At the Cedars

You had two girls, Baptiste,
One is Virginia
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 wolfs 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 Isaac Dufour,
Were ashore.

He leaped on a log in 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, fair and square,
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 Isaac
Fall back.

She didn't 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.