Song of the Chattahoochee
Sidney Lanier
1842 - 1881
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Out of the hills
of Habersham,
Down the valleys of
Hall,
I hurry amain to reach
the plain,
Run the rapid and leap
the fall,
Split at the rock and
together again,
Accept my bed, or narrow
or wide,
And flee from folly
on every side
With a lover's pain
to attain the plain
Far from the hills
of Habersham,
Far from the valleys
of Hall.
All down the hills
of Habersham,
All through the valleys
of Hall,
The rushes cried Abide,
abide,
The willful waterweeds
held me thrall,
The laving laurel turned
my tide,
The ferns and the fondling
grass said Stay,
The dewberry dipped
for to work delay,
And the little reeds
sighed Abide, abide,
Here in the hills
of Habersham,
Here in the valleys
of Hall.
High o'er the
hills of Habersham,
Veiling the valleys
of Hall,
The hickory told me
manifold
Fair tales of shade,
the poplar tall
Wrought me her shadowy
self to hold,
The chestnut, the oak,
the walnut, the pine,
Overleaning, with flickering
meaning and sign,
Said, Pass not, so cold,
these manifold
Deep shades of
the hilIs of Habersham,
These glades in the
valleys of Hall.
And oft in the
hills of Habersham,
And oft in the valleys
of Hall,
The white quartz shone,
and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage
with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous
jewel lone --
Crystals clear or a-cloud
with mist,
Ruby, garnet and amethyst
--
Made lures with the
lights of streaming stone
In the clefts
of the hills of Habersham,
In the beds of the valleys
of Hall.
But oh, not the
hills of Habersham,
And oh, not the valleys
of Hall
Avail: I am fain to
water the plain.
Downward the voices
of Duty call --
Downward, to toil and
be mixed with the main;
The dry fields burn,
and the mills are to turn,
And a myriad flowers
mortally yearn,
And the lordly main
beyond the plain
Calls o'er the
hills of Habersham,
Calls through the valleys
of Hall.
One
of the largest forces in colonizing Georgia was the goldrush, and this
was the main reason for Hernando De Soto to visit North Georgia in 1540.
The Cherokee Indians had been panning for gold on the Chattahooche River
for years at this point and had found much material. The Spanish
joined the Cherokee in this goldrush in the early 1700's, but then were
forced out and the interest in mining waned, but slowly continued throughout
the 18th and 19th century. It is important to note that this gold
was being mined illegally from the Cherokee for years, but the first "discovery"
of gold was credited to Frank Logan in 1828. Ben Parks claimed he
was the first in 1829 to discover gold; however, Logan was the first.
It
is not too hard to imagine the history of the Chattahooche. It's
cooling waters that are rapid at some points, and stagnant at others, was
a summertime swimming treat! In addition, the river has been used
by many ministers for baptismals. What other uses can you imagine
that the Chattahooche provided?