第 57 节
作者:空白协议书      更新:2021-02-21 16:29      字数:9320
  He has moved a little nearer
  To the Master of all music;
  To the Master of all singing!
  O my brother; Chibiabos!〃
  And the melancholy fir…trees
  Waved their dark green fans above him;
  Waved their purple cones above him;
  Sighing with him to console him;
  Mingling with his lamentation
  Their complaining; their lamenting。
  Came the Spring; and all the forest
  Looked in vain for Chibiabos;
  Sighed the rivulet; Sebowisha;
  Sighed the rushes in the meadow。
  From the tree…tops sang the bluebird;
  Sang the bluebird; the Owaissa;
  〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
  He is dead; the sweet musician!〃
  From the wigwam sang the robin;
  Sang the robin; the Opechee;
  〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
  He is dead; the sweetest singer!〃
  And at night through all the forest
  Went the whippoorwill complaining;
  Wailing went the Wawonaissa;
  〃Chibiabos! Chibiabos!
  He is dead; the sweet musician!
  He the sweetest of all singers!〃
  Then the Medicine…men; the Medas;
  The magicians; the Wabenos;
  And the Jossakeeds; the Prophets;
  Came to visit Hiawatha;
  Built a Sacred Lodge beside him;
  To appease him; to console him;
  Walked in silent; grave procession;
  Bearing each a pouch of healing;
  Skin of beaver; lynx; or otter;
  Filled with magic roots and simples;
  Filled with very potent medicines。
  When he heard their steps approaching;
  Hiawatha ceased lamenting;
  Called no more on Chibiabos;
  Naught he questioned; naught he answered;
  But his mournful head uncovered;
  From his face the mourning colors
  Washed he slowly and in silence;
  Slowly and in silence followed
  Onward to the Sacred Wigwam。
  There a magic drink they gave him;
  Made of Nahma…wusk; the spearmint;
  And Wabeno…wusk; the yarrow;
  Roots of power; and herbs of healing;
  Beat their drums; and shook their rattles;
  Chanted singly and in chorus;
  Mystic songs like these; they chanted。
  〃I myself; myself! behold me!
  'T is the great Gray Eagle talking;
  Come; ye white crows; come and hear him!
  The loud…speaking thunder helps me;
  All the unseen spirits help me;
  I can hear their voices calling;
  All around the sky I hear them!
  I can blow you strong; my brother;
  I can heal you; Hiawatha!〃
  〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
  〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
  〃Friends of mine are all the serpents!
  Hear me shake my skin of hen…hawk!
  Mahng; the white loon; I can kill him;
  I can shoot your heart and kill it!
  I can blow you strong; my brother;
  I can heal you; Hiawatha!〃
  〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
  〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
  〃I myself; myself! the prophet!
  When I speak the wigwam trembles;
  Shakes the Sacred Lodge with terror;
  Hands unseen begin to shake it!
  When I walk; the sky I tread on
  Bends and makes a noise beneath me!
  I can blow you strong; my brother!
  Rise and speak; O Hiawatha!〃
  〃Hi…au…ha!〃 replied the chorus;
  〃Way…ha…way!〃 the mystic chorus。
  Then they shook their medicine…pouches
  O'er the head of Hiawatha;
  Danced their medicine…dance around him;
  And upstarting wild and haggard;
  Like a man from dreams awakened;
  He was healed of all his madness。
  As the clouds are swept from heaven;
  Straightway from his brain departed
  All his moody melancholy;
  As the ice is swept from rivers;
  Straightway from his heart departed
  All his sorrow and affliction。
  Then they summoned Chibiabos
  From his grave beneath the waters;
  From the sands of Gitche Gumee
  Summoned Hiawatha's brother。
  And so mighty was the magic
  Of that cry and invocation;
  That he heard it as he lay there
  Underneath the Big…Sea…Water;
  From the sand he rose and listened;
  Heard the music and the singing;
  Came; obedient to the summons;
  To the doorway of the wigwam;
  But to enter they forbade him。
  Through a chink a coal they gave him;
  Through the door a burning fire…brand;
  Ruler in the Land of Spirits;
  Ruler o'er the dead; they made him;
  Telling him a fire to kindle
  For all those that died thereafter;
  Camp…fires for their night encampments
  On their solitary journey
  To the kingdom of Ponemah;
  To the land of the Hereafter。
  From the village of his childhood;
  From the homes of those who knew him;
  Passing silent through the forest;
  Like a smoke…wreath wafted sideways;
  Slowly vanished Chibiabos!
