"My coming," he replied, "is from the Master of Life,
The Lord of all things, and I go at his commands."
"Then why," I further parleyed, "since thou art
So much the friend of Him, whom white men seek
By prayer and rite so fervently to obey—why, tell,
Art thou so oft in want of e'en a meal
To satisfy the cravings of a man? Why cast abroad
To live in wilds, where oft the scantiest shapes
Of foot and wing must fill thy board, while pallid hunger strays
With hideous shouts, by mountain, vale, and stream?"