USA > Nebraska > Nebraska history and record of pioneer days, Vol. VI > Part 5
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Before we could have a poetry of the plains we must have children born and grown up with the life of the plains woven into their earliest impressions. So these Nebraska Legends, in verse, are interesting as first attempts to express Nebraska life. They are not true interpreta- tions.
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The legend of Weeping Water has serious question of authenticity. There are various accounts in prose purporting to give the origin of this legend. These stories do not agree, either as to the tribes or the circumstances. The Pawnee, Omaha and Otoe tribes are the ones in- volved. The Pawnee tribe has a very extensive literature, perhaps two thousand pages in print, including its chief traditions and legends. There is no story of Weeping Water among them. The Omaha tribe has an extensive collection of literature in print, including the 27th volume of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, written by Francis La Flesche and Miss Alice Fletcher. This is a book of seven hundred pages, giving minute account of the history, the religion, the traditions, the songs, the customs, the legends of the Omaha tribe, written by two persons having the most intimate knowledge of all these matters. There is no Weeping Water legend in this Omaha literature. The Otoe tribe has no such a body of literature in print. The work so well done for the Pawnee and Omaha has not been done for the Otoe, but in the liter- ature which exists and in the knowledge of the leading persons in the Otoe tribe there is no Weeping Water legend.
All the various stories in print purporting to relate to the legend of Weeping Water date from a period subsequent to the publishing of Professor Dake's book. French explorers gave name to the stream "L'eau Qui Pleure." This name is found upon a map published in Paris by Perrin Du Lac, a French geographer, in 1802. It is applied to the stream now known as the Weeping Water. It is not explained in any known literature, French, Spanish or English, how the stream came to - receive this name. The natural surmise is that the name was given because of the sound of its water. In the Sioux language the verb "Han-pa-ha" or "Yan-pa-ha" means crying or weeping. In the same language "min" or "mni" (pronounced "Ne") commonly means water. The Otoe language is a dialect of the Sioux and the attempt to render the French name for Weeping Water into its Otoe equivalent has given us "Ne-haw-ka," present name of a beautiful village in the valley of the Weeping Water.
In order to make this introduction to the beginnings of Nebraska literature as complete as may be practicable search has been made through the literature of early explorers for mention of the Weeping Water stream in brief extracts. It will be noticed that none of them mention the legend of Weeping Water.
THE LEGEND OF THE RAWHIDE
The Story of the Rawhide will be treated in a future issue of this magazine. A large mass of manuscript and clippings on the subject are in the Historical Society Library.
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THE WEEPING WATER
(Prefatory Note by the Author to Original Publication.)
The Omaha and Otoe Indians, being at war, chanced to meet on their common hunting-ground south of the Platte river, in Nebraska. A fierce battle ensued, in which all the male warriors of both tribes being slain, the women and children came upon the battle-field and' sat down and wept .. From the fountain of their tears arose and ever flows the little stream known as Ne-hawka, or the Weeping Water.
I
(From Nebraska Legends and Poems, by Orsamus Charles Dake, 1871.) The lingering suns crept round a land at peace, While June, warm-eyed, was loitering in the vales. Long-gone was seed-time; and the sportive birds Flew through broad-bladed corn, or 'mid the bloom Of yellow melon-flowers, where slope the fields Down to the Elkhorn stream.
But there was one Among the Otoe lodges on the bluffs Full envious of the mated cheerful birds- He, Sananona named, o' the Iron Eyes. Who, dreaming long in virtuous discontent For that the summer kindled in his blood And all his life grew languorous for his love, Came with the sunrise to the wealthy lodge Of his sole chief, Shosguscan. Him he found Sitting without, on soft Coyote robes- One idle hand with a pet dog a-toy, And in his mouth his pipe of blood-red stone. Mutely expectant, then, the young man stood, While grim Shosguscan, with half-opened eyes, Looked subtly in the tell-tale wishful face, 'Gainst which the level sunbeams pushed their spears; But all was silent save the sighing wind.
At length the sage chief spoke: "It is no foe Lurking amidst our corn-fields, nor wise thought Of public welfare brings thee here, I see. What wouldst thou, Sananona ?"
As when first
A school-boy, trapped in frivolous mischief, writhes Like a hurt worm beneath the master's eye, But, finding no excuse, confesses all, Young Sananona, glancing right and left, Abashed and humbled thus to tell his love, Unveiled his heart.
