Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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NEARLY BURIED ALIVE By:- CarlClift(2A) Suddenly I felt the loose rock move beneath my feet. I tried desperately to cling to-the rein of my horse next to me, but the rock completely gave way and we both rolled till we reached the bottom of a pit. I was now pin- ned down underneath twelve-hundred pounds of hor- seflesh. From past experiences and from examining the situation I decided to try and keep on the back of the horse, out of the way of its legs. Only my right leg and hip felt the full weight of the horse. The old pony was frightened and was flinging its leg wildly bringing clods of dirt down upon us. I pulled on its reins to stop it kicking and said soothing words in its ear. i tried slowly to dig for my six-shooter which was luckily on my left hip and in reach. After much digging I managed to get at my gun. I thought for a while and decided not to shoot my horse unless I really had to. I fired a shot into the air to see if somebody would hear it and come and help but it was to no avail. The sun was just leaving us when I saw a large amount of dirt hovering aboue us. It was loosening Up!! ! Just then I remembered a pack of matches in my pocket and quickly pulled them out. I searched for a small twig and after awhile I found one. I lit this twig with a match. I threw the lighted twig up onto the grassland praying the grassland would catch fire. After anxious waiting, the grass finally glowed and this bright orange flame spread over the grassland. I put all my efforts to waiting. Suddenly I thought I heard voices coming closer. Stay back. I hollered. Stay back! Where are you? a voice answered. In the bottom of a pit, I bellowed, but don ' t come near the edge of where I ' m :it or it ' ll cave in. Come from the other side. Pretty soon there were half a dozen men digging me out with running irons and guns and anything they could get their hands on. My horse was lifted off of me and I was pulled out to get tht - ' iood circulating in my legs again. It took four saddles to puli .ny horse out of the pit. I thanked my rescuers and related the story of how I got there. With the help of one lad, I walked over to where the big hunk of earth was, which had been threatening me all that long day. I dug my heel into the crack and shoved a little, and at that time I was pulled away. The earth seemed to go out from beneath me as that hunk of earth left a big cloud of dirt and when we looked again the pit was nearly full. AN ADVENTURE WITH TOM SAWYER By:- C. Mawer I approached the door and rapped the knocker. A middle-aged woman, in her fifites, answered it. Hello ' can I help you? she asked cheerfully with a distinguished southern accent. Good day, madam, my name is Colin Mawer and I ' d like to talk to Tom. He ain ' t done anything wrong, has he? she questioned worriedly. Oh no, Mrs. ... Smith. Folks ' round here just call me Polly. Of course to Tom it ' s Aunt Polly, she answered. I continued, I ' m a reporter fr om The New York Times and I ' ve heard a lot about Tom. This was all she needed to know. Just the thought of having a member of her family in the newspaper excited her. Tom! Tom! Where are you, boy? she hollered. Over here, Aunt Polly! came a reply. I turned to face a stealthy figure climbing over a picket fence, to finally stand in front of his aunt. So ... this is Tom Sawyer, I thought. Who ' s he? Tom asked. Tom, I hear you ' re quite a boy, so I thought I ' d ' do ' a story on you. If you don ' t mind I would like to ' hang around ' just to see how you ' operate ' . So, the next morning being Sunday, Aunt Polly, Tom and his two cousins, Sid and Mary, attended church services. About half way through the service, Tom began to fidgit and he became bored. He pulled a box from his pocket and I eyed it suspiciously. Tom carefully opened the box and brought out a small insect and played with it on the pew. He played with it on his hand until the creature grew angry and bit Tom ' s finger. Tom received such a fright that he jumped, tossing the insect in the air and started to suck his finger. Meanwhile, the ' pinch ' bug, as Tom referred to it had landed down an old man ' s shirt. Whenever the bug moved around the man would scratch his back. The bug, finally becoming tired of this silly game, pierced its fangs into its victim. The old man leapt to his feet, howling in pain. The priest received the fright of his life. The man kept on screaming until he was lead outside. I took note of this incident. Tom quickly departed to play ' Bulls ' with his friends. He won nobly but very nearly declared war on Jim Baker, one of his friends, when Jim supposedly cheated. I was now lead by Tom to a lonely cottage on the Mississippi River bank. Here lived Huckleberry Finn, a boy en- vied by his friends. He and Tom sat under the shade of an old tree and they smoked tobacco from corn-cobbed pipes, What a dirty habit! I thought to myself. My work was now complete. I had seen how Tom lived for a day. I printed my story and sent my first copy to Tom, that legendary boy from Petersburg, Missouri. 23

