Slipped free on a mountain side.
Jake Dale turned 'round an' give one look
An' read the truth like a printed book,
Then bent to his oars till the keel-post shook,
An' pulled fer the "George's" side.
He jammed her bow through the buckin' tide
Till the painter floated free;
With blinded eyes an' drippin' skin
He fought fer the race he had set to win
Like a soldier fights, till the ice rolled in