WAR SONG.

Where are my foes? say, warriors, where? No forest is so black,That it can hide from my quick eye, the vestige of their track:There is no lake so boundless, no path where man may go,Can shield them from my sharp pursuit, or save them from my blow.The winds that whisper in the trees, the clouds that spot the sky,Impart a soft intelligence, to show me where they lie,The very birds that sail the air, and scream as on they go,Give me a clue my course to tread, and lead me to the foe.The sun, at dawn, lifts up his head, to guide me on my way,The moon, at night, looks softly down, and cheers me with her ray.The war-crowned stars, those beaming lights, my spirit casts at night,Direct me as I thread the maze, and lead me to the fight.In sacred dreams within my lodge, while resting on the land,Bright omens of success arise, and nerve my warlike hand.Where'er I turn, where'er I go, there is a whispering sound,That tells me I shall crush the foe, and drive him from my ground.The beamingWESTinvites me on, with smiles of vermil hue,And clouds of promise fill the sky, and deck its heavenly blue,There is no breeze—there is no sign, in ocean, earth or sky,That does not swell my breast with hope, or animate my eye.If to the stormy beach I go, where heavy tempests play,They tell me but, how warriors brave, should conquer in the fray.All nature fills my heart with fires, that prompt me on to go,To rush with rage, and lifted spear, upon my country's foe.

Where are my foes? say, warriors, where? No forest is so black,

That it can hide from my quick eye, the vestige of their track:

There is no lake so boundless, no path where man may go,

Can shield them from my sharp pursuit, or save them from my blow.

The winds that whisper in the trees, the clouds that spot the sky,

Impart a soft intelligence, to show me where they lie,

The very birds that sail the air, and scream as on they go,

Give me a clue my course to tread, and lead me to the foe.

The sun, at dawn, lifts up his head, to guide me on my way,The moon, at night, looks softly down, and cheers me with her ray.The war-crowned stars, those beaming lights, my spirit casts at night,Direct me as I thread the maze, and lead me to the fight.In sacred dreams within my lodge, while resting on the land,Bright omens of success arise, and nerve my warlike hand.Where'er I turn, where'er I go, there is a whispering sound,That tells me I shall crush the foe, and drive him from my ground.

The sun, at dawn, lifts up his head, to guide me on my way,

The moon, at night, looks softly down, and cheers me with her ray.

The war-crowned stars, those beaming lights, my spirit casts at night,

Direct me as I thread the maze, and lead me to the fight.

In sacred dreams within my lodge, while resting on the land,

Bright omens of success arise, and nerve my warlike hand.

Where'er I turn, where'er I go, there is a whispering sound,

That tells me I shall crush the foe, and drive him from my ground.

The beamingWESTinvites me on, with smiles of vermil hue,And clouds of promise fill the sky, and deck its heavenly blue,There is no breeze—there is no sign, in ocean, earth or sky,That does not swell my breast with hope, or animate my eye.If to the stormy beach I go, where heavy tempests play,They tell me but, how warriors brave, should conquer in the fray.All nature fills my heart with fires, that prompt me on to go,To rush with rage, and lifted spear, upon my country's foe.

The beamingWESTinvites me on, with smiles of vermil hue,

And clouds of promise fill the sky, and deck its heavenly blue,

There is no breeze—there is no sign, in ocean, earth or sky,

That does not swell my breast with hope, or animate my eye.

If to the stormy beach I go, where heavy tempests play,

They tell me but, how warriors brave, should conquer in the fray.

All nature fills my heart with fires, that prompt me on to go,

To rush with rage, and lifted spear, upon my country's foe.

