y day and remained chanting its notes
till nightfall; and when it left its perch on the tree, it seemed, from
the delicate play of the colors of its plumage, as if it had taken its
hues from the rainbow. Her fond imagination soon led her to suppose it
was the spirit of her lover, and her visits to the sequestered spot
were repeated more frequently. She passed much of her time in fasting
and singing her plaintive songs. There she pined away, taking little
nourishment, and constantly desiring to pass away to that land of
expected bliss and freedom from care, where it is believed that the
spirits of men will be again reunited, and tread over fields of flowery
enjoyment. And when death came to her, it was not as the bearer of
gloom and regrets, but as the herald of happiness. After her decease,
the mysterious bird was never more seen, and it became a popular
opinion that the mysterious visitor had flown away with her spirit.[60]

[58] Catfish.

[59] Notes of the Pibbigwun.

[60] Notes of the Pibbigwun.

SHEEM,

THE FORSAKEN BOY OR WOLF BROTHER.

AN ODJIBWA ALLEGORY OF FRATERNAL AFFECTION.

A solitary lodge stood on the banks of a remote lake. It was near the
hour of sunset. Silence reigned within and without. Not a sound was
heard but the low breathing of the dying inmate and head of this poor
family. His wife and three children surrounded his bed. Two of the
latter were almost grown up: the other was a mere child. All their
simple skill in medicine had been exhausted to no effect. They moved
about the lodge in whispers, and were waiting the departure of the
spirit. As one of the last acts of kindness, the skin door of the lodge
had been thrown back to admit the fresh air. The poor man felt a
momentary return of strength, and, raising himself a little, addressed
his family.

"I leave you in a world of care, in which it has required all my
strength and skill to supply you food, and protect you from the storms
and cold of a severe climate. For you, my partner in life, I have less
sorrow in parting, because I am persuaded you will not remain long
behind me, and will therefore find the period of your sufferings
shortened. But you, my children! my poor and forsaken children, who
have just commenced the career of life, who will protect you from its
evils? Listen to my words! Unkindness, ingratitude, and every
wickedness is in the scene before you. It is for this cause that, years
ago, I withdr