The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-04-14
Written for the New Northwest
TO AN AGED TREE.


SUGGESTED BY COUNTING THE YEARS AS SHOWN
Upon A STUMP NEAR THE MOUTH OF The CO.
LUMBIA RIVER r.-
And thou, proud monarch ofthe wood art prone
At tIast! For four full centuries didst thou stand
Firm poised against the inhospitable blast,
To be at length laid low by one, puny infant
When compared TO thee.
Ahi had the vandal hand
That ruthless hewed thee down, but paused to
think
What changes thou hadst seen since first thou
brake
The Ioosened mould TO gaze upon the ethereal
And drink sweet draughts of heavenly dews,
Methinks that awe had rendered powerless the
stroke
And caused his soul 10 turn with quick revolt
Against a deed so impious; nor destroyed
In one short hour what the Almighty wrought
Century upon century to upbuild.
For 10! thou stoodst in all thy gorgeous robes,
Thy graceful arms outstretched, thy foliage
rustling
In the heavenly breeze as though in praise to
Him
Who fashioned thee ages ere yet
A sound disturbed the hush of this inhOspita-
bic realm,
Except the breaking of old Oceans waves,
The sigh Of wintry winds, the howl
oflank and hungry beast, or lonely scream
ofocean bird, or the soul-stirring crash
Ofheaven's loud artillery; or mayhap
The war-whoop Of the untamed man anon
Might break upon the midnight stiffness deep,
That solemn reigned above, around, beneath.
Aye, when Columbus quit his native shore
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To track his untried way and when at length
His joyful eyes described an unknown world,
Then thou in youthful beauty stood.
Men in all lands have come upon the stage
ofaction; played their hurried parts and passed
away,
Leaving thee in thy youthful glory still.
And when De Soto touched the southern shore
To fall victim to his lust for gold;
And when upon bleak Plymouth rock a band
OF pilgrims moored their bark to find a home
Where they might worship God unawed by
man,
Thou stoodst mature in beauty, grace, and
strength.
And when in after years a valiant band
Put 10 ignoble flight tyrant's legions, thou
Didst loose thy thousand tongues to swell
The anthems of the free.
<Ailu NHel III dlieT ears
Columbia's daring son preceded all
The Jealous, watching world, and safely moored
His gallant ship hard by the bounteous shade
Thou didst again break forth with loud
Acclaim, that freedoms banner thus should
wave
From East to Western shore.
Since thou hadst to thy greatest stature risen
meteor flashed athwart the crowded world
Proud kings stood still TO gaze, or dazzled hid
Their terror-stricken eyes, and like BelshazzaI
Trembled for their crowns. Kingdoms and
empires
Leaped to life, engendered of its startling glare
But when upon Helena's isle it set
To shine no more. and dragged TO dark oblivion
All its train, 1t left thee in thy glory still!
Thy birth was when
Columbia's land was new, and thou hast seen
Pages of history made which, time before,
Since time began, could not with truth be told
A mighty nation, pride of all the world, has
risen,
Redeemed by freedoms sons from savage red
man,
Then from tyrant kings and then
Through blood that like the rivers flowed,
Struck the last shackle from the covering slave
Perhaps when thou didst see thy native land
come forth
Baptized in blood and consecrate to virtue,
Thou vert content to lay thee down to rest.
ALPHA.
Portland, April 6, 1876