Northern Oklahoma College - Roundup Yearbook (Tonkawa, OK)

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if 9 1 6 a - ' ig .ma . and repulsion, and -he stupidly, senselessly. Undecided as to whether or not to enter, I, blunderer that I am, drove precipitously toward the object of my visit. The boys tell me, I said, that you have helped them immeasurably in overcom- ing the drink habit. I hardly expected a comprehensive, or even intelligible expla- nation of the subject, but even as I spoke, his face lost its blank look, and his broken frame suddenly seemed to be lighted as with an inner fire. His body trembled as with an o-vermastering passion. Drink, drink! he sobbed, and clenched his fists in impotent ra.ge and Sorrow. lt was the death of me and my family. O, God! O, Godln I-Ie raised hjls trembling hands above his head and tore his hair in anguish, or perhaps it was anger. I also trembled at the 'sight of him, and should have liked to flee the place as fast as my pony could have carried me. But I resisted this impulse and asked. Would you mind telling me about it? I-Ie mo-tioned me to come in, and I complied-more because I feared not to than be- cause I wanted to do so. He seated himself in the one wretched chair, and I found E1 seat' on the no less wretched bed close by. All the fire that a moment before seemed about to consume him, had disappeared and his eyes stared senselessly into space as he listlessly strummed his violin. I waited nervously, until suddenly 'one claw-like hand clutched my knee while the other pointed at the blank wall opposite us. i'Look, he crfzed, in a hoarse whisper. I saw nothing at all, but I heard as he began to play, and I sat spellbound at the sound, for this was the story the fiddle told in the hands of Fiddlin' Joe. Surrounded by the mists of years, sacred to the memory of the maniac, lo-cked in the soul of his music, revolved a miniature world, flooded with sunshine as only the sun can shine in the Southland, filled with the songs of birds and the murmur of soft breezes laden with the incense of many flowers and o-verfiowing w :th lz tghter and hap- piness, lay a paradise, and in this paradise moved beautiful women quantly gowned in the dresses of that long gone past, escorted by brave and handsome men and about them children froliicking and dancing and laughing as children will always do. In this scene and playing with the other children was a child who seemed to rule this child- world. What his name was I could not understand tho-ugh h s comrades frequently called to him in their sports. Tlme rested lightly upon the little lad and all seemed as it should. They were celebrating a birthday party where he first tasted wine and could not refrain from making a grimace as he did so. His fond parents' were there too. His mother, a sweet, dainty woman, adorably dependent upon the tall, handsome man with the weak face, who' was the lad's father and who proposed drinking 'the toast. The music suddenly changed, and as suddenly the scene was transformed-no, not the scene, only the characters. The handsome little lad in his blue velvet suit was transformed into a tall handsome youth, the image of his father, and with hflm was seen the golden haired girl whose curls he used to pull in the long ago, now grown into blushing girlho-od. Many were smiling at the happy couple, but there were a few who shook theffr heads and whispered and pointed toward the boy's parents, who, also had changed with the years. T-he mother had a pathetic droop to her once comely shoul- ders, and the lines carved by the hand of worry showed plainly 111 1191- face, a1t11011g11. with her old pride, she tried artfully to' conceal them. To understand the reason for all this it was only necessary to look upon the once handsome father, now no longer the pride of his wife and 'the object of his son's adoration. lfle had fallen at victim to the demon drink. Again the scene changed. Now the chimes of the great cathedral pealed forth their happy announcement and down the massive steps marched the gay wedding party -the golden-haired girl and the handsome youth were now 1111111 511111 yvlfe. AAJ1 1110 world seemed -to rejoice and be glad with them, except one who Seelllgd to be 536113, out of harmony with all the laughter and song. A small, frail black-clad figure yvali kneeling under the stately elms in the churchyard-kneeling beside a grass grown grave. It was the mother and she was thinking of another such a time long ago, and, perhaps praying for the happiness' of her son and his wife. Another scene, and I could see the home and family of the golden-haired girl and the handsome youth. It was a very modest and unpretentious home. The children 152

