the wild beauty of the North, and of its wilderness folk, a beauty so inadequately expressed by the printed word, I shall be most happy. If they do not thus succeed—it was Walter Savage Landor—was it not?—who said, "There is delight in singing, though none hear beside the singer."
Although a few of the poems in Parts I and III presuppose on the part of the reader some knowledge of the American Indian, most of them will readily yield their meaning without the aid of supplementary notes. I have incorporated in each poem most of the special information concerning Indian folk-lore of which the casual reader may not be informed. Likewise, the correct pronunciation of the various Chippewa words which are used is made clear by the accents and the phonetic spelling; and their meanings may be readily grasped from their context. However, for the benefit of the reader who may be interested in further details concerning the ceremonials and legends that lie at the foundation of certain of the poems, I have added a brief section of expository comments in the Appendix, beginning on page 71. I suggest that the reader glance at these supplementary notes before reading the poems in Part I and Part III upon which they bear.
I wish to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to Miss Harriet Monroe, the editor of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse, to Mr. Carl Sandburg, and to Professor Stuart P. Sherman of the University of Illinois for their encouragement and their helpful suggestions, and to many other friends for valuable criticisms. Lew Sarett.
