Bacone College - Warrior Yearbook (Muskogee, OK)

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THE BACONE CHIEF 29 when a quarter of a mile from it. they stop and eat din- ner. After dinner they sing again, then twenty strong men are selected for each team, each town selecting its own. iWhen all is ready, the players march to the ball- ground, as they are not allowed to ride in the wagon. Tl1e women are left to drive the teams. Before appearing on the ball-ground, the players take red mud and paint their faces, and they dress like ani- mals, some representing the fox and others the tiger. After painting and dressing in this way, they must not be seen until they are in their places ready to play, and no one can recognize them, unless they are hurt and car- ried oft the field. The field is a quarter of a mile around and a rope is stretched around it. The men take their places, the ball is tossed up in the center and the game begins. They have curved sticks with which they pick up the ball and throw it to their own goal. These players show much courage, and unless badly hurt do not complain. If one is knocked down, he jumps up and gives a whoop. A man outside is appointed to watch the ball and re- port to the umpire when a ball is thrown over the goal. The umpire then drives a stick into the ground to mark the score, and when either side has twenty sticks driven into the ground, that side has won the game. Betting is done before the game begins and those who lose the bet, pay the victorious side. Very often the game is never finished, for generally tl1ey get into a iight and sometimes men are even killed. A liter the game is over all go home, the winners singing and rejoicing. Such a game as this is only played once in three to five years, but there are other games that are played every year. The game described was played by Artussee and Arbeka. Arbeka won. IDA TIGER, '16. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL REMEMABRANCE- My mind is all atlame and the wheels of my head Cfor they say I have wheelsj, are constantly whirling, be- cause graduating day and oration time is coming by and by.

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7' U 28 THE BACONE CHIEF These lectures have been thoroughly enjoyed by the student body. Every lecture was interesting and was instructive. The Faculty Lecture Course has been a success this year and it is very probable that it will be continued next year. W. A. RoBEaTsoN, 'l4. AN INDIAN BALL GAME. Indians are fond of playing ball, and often ball teams from a number of towns meet at a given place to enjoy a game between two towns. They have a chairman, and a king, who selects the ground fwhich is generally on the prairiej, and arranges for match games. Sometimes the game begins on Thursday and lasts over Sunday, and sometimes it last for a week. Most of the people go early Monday morning. There are always large crowds of people coming from different parts of the country, and some come from a long distance. On the first day of the meet all the people stand fac- ing their opponents and singing a ball song, t'Don't look like we can beat you. but we will. They form two cir- cles, in the Iirst of which they meet, singing and march- ing around a number of times, then all rush into the sec- ond circle, which has a tire in the center. They take their places as quickly as possible and march around the fire for some time, it may be until midnight. This is done each night. The second day is spent in preparing for the ball game. On the third day they go to a place in the woods, and sing ball songs. This is called Indian religion. Their yell leader is called an owl, and after he has yelled awhile, the others join in and great excitement prevails. For supper they eat bread without salt or unleayened bread. At night four women sing while a man accom- panies on an Indian drum, which is made from the trunk of a small tree and carved into the shape of a horn, the large end being covered with buckskin. This drum can be heard for a long distance. Another man keeps time with a cocoanut shell, and when these men get tired, two others are appointed to take their places. On the fourth day, they start for the ball-ground and

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30 THE BACONE CHIEF Wllen I have departed from Bacone, I will not re- member as the most beautiful spot the President's office, which I swept every morning-for if it is true that a per- son gets a pound of dirt a day, then I was twice blessed. Nor was it in the chicken yard, where I studied the art of chicken culture. Neither was it in the dining room, where three times a day I fed my material engine with the practical bread of existence. Far from it were the different class rooms, where Prof. Steel's cold gaze was fixed on my embarrassed counte- nance, or where Prof. Cave met my ignorant stare with a VVhy? Prove itgl' or where Miss Eckert's pleasant words of Going on, Paul, broke the silence. Following the cowpath from the Bacone campus, a person arrives on the sandy banks of the Arkansas river. Following this oft trodden path through a corn field, a sudden descent through the thickly-wooded bank, and one beholds a beautiful spring of fresh, pure water, running from the depths of Mother Earth. Magnificent trees loom upon all sides, while wild-grape vines and poison ivy gracefully deck the topmost limbs of the Sylvan giants. In one direction the eye can see the overhanging rocks, which can be rightly termed Infant Cliffs. Many times have tired pedestrians stopped on their dusty way to spread their lunches upon these natural tables. In the opposite direction two long smoke-colored railway bridges are visible, where trains pass by, giving the secluded spot its only sign of civilization. One sunny spring day I sauntered down the old cow trail, until I came to the beautiful little spring. After refreshing my sun-baked throat, I sought a little shel- tered spot where I could gaze without ceasing at the beauty of the scenery. Mother Nature played a trick on me, and I was soon asleep, dreaming of beautiful foun- tains, erystal waters, and the glassy seas, where the golden fishes swim, fearing neither the urchin's hook, nor the fisherman's seine. Suddenly in my dream I heard Neptune, that fierce God of the Sea, give forth a mighty shriek, which awak- ened me. Looking toward the railroad, I soon realized that it was not the angered God of the Sea, but was the