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"Mine are the wants of youth,
Oh, great Shosguscan-youth, thou knowest, has wants, To be the victor in all manly sports, To tireless chase the flying antelope, To battle all day long with worthy foes-
These are youth's wants; but youth has wants besides. On windy nights I sit within my door Voiceless and lonely, for I lack a mate. Small need is mine to hunt the shaggy bull, Or lure the wary pickerel from the lake- Success is bootless where it is unshared." Here grim Shosguscan, with impatient yawn- "Oh! Ah! Well, take a wife!"
"That would I do,"
Quoth Sananona.
"And what hinders then ?"
Shosguscan cried. "Go, make deliberate choice Among our dark-eyed girls, and her lead home That best befits your mind! And wherefore here? Why speak to me of maids, and windy nights, And sentimental loneliness ? Not I- I am not a tier of true-lovers' knots, No go-between for billing boys and girls, No dealer in love-simples for sore.hearts. I hold myself for something different. I am a warrior, Sananona, I- A man of mighty battles and of blood. Mine is the voice of wisdom in our tribe- The hand that guides and rules. Not me for love. Not me for maidens seek; but find some crone That, as a quacking duck along the streams, Leads forth her timorous brood! Go! Go! young man, From women seek your mate!"
Against this scorn Wrathful and black young Sananona stood. But as before his nation's chief befits A youth to stand with quiet modesty And humbled self-importance, so he paused To smother impulse and select his words. "I am not here to seek your offices, Oh, brave Shosguscan, as a go-between. I ask no man to win a maid for me. I best can tell the secret I best know. But this my errand: She who has my heart And whom with pure and honorable rites
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I would install as mistress of my lodge, Is not an Otoe; dwells not by the stream Of the swift Elkhorn; but among the tents Of warlike Omahas-a handsome race- She honors womanhood and waits for me. Her tribesmen know our troth, and are content."
"So you would bring a foreign woman here!" Cried harsh Shosguscan. "One who, in the days Of vigilant warfare, shall forewarn her friends, Bringing defeat to counsel :- one whose heart Shall evermore be flying to the fields Wherein her childhood played, and to the light Of kindly faces she may see no more. Have Otoe maidens, then, no amourous grace ? The daughters of your fathers,-are they worse Or less attractive than this alien girl? Why shame your people thus?"
Then gravely spoke The Iron-Eyed: "I cannot read my heart To say why this I choose, why that reject. I follow Love's blind instinct. If I err, Mine is the error common to our race. But love that blindly leads is seldom wrong, For most are happy. in their wedded loves. Indifferent I see our Otoe girls ; But when Nacoumah, in the April days, I met among her people, then my heart Rose up and followed after. Oh, my chief, Respect my hopes, I pray, and bid me go To hither bring the maiden of the North, And I, in times of danger, with my life Will answer for her loyalty!"
Then stood
The youth expectant, pleading with his face That mirrored forth the hopes and fears within, As the great Platte, when low in autumn days Near to its islands on its glassy wave Reveals the woodlands and the forest-life. And stern Shosguscan, musing on his face And running over all the honored past, When Sananona, in the thickest fight, Had borne the brunt of battle with the best, And wrought great deeds, and won the hearts of all, Wavered, inclined to grant his moving suit,
.
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And bid him seek his maid and bring her home. But swift succeeded thoughts of what was best For general welfare, and the answer he Not for himself, led by a yielding heart, But for his tribe should make. Then thus he said: "Oh, Sananona, much I long to yield This boyish quest, for I, too, have been young. I know how whimsical this youthful love- With what caprices unaccountable
The youth selects his maid, the maid her man. I know how disappointment pricks, and how The heart, defeated of its cherished aim, Knots its great arteries and swells with sighs And strives to burst. And I would spare all pain ; But this I know-for I, too, have been young- That love has lives as many as the bear, That being filled with arrows and with spears, 'Scapes to the hills, plucks the barbs, and grows, Erelong, as vigorous as before. To-day, None like Nacoumah; but ere wintry suns Waste nebulous glances in the frozen gales, Some other maiden will inspire your sighs; For youth runs lightly into any love. Oh, be advised! Go seek an Otoe bride. Dismiss this passion; it will work your bale- Nor you alone, but all. Go!"
And he went.
