Central Catholic High School - Echo Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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24 CENTRAL CATHOLIC H.IGH SCHOOL ECHO S - HPARDN ERS . By E. H. Kirkland, 'ia , Tin Can Harmer and the Swede were pard- nersf' Tin Can was a medium-sized man, dark complected, and morosef-well, hardly morose, but quiet. He had come to the Alaskan gold fields when they were in their infancy The Swede was a huge blond giant, with a physique that would have done credit to a Greek god. He had light wavy hair, deep blue eyes, stood six feet five inches, and had a heart that was full of sympathy for everyone who was in trouble. He carried himself like a millionaire without any caresg in fact, he was a millionaire at times, but when he and ,Tin Can made a strike they always came to town to celebrate. Every six months they made a journey to Portland and there they proceeded to light up the town and incidentally themselves. So when these two men came back they were flat, not a cent between them. Hut this only seemed to encourage them to further efforts and after they had secured all the supplies they needed, they mushed off for the gold fields once more. But a break must come between the best of friends and come it did, although it was some time before they came to any forceful arguments with fists or preferably guns. The two men had come from the region of the upper Yukon to the little town called Nugget, named most probably by the saloon-keeper who took in the nuggets, or by some miner who considered the saloon a nugget. When they stamped into the general store and saw behind the counter a woman, both of them almost fell over but evidently thought better of it. They showed their enthusiasm by trying to buy out the whole store. They vied with each other in buying canned goods, crackers, cheese, matches, and even lace, till the clerk almost dropped in her tracks, but this did not hinder them and it was only when they had about half the store piled up in front of them that they realized what they were doing. When they had gathered up all they could carry and walked outto the street, a general air of relief seemed to pervade the whole store. Not a word was spoken between them until supper and then it was only when Tin Can asked his mate to shove over the bacon. They stayed in town for two months hang- ing around the store all the while. During this time they learned that she- was the daugh- ter of old man Wade, the owner of the store. Whenever the Swede entered and found her talking to Tin Can, he left with a grunt, and when Tin Can came in to find the Swede hanging over the counter, he left muttering threats against that big stiff who didn't know how to mind his own business. Then one night the two men left town, both taking a different route, each refusing to travel with the other. Nothing was heard of them for a month or so until one night, when they both came back to the little mining town. The first place they both went was the store. There they found old man Wade sitting on the counter trying to hit the cuspidor .at every shot of tobacco juice, and dangling his feet in perfect contentment, oblivious to time and sur- roundings. Where's the clerk? was the ques- tion, shot at him like a bullet. Oh, her? Why she left town yisterday with Blackie Morris, answered the unperturbed Wade. , This reply seemed to stun them both for a minute: then Tin Can asked if she had left any word for him. 'fYes, she did. Here it is, said the old man handing him a note and relapsing into his former tranquility. f The note told them that she was going OH to marry Blackie Morris and that she hop'ed they would both have good luck. Say, looky here. This writin' seems a, bit shaky to me, said Tin Can. I don't believe its her writin', do you? and he handed the note over to the storekeeper. I should say that ain't her writin', was the cool reply, that Blackie must 'a wrote that! It's just as I thought, said Harmer and hurried out to the street followed by U19 Swede. , . They procured the best dogs in that part of the country outside of the team that Blackie had, and started in pursuit. After traveling for two days they came t.o a river that was just breaking up the ice layer, and the huge cakes of ice were thundering down with a force that would have crushed them both to bits. They procured an old scow.from a hunter who lived on the river bank. They odered to pay him for the use of it, but he refused them, saying that it was pay enough to see two fools have their heads broken trying to cross the

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. ' CENTRAL CATHOLIC his willingness to let others profit by his dis- coveries, whilephe himself would continue his scientific work. In 1857 he became director of science at the Ecole Normal, Paris. Some time after- ward he was appointed professor of geology, physics and chemistry at the School of Fine Arts. H At this time the silkworm disease was Last spreading over France and the great industry of the country was becoming crippled. Pas- teur was called to the rescue, though it is said that he had never seen a silkworm up, to this time. However, such real or attributed ignorance did not prevent him from making a completed study of the silkworm disease germs as soon as he undertook the commission. He discovered the disease germs in the bodies of the dead silkworms and also in the moth, the larva, and the egg. He concluded that by carefully segregating the healthy silkworms from the infected the spread of the disease could be prevented. He demonstrated the truth of his theory and manifested his prac- tical ability by taking charge of the silkworm industry at the French Prince Imperial. At the end of a year he had netted the French government 55,000,000 So much labor was too much for his strength, and partial paralysis followed in 1868. I But as he was a real scientist he could not be idle. He proceeded to study the diseases of animals. He investigated the chicken chol- era which was destroying ten per cent of the French fowls. This he succeeded in curing by cultivating the cholera germs artificially until they were harmless when inoculated into healthy fowl, though at the same time strong enough to call forth such a quantity of the contrary germs that the fowls would be here- after immune from the disease in question. In 1880 the Institute of Pasteur was founded. Here he continued his many investigations with renewed energy. He demonstrated the bacterial cause of anthrax, a disease which had destroyed whole herds of cattle in France. He showed