Then let them talk of their race divine, Their glittering domes, and sparkling wine; Give me a lodge, like my fathers had, And my tall, straight, beautiful Indian lad.
SHINGABAWOSSIN.
[A ruling chief of the Chippewa nation, of noble mien and respected character, who died and was buried on the banks of lake Superior in 1828, aged about 76.]
Blest be the spot that marks the chieftain’s tomb— There let the bright red flowers of summer bloom, And, as the winds sweep heavily along, Be they the warrior’s chant and funeral song; And yearly there, his native woods shall fling Their leafy honors o’er their sylvan king, While far around, the big and stormy wave Casts foamy incense o’er his rustic grave.
Footnotes:
[1] A name inveterately recorded in our annals, under the false orthography of Tecumseh—which is not true Shawanoe.
[2] Print of the Loon’s foot.
[3] An abbreviation of Git-chi-go-mee,—the Indian name for Lake Superior.