The New Monthly Magazine, Volume 8, Pages 298 to 300
THE ISLE OF FOUNTS,
An Indian Tradition.
Son of the Stranger! wouldst thou take
O'er yon blue hills thy lonely way,
To reach the still and shining Lake,
Along whose banks the West-winds play?
—Let no vain dreams thy heart beguile,
Oh! seek thou not the Fountain-lsle!
Lull but the mighty Serpent-King†[1]
Midst the great Rocks, his old domain,
Ward but the Cougar's deadly spring,
—Thy step that Lake's green shore may gain;
And the bright Isle, when all is past,
Shall vainly meet thine eye at last!
- ↑ † The Cherokees believe that the recesses of their mountains, overgrown with lofty pines and cedars, and covered with old mossy rocks, are inhabited by the Kings or Chiefs of the Rattlesnakes, whom they denominate the "bright old inhabitants." They represent them as snakes of an enormous size, and which possess the power of drawing to them every living creature that comes within the reach of their eyes. Their heads are crowned with a large carbuncle of dazzling brightness. See Notes to Leyden's "Scenes of Infancy."
