The Mattawa Poem by Lone Dog

The Mattawa



(Route of the Voyageurs)


I paddled down the Mattawa;
A storied waterway.
And journeyed back through history
One clear and crisp Fall day.

Dominion of the Nipissing;
A proud Algonkian band
Who worshipped mighty manitous;
The spirits of the land.

These hunters plied the waterway
Six thousand years or more,
Till war cries of the Iroquois
Dyed red, the woods, with gore.

I paddled down the Mattawa
Along the great rock fault;
The link between the east and west
That brave explorers sought.

Brule, Marquette, Joliet, Henri -
Mackenzie passed there too.
Then coureurs des bois and voyageurs
In Montreal canoes.

They stole, as I, by 'Porte de l'Enfer'
Where devil demons dwelt.
Then raced towards the Ottawa
With cargoes of fine pelts.

They braved the raging rapids and
The Iroquois blockades.
And laden with their priceless furs
Reached Company stockades.

Yes, I paddled down the Mattawa.
Portaging oft' that day
I walked on stones where Champlain stepped
As Time dissolved away.

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