t it and admire. On one
side lies the rapid Mississippi, now in foam, and now in eddies,
sweeping every thing thrown upon its current with the rapidity that a
man walks, and winding, in devious courses, among many islands, some
of which are covered with lofty trees, and some are but banks of sand.
On the other side lies the lake, which presents to the eye but a
smooth sheet of water, on which there is neither wave nor ripple, and
unchequered by a single island. As the eye passes along its sluggish
surface, it rests at length upon the lofty bluffs which enclose it.
One of these, a high projecting point, a precipitous crag resting upon
a steep bank, whose base is washed away by the never-ceasing action of
the waters, is called _The Maiden's Rock_. It is known to every Indian
in those regions, by a gloomy story of unfortunate love. It was the
scene of one of the most melancholy transactions that has ever
occurred among our people.

[Footnote A: See the Tradition _post_.]

There was once upon a time in the village of Keoxa, in the tribe of
Wapasha, a young Indian woman, whose name was Winona, which means "the
first-born." She was good and beautiful, and much beloved by all. She
had conceived a strong attachment to a young hunter of her nation, who
loved her as much as she loved him. They had frequently met, sometimes
in the shady coverts of the wood, at others beneath the river's banks,
but, according to the forms of Indian courtship, more frequently at
the side of her couch, when all the village were at rest. They had
confessed their love, and agreed to be united as soon as the consent
of her family could be obtained. But, when he asked her of her parents,
he was denied, and told that she was to become the wife of a warrior
of distinction, who had sued for her. The warrior was a great
favourite with the nation; he had acquired a distinguished name by
the services he had rendered the village when it was attacked by the
Chippewas; yet, notwithstanding all this, and the support which he
received from her parents and brothers, Winona persisted in preferring
the hunter. To all their loud commendations of the warrior, she
replied that she loved another better; that she had made choice of a
man, who, being a professed hunter, would spend his life with her, and
secure to her comfort and subsistence, plenty of food, and abundant
happiness: while the warrior would be constantly intent upon martial
exploits, exposing her, if she st