unless you know what river was called the "father of waters" it will be a secret as to where the golden hearted and the wise men went when they took leave of the zipa. there are many quaint stories told about this river, and also about the queer mounds and earthworks built by a strange race of men who lived ages ago in that part of our country. their descendants are not very civilized and seem to have forgotten much that their ancestors knew although they have some very pretty ideas. for instance, they imagine that they hear voices in the growing branches and whispering leaves of the trees, and they see little vanishing men in the cliffs everywhere. they say that the great spirit makes the indian summer by puffing smoke out of his cheeks, from his great peace pipe.
before the golden hearted came they built a medicine lodge—a kind of temple facing the sunrise, in a place called the "moon of leaves." when it was finished, wunzh, a youth of noble character and tender heart, summoned the spirits of the 81 four quarters of the world and the day maker to come to his fire and disclose the hidden things of the distance and future.
no one can tell why they named the golden hearted, "michabo, the great white hare," unless it was because he came in the time of the year represented in their calendar by a rabbit. they kept a record of the seasons by crude pictures drawn on the inside bark of trees, and with them the months were called moons.
no one blames them for saying the wise men were jossakeeds or prophets, because they really did look peculiar in their long robes, beards and tall black hats, especially to men who had on buffalo robes and feather head dresses.
wunzh and his tribe received the golden hearted with solemn faces and much respect when they heard that he came from the four quarters of the world, which we know was the land of the inca, very far south.
"welcome, great white chief," they said, "come and sit by our council fire. our hearts have long been weary waiting for you."
when they were all seated wunzh handed the golden hearted a peace pipe shaped like a tomahawk filled with tobacco and already lighted. not a word was spoken until every one present had taken three whiffs out of the pipe. then the golden hearted said:
"i come to speak for my brothers, the fish, the animals, the creeping things and the feathered 82 messengers of the air. i often listen to their complaints and they charge you with slaying them for food when the grains and fruits would serve you better."
"we are not disdainful of the grapes and berries concealed in our forests," replied wunzh, "but we have no grain save rice and this must be carried on our backs for many days. our snows and chill winds kill the plant before its seeds appear."
"whatever the reason may be you will never do any real good in the world until you learn how to fast days at a time and can live without eating so much flesh. even your vaunted skill with bow and arrow is not genuine. i am a better shot."
the wise men were alarmed for a moment fearing that wunzh would be angry and that his followers would be offended also. besides they had never heard the golden hearted speak boastfully before, and they were puzzled to know what would happen next.
"i am willing to try the bow with my friend," said wunzh, with a flash of the eye and a toss of the head, which showed that he was vain and had an uncertain temper.
"when will it suit you to make the contest," quietly asked the golden hearted, as he arose and turned to leave the council fire.
"to-morrow's sun," answered wunzh, haughtily, "and when it is so high," indicating a space in the sky that would make it quite early in the morning. 83
"let it take place in the large square surrounded by your lodges," said the golden hearted, carelessly as he walked toward the one assigned for his use.
to the wise men he said:
"leave me for a little time, i wish to be alone."
they wondered what he could mean by such language and such actions. it was evident that he did not intend to make any explanation to them, so they could only wait to see what the outcome would be.
once inside the tent the golden hearted began to work on a plaited disc of straw. as soon as it was finished, he drew rings of red, blue, black and white all around the big yellow center, and was propping it up to dry when wunzh appeared at the door of the lodge.
"i have come to show you the center pole where you may hang up the target, and we will then step off the distance between the different shooting stations," he said. "the rule requires each of us to speed two dozen arrows from the nearest point, twice that many from the middle ground, and seventy-two from the outside post."
while in the happy island, the prince had learned all about the use of the bow and arrow, but this was the first time he had an opportunity to show his skill, and the wise men were anxious that he should not fail, because they knew that 84 the friends of wunzh would not have much respect for him if he did. they could not understand how he could be so smiling and unconcerned.
the fame of wunzh as a bowman was known far and wide and the descendants of the mound builders were certain he would win. at daybreak the next morning there was a solid line of warriors around the ring where the trial was to be made, and they were as motionless and stolid looking as if they had been carved out of wood. no one could tell by their faces what they were thinking and they would not have turned their heads for anything. some of them made a kind of music on a tom-tom or indian drum and wunzh and the golden hearted marched in step like soldiers, and smiled and bowed to everybody as they came into the ring. the golden hearted knew all the time that he was the doubtful one, and just for a moment he glanced at the anxious faces of the wise men. though not sure in their hearts they nodded encouragingly and before he had touched a bow every eye in the crowd was upon him.
the keepers of the bows and arrows were very fair minded, and were careful to see there were no knots or gnarls or cracks in the waxy brown hunting bow made of straight grained mulberry wood. the one to be used was six feet long and its tips were of polished elk horn, and there was a buckskin handhold in the center. the hickory arrows were as smooth as glass with very sharp saw-teeth edges on the flint heads. around the 85 notch end there were three vanes of eagle feathers.
the descendants of the mound builders were courteous enough to give their guest the first shot. as the golden hearted pulled a buckskin shield over his right hand he looked up at the wise men, and his eyes said:
"trust me! i shall not fail."
then he stooped quickly and raised the bow from the ground and placed it against his knee cap to get a good purchase. with an upward body movement he drew the long bow as far as he could, faced the painted disc target and let fly. like the arrow that sped so swiftly that it caught fire as it flew, this one sang through the air and imbedded itself in the blue ring where it rocked and shook violently.