that birds were not liable to fall vic- tims to the disease because the temperature of their blood is too high for the prosperity of the germ. He found by investigation that earth worms carried it from the graves of dead animals to the grazing animals in the fields. By the use of heat he gradually lowered I , . .2- HIGH SCHOOL ECHO 23 the vitality of the anthrax microbe until its source as a disease was much impaired. Bacteriology and its relation to human dis- eases was his next study. He spent much time in the hospitals and made many discoveries regarding those bacteria which cause diseases in man. Among other things he laid before the Institute of Sorbonne, in 1864, a plan for preventing the fatal results of hydrophobia by the same method of cultivation and inocula- tion of germs which had succeeded in counter- acting the chicken cholera. The Russians and the British of India have since used his method with success. As to the value of Pasteur's experiments, it is estimated that he more than compensated the French nation for the money wrung from her in 1870. His country was not unmindful of his work. The French government granted him an pension of 20,000 francs. Medals of honor and gifts of money came to him from his own and other countries. His scientific work was the wonder of the century, and it is little wonder that societies vied with one another in honoring him. But Pasteur's faith was even more admirable than his science. The more I know the more nearly is my faith that ofa Breton peasant. Could I but know an I would have the faith of a Breton peasant, said he one day in a public address. He could never understand .how any- one could call himself a scientist and at the same time profess to doubt the existence of a Creator, when all nature demonstrated the fact. In this simple faith he' died, September 28, 1895, saying his beads with the same devotion with which he had said it in the days of his strength. By his side was the life of St. Vincent de Paul, a saint who he had striven to imitate by lightening the sufferings of hu- manity. Above his tomb in the Institute Pas- teur are engraved the words which he himself wrote in a letter to a friend: 'iHappy the man who bears within him a Divinity, an ideal- of beauty and obeys it, an ideal of art, an ideal of science, of country, and of the vir- tues of the Gospel. A

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CENTRAL CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL ECHO 25 river. They stood on the bank day after day, waiting for a jam, until one day an enormous cake caught between two smaller ones, and the jam began to form. But before they were half way-across, the jam broke with a great roar and swirled down upon them in all its power and fury. A large block of ice struck the clumsy boat and smashed it to at.oms. Tin Can was thrown on th-e ice- and the Swede jumped for it. He landed safely but was not slow to realize that his was a perilous posi- tion and that Tin Can must be hurt, for he had seen a little stream of blood flowing down from his temple. He picked up his unconscious pardner and started to cover the intervening .thirty yards to the bank of the river. It is saying very little to remark that this was a perilous journey, hopping from one cake to another, never knowing when they were going to turn ov-er. But at last he reached the shore and dropped to the frozen ground, exhausted by his great effort. ' Three days later, when Harmer was able to sit up, the Swede walked over to him and took up his hand. Tin Can understood that the 'Swede wanted to bring relations to where they were before the quarrel and heartily re- sponded to his wish. We'll go up the river this fall. I heered thar be a strike up thar that makes the others look green. An' say, Swede, but it surely is hell to break 'up a pair of jacks to draw a measly qu-een. 5 --1--- BRING A PRIEST, TOO By Robert Clifford, '17. Hurrah! shouted James Dowley as he hopped from his bed one morning late in the fall. I wonder if Bob and Hen have found it out yet? , Bob and Hen were Jim's great college chums. Bob Fisher w-as a good old scout from Boston and Henry Miller was also an easterner and not hard to get along withj The three were known about the school as the trio, for the word of one was the word of the three. Dowley dressed quickly and hurried off to tell the news to Bob and Hen. He knocked at Bob's door, and before long a sleepy head came sticking out with the question, What's the matter? ' What's the matter? Go and look out the .1 window and you won't ask what's the matter, said Jim. Bob hastened to the window and as he lifted the blind he exclaimed in a rapture: Great! I wonder if Hen has found it out yet?i' I don't know, said Jim, but ,we had better go and wake him up, if he's still sawing wood These words were no sooner out of his mouth, when the door opened and Hen un- ceremoniously bounced in with the gleeful words: Say, old sports, have you seen the snow? Its already six inches deep, and it doesn't look like quitting either. Bully for the snow! Let's fix up the old Hrelocks today, for we want no bum guns in the crowd tomorrow, suggested Jim. As usual the trio agreed and got the old guns ready-two shotguns and a rifle. At six o'clock the next morning a party of six set out for the hunting ground two miles distant. As soon as they got there they di- vided into pairs, Bob taking Jack Walsh. Perry and Patterson and Jim and Hen formed the other divisions. As WVRISI1, who had the rifle, was not used to hunting, Bob gave him a few instructions. All things went well for a while, but the fated hour was at hand. As Walsh and Fisher were walking along, talking about the game they had already shot, a good-sized rabbit ran across their path, about fifty yards ahead of them. Whoop! I must get that one! exclaimed Bob, at the same instant making a dash to where the rabbit crossed the path. I, too! said Jack, also rushing forwardg and while still running he leveled the rifle, and as luck would have it, he stumbled and the rifle went off. A shriek of pain answered the report and Bob fell face to the ground, dyeing the glistening snow with his youthful blood. Great guns! I've killed him! exclaimed Jack, as he got up and ran to his fallen -com- rade. Jim and Hen were on the scene in a few minutes, and as they saw the blood bubbling forth from a wound over Fisher's ear, Hen cried out, Run for the doctor quick, Jim! All right! I'll hurry, said Jim as he started od. Better bring a priest, too, shouted Walsh after him, for its hard to tell whether he will live or not. '