Verses and Rhymes By the Way

by Norah

We of the forest free,
Born into liberty,
We, lords of all we see
In our own valleys.
Their chief across the waves,
Asked for Iroquois braves,
To be the chained slaves,
Of his war galleys?

Should we the mighty, then,
We, the Iroquois men,
Smoke the peace pipe with them
With these marauders!
No! we, the feared in strife,
Hunted the precious life,
With the red scalping knife,
Through all our borders.

If the fierce war-whoop rung,
In the Iroquois tongue,
And the red warriors sprung
On the pale faces;
Let, then, the guilt accursed,
Fall heaviest and worst,
On who raised the hatchet first
Of the two races.

In the sweet moon of leaves,
When birds the soft nest weaves,
And the free water heaves
Beneath the blue heavens.
Upwards the white braves go,
Vowed to meet us foe to foe,
Landed at the wild Long Sault,
In the calm spring even.

Danlac, their biggest brave,
Gathered a band to save,
The rest from a bloody grave,
From our revenges.
Not for their own land they
Fought as they did that day;
But to take ours away
And to have vengeance.

We vowed, in warrior pride,
To rise, a rushing tide,
And sweep the country wide,
With a death riddance.
To burn their palisades,
And to the forest glades,
In change for Indian maids,
Bear their white maidens.

In painted plumed array,
Hot, panting for the fray,
Our paddles beat the spray
Of the wild water.
Shot through the rapids white,
The war cry of our might,
Rose as we flashed in sight,
Eager for slaughter

Then scouting watchers run,
Then loud alarm of drum,
Shouts of, "The foe! they come,"
Rung through the forest.
Then we, three hundred strong,
Burning with sense of wrong,
Raised our loud battle song,
Sounding the onset.

From the old fort there broke,
Volleying flame and smoke,
And the loud echoes woke
With pale face thunder.
And shot in torrents fell,
As if the hottest hell,
Of which the black robes tell;
Opened in wonder,

Woe to the white race, woe!
Wild we dashed at the foe,
Showering blow on blow
On their defences
We with our bosoms bare,
Surged up against their lair;
They in a brave despair,
Behind their fences,