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88 OTHER VERSE |
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Not long ago, where now we stand, With blessings rich, on every hand The war-whoop through the forest rang, Among the pines the wild winds sang; The screams of eagles in the air Met echo in the gray wolf's lair; The bison, with his shaggy mane, Grazed, all unharmed, upon the plain; The paddle of the light canoe Flashed where the water-lilies grew ; In Nature's garb the land was drest, From mountain's foot to craggy crest, And all was fresh, untouched and wild, The free home of the forest child.
But soon, from toward the rising sun, Was heard the white man's axe and gun; The forest bowed before his hand, And as a garden bloomed the land; The ploughshare turned the virgin soil, And rich rewards repaid the toil Of every hardy pioneer Who built his humble cabin here. Fair cities decked the boundless west, And here, the fairest and the best Sprang up as if the builder's arm Was aided by a magic charm, And soon o'er hill, and vale and stream, |
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