Classic Poem

" Where Canada spreads forth her deserts hoar,
Chilled by the polar frosts of Labrador,
Where mighty lakes their azure wastes expand,
And swell their wat'ry empire o'er the land;
What tribes or wing the air or tread the plain,
What herbage springs, what nations hold their reign? "
Enormous forests stretch their shadows wide,
And rich savannas skirt the mountain's side,
There bounds the moose, and shaggy bisons graze,
Scared by the wolf the hardy rein-deer brays;
The clambering squirrel tumbles from on high,
Fix'd by the rattlesnake's rapacious eye.
Unnumbered pigeons fill the darkened air,
Glut the tired hawk, the loaded branches tear:
Fair swans majestic on the waters glide;
The mason beaver checks the flowing tide.
Gigantic rivers shake the thundering shore;
Dread Niagara's foaming cataracts roar.
In light canoe the painted Indian rows,
Or hunts the floundering elk thro melting snows;
Wields his huge tomahawk in deadly fray,
And rends with shouts the reeking scalp away,
Or smokes the fragrant calumet of peace,
And bound in wampum leagues bids savage discord cease.