Maoris, Hail and Farewell

Te Ao Hou, March 1968, Page 49

Maoris, Hail and Farewell Proud Maoris, Welcome to Klamath Fails, fair symbol of the West! At this centennial moment, come right in and be our guest! For this is God's own country where the sun looked down and smiled. Where people do things naturally, and even the plums are wild! A land of timber, spuds, and grain, and cowpoke riding high, While caterwauling aerojets trace patterns in the sky! We've placid lakes and waterfalls, and rivers rapid-tossed, And some that just meander till they get themselves plumb lost! It's cold up on the mountain peaks where skiers freeze their toes, While in the hotsprings area, we're wearing scanty clothes! We have game sanctuaries, protecting beast and bird, But such shooting all around that spot is elsewhere never heard! The reservation set aside for Klamath's Indian race Is closed, and as new citizens, they've gained their rightful place. Wonder at ancient petroglyphs, cut deep in canyon walls, Only at this point, restrain yourselves! don't ask, ‘Where are the falls?’ Sure, such paradoxes should present quite enough of a riddle, Still you saw the mountain that blew its top, with a lake right in its middle1 So if our folk are different from the ordinary kind, Please note the trouble nature had in making up her mind. We've churches school and business, and tourist trade galore, With a hundred years' traditions, now who could ask for more? Orbits circling the tired old world? Moon landings? The missile race? Why these things seem mere trifles when our Jaycees set the pace! So ‘Now is the Hour’. Maoris, and as true friends we must part; But your haunting music, heaven sent, shall linger in our heart. And if some day on Klamath streets, no citizen shall be found, Just bet your bottom shilling. we're all New Zealarid bound! Now join in our sone of a century, as our great state marches on! For with God our guide. we shall safely ride, to glory with Oregon! And forever, remember Klamath. where God looked down and smiled, Where people do things naturally. and even the plums are wild!