Framingham State University - Dial Yearbook (Framingham, MA)

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21 but now, alas, was fancifully streaked with red! from the dripping curtains, but red stripes seemed to be the prevailing fashion with the ladies on. deck, so I felt no ways out of place. Then began the work of drying, every available place was hung with garments. And the saloon! Where was its glitter and grandeur of a few days ago? Gone! VVindows broken, canvas over the' holes, Brussels carpets all torn from the floor, and really all that could be recognized were the staunch oak tables and chairs. The captain, when he appeared from the pilot house, was greeted with cries of welcome and one of the company shouted Hello captain, I prayed on that fearful night, first for myself and, then, for you-3' We were now many miles off our course, for as you all know, hurricanes travel in circles, and it was necessary to run the ship off her course to avoid getting back into that fated circle again. So, when we arrived in Boston two days behind scheduled time, in a battered ship, although our clothes had lost some style, we were thankful to be able to walk ashore in any kind, and it was a happy band that packed their still damp belongings and placed their foot on Mother Earth once more. Let me say in conclusion that I have had my wish, I am satisfied, and if any of you wish for a hurricane just keep on wishing, you may some day have the good fortune to have it granted you. N. S. D. 93' 93' Lumbering O me the forest has always been a source of great delight. My first real acquaintance began when I spent a year on the edge of a dense pine woods. I was! a very little girl at that time but I shall never forget the beauty of that playground. Just picture a tract of land covered with massive pines under which is a thick carpet of brown pine needles. The air was full of piney perfume while the wind whistling through the treetops was truly music. However, in a hard storm the music became a mighty roar.

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20 Soon the waves began to wash over the upper decks, and the water poured in through the ports until it became necessary to close all ports and doors and the air was stifling. As it came on towards night the waves and wind were in a perfect riot, ports were dashed in as if they were match wood, heavy glass skylights as if paper. As I lay upon my berth listening to it all, I was startled by a heavy crash directly underneath my stateroom and a ripping noise outside. The ship trembled like a leaf but soon we could feel her gradually rising on the waves again. The crash and tremble had been caused by the shipping of a wave which had smashed in the stateroom below me, and ripped a part of the upper deck up, just outside of my room. The whole saloon was now afloat with this inrush of water, and clothes and suit cases and steamer trunks began to wander around at their own sweet will, their owners little caring whither they went, so busy were they trying to keep in their berths. Some of them managed to roll right over their bunk boards out into the water, and if you have once rolled out of a top berth I think you will agree with me, that itls a performance not to be indulged in too often. But after you have gone to sea and have become accustomed to its ways you learn how to stay in your berth and balance yourself on the end of nothing and still hang on. Between nine and twelve o,clock the storm was at its worst, a real live hurricane was upon us, the engines unable to battle against such a sea were stopped. Now was the anxious time for captain and officers, and the helmsman at the wheel, how much rested upon him! One single false turn meant the bringing down of thousands of tons of water upon the ship, from out of which she would never rise again. Trembling like a frightened steed she would ride on the top of a wave, then drop as the sea dropped. Imagine yourself tossed as a ball into the air and then coming down again. The jerk with which she landed was tremendous and we were black and blue from pounding on our berths. The force of the hurricane lasted for about three hours but for three days the storm raged and for three days no sky was seen, nothing but mountains of water. Un the fourth day the sun shone forth and the waves went down and we were allowed to breath the fresh air once more. Such a curious sight as we presented! Everyones, clothes had been soaked, some were not fit to put on, but all helped his brother in the common cause and we made no unkind remarks when we saw the fat man's suit walking off with the slim youth. As for myself, I appeared in a dress that had once been white,

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22 At this time I began my study of trees. My first lesson as to their great weight and the power of the wind was well learned when an immense Balm of Gilead was blown across the house I lived in, nearly crushing it. This only intensified my wonder. In a few years I had a chance to add to my knowledge of the production of lumber. Perhaps it was an unusual experience so I will give you a brief sketch of it. In the early summer of '92 mother and I were invited to go to Sherburne, Vermont, to stay a few weeks. This was a lumbering town twelve miles northeast of Rutland. Several mills were scattered about, one of which was on the summit of Sherburne mountain. It was there we were going. The woman in charge of the boarding house was ill, and, as she was acquainted with mother, asked her to oversee the work for a few weeks until she got rested. VVe went by train from our home, twelve miles northwest of Bellows Falls, to Rutland. The trip was continued by coach to Sherburne Hollow where we changed our capacious vehicle for a single team. Alternately riding and walking we at last reached our destination nearly four miles up the mountain. Some of the time I rode at an angle of forty-five degrees although the idea of angles was quite remote from me then. All I remember of the first part of the journey was my excitement. This was followed by a feeling of bewilderment and weariness as I took my drive through a rather wild country. The roads were rough and the brooks and swampy places were corduroyedg that is, small logs were laid flat across the driveway, a great many of them, until horses and vehicles could pass with nothing worse than a shaking up. If you could have seen our destination as it was the night we arrived I fear you would have said, How lonely P' But why should it be? Our nearest neighbor was only three miles away and such an expanse of forest! Why I felt like a bird! It was at this time that I really began my nature study. I must confess however that my love for rocks and bugs came at a later date. Trees, flowers, and larger animals were my specialty then. The boarding house was quite a large building but not burdened with paint within or without. The walls were made of single, unmatched boards, the roof, shingleless, and I can even now see the irregular eaves. As I recall the interior, the second floor was composed of sleeping rooms which were reached by an open flight of stairs leading from the side of a large room below. On the first floor was a dining room and kitchen combinedg a room for the men to sit in, which I think they called the bar room, a large pantry, and two or three sleeping rooms.