"Behold me, for I am a man![AB]
my feet are as swift as the West-wind.
With the coons and the beavers I ran;
but where is the elk or the _cabri?_[80]
Come!--where is the hunter will dare
match his feet with the feet of Tamdoka?
Let him think of _Tate_[AC] and beware,
ere he stake his last robe on the trial."
"_Oho! Ho! Ho-heca!_"[AD] they jeered,
for they liked not the boast of the boaster;
But to match him no warrior appeared,
for his feet wore the wings of the west-wind.
[AA] The wings.
[AB] A favorite boast of the Dakota braves.
[AC] The wind.
[AD] About equivalent to Oho!--Aha!--fudge!
Then forth from the side of the chief
stepped DuLuth and he looked on the boaster;
"The words of a warrior are brief,--
I will run with the brave," said the Frenchman;
"But the feet of Tamdoka are tired;
abide till the cool of the sunset."
All the hunters and maidens admired,
for strong were the limbs of the stranger.
"_Hiwo Ho!_"[AE] they shouted
and loud rose the cheers of the multitude mingled;
And there in the midst of the crowd
stood the glad-eyed and blushing Winona.
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