djeewug!
Kumaudjeewug!_ they have met, fought, and conquered, was shouted from
every mouth, and resounded through the most distant parts of the
village. The aged warrior, whom weakness and decrepitude had compelled
to throw down the bow and the spear, and the eagle-eyed boy, who was
fast gaining upon the ripened period when he should take them up, did
each his part in celebrating the feats which the one had equalled, and
the other hoped to outdo. The wife, with a proud mien, came forward to
meet the embraces of her renowned husband; the timid maiden, with a
downcast eye, to steal a look at her valiant lover. Those who had lost
friends came eagerly to enquire their fate, and to know whether they
had died like men. The decrepid father consoled himself for the loss
of his son with the reflection that he had fallen manfully, and the
widow half forgot her sorrow amid the praises that were bestowed on
the bravery of her departed husband. The breasts of the youths glowed
with martial ardour as they heard these flattering praises, and
children joined in the shouts of which they hardly knew the meaning,
except that they related to the scalps suspended from the bloody pole.
But, amidst all this uproar and bustle, no one seemed conscious of the
presence of the wounded chief. He heard many inquiries about his own
fate; he heard them say that he had fought, conquered, and fallen,
pierced through his breast with an arrow, and that his body had been
left among the slain.

"It is not true," replied the indignant chief, with a loud voice,
"that I was killed and left upon the field--I am here. I live! I
move!--See me! Touch me! I shall again raise my lance, and bend my bow
in battle; I shall again sound my drum at the feast. My voice will
again be tuned to sing my exploits in the ears of listening youth, and
my arm raised to strike the painted post preparatory to the hostile
incursion." But nobody seemed conscious of his presence, and they
mistook the loudest tones of his voice for the mildest whispering of
the winds. He now walked to his own lodge; he saw his wife within,
tearing her hair, and raising her lamentations over his fate: he
endeavoured to undeceive her, but she also seemed equally insensible
to his presence or his voice: she sat in a despairing manner, with her
head reclining upon her hands: he asked her to bind up his wounds, but
she made no reply: he then placed his mouth close to her ear, and
vociferated, "I am hungry, g