source: Spirit of the Times, Batavia-NY October 20-1836. Poetry. ~From the "Buffalo Daily Star"~ LAKE ERIE. Erie! I've trod thy sounding shore, At midnight's lonely hour, And awe-struck listened to thy roar, And trembled at thy power; I've seen thy waters, when the blast, Has waked their giant form, And mortals stood with fear aghast, Or shrunk before the storm! Thy wave hath lashed my vessel frail, When struggling with the midnight gale. And lifted on my billow's crest, I've hung above they graves, when from the dark and angry west, The lightnings lit they waves- And then thy voice hath seemed to tell The hour of death was nigh, Thy roar seemed as the funeral knell, Thy shriek the demon's cry, And every sound that met mine ear, Was mingled with affright and fear. Yet thou art grand; thy dark waves show An ocean's form and pride, And beauty, when the sun-beams glow, Doth deck thee like a bride. A thousand gems begirt thy breast, And sparkle as the sky, When night usurps the glowing west, And beauty reigns on high. Aye beauty, decks thy brilliant brow, When soft galos urge the seaman's prow. And thou hast heard the clang of war, When hostile navies met, And o'er thy bosom pealed afar Those sounds. Fame echoes yet; And blood has tinged thy crystal tide- Aye blood of freedom's foes, And brave hearts who fought side by side, In thee now find repose, While moaning winds and billowy surge Still chaunt the dying Hero's dirge. Thou daughter of a mighty line That skirts a nation's bounds, Thy waters far away do shine,- Thy music far off sounds; O'er them the Indian yet doth ply His frail and bird-like bark- No human voice, save his lone cry Breaks o'er thy waters dark; Yes where the white man ne'er hath trod Thy waters bathe the emerald sod! Thy billows wash the giant feet Of cities whose young tone Tell that their voice must be as great As eastern clime hath known, And temples look from proudest height Upon thy watery sheen, And empires clothed with power and might, Do robe thy banks of green. Long, long, shall thy dark waters lave, The land that cannot brook a slave. Buffalo, Oct. 20, 1836. * submitted by Linda Web-Page Editor~BETHANY: Its Past and Present ~ http://www.arkwebshost.com/family/bluebird/TownOfBethany.shtml