It was counted an honor not only by the tribe to whose lot it
fell to make the costly sacrifice, but even by the doomed maiden
herself. The only daughter of a widowed Chief of the Seneca
Indians was chosen as a sacrificial offering to the Spirit of
Niagara. Tolonga, the Great Elk, was bravest among the warriors,
and devotedly attached to his child, but, when the lot fell on
her, he crushed down in the pride of Indian endurance the
feelings of grief that filled his bosom. The eventful night
arrived. The moon arose and shone brightly down oh the turmoil of
Niagara, when the White Canoe and its precious freight glided
from the bank and swept out into the dread rapid. The young girl
calmly steered towards the centre of the stream, when suddenly
another canoe shot forth upon the water and, under the strong
impulse of the Seneca Chief, flew like an arrow to destruction.
It overtook the first; the eyes of father and child met in a
parting gaze of love, and then they plunged together over the
Cataract into Eternity.




THE WHITE CANOE.

_A Legend of Niagara Falls_

A CANTATA.


MINAHITA, Indian Maiden.
OREIKA, Her Friend.