"Walk with care, walk with care, Or Mumbo-Jumbo, God of the Congo, Gods of the Congo, Mumbo-Jumbo will hoo-doo you. Boomlay, boomlay, boomlay, boom. BOOM." as rapidly as possible toward the end. Oh, rare was the revel, and well worth Slow philo while That made those glowering witch-men smile. sophic calm. Heavy bass. III. THE HOPE OF THEIR RELIGION ways, His prowling, guzzling, sneak-thief days. And some had visions, as they stood on And sang of Jacob, and the golden stairs, and wrong With a literal imitation of camp-meeting trance. And slammed their hymn books till they shook the room With "Glory, glory, glory," And "Boom, boom, Booм." THEN I SAW THE CONGO, CREEPING Exactly as in THROUGH THE BLACK, CUTTING THROUGH THE JUNGLE WITH A GOLDEN TRACK. And the gray sky opened like a new-rent veil And showed the apostles with their coats of mail. In bright white steel they were seated And their fire-eyes watched where the And the twelve apostles, from their thrones Thrilled all the forest with their heavenly cry: "Mumbo-Jumbo will die in the jungle; Never again will he hoo-doo you, Never again will he hoo-doo you." the first section. Sung to the tune of "Hark, ten thousand harps and voices." Then along that river-bank, a thousand With growing miles, The vine-snared trees fell down in files. Pioneer angels cleared the way For a Congo paradise, for babes at play, For sacred capitals, for temples clean. deliberation There, where the wild ghost-gods had In a rather wailed A million boats of the angels sailed high key-as delicately as possible. With oars of silver, and prows of blue through. 'Twas a land transfigured, 'twas a new creation, Oh, a singing wind swept the negro nation; And on through the backwoods clearing flew : "Mumbo-Jumbo is dead in the jungle. Never again will he hoo-doo you. Never again will he hoo-doo you." Redeemed were the forests, the beasts and the men, And only the vulture dared again By the far, lone mountains of the moon Jumbo . . . will To the tune of "Hark, ten thousand harps and voices." Dying off John G. Neihardt John Gneisenau Neihardt was born at Sharpsburg, Illinois, January 8, 1881. He completed a scientific course at Nebraska Normal College in 1897 and lived among the Omaha Indians for six years (1901-7), studying their customs, characteristics and legends. Although he had already published two books, A Bundle of Myrrh (1908) was his first volume to attract notice. It was full of spirit, enthusiasm and an insistent virility-qualities which were extended (and overemphasized) in Man-Song (1909). Neihardt found a richer note and a new restraint in The Stranger at the Gate (1911), the best of the lyrics from these three volumes appearing in The Quest (1916). Neihardt meanwhile had been going deeper into folk-lore, the results of which appeared in The Song of Hugh Glass (1915) and The Song of Three Friends (1919). The latter, in 1920, divided the annual prize offered by the Poetry Society, halving the honors with Gladys Cromwell's Poems. These two books of Neihardt's are detailed long poems, part of a projected epic series celebrating the winning of the West by the pioneers. 1 Tremble before thy chattels, The world's heart-beat for a drum, Out of the night we come! Lend us no ear that pities! We are the workers and makers. We are no longer dumb! Tremble, O Shirkers and Takers! 1 Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company, from The Quest by John G. Neihardt. Ranked in the world-wide dawn, Marching into the day! The night is gone and the sword is drawn LET ME LIVE OUT MY YEARS 1 Let me live out my years in heat of blood! Let me go quickly, like a candle light And grant that when I face the grisly Thing, Witter Bynner Witter Bynner was born at Brooklyn, New York, August 10, 1881. He was graduated from Harvard in 1902 and has been assistant editor of various periodicals as well as adviser to publishers. Recently, he has spent much of his time lecturing on poetry and travelling in the Orient. Young Harvard (1907), the first of Bynner's volumes, was, as the name implies, a celebration of his Alma Mater. The New World (1915) is a much riper and far more ambitious effort. 1 1Reprinted by permission of the publishers, The Macmillan Company, from The Quest by John G. Neihardt. |