Arsenal Technical High School - Arsenal Cannon Yearbook (Indianapolis, IN)

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THE ARSENAL CANNON 13 he Qlbarm nf the nuntains QPrize Descriptionj Have you ever been among the mountains on a clear midsummer's night when the big full moon makes everything look almost as distinct as if it were day? What a charm it is! When the day has been long and hot under the pitiless sung the blinding rays of which do not spare anything within their reach, the leaves hang listless, drooping and wiltedg the birds all afternoon are quiet. The hour between sunset and dark in the land of the mountains is the hour the camper loves. For it is in this hour that he can wander and never grow tired or gloomy. All the voices of the woods are distinct at this hourg they may be intermingled, yet the experienced one has little difficulty in dis- tinguishing from which source each comes. Finally the sun goes down, red hot and blistering to the last. Then a cow somewhere on the hill- side, concluding it is time to go home, arises and I hear a faint tinkle of her bell. This seems to cause a general awakening 5 a rabbit hops out, looking toward the red west and the birds begin to singg the top-most branches in the trees begin to move in the breezeg the western sky deepens from a dozen different colors until finally the duller tints are lost in the darkness. But it does not stay dark for any length of time, for soon the eastern sky begins to lighten as the big moon slips up over the horizon. It has the appearance of coming right out of the hills as it floats upward. I wander along a road which finally winds to the east side of the ridge where one may look over the tree tops to the distant mountains which remind me of sentinels guarding the path by which the sun will rise at dawn. The mountain silence, for this is different from the ordinary silence, is disturbed by musical little streamlets as they trickle down the mountain side bringing a message from the snow peaks above to the comrades which they shall join below. Then allied, as it were, they will gush into the main stream where they will help to Water the fertile plains of the valley below. And as I look over a little precipice, my footsteps ever being guarded by the moon which makes every stone distinct in front of my eyes, I see the shining course of Moccasin Bend, where the river forms in the shape of a shoe as it threads its way in and out among the patches of cultivated fields and woodlands. If I strain my eyes I can see the lantern of a fisherman who sitting on a bank is waiting for the river to present him with some of its occupants in the form of catfish or some other variety. I cannot help feeling inspired as I look upon this beautiful sceneg glorified still more at this particular moment by the splendor of this full round moon, by this time fairly high in the sky. A little further on the bay of hounds on the chase, which I thought I heard a moment before but was not positive, becomes clearer and I am expecting at any moment to see a fox or coon jump out of the thicket just in front of me. Oh! what a night for coon hunting. Finally the shouts of men and the baying CConzinurd on Page 60D

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12 THE ARSENAL CANNON Usually when more than one boy was at work there wasn't any boy at all, as Cy's grandfather claimed, but this was certainly the exception to prove the rule for Dan's guiding head and hand accomplished wonders. By noon the field was ready for planting and then a troop of the hungriest boys anyone ever saw or heard of marched back to their homes. That afternoon drill master Dan decreed that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and therefore he would drill them for a few hours. Never were there eight such happy boys. The afternoon passed like magic and the novelty had not worn off. Indeed at the end of a week the boys were just as enthusiastic as they had been at the beginning and the parents began to wonder if it might not be truly lasting. All was progressing smoothly when word came that Dan's company might be called out within a few days. Then indeed began troublous times for the Soldiers of the Soil. With their drill-master gone would they be able to continue to the end? However Dan bequeathed his position to the now proficient Andy, and encouraged them to work hard to live up to the ideals adopted. The drilling became one of the most important and interesting branches of their work. The whole town was interested and aided the boys in planning for the exercises on Decoration Day and the 4th of July. Then came the startling news that Dan Lincoln was to leave for France on the fifteenth of June. The Soldiers began to have very mysterious secret meetings and to neglect even the drill meetings. Dan wondered many times whether his work was going to be lost after his departure. His days seem strangely empty without the lively boys ever at his heels. Nearer and nearer drew the great day and tenser and tenser became the excitement. Everyone swelled visibly with the importance of the occasion. The fifteenth dawned beautifully clear and the village was awakened with a Boom! boom! boom! of the cannon which was reserved for gala occasions. Everywhere Old Glory was unfurled to the breezeg the station in particular Haunted a large number of flags. Bunting decorated the platform and the cannon was stationed at the side of the station. As soon as their mothers would permit, eight radiant boys clad in wonderful new soldier suits, Cmade for the occasion by kindhearted sisters and mothersj, marched down to the Lincoln home and with a right good will cheered Dan again and again. SLu'prise was written on every line of his face when he appeared in the doorway and he gladly complied with their request to drill them once again. Then when they had shown him how perfectly they had learned their lessons they per- mitted him to return to his home. The boys then hustled off to the station and completed preparations there. When the train whistled at the crossing Dan, the hero, appeared on the scene. Cheers filled the air and just as he boarded the train the boys capped the climax by firing the cannon with many flour- ishes of drum and fife. The last sight of Dan left a great impression on these Soldiers and they resolved to be true to his teachings and to make him truly proud of them. ' CATHERINE A. CARR.

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14 THE ARSENAL CANNON istnrp uf the urn ample CPrize Essay.J In 1520 when Magellan circumnavigated the globe he went as far as the Ladrones Islands, then to what is now known as the Philippine Islands, where he was killed in Cebu during a skirmish with the natives. When he landed at Cebu he took possession of the Philippines and named them in honor of King Phillip II of Spain. Among these islands in the province of Mindanao, there lies the second largest island inhabited by the semi-savage people called Moros. At the beginning of the Phillipine history, these people were wild and dangerous. The government of Spain tried to bring them into civilization, but their conquest was always a failure. For over three hundred years, the Spaniards labored to convert them to Christianity, but nothing except bloodshed was the result. Before the steamship came into use in the island these people were most dangerous and a great enemy of the Christians. I remember very well my grandparents telling us of the persecution of my forefathers. These Moro people, with their sampans, boats the size of a fishing smack, used to go from one Christian island to the other and capture the Christian people. Whenever resistance was offered, the savages massacred the entire population, and whenever prisoners were taken, these were treated most cruelly. The only food they could have was the crumbs from the place where the Moros ate. After the captives had been held for a Week or so they were taken to the Island of Borneo and there ex- changed for food stuff. Whenever the prisoners reached Borneo there was no hope for their liberty or escape. My grandmother told us that when the Moros were coming to the Christian cities most of the populace took refuge in the caves or some barricaded place. When the steamship was introduced into the Phillipines the Moros ceased their unwelcome expeditions. The religion of these people is Mohammedanism, similar to that of the Chinese. They have a certain day to celebrate their feast, when they put a hog's head on the table and pray to and dance around it. These people do not eat the hog's meat or food cooked with lard, or vglich salt. Nor will they touch sea turtle, which they consider sacr . Once when a Christian fisherman caught a sea turtle, one of the Moros bought it and turned it loose, for he believed the turtle was the one who carried his ancestors to safety during storms at sea. A Moro is allowed to have as many wives as he wants, providing he is a landholder and can support his families, but the poorer classes usually have one Wife and two is the limit. This class sell their children to any one wishing to buy them. Any landholder can obtain a Wife by paying money and jewels to the girl's parents. The houses are usually built along the river bank. The roofs are of cocoanut leaves and the bark of large trees. Flooring is of lath made of bamboo and laid about an inch apart. One house contains several Cffontinued on Page 591