Cleveland High School - Beacon Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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V +4 , 14, ,:g:2-.J - Ser-S Tb- N Qgflg S its A , R - 1,364.7 2 H ---b 3 - -1 - nr --f ' From the middle colonies the wagons found their way into every colony and settlement. And its life was not ended in the Eastern states and it was not ended by the establishment of the railroad. Until recent times the Cones- toga wagon, renamed the prairie schooner, carried civilization and immigra- tion across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. The remains of these wagons, sometimes still seen in the far West, are as distinct relics of early Western life as the remains of the buffalo. A few wagons still remain in Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. In 1899 one toiled its way slowly and painfully up the green-hill side of Vermont, bringing back several old people who had gone West long ago. An American poet writes of the Conestoga Wagon: - The old road blossoms with romance Of covered vehicles of every grade, From ox-cart of most primitive design To Conestoga wagons with their fine Deep-dusted, six horse teams in heavy gear, High homes, and chiming bells-to childish ears And eye entrancing as the glittering train Of some sun-smitten pageant of old Spain. MARIE STONECIPI-IER WINGS I hear a humming, humming and it comes from over head. I creep up to the window, and look into the sky, And there among the fleecy clouds, an aeroplane 59.2 , . , . . ARLY in the morning, while I m yet in bed 21 v-Tir I 1, J tar' I passes by. When I go a-walking in the early afternoon, And have my thoughts on things that are bound to happen soon, An object large and shiny keeps the sun just out of sight, For painted 'gainst the blue sky is an areoplane in Bight' ROSE PASLAVSKY SAYS THE WISE OLD BIRD I am, remarked the goose today So thankful this Thanksgiving, Because my head escaped the axe And I'm among the living. Now into racing l will go Till I become much thinner And l'll be much too thin, you know, To make a Christmas dinner. RICHARD BOURGEOIS Twcnzy

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e st g Y 5 .. .s-iii le i THE CONESTOGA WAGON HE Conestoga wagon, a truly American product, was a per- fect vehicle of transportation in the early stages of our devel- nk! opment. Although the day of its usefulness has passed and ,Him few ancient specimens exist, the derivative word, stogey, meaning hard, or tough is a legacy. g ff. J This wagon was first developed in Pennsylvania by the topographical conditions, by the soft soil, by trade requirements and by native wit. lt is the highest type of commodious freight carrier of horse- power that this country or any other country has ever knowng the name Conestoga was given to this kind of wagon from the vicinity in which it was first in common use. A boat shaped body with a curved canoe-shaped bottom which fitted them especially for mountain use, was arched over with six or seven bows of which the middle ones were the lowest. These were covered with a strong, pure-white hempen cover, corded down strongly at the sides and ends. Each wagon could be loaded to the top and carried from four to six tons. Powerful horses of Conestoga breed were used by the teamsters. These horses, usually from four to seven in number, were often carefully matched, all dapple-gray or bay. Their broad, heavy harnesses were costly, made of the best leather and trimmed with brass plates. The number of these wagons was vast. There were Regulars, who with their fully equipped Conestoga wagons made freighting their only busi- ness. During the dull season-the winter-farmers who made occasional trips were called lVlilitia. At one time there were over three thousand wagons going from Philadelphia to other Pennsylvania towns. Sometimes a group of one hundred would follow in a row, the leaders of one wagon with their noses in the trough of the wagon ahead. The Conestoga wagon was in constant use in the time of war as well as in the time of peace. They were not only furnished to Braddock's army in 1775 but to the Continental army in the Revolutionary war. Dur- ing the War of 1812 they were used for the transportation of arms, ammuni- tion, and supplies to the army on the frontier. Nineteen

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e f- S xt, W Sei' Y - PONY EXPRESS hh Y THE middle of the nineteenth century it was found that the too slow to carry on the business of the day. The Pony gym, Express was established in i860 to make a better mail serv- ice. The first riders set out, one from San Francisco toward 10 D. ox-teams and stages crossing the great plains of the West, were Q1 7' f EJ Missouri, and the other from St. joseph, Missouri, to Cali- fornia, on April 3, 1860. The first news of importance carried by the Pony Express was the news of l..incoln's address when he was first elected Presi- dent. This news reached California in seven days and seventeen hours, and the last ten miles were covered in thirty-one minutes. The average time taken by the Pony Express to cover this two thousand miles was ten days. This was a great improvement over the months taken by the ox-teams and stage coaches. The riders were young men and boys-strong, fearless, and able. They were always ready to ride in rain, snow, or sunshine. They sacrificed every- thing for their work and their greatest pride was in being ahead of schedule. The horses were four hundred of the very fastest and best to be found, and they were kept in the finest condition. There were one hundred and ninety stations established along the way, from nine to fifteen miles apart. Each Pony Rider boy rode from one station to another as fast as he could. just before arriving he loosened his saddle bags, threw them on to another horse and was gone like a streak of lightning. Mark Twain tells of watching from a stage coach for many days for the Pony Rider to pass. One day he was seen on the horizon and then, with a cheerful wave of his hand, disappeared over the sky-line in the other direc- tion. Although the charge for a letter written on the lightest kind of paper was 55.00, the Pony Express was never a Hnancial suc- cess. It was a difficult thing to overcome the objections of the Post Office because of the law against private mail service. After a year and a half, in October, l86l, the Pony Express service was discontinued just before the opening of the Pacific telegraph from New York to San Francisco. Even though the Pony Express was a failure, we of the present day owe much to the men who risked their lives riding through dangerous ln- dian country unarmed, trusting only to God and to their speed to save their lives, and we ought to honor and know them better than we do. . IONE SCHROEDER Twenty-one