Petersburg High School - Missile Yearbook (Petersburg, VA)

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THE M 1 SSILE 29 his friend, see him safely to the fort. Great Heart drew Black Bear from rushing waters when they would have closed over his head. Black Bear gives again his life for White Hunterf Then turning to fall into my arms again he whispered as only a real man could whisper, 'My brother if you ever see XVhite Rose tell her I died bravely, fearlessly, defending one I loved al- most as much as her. Goodby. It is well.' Tom broke the solemn, still silence in the room asking, Did the Pawnees take you home safely P That my brave lad, is another story, smiled the good old captain. I Q9 SHATTERED BEAUTY By Ercelle Reade China teacup, there you lie A broken crumbled mass of beauty, Your imitation we can buy, But not the memories you suggest 5 You tradition can supply. Grandma filled with fragrant tea You and others of your kind. You heard many a recipeg If only you had power of speech To tell of grandma's coterie. But your life, although so grand, Now at last comes to an end, Broken by a careless hand. You, so used to careful touch, Only thoughtful care could stand. 65-E? THE FIRESIDE. By Hamilton Crloclcfofrd Not so many years ago, the fire- place was a most important part of every house and home, and now it has lost its place of prestige probably for- ever. Folks of the present generation have to tax their brains a little to recall the time when they sat around the open Fire and listened to their favorite uncle's wonderful tales of adventure. Steam heat, hot air furnaces and oil furnaces, have replaced the Fireplace now. just another evidence, some people might say, that the good ole days are gone. And why? I believe it is because of the fact that an open tire provides a certain feeling of cheerf-ulness and congeniality and Make yourself at homeness that is experienced nowhere else. When one has visitors and the party assembles at the fireside each and every one feels just a little closer to the others. There must be a certain magic of the flames that brings about such things, for I have noticed it on many occasions. From hikes and camping trips that I have been on, I have found the camp-fire especially a good mixer. When a stranger walking through the woods

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28 THEM ISSILE undecided and will divide and fol- low all. Is it not better to fight ten, than fifty? Until the sun awakes we are safe. Let Great Heart clothe his tired feet with wings. VVe go.' We continued on swiftly. VVe fol- lowed one side of the stream for a mile and crossed and followed the other side. Sometimes we waded the stream never leaving a footprint. I was nigh spent, and more than once Black Bear's manly arms carried me over the rocky rapids At last we halted on the edge of a precipice overlooking a beauiful valley. 'Eat. sleep, rest, Great Heart. Your brother of the lynx eyes will watch.' 'Up, my brother! The dogs have found our trail. Stand up slowly and you will see the dogs. 'Black Bear, I see them not.' 'My brother's eyes are clouded,' said the man with red skin and a white heart. Then at once I saw a bright spot of Vermillion, the war paint on the fore- head of an Indian brave. I saw only one, and he was too far to shoot, so I kept under cover. I confess I was rather awed at the red man's powers of ob- servation. 'Here they come,' whispered Black Bear. 'Let Make-Thunder speak to them.' True the red spot had disappear- ed. I watched but could see nothing. 'Is Make-Thunder ready? Yes! 'Then watch,' he replied, and sprang up onto a rock overlooking the whole valley. He shook his proud manly head and shouted definantly the Pawnee war- whoop. 'Mohawk dogs! Squaws! Old women! Black Bear spits on you and defies you! Your scalps shall yet adorn the Pawnee lodge. Dogs that sulk behind rocksl' He sprang down as a hail of balls and arrows flattened them- selves against the rock where he had stood. I was on the lookout and my gun spoke loudly. 'Ughl Great Heart shoots well,' was his only comment. 'Waugh, Ugh! The Mohawk squaws are liarsf screamed Black Bear. 'Do they think the Pawnees are fools? Mo- hawks can not stand before men, they are sneaks and cowards. Let them re- turn to their squaws alone. I, Black Bear, have spokenl' He drew himself into the air, tossed his feathered head and dropped from their view. They rushed upon us. Black Bear threw away his fine bow, after killing the first three, and took out his knife, hurling with unerring accuracy at the next one, striking him dead. My last bullet took the next, but the next rushed on, hurling his tomahawk at Black Bear. I was wounded and a stream far red- der than his skin was pouring out of the sides of Black Bear. It was give and take. Black Bear was struck to his knees, and the yelling warriors surged into the gap between us. Then a cloud of arrows whistled past us, coming from the heights above. 'The Pawnees, brother! The Great Spirit has sent us aid.' The Pawnees slipped quickly past. All but a handful went by, the others stayed to help us. We were sick and wounded. They glared angrily at me. 'Mohawks,' yelled Black Bear, 'your scalps will yet adorn our lodge. Manitou is good.' Stung by these words, a Mohawk warrior checked his headlong flight and sent an arrow whizzing upwards. 'Pawnee cur,' he shouted. 'White Hawk goes to the Happy Hunting Grounds, but Black Bear goes with him.' Straight to its mark flew the arrow. It sank deep, burying itself in the super-manly body of Black Bear, who fell into my loving arms. In a moment he was on his feet again and facing his friends he slowly said: 'Great Heart is my brother, his skin is white, but his heart is red. Be

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30 THE M ISSILE comes upon the fire of a camper he al- most always finds himself welcome. VVhen men were more of woodsmen than they are now, friendships formed in this way were many and ,lasting Then after dark. as the campers gather round the blazing fire and talk, tell stories and jokes, and relate their own experience in different happenings there is evident again that feeling of a better understanding and companion- ship with each other. Perhaps at such a place it is the presence of the Great Spiritn whom the Hrst Americans wor- shiped that exerts this influence. What- ever it is, it is nevertheless there. My grandfather too is a great advo- cate of the open fire. When he had the hot-air system installed in our home, he kept the so-called old-fashioned fireplaces. I have seen him more than once, long after spring and warm weath- er had come, with a fire in the grate, merely, I believe, for the pleasure of making it himself and of sitting and reading by it. A chimney was once a very essential part of a house, but now some people scarcely use it for more than an an- tique decoration or as a place on which to tack the radio aerial. Every year up to a few years back the chimney and the fireplace at our house server another pur- pose around Christmas Eve. At that time the young folks, the very young ones who were ardent believers in the age-old tradition of Santa Claus, would write their Christmas letters to that old gentleman, would hold the let- ters above the flames of the crackling fire, and let the draft carry the mes- sages up through the chimney and, sup- posedly to the address, Mr. S. S. Claus, North Pole. All in all, the only fault I find with a fire is that my attempts to stay awake and study by it very often prove fruit- less, for an open fire has that strange effect of making me unusually drowsy and dreamy. After all, that is not so bad though, for sometimes I likiz to dream. R9 A TREE By Geraldine Beazley A great massive thing Like a temple stands firmly Upon the earth and pays Its tribute to God. It reaches high above us And breathes the pure air of heaven, Not knowing or even caring R9 THE MOUNTAIN CAMP By Catherine Rudy What men do. Marian Burton came to the door of the Burtons' cabin, and lifting the cow horn to her lips blew upon it a long blast. This meant, Come to breakfast. The sun had not as yet risen, but everybody was up and chores were finished. The yelping of dogs showed well that they knew the meaning of that horn blowing as well as did Marian's two brothers, Jaques and Gas- pard. The Buttons were early settlers in the