Westward Ho'
In the 1600's, Europeans lived on the eastern shore
Their numbers grew, they wanted more.
Iroquios, Sauk, Ottawa, and Mohawk were tribes they met
Too many and more, paid our forefathers' debt.
Men moved west thru the Cumberland gap
Daniel Boone led them, wearing a coonskin cap.
Freedom's new country was born in 1776
The indians, however, did not fit our mix.
Lewis and Clark sought a Northwest Passage route
Rivers to cross, mountains to climb, animals to shoot.
An indian girl helped them gain their fame
Sackagewa led them, though few remember her name.
Two years of exploring to the western shore
They brought back tall tales, maps, journals, and more.
With many a tribe did they speak
Here were the Mandan, Ojibway, and Creek.
By 1845 "Manifest Destiny" was the phrase being coined
More indian lands were to be purloined.
In the south, Houston, Austin, and others too
"Texicans" all, under the one star flag they flew.
It was not easy to take Santa Anna"s land
Travis, Bowie, and Crockett went to lend a hand.
They died in a mission on the San Antonio line
Today, "The Alamo" is still their shrine.
Missouri to Kansas to California men went
Their golden passion in mines to vent.
new states joined as the country grew
Lines of covered wagons rolled on anew.
Something was amiss by 1852
Going west now, seemed wrong to do.
The south was rampant with Slavery's scourge
Making men free, would take more that courage.
Lincoln was President, a Civil War, the country bled
Hundreds of Thousands died, eager for it to be shed.
Four years of war, death and destruction
Followed by a euphomistic "Reconstruction".
Names of the west now tripped off the tongue
Dodge, Wichita, Hayes, and Tombstone's tale of the gun.
Hard men faced each other's will
Some of them end...up at "Boot Hill".
Cody, Hickock, Custer, and Earp were names that were said
So were Clanton, the James Boys, Hardin, and Billy the Kid.
The Cherokee and other indians now came into view
Apache, Cheyenne, Commanche, and not least the Sioux.
Pony Express, Overland Stage, Chisholm Trail were names we knew
Moving men and cattle, as the western legends grew.
Then, a seal on the joint was made
At Promontory Point, a golden spike was laid.
The west is part of our unique history
200 years of a nation, men longing to be free.
Listen in the winds around you that blow
Pehaps you will hear it whisper, "Westward Ho!"
God Bless America!!
Copyright © Daniel Cwiak | Year Posted 2010
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