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Title: Pioneers
Author: William Henry Drummond [
More Titles by Drummond]
If dey 're walkin' on de roadside, an' dey 're bote in love togeder,
An' de star of spring is shinin' wit' de young moon in between,
It was purty easy guessin' dey 're not talkin' of de wedder,
W'en de boy is comin' twenty, an' de girl is jus' eighteen.
It 's a sign de winter 's over, an' it 's pleasan' hear de talkin'
Of de bull-frog on de swamp dere wit' all hees familee--
But it 's lonesome doin' not'ing, an' dere 's not moche fun in walkin',
So we fin' some fence dat 's handy for mese'f an' Rosalie.
An' I dunno how it happen, w'en her head come on ma shoulder,
An' her black eye on de moonlight, lak de star shine--dat 's de way.
(Mebbe it 's becos de springtam) so I ketch her han' an' tole her
Of how moche I 'd lak to tak' her on some contree far away.
Den she say, I 'll mak' an offer, if you 're sure you want to 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.
[The end]
William Henry Drummond's poem: Pioneers
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