Fryeburg Academy - Academy Bell Yearbook (Fryeburg, ME)

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10 The Acaclemy Bell So our fuel question is more import- ant than most people realize. Forests are indispensable to agri- culture. They hold a vast resource of water that would quickly evap- orate if the trees were not there to furnish shade, and the thick layer of leaves that fall to the ground act as a blanket, preventing both erosion and evaporation. One of the greatest destroyers of timber is fire. Thousands of acres of woodland are burned each sum- mer by fires started by careless campers. The government forest rangers are doing much to prevent the loss of timber in this way, but even so it is the cause of an immense loss each year. There is a national law prohibit- ing the lighting of camp fires with- out the consent of the owner of the land and another law that makes it a serious offense to leave a campfire burning after you are through with it, but they seem to do little good. ROBERT LITTLEFIELD, '28. IT TAKES A MAN TO BE BRAVE Another Daring Burglary l read Mrs. Banford, as she picked up the morning paper. Lucullus, she said, turning to her husband, this is the fourth outrage of the kind in this town within a week, and if you don't get a burglar-alarm, or adopt some other means of security, I shall not remain in this house another night. Some morning we'1l get up and find ourselves murdered and the house robbed if we have to depend on the police for protection. Banford assured his wife that he would have the matter attended to at once. Then he left the house and didn't return until evening. When Mrs. Banford asked him if he had given a second thought to the sub- ject, he drew a newspaper from his pocket, and said, See here Mirandy! There's no use of foolin' away money on one o' these new-fangled burglar- alarms. Economy is wealth. Here's a capital idea suggested in this pa- per, cheap, simple and effective. And then he read the suggestion about hanging a tin pan on the cham- ber-door. I tell you Mirandy! The man who conceived that brilliant notion is a heavenborn genius-a boon to man- kind, and his name should go ring- ing down the corridors of time with those of such brilliant intellect as Watt, Morse, Edison, and other suc- cessful scientiiic investigators. You see, the least jar of the door will dis- lodge the pan, and the noise occa- sioned thereby will not only awaken the occupants of the room, but will also scare a burglar half to death, and perhaps the pan will strike him on the head and fracture his skull. It is a glorious scheme, and the fact that it was not utilized years ago is the most remarkable thing about it. Well, assented Mrs. Banford, in less sanguine tones, it may be better than nothing, and it won't cost any- thingg and as Susan has gone out to spend the night with her sick sister, and we'll be all alone, I'll hunt up

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The Academy Bell 9 ans greatly outnumbered them, the battle lasted until sunset. and then the Indians went away. The sur- vivors of the rangers went back to the fort, and finally reached Dun- stable in safety. The pride of the Pequawket tribe was broken. Only twenty-four men were left and they sadly made their way to Canada. The terror of the Pequawkets was over. As the old chiefs talked about this battle they seemed to live that day over again. When the sun went down behind the mountains the old chiefs walked back to the bank of the Saco where they had camped long years before. They pitched their tents and built a fire. One of the chiefs said, Heap big change in the place, eh? The oth- ers silently nodded in agreement. After Watching the twinkling lights of the town wink out one by one the old chiefs lay down and went to sleep under the quiet watch of the stars. In the morning they rose and made their way over the intervales. All day they walked up and down the bank of the Saco, and finally when the shadows began to lengthen they folded their tents like the Arabs, and as silently, stole away. RUTH GAFFNER. OUR FORESTS According to authorities on the subject, there will be a timber fam- ine soon unless something is done to preserve our forests twenty years from now. People are slowly be- ginning to realize what such a ca- tastrophe would mean to the welfare and prosperity of this country and are taking measures to prevent it from happening. There has been some talk recently of passing a law that would restrict the cutting of trees without a permit from the state. It was also suggested that we exemplify the custom of Germany and plant at least two trees for every one that we cut. By doing this we might make our forests last a long time. Practically all of our industries depend on our timber supply, either directly or indirectly. It is true that we can use many things in place ofwood, but it is also true that we can never hope to do without it entirely. The lumber in- dustry, one of the most important in- dustries this country has, would be entirely eliminated and building and carpenter work would need to under- go a great change. Wood is the chief fuel in the country towns, besides being used extensively in cities for the same purpose, and with the sup- ply of coal diminishing the fuel ques- tion becomes a great problem. About four-fifths of the power used by factories is steam power and about two-sevenths of these burn wood, thus consuming thousands of cords of wood each year. It has been predicted that the amount of elec- tricity generated in the United States- today would furnish power for only one-fiftieth of the mills, and what water power, if all such power was utilized, would furnish only fourth.

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The Academy Bell ll the pan now. Accordingly, each inside door was crowned with a tin pan and left slightly ajar. Banford also thought- fully placed a six-shooter under his pillow and stood a baseball bat with- in reach. Nf'w, Mirandyf' he courageously observed, as they were preparing to retire, if you are awakened by noise during the night, don't scream and jump out of bed. Just lie still, or some o' the bullets I fire at the burg- lar may go through you and kill you. Let me wrestle with the intruder, and I'll soon make him regret that he had not postponed being born for a few centuries. Then they turned down the gas with a feeling of security, and were soon fast asleep. About mid--night they were awakened by a noise that sounded like a clap of thunder, fol- lowed by a wail that almost chilled the marrow in their bones. Goodness'! screamed Mrs. Ban- ford in a voice swollen with terror, as she dived under the bedclothes, we'll be murdered in a minute. Shoot him Lucullus! Quick-shoot him. Banford after considerable nervous fumbling under the pillow, grasped his revolver and with an unsteady hand discharged its six barrels in rapid succession, but not with very gratifying results. One bullet shat- tered the mirror in the bureau, an- other splintered the bedpost, a fourth perforated a portrait of his wife's mother, and the other two left their imprint in the walls. D-d-don't be fuf-fuf-frightened, M-Mirandy, said Banford encour- agingly, his articulation sounding as if it had collided with an Arctic wave. I gug-guess I've kuk-kuk- killed him. He'll not kuk-kuk come here- At this juncture there was a noise in an adjoining room, as if a two- ton meteorite had crashed through a boiler foundry, and Mrs. Banford uttered a series of ear-piercing shrieks, that would have scared the life out of any burglar. M-Mirandy, stammered the frightened and demoralized Banford, grasping the baseball bat and swing- ing it around with such reckless pro- miscuity that he struck his terror- stricken wife on the head, M-Miran- dy, the house is fuf-full of mid-night mum-marauders, and we'll be bub- butchered in cold bub-bub-blood! Save yourself and don't mum-mind about me. And leaping out of bed, he sprang through a window on the roof of a back building, and acci- dently rolled off into the yard, fifteen feet below, just as another burglar alarm went off with a clamor almost as deafening and harrowing as an amateur orchestra. Mrs. Banford, thinking she had been hit by the burglar, emitted a fresh outburst of shrieks, while her husband lay groan- ing in the back yard, with a sprained ankle and a frightful gash on his head. ' A policeman had now been awak- ened by the uproar, and boldly mounting the front steps, he rung the doorbell but without any re- sponse. Then he hesitated.