Classic Poem

Oh, the Stony Brook is foamin' where the boulders show their teeth,
Just a-waitin' for a chance to start a jam;
There is water white a-combin' on the granite underneath,
There's a lovely chance for trouble at the dam.
They will sluice her just at daylight an' they'll let a million through,
They will ram her full of timber to the brim,
They will sluice her in the gray light, an' there'll be some work to do
For Johnny Long an' them along with him.

Yes, I think it more'n likely that there will,
But there's half a hunderd peavies on the hill,
And there's half a hunderd rats
That are handier'n cats
Just a-longin' for the pond above to spill.

They have mootched it down from Percy's, they have hiked it from the rear,
They have gethered in from ev'ry blasted camp,
An' they're ready for the mercies of a brook like this'n here,
An' they ain't afraid of bubbles an' of damp.
So it's jam, you norway devils, an' it's jam, you crazy pine —
We will show you how a man can be a mink;
We will join you in your revels an' we'll whip you into line
Or we'll leave our bones to whiten in the drink.

We may leave our bones below to wash away,
We may give the rocks a choicer bit for play,
We may die along with you,
But we'll drive you, drive you through,
An' we'll land you safe an' solid at Cloquet.

Now a jill-poke in the alders is a mighty measly thing —
It can tie a lot of timber in a knot;
But a pair of granite boulders can a hunderd thousand wing
Till there's nothin' that'll budge it but a shot.
But, before you try the powder or to break her with the juice,
Hand some peavies to the river rats an' jacks,
We will roll her an' we'll crowd her an' we'll break the timber loose,
We will break her, or a half a hunderd backs.

We may break a half a hunderd men in two,
But we'll git that Injun timber safely through;
We will pry the Stony Brook
Wider open than a book —
Yes, there's work for Johnny Long an' us to do!