At The Cedars

You had two girls — Baptiste —

One is Virginie —

Hold hard — Baptiste!

Listen to me.

The whole drive was jammed

In that bend at the Cedars,

The rapids were dammed

With the logs tight rammed

And crammed; you might know

The Devil had clinched them below.

We worked three days — not a budge,

'She's as tight as a wedge, on the ledge,'

Says our foreman;

'Mon Dieu! boys, look here,

We must get this thing clear.'

He cursed at the men

And we went for it then;

With our cant-dogs arow,

We just gave he-yo-ho;

When she gave a big shove

From above.

The gang yelled and tore

For the shore,

The logs gave a grind

Like a wolf's jaws behind,

And as quick as a flash,

With a shove and a crash,

They were down in a mash,

But I and ten more,

All but Isaàc Dufour,

Were ashore.

He leaped on a log in the front of the rush,

And shot out from the bind

While the jam roared behind;

As he floated along

He balanced his pole

And tossed us a song.

But just as we cheered,

Up darted a log from the bottom,

Leaped thirty feet square and fair,

And came down on his own.

He went up like a block

With the shock,

And when he was there

In the air,

Kissed his hand

To the land;

When he dropped

My heart stopped,

For the first logs had caught him

And crushed him;

When he rose in his place

There was blood on his face.

There were some girls, Baptiste,

Picking berries on the hillside,

Where the river curls, Baptiste,

You know — on the still side

One was down by the water,

She saw Isaàc

Fall back.

She did not scream, Baptiste,

She launched her canoe;

It did seem, Baptiste,

That she wanted to die too,

For before you could think

The birch cracked like a shell

In that rush of hell,

And I saw them both sink —

Baptiste! —

He had two girls,

One is Virginie,

What God calls the other

Is not known to me.

Composition date is unknown - the above date represents the first publication date.Form: irregularly rhyming.18. cant-dogs arow: hooked hand-spikes, one after another.