GENIUS OF THE WEST.
John Greenleaf Whittier, the distinguished American poet. Born at Haverhill, Mass, December 17, 1807. From his poem, "On receiving an eagle's quill from Lake Superior." By permission of Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Publishers, Boston.
I hear the tread of pioneers,
Of nations yet to be;
The first low wash of waves, where soon
Shall roll a human sea.
The rudiments of empire here
Are plastic yet and warm;
The chaos of a mighty world
Is rounding into form.
Each rude and jostling fragment soon
Its fitting place shall find—
The raw material of a state,
Its muscle and its mind.
And, westering still, the star which leads
The New World in its train
Has tipped with fire the icy spears
Of many a mountain chain.
The snowy cones of Oregon
Are kindling on its way;
And California's golden sands
Gleam brighter in its ray.