Three California Writers:

The Bird With The Wounded Wing
by Alfred C. Gillis

Edited by: Cindy Beck

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• Three California Writers Introduction
• Three California Writers Table of Contents

THE BIRD WITH THE WOUNDED WING

A Wintune Indian Legend Put Into Verse

High in the hills in the drifted snow,
On an Indian trail in the long ago,
A lovely bird that had missed its way,
Down in the snow exhausted lay.
Far from the North it had winged its way
To the snowy vales that Southward lay.
Spent and weary, with injured wing,
It fell to earth, a helpless thing.
A Wintune trod that lonely way,
And saw the bird that wounded lay.
With tenderness his heart was filled,
He warmed the bird the cold had chilled,
And placed it in his warm black hair.
In calm content it nestled there.

On Saunchululi^* wild and high,
Near where the rugged trail goes by.
Where leaps the dashing Trinity
In scenes of great sublimity,
He sat and gently bathed that wing
Until, relieved, the bird did sing.
It sang and sang its sweetest lay.
Then, in the darkness, flew away.
But never sweeter song was heard
Than was caroled by that grateful bird.

The years passed on, yea, rolled away,
Helpless, alone, the Indian lay.
A bird flew in his wigwam door,
And sang and sang as ne’er before,
Yes, sweetly sang as if to say,
A debt of love I come to pay.
The aged Indian raised his head,
And to the bird he softly said:
“O Messenger of good to me,
The Spirit Great now speaks through thee.
O sing again-my heart is sad,
O sing again-and make me glad.
Relieve me of my aches and pains
Restore me unto health again.”

As though he understood each word,
Such song ne’er came from throat of bird,
He sang as though his song should say,
I’ve come my precious debt to pay.
He sang away the Indian’s pain,
And brought new life and health again.

This is the tale the Shaman¹ told.
This is the tale the mountain told.

This treasure in these words I find,
The greatest good is to be kind.

*Original Note -  Saunchululi-“black rock mountain,” a sacred mountain in Trinity County.

1. A shaman is a spiritual leader

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