“OMEMEE”—THE DOVE by Robert S. Patterson

Where the wild-vines creeping,

Throw a pleasant shade,

Lovely, lone and weeping,

There stood an Indian maid.

Loudly, sweetly, clearly,

The piping blue-birds sang—

And through the forests cheerily,

The voice of insects rang!

She stood there gazing sadly

With eyes of midnight hue—

From which the tears gushed madly,

Like diamond drops of dew;

While the quivering leaves, in pity

Were whispering above—

And soothing called her “Omemee!”

“Sweet Omemee!” the dove!

That Indian maid is praying,

In the forest depths alone:

For her lover’s spirit straying—

To “Ponemah’s* realm” has flown—

And now she seeks to follow him,

Where the “Baim-wa-wa”† sounds

To braid his moccasins and belt

In the happy hunting grounds.

Her mellow tones rose mildly,

Up through the wafting air;

And the busy echo, wildly,

Reverates her prayer

Till rolling o’er the prairies

To the waters of the west

‘Tis heard by “Gitche Manitou”?

In the wigwams of the blest.

Gently smiled the Great One

As he heard Omemee pray,

And pouring forth a cloud storm,

Upon the blushing day,

It wrapped the trees in dusky folds—

The teeming earth it kissed—

Then, upward to the sky it rolled,

Like a noiseless car of mist!

Again through branches peeping,

The sun shines round and fair—

The wild-vines still are creeping—

But no Indian maid is there!

For a fountain now is springing

Where the sweet Omemee stood—

In silvery showers flinging

Its freshness through the wood!

From that pure spring, flowing;

A streamlet takes its rise—

Still broad and deeper growing,

As swift it onward hies;

Fast gurgling o’er the pebbles—

Smooth, running o’er the sand,

And coying with the rushes,

Which bend on either hand!

Now through meadows gliding—

Now tumbling down the hill—

It sweeps through Omemee village,

And turns the clattering mill,

Through rice swamp, and through forest,

It wandering winds along;

Till its stream is lost for ever

In the bosom of “Chemong.”

But the trees its flood o’erhanging

Still breathes Omemee’s name,

And the birds through branches flying

Softly sing the same,

And the “Mud-wa-aushka”* sighing

Tells how she died of love;

And men still call Omemee’s stream

“The river of the Dove.”

* The Land of the Thereafter.

† Pass’ng Thunder

? The Great Spirit.

* The noise of the waves on the shore.

The above poetry was taken from a book of poems entitled “Selections from Canadian Poets,” kindly loaned to us by Mrs. G. Norris, who received it as a gift from the Rev. E. H. Dewart, of Toronto, 1866.


Search the Ontario (Upper Canada) Genealogy Website - Make sure to use all known variations of a family name in your search!

index sitemap advanced
site search by freefind


Historical Tales From the Archives - A Selection of Stories, Recollections, Reminiscences and Travel Experiences in Times Gone By  New Site 2021

20th Century Ontario Genealogy Newspaper Notices Index New March 2020

Upper Canada Ontario Surrogate Court Estate Files and Will Database New March 2019

Ontario Canada Historical Map Site New December 2018

Ontario Place Locator - 19th Century Ontario Town and Village Locations and Inhabitants

Upper Canada (Ontario) Pioneer Settler Land Locations, Census Records and Property Descriptions 

Historical Visits to Ontario Villages and Towns  Take a trip back in time to the late 19th century and explore the towns and villages where your ancestors lived, loved, laboured, laughed and played.

Ontario Images of the Past Thousands of Images of City, Town, Village and Country Life

Ontario Land Registry Records Research Thousands of your ancestors and where they lived in Ontario 

Upper Canada (Ontario) Newspaper Notices Database 

Ontario Genealogy Newspaper Notices Database

Ontario (Upper Canada) History and Pioneer Family Research 

Queen's Own Rifles - Old Photos of Members

Upper Canada District Maps (Circa 1800)

Upper Canada (Ontario) History Books On-Line Index

Ontario County Directories Victoria, Haliburton, Hastings, Peterborough, Durham, Northumberland, Muskoka, and Old Ontario County

Central Upper Canada (Ontario) Marriage Database 22650 Marriage Records Indexed 

Central Upper Canada Baptism Database 25000 Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Marriages indexed 

Upper Canada (Central Ontario) Burial Database 4500 Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist and Church of Scotland Burials indexed 

Eastern Upper Canada Marriage Database Anglican, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Marriages indexed 

Eastern Upper Canada Baptism Database Anglican, Roman Catholic and Church of Scotland Baptisms indexed 

Eastern Upper Canada Burial Database 

Upper Canada (Western Ontario) Marriage Database

Upper Canada (Western Ontario) Baptism Database  

Upper Canada (Western Ontario) Burial Database 

Upper Canada Land Petitions 51000 Records Indexed

Upper Canada Land Leases and Miscellaneous Petitions 10000 Records Indexed

Upper Canada (Ontario) Sundries Database

Upper Canada (Ontario) Toronto Insane Asylum Database

Upper Canada (Ontario) Kingston Insane Asylum Database

Upper Canada (Ontario) London Insane Asylum Database

Upper Canada (Ontario) Malden Insane Asylum Database

Upper Canada (Ontario) Hamilton Insane Asylum Database

Ontario Genealogy Historical Newspaper Collection Historical Newspaper Files from various regions of Ontario

Newspaper Genealogical and Historical Records - Thousands of entries

Ontario (Upper Canada) Map Collection  Great site for locating your ancestors in Ontario

Ontario Genealogy Postcard Site - Great old-time landscape views

Upper Canada and Ontario CRIMINAL Database 

Ontario Genealogy Database Index Site 500000 Genealogy Records Indexed

Need HELP With Your Family Research?

Northumberland County Genealogy and History

Victoria County Genealogy and History

Durham County Genealogy and History

Haliburton County Genealogy and History

Peterborough County History and Genealogy

Newcastle District (Upper Canada) History and Genealogy

Ontario County History and Genealogy

Upper Canada History and Genealogy

Echoes of the Past - Ontario Genealogy Home


Search the Ontario (Upper Canada) Genealogy Website - Make sure to use all known variations of a family name in your search!

index sitemap advanced
site search by freefind


Contact Ontario Genealogy