We may together sit, secure from harms,
And smoke the calumet from day to day;
And our descendants, all the years to come,
Have but one fire—one undivided home."
XXIX.
"Brother," said Williams, "these thou seëst are
Hands that the blood of man ne'er crimsoned yet;
Oft do I lift them to the God of prayer—
Ah! how unseemly if with slaughter wet!
But to the hostile Sachems I could bear
The pipe of peace, thy snow-white calumet,
And quench the flame of strife—how better far
Than win thy lands by all-devouring war!
XXX.
"With Waban for my guide, in friendly guise,
Sachem, I would the arduous task essay
To heal those ancient feuds by counsel wise,
And quell the wrath begotten long away;
Were this not better than the sacrifice
Of armies slain in many a bloody fray?
Then may I plant, and, in each neighboring clan,
Meet with a friend where'er I meet a man.
XXXI.
"Ha! Yengee," said the Sachem, "wouldst thou go
To soothe the hungry panther scenting blood?
Say, canst thou bid Pawtucket's downward flow
Turn and run backward to Woonsocket's wood?
The path to peace is shut;—the eager foe
Sharpens his darts, and treads his dances rude,
And through the trembling groves the war-whoop trills
From bleak Manisses[1] to the Nipnet hills.
- ↑ Manisses—Block Island.
