t
became dark. Her fond imagination soon led her to suppose that it was
the spirit of her lover, and her visits to the favourite spot were
repeated with greater frequency. She now gave herself up to singing and
fasting. Thus she pined away, until that death which she had so
fervently desired came to her relief. After her decease, the bird was
never more seen. It became a popular opinion with her nation, that this
mysterious bird had flown away with her soul to the land of bliss. But
the bitter tears of remorse fell in the tent of Wanawosh, and he lived
many years to regret his false pride and his harsh treatment of the
unfortunate youth.

LEGENDS OF THE HAPPY HUNTING-GROUNDS.

I.--AKKEEWAISEE, THE AGED.

Let my brother listen to my words, and ponder deeply. Let him remain
mute, and his question shall be answered. He has asked the opinion
which the red men of the wilderness entertain of the Country of
Souls;--he has asked us whither the spirits of good men repair when
the sleep which knows no waking has come over them. Again, I say, let
my brother listen deeply, for the words he will hear are concerning
the question he has asked. We shall sing in his ears no tale of bloody
deeds--of scalps taken from stricken warriors, or of victims bound to
a naming stake. Our songs shall be songs of a state far happier than
that enjoyed by mortals; we shall tell of worlds, the air of which is
purer, the sun brighter, the moon milder, and the stars far more
glorious--of the Land of the Happy Hunting-Grounds. As my brother will
see, each nation has its own beloved place of rest for the soul. It is
well. Could the Chippewas dwell with the Hurons, whose blood they
have so frequently shed? Could a man of the Pawnee Loups embrace an
Omawhaw, who carried at his back the scalps of his wife and his
children? No; and, therefore, as they could not on earth dwell in
peace together, so each has in the world of souls his separate
hunting-grounds, his own rivers, lakes, valleys, mountains, forests,
where no envious hunter may intrude, which no bloody-minded warrior
may invade. An insurmountable and eternal barrier is placed between
tribes who had formerly been at war, lest they disturb the peace of
the blessed shades by a renewal of the quarrel, and shake the glorious
mansions with the violence of wars, like those they wage on earth. My
brother asks how, the Dahcotahs know these things. I answer, it was
seen by one of them in his sleep; i