But love alone could not keep alive The Ricara boy and girl; The woods were scarce of game, No berries were on the heath, The winds had shaken the grapes from the vine, And hunger assail'd the pair. What did they then? They knelt and pray'd to the Master of Life-- Him of the terrible voice in the cloud-- To send them food, or call Their spirits away to the happy lands Beyond the vale of death. Did the Master hear? Brother he always hears When mortals go in clay(5) The Master sat on the crest of the world[F], Sat at the door of his mighty lodge, Tossing bright stars at the waning moon[G], When there came on the winds the woes of the pair, And pity filled his soul, And grief weighed down his heart. He called to his side the spirit that guards The warlike Indian race, The spirit of courage, and wisdom, and strength, And the fearless spirit came. "Dost thou see," said he, "the Ricara pair, Caltacotah and Miskwa, the Red, They have married themselves in the wilderness, And now they die for food. Look at the husband, note him well? He hath never dared to look on a foe, Nor paints his face as a warrior paints, Nor wears the gallant scalp-lock, Nor hath he a hunter's eye; Unable is he to strike a deer: The white and fringed skin of the goat, Which covers the breast of the maiden, conceals A manlier heart than his. Go, and end their woes." The spirit answered, "I hear." The shadows of evening fell on the earth, And the mists were out, And the bat was abroad. The Ricara pair were joyful now, For they had found a vine of grapes. On the willow bank that o'erlooks the stream, The shallow and turbid stream, And, though the grapes were shrivell'd and sour, These two were joyful now, When all at once, ere their lips had touch'd, The Manitou stood at their side, And trembling shook their limbs. He saw the woes of the pair, And he bade them cease to be; He bade them become a thing to show The mercy and goodness of Him that rules-- The flintiness of her father's heart-- Their own tried constancy; And he bade them remain in the wilderness, Till the rivers should cease to flow, And the stars should cease to shine.