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Title: St. Boniface Fire Brigade
Author: Yukon Bill [
More Titles by Bill]
W'en you come wes' from de oder place
An' you want sometings for see;
Jus' come an' see St. Boniface
An' I show you sometings, me:--
Dar's de Mission Church dat W'ittier sing----
"Turrets twain," wher' de peoples prayed;
But dar's sometings we got better still----
Da's St. Boniface Fire Brigade!
Da's a g-rea-t Brigade;--has mans tree, four----
Married mans wit be-eg fam-i-lee;
Champeau, Dorien, petite Lafleur,
An' Jean Perriault (da's ME).
Us mans we work like h--ll all day
Wit de saw, de hammer an' de spade,
But by gar, w'en de fire-bell she goes "ring,"
Da's de t'am we don't was 'fraid.
You hear dat ting 'bout d' beeg oil-house;
Tree hundre' bar'ls cotch de fire?
De smoke, mon Dieu! wit de flame go hup
To de top of de be-eg church-spire;--
Lafleur's femme, she take de fit hon de floor----
Ma femme, she scre-ee-ch, "Saint Marie!"
Hevery one yell--dat place look like he--ll,
Ontil Dorien, Champeau, an' ME----
We fill hup de tank in de Red Rivaire----
Sacre! how de mans per--s--pire;
De peoples go cra--ss--y; Winnipeg despaire;
An' de bells dey ring, "F-i-r-e!--F-i-r-e."
W'at you t'ink happens? You nevaire don't guess----
Notings like dat happens sence;--
De horse runs away--de hose it go burs'----
But we save de dog-poun' fence!
You hear w'at 'appens once in de place?
W'en d' King's son he come Wes',
All d' womans dress hup, wash d' baby face;
An' d' mans put hon he's bes'.
Winni-peg bow down t' George d' Prince;--
Put d' soldier-mans hon parade;
But de Prince, he sick of d' whole dam' show,
Hask: "WHER' ST. BONIFACE FIRE BRIGADE?"
Y--as, an' w'en d' heartquake shake Frisco,
"Hend of d' worl'!" some sa-aid;
I send telegraff (cos' me tree dollaire),
"You like have my Fire Brigade?"
Hon d' las' Election, in d' Town-Hall
Laurier sp'ik; He sa--aid:--
"Gentilhomme! if--you--want--put--dat--bad--Tory--hout,
Get St. Boniface Fire BRIGADE!"
[The end]
Yukon Bill's poem: St. Boniface Fire Brigade
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