Earth explained to her, that to hire persons to mourn, was not customary with the whites; “and her spirit will not rest easy,” continued he, “if the Ingens sit howling and yelling over her grave.”
These reasons seemed to satisfy the mother, and she left the hunters to wait upon her son.
The spot, as I before mentioned, having been selected, a grave was dug, and the hunters leaving the mother, bore along, shrouded in skins, the last remains of the stranger maiden. She was, no one knows who;—she came, no one knows whence, and now rests in a strange land.
Yes, on a little knoll, which rose hard by, and which receives the full beams of the morning sun, broken only by the wild vines which creep over it, sleep the last remains of the stranger maiden!—No tell-tale stone is reared where she rests; yet she lives in story, and many a dusky maid has sung her fate in the following lines:
Indian maidens, come and weep
O'er this lowly mound;
Let your grief within be deep,—
Whoop not, howl not, for the sleep
Of the pale face is not sound.
No mother watched her parting hour,
No sister cheered the “Drooping Flower.”
Know ye whence the rippling stream,
Whence the wintry blast,
Whence the mad storm-spirit's scream,
Whence the vivid lightning's beam,
Or whither it has past?—
Thus was the maiden to us borne,
Thus from us has her spirit gone.
For as she droop'd, and ere she fell,
She said her spirit did not love
With her below on earth to dwell,
And oft times has been heard to tell,
That it would soar above.
It claim'd no home on earth below—
It would not stay—it long'd to go.
Great Spirit! lend thy gracious ear,
Tho' not for dusky maid we pray,
Let thy protecting care be here,
Let the pale face know no fear,—
Guide her spirit on its way.
Far beyond the Eagle's flight,
To the realms that know no night.
Indian maidens, weave the vine,
Weave the sweetest blooms among;
Plant the rose and eglantine,
And a shady bower we'll twine;
While each morn shall hear our song:—
Blow softly breezes,—gently wave
The wild flowers o'er the stranger's grave.
CHAPTER VIII.
“With various converse thus they whiled the way,
Till lengthening shadows marked the closing day.”
PARNELL.
Rolfe and Earthquake deeply sympathized with the Indian mother, and remained with her several days for the purpose of supplying her and her son with food. As their stay was prolonged, each day the aversion of the Indian boy to the hunters, seemed gradually wearing away, and the mother was sensibly moved by their kindness. She expressed great gratitude, was even assiduous in her attentions, and pressed upon them again and again the rude hospitality of her wigwam. Upon conversing with her, Earthquake ascertained that her name was Pukkwana, and that of her son, Oloompa; and observing that she seemed kind in her feelings, he narrated to her the story of the captive maiden.
Her feelings were much enlisted in favour of the hunters by the recital, and she spoke harshly of the Indians who had committed so great a crime. Earth then dwelt upon the anxiety of Rolfe, and begged her, if she could suggest any plan which would probably enable them to find the maiden, to do so, and accept their blessings.
Pukkwana, in answer, said, she could suggest nothing, but again renewed her professions of gratitude, and stated, that as soon as her son should recover, they would cheerfully use all their exertions to discover the fate of the maiden, and if she lived, forward intelligence of the fact to the hunters at their own residence. Earth hearing this, repeated it to Rolfe, who was delighted at having interested Pukkwana in the search, and he begged Earth to try and obtain the same promise from her son, and at the same time to press upon them both his conviction that only through their endeavours was there a hope of obtaining any information. Earth made the request as desired, and the Indian boy readily complied. They were grateful for the kindness of the hunters, and promised not only to extend their search through their own, but also through the neighbouring tribes. The difficulty of conveying the information in the event that the captive was found, was then adverted to. But Pukkwana stated that with not more speed, would the eagle wing its way to its nest, than, if successful, should the tidings be borne to Rolfe. With this the hunters were satisfied, and began to make preparations for their journey.