But men knew naught of this, till there arose
That mighty mariner, the Genoese,
Who dared to try, in spite of fears and foes,
The unknown fortunes of unsounded seas.
O noblest of Italia's sons, thy bark
Went not alone into that shrouding night,
O dauntless darer of the rayless dark,
The world sailed with thee to eternal light.
The deer haunts that with game were crowded then
To-day are tilled and cultivated lands;
The schoolhouse tow'rs where bruin had his den,
And where the wigwam stood the chapel stands;
The place that nurtured men of savage mien
Now teems with men of Nature's noblest types;
Where moved the forest-foliage banner green,
Now flutters in the breeze the stars and stripes!
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