her, who slew my father. Take your canoe
and smear its sides with the oil I have made from the body of Nahma, so
that you may pass swiftly through the black pitch-water and avenge my
father's murder." Thus spoke old Nokomis, and Hiawatha did as she bade
him, smeared the sides of his boat with oil and passed swiftly through
the black water, which was guarded by fiery serpents. All these Hiawatha
slew, and then journeyed on unmolested till he reached the desolate
realm he sought. Here he shot an arrow at Pearl-Feather's lodge as a
challenge, and the magician, tall of stature, dark and terrible to
behold, came forth to meet him. All day long raged the greatest fight
that ever the sun had looked on, but no weapon could penetrate
Pearl-Feather's magic shirt of wampum, and at sunset, wounded and weary,
with three useless arrows in his hand, Hiawatha paused a while to rest
beneath the shade of a pine tree.

As he stood there, despairing of victory, a wood-pecker sang from the
branches above him: "Aim your arrows at the roots of his long hair;
there alone he can be wounded." Well it was for Hiawatha that he
understood the bird's language! Stringing the first of his arrows to his
bow he let fly at Pearl-Feather, who was stooping to pick up a heavy
stone. The arrow struck him full on the crown, and the second and third
arrows, swiftly following, penetrated deep into the wound, so that the
mighty magician fell lifeless at Hiawatha's feet. Then Hiawatha stripped
the magic shirt of wampum off his dead foe and took from his wigwam (or
tent) all his wealth of furs, belts, and silver-tipped arrows. And our
hero sailed homeward in triumph and shared his spoils equally among his
people.

Now there came a time in the life of Hiawatha when he wished to wed, and
his thoughts turned to Minnehaha, whom they called Laughing Water,
loveliest maiden in all the land of the Dacotahs. He spoke to Nokomis of
this, telling her that his wedding with the fair Dacotah should heal all
strife between the two tribes. So eloquently did he speak of the
maiden's beauty and skillfulness in household matters, that he overruled
Nokomis' many objections to his choice of a stranger, and set out in all
haste to seek his bride. After a long journey he reached the home of the
arrow-maker, whom he found seated in the doorway of his wigwam making
arrow-heads, with his daughter at his side, busily engaged in plaiting
mats of rushes. Hearing a rustling in the woods they