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473
Indian Remains
With ocean shell clasped to his breast,
The chief doth on the hillside rest;
As if he still could hear the roar
Of waves upon the rocky shore.
The chief doth on the hillside rest;
As if he still could hear the roar
Of waves upon the rocky shore.
Or sign it was of high estate,
And buried only with the great;
His royal power and rule to show,
That all in death a king might know.
And buried only with the great;
His royal power and rule to show,
That all in death a king might know.
His bear skin robe is changed to dust,
Its ornaments consumed by rust;
And from the tiny, tinkling bell,
No sound is heard his name to tell.
Its ornaments consumed by rust;
And from the tiny, tinkling bell,
No sound is heard his name to tell.
Oft have the redmen's bones been found
On sloping hill, or field around;
No more the forest shade they rove,
Or feast beside yon sheltered cove!
On sloping hill, or field around;
No more the forest shade they rove,
Or feast beside yon sheltered cove!
We ponder on their strange, sad fate;
Whence was their origin? and date?
From rising, or from setting sun,
Was their long pilgrimage begun?
Whence was their origin? and date?
From rising, or from setting sun,
Was their long pilgrimage begun?
No record tells;—but as the shell
Doth of the distant ocean tell,
Far inland from its native beach,
These relics meaning have, and speech.
Doth of the distant ocean tell,
Far inland from its native beach,
These relics meaning have, and speech.
They show that sympathy can bind
In one all tribes of human kind;
That e'en their forms one image bear,
Their Maker's image, noble, fair.
In one all tribes of human kind;
That e'en their forms one image bear,
Their Maker's image, noble, fair.
Though through long ages soiled, debased,
In all one lineage may be traced;
As when from the Creative Hand
Man stood, the lord of sea and land.
In all one lineage may be traced;
As when from the Creative Hand
Man stood, the lord of sea and land.
474
And raised again, by Power Divine,
Their forms shall with new glory shine;
One destiny with them we share,
As they with us God's image bear.
Their forms shall with new glory shine;
One destiny with them we share,
As they with us God's image bear.
Poem No. 839; c. 1 December 1874
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