A Prophecy

The Autumn winds are sighing
and rustling thru the corn,
And the golden yellow pumpkins
dot the ground.
Our "garden sass" is frosted and
looks wilted and forlorn,
And nature wears a shroud of sorrow
all around

But the honyak wears a smile as
he sizes up his crops
And his empty self is filled with
consolation.
He will feed no more on sausage
but have tender juicy chops,
For the first time since he struck
the reservation.

There is something else he thinks
of as the evening shadows fall,
As he sits mid unwashed dishes
piled up high.
He gazes fondly up at a portrait
on the wall,
And with a smile heaves a long
contented sigh.

We next see him in Wisconsin in
his little old home town,
And he is dressed up fine and dandy
you can bet.
He has found his boyhood sweetheart
and is taking her around
To see if he can't get her dad's
consent.

Now our happy hero heads for his
claim back in the West.
With his old girl who has proved
both fond and true,
She is washing dishes now and
sewing buttons on his vest,
As Pete plows the sod in section
twenty-two.
C.B. Cannon, Pioneer Township
Taken from Morristown World October 11, 1912

A Picture

The old batch sits in his ten by twelve,
His smoking iron aglow,
And he blows huge clouds to the ceiling
After each pull long and slow.

There is grey hair on his temples,
And in his moustache too are twined
The silver threads that speak of years
Placed there by Father Time.
His face is open and kindly,
And tanned to a neat brown hue,
Around his eyes are lines of smiles,
Yet there is something of sadness too.

He is evidently thinking, for distant is his gaze
While now and then a smile lights up his weather beaten face,
And as they fade a look of sadness comes to take their place.
He is thinking of the hazy past,
When a rosy, care free boy,
He hunted for crows in the tree tops
And a squirrel rifle was his joy.
Then when a little older he got restless and ill at ease,
And wanted to roam around the world
In search of the Golden Fleece.

He journeyed toward the crimson west,
There to gather wealth and fame.
But found where e're he wandered,
The search for both was vain.

He worked through Arizona and Colorado too,
And down into Old Mexico where gold seekers were few.
But while others struck the "pay dirt"
He couldn't pan a grain.

And he longed to see his mother
and the dear old home again.
He worked for those who struck the dirt.
And toiled with maul and drill.
His work was hard but he did it well.
At a pace that was fit to kill.
He labored full many a year at this
And at last found that wealth and fame
Could be obtained just as easily,
By filing on a government claim.
Signed-Byard, Pioneer Township
Taken from Morristown World November 22, 1912