Straight to his lodge the young brave went, and closed His door, and with himself communed. As one Who, whirling through the country by a train That flies the track and plunges down a steep, Picks himself out from shattered heaps of cars And smutched and mangled bodies of the dead; Then feels along each bruised limb with care, And slowly breathes to test if hurts within Threaten life's citadel; so all his heart Sad Sananona to himself exposed. And weighted Nacoumah 'gainst the Otoe girls, And said, at length, "No other wife for me But she who has my heart! This argument Shosguscan holds about a light-heeled love That dances like a reed-blade in the wind Hither and thither, without settled bound, Suits him, perhaps-not me. Come then what may: If brief my life, it now is summer-time,
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And a few sun-bright days of well-placed love I stake against the wrath of all my tribe." So, sauntering to the valley with a line As one on pensive piscatory bent, Soon as the woodlands hid his stealthy course, He northward turned, and sought and found his bride.
II
And days went by-the laughing days of June : But yet the Otoe was supplied with meat And wrought no havoc with the flocks of God, But let the days in aimless waste go by Amid his wives in the well-furnished lodge, Content with peace,-with idleness and peace. But when, at length, the women raised a wail Of shortening substance and the grim-eyed wolf, He rose, as one from sleep, and felt his strength- Stretching his sinews in the pleasant sun. And as an eagle whets his murderous beak Upon the tree-top and the granite-ledge, Or practises in cloud-land his fell swoop, When, dropping from immeasurable heights A thousand fathoms down, we see him first A speck in the abyss, then soars and falls, Rises and sinks again and yet again, Each time descending lower, until, at last, He hovers o'er his nest and settles there, The hunter filed his flinty arrow-heads, Sharpened the hatchet and the dreadful knife, And day by day bent to athletic games- To run long miles, to leap a miry brook, To shoot a reed-mark, and to overthrow His mighty tribesmen in the wrestler's toils, Winning great fame, and mastering his powers, Until, fatigued, at evening home was sweet. But when the moon was rounding night by night, And the green hills were flooded with its bath Of silver-streaming light, through which far swam The sentinel eye-distrustful of surprise- The Otoe passed the threshold of his lodge In the great village on the Elkhorn bluffs, Called forth his thronging progeny and wives, And wended to the south.
So fared they forth-
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The inspiration of necessity Their constant guide-as through long ages, back To the abnormal hour that bore to time Their changeless race. But aptly framed their rules For a rude justice, and the lack of law Custom, the precedent of use, supplied. Among their bands no daft reformer rose To paint the visions of his flighty soul, And lead to lands hung toppling in the air, But childlike and content they held and taught, Without abridgement or an added grain, The simple faith their fathers left to them- Growing a rock-firm habit in their race.
So went they forth, as went in all past years, And as still go in the deep spirit-world, Their awful fathers and their lovely wives, When on their annual hunts. The van was led By a well-chosen band of warriors, proved On many a nameless but death-smitten field. These, mounted on swift steeds-swift as the clouds, Low-hung outriders of a coming storm- Armed at all points with bow and lofty lance, And murderous hatchet and the gleaming knife, Rode dreadful on the hills or through the vales, Scanning each shadow for a foe. Much need For caution was there. On these hunting-grounds The fearful Sioux were oft in battle met. As when along some blown Alaskan vale A herd of Caribou drags forth its length, Seeking for mosses underneath the snow, And at the front its antlered patriarchs Explore the route and lead the hinds and young, That feeding, follow happy and secure. Behind them streamed the families with their goods, Women and children loitering by the way, Ponies with tent-poles dragging at their sides, And the gaunt pack that bays the midnight moon. And all day long before them fled the game Across the pleasant plains, or stood and eyed From some low eminence of rounded hill With timid curiosity.
And thus Two days they journeyed to the south and west, A June-time journey in a June-time mood, And sport and love and laughter ruled the time.
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But now was reached a fair idyllic land- A land of rolling meadow, and of rills That rippled through the morning like a voice, Or filled the darkness with mysterious sighs, Then, as ere eve the chief decreed to camp, With noisy clamor, as a flock of crows, That lighting, huddle round a lonely marsh, Some kindle fires and cook the generous meal Of savory antelope, or prairie-hen, Or rabbit, freshly caught; and some brace fast The lofty lodge-poles o'er an ample space, And fold them deep in warmth-compelling skins. The women, as befits domestic ways, Spread the wide couch of soft and well-tanned robes- Beaver, or otter, or the delicate fawn; And children stand beside the glowing fires, Babbling between their mouthfuls with full hands.
