has had many a prototype since the days of Orpheus.
Pau-Puk-Keewis, with his dancing and tricks, will also prove a curious character, something like Proteus of old.
You shall hear how Pau-Puk-Keewis
He, the handsome Yenadizze,
Whom the people called the Storm Fool,
Vexed the village with disturbance;
You shall hear of all his mischief,
And his flight from Hiawatha,
And his wondrous transmigrations,
And the end of his adventures.
The character of Hiawatha, as of the benefactor, of one devoted, with high purpose, to the welfare of his people, may be regarded as the deeper motive of the author. It is the thought of ideal good in Hiawatha which gives tone and meaning to the whole poem.
You shall hear how Hiawatha
Prayed and fasted in the forest,
Not for greater skill in hunting,
Not for greater craft in fishing,
Not for triumphs in the battle,
And renown among the warriors,
But for profit of the people,
For advantage of the nations.
The views of geography and history at the beginning and close of the poem not only give a broad scope to the story, but have an interesting bearing upon the study of geography and history in those years of school which immediately follow. The narrative reaches from the Vale of Tawasentha in New York, across the great lakes and shining Big-Sea-Water to Minnehaha and the Upper Mississippi, and even to the prairies and the distant Rocky Mountains beyond. In the summoning of the tribes at the Great Pipe Stone Quarry there is a broad survey of the Indian tribes of the United States.
From the vale of Tawasentha,
From the Valley of Wyoming,
From the groves of Tuscaloosa,
From the far-off Rocky Mountains,
From the Northern lakes and rivers
All the tribes beheld the signal,
Saw the distant smoke ascending,
The Pukwana of the Peace-Pipe.
Down the rivers, o'er the prairies,
Came the warriors of the nations.
A map of North America is necessary for showing the meaning of this description to the children.
In the last part the coming of the white man and the prophecy of his spreading over the land, and the dwindling of the native tribes to the westward, are given.