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Show TRIBUTE TO THE PIONEERS By A. J. Jacobsen. W elcome ! Noble Pioneers ! Thrice welcome are you today. We have here assembled Our tributes to you to pay. You, who left home and kindred ; Left all you held dear on earth ; And traveled through the wilderness To this land which gave us birth. From friends and home you were driven O'er the lone, lone prairies to roam ; No shelter for aged or feeble Death's grim reaper a rich harvest has mown. A thousand weary miles the trail winds on Where the emigrant trains went by ; Yours was the task to mark the way With courage to do or to die. Who b'eth here? Can no one tell The tale of this silent mound; Where the gray hawk soars above . ' And prowling coyote slinks over the ground? j And this is one, but one. . X Of the many mounds in the sodT Where weary, lying down to rest, The emigrant ceased to plod. Did this discourage you, brave Pioneer Because, by the way some loved one fell? Ah, no ! You still bravely trudged along With a song in your heart, "All is well." O'er raging torrent, up mountain steep, With perfect faith in your Father's grace, At last you view the promised land And hear the words, "This is the place." Hail to Utah! Land of Plenty! To our glorious commonwealth! To our fertile valleys, teeming with their fields of untold wealth. Hail to Utah and her founders To you, valiant Pioneers, Who trudged o'er a barren waste In the desert toiled for years. Hail to Utah ! Inland Empire ! Built by your toil-hardened hands ; As earth's fairest garden now blooming What was once but desert sands. Hail ! ye Pioneers and Veterans ! Fearless, faithful, valiant band. Who fought long against privation, , Hardships, hunger, and savage men. Building bridges, digging ditches, Reclaiming barren, desert soil; Murmuring not 'gains!; cold and hunger, Content with honest, humble toil. Did you, fail ? Behold your answer In our fields of golden grain, Thriving factory, busy city, Dotting our mountain slope and plain. View today the fruits of your labors ; Fields and factories, schools and homes ; Sheltered from worldly den and strife, Guarded by. lofty mountain domes, Building here in love and honor, Toiling not for wealth" and fame, Chei'ished be your memory, Ever honored be your name. |