  Where he passed; the branches moved not;
  Where he trod; the grasses bent not;
  And the fallen leaves of last year
  Made no sound beneath his footstep。
  Four whole days he journeyed onward
  Down the pathway of the dead men;
  On the dead…man's strawberry feasted;
  Crossed the melancholy river;
  On the swinging log he crossed it;
  Came unto the Lake of Silver;
  In the Stone Canoe was carried
  To the Islands of the Blessed;
  To the land of ghosts and shadows。
  On that journey; moving slowly;
  Many weary spirits saw he;
  Panting under heavy burdens;
  Laden with war…clubs; bows and arrows;
  Robes of fur; and pots and kettles;
  And with food that friends had given
  For that solitary journey。
  〃Ay! why do the living;〃 said they;
  〃Lay such heavy burdens on us!
  Better were it to go naked;
  Better were it to go fasting;
  Than to bear such heavy burdens
  On our long and weary journey!〃
  Forth then issued Hiawatha;
  Wandered eastward; wandered westward;
  Teaching men the use of simples
  And the antidotes for poisons;
  And the cure of all diseases。
  Thus was first made known to mortals
  All the mystery of Medamin;
  All the sacred art of healing。
  XVI
  PAU…PUK…KEEWIS
  You shall hear how Pau…Puk…Keewis;
  He; the handsome Yenadizze;
  Whom the people called the Storm…Fool;
  Vexed the village with disturbance;
  You shall hear of all his mischief;
  And his flight from Hiawatha;
  And his wondrous transmigrations;
  And the end of his adventures。
  On the shores of Gitche Gumee;
  On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo;
  By the shining Big…Sea…Water
  Stood the lodge of Pau…Puk…Keewis。
  It was he who in his frenzy
  Whirled these drifting sands together;
  On the dunes of Nagow Wudjoo;
  When; among the guests assembled;
  He so merrily and madly
  Danced at Hiawatha's wedding;
  Danced the Beggar's Dance to please them。
  Now; in search of new adventures;
  From his lodge went Pau…Puk…Keewis;
  Came with speed into the village;
  Found the young men all assembled
  In the lodge of old Iagoo;
  Listening to his monstrous stories;
  To his wonderful adventures。
  He was telling them the story
  Of Ojeeg; the Summer…Maker;
  How he made a hole in heaven;
  How he climbed up into heaven;
  And let out the summer…weather;
  The perpetual; pleasant Summer;
  How the Otter first essayed it;
  How the Beaver; Lynx; and Badger
  Tried in turn the great achievement;
  From the summit of the mountain
  Smote their fists against the heavens;
  Smote against the sky their foreheads;
  Cracked the sky; but could not break it;
  How the Wolverine; uprising;
  Made him ready for the encounter;
  Bent his knees down; like a squirrel;
  Drew his arms back; like a cricket。
  〃Once he leaped;〃 said old Iagoo;
  〃Once he leaped; and lo! above him
  Bent the sky; as ice in rivers
  When the waters rise beneath it;
  Twice he leaped; and lo! above him
  Cracked the sky; as ice in rivers
  When the freshet is at highest!
  Thrice he leaped; and lo! above him
  Broke the shattered sky asunder;
  And he disappeared within it;
  And Ojeeg; the Fisher Weasel;
  With a bound went in behind him!〃
  〃Hark you!〃 shouted Pau…Puk…Keewis
  As he entered at the doorway;
  〃I am tired of all this talking;
  Tired of old Iagoo's stories;
  Tired of Hiawatha's wisdom。
  Here is something to amuse you;
  Better than this endless talking。〃
  Then from out his pouch of wolf…skin
  Forth he drew; with solemn manner;
  All the game of Bowl and Counters;
  Pugasaing; with thirteen pieces。
  White on one side were they painted;
  And vermilion on the other;
  Two Kenabeeks or great serpents;
  Two Ininewug or wedge…men;
  One great war…club; Pugamaugun;
  And one slender fish; the Keego;
  Four round pieces; Ozawabeeks;
  And three Sheshebwug or ducklings。
  All were made of bone and painted;
  All except the Ozawabeeks;
  These were brass; on one side burnished;
  And were black upon the other。
  In a wooden bowl he placed them;
  Shook and jostled them together;
  Threw them on the ground before him;
  Thus exclaiming and explaining:
  〃Red side up are all the pieces;
  And one great Kenabeek standing
  On the bright side of a brass piece;
  On a burnished Ozawabeek;
  Thirteen tens and eight are counted。〃
  Then again he shook the pieces;
  Shook and jostled them together;
  Threw them on the ground before him;
  Still exclaiming and explaining:
  〃White are both the great Kenabeeks;
  White the Ininewug; the wedge…men;
  Red are all the other pieces;
  Five tens and an eight are counted。〃
  Thus he taught the game of hazard;
  Thus displayed it and explained it;
  Running through its various chances;