Coming nearer, nearer to him, 75 And he shouted through the water, "Esa! esa! shame upon you! You are but the pike, Kenozha, You are not the fish I wanted, You are not the King of Fishes!" 80 Reeling downward to the bottom Sank the pike in great confusion, And the mighty sturgeon, Nahma, Said to Ugudwash, the sun-fish, "Take the bait of this great boaster, 85 Break the line of Hiawatha!" Slowly upward, wavering, gleaming, Like a white moon in the water; Rose the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, Seized the line of Hiawatha, 90 Swung with all his weight upon it, Made a whirlpool in the water, Whirled the birch canoe in circles, Round and round in gurgling eddies, Till the circles in the water 95 Reached the far-off sandy beaches, Till the water-flags and rushes Nodded on the distant margins. But when Hiawatha saw him Slowly rising through the water, 100 Lifting his great disc of whiteness, Loud he shouted in derision, "Esa! esa! shame upon you! You are Ugudwash, the sun-fish, You are not the fish I wanted, 105 You are not the King of Fishes!" Wavering downward, white and ghastly, Sank the Ugudwash, the sun-fish, And again the sturgeon, Nahma, Heard the shout of Hiawatha, 110 Heard his challenge of defiance, The unnecessary tumult, Ringing far across the water. From the white sand of the bottom Up he rose with angry gesture, 115 Quivering in each nerve and fibre, Clashing all his plates of armor, Gleaming bright with all his war-paint; In his wrath he darted upward, Flashing leaped into the sunshine, 120 Opened his great jaws, and swallowed Both canoe and Hiawatha. Down into that darksome cavern Plunged the headlong Hiawatha, As a log on some black river 125 Shoots and plunges down the rapids, Found himself in utter darkness, Groped around in helpless wonder, Till he felt a great heart beating, Throbbing in that utter darkness. 130 [Illustration: "That the birch canoe stood endwise, Like a birch log in the water, With the squirrel Adjidaumo, Perched and frisking on the summit."]