birds, i. e. the warlike birds.)
Ka baim wai wá dung-ig.(Hear the sound of their passing screams on the air.)

b. The idea of ravenous birds hovering in the sky, still prevails—

Tod ot´ to be(I wish to change myself to be)
Pe nä´ se. (A bird.)
Ka dow´ we á we yun´.(His swift body—to be like him.)

c. The warrior now rises above all thoughts of fear.

Ne wä be na,(I cast it away.)
Né ow a.(My body.)
Ne wá be na,(Repeats.) This is a high symbolical boast
Né ow a.of personal bravery.

d. He appeals to the Great Spirit for extraordinary power.

Na bun á kum ig,(On the front part of the earth,)
Tshe bá be wish´ em ug.(First shines [strikes] the light.)
In do main´ em ik,(Such power to me,)
Mon´ e do,(My God,)
Shä wa nem id.(In thy mercy give!)

By the boldness of this figure he claims the omnipotent power of the sun to see and discover his enemies.

e. He upbraids such of his people as hold back, and do not join in the dance—that is to say, enlist in the war.

Wä go nain, e win?(Why do ye, warriors,)
A be yun ah,(Stand back?)
Wä wos is se, we yun.(Ye who bear the mark of the Awasees.)

The Awasee is a kind of fish, which is the totem of a clan.

f. He declares his full purpose to enter into the war.

Ne má je, e yeh!(I go to the spot—the war path!)
Ne má je, e yeh!(Repeats.)
Ne me kun ah, e yeh!(My war path!)
Ge zhig neen wá tin,(My sky is fair and clear.) The common phrase to denote good fortune.
Hoh! Ne monedo netaibuätum o win.(Let others linger. Onward! my God!—my right!)

In presenting these specimens of the original words of some of our western warriors, we are permitted to give the annexed versions of them from the pen of one of our most gifted writers.

WAR-SONG—“Pe-nä´ se-wug.”

(From the Algonquin of Schoolcraft.)

BY C. F. HOFFMAN.

I.

Hear not ye their shrill-piping

screams on the air?

Up! Braves for the conflict

prepare ye—prepare!

Aroused from the canebrake,

far south by your drum,

With beaks whet fom carnage,

the Battle Birds come.

II.

Oh God of my Fathers,

as swiftly as they,

I ask but to swoop

from the hills on my prey:

Give this frame to the winds,

on the Prairie below,

But my soul—like thy bolt—

I would hurl on the foe!

III.

On the forehead of Earth

strikes the Sun in his might,

Oh gift me with glances

as searching as light.

In the front of the onslaught,

to single each crest,

Till my hatchet grows red

on their bravest and best.

IV.

Why stand ye back idly,

ye Sons of the Lakes?

Who boast of the scalp-locks,

ye tremble to take.

Fear-dreamers may linger,

my skies are all bright—

Charge—charge—on the War-Path,

for God and the Right.

Take the following additional example, of a death song. These stanzas have all been actually sung on warlike occasions, and repeated in my hearing. They have been gleaned from the traditionary songs of the Chippewas of the north, whose villages extend through the region of lake Superior, and to the utmost sources of the Mississippi. Those bands are the hereditary foes of their western neighbours, the Dacotahs or Sioux, who are generally called by them, by way of distinction, Na do wä´ sees, that is to say, OUR ENEMIES. The allusions in the songs are exclusively to them. In writing the original, I omit the chorus, as it is not susceptible of translation, and would increase considerably the space occupied.

DEATH SONG.

1. In opening this song the warrior is to be contemplated as lying wounded on the field of battle.

A´ be tuh ge´ zhig,(Under the centre of the sky,)
Ne bá baim wä´ wä.(I utter my baim wä wä.)

Baimwäwä, is the sound of passing thunders, which will convey a just idea of the violence of this figure.

2. His thoughts revert to the star of his destiny.

Ain dah´ so gezhig(Every day, thou star!)
Ke gá gun o wá bom in.(I gaze at you.)

It is the morning star that is here alluded to.

3. He sees the birds of carnage hovering over the field.

A´ be tuh geézh-ig(The half of the day)
Ai be yaun(I abide—gazing)
Pe nä se wug.(Ye warlike birds.)

4. He keeps the flight of these birds before his mind and hears their shrill cries.

Pe misk wosh e wug(They fly round the circuit of the sky.)
Pe nä´ se wug(The birds—circling)
A´ be tuh geezh ig oag.(Round half the circuit of the sky.) The meaning is, approaching him in circle, more nearly, as life becomes fainter in him.

5. This figure is continued. He lies bleeding.

A´ zha waush e wug(They cross the enemy's line)
Pe nä se wug.(The birds.)

6. He feels that he is called to another world.

A pit she Mon e doag(The high gods)
Ne mud wä wä(My praise)
Wá we ne goag.(They sound.)

7. He is content and willing to go.

Kä gait´, ne min wain´ dum(Full happy—I)
Ne bun aí kum ig(To lie on the battle-field)
Tshe bá be wish e naun.(Over the enemy's line.)

DEATH-SONG—“A´ be tuh gé zhig.”

(From the Algonquin of Schoolcraft.)

BY C. F. HOFFMAN.

I.

Under the hollow sky,

Stretched on the Prairie lone,

Centre of glory, I

Bleeding, disdain to groan,

But like a battle cry

Peal forth my thunder moan,

Baim-wä-wä!

II.

Star—Morning-Star, whose ray

Still with the dawn I see,

Quenchless through half the day

Gazing thou seest me—

Yon birds of carnage, they

Fright not my gaze from thee!

Baim-wä-wä!

III.

Bird, in thine airy rings

Over the foeman's line,

Why do thy flapping wings

Nearer me thus incline?

[Blood of the Dauntless brings]

Courage, oh Bird to thine!

Baim-wä-wä!

Hark to those Spirit-notes!

Ye high Heroes divine,

Hymned from your god-like throats

That Song of Praise is mine!

[Mine, whose grave-pennon floats]

Over the foeman's line!

Baim-wä-wä!

WAR SONG.

Where are my foes? say, warriors, where? No forest is so black,

That it can hide from my quick eye, the vestige of their track:

There is no lake so boundless, no path where man may go,

Can shield them from my sharp pursuit, or save them from my blow.

The winds that whisper in the trees, the clouds that spot the sky,

Impart a soft intelligence, to show me where they lie,

The very birds that sail the air, and scream as on they go,

Give me a clue my course to tread, and lead me to the foe.

The sun, at dawn, lifts up his head, to guide me on my way,

The moon, at night, looks softly down, and cheers me with her ray.

The war-crowned stars, those beaming lights, my spirit casts at night,

Direct me as I thread the maze, and lead me to the fight.

In sacred dreams within my lodge, while resting on the land,

Bright omens of success arise, and nerve my warlike hand.

Where'er I turn, where'er I go, there is a whispering sound,

That tells me I shall crush the foe, and drive him from my ground.

The beaming WEST invites me on, with smiles of vermil hue,

And clouds of promise fill the sky, and deck its heavenly blue,

There is no breeze—there is no sign, in ocean, earth or sky,

That does not swell my breast with hope, or animate my eye.

If to the stormy beach I go, where heavy tempests play,

They tell me but, how warriors brave, should conquer in the fray.

All nature fills my heart with fires, that prompt me on to go,

To rush with rage, and lifted spear, upon my country's foe.