By it was a singing streamlet,
Where the willows waved their banners;
Round it giant redwoods clustered,
Redolent with forest odors;
Live oaks, bay trees, and madronas
Billowed over plains and hillsides.

Through the forest ranged the hunters,
Seeking game in glen and canyon,
Meat for food, and fur for raiment;
Vanquishing the forest creatures
With flint arrows and stone axes;
Seeking fish in bay and river
With the spear or net of sinew.
On the bay the warriors paddled
In canoes of bark or rawhide,
Or in mighty redwood dugouts
Dared the currents of the narrows
Training warriors to be ready
To defend their shores and harbor.

From the North the foemen threatened,
As an ever-present shadow.
O'er the water came the foemen,
In a mighty fleet of warboats;
Every summer came the foemen,
Came and fought and then retreated.

In his tepee sat the Chieftain
With the Old Men, wise in counsel;