The Voyageur and Other Poems

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Title: The Voyageur and Other Poems
Author: William Henry Drummond
Illustrator: Frederick Simpson Coburn
Release Date: February 16, 2007 [EBook #20609]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
? START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VOYAGEUR AND OTHER POEMS ***
Produced by Al Haines
[Frontispiece: "So I fill de glass an' I raise it high
An' drink to de Voyageur."]
THE VOYAGEUR
AND OTHER POEMS
By William Henry Drummond, M.D.
Author of "The Habitant," "Johnnie Courteau," etc.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY
Frederick Simpson Coburn
SIXTEENTH THOUSAND
New York and London
G. P. Putnam's Sons
The Knickerbocker Press
COPYRIGHT, 1905
BY
WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND
Fourteenth Printing
TO
WILLIAM HENRY PARKER
LAC LA PêCHE
Philosopher of many parts,?Beloved of all true honest hearts,?A man who laughs at every ill,?Because "there's corn in Egypt still."
[Illustration: Border]
CONTENTS
THE VOYAGEUR?BRUNO THE HUNTER?PRIDE?DIEUDONNé (GOD-GIVEN)?THE DEVIL?THE FAMILY LARAMIE?YANKEE FAMILIES?THE LAST PORTAGE?GETTING ON?PIONEERS?NATURAL PHILOSOPHY?CHAMPLAIN?PRO PATRIA?GETTING STOUT?DOCTOR HILAIRE?BARBOTTE (BULL-POUT)?THE ROSSIGNOL?MEB-BE?SNUBBING (TYING-UP) THE RAFT?A RAINY DAY IN CAMP?JOSETTE?JOE BOUCHER?CHARMETTE?LAC SOUCI?POIRIER'S ROOSTER?DOMINIQUE?HOME?CANADIAN FOREVER?TWINS?KEEP OUT OF THE WEEDS?THE HOLY ISLAND?THE RIVIèRE DES PRAIRIES?THE WIND THAT LIFTS THE FOG?THE FOX HUNT
[Illustration: Border]
ILLUSTRATIONS
THE VOYAGEUR . . . . . . . . . . _Frontispiece_
"_So I fill de glass an' I raise it high?An' drink to de Voyageur._"
THE VOYAGEUR
"_Far, far away from hees own vill-age?An' soun' of de parish bell._"
BRUNO THE HUNTER
"_So de devil ketch heem, of course, at las'._"
THE LAST PORTAGE
"_De moon an' de star above is gone,?Yet somet'ing tell me I mus' go on._"
PIONEERS
"_So we fin' some fence dot's handy for
mese'f an' Rosalie._"
PRO PATRIA
"_Jus' tell dem de news of Gédéon Plouffe--?How he jump wit' de familee._"
MEB-BE
"_Don't bodder no wan on de school?Unless dey bodder heem._"
SNUBBING (TYING-UP) THE RAFT
"_To-night I can hear hees darn ole fiddle,?Playin' away on Joe Belair._"
JOSETTE
"_So dat's de reason dey call Josette?Leetle sister of de poor._"
CHARMETTE
"_You see dat lake? Wall! I alway hate?To brag--but she's full of trout._"
[Illustration: Border]
The Voyageur and Other Poems
The Voyageur
Dere's somet'ing stirrin' ma blood tonight,?On de night of de young new year,?Wile de camp is warm an' de fire is bright,?An' de bottle is close at han'--?Out on de reever de nort' win' blow,?Down on de valley is pile de snow,?But w'at do we care so long we know?We 're safe on de log cabane?
Drink to de healt' of your wife an' girl,?Anoder wan for your frien',?Den geev' me a chance, for on all de worl'?I 've not many frien' to spare--?I 'm born, w'ere de mountain scrape de sky,?An' bone of ma fader an' moder lie,?So I fill de glass an' I raise it high?An' drink to de Voyageur.
For dis is de night of de jour de l'an,[1]?W'en de man of de Grand Nor' Wes'?T'ink of hees home on de St. Laurent,?An' frien' he may never see--?Gone he is now, an' de beeg canoe?No more you 'll see wit' de red-shirt crew,?But long as he leev' he was alway true,?So we 'll drink to hees memory.
Ax' heem de nort' win' w'at he see?Of de Voyageur long ago,?An' he 'll say to you w'at he say to me,?So lissen hees story well--?"I see de track of hees botte sau-vage[2]?On many a hill an' long portage?Far far away from hees own vill-age?An' soun' of de parish bell--
[Illustration: "Far, far away from hees own vill-age
An' soun' of de parish bell."]
"I never can play on de Hudson Bay?Or mountain dat lie between?But I meet heem singin' hees lonely way?De happies' man I know--?I cool hees face as he 's sleepin' dere?Under de star of de Red Rivière,?An' off on de home of de great w'ite bear,?I 'm seein' hees dog traineau.[3]
"De woman an' chil'ren 's runnin' out?On de wigwam of de Cree--?De leetle papoose dey laugh an' shout?W'en de soun' of hees voice dey hear--?De oldes' warrior of de Sioux?Kill hese'f dancin' de w'ole night t'roo,?An de Blackfoot girl remember too?De ole tam Voyageur.
"De blaze of hees camp on de snow I see,?An' I lissen hees 'En Roulant'?On de lan' w'ere de reindeer travel free,?Ringin' out strong an' clear--?Offen de grey wolf sit before?De light is come from hees open door,?An' caribou foller along de shore?De song of de Voyageur.
"If he only kip goin', de red ceinture,[4]?I 'd see it upon de Pole?Some mornin' I 'm startin' upon de tour?For blowin' de worl' aroun'--?But w'erever he sail an' w'erever he ride,?De trail is long an' de trail is wide,?An' city an' town on ev'ry side?Can tell of hees campin' groun'."
So dat 's 'de reason I drink to-night?To de man of de Grand Nor' Wes',?For hees heart was young, an' hees heart was light?So long as he 's leevin' dere--?I 'm proud of de sam'