FOOTNOTES:[1]About 70 votes were polled in the town of Potosi. Mr. Austin, the younger, was returned by the county to the Territorial Legislature.[2]The United States government, the very next year, 1819, sent out Col. Long to the Yellow Stone.[3]This word appears to be a derivation from the radixWawb, white. The termination in o is the objective sign. The term is made diminutive in s.[4]A personification of the North West.[5]Blind Woman.[6]Sheegowiss, a widow, andmowigh, something nasty.[7]Note by Mr. George Johnston, from whom this tale was received.—Any thing of the kind, or a similar noise heard, is attributed by the Indian, to this day, as an indication of the contention between Mäsh-kwa-sha-kwong and his pursuers, and hence a prelude to wars and contentions among the nations of the world.[8]The small white shells that the white fish live upon, and the white substance found in its gizzard are to this day considered by the Indians, the brain and skull of the woman of the Head.[9]Literally, little men, who vanish.[10]The name is usually translated, two-sticks tied, or united.[11]The name of this chief is Anglicised in the word Tammany.[12]The terms “brave” and “braves” used in a substantive sense, in this work, are neither English nor Indian. The Indian term should be translated strong-heart, its literal import; for it is one of the general rules of these languages, that the operation of the adjective, as well as action of the verb, is uniformly marked upon the substantive—there being, indeed, different inflections of each substantive, to denote whether this operation or action be caused by a noble or ignoble, or an animate or inanimate object. Still the general use of the Canadian termBrave, on our Indian border, may give it some poetic claims to introduction into our vernacular burthened as it already is with more objectionable Americanisms.[13]A Juggler.[14]A sharp exclamation quickly to behold something striking.[15]A derogatory exclamation.[16]Behold thou.[17]A masculine exclamation, to express surprise.[18]This is certainly a dignified and wise answer; designed as it was, to cover their disastrous defeat and flight from the St. Lawrence valley to the north. The precedence to which he alludes, on reaching the straits of Detroit, as having been theirs before, is to be understood, doubtless, of the era of their residence on the lower St. Lawrence, where they were at the head of the French and Indian confederacy against the Iroquois. Among the latter, they certainly had no precedency, so far as history reaches. Their council fire was kept by the Onondagas.[19]New York Lit & Theo. Review.[20]Eliot employed the figure 8, set horizontally, to express a peculiar sound: otherwise he used the English alphabet in its ordinary powers.[21]In giving the particle wa, the various meanings of “flitting,” “waving,” and “dancing,” the Indian idiom is fully preserved. The final particle see, in the term wa wa tai see, is from the generic rootasee, meaning a living creature, or created form, not man. By prefixing Ahw to the root, we have the whole class of quadrupeds, and by pen, the whole class of birds, &c. The Odjibwa Algonquin term for a candle, was sa koon ain je gun, is literally rendered from its elements—“bright—white—flamed—instrument.” It is by the very concrete character of these compounds that so much meaning results from a few words, and so considerable a latitude in translation is given to Indian words generally.[22]Fire-fly, fire-fly! bright little thing,Light me to bed, and my song I will sing.Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head,That I may merrily go to my bed.Give me your light o'er the grass as you creep,That I may joyfully go to my sleep.Come little fire-fly—come little beast—Come! and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.Come little candle that flies as I sing,Bright little fairy-bug—night's little king;Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along,Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.[23]London, 1747, p. 190.[24]A generic term denoting the common people of the Indian race.[25]Vide a Reminiscence of Oswego.[26]The sound of i in this word, as in Ontario, is long e in the Indian.[27]Nicollet's Report.[28]Law's Historical Dis.[29]This is, manifestly, an error. The writer of this act of possession appears to have mistaken the bank of the St. Mary's, one of the tributaries of the Miami of the Lakes, in the Miami country, for the Sault de Ste-Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior. The latter position was occupied, at the earliest dates, to which tradition reaches, by a branch of the Algonquins, to whom the French gave the name, from the falls of the river at that locality, ofSaulteux. They are better known, at this day under the name of Chippewas and Odjibwas.[30]I underscore the word “hotter,” to denote the prevalent theory. They were searching for China or the East India.[31]In Mr. Gallatin's comparative vocabulary, “Napew” means man, in the Sheshatapoosh or Labrador. It is therefore fair to conclude that these were a party of Sheshatapoosh Indians, whose language proves them to be of the kindred of the great Algonquin family.[32]Koshee and Bahkon. These are not the terms for a hatchet and a knife in the Micmac, nor in the old Algonquin, nor in the Wyandot.[33]As the tree is afterwards stated to be “as big as any oak in France,” it was probably thebox elder, and not the sassafras, which never attained to much size.[34]Robe of beaver skins. Eight skins of two year old beaver are required to make such a robe.[35]Query—Is not the word Quebec a derivative from the Algonquin phraseKebic—a term uttered in passing by a dangerous and rocky coast?[36]Andover.[37]Dr. Johnson.[38]Zoonomia.[39]Robertson's History of America.[40]Heckewelder's Account of the Indians.[41]Purchas' Pilgrims, Part iv., book x.[42]Hackluyt's Voyages.[43]The murder of Wadin, the cold-blooded assassination of Keveny, and the shooting of Semple, are appealed to, as justifying the force of this remark.[44]The North American Review. Sanford's History of the United States, before the Revolution.[45]Democratic Review, 1844.[46]Treaty of Fort Pitt, 1778.[47]We have only space to say here, that the cession of the Georgia lands was subsequently made by the Lower Creeks under the chieftaincy of General M'Intosh, who was the first to affix his signature to it. For this act he paid the penalty of his life; the Upper Creeks and their adherents, having assembled in arms, surrounded his house, and fired three hundred balls into it, killing its unhappy, but distinguished inmate.[48]This tribe has, the past year (1843), passed a law expelling all white men who play at cards, from the limits of the nation, whether they have Indian wives or not.[49]Secretary of War's report, 1843.[50]This is said, by one interpretation, to mean Rabbit's Ghost.[51]These translations are entirely literal—the verbs to “sleep” and to “fear,” requiring the imperative mood, second person, present tense, throughout. In rendering the term “wa-wa” in the participial form some doubt may exist, but this has been terminated by the idea of theexistingmotion, which is clearly implied, although the word is not marked by the usual form of the participle ining. The phrase lul-la-by, is the only one in our language, which conveys the evident meaning of the choral term e-we-yea. The substantive verb is wanting, in the first line of b. and the third of c. in the two forms of the verb, to care, or take care of a person; but it is present in the phrase “kediausee” in the second line of c. These facts are stated, not that they are of the slightest interest to the common reader, but that they may be examined by philologists, or persons curious in the Indian grammar.[52]Equals assembled with equals.[53]Nenemoshain nindenaìndumMeengoweugish abowaugodaAnewahwas mongoduga, &c., &c.[54]Superior.[55]Michigan.[56]Huron.[57]St. Claro.[58]Erie.[59]An exclamation of wonder and surprize.—Odj. lan.[60]My father.—ib.

