The Voyageur and Other Poems | Page 8

tak' me On
de place I dunno w'ere--me--you mus' pay beeg price, Jo-seph. You can
carry me off to-morrow, so I 'm never comin' back--me-- But you 'll
lose upon de bargain, for de price I want's you'se'f."
I was purty good for tradin', mebbe tak' it from ma fader, For de ole
man 's alway tryin' show me somet'ing dat was new-- But de trade I
mak' dat evenin' wit' poor Rosalie, I rader Not say not'ing moche about
it, dough it 's bes' I never do.
So we settle on de reever wit' de bush for miles behin' us-- Here we
buil' de firse log shaintee, only me an' Rosalie-- Dat 's de woman help
her husban'! an' w'en winter come an' fin' us We was ready waitin' for
heem jus' as happy as could be.
Bar'l o' pork an' good potato, wan or two oder t'ing too
Leetle w'isky,
plaintee flour, an' wood-pile stannin' near-- Don't min' de hardes' winter,
an' fat enough in spring too-- De folk dat 's comin' handy w'en you
want de contree clear!
Rosalie, you see her outside on de porch dere wit' her knittin'-- Yass, of
course I know she 's changin' since de day she marry me-- An' she 'll
never sit no more dere on de fence lak leetle kitten-- She 'd be safer on
a stone wall, but she 's still ma Rosalie.
All alone: de neares' shaintee, over ten mile down de reever-- An' might
be only yesterday, I 'member it so well--
W'en I 'm comin' home wan
morning affer trappin' on de beaver, An' ma wife is sayin', "Hurry, go
an' fetch Ma-dame Labelle."
If you 're stan'in' on de bank dere, you mus' t'ink I 'm crazy feller By de
way I work de paddle, an' de way canoe she go--
But Ma-dame know
all about it, an' I never need to tell her, An' we jus' get back in tam' dere
for welcome leetle Joe.

Dat 's de way dem woman 's doin' for help along each oder, For Pierre
Labelle he 's comin' now an' den for Rosalie-- Of course dere 's many
tam too, dey got to be godmoder--
An' w'en dey want godfader, w'y
dere 's only Pierre an' me.
Twenty year so hard we 're workin', twenty year reapin', sowin',
Choppin' tree an' makin' portage, an' de chil'ren help us too-- But it 's
never feelin' lonesome w'ile de familee is growin', An' de cradle seldom
empty, an' we got so moche to do.
Den w'en all de work is finish, w'at dey 're callin' de surveyor He 's
comin' here an' fin' us, an' of course so well he might-- For it 's easy job
to foller, w'en de road is lyin' dere, So blin' man he can walk it wit' hees
eyes closed, darkes' night.
An' de nex' t'ing dere 's a township, an' de township bring de taxes, An'
it 's leetle hard on us too, dat 's way it seem to me-- An' de Gover'ment,
I s'pose dey 'll never t'ink at all to ax us For de small account dey 're
owin' mese'f an' Rosalie.
So we 'll see de beeg procession very soon come up de reever-- Some
will settle on de roadside, some will stay upon de shore-- But de ole
place we be clearin', I don't t'ink we 'll never leave her, Dough we 're all
surroun' by stranger an' we 're
in de worl' wance more.
[Illustration: Border]
Natural Philosophy
Very offen I be t'inkin' of de queer folk goin' roun',
And way dey kip
a-talkin' of de hard tam get along--
May have plaintee money too, an'
de healt' be good an' soun'-- But you 'll fin' dere 's alway somet'ing
goin' wrong--
'Course dere may be many reason w'y some feller
ought to fret-- But me, I 'm alway singin' de only song I know--
'T is
n't long enough for music, an' so short you can't forget, But it drive

away de lonesome, an' dis is how she go,
"Jus' tak' your chance, an'
try your luck."
Funny feller 's w'at dey call me--"so diff'ren' from de res'," But
ev'rybody got hees fault, as far as I can see--
An' all de t'ing I 'm doin',
I do it for de bes',
Dough w'en I 'm bettin' on a race, dat 's often loss
for me-- "Oho!" I say, "Alphonse ma frien', to-day is not your day, For
more you got your money up, de less your trotter go-- But never min'
an' don't lie down," dat 's w'at I alway say, An' sing de sam' ole song
some more, mebbe a leetle slow-- "Jus' tak' your chance, an' try your
luck."
S'pose ma uncle die an' let me honder-dollar, mebbe two-- An' I don't
tak' hees advice--me--for put heem