new every twist and turn of the river. At Mankate, meaning
"Blue Earth" in his language, it turned sharply to the north and east.
Bending Willow should see Mendota, "the meeting of the waters," for
there the beautiful Minnesota completed its long journey of four hundred
miles and mingled its "sky-tinted waters" with those of the
Mich-e-see-be, "Father of Running Waters."

Not there, however, would he beach his canoe. He would go further; past
the high white cliffs along the shore to Kaposia, and down the
Mich-e-see-be, upon whose western bank dwelt the Medawakantens. Then up
the Canon River to its head waters where stood the villages of the
Wahpekutes, the fourth tribe of the Minnesota Sioux. There he would
dwell with Bending Willow, the Fawn of the Dakotas, the most beautiful
woman of the Sioux nation.

[Illustration: FROM HIS LODGE SLOW DOG COULD SEE HER SLENDER FORM AS SHE
BUSIED HERSELF PREPARING FOOD.]

CHAPTER V

HAWK EYE'S OFFERING

Hawk Eye and Raven Wing pointed their canoes to the middle of the river
and bent to their paddles. In spite of its many twists and turns and the
menace of fallen trees floating in the channel, they made good progress.

The river ran through a narrow valley, with hillsides covered with white
flowers and bottom lands dotted with yellow cowslips. Birds, busy with
their nesting, winged their way through the balmy air. Willows,
cottonwoods, elms and soft maples made a leafy border along the shore.

Toward late afternoon they came to a widening of the river.

"Lac Qui Parle," Hawk Eye called back, slowing down that Raven Wing
might come alongside. "I have heard my father say that in the paleface
tongue. It means the 'lake that speaks.'"

"Black Eagle once told me that the Mich-e-see-be has a great widening
which is called Lake Pepin by the white man. It is bordered by high
bluffs and cliffs so steep that very few cedars can take root," answered
Raven Wing.

"I have heard my father tell that only low hills guard the Minnesota
until its fringe of trees thickens and it enters the big woods. The
hills change to bluffs that creep closer to the water. At the mouth of
the Blue Earth River there is but a narrow strip of sand. From there on
the Minnesota makes a bend upward toward the land of snow and the rising
sun," said Hawk Eye.

"It is a long river," said Raven Wing. "We shall have dipped our paddles
many, many times before we come to the trading post."

"Have you fully d