[1]About 70 votes were polled in the town of Potosi. Mr. Austin, the younger, was returned by the county to the Territorial Legislature.

[2]The United States government, the very next year, 1819, sent out Col. Long to the Yellow Stone.

[3]This word appears to be a derivation from the radixWawb, white. The termination in o is the objective sign. The term is made diminutive in s.

[4]A personification of the North West.

[5]Blind Woman.

[6]Sheegowiss, a widow, andmowigh, something nasty.

[7]Note by Mr. George Johnston, from whom this tale was received.—Any thing of the kind, or a similar noise heard, is attributed by the Indian, to this day, as an indication of the contention between Mäsh-kwa-sha-kwong and his pursuers, and hence a prelude to wars and contentions among the nations of the world.

[8]The small white shells that the white fish live upon, and the white substance found in its gizzard are to this day considered by the Indians, the brain and skull of the woman of the Head.

[9]Literally, little men, who vanish.

[10]The name is usually translated, two-sticks tied, or united.

[11]The name of this chief is Anglicised in the word Tammany.

[12]The terms “brave” and “braves” used in a substantive sense, in this work, are neither English nor Indian. The Indian term should be translated strong-heart, its literal import; for it is one of the general rules of these languages, that the operation of the adjective, as well as action of the verb, is uniformly marked upon the substantive—there being, indeed, different inflections of each substantive, to denote whether this operation or action be caused by a noble or ignoble, or an animate or inanimate object. Still the general use of the Canadian termBrave, on our Indian border, may give it some poetic claims to introduction into our vernacular burthened as it already is with more objectionable Americanisms.

[13]A Juggler.

[14]A sharp exclamation quickly to behold something striking.

[15]A derogatory exclamation.

[16]Behold thou.

[17]A masculine exclamation, to express surprise.

