|
Come alive yu gay young buzzards. I'm a goin to spin yu a tale, 'Bout a bunch O good old Huskies, Who blazed th Fort Yates trail. These men wer tough as whalebone, Lived on salt horse, buffalo an deer. An there wern't a one in that whole darned bunch Knew th meanin 0 th word, called fear. Melvin, Wade, Lock, Leach, Bill Zahn, Tom Twiggs, Sam Brughier too, Were 'mong the first to blaze th trail To a country, plum bran new. These men, they had no buzz wagons. Darn few 0 em rode th iron trail, When they pushed their kissers into the west, An fer yu they blazed thet trail. McLaughlin, McBeede and Carignan Wells, Vermillion and Stiles, Pamplin, Mulhern, Archambault, Hart, Reedy, Witzleben had trials. Kid Silk, Fiske, Williamson and Enders [Endres], They all can tell yu th tale 0 some 0 the hard times they bumped up against A layin th Fort Yates trail. E'n one of these old timers Hit the west afore yu was born. E'n before the seventh cavalry Found their graves on the Little Big Horn, These sturdy old men toiled like beaver, Buildin Forts an carrin mail. An many a brave comrade was shot down by ther side While a blazin the old Yates trail. Now all yu young buzzards that's wantin Some real wild west stunts, to hear. Just call on one O these old timmers, An he'll put y'ur dime novels plum clear. He can tell yu O day an nite fitin, Where many a brave life was given, Just to open the wilds O Dakota, To make it safe for yu Gobblers to live. Th bunch O old timmers is dwindlin. Of them, ther's left hardly a score, Just a few little years an these huskies 'Ll be seen roun th bed grouns no more. The'll be gone like the deer and th buffalo, To th round-up beyond the divide. But St. Peter 'll find these old boys all a place, Where ther'll be no more blazed trails to ride. So now, all yu buzzwagon drivers, It's up to yu buzzards to give All honor to these brave old timers, Who built yu a safe place to live. Ther' stay on the range won't be long now, So in love an respec don't yu fail Rember they gave up the best part O ther life, When fer y'ur safety, they blazed the Yates trail. Author Unknown. Published in Sioux County Pioneer, 9 June 1921 Note: The writer does not include all the Sioux County Pioneers. There are more within this website. |