Ye shall say they all have passed away
That noble race and brave
That their light canoes have vanish'd
From off the crested wave

That 'mid the forests where they roam'd
There rings no hunter's shout
But their name is on your waters
Ye may not wash it out

'Tis where ontario's billow
Like ocean's surge is curled
Where strong niagara's thunders wake
The echo of the world

Where red missouri bringeth
Rich tributes from the west
And rappahannock sweetly sleeps
On green virginia's breast

Ye say, their cone-like cabins
That cluster'd o'er the vale
Have fled away like wither'd leaves
Before the autumn gale

But their memory liveth on your hills
Their baptism on your shore
Your everlasting rivers speak
Their dialect of yore

Old massachusetts wears it
Within her lordly crown
And broad ohio bears it
'Mid all her young renown

Connecticut hath wreathed it
Where her quiet foliage waves
And bold kentucky breathed it hoarse
Through all her ancient caves

Wachuset hides its lingering voice
Within its rocky heart
And alleghany graves its tone
Throughout his lofty chart

Monadnock on his forehead hoar
Doth seal the sacred trust
Your mountains build their monument
Though ye destroy their dust