But ere the tasks were ended, or the feast Palled on a dulled and sated appetite, From out the hollow valleys of the south Rose tawny mists of smoke, and clomb to heaven, .. And caught the sunset in wan flowing horns. Then all the women were aware of fear, But every man felt at his mighty heart A sterner pulsing, for his will was firm. And, as an oak that bears the rushing storm, And quakes not at the thunder in its strength, But gnarls and knots in stubborn pride of power, So grew his muscles tense and hard as twist- Conditioned for a conflict, must it come. But, as a brood of wild-cats, when a dog, Snuffing along the woodlands, nears their nest, Gather at once around the faithful dam, The Otoe tribesmen hasten to the lodge Of brave Shosguscan. Him alone they found Sitting before his tent; a massive soul, And clear of vision as the morning star. Wisdom and will spoke from his lordly face- A presence that bends others without words - Incarnate manhood's just authority.
Thus as he sat, his blinkless eye full-fixed Upon the smoke-wreaths whirling o'er the hills, Around him came in silence and sat down His warlike tribesmen; but no word they spoke.
1
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Long-time he mused. At length the deep-toned voice Rose as a full-brimmed bucket from a well,
Lifting its treasure for men's needs. "Ye men
Of Otoe, conscious in our strength to stand Unflinching in the face of every foe, And in the fiercest battle to maintain Our right, we wander through these hunting-grounds As inclination leads. If any doubt Our purpose of free action, or our power To hold a ground once taken, let them come And put constraint upon us, bit our mouths, And tame us, as a horse, to know the rein, Or drive us homewards, as a fox is sped Back to its cover. In the face of all We sit down here. We seek no fight, indeed, Nor do we seek to shun one. For this night Put forth double line of sentinels, And let the Otoes sleep upon their arms."
But, as the brave Shosguscan finished thus, An Omaha, that, hunting through the hills, Had from afar surveyed the Otoe camp And recognized the tribe by many signs, Came in with friendly words, and straightway told How his own tribe were also on the hunt, And two days earlier wandered to the south, And had success with buffalo and deer: That theirs the camps deep in the hollow vales, Whose fires had wreathed the sunset in a robe Of tinted mist. So, then, no thought remained Of foes and war; but, as a man derives Indifficult places from a true friend's face Support and confidence and heedless ease, These neighbor-tribes, now for a time at peace- Equal in numbers and resource of war- Felt each securer in the other's might.
But on the morrow Sananona, who a Fortnight had been strayed, was hailed by friends And Otoe comrades straggled for pastime Among the Omahas, as he was seen With sweet Nacoumah, now his wedded wife. And straightway these, with garrulous speech at home Discoursing of the pair, their secret soon Touched at Shosguscan's ear. And for that he -- Judicial even in his social moods-
-
-
-
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Never forgave a personal affront.
.Or question of opinion, but was stern, And, as the ice upon a wintry stream, Cold and inflexible; forthwith he sent Two valiant warriors, creatures of his own, To summon Sananona from his bride, And bid him haste to his paternal chief, Who for his absence felt a deep concern. But Sananona, with shrewd speech, declined. Too well he guessed the great obnoxious paw Of the fierce panther, that o'ertakes the herds Among the mountain valleys by the Platte, Was lighter than his chief's official hand. But, as the Otoe heralds homeward turned, He to his new-made friends and kinsmen ran, And, gathering them-a listening group-apart, Thus spoke: "O friends, O brethren, now-for such To me ye are, since he who weds a wife Becomes more surely member of her house Than she of his-I claim your aid to-day. When first I saw Nacoumah, my cold heart- That in its chamber dragged a numb, dead life,
As, in some hollow trunk through wintry days Pent by the frigid darkness, clings the bee- Flew, like the bee in Spring-time, when the breast Of the broad prairie sparkles into bloom With flowers of every hue, and found in her Its treasure and its rest. With your consent, Her have I taken in all proper rites To share my lodge and life. But skies grow foul. This very hour Shosguscan, my tribe's chief, By embassy sent secretly to me, Commands my presence at his lodge, intent To force me from my bride. Stern, harsh is he- Inflexible, and lightly holds youth's love. Now would he widow her whom I have wed; And punish preference that goes from home. But you, good friends, I know your generous will, Your courage, and your might. And more I know ; I know you honor natural love and grief, And hate oppression that has no excuse. Be with me, then, I pray, in this dire strait, Nor let the chief Shosguscan snatch me hence! Much do I fear, lest coming with a band Of sturdy warriors trained to work his will,
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He seize me suddenly. That danger past, We may conclude this matter happily In council, tribe with tribe."
