Contents -BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD

Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By ErnestMcGaffey

1437 Geronimo

BESIDE that tent and under guard

In majesty alone he stands,

As some chained eagle, broken-winged,

With eyes that gleam like smouldering brands,—

A savage face, streaked o’er with paint,

And coal-black hair in unkempt mane.

Thin, cruel lips, set rigidly,—

A red Apache Tamerlane.

As restless as the desert winds,

Yet here he stands like carven stone,

His raven locks by breezes moved

And backward o’er his shoulders blown;

Silent, yet watchful as he waits

Robed in his strange, barbaric guise,

While here and there go searchingly

The cat-like wanderings of his eyes.

The eagle feather on his head

Is dull with many a bloody stain,

While darkly on his lowering brow

Forever rests the mark of Cain.

Have you but seen a tiger caged

And sullen through his barriers glare?

Mark well his human prototype,

The fierce Apache fettered there.