ACT III.
HIAWATHA’S WOOING,
TRIBE OF OJIBWAYS.
Scene First.
Hiawatha’s Discussion with Nokomis and Departure.
Scenery:
Same as Act II. This is supposed to be the TRIBE
and land of THE OJIBWAYS. Showing the INTERIOR of the TEPEE of Old
NOKOMIS. HIAWATHA; (tall, straight, of majestic figure, commanding
aspect, dashing and handsome,) is seen shaping an arrow to fit a bow.
NOKOMIS; a majestic Indian woman as befits HIAWATHA’S grandmother, sits
making a robe of deer skin or work of like kind. HIAWATHA sits working,
thinking, pondering.
Description of Hiawatha:
Out of childhood into manhood
Now had grown my Hiawatha.
Skilled in all the craft of hunters,
Learned in all the lore of old men,
In all youthful sports and pastimes,
In manly arts and labors.
Swift of foot was Hiawatha;
He could shoot an arrow from him,
And run forward with such fleetness,
That the arrow fell behind him!
Strong of arm was Hiawatha;
He could shoot ten arrows upward,
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness,
That the tenth had left the bow-string
Ere the first to earth had fallen!
He had mittens, Minjekahwun,
Magic mittens made of deer-skin;
When upon his hands he wore them,
He could smite the rocks asunder
He could grind them into powder.
He had moccasins enchanted,
Magic moccasins of deer-skin:
When he bound them round his ankles,
When upon his feet he tied them,
At each stride a mile he measured!
Hiawatha; (speaking meditatively):
As unto the bow the cord is,
So unto the man is woman,
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other!
Nokomis; (in a warning and dissuading voice):
Wed a maiden of your people,
Go not eastward, go not westward,
For a stranger, whom we know not!
Like a fire upon the hearth-stone
Is a neighbor’s homely daughter,
Like the starlight or the moonlight
Is the handsomest of strangers!
Hiawatha; (persuadingly):
Dear old Nokomis,
Very pleasant is the firelight.
But I like the starlight better,
Better do I like the moonlight!
Nokomis; (gravely):
Bring not here an idle maiden,
Bring not here a useless woman,
Hands unskillful, feet unwilling;
Bring a wife with nimble fingers,
Heart and hand that move together,
Feet that run on willing errands!
Hiawatha, (Smiling):
In the land of the Dacotahs
Lives the Arrow-maker’s daughter,
Minnehaha, Laughing water,
Handsomest of all the women.
I will bring her to your wigwam,
She shall run upon your errands,
Be your starlight, moonlight, firelight,
Be the sunlight of my people!
Nokomis, (still dissuading):
Bring not to my lodge a stranger
From the land of the Dacotahs!
Very fierce are the Dacotahs,
Often is there war between us.
There are feuds yet unforgotten,
Wounds that ache and still may open!
Hiawatha, (laughing):
For that reason, if no other,
Would I wed the fair Dacotah,
That our tribes might be united,
That old feuds might be forgotten,
And old wounds be healed forever!
During this conversation HIAWATHA stops his
work and prepares for his journey, OLD NOKOMIS becoming more and more
earnest and entreating as his preparations proceed: when he goes, she
follows and tries to detain him, then watches him out of sight, and the
curtain falls while she stands alone, weeping, despondent and sorrowing
at the door of her wigwam.
Description of Hiawatha:
Dressed for travel, armed for hunting;
Dressed in deer-skin shirt and leggings,
Richly wrought with quills and wampum;
On his head his eagle-feathers.
Round his waist his belt of wampum,
In his hand his bow of ash-wood,
Strung with sinews of the reindeer;
In his quiver oaken arrows,
Tipped with jasper, winged with feathers;
With his mittens, Minjekahwun,
With his moccasins enchanted.
Act, Hiawatha:
Thus departed Hiawatha
To the land of the Dacotahs,
To the land of handsome women;
Act, Nokomis:
Homeward weeping went Nokomis
Sorrowing for her Hiawatha.
ACT III.
Scene Second.
Hiawatha’s Journey.
