Western Wagons
The Other Pioneers
They went with axe and rifle
when the trail was still to blaze,
They went with wife and children,
In the prairie-schooner days,
With banjo and with frying pan --Oh, Susanna, don't you cry!
For I'm off to California,
To get rich there or to die!
Now I must write
Of those of mine who rode these plains
Long years before the Saxon and the
Irish came.
Of those who plowed the land and built
the towns
And gave the towns' soft- woven
Spanish names.
Of those who moved across the Rio
Grande
Toward the hiss of Texas snake and
Indian yell.
Of men who from the earth made thickwalled homes
And from the earth raised churches to
their God.
And of the wives who bore them sons
And smiled with knowing joy.
We've broken land and cleared it,
But we're tired of where we are.
They say that wild Nebraska
Is a better place, by far.
There's gold in far Wyoming,
There's black earth in Ioway.
So pack up the kids and blankets,
For we're moving out today!
The cowards never started
And the weak ones died on the road,
And all across the continent
The endless campfires glowed.
We'd taken land and settled,
But a traveler passed by,
And we're going West tomorrow,
Lordy, never ask us why!
We're going West tomorrow,
Where the promises can't fail.
O'er the hills in legions, boys,
And crowd the dusty trail!
We shall starve and freeze and suffer,
We shall die and tame the lands.
But we're moving West tomorrow,
With our fortune in our hands.
Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet
They say the Texan sun rise golden-red
with promised wealth
And saw the Texas sun sink golden yet,
with wealth unspent.
“Here,” they said, “Here to live and here
to love.”
Here is the land for our sons and the
sons of our sons.”
And they sang the songs of ancient
Spain
And they made new songs to fit new
needs
They cleared the brush and planted the
corn
And saw green stalks turn black from
lack of rain
They roamed the plains behind the herds
And stood the Indian’s cruel attacks
VOCABULARY:
Blaze: to show a trial by cutting marks
There was dust and there was sweat.
And there were tears and the women
prayed.
into trees.
Prairie Schooner: a covered wagon,
which looks like a schooner (ship).
Susanna, don’t you cry: lyrics from a
traditional song.
And the years moved on.
Those who were first placed in graves
Beside the broad mesquite and the tall
nopal.
Gentle mothers left their graces and
their arts
And stalwart fathers pride and manly
strength.
Salinas, de la Garza, Sanchez, Garcia,
Uribe, Gonzalez, Martinez, de Leon:
Such were the names of the fathers.
Salinas, De La Garza, Sanchez, Garcia,
Uribe, Gonzalez, Martinez, De Leon:
are the names of the sons.
By Roberto Felix Salazar
VOCABULARY:
Saxon: British
Rio Grande: a river that flows through
Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas and
forms part of the United States/Mexican
border; its name means “big river”.
Mesquite, Nopal: plants native to the
southwestern United States.
Name _____________________________________
Date __________
English 8 Period_________
Mrs. Neill
AFTER READING:
Comprehension:
1. Recall: in “Western Wagons,” what things are the pioneers taking with
them?
2. Clarify: Who were the “other pioneers”?
Literary Analysis:
3. Make inferences about Speaker: What do you know about the feelings and
situation of the speaker in “Western Wagons”? Cite specific lines from the
poem to support your answer.
4. Analyze Repetition: Look for examples of repetition in Western Wagons.”
What ideas are emphasized through the use of repetition?
5. Interpret Poetry: Reread the following lines from “The Other Pioneers”.
What were the people hoping for from their new home?
They say the Texan sun rise golden-red with promised wealth
And saw the Texas sun sink golden yet, with wealth unspent.
“Here,” they said, “Here to live and here to love.”
Here is the land for our sons and the sons of our sons.”
6. Draw Conclusions about Purpose: What might have been Salazar’s
purpose for writing “The Other Pioneers”?
7. Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast the pioneers in “Western
Wagons” and “The Other Pioneers.” How are the pioneers’ traits and
attitudes the same? How are they different? Consider their ideas about
home, moving, and future generations.
Now reread the poems, using a chart like the one shown to note any clues to the
tone.
Shared Subject: Pioneers in Early America
“Western Wagons”
What images, words, and
phrases tell about the
pioneers and their
actions?
How does the speaker
feel?
What sound devices, if
any, does the poet use?
How do they effect the
poem?
What is the tone of the
poem?
“The Other Pioneers”
Writing for Assessment:
I.
Read the Prompt:
You just read two poems about pioneers. In
writing assessments, you may be asked to compare and contrast the tone
of selections such as these that share a similar subject.
Strategies:
PROMPT:
1: I need to describe the attitude toward
“Western Wagons” and “The Other Pioneers” both tell
pioneers expressed in each poem and tell
about pioneers, but the tone of the poems is not
how this attitude is shown.
identical. In four or five paragraphs, compare and
contrast the tone of each poem and describe how this
2: I need to tell how the attitudes are
similar and different.
tone is developed though imagers, word choice, sound
devices, and speaker. Use quotations from the poems
3: I must support my ideas using examples
from the poems.
to support your ideas.
II.
Plan Your Writing:
Review the chart you filled out and note the
similarities and differences between the tones of the two poems and the
way they’re conveyed. Make sure you have enough quotations and
examples to support your ideas. Then think about how you will set up
the body of your response.
I.
Introduce poems and thesis
statement
II.
Tone in “Western Wagons”
III. Tone in “The Other Pioneers”
and how it compares
IV. Conclusion
BODY OPTION A:
Paragraph 1: describe the tone of the first poem
and explain how it was created.
Paragraph 2: describe the tone of the second
poem and explain how it is similar and different
from the tone of the first.
BODY OPTION B:
Paragraph 1: compare how speaker and word
choice contribute to the tone.
Paragraph 2: compare how sound devices and
imagery contribute to the tone
CHOOSE AN OPTION: Then outline your essay and write a thesis statement.
III. Draft Your Response:
Introduction: Give the titles of the poems, the poets’ names, and your thesis
statement.
Body: Follow your outline to describe the tone of each poem and explain the
similarities and differences between the poems. Include details from the poems
to support your ideas.
Conclusion: End your essay by restating your thesis statement. You might also
include your thoughts about which poems tone made the strongest impression
on you and why.
Revision: Make sure the quotations you cite are correctly punctuated with
quotation marks.