[18]This is certainly a dignified and wise answer; designed as it was, to cover their disastrous defeat and flight from the St. Lawrence valley to the north. The precedence to which he alludes, on reaching the straits of Detroit, as having been theirs before, is to be understood, doubtless, of the era of their residence on the lower St. Lawrence, where they were at the head of the French and Indian confederacy against the Iroquois. Among the latter, they certainly had no precedency, so far as history reaches. Their council fire was kept by the Onondagas.

[19]New York Lit & Theo. Review.

[20]Eliot employed the figure 8, set horizontally, to express a peculiar sound: otherwise he used the English alphabet in its ordinary powers.

[21]In giving the particle wa, the various meanings of “flitting,” “waving,” and “dancing,” the Indian idiom is fully preserved. The final particle see, in the term wa wa tai see, is from the generic rootasee, meaning a living creature, or created form, not man. By prefixing Ahw to the root, we have the whole class of quadrupeds, and by pen, the whole class of birds, &c. The Odjibwa Algonquin term for a candle, was sa koon ain je gun, is literally rendered from its elements—“bright—white—flamed—instrument.” It is by the very concrete character of these compounds that so much meaning results from a few words, and so considerable a latitude in translation is given to Indian words generally.

[22]Fire-fly, fire-fly! bright little thing,Light me to bed, and my song I will sing.Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head,That I may merrily go to my bed.Give me your light o'er the grass as you creep,That I may joyfully go to my sleep.Come little fire-fly—come little beast—Come! and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.Come little candle that flies as I sing,Bright little fairy-bug—night's little king;Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along,Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.

[22]

Fire-fly, fire-fly! bright little thing,Light me to bed, and my song I will sing.Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head,That I may merrily go to my bed.Give me your light o'er the grass as you creep,That I may joyfully go to my sleep.Come little fire-fly—come little beast—Come! and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.Come little candle that flies as I sing,Bright little fairy-bug—night's little king;Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along,Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.

Fire-fly, fire-fly! bright little thing,

Light me to bed, and my song I will sing.

Give me your light, as you fly o'er my head,

That I may merrily go to my bed.

Give me your light o'er the grass as you creep,

That I may joyfully go to my sleep.

Come little fire-fly—come little beast—

Come! and I'll make you to-morrow a feast.

Come little candle that flies as I sing,

Bright little fairy-bug—night's little king;

Come, and I'll dance as you guide me along,

Come, and I'll pay you, my bug, with a song.

[23]London, 1747, p. 190.

[24]A generic term denoting the common people of the Indian race.

[25]Vide a Reminiscence of Oswego.

[26]The sound of i in this word, as in Ontario, is long e in the Indian.

[27]Nicollet's Report.

[28]Law's Historical Dis.

[29]This is, manifestly, an error. The writer of this act of possession appears to have mistaken the bank of the St. Mary's, one of the tributaries of the Miami of the Lakes, in the Miami country, for the Sault de Ste-Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior. The latter position was occupied, at the earliest dates, to which tradition reaches, by a branch of the Algonquins, to whom the French gave the name, from the falls of the river at that locality, ofSaulteux. They are better known, at this day under the name of Chippewas and Odjibwas.

[30]I underscore the word “hotter,” to denote the prevalent theory. They were searching for China or the East India.

[31]In Mr. Gallatin's comparative vocabulary, “Napew” means man, in the Sheshatapoosh or Labrador. It is therefore fair to conclude that these were a party of Sheshatapoosh Indians, whose language proves them to be of the kindred of the great Algonquin family.

[32]Koshee and Bahkon. These are not the terms for a hatchet and a knife in the Micmac, nor in the old Algonquin, nor in the Wyandot.

[33]As the tree is afterwards stated to be “as big as any oak in France,” it was probably thebox elder, and not the sassafras, which never attained to much size.

[34]Robe of beaver skins. Eight skins of two year old beaver are required to make such a robe.

[35]Query—Is not the word Quebec a derivative from the Algonquin phraseKebic—a term uttered in passing by a dangerous and rocky coast?

[36]Andover.

[37]Dr. Johnson.

[38]Zoonomia.

[39]Robertson's History of America.

[40]Heckewelder's Account of the Indians.

[41]Purchas' Pilgrims, Part iv., book x.

