"
And the Indians discharged their guns in quick succession towards the
northern horizon, which was brilliantly illuminated with the Aurora
Borealis; thus hoping to ward off coming danger.
The brother and sister were left alone at the door of the teepee. The
stern warrior's looks expressed superstitious terror, while the maiden's
face was calm and fearless. "Do you not fear the power of the woman who
sits in the north, Wenona? she shows those flashes of light to tell us
of coming evil."
"What should I fear," said Wenona; "I, who will soon join my mother, my
father, my sisters, in the land of spirits? Listen to my words, my
brother: there are but two of us; strife and disease have laid low the
brave, the good, the beautiful; we are the last of our family; you will
soon be alone.
"Before the leaves fell from the trees, as I sat on the banks of the
Mississippi, I saw the fairy of the water. The moon was rising, but it
was not yet bright enough for me to see her figure distinctly. But I
knew her voice; I had often heard it in my dreams. 'Wenona,' she said,
(and the waves were still that they might hear her words), 'Wenona, the
lands of the Dahcotah are green and beautiful--but there are fairer
prairies than those on earth.
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