The White Man's FootIn his lodge beside a river, Close beside a frozen river, Sat an old man, sad and lonely.
White his hair was as a snow-drift;
Dull and low his fire was burning, And the old man shook and trembled, Folded in his Waubewyon, In his tattered white-skin-wrapper, Hearing nothing but the tempest As it roared along the forest, Seeing nothing but the snow-storm, As it whirled and hissed and drifted.
All the coals were white with ashes, And the fire was slowly dying, As a young man, walking lightly, At the open doorway entered.
Red with blood of youth his cheeks were, Soft his eyes, as stars In Spring-time, Bound his forehead was with grasses;Bound and plumed with scented grasses, On his lips a smile of beauty, Filling all the lodge with sunshine, In his hand a bunch of blossoms Filling all the lodge with sweetness.
"Ah, my son!" exclaimed the old man, "Happy are my eyes to see you.
Sit here on the mat beside me, Sit here by the dying embers, Let us pass the night together, Tell me of your strange adventures, Of the lands where you have travelled;I will tell you of my prowess, Of my many deeds of wonder."From his pouch he drew his peace-pipe, Very old and strangely fashioned;Made of red stone was the pipe-head, And the stem a reed with feathers;Filled the pipe with bark of willow, Placed a burning coal upon it, Gave it to his guest, the stranger, And began to speak in this wise:
"When I blow my breath about me, When I breathe upon the landscape, Motionless are all the rivers, Hard as stone becomes the water!"And the young man answered, smiling:
"When I blow my breath about me, When I breathe upon the landscape, Flowers spring up o'er all the meadows, Singing, onward rush the rivers!""When I shake my hoary tresses,"
Said the old man darkly frowning, "All the land with snow is covered;All the leaves from all the branches Fall and fade and die and wither, For I breathe, and lo! they are not.
From the waters and the marshes, Rise the wild goose and the heron, Fly away to distant regions, For I speak, and lo! they are not.
And where'er my footsteps wander, All the wild beasts of the forest Hide themselves in holes and caverns, And the earth becomes as flintstone!""When I shake my flowing ringlets,"
Said the young man, softly laughing, "Showers of rain fall warm and welcome, Plants lift up their heads rejoicing, Back Into their lakes and marshes Come the wild goose and the heron, Homeward shoots the arrowy swallow, Sing the bluebird and the robin, And where'er my footsteps wander, All the meadows wave with blossoms, All the woodlands ring with music, All the trees are dark with foliage!"While they spake, the night departed:
From the distant realms of Wabun, From his shining lodge of silver, Like a warrior robed and painted, Came the sun, and said, "Behold me Gheezis, the great sun, behold me!"Then the old man's tongue was speechless And the air grew warm and pleasant, And upon the wigwam sweetly Sang the bluebird and the robin, And the stream began to murmur, And a scent of growing grasses Through the lodge was gently wafted.
And Segwun, the youthful stranger, More distinctly in the daylight Saw the icy face before him;It was Peboan, the Winter!
From his eyes the tears were flowing, As from melting lakes the streamlets, And his body shrunk and dwindled As the shouting sun ascended, Till into the air it faded, Till into the ground it vanished, And the young man saw before him, On the hearth-stone of the wigwam, Where the fire had smoked and smouldered, Saw the earliest flower of Spring-time, Saw the Beauty of the Spring-time, Saw the Miskodeed in blossom.
Thus it was that in the North-land After that unheard-of coldness, That intolerable Winter, Came the Spring with all its splendor, All its birds and all its blossoms, All its flowers and leaves and grasses.
