clay in his hair, and the valley shall be filled with the smoke of a
sacrificial flame. I will raise my voice continually to thank the
Master of Life for the return to my arms of his excellent gift. And to
her shall the return be productive of unbounded felicity. I will
devote my time to study how I can best promote her happiness, while
she is permitted to remain, and our lives shall roll away, like a
pleasant stream through a vale of flowers.' If a parent has been
bereaved of a child rendered dear by its innocence and sportive
fondness, he has said, while tears were furrowing his cheek, 'Great
Manitou, wilt thou return this beloved child for a few more years to
my bosom? It was but young and little. Its voice, softer than the
breath of spring, had not fashioned its tones of tenderness into
words. I had not heard it thank me for the gift of life; it was a
flower blasted in the bud. If thou wilt permit its return, it shall be
taught to sing thy praises; it shall be made to walk in the straight
path; it shall be a just hunter and a true warrior.' The bereft lover
has besought the Great Spirit for the return of his deceased mistress:
his petition has painted the charms of her voice sweet as the south
wind; her step light and graceful as the fawn's; her locks clustering
like grapes. And, 'Oh!' he has said, 'will it disarrange the harmony
of thy system, if she may but for a little while return to my arms; if
but for a few, a very few years, she may illumine the darkness of my
lodge by the splendour of her eyes, and send joy to my soul by the
soft tones of her voice, and the sound of her steps?' Thus, also, has
the mother prayed for her daughter; the wife for her husband; the
sister for her brother; the friend for his bosom-companion, until the
sounds of mourning, and the cries of the living, have pierced the very
recesses of the dead. Among those who have wished their departed
friends to return, were many who were cruel and unkind to them while
living. These have not failed to promise the most endearing conduct,
should their relatives be allowed to return.

"The Great Spirit has, at length, consented to make a trial of their
sincerity, by sending us upon the earth at a very severe season of the
year, and in a time of general scarcity. He did this to see how we
should be received, coming as strangers, no one knowing whence. It was
necessary that this severity of proof should be exacted. Three months
were allowed us to make th