Here and there the busy beavers
Built their dams and cozy houses
On the river tributaries.
To this land of wild abundance
In the year of eighteen forty,
Came the wary son of Mossock,
Built his shack against a boulder
On the side of Corliss Mountain,
Fearing not the forest creatures,
Or the shadows in the night time,
Fearing not the bears and wild cats.
Sly and crafty was this Indian,
Sly and crafty like his father,
Double talking with his neighbors,
Hardy, early Colebrook settlers,
Busy in their little village,
Busy building shops and houses,
Building meeting house and school house,
Busy making cloth of cotton,
By the sparkling Colebrook River.
There the busy store and tavern,
Where the people spent their money.
On the turnpike through the village,
Daily rolled the heavy stage coach,
Mail and people coming, going
By the sparkling Colebrook River.
Union Church, no longer needed
For the Sunday prayer and sermon,
Soon became the village center
Where the people met for business,
Where the people met for pleasure.
All the school was filled with children,
Ninety children in the school house,
Happy Colebrook River children
Playing daily by the road side.
On each holy, Sabbath morning,
All the church was filled with people.
Friends and neighbors prayed together,
Asking God to bless their children,
Praying to God to bless their village
By the sparkling Colebrook River.
41. MURDER OF BARNICE WHITE.
So Uncle Barnice White was slain,
"For a dead man tells no stories,"
While Henry waited in the rain,
"Tells no stories—tells no stories."