第31章

The Hunting of Pau-Puk-KeewisFull of wrath was Hiawatha When he came into the village, Found the people in confusion, Heard of all the misdemeanors, All the malice and the mischief, Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis.

Hard his breath came through his nostrils, Through his teeth he buzzed and muttered Words of anger and resentment, Hot and humming, like a hornet.

"I will slay this Pau-Puk-Keewis, Slay this mischief-maker!" said he.

"Not so long and wide the world is, Not so rude and rough the way is, That my wrath shall not attain him, That my vengeance shall not reach him!"Then in swift pursuit departed Hiawatha and the hunters On the trail of Pau-Puk-Keewis, Through the forest, where he passed it, To the headlands where he rested;But they found not Pau-Puk-Keewis, Only in the trampled grasses, In the whortleberry-bushes, Found the couch where he had rested, Found the impress of his body.

From the lowlands far beneath them, From the Muskoday, the meadow, Pau-Puk-Keewis, turning backward, Made a gesture of defiance, Made a gesture of derision;And aloud cried Hiawatha, From the summit of the mountains:

"Not so long and wide the world is, Not so rude and rough the way is, But my wrath shall overtake you, And my vengeance shall attain you!"Over rock and over river, Through bush, and brake, and forest, Ran the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis;Like an antelope he bounded, Till he came unto a streamlet In the middle of the forest, To a streamlet still and tranquil, That had overflowed its margin, To a dam made by the beavers, To a pond of quiet water, Where knee-deep the trees were standing, Where the water lilies floated, Where the rushes waved and whispered.

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, On the dam of trunks and branches, Through whose chinks the water spouted, O'er whose summit flowed the streamlet.

From the bottom rose the beaver, Looked with two great eyes of wonder, Eyes that seemed to ask a question, At the stranger, Pau-Puk-Keewis.

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, Flowed the bright and silvery water, And he spake unto the beaver, With a smile he spake in this wise:

"O my friend Ahmeek, the beaver, Cool and pleasant Is the water;Let me dive into the water, Let me rest there in your lodges;Change me, too, into a beaver!"

Cautiously replied the beaver, With reserve he thus made answer:

"Let me first consult the others, Let me ask the other beavers."Down he sank into the water, Heavily sank he, as a stone sinks, Down among the leaves and branches, Brown and matted at the bottom.

On the dam stood Pau-Puk-Keewis, O'er his ankles flowed the streamlet, Spouted through the chinks below him, Dashed upon the stones beneath him, Spread serene and calm before him, And the sunshine and the shadows Fell in flecks and gleams upon him, Fell in little shining patches, Through the waving, rustling branches.

From the bottom rose the beavers, Silently above the surface Rose one head and then another, Till the pond seemed full of beavers, Full of black and shining faces.

To the beavers Pau-Puk-Keewis Spake entreating, said in this wise:

"Very pleasant Is your dwelling, O my friends! and safe from danger;Can you not, with all your cunning, All your wisdom and contrivance, Change me, too, into a beaver?""Yes!" replied Ahmeek, the beaver, He the King of all the beavers, "Let yourself slide down among us, Down into the tranquil water."Down into the pond among them Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis;Black became his shirt of deer-skin, Black his moccasins and leggings, In a broad black tail behind him Spread his fox-tails and his fringes;He was changed into a beaver.

"Make me large," said Pau-Puk-Keewis, "Make me large and make me larger, Larger than the other beavers.""Yes," the beaver chief responded, "When our lodge below you enter, In our wigwam we will make you Ten times larger than the others."Thus into the clear, brown water Silently sank Pau-Puk-Keewis:

Found the bottom covered over With the trunks of trees and branches, Hoards of food against the winter, Piles and heaps against the famine;Found the lodge with arching doorway, Leading into spacious chambers.

Here they made him large and larger, Made him largest of the beavers, Ten times larger than the others.

"You shall be our ruler," said they;

"Chief and King of all the beavers."

But not long had Pau-Puk-Keewis Sat in state among the beavers, When there came a voice, of warning From the watchman at his station In the water-flags and lilies, Saying, "Here Is Hiawatha!

Hiawatha with his hunters!"

Then they heard a cry above them, Heard a shouting and a tramping, Heard a crashing and a rushing, And the water round and o'er them Sank and sucked away in eddies, And they knew their dam was broken.

On the lodge's roof the hunters Leaped, and broke it all asunder;Streamed the sunshine through the crevice, Sprang the beavers through the doorway, Hid themselves in deeper water, In the channel of the streamlet;But the mighty Pau-Puk-Keewis Could not pass beneath the doorway;He was puffed with pride and feeding, He was swollen like a bladder.

Through the roof looked Hiawatha, Cried aloud, "O Pau-Puk-Keewis Vain are all your craft and cunning, Vain your manifold disguises!

Well I know you, Pau-Puk-Keewis!"

With their clubs they beat and bruised him, Beat to death poor Pau-Puk-Keewis, Pounded him as maize is pounded, Till his skull was crushed to pieces.

Six tall hunters, lithe and limber, Bore him home on poles and branches, Bore the body of the beaver;But the ghost, the Jeebi in him, Thought and felt as Pau-Puk-Keewis, Still lived on as Pau-Puk-Keewis.

And it fluttered, strove, and struggled, Waving hither, waving thither, As the curtains of a wigwam Struggle with their thongs of deer-skin, When the wintry wind is blowing;Till it drew itself together, Till it rose up from the body, Till it took the form and features Of the cunning Pau-Puk-Keewis Vanishing into the forest.