Bacone College - Warrior Yearbook (Muskogee, OK)

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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

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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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THE BACONE CHIEF 31 whistle of the M., O. Sz G. train bound for Wagoner, which had stopped because an old gray mule was placidly nubbing the tall grass between the rails- PAUL PHILPIN, '14, BECOMING A MAN. The Youth finds in passing into manhood that the time has come in his life, when he undergoes a change. The boy, growing up has his days of sorrow and glad- ness, of sunshine and rain, yet he grows on day after day, becoming stronger and wiser, still he is a boy. But at the age when he merges into manhood, he is not a boy, nor yet a man. iVhat, it is hard to say, not even he knows, yet he often has opinions of himself which, un- fortunately, do not always fit. At this age he thinks that he has thoughts that no one else has ever thought be- fore. XVllQ11 he is disagreed with, he thinks he is misun- derstood, but he has confidence that he will soon be known. Varied are his ideas, and of course he gets just criticism. His air castles are undreamed of by older men. As time passes, each, being built upon sand, is jostled, then it totters, and a dream is broken. But he still dreams on. VVhen from him is grasped a cherished object, he builds on some other hope. He fights man- fully for his principles, is stubborn and reluctantly relin- quishes his ideas. He lacks not energy and determination but he needs power that shall help him solve his practical problems, power that shall help him realize a high individual life, that shall make him, not only for tl1e moment, but throughout his allotted time, to act out boldly all he has seen in vision and all he has learned from the good about him. Surround him with friends, who work for his in- terests, who themselves are noble, and he will step from this period a man ready to battle for justice. He who is noble in character and is a friend of the youth has an un- surpassed influence. His power for influence goes forth without his distinct volition. Neither does the youth al- ways know it and it is a critical period for him for merg- ing into manhood, he can no longer lean on strong arms. He has himself and God to rely uopn. He comes from behind this screen of his own value, which he has placed