The Indian's Prayer

"The Indian's Prayer" is a popular song with music composed by I.B. Woodbury in 1846. The 1833 original lyric, used in altered form, was published as "The Indian's Entreaty" in a Universalist journal by Rev. John Perry, a Pennsylvania minister. The poem was claimed to reflect the likely thoughts of a boy described as having left "some years ago" from "one of many colleges" to return to his native tribe.
Woodbury, a composer of religious music, dedicated the song to his friend and student L.O. Emerson, Esq.
A setting of the text appears in William Walker's Southern Harmony and Christian Harmony, under the title "The Indian's Petition".

Lyrics

Rev. Perry's original poem, in 11-syllable lines:
The lyrics as they appear in Woodbury's original sheet music: have been altered from the original by an unknown hand, mainly to be in 12-syllable lines rather than 11. Several undated broadsides titled "Indian Hunter" offer variants on these words.