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?? ?1..e5 3--41' s is -Q-, A !5,g.ik.43f. QW- va, - fade pi l eases 4 9 .- 1. A , F iddlin' Joe Constance I-Iausam, '16 Since my arrival in this land of f d I ' ' I sunshin s - 1 ' 1 I ha . I H Q C iee om ant e ome two months previous tl16SgE7?fg?g3EE!2lr lciiillflrgei gbilile unlisgfu d?S1'BG of sobriety which prevailed among D 1 ' ' 1'en o ie p ains-it bein contrar f t 11 1 - 1 ceifved notions and expectations and it ' g 1 O a my Diagon- - - was because ot m curiosit ' f thatlthe appended conversation ensued. I y y on the Subway .tWa...,., ff - . vu I i . ' boasted Ib Wiltllgnoglllxef anilin oui 1 shack' at the tar end of tue one street the village mg Smile muh C- lailhlll ie. inteiesting anduhlghly satisfactory occupation of broil- feg Wmlin ,md Lhelifeutdrltarlizing.odor or the sizzling strips, the aroma of brewing coi- friendl, ' Cu. se 191115 IW1-1811i Without seemed to promote such an intimacy and iness uit I xentuied to bioach the Subject uppermost in my mind, Jim, I said to the sharer of my domicile. why is it that you fellows are S0 fo-nfl C I ' y - , . 'qu 1 Q N, 4 01 thi W afel ll H3011 - 10119 S0011 g10WS accustomed to the free and unconventional iff Qgglligegtgileygloallwaiys had a notion that you folks out here were pretty good -11111 Smlled 121COI1iC2lllY and cut another notch in a piece of harness that he was mending before answering. f'Better ask Fiddlin' Joe that question, was his non-coni- mittal answer. And with this I had to be satisfied for not another word could I get from him on that subject. I determined to visit this unusual character who seemed to be a sort of desert her- mit and guide according to Jim's brief statement. Several days elapsed be' re I was able to put this determination into effect. But one evening when the sun famed like a spirit-fire in the west and the magic stillness of the plains seemed to have folded within its grasp mysterious, unseen forces, I set out across the sands to visit Fiddlin' Joe. The distance being long, twilight had softened the view before I discerned in the perspective a tiny speck that I surmised must be his shack, As the space lessened between me and the object of my visit I drew rein and advanced more slowly, for l could not overcome a certain feeling of awe as I approached this mysterious' individual. ln my imagination I had conjured up all sorts of fantastic visions of some great prophet, teacher, or guide 'who had dedicated his life to the uplift o-f his too-free brothers of the west. Immersed in these and other reflections, I rode slowly forward, until before me, a mere speck, his' cabin stood at the mercy of the plains. Not a trace softened the outline or lent a caressing shade to the hot, weather-beaten boards that formed a haphazard shelterfrom the elements. No blossom sent its fragrance across the evening airg no blade of grass eased the tread of weary feet. So discouraged and sad and lonesome was the aspect, I likened it to an old man from whom all life's inter- est had fled. I was almost inclined to turn back, so unlike my dream was this appar- ently deserted ruin. I had even turned my pony's head, when, hark! across the even- ing's' stillness there came the quivering. pulsing notes of a violin-soft and dreamy at iirst, then rising into a wail like the sob of a soul in anguish. The air seemed to Yi- brate with the indescribable melody, and instantly I forgot ,the wretchedness of the surroundings. The music seemed to ascend until its notes iluttered on pinions of thought and floated on and up into the regions' Where the imagination could scarcely follow, and then wisth a faint wail the music ceased. I dismounted and rapped timidly at the door. After a silence that seemed almost interminable the door slowly opened and a. form appeared at the threshold.. I said a form, for to call this apparently hopeless ruin cf mind and body a human being seemed a travesty on the human race. Bent, misshapen, disease-racked, hollow and iusterless o-f eye, sunken of cheek, shaken with palsy, he Stood bef01'e.n1e-the Stamp of e m3111210 impressed indelibly upon every inch of him. It was Fiddlin' Joe. I . . Thus we stood, gazing at one another, obvious to all else. I in mingled surprise 151

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iraqi- J 5 4 ,ey H .. fi-1-:fl -1'-. 'Q 'Mai- :r3, ,. . ff, Si. Q sfclifql WGVG ll-12111115' Clad and attended the common school, unlike their father who had alWaYS had private tutors. The father seemed to need a great deal of money and spent much L11119 2111114 from the little home. The same kind of wrinkles that had marked the fave of the once handsome young man's mother, were appearing in the face of the once golden-haired girl and the people nodded their heads as' isf to say: l told you so. And there were two graves in the quiet churchyard. under the Stately elms. As l listened l saw the little home broken up. The children were placed in the homes of benevolent relatives and friendsg the bloom had faded from the cheeks of the mother-she had grown prematurely old, and her body was bent from the effects of toil. l.er small hands had found it necessary to earn a l.velihood for the famfily as the dis- solute father had all but forgotten that he had a family, and was headed down the salma' treacherous stream, and headed for fthe same fatal cataract that had engulfed his fath- er. Then came a stormy, blustery night, and a drunken form lay huddled in a drunken sleep in a gutter. lt was the handsome boy of other days, and he was dreaming of the long ago. The sulfering he had wrought overwhelmed him with a sense of horror, aliil demons. of indescribable aspect haunted, rebuked, and tormented him wlithout mercy. He seemed plunged into a dream purgatory, and when he awoke he found h,s soul. His life, however, was hopelessly wrecked, and little seemed left to sweeten the lives of h.s wife and children. Then a mighty resolve filled his demoral-zed brain. He Could at least rel ere them of the weight of his miserable presence, and he did. Placing thc little hoard of money that he had saved fo-r his own selfish uses Where his Wife could find it, and bidding them a long, sad. silent farewell a larewell unobserved by them- he disappeared and his family and acquaintances and the community gave him up for dead. Then Flddlin' Joe came west, and with his body ravished with disease. and 115 soul filled with remorse. his mind gradually weakened and became almost a blank, and it wal: thus that l found him. 1 ' The bow fell from his fingers and he gazed vacantly at the opposite wall. I tip- toed to the door, and, mounting my pony, rode home under the StarB- 153