Northwestern State University - Potpourri Yearbook (Natchitoches, LA)

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' Tis a strange and wondrous people, And I see no painted warriors — See no women and no children With the hue of Ish-the-Rainbow, With the color of the autumn. ' Tis the land of Spring, my children! Listen to my words, who loves you: When the Red Man ' s Spirit calls you To the Hunting Grounds forever, There will be this other nation In the land of Natchi-toches, On the Mishka— Hill of Midday! ' Then the people gazed and wondered- Saw the strange pale nations living In their land of Natchi-toches — In the sweet Magnolia country — Happy, learning, ever learning, Of the things the Spirit teaches, Secrets of the Mighty Master — Saw the glory of Hereafter! 21

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What is that beyond the sunlight? What is in the far-off heaven? Will our children live forever? And the prophet gazed in wonder — Gazed into the brilliant west-land, And his voice was low and wondrous. 0 my children! my poor children! Listen to my words, who loves you. I will tell you what I see there. Rises high the Mishka (midday). To the east the lake lies dreaming, And the western forest darkly Waits to greet the sun at evening. Then the women and the children Smiled and clapped their hands, and whispered: ' ' ' Tis our land of Natchi-toches, Tis the Mishka thill of midday) ; There it lies in the hereafter! But the prophet ' s words continued: There I see a mighty dwelling. High it reached up to heaven, And the sun waits there at noontime — Right above the mighty wigwam. Built it is of stones and marbles. Wondrous is the mighty dwelling Of the land that is Hereafter. All about it lie the meadows, Wandering in among the pathways Like the broad, white road in heaven Made of stones brought from the quarries. And there live a glorious nation, Happy, learning, ever learning, Of the things the Spirit teaches, Secrets of the Mighty Master. Then the warriors and the old men Gazed into the west in wonder; And the women and the children Shouted: ' Tis our Natchi-toches! ' Tis the land of our Hereafter! But the ancient prophet answered: 0 my children! my poor children! ' Tis a nation strange and wondrous. Pale the people are as lilies — As the lilies of the prairie! 20

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JUST SO STORIES FOR LITTLE STUDENTS (Apologies to Kipling.) NCE upon a time, My Best Beloved, there was a school, and it had students and all. And there was a Great-High-President-of-infinite-resource-and-sa- gacity who didn ' t have any Faculty to help him run his school. So the Great-High-President sat in his den with all his infinite resource and sagacity, and he thought, and he thought, and he scratched his head, you know ! I must get the perfectest Faculty- who-are- wise-and-good-and-always-do-what-they-o u g h t e r that ever was, he said. So he looked, and he looked, and he looked — all over the world; but he just couldn ' t find any Faculty-who-are-wise-and-good-and-always-do- what-they-oughter. So this President-with-his-in- finite-resource-and-sagacity sat down and cried and cried. And at last one day he was so tired crying that he fell asleep, just so. And then he heard a Little Voice, and it said : Oh, Mr. Great-High-President-of-infinite-resource-and-sagacity, what makes you cry so much? And the Great-High -President-of-infinite-resource-and-sagacity said : Boo-hoo! I ' m cryin ' ' cause I can ' t find a Faculty-who-are-wise-and- good-and-always-do-what-they-oughter! Well, then, Mr. Great-High-President-of-infinite-resource-and-saga- city, said the Little Voice, which belonged to a little-angel-who-always- gives-people-what-they-want, I know just where you can get the per- fectest Faculty-who-are-wise-and-good-and-always-do-what-they-oughter that ever was. So he flew away up to Heaven, where all good things are, and he got the most perfectest Faculty-who-are-wise-and-good-and-always-do-what- they-oughter that ever was, and he brought it right to the Normal School. 22 i