BlockYakima County, Washington - Chapter 5: Reminiscent, 1904 (part 2 of 2)
From An Illustrated History of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas Counties; with an Outline of the Early History of the State of Washington, published 1904. 429 words, reproduced complete and unedited. Source changes inside the text are labelled in place.
Contents
1 sectionThe section headings the book prints inside this chapter. Each one jumps to where it begins.
Parts
The book prints this as one long chapter. It is split here so no single page grows too heavy to load; the text runs continuously across the parts and nothing is omitted.
- Part 1
- Part 2
The text
429 wordsMachine-read from scans of An Illustrated History of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas Counties; with an Outline of the Early History of the State of Washington, published 1904. Nothing has been corrected: fixing what looks like a misspelled name is how an invented one gets published. Source changes are marked where they occur.
The Fair Moxee
In the days long since departed, Lived a maiden, gentle hearted, Ere the pale face came, so wary. Tripped she lightly like a fairy; Sweet her laugh as rippling water; To old Yakima a daughter. Wooers came from far to see- Sang the praise of fair Moxee.
Many wooed but none had won her; Through the spring and through the Rang her note of rippling laughter Till the birds forever after Paused with silenced notes to listen Where the bounding waters glisten- Paused, entranced, to hear her glee, Sweetly laughing fair Moxee.
Once the Manitoti, Multnomah, Spake in smoke from great Tacomah ; And his voice brake forth in thunder Till the tribes bowed down in wonder. Thus he spake while flashed the lightning All the Yakimas affrightening - Spake of future time to be, Spake unto the fair Moxee:
"Moxee, fair and gentle maiden, Time for thee is richly laden - Rich in stores of great fruition ; For thy breast shall yield nutrition . To a race whose name is legion ; They shall own and rule this region. Bride of pale face thou shalt be - Keep the saying, fair Moxee."
Chilly winds and winters dreary O'er the sage brush plains so dreary Came and went and left their traces, Came and brought the first pale faces With their tubes of thunder speaking, With their leaden bullets shrieking. One there was from near the sea Who won the heart of fair Moxee.
O'er the wooing we will hasten ; Love each heart must surely chasten; Broader paths the feet will follow, Selfish aims are empty, hollow. Sons and daughters soon caress them, Plenty's hands with riches bless them; Years of joys and sorrows flee O'er the home of fair Moxee -
Till at last, by Time's hand stricken, With a dread disease they sicken. Side by side they now are sleeping, O'er their graves the willows weeping. In the quiet vale so lowly, Where the river vvanders slowly, Old Tacomah's eye may see Where now sleeps the fair Moxee.
But the sage brush plains unsightly, Where the robber coyote nightly Sang his challenge 'round each tepee To awake the eye that's sleepy, Are changed to fertile fields of clover- Orchards, vineyards cover over; Sheep and cattle wander free In the vale of fair Moxee.
This no doubt was then the reading Of the prophecy preceding: Or the simple native dreaming O'er his pipe so skookum, steaming, Like some of a higher station May have used imagination ; But e'en then you will agree There's the valley of Moxee.
Provenance
Text from An Illustrated History of Klickitat, Yakima and Kittitas Counties; with an Outline of the Early History of the State of Washington, published 1904, in the public domain in the United States and digitised by the Internet Archive.