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SOLDIER SONGS
They had swept Minnesota with bullet and brand
Till her borders lay waste as a desert of sand,
When we in Dakota awakened to find
That the red flood had risen and left us behind.
Then we rallied to fight them,— Sioux, Sissetons, all
Who had ravaged unchecked to the gates of Saint Paul.
Is it strange, do you think, that the women took fright That morning, and prayed; that men, even, turned white When over the ridge where the college now looms We caught the first glitter of lances and plumes And heard the dull trample of hoofs drawing nigh, Like the rumble of thunder low down in the sky?
Such sounds wrench the nerves when there's little to see; It seemed madness to stay, it was ruin to flee. But, handsome and fearless as Anthony Wayne, Our captain, Frank Ziebach, kept hold on the rein, Like a bugle his voice made us stiffen and thrill — "Stand steady, boys, steady! And fire to kill!"
So the most of us stayed. But when dangers begin You will always find some who are yellow within. We had a few such, who concluded to steer For the wagon-train, parked in the centre and rear. They didn't stay long! But you've heard, I dare say, Of the girl who discouraged their running away.
What, no? Never heard of Miss Edgar? Why, sir,
Dakota went wild with the praises of her!
As sweet as a hollyhock, slender and tall,
And brave as the sturdiest man of us all.
By George, sir, a heroine, that's what she made,
When her spirit blazed out in the Yankton stockade!
The women were sobbing, for every one knew
She must blow out her brains if the redskins broke through,
When into their midst, fairly gasping with fright,
Came the panic-struck hounds who had fled from the fight.
They trampled the weak in their blind, brutal stride,
Made straight for the wagons and vanished inside. |
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