Chapter 13: XI

XI At the Teepee Fireside Go not eastward, go not westward, For a stranger, whom we know not! Like a fire upon a hearth-stone Is a neighbor’s homely daughter, Like the starlight or the moonlight Is the handsomest of strangers! Hiawatha Cogewea sat squaw-fashion on the bearskin in Stemteemä’s teepee, her daily visit with hot food for the old grandparent. She was telling her of the riders; jokes played, of the horses and dogs, nor did she forget th…