o'er the emerald hills and the heather;
Like grey-hounds they pant and they yearn,
and the leader of all is Tamdoka.
At his heels flies Hu-pa-hu, [a] the fleet
--the pride of the band of Kaoza,
A warrior with eagle-winged feet,
but his prize is the bow and the quiver.
Tamdoka first reaches the post,
and his are the knife and the blanket,
By the mighty acclaim of the host
and award of the chief and the judges.
Then proud was the tall warrior's stride,
and haughty his look and demeanor;
He boasted aloud in his pride,
and he scoffed at the rest of the runners.
"Behold me, for I am a man! [b]
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 [c] and beware,
ere he stake his last robe on the trial."
"Oho! Ho! Ho-heca!" [d] 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.

[a] The wings.
[b] A favorite boast of the Dakota braves.