e place whence
the song came, that he might see what manner of bird it was that could
send farther than all the others its happy, laughing notes. As he came
near, he beheld a tiny brown bird with open bill, the feathers on its
throat rippling with the fervour of its song. It was the wren, the
smallest, the least powerful of birds, that seemed to be most glad
and to pour out in ringing melody to the rising sun its delight in
life.

"As the priest looked, he thought: 'Here is a teaching for my people.
Every one can be happy, even the most insignificant can have his song
of thanks.'

"So he made the story of the wren and sang it; and it has been handed
down from that day,--a day so long ago no man can remember the time."

[Music: SONG OF THE WREN.

_Pawnee._

Transcribed from Graphophone and harmonized by EDWIN S. TRACY.

Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi,
Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi,
Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi,
Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi,
Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi,
Ke-chi ra-ku-wa-ku whe ke re re we chi.]

THE OMAHA FUNERAL SONG.

There was but one funeral song in the Omaha tribe, and this was only
sung to honour some man or woman who had been greatly respected by the
people.

What one would see, when this song was sung, was in violent contrast
to the character of the music. The blithe major strains suggest only
happiness. They hardly touch ground, so to speak, but keep their
flight up where the birds are flitting about in the sunshine; and, if
there are clouds in the blue sky, they are soft and fleecy, and cast
no shadows. Yet the men who sang this song were ranged in line before
the tent where the dead lay ready for burial. They had drawn the stem
of a willow branch through a loop of flesh cut on their left arm, and
their blood dripped upon the green leaves and fell in drops to the
ground.

The meaning of this strange spectacle and its musical accompaniment,
so apparently out of keeping, must be sought for in the beliefs of the
people. It was a drama touching two worlds.

The shedding of blood was to express how vital was the loss. This act,
visible to the mourners, was an exhibition of sympathy; but music
had power to reach the unseen world, so the song was for the spirit of
the dead, who could not see the lacerated singers, but could hear
them, as they sang to cheer him as he went forth, forced by death to
leave all who were dear to him.[7]