On the shores of Gitchgoomy by the shining big sea water Hiawatha old and greyin' listened to the older prophet listened to lagu And the young men and the women from the land of Ojibways From the land of the Dakotas from the woodlands and the prairies Stood and listened to the prophet heard lagu tell Hiawatha I have seen he said a water bigger that the big sea water Broader than the Gitchgoomy bitter so that none cold drink it Salty so that none would use it Hiawatha then spoke to them stopped all their jeering and their jesting And he spoke to all the people It's true what lagu tells you for I have seen it in a vision I have also seen the water to the East to the land of morning And upon this great water came a strange canoe with pinions Bigger than a grove of pine trees taller than the tallest tree tops And upon this great canoe were sails to carry it swiftly And it carried many people strange and foreign were these people And white were all their faces and with hair their chins were covered Then said Hiawatha I beheld a darker vision Many hundreds came behind them pushed their way across our prairies In our woodlands rang their axes in our valleys smoked their cities Our people were all scattered all forgetful of our councils Left their homelands going westward wild and woeful And the man with bearded faces the men with skin so fair With their barking sticks of thunder drove the remnants of our people Farther westward westward westward then wild wild and wilder Grew the West that once was ours
