ee a er a 
1898-99. | FAMOUS ALGONQUINS ; ALGIC LEGENDS. 309 
was established, the affection of Hiawatha for the place of his birth 
revived. He returned eastward in his old age to the country of the 
Onondagas where he died.” “Longfellow, using a large poetic license, 
has transported the hero, with his Iroquois, to the shores of Lake 
Superior, and has made him an Ojibway chief; but he has preserved the 
outlines of his character, and in some respects, of his history.”(aa) 
Mr. W. M. Beauchamp, late Secretary of the Anthropological section 
of the American Association for the advancement of science, discussing 
the history and career of Hiawatha, says,(60) “When Longfellow’s 
Hiawatha appeared I was prepared to greet an old friend, and was 
surprised at being introduced to an Ojibway instead of an Jroquois 
leader. The change, however, gave a broader field for his beautiful poem, 
a gain to all readers, but as he retained little beyond the name it may be 
needless to refer to that charming work. It preserves, however, the 
leading thought, 
** How he prayed, and how he fasted, 
How he lived and toiled and suffered, 
That the tribes of men might prosper, 
That he might advance his people.” 
Professor Campbell ascribes to the League an ancient Asiatic origin. 
Dr. Brinton sets down this legend as a fanciful tale, based on old 
traditions. Dr. A. F. Chamberlain refers to “Manabozho or Nanabush, 
the demi-god and culture hero of the Chippewas and other kindred tribes, 
whose character and achievements Longfellow has mingled with those 
of the Iroquois patriot and statesman Hiawatha, to produce the majestic 
figure of his great epic.’ (cc) 
The American poet may be said, in placing an Iroquois head on an 
Algic body, to have, in a manner, violated one of the main rules in 
Horace’s Art of Poetry. Longfellow himself says that the legends are 
gathered, 
‘From the forest and the prairie, 
From the Great Lakes of the North-land, 
From the land of the Ojibways, 
From the land of the Dakotahs.’’(dd) 
(aa) ‘‘ Am. Folk Lore Journal,” Vol, iii, 182. 
(b8) ‘‘Am. Folk Lore Journal,” Vol. iv, 295. 
(ec) ‘‘Am. Folk Lore Journal,” iv, 193, and ix, 48, and note a ante. 
(dd} The critical reader may trace the Algic, as distinguished from the more sombre Iroquois character 
described by Mr. Parkman, in the greater portion of the legends forming the ‘‘ Song of Hiawatha.” ‘‘ Osseo, 
son ot the Evening Star,” is expressly stated by Mr. Schoolcraft to be an Algonkian tale. Among the 
beautiful songs rendered at the Wedding Feast by Chibiabos is the ‘‘ Maiden’s Lamentation for ber lover, 
her Algonquin.” ‘*Paw-Pak-Keewis or the Storm Fool,” is a Chippewa. Kwasind, the strong man, is 
stated by Schoolcratt to have been of Pauwating Village, now Sault Ste. Marie. He is the Ojibwa 
Hercules of the Epic. His strength was concentrated in the crown of his head, which was the 
