war-whoop, or sent back the Indian's low, mellow songs of peace, or
mingled with the heavy roar of thy failing waters the mournful dirge of
the doomed one, to the Great Manitou.




STORY OF THE LUNAR BOW,
(_Which brilliantly adorns Niagara Falls by moonlight_),

OR

Origin of the Totem [Footnote: The coat of arms of a clan.] of the Wolf.


FIRST LEGEND.

The tradition of the Lunar Bow, the Manitou's bright path, or the origin
of the totem of the wolf, was traced with a scene long remembered at
their councils, passing from generation to generation, and still sung by
the Indian mothers in their far-off home towards the setting sun--the
last foot-hold of the dark sons of the forest on this their native land.
On the east side of the Falls of Niagara, before the hallowed waters of
the mist fell, on the pale-faced warrior or the sound of the axe had
even broken the great stillness of their undisputed soil, the dark
shadows of the primeval forest fell only on rock and wigwam.

The red-topped sumach and sweet sassafras grew thick on either side,
while ledges of rocks here and there pierced the foliage of the
cedar-crowned banks 'round which tumbled and roared the mad waves,