Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

Page 13 text:

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-

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 14 text:

12 THE WHIRLPOOL tively small man with long haiv and beard. His life was devoted principally to hunting and trapping and he was a great woodsman. When the war broke out, he was very cager to pit his skill against that of the Indians. He tried to enlist and was laughed at and told he was too old. He went out angrily and wrote a letter to an old friend of his, Major Estabrooke, and told him of his desire to go to war and of the action of the recruiting officers. The major wrote to the recruiting officers and told them that in spite of his age Henry would show some of the younger soldiers a few things. THe also told them that Henry was a great woodsman and the right sort for such a method of warfare as the Indians would employ. The result was that IHlenry was made a soldier and sent to Fort Madawaska near the river bearing the same name. Henry soon proved himself to be a soldier of great ability and lis advice was often asked even by the officers. Ile was a oman of few words, one who did more thinking than talking. Respeet and adimir- ation increased for him every day. Finally, after he had been in service about a month, an incident happened that terminated Henry's popularity and made him disliked and scorned by all the soldiers. The reason was this: one day, after having defeated a party of Indians, the soldiers came upon an aban- doned camp formerly occupied by the Indians. In this camp they found an Indian child left there by the Indians in their haste to escape. The soldiers were at a loss to know what to do with it. Some wished to take it with them, while others argued that it would be better to leave it there, so that the Indians might return for it. Their dispute was abruptly ended by the arrival of Henry, who cooly drew his dagger and dispatched the child with no more feeling than one would have in killing a snake. This act hurt his reputation more than any other could have done. Some of the soldiers would have nothing to do with him and the rest kept away from him as much as possible. He realized only too Jate the folly and cruelty of his deed and the unpopularity it had gained for him, He repented, but what good did that do him? What he must do was to redeen himself in some way. How to bring this about he did not know. At last, however, an op- portunity presented itself. It was very dangerous and the chance of coming out alive slight. Tis chance was this: On a certain spot just on the outskirts of the fort a picket had been killed and scalped every hight for nearly a week. Ht was an important post and must be euarded. Henry would prohably never be called on to guard this