Galt Collegiate Institute and Vocational School - Specula Galtonia Yearbook (Galt, Ontario Canada)

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24 SPECULA GALTONIA Fort of the Broken Heart By MARGARET DAVIDSON Accompanied by Tonti, a brave Italian ofiicer, the party reached Fort Crevecoeur on the Illinois Riverg but La Salle had to go back and face his creditors. In his absence the party was attacked by Iroquois and was forced to retreat to Fort Michilimackinac. HAT is all a text-book says about that lonely little fort, which was situated eighty miles north of the point where the waters of the Illinois first meet and mingle with those of the mighty Mississippi. This incident in the life of the great explorer occurred in 1669. Half a century before, a weary band of travellers, coming upon this spot, found that they must there build themselves a dwelling and fortify themselves against the cold and the Indians. Paul Fournelle and his parents lived in Fort Frontenac, that historic place, where Kingston now stands. For years the days and nights in the New Land had been filled with horror for the early settler. But Frontenac, the great Onontio, had pacihed the Indians to some extent and the colony was, as a result, more prosperous than it had ever been before. The older people might be contented with this change. It was well for them now to settle down to a peaceful life, after their years of labour. Paul was never satisfied with the life in the little colony. Traders who came to the Fort always found an eager listener in the young Frenchman, Indians related tales that fired his imagination. The call of a rover's life same to Paul Fournelle and he responded. One clear night in the fall of 1617, he left his home and his friends and joined himself to a band of In- dians, whom he had befriended. Paul found a comrade in a young brave, and together they roamed the forest, the one learning and the other teaching the meaning of the various signs of the woods and of the animals who lived there. J ibwa proved to be his most loyal friend, and Paul clung to him more than ever when he found himself rejected by his own race. For he had not counted the cost of his careless act. When he and Jibwa returned with the rest of the Indians in the spring to Fort Frontenac, he was treated as an outcast by the family- even the townspeople shunned him. From the Indians he learned that his family had disowned him. He became bitter, and abandoned the life of civilized man. The iron had entered his soul. He became a veritable savage. The wild war-dances and Wholesale slaughters, which inevitably followed, presented nothing new to him, now. The animal which they say is in every human reared its ugly head in the life of Paul Fournelle. In the summer of 1618, the tragedy occurred which added still more weight to the unfortunate young man's burden. He fell before the charm of a young French maiden, Adrienne Revasseur. Her family was proud and Paul had not now the right to his name. When Adrienne's people learned, as they finally did, that their daughter was communicating with an out- cast, they were scandalized. Love, however, recognized no barriers, and to Adrienne was presented the alternative: she must either give up all intercourse with Paul, or go with him and be forgotten by her own people.

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sPEcULA GALTONIA as The Summer fTranslation from the Germanj By EDITH J. THOMSON The Summer, the Summer, Of all seasons the queen, Woodland flowers beckon us O'er meadows of green, Filling our hearts with happiness. The Summer, the Summer, Its joyfulness gratifies, As we chase and then run After gaily hued butterfliesg And gleefully laugh in our fun. The Summer, the Summer, With treasures bestowing, We seek the wild berries Under tall beeches growing 3 Their sweet succulence tarries. The Summer, the Summer, Spreading a merry radiance, As flower garlands we interlace And laugh, play and dance, In the eve's cool, fading rays. '69 Three Foreigners By HELEN FRY OR two days they followed us, beautiful, impressive, but almost sinis- ter in their persistence. On the flat prairie these three mountains seemed to huddle together like lonesome foreigners, but even this attitude held aloofness and pride. The highest peak was in the centre and seemed to shelter the two lesser ones in the purple cloak of mist which the distance created. Their great outlines were rugged, but the distance and light hid their sharp edges and a clear yet soft contour resulted. The dusty road wound over the plain and, as though curious of these foreigners, edged closer. These approaches showed that the lower parts of the mountains were wooded, the woods showing like green, velvet patches in contrast to the sharp, red, clay crevices. Still the air of aloofness prevailed and, as one drew nearer, it was more pronounced because of a veil of mist which shrouded the summits. Then the road, as though satisfied, continued its way over the plain and the mountains slowly became the remote strangers which the first glimpse had revealed.

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SPECULA GALTONHIA 25 So Mademoiselle Revasseur, her eyes sad with unshed tears--those eyes that Paul loved so dearly-chose to follow him into the unkind forest and to live with him in the little house he had built for her. For a few months they were gloriously happy, but in the extreme cold of the northern winter Adrienne became ill. Although she never complained of suffering she grew frailer and more fragile before her husband's agonized eyes, for he was helpless to fight back the approach of death. After lingering for several weeks she passed quietly out of his life. ' In his great grief, Paul was sunk in the deepest despair. He found his way back to his old home in Fort Frontenac. He did not now care what they said or thought so long as there might be a chance for the black sheep. He learned that his father was dead and that his mother had returned to her home in France. And so it was that, with despair, anger, and sorrow, in his heart, Paul, with his old Indian friend and other Hroamers of the woods, set out into the Unknown. They journeyed southward and westward, seeking nothing, linding nothing. Once they were attacked by a wandering band of hostile Indians and in the skirmish Paul was wounded. On this account the little party had to travel more slowly, until at last, when they came to the banks of the Illinois River, they set up their fortification, because their leader could go no farther. Out of the pain and sorrow in his heart Paul named their rude dwelling Fort Crevecoeurf' There a year later he went out to meet his wife Adrienne. Paul Fournelle's party abandoned the place in the spring, and so when La Salle and his followers came upon the fort it was almost in ruins. On a nearby rock they read the name, in rude lettering: THE FORT OF THE BROKEN HEART. 'fi The Story of Our School By C. HUME WILKINS VER three quarters of a century ago, in the year 1852, a school for the teaching of certain subjects not taught in public schools, was founded in Galt. Mr. Michael Howe, M.A., a graduate of Dublin Uni- versity, was the first principal of the school, which held its classes in an old two-story building on Market Street. Mr. Howe was an excellent clas- sical scholar, but his period of oflice lasted only twelve months. The Board of Trustees was extremely fortunate in procuring Mr. Wil- liam Tassie, who had been teaching school in Hamilton, as the new principal. During Mr. Tassie's regime, the school grew to be one of the greatest in the country, and scholars flocked to it from all over the con- tinent to obtain the education which it offered. In a short time, the number of pupils had so increased, that it was found necessary to erect a new building. Accordingly, a one-story struc- ture was built on the present school site, which had been generously pro- vided by the Dickson family. This building had to be enlarged in 1859, owing to increased attendance, and later a second story was added. The building then served for many years to house all the pupils, but it was againenlarged in 1870-71, two wings being added at that time. I