"the great white hare has won five points!" shouted the tally keepers in the judge's corner.
"what skill!" said one pointing to the still quivering arrow. "what strength!" said another, while the wise men began to feel very proud indeed.
it was such hard work that the face of golden hearted was flushed but he shut his teeth together hard, and was determined to make a still better effort.
his second shot sent the arrow into the red ring nearly opposite the blue, and this scored him seven points.
"there is fine aiming!" said the judges to each other, while the other people leaned over in their seats and watched intently. 86
there was just a shadow of a smile on the lips of the golden hearted, as he made ready for the final shot from the first station.
"ping!" and the third arrow fairly whistled as it hit the exact center of the yellow spot.
instantly the whole crowd were on their feet, all talking at once and making so much noise that the tally keepers could not be heard.
"five—seven—nine are the points; twenty-one for final score," they shouted.
the golden hearted flung down his bow and stepped to one side to make room for wunzh. he stood wiping the perspiration off his forehead and was pleased because he saw that every one felt kindly toward him.
"now the jossakeeds will learn how to shoot!" exclaimed the men who had backed wunzh.
"he will never equal the first score," said others who were skillful with a bow and arrow themselves and knew how hard it was to make such fine shots.
wunzh sent his first arrow with a vim and energy that showed he had been in constant practice, but all three of his darts sped feebly and barely indented the black ring.
"the jossakeeds hold the first station," announced the judges. "move on to the next one."
now came the real test of skill, and every man was interested because they all made use of the bow and arrow, in hunting and in war, and had no other kind of weapon except a knife. hundreds 87 of the spectators left their seats and crowded around the contestants.
the heavy hunting bow was laid aside now and one made of elastic but tough yew was substituted. the arrows had finely-pointed obsidian heads, matched and smooth but sharp as a needle.
the golden hearted was careful to see that the yew was properly seasoned and when satisfied, he placed the arrow on the left side of the bow with its notch set on the string. he drew the string back to just below the chin, aimed over the arrow tip and let fly.
the spectators were quick to see that his aim, draw, finish and loose was perfect even in speeding the arrows so fast they could scarcely be seen. when shooting three at a time he drove all of them into the yellow center within a quarter of an inch of each other!
the friends of wunzh shouted and screamed:
"it is not fair! he uses too many arrows. give us justice!" until the judges were compelled to order the warriors to drive the crowd back again with the points of their spears.
in the noise, confusion and excitement every one forgot the birds perched on a cross bar at the top of the pole supporting the target. there was a blue jay, a raven, a white dove and a green parrot. each had a string attached to one leg. now of course they remembered and crowded around to hear what the judges would say.
"will the prince of the jossakeeds take a shot 88 at the birds before being crowned with the yew wreath of valor?"
as soon as the golden hearted could make himself heard he said:
"i am willing to comply with your request, but i hope i shall not hurt any of the birds."
"the parrot shall cry your aim, and must remain unharmed. you may kill the blue or the black bird, but you must release the peaceful dove uninjured. will you remember these conditions?"
the golden hearted came within range and waited for a favorable opportunity. by a sudden jerk of the cord coming down the side of the pole the cross bar was set to whirling rapidly and this frightened the birds until they tried to fly away. the parrot was chained fast and to make the aim more difficult, the other birds were fastened by strings of different lengths. the marksman must free each one of them and then hit it before it could escape. the first liberated was the blue jay. the golden hearted cut the cord neatly and wounded the bird while it was still rising. the arrow fell near the base of the pole bringing the right wing with it.
this won him the wreath, and he now turned to the wise men for a signal. they could demand the last three shots. would they do it? he inclined his head toward them as one of the number picked up a black flag and waved it. there was an answering shout and a cheer, and the golden hearted prepared to shoot again. this time he 89 aimed at the raven and cut the string near the pole. its weight caused the captive to fly in an oblique line downward for a moment. quick as a flash the second arrow sped and the raven fell to the ground pierced through the heart! without looking to see what had happened the golden hearted shot at the dove and as it flew up in a circle everybody saw that it was unharmed.
"the house of wunzh"
then they fought and struggled with each other for the privilege of carrying the victor off the grounds, but the golden hearted escaped through a side door and ran away as fast as he could. he did not wish to speak to any one nor have them see how unhappy he felt. he really was heartbroken because he had killed the raven.
