INJIN JOE ; A HOMESPUN RHYME.
By Sami,. Smok, Jun. What odds if m tho settlement I'm only "InjinJooP" It oan't be helped I A sorter voioo Booms oallin* mo, and so I steal into tho woods at night; Folks never boo mo go, For many moons I trap for fur,' Or hunt up Stoney Ihoo. Tho bars and wolves all sniff my trnk f Tho otter knows my faoo. And thinks that sJidin's risky fun If I'm too noar tho plaoo. Tho woods and I've growod friends. Tho troos Creep oloeo up to tho firo When it burns bright, then steel away j You ought to see them squire ! Thoy peep at mo tho whole night long, Ana never soem to tiro. Thoy hush mo off to sloop. Their sound Is like tho hum of bees, A drowsy gimmorin' of nights When thoro ain't any broozo, ' Till from the lake tho loon's lone cry Wakes tip the popplo troos. What, lonesome P No ! Woll, onco per* haps I did fool kinder so, Whilo huntin' on tho Blue Ridgo, The wholo world seemed below $ I oouldn't hear tho Quoolass Falls, Nor boo tho waters flow. Lakes, mountains, rivers, lakes, No man oould oount thorn aU ; I put tho biroh-bark to my lips, But somehow oouldn't call. I nover thought tho world so If ♦'go j Inevorfelfcso small. And far, far off, I thought I saw A long whito thread. To mo It looked just liko a streak of mist j I knew it was tho soa. Thoro never Boomed so many miles 'Twixt humankind and mo. 11 Why, who's boon horo P I'm darned P" I brw A lying at my foot A gun all honeycombod, all gono j?hat rust and rot could oat. •' Some ohap's gone under here, I guess," My heart began to boat. I turned— good Lord—ho stared at mo ! It warn't a dream P Tho trees Half hid a horrid skeleton A knoolin' on its knoes. Its hands wero olaspod j its eyes— I felt my blood begin to freeze. A suddon, liko a streak of light, It ilashed on me, " I know j Tho old folks say a minister j Was lost long, long ago. Thoy thought tho bars had finished him ; I guess it wasn't so. " Ho must have climbed up horo to find Tho sottlomont. When ho Saw mountains, lakes, a world of woods, Ho jest caved, in. Tho soa Ho must havo thought a streak of ir'st, As it had seemed to mo. " And so ho must havo gin it up, And knelt to say a prayer ; And starved, and prayed, and died." His eyes Had still a famished staro. I turned and ran } thoir hungry look It gave rao suoh a scare, Tho very doer stood still, and deemed A say in' as I ran, " You hunted too. He's on your troll, That missionary man. Ho's awful hungry lookin'. Just You make tracks whilo you can." I often laugh to think of it Yes, stronger, I'd a soore j Yet Bomohow still I seem to soe That holler starving staro. You'U hunt tho Bluo Vidgo 9 But jv* dv»'l< Got Injin Joe up thoro. What odds if ,'n tho sottloment I'm only" lnjin JooP" It can't bo bolpod. A sortor voioo J Seems calHn' mo, and so I steal into the waods at night. Folks never see mo go.
INJIN JOE ; A HOMESPUN RHYME.
Star (Christchurch), Issue 2431, 7 January 1876, Page 3
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