Scenery:
A short scene can be given here, showing a deep
forest, also giving a view of Hiawatha upon his
journey and with his bow and arrow, shooting the
deer which he takes MINNEHAHA as a gift, and lays
at her feet on his arrival.
Act, Hiawatha:
Through the forest deep and lonely,
Then he journeyed without resting,
Till he heard the cataract’s laughter,
Heard the Falls of Minnehaha
Calling to him through the silence.
Standing, Listening, he murmured,
Hiawatha:
Pleasant is the sound!
Pleasant is the voice that calls me!
On the outskirts of the forest,
Twixt the shadow and the sunshine,
Herds of fallow deer were feeding.
But they saw not Hiawatha;
Hiawatha (whispering to his bow):
Fail not!
Hiawatha (whispering to his arrow):
Swerve not!
Sent it singing on its errand,
To the red heart of the roebuck;
Threw the deer across his shoulder,
And sped forward without pausing.
ACT III.
“TRIBE OF THE DACOTAHS,”
HOME OF THE ARROW-MAKER.
Scene Third.
Wooing of Minnehaha.
Scenery:
As perfect an imitation as possible of the
Scenery of and about MINNEHAHA FALLS. With the FALLS, also Very High
Rocks in the background. In the foreground, at the base of Minnehaha
Falls, a wigwam, representing the appearance and interior of a wigwam
of the DACOTAH TRIBE. MINNEHAHA to be tall, straight, dashing and
handsome. (See the following Description.)
In the land of the Dacotahs,
Where the Falls of Minnehaha
Flash and gleam among the oak-trees,
Laugh and leap into the valley.
Very spacious was the wigwam,
Made of deer-skin dressed and whitened,
With the Gods of the Dacotahs
Drawn and painted on its curtains,
And so tall the doorway, hardly
Hiawatha stooped to enter,
Hardly touched his eagle-feathers
As he entered at the doorway.
Act, Arrow-maker:
At the doorway of his wigwam
Sat the ancient Arrow-maker,
In the land of the Dacotahs,
Making arrow-heads of jasper,
Arrow-heads of chalcedony.
Description of Minnehaha:
At his side in all her beauty,
Sat the lovely Minnehaha,
Sat his daughter, Laughing water
Plaiting mats of flags and rushes;
Feet as rapid as the river,
Tresses flowing like the water,
And as musical a laughter;
And he named her from the river,
From the water-fall he named her,
Minnehaha, Laughing Water
Act, Minnehaha:
She was thinking of a hunter,
From another tribe and country,
Young and tall and very handsome.
On the mat her hands lay idle,
And her eyes were very dreamy.
Through her thoughts she heard a footstep,
Heard a rustling in the branches,
Act, Hiawatha:
And with glowing cheek and forehead,
With the deer upon his shoulders,
Suddenly from out the woodlands
Hiawatha stood before them.
Act, Arrow-maker:
Straight the ancient Arrow-maker
Looked up gravely from his labor,
Laid aside the unfinished arrow,
Bade him enter at the doorway,
Saying, as he rose to meet him,
Arrow-maker:
Hiawatha, you are welcome!
Act, Hiawatha:
At the feet of Laughing Water
Hiawatha laid his burden,
Threw the red deer from his shoulders;
Act, Minnehaha:
And the maiden looked up at him,
Looked up from her mat of rushes,
Said with gentle look and accent.
Minnehaha:
You are welcome, Hiawatha!
Act, Minnehaha:
Then uprose the Laughing Water,
From the ground fair Minnehaha,
Laid aside her mat unfinished,
Brought forth food and set before them,
Water brought them from the brooklet,
Gave them food in earthen vessels,
Gave them drink in bowls of bass-wood.
The following conversation to be carried on
between the ARROW-MAKER and HIAWATHA while MINNEHAHA brings the food
etc., and sets before them.
Hiawatha, (with much expression):
“You know of my wondrous birth and being,
How I prayed and how I fasted,
How I lived, and toiled, and suffered,
That the tribes of men might prosper,
That I might advance my people!”
Dear Old Nokomis who has nursed me in my childhood
needs a daughter now to help her.
To the lodge of old Nokomis
I would bring the moonlight, starlight, firelight,
Bring the sunshine to my people,
Give me Minnehaha, Laughing Water,
Handsomest of all the women
In the land of the Dacotahs,
In the land of handsome women.
