Postcard from the Past: Growth of the Great Plains
by Dick Perue
By Dan Sage, the “Long-Haired Poet”
Way out upon the Western Plains
not many years ago,
by civilization unrestrained
roamed the elk and buffalo.
Where Indians camped on every stream,
in quest of fish and game,
and fought their bloody battles there,
for conquest and for fame.
No explorations had been made,
the climate was unknown,
and all in silent slumber lay
as Nature’s laws had sown.
Where the waters of the Platte and Loups,
o’er sand and pebbles flow,
it all belonged to far-off France
one-hundred years ago.
Civilization gave no echo then,
not a cultured voice arose,
unconquered Nature silent lay,
in undisturbed repose.
The tables, hills and valleys wide,
with verdure bright and green,
then in a state of wildness lay,
all tranquil and serene.
Uncle Sam then bought the land
and had it all surveyed,
where civilization’s greatest foe
in war paint was arrayed.
Where played the Indian girls and boys
untutored and untaught,
and savage tribes of wild red men
their many battles fought.
The buffalo and the elk are gone,
the Indian is corralled,
to live a life of quietude
by force is now compelled.
The country all from east to west,
with civilization teems,
and trade and commerce onward roll,
in constant, steady streams.
A wondrous change has taken place
in a score and a half of years,
where solitude once reigned supreme
a different scene appears.
Where the red Indian roamed at will
with tomahawk and gun,
broad fields of waving golden grain
now ripen in the sun.
The land is dotted o’er with towns,
the railway passes by,
and voices by the telephone
to neighbors quickly fly.
The schoolhouse and the church are here,
and they have come to stay,
to Christianize and educate
the young, the fair, the gay.
The lawless all have moved away,
the cowboy met his fate,
and all our morals will compare
with those of any state.
We are growing greater every day
as Father Time unfolds,
our state at the present time
contains one million souls.
While researching another project, I came across the above poem and felt it worth passing along, especially since Cowboy Poetry and Music season is upon us, including the Grand Encampment Gathering this weekend.