Forthwith replied Nacoumah's uncle, Chief Watonashie- Watonashie, among the Omahas Highest in rank: "O Sananona, hear! No harm shall reach you without due offense. I, these our kinfolk, all our warlike tribe, Will take due care that bold Shosguscan comes Not here, nor plays at force near us, unless- Indeed," and now Watonashie looked grave As one abstracted in a passing thought, And fingered with his mighty hand the plumes Fixed in the tough, smooth handle of his spear- "Unless, indeed, he try a game of war, And do his worst, and hazard all."
Thus, then, The Omahas, alert to aid the youth Whose fault seemed but the natural human way, Stood forth to champion him 'gainst his own tribe, And kept a wary watch.
Meanwhile the two Sent by Shosguscan for the Iron-Eyed Came empty-handed back and told their tale. Then from his seat wrathful Shosguscan rose- Zealous for his despised authority- And, gathering a score of stalwart braves Strode o'er the hills and neared the wealthy tents Of the stout-hearted Omahas. And, when Not turning right or left, as bent to work Only his errand and no parley hold, He pushed direct for Sananona's lodge, Sudden, across his pathway, shot a bar- Large-limbed Watonashie and warriors fierce, A host, who never turned away from war. So said then Watonashie: "Friend, wherefore here ? What means this show of force? This is no place To venture in rude guise of war."
As when
A gaunt wolf, wandering near the guarded folds, Falls in a trap of close serrated steel, And, stung by pain and maddened in his mind, Pulls at the chain and tests the firm trap's strength, But, mastered, yields at last, the Otoe chief
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Paused in the presence of superior force, His keen eye flashing forth impatient wrath, And thus replied: "I come to claim my right, Great chief, you know me well. Within your tents There lurks one Sananona, who is mine. For him alone I come. No blade of grass That's yours would we disturb. We ask our own- Just that. Give me the hiding fugitive, And let our tribes be friends as heretofore."
Then spoke Watonashie, a great-hearted chief : "Young Sananona is, indeed, with us, And wedded to a maiden of our blood- Nacoumah, niece of mine. A nobler pair Were never matched ;- he, tall and lithe of form As panther bred 'mid Black Hills pines, and she Soft as the moonlight of a night in May. Much do I love them-I who have no sons Or daughters, childless chief. So I do pray If Sananona, for some venial fault, Has merited your wrath, this timely day You speak his pardon and receive his thanks, And make him happy in his sweet-faced bride. - For his sake and for mine. So shall there be Peace and happy auspice for both tribes."
But promptly sage Shosguscan answered him: "This youth, great chief, for whom you plead so well, With headstrong purpose and for boyish whim Has broken rule, and furnished precedent To other youths and maids and sturdy braves To scorn authority. In every tribe Order stands only in obedience ; And he who rules soon loses just respect If culprits may escape unscathed. So now I cannot fault like his condone. All men Have friends to plead in their excuse; and faults, Beginning small, pass quickly on to worse. Confusions come, and anarchy and hate. A fountain, as it rises, may be choked, But none can quell a river."
Slowly, then, Watonashie, as one half-musing, said: "How much man prizes selfish sovereignty. He makes a rule accordant with his thought,
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And none shall break it with impunity. The happiness of units is a toy Weighed 'gainst a chief's command. This is not well. Better relax a rule, than break a heart Where no crime is." And then he paused, as one Who offers opportunity of speech. But silence reigned; no word the Otoe. chief Uttered; but stood defiant in his post. As one who will not yield. Then to his height The mighty-limbed Watonashie drew up His length enormous, and his fearful hand, Bony and vast, with threatening gesture raised, And flashed his furious eyes like shooting-stars, And in a voice of winter thunder cried, "He you seek, hard-hearted warrior, sits At ease within my tent. Go, take him now; Go, take him if you can; but, ere you go, Weigh well the outcome. You shall bite the dust Sooner than he, unless my might prove less Than yours; of that make trial when you will!"
To him Shosguscan, with a baleful face, But calmly, answered: "Do not doubt that I. Will take young Sananona from your tent. I will not yield the right, except to force I am unequal to oppose." So, then, He turned, and with him went the Otoe braves Back o'er the hills, and sought the Otoe tents. Then did Watonashie, restraining those Who longed to slay Shosguscan where he stood, Or chase him homeward like a flying stag, Gather together all the chiefs and braves Among the Omahas, and council hold And war-like preparation make.
So, too, Shosguscan called his Otoe warriors forth, And bade them summon up their utmost might, And fail not to avenge their chief's affront.
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