The young Indian girl
Language: English
She came among us with the light free step Of the [wild]1 fawn upon her native hills, Yet in her heart a holy purpose deep, Unchilled by fear, undreaming of life's ills; Her soul, from childhood's superstition riven, Looked child-like to the "white man's god" in heaven. She came among us from that stricken band, That wither where the white man's foot hath trod; Destined to fade from their own father-land, Beneath the scourging of the white man's rod. She shrunk not from the terror of her nation — Pale lips had breathed of Jesus and salvation! She listened - and the bitter hatred, nurst Within her nation's pulse, was melted there; All tremblingly that Indian maiden first Knelt down to offer up the white man's prayer; And from that hour, her spirit's trust was given, Unchangingly, to love, and hope, and heaven. She came among us with her shadowy smile, That sweet young [wild flower]2 from the lonely West, To breathe our sunshine for a little while, Then gently droop upon the earth's cold breast. Far from her father's graves, o'er hill and water, Sleeps the cold clay of the Ojibwa's daughter. Her dying eye was faintly lifted up To catch the glories of the opening heaven — In her cold lips there lingered words of hope, To cheer the hearts with bitterest anguish riven; "He will not let you for my sake be stricken: Look up to Him, when doubts and darkness thicken." Hushed were those lips forever — still a smile, Beautiful as the sunshine of the blest, Lingered on cheek and lip and forehead — while We softly laid her to her dreamless rest; And for the living, not the lost one, weeping, We left her to the guardian angels' keeping.
View original text (without footnotes)
2 Allen: "wild-flow'r"
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
Note: this poem is included mainly for historical and research purposes. It depicts outdated and harmful cultural stereotypes that were common for its time, and should not be performed without an explanation of its historical context.
Confirmed with the newspaper The Oberlin Evangelist, Feb. 14, 1849.
1 Allen: "young wild"2 Allen: "wild-flow'r"
Authorship:
- by M. E. Tenny, Miss , "The young Indian girl", first published 1849 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by George Nelson Allen (1812 - 1877), "The young Indian girl", published 1850 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2020-11-26
Line count: 36
Word count: 295