 | The poetical works of James Montgomery |  |
He was a chieftain of renown; from youth
To green old age, the glory of his tribe,
The terror of their enemies: in war
An Alexander, and in peace an Alfred,
From morn till night he wont to wield the spear
With indefatigable arm, or watch
From eve till dawn in ambush for his quarry,
Human or brute; not less in chase than fight,
For strength, skill, prowess, enterprise, unrivall'd.
Fearless he grappled with the fell hyæna,
And held him strangling in the grasp of fate;
He seized the she-bear's whelps; and when the dam,
With miserable cries and insane rage,
Pursued to rescue them, would turn and strike
One blow, but one, to break her heart for ever:
From sling and bow he sent upon death-errands
The stone or arrow through the trackless air,
To overtake the fleetest foot, or lay
The loftiest pinion fluttering in the dust.
On the rough waves he eagerly embark'd,
Assail'd the stranded whale among the breakers,
Dart after dart with such sure aim implanting
In the huge carcass of the helpless victim,
That soon in blood and foam the monster breathed
His last, and lay a hulk upon the reef;
Thence floated by the rising tide, and tow'd
By a whole navy of canoes ashore.
To green old age, the glory of his tribe,
The terror of their enemies: in war
An Alexander, and in peace an Alfred,
From morn till night he wont to wield the spear
With indefatigable arm, or watch
From eve till dawn in ambush for his quarry,
Human or brute; not less in chase than fight,
For strength, skill, prowess, enterprise, unrivall'd.
Fearless he grappled with the fell hyæna,
And held him strangling in the grasp of fate;
He seized the she-bear's whelps; and when the dam,
With miserable cries and insane rage,
Pursued to rescue them, would turn and strike
One blow, but one, to break her heart for ever:
From sling and bow he sent upon death-errands
The stone or arrow through the trackless air,
To overtake the fleetest foot, or lay
The loftiest pinion fluttering in the dust.
On the rough waves he eagerly embark'd,
Assail'd the stranded whale among the breakers,
Dart after dart with such sure aim implanting
In the huge carcass of the helpless victim,
That soon in blood and foam the monster breathed
His last, and lay a hulk upon the reef;
Thence floated by the rising tide, and tow'd
By a whole navy of canoes ashore.
| The poetical works of James Montgomery | |