There is happiness and plenty
In the land of the Ojibways,
In the pleasant land and peaceful.
Act, Minnehaha:
See the face of Laughing Water,
Peeping from behind the curtain,
Hear the rustling of her garments
From behind the waving curtain,
Listened while the guest was speaking,
Listened while her father answered,
But not once her lips she opened,
Not a single word she uttered.
Yes, as in a dream she listened
To the words of Hiawatha.
Hiawatha, (with deep feeling):
After many years of warfare,
Many years of strife and bloodshed,
There is peace between the Ojibways
And the tribe of the Dacotahs.
Hiawatha; In his earnestness rising, speaking
slowly, with Great Expression, and turning toward Minnehaha.
“That this peace may last forever,
And our hands be clasped more closely,
And our hearts be more united,
Give me as my wife this maiden,
Minnehaha, Laughing Water,
Loveliest of Dacotah women!”
Act, Hiawatha:
Reseats himself, looking expectantly and earnestly
at the Arrow-maker for his reply.
Act, Arrow-maker:
And the ancient Arrow-maker
Paused a moment ere he answered,
Smoked a little while in silence,
Looked at Hiawatha proudly,
Fondly looked at Laughing Water,
Then made answer very gravely:
Arrow-maker (with deep feeling):
Yes, if Minnehaha wishes;
Let your heart speak, Minnehaha.
Act, Minnehaha:
And the lovely Laughing Water
Seemed more lovely, as she stood there,
Neither willing nor reluctant.
Act, Minnehaha:
Turns FIRST to ONE and THEN to the OTHER,
hesitates at thought of leaving her father, goes to him, then turning,
looking at Hiawatha, hesitates.
Act, Minnehaha:
Then, she went to Hiawatha
Softly took the seat beside him,
While she said, and blushed to say it.
Minnehaha:
I will follow you my husband!
Arrow-maker:
Rising, going over and speaking to Hiawatha.
You have wooed and won my maiden,
With your stories of the North-land!
Happy are you, Hiawatha,
Having such a wife to love you!
Arrow-maker; turning, speaking to his daughter:
Happy are you, Laughing Water,
Having such a noble husband!
Arrow-maker, (to both):
O my children,
Love is sunshine, hate is shadow,
Life is checkered shade and sunshine,
Rule by love, O Hiawatha!
“O my children,
Day is restless, night is quiet,
Man imperious, women feeble;
Half is hers although she follows
Rule by patience, Laughing Water!”
Act, Hiawatha and Minnehaha:
From the wigwam he departed,
Leading with him Laughing Water;
Hand in hand they went together,
Left the old man standing lonely
At the doorway of his wigwam.
Arrow-maker, very sorrowfully:
Fare thee well, O Minnehaha!
Act, Arrow-maker:
And the ancient Arrow-maker
Turned again unto his labor,
Sat down by his sunny doorway,
Murmuring to himself, and saying:
Arrow-maker, (meditatively and with much expression):
“Thus it is our daughters leave us
Those we love, and those who love us!
Just when they have learned to help us,
Just when we are old and lean upon them,
Comes a youth with flaunting feathers,
With his flute of reeds, a stranger
Wanders piping through the village,
Beckons to the fairest maiden,
And she follows where he leads her,
Leaving father, mother, home, friends,
Leaving ALL things, for the Stranger.”
Hiawatha and Minnehaha are to be seen (while
Arrow-maker is thus sitting at the doorway and meditating); first
winding in and out among the trees, then climbing the rocks, coming
into view, then disappearing behind rocks; then again being seen
wending their way higher and higher upon the rocks, and when the SUMMIT
of the MINNEHAHA FALLS is reached, they are seen, Hiawatha, with his
arm around Minnehaha, pointing to the wigwam in the valley below. The
Old Arrow-maker sees them at the same time, rises, (shading his eyes
with his hand) and looks upward at them. HOME SWEET HOME is played
behind the scenes, soft and low, with stringed instruments, while they
are climbing the rocks, and various colored lights are thrown upon the
scene, making an effective and beautiful tableaux.
