The Vigilantes + 

We are the whirlwinds that winnow the West⁠— + 

We scatter the wicked like straw! + 

We are the Nemeses, never at rest⁠— + 

We are Justice, and Right, and the Law! + 

Moon on the snow and a blood-chilling blast, + 

Sharp-throbbing hoofs like the heart-beat of fear, + 

A halt, a swift parley, a pause⁠—then at last + 

A stiff, swinging figure cut darkly and sheer + 

Against the blue steel of the sky; ghastly white + 

Every on-looking face. Men, our duty was clear; + 

Yet ah! what a soul to send forth to the night! + 

Ours is a service brute-hateful and grim; + 

Little we love the wild task that we seek; + 

Are they dainty to deal with⁠—the fear-rigid limb, + 

The curse and the struggle, the blasphemous shriek? + 

Nay, but men must endure while their bodies have breath; + 

God made us strong to avenge Him the weak⁠— + 

To dispense his sure wages of sin⁠—which is death. + 

We stand for our duty: while wrong works its will, + 

Our search shall be stern and our course shall be wide; + 

Retribution shall prove that the just liveth still, + 

And its horrors and dangers our hearts can abide, + 

That safety and honor may tread in our path; + 

The vengeance of Heaven shall speed at our side, + 

As we follow unwearied our mission of wrath. + 

We are the whirlwinds that winnow the West⁠— + 

We scatter the wicked like straw! + 

We are the Nemeses, never at rest⁠— + 

We are Justice, and Right, and the Law! + 