he preparations for the sacrifice.

At length Magisaunikwa appeared, and never before had he attracted
such admiration. He moved like one returning from victory. No war
paint, such as warriors are accustomed to use when upon the war-path
in order to strike terror into the foe, or when commencing an
enterprise of great peril, stained his person. His dress was the
conaus of panther scalps, and he walked amid a company of young men of
his own age, above the tallest of whom he rose by a head.

Before commencing the adventure, he performed the customary ceremony
to propitiate the Great Spirit, pointing to the heavens, the earth,
and the four winds, and invoking with a loud voice the Master of Life
to smile upon the undertaking. This being done, he cast his eyes over
the assembled crowd, till they fell upon Leelinau. Long he gazed,
as if he desired to carry her image with him to the Spirit-land, nor
after that last look did he allow his glance to rest upon another
human being. Then, at a little distance above the head of the
cataract, he entered the canoe and grasped the paddle.

The motion of the frail bark was at first gentle, but only for a short
time: every moment its speed became accelerated, until, even before it
reached the plunge, it seemed to fly like the swallow. Calmly guiding
its fearful course sat the young man, his eyes fixed upon the narrow
opening between the rocks. And now the canoe is at the brink of the
Falls--it leaps like the salmon when he journeys up the stream--it is
gone!--the raging waters have devoured it--no, I see it again--the arm
of Magisaunikwa is strong, and the paddle unbroken. Help, Manito! he
is dashed against the rock at the throat--no, the canoe is whirled
round and darts away, and I behold it gliding with the youth over the
quiet water. The Great Spirit hath protected him.

A shout, rivalling the roar of the Falls, went up from the assembled
multitude, and they rose with songs such as welcome returned warriors
to greet the successful hero.

But Wampum-hair received their congratulations and their praises with
indifference. With eyes fixed on the ground, he suffered himself to be
borne in triumph to the spot, where, on a platform of rock, stood the
beautiful Leelinau. What were the thoughts that passed through her
mind? Was she proud of being the object of a love so true and daring,
or did she lament the necessity of accepting a lord? Wampum-hair
approached, and before his calm, sorr