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XXXVIII.

'Or shall we cross yon mountains blue,

'Whose streams my kindred nation quaff'd?

And by my side, in battle true,

A thousand warriors drew the shaft?

Ah! there in desolation cold,

The desert serpent dwells alone,

'Where grass o'ergrows each mould'ring bone,

And stones themselves to ruin

grown,

Like me, are death-like old.

'Then seek we not their camp for there

The silence dwells of my despair!'

XXXIX.

But hark, the trump!

-

to-morrow thou

6

In glory's fires shalt dry thy tears:

• Ev'n from the land of shadows now

My father's awful ghost appears,

Amidst the clouds that round us roll;

'He bids my soul for battle thirst

---

He bids me dry the last-the first
The only tears that ever burst
From Outalissi's soul;

'Because I may not stain with grief
'The death-song of an Indian chief.'

--

NOTES.

PART I.

Stanza 3. 1. 6.

From merry mock-bird's song.

The mocking bird is of the form, but larger, than the thrush; and the colours are a mixture of black, white, and grey. What is said of the nightingale, by its greatest admirers, is, what may with more propriety apply to this bird, who, in a natural state, sings with very superior taste. Towards evening I have heard one begin softly, reserving its breath to swell certain notes, which, by this means, had a most astonishing effect. A gentleman in London had one of these birds for six years. During the space of a minute he was heard to imitate the woodlark, chaffinch, blackbird, thrush, and sparrow. In this country (America) I have frequently known the mocking birds so engaged in this mimicry, that it was with much difficulty I could ever obtain an op

D

portunity of hearing their own natural note. Some go so far as to say, that they have neither peculiar notes, nor favourite imitations. This may be denied. Their few natural notes resemble those of the (European) nightingale. Their song, however, has a greater compass and volume than the nightingale, and they have the faculty of varying all intermediate notes in a manner which is truly delightful.-ASHE'S Travels in America. Vol. II. p. 73.

Stanza 5. 1. 9.

Or distant isles that hear the loud Corbrechtan roar.

The Corybrechtan, or Corbrechtan, is a whirlpool on the western coast of Scotland, near the island of Jura, which is heard at a prodigious distance. Its name signifies the whirlpool of the Prince of Denmark; and there is a tradition that a Danish Prince once undertook, for a wager, to cast anchor in it. He is said to have used woollen instead of hempen ropes, for greater strength, but perished in the attempt. On the shores of Argyleshire I have often listened with great delight to the sound of this vortex, at the distance of many leagues. When the weather is calm, and the adjacent sea scarcely heard on these picturesque shores, its sound, which is like the sound of innumerable chariots, creates a magnificent and fine effect.

Stanza 13. 1. 4.

Of buskin'd limb and swarthy lineament.

In the Indian tribes there is a great similarity in their colour, stature, &c. They are all, except the Snake Indians, tall in stature, straight, and robust. It is very seldom they are deformed, which has given rise to the supposition that they put to death their deformed children. Their skin is of a copper colour; their eyes large, bright black, and sparkling, indicative of a subtile and discerning mind: their hair is of the same colour, and prone to be long, seldom or never curled. Their teeth are large and white; I never observed any decayed among them, which makes their breath as sweet as the air they inhale.Travels through America by Capts. LEWIS and CLARKE, in 1804-5-6.

Stanza 14. 1. 6.

Peace be to thee-my words this belt approve. The Indians of North America accompany every formal address to strangers, with whom they form or recognize a treaty of amity, with a present of a string, or belt, of wampum. Wampum (says Cadwallader Colden) is made of the large whelk shell, Briccinum, and shaped like long beads: it is the current money of the Indians.-History of the five Indian Nations, page 34. New York Edition.

Stanza 14. 1. 7.

The paths of peace my steps have hither led. In relating an interview of Mohawk Indians with the Governor of New York, Colden quotes the following passage as a specimen of their metaphorical "Where shall I seek the chair of peace? Where shall I find it but upon our path? and whither doth our path lead us but unto this house ?"

manner:

Stanza 15. 1. 2.

Our wampum league thy brethren did embrace. When they solicit the alliance, offensive or defensive, of a whole nation, they send an embassy with a large belt of wampum and a bloody hatchet, inviting them to come and drink the blood of their enemies. The wampum made use of on these and other occasions, before their acquaintance with the Europeans, was nothing but small shells which they picked up by the sea-coasts, and on the banks of the lakes; and now it is nothing but a kind of cylindrical beads, made of shells, white and black, which are esteemed among them as silver and gold are among us. The black they call the most valuable, and both together are their greatest riches and ornaments; these among them answering all the end that money does amongst us. They have the art of stringing, twisting, and interweaving them into their belts, collars, blankets, and mocazins, &c. in ten

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