“I give my blanket to the tall and lonesome one. Let him come and take it, and I shall follow him on all his trails, even if they be hard trails that lead to death!”
And Wa-choo-bay raised his eyes and gazed with a sad look upon the Ponca woman. His voice came strong, but soft:
“I cannot take the blanket; neither shall I ever take a squaw. For I am a dreamer of dreams. I shall never hear zhinga zhingas laughing about my lodge. I am going on a long trail, for I follow a dream. Yet have I never seen a woman so good to see. There is an ache in my breast as I speak. Let this woman follow one who kills enemies and hunts bison. I dream dreams, and a long trail is before me, and its end is in the mist.”
Then Umba moaned and walked out of the circle with her head bowed.
And Sky-Walker, seeing this, said:
“It is even as I said. He was born in the time of the lone goose. He shall be alone, but high in loneliness; and he shall go far, far.”
And the time came when the tribes took the homeward trail. Then one day Wa-choo-bay raised his voice among the people and said:
“My time is come to go. I take a long, lonesome trail, for a dream dreamed many times is leading me.”
Then he went down to the great river where a canoe lay, and the people followed.