[42]Hackluyt's Voyages.

[43]The murder of Wadin, the cold-blooded assassination of Keveny, and the shooting of Semple, are appealed to, as justifying the force of this remark.

[44]The North American Review. Sanford's History of the United States, before the Revolution.

[45]Democratic Review, 1844.

[46]Treaty of Fort Pitt, 1778.

[47]We have only space to say here, that the cession of the Georgia lands was subsequently made by the Lower Creeks under the chieftaincy of General M'Intosh, who was the first to affix his signature to it. For this act he paid the penalty of his life; the Upper Creeks and their adherents, having assembled in arms, surrounded his house, and fired three hundred balls into it, killing its unhappy, but distinguished inmate.

[48]This tribe has, the past year (1843), passed a law expelling all white men who play at cards, from the limits of the nation, whether they have Indian wives or not.

[49]Secretary of War's report, 1843.

[50]This is said, by one interpretation, to mean Rabbit's Ghost.

[51]These translations are entirely literal—the verbs to “sleep” and to “fear,” requiring the imperative mood, second person, present tense, throughout. In rendering the term “wa-wa” in the participial form some doubt may exist, but this has been terminated by the idea of theexistingmotion, which is clearly implied, although the word is not marked by the usual form of the participle ining. The phrase lul-la-by, is the only one in our language, which conveys the evident meaning of the choral term e-we-yea. The substantive verb is wanting, in the first line of b. and the third of c. in the two forms of the verb, to care, or take care of a person; but it is present in the phrase “kediausee” in the second line of c. These facts are stated, not that they are of the slightest interest to the common reader, but that they may be examined by philologists, or persons curious in the Indian grammar.

[52]Equals assembled with equals.

[53]Nenemoshain nindenaìndumMeengoweugish abowaugodaAnewahwas mongoduga, &c., &c.

[53]

Nenemoshain nindenaìndumMeengoweugish abowaugodaAnewahwas mongoduga, &c., &c.

Nenemoshain nindenaìndum

Meengoweugish abowaugoda

Anewahwas mongoduga, &c., &c.

[54]Superior.

[55]Michigan.

[56]Huron.

[57]St. Claro.

[58]Erie.

[59]An exclamation of wonder and surprize.—Odj. lan.

[60]My father.—ib.

