Sand Hills of the Nagow Wudjoo
A description of the Grand Sable, or great sand-dunes of LakeSuperior, is given in Foster and Whitney's Report on the Geology ofthe Lake Superior Land District, Part II. p. 131.
The original of this song may be found in Littell's Living Age,Vol. XXV. p. 45.
The fanciful tradition of the Red Swan may be found in Schoolcraft'sAlgic Researches, Vol. II. p. 9. Three brothers were hunting on awager to see who would bring home the first game.
Sing the mysteries of Mondamin.The Indians hold the maize, or Indian corn, in great veneration.
Wagemin, the thief of cornfields,Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear.
See also his history, Condition, and Prospects of the IndianTribes, Part II, p. 72.
The reader will find a long description of the Pictured Rocks inFoster and Whitney's Report on the Geology of the Lake Superior LandDistrict, Part II. p. 124. From this I make the following extract:--
In this manner, and with such salutations, was Father Marquettereceived by the Illinois. See his Voyages et Decouvertes,Section V.
Words in this poem
- sable n.
- A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family (Mustela zibellina) native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur. [OF. sable, F. zibeline sable (in sense 4), LL. sabellum; cf. D. sabel, Dan. sabel, zobel, Sw. sabel, sobel, G. zobel; all fr. Russ. sóbole.]
- pictured a.
- Furnished with pictures; represented by a picture or pictures; as, a pictured scene.
- illinois n.
- A tribe of North American Indians, which formerly occupied the region between the Wabash and Mississippi rivers.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Sand Hills of the Nagow Wudjoo is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sand Hills of the Nagow Wudjoo, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/sand-hills-of-the-nagow-wudjoo.html, id L17603.
Form and metre
Sand Hills of the Nagow Wudjoo is 20 lines in 8 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. 75% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 12.6 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 40% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| A description of the Grand Sable, or great sand-dunes of Lake | 15 | ·˘/˘···/˘······ |
| Superior, is given in Foster and Whitney's Report on the Geology of | 19 | ˘/˘·/·/˘·/˘˘/··˘/˘· |
| the Lake Superior Land District, Part II. p. 131. | 11 | ··˘/˘·/˘··· |
| The original of this song may be found in Littell's Living Age, | 16 | ·˘/˘·······/˘/˘· |
| Vol. XXV. p. 45. | 3 | ··· |
| The fanciful tradition of the Red Swan may be found in Schoolcraft's | 16 | ·/˘˘/˘········/· |
| Algic Researches, Vol. II. p. 9. Three brothers were hunting on a | 16 | ··˘/˘····/˘·/˘·· |
| wager to see who would bring home the first game. | 11 | /˘········· |
| Sing the mysteries of Mondamin. | 9 | ··/˘˘···· |
| The Indians hold the maize, or Indian corn, in great veneration. | 16 | ·/˘····/˘····˘/˘ |
| Wagemin, the thief of cornfields, | 8 | ······// |
| Paimosaid, who steals the maize-ear. | 8 | ········ |
| See also his history, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian | 16 | ·/˘·/˘˘/˘·/˘··/˘ |
| Tribes, Part II, p. 72. | 4 | ···· |
| The reader will find a long description of the Pictured Rocks in | 16 | ·/˘····˘/˘··/˘·· |
| Foster and Whitney's Report on the Geology of the Lake Superior Land | 19 | /˘·/˘˘/··˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| District, Part II. p. 124. From this I make the following extract:-- | 14 | /˘········/˘/· |
| In this manner, and with such salutations, was Father Marquette | 16 | ··/˘········/˘˘/ |
| received by the Illinois. See his Voyages et Decouvertes, | 15 | ˘/···˘/··/˘···· |
| Section V. | 3 | /˘· |
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