"Did earth ever see
On thy prairie's line
Tribes older than thine,
Old Chief of the Cree?"
"Before us we know
Of none who lived here;
Our shafts bade them go.
"But others have share
Of lake and of land,
A swift-footed band
No arrow can scare.
"Their coming has been
When flowers are gay;
On islet and bay
Their footprints are seen.
"There dance little feet
Light grasses they break;
Beneath the blue lake
Must be their retreat.
"We listen, and none
Hears ever a sound;
But where, lily-crowned,
Floats the isle in the sun,
"Three children we see
Like sunbeams at play.
And, voiceless as they,
Dogs bounding in glee.
"Of old they were there!
Ever young, who are these
Whom Death cannot seize?
What Spirits of air?"
THE "QU'APPELLE" VALLEY.
Morning, lighting all the prairies,
Once of old came, bright as now,
To the twin cliffs, sloping wooded
From the vast plain's even brow:
When the sunken valley's levels
With the winding willowed stream,
Cried, "Depart, night's mists and shadows;
Open-flowered, we love to dream!"
Then in his canoe a stranger
Passing onward heard a cry;
Thought it called his name and answered,
But the voice would not reply;
Waited listening, while the glory
Rose to search each steep ravine,
Till the shadowed terraced ridges
Like the level vale were green.