Cherokee! in slumbers Why lethargic wilt thou lie? Arise, and bring thy numbers Us to ally.
Arouse! Oh, then, awake thee! And hasten to my standard; For I will ne'er forsake thee, But ever lead the vanguard!
Come on, the brave Oneida, Seneca, Delaware, The promised land divide a- -Mong you when you're there."
The rhymes of "Judah" and "good a" and "standard" and "vanguard," are tolerably original; but they are beaten hollow by that of the last verse, "Oneida" and "divide a-"!—"-Mong you when you're there," is a sequel which has much more truth than elegance in it. "-Mong you (when you're there?)" we would suggest as a new and improved reading of the passage. The following is in a much more elevated style; there is a rough vigour about it which many of our own namby-pamby poetasters would do well to imitate. The rhymes are also more felicitous, and the measure and grammar less objectionable.
"The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter. We planned an expedition: We met a host, and quelled it; We took a strong position, And killed the men who held it!"
The above stanza is unique. Every line tells; and there is a raciness, a tartness about it, if we may so express it, which is quite delightful.
"The valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter."
Many ballads have been written about Rob Roy, who also had a sneaking inclination for the "fat sheep" of other people: but the daring simplicity of these lines has never been surpassed.
The song continues:
"On Norte's richest valley, There herds of kine were browsing; We made a nightly sally To furnish our carousing. Fierce soldiers rushed to meet us, We met them, and o'erthrew them; They struggled hard to beat us, But we conquered them, and slew them!