It spoke and the white father heard,—­
          it interpreted visions and omens. 
And often they bade him to pray
          this marvelous spirit to answer,
And tell where the sly Chippewa
          might be ambushed and slain in his forest. 
For Menard was the first in the land,
          proclaiming, like John in the desert,
“The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand;
          repent ye, and turn from your idols.” 
The first of the brave brotherhood that,
          threading the fens and the forest,
Stood afar by the turbulent flood
          at the falls of the Father of Waters.

[Illustration:  FATHER RENE MENARD]

[M] It is wonderful!

[N] The morning.

In the lodge of the Stranger[O] he sat,
          awaiting the crown of a martyr;
His sad face compassion begat
          in the heart of the dark-eyed Winona. 
Oft she came to the teepee and spoke;
          she brought him the tongue of the bison,
Sweet nuts from the hazel and oak,
          and flesh of the fawn and the mallard. 
Soft hanpa[P] she made for his feet
          and leggins of velvety fawn-skin,
A blanket of beaver complete,
          and a hood of the hide of the otter. 
And oft at his feet on the mat,
          deftly braiding the flags and the rushes,
Till the sun sought his teepee
          she sat, enchanted with what he related
Of the white-winged ships on the sea
          and the teepees far over the ocean,
Of the love and the sweet charity of the Christ
          and the beautiful Virgin.

[O] A lodge set apart for guests of the village.

[P] Moccasins.

She listened like one in a trance
          when he spoke of the brave, bearded Frenchmen,
From the green, sun-lit valleys of France
          to the wild Hochelaga[Q] transplanted,
Oft trailing the deserts of snow
          in the heart of the dense Huron forests,
Or steering the dauntless canoe
          through the waves of the fresh-water ocean. 
“Yea, stronger and braver are they,”
          said the aged Menard to Winona,
“Than the head-chief, tall Wazi-kute,[74]
          but their words are as soft as a maiden’s,
Their eyes are the eyes of the swan,
          but their hearts are the hearts of the eagles;
And the terrible Masa Wakan[R]
          ever walks by their side like a spirit;
Like a Thunder-bird, roaring in wrath,
          flinging fire from his terrible talons,
He sends to their enemies death
          in the flash of the fatal Wakandee."[S]

[Q] The Ottawa name for the region of the St. Lawrence River.

[R] “Mysterious metal”—­or metal having a spirit in it.  This is the common name applied by the Dakotas to all firearms.

[S] Lightning.