Transcriber’s NoteThe intent of the corrections listed below is to restore the text to the author's intent, as best as that can be surmised. Many corrections occur on the right margin, where final letters and punctuation did not survive. Usually, a space is left to show where a missing character should have appeared.Clear typographical errors (e.g. “emcamped” for “encamped", “atlar” for “altar”) have also been corrected. A non-standard or variable spelling has been left as printed, unless it is the sole instance of a word repeatedly otherwise spelled (e.g. characterestic (1) / characteristic (35)).Minor inconsistencies of punctuation have been resolved. On occasion, the quotation marks, especially, have been added where the quotation extends across paragraphs. If an ending mark has been omitted, it has been added. Usually, but not always, a space is left where a missing character should have appeared.The spelling of names of persons and places, especially when derived from Indian dialects vary considerably. For instance “Allegheny” is also found multiple times as “Alleghany” and “Allegany”. “Ottawa” and “Ottowa” are each found several times. Nabinoi / Nabanoi / Nabunwa seem to refer to the same Ojibwa elder. Nearly all such variants are left as printed, except where explicitly noted below.Words that were hyphenated at the ends of line have been joined with or without the hyphen, depending on the frequency of the word's spelling elsewhere. No attempt was made to regularize other cases. They are kept as printed.Characters that have been removed, corrected, or which have been added are noted using [] as delimiters. Where misprinted characters are changed, the original and corrected characters are noted as [x/y], where x is the original. Punctuation corrections are not included in this list.CorrectionsPageCorrectionComment7river at Brattleboro[,'/',]The apostrophe may have been meant. A contraction of Brattleborough, which in 1848 had yet to be abbreviated. It should precede the comma.19not two freesic.40irridescen[t]Added40brought us to a Mr. Murphy[']sAdded.42mounta[ni/in]ousAdded.44inj[u]reAdded.44thus uniting character[e/i]stics of three varietiesCorrected.51Gascon[a]de river[.]Added.52hightensic.59e[m/n]campedCorrected.71CONST[IT]UTIONAdded.75som[e]timesAdded.76horrifficsic.88On another [a/o]ccasionCorrected.93Senecas was discovered, turnin[g]Added.102calling ou[t]Added.114assured that th[s/e] cordCorrected.124had made [u/a]nCorrected.124Many days pass[s]edRemoved.145fate of their chiefta[i]nAdded to match spelling in following line.148necessary to gla[n]ce backwardAdded.153such a bloody fellow was [al-]allowedLine break hyphenation error corrected.179allowed a li[s/t]tle timeCorrected.189brass p[i]ecesAdded.189Ozaw[a/á]biksCorrected to match all other occurences.193tosmoke[and ]and not to throwRemoved doubled ‘and’.200INTERPR[E]TERAdded.203geogra[p/g]hicalCorrected.212a[tl/lt]arCorrected.225r[aph/hap]sodiesCorrected.227∞and∞Represent the figure 8, set horizontally, per FN on p. 227.227My soul he doth restore aga[in]Missing characters inferred.233modes of [of ]lifeLine break error corrected.234the present [e/a]rea ofCorrected.250[t/T]hey are a brave and warlike peopleCorrected.252Lou[i]sianaAdded.273the[ the ]word itselfLine break repetition removed.274Ke dizz[i]hewäbizziwin onishishin.Removed, based on following text.280Ween ishkwa[n/u]djCorrected based on adjacent text.282Pos[s]essiveCorrected based on adjacent text.288in upper Louis[ai/ia]naCorrected to adjacent text.290s[t]eatitesCorrected to match all other spellings.290Michili[n/m]ackinacCorrected to match all other spellings.303r[yh/hy]meCorrected.307succes[s]fulAdded to match all other spellings.308[c.] Waban is from ab, or wab, light.Italicized to match a., b., d.313char[a]cterAdded.319arr[r]ivedRemoved.332with[ ]themAdded.332[e/a]quaticCorrected.343retur[n]edAdded.377the amount of funds invested by the government in stocks, for the Indians,was $2,580,000, on which the annual interest paid to them was $131,05[0].‘0’ added, consistent with 5% interest rate. See similar statements on p. 379.386Del[e/a]waresCorrected.398[3.] THE HARE AND THE LYNX.The number of the tale was moved to the title, in order to be consistent with the convention for the following two tales.402Feb[r]uaryAdded.404[E/C]. F. HOFFMAN.Corrected, reference to Charles Fenno Hoffman.415Blood of the Dauntless*Footnote * missing, anchor removed.415Mine, whose grave-pennon floats†Footnote † missing, anchor removed.

The intent of the corrections listed below is to restore the text to the author's intent, as best as that can be surmised. Many corrections occur on the right margin, where final letters and punctuation did not survive. Usually, a space is left to show where a missing character should have appeared.

Clear typographical errors (e.g. “emcamped” for “encamped", “atlar” for “altar”) have also been corrected. A non-standard or variable spelling has been left as printed, unless it is the sole instance of a word repeatedly otherwise spelled (e.g. characterestic (1) / characteristic (35)).

Minor inconsistencies of punctuation have been resolved. On occasion, the quotation marks, especially, have been added where the quotation extends across paragraphs. If an ending mark has been omitted, it has been added. Usually, but not always, a space is left where a missing character should have appeared.

The spelling of names of persons and places, especially when derived from Indian dialects vary considerably. For instance “Allegheny” is also found multiple times as “Alleghany” and “Allegany”. “Ottawa” and “Ottowa” are each found several times. Nabinoi / Nabanoi / Nabunwa seem to refer to the same Ojibwa elder. Nearly all such variants are left as printed, except where explicitly noted below.

Words that were hyphenated at the ends of line have been joined with or without the hyphen, depending on the frequency of the word's spelling elsewhere. No attempt was made to regularize other cases. They are kept as printed.

Characters that have been removed, corrected, or which have been added are noted using [] as delimiters. Where misprinted characters are changed, the original and corrected characters are noted as [x/y], where x is the original. Punctuation corrections are not included in this list.

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