Our Pioneer
James Lambie - 1908

We cannot reckon all the debt we owe
To him who first made known our country's worth ;-
Who through the pathless forest sallied forth,
Where fir, and spruce, and feath'ry cedar grow,-
And, where the mighty, mountain torrents flow,
Laid low the giants and upturned the earth.
To plant and nurture growths of gentler birth,
Which in their fulness mellow fruits bestow.
For love of gain was not the urgent force
That turned him from the common, beaten track ;
He fared along a solitary course,
Nor yearned to ease the burden on his back;
Content to think that later kinsmen should
Follow his trail and find his choice was good.