Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

Page 12 text:

10 THE WHIRLPOOL As the lovely craft drew nearer, In the stern she saw her lover, In his hands a silver paddle, Rising, falling in the moonlight, Dripping with the sparkling water Of the moonpatlh’s molten silver. Now she saw her lover clearer, Coming nearer, beckoning to her; And she rose and went to meet him. Meanwhile “mongst the fierce Algonquins, Tribesmen of the Wabanaki, Fighting bravely to the finish, Fighting hard to kill the leader, Bravest of Algonquin warriors. Ah! at last a brave has seen hin, Standing in a place of vantage In the woods of the Algonqnins, And the brave who thus had seen him Crept up to him, slowly, surely, Catlike were his stealthy movements; Very, very careful was he, For he knew that fame would greet him Tf he killed that famous warrior, And he knew that the Algonquins Would lose heart and fail without him. So he crept up nearer, nearer, Till at last he stood close by him, Like a wildcat leaped and struck him, Saw him fall among the bushes, Then he rushed to tell his chieftain Of the life that he had ended, Of the foeman'’s wily warrior, Best of all Algonquin warriors. Thus they killed Waneta’s lover And subdued the fierce Algonquins. Then returned across Sebago From their victory triumphant. Now the chief, Madockawando, Would return and tell his daughter Of the battle and the vict’ry. When they neared the sandy lake-shore, He beheld upon the cliff-side Many strange and darksome objects,

Page 11 text:

THE WHIRLPOOL Then she saw a brave leap at him From the shelter of a pine tree, Saw him raise his heavy war-club, Then she saw her lover falling, Sinking backward ’mong the bushes. Ah! the awful deed, it woke her! Was it but an idle vision? Yet it troubled and disturbed her, For she felt it was prophetic. Ou the cool gray rock she painted, Drew her true Algonquin’s likeness, Painted there her Indian lover, Painted him as she had seen him, With his many strings of wampuimn And his shining eagle feathers. It was lifelike when ’twas finished, Very best of all her pictures. Then she went back to the wigwam, Waited patiently for evening, Then to seek again the cHil-side There to wait her lover's coming. All the warriors of the village, Were bedecked with gaudy war-paints, Panting, eager for the war-trail. So the braves embarked for battle, And Waneta, always faithful, Sought her clits of many pictures, Heard the ripple of the paddles Die away and lapse in silence, Stood there, watching, watching, waiting With a sinking heart her lover. Then she sought her lover's picture, Gazing at it in the moonlight, Dropped upon the ground beside it, Fell asleep there in the silence. In her dreams she saw Sebago, Deep and lovely Lake Sebago, Saw the blue-green rippling water, Sparkling, shining in the moonlight. Far away on Lake Sebago, Sailing down a path of moonlight Like a long and graceful shadow Came a white canoe and slender.

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THT WITTRLPOOL 11 Thought he saw a brave concealed there, And he hurried there to kill him. Changed were his impassive features, When he saw Waneta’s pictures. Thus he found his daughter's paintings And his lovely, sweet young daughter; There she lay in all her beauty Close beside her lover's likeness. Round her hair were bands of wampum; All her dress of whitest doeskin Was inwrought with beads of wampuin ; On her feet were shoes of deerskin Wrought with beads and quills of porcupine Shaped and dyed in many colors. Thus she lay there in the moonlight, But her spirit had departed To the land of the Ilereafter. Tn his grief Madockawando Made the ground quite sacred to her; Tmages he called her pictures. All remained as she had left it. Now we sce Waneta's pictures Standing guard down through the ages O’er the shining deep blue water Of the lovely Lake Sebago. CrciLte Leavitt, ’21 Henry Straffords Soldiering Henry StratYord's life as a soldier was passed in the region about the Madawaska River in the northern part of Maine. A dispute over a tract of territory in that region between the French and the Ameri- ‘ans was ended for a period by the French ceding the property to the Americans. The French living thereabout, however, were not satis- fied with the action of their government, and with the assistance of some Indians, whom they bribed, they started trouble, which resulted in a series of skirmishes and minor battles known as the Madawaska war. In the end the American were victorious and took possession of the territory mndisturbed. Henry Stratford, a life-long resident of Gray, was at the time of his inspiration to go te war, sixty-eight years old. Ie was a compara-