er such circumstances to dole away time which has no value to him,
and to cheat hunger and want, is esteemed a trait of philosophy. If
there is a morsel to eat in the lodge, it is given to the children. The
women imitate this stoicism and devotion of the men. Not a tone in the
narration tells of dismay in their domestic circumstances, not an eye
acknowledges the influence of grief. Tell me whether the dignity of
this position is not worthy of remembrance. The man, it may be, shall
pass away from the earth, but these tributes to the best feelings of
the heart will remain, while these simple tales and legendary creations
constitute a new point of character by which he should be judged. They
are, at least, calculated to modify our views of the man, who is not
always a savage, not always a fiend.

[5] Gross.

HIAWATHA;

OR,

MANABOZHO.

The myth of the Indians of a remarkable personage, who is called
Manabozho by the Algonquins, and Hiawatha by the Iroquois, who was the
instructor of the tribes in arts and knowledge, was first related to me
in 1822, by the Chippewas of Lake Superior. He is regarded as the
messenger of the Great Spirit, sent down to them in the character of a
wise man, and a prophet. But he comes clothed with all the attributes
of humanity, as well as the power of performing miraculous deeds. He
adapts himself perfectly to their manners, and customs, and ideas. He
is brought up from a child among them. He is made to learn their mode
of life. He takes a wife, builds a lodge, hunts and fishes like the
rest of them, sings his war songs and medicine songs, goes to war, has
his triumphs, has his friends and foes, suffers, wants, hungers, is in
dread or joy--and, in fine, undergoes all the vicissitudes of his
fellows. His miraculous gifts and powers are always adapted to his
situation. When he is swallowed by a great fish, with his canoe, he
escapes by the exertion of these powers, but always, as much as
possible, in accordance with Indian maxims and means. He is provided
with a magic canoe, which goes where it is bid; yet, in his fight with
the great wampum prince, he is counselled by a woodpecker to know where
the vulnerable point of his antagonist lies. He rids the earth of
monsters and giants, and clears away windfalls, and obstructions to the
navigation of streams. But he does not do these feats by miracles; he
employs strong men to help him. When he means to destroy the great
serpents, h