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MY INVENTION — BRICK UNLOADER By:- C. Hook (2 A) I started my invention by first buying a large wheelbarrow. With this I tied a rope to all four corners and attached a thick 300 foot rope to it, feeding the rope through a large pulley at the top of the building at which we were unloading the bricks. After this had been set up and tested without bricks, standing on the ground I pulled the rope, sending the barrow up. When the barrow reached the top, I tied the rope around my wrist to save me from growing tired. When the men at the top had filled the barrow with bricks, they pushed it off the ledge and left to get more bricks. The barrow and the bricks suddenly became heavier than I was and they started to descend, pulling me upwards. The rope being tied to my wrist, would not let me fall. Halfway up, I met the barrow coming down, and I then received cuts and major abrasions to the top half of my body. After this I continued on my way up at a very high speed. When I reached the top, the hand which was tied by the rope was half crushed in the pulley, ripping skin from all parts of my hand. When I reached the top, the barrow hit the ground and tipped out everything it contained. Now the barrow was empty, and once again lighter than I was. Now, I being heavier than the barrow, started to descend at very high speed. Halfway down I met the empty barrow coming up, and received cuts and minor abrasions to my backside and lower half of my body. I continued on my journey down until I hit the ground, breaking one leg, and fracturing the other. On that journey up, the men had been collecting bricks elsewhere and had not seen me. When they came back they saw the barrow standing there ready to be filled again. They filled it again and puched the bar- row off the ledge. The barrow started to descend pulling me upwards once again. Looking up, I saw the rope fraying and also saw the heavy barrow coming down. Still looking up, the barrow hit me smack in the face, making it look like a cherry pie. I continued on my way up until I hit the pulley, pulling more and more of my hand through it. The barrow at the bottom tipped its contents once again, and I started back down. The fraying rope passed me on the way down and it had nearly torn the whole way through. I hit the barrow on the way down with such impact that the rope snapped and left me lying in the barrow in mid-air. I fell to the ground and broke my back at the same time and also lost my mind. CRUCIFIXION By:- K. Van Beelen (2 A) The dov began quite normally. Who could have for- seen hov n was to end? In the early morning a large number of people gathered outside Pontious Pilate ' s palace. I mingled in the large crowd of angry people. We waited cutside the palace for quite a A4hile when a man tailered and barefoot appeared before the angry mob. Pilate appeared alongside him. Crucify him, Crucify him the mob shouted. I strained my eyes to see a better view of the man. His back showed the long, cruel stripes from which blood flowed freely. Upon his head was a deadly crown of thorns. Beads of blood streamed down the man ' s face. He looked onto the angry mob. He seemed quite unmoved. What is this man ' s name? I asked this shouting man. Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. He claims he ' s the King of the Jews , he answered. The mob suddenly broke out into a chorous of blood curdling cries. Free Barabus, Crucify Jesus . Barabus was a hardened murderer. The Levites were mingling in the mob offering larger bribes to those who would cry out for the death of this man of Nazareth and for the freedom of Barabus. I walked away, disgusted and I felt ashamed to be a Jew. When I arrived at my house just outside the city of Jerusalem I heard jeers and insults. I knew what had happened, this Jesus had been condemned of an unknown crime. I looked upon Golgotha. This is where the Romans usually crucified criminals. Two criminals were already being crucified there. They wrestled in the hands of those who stretched them upon the cross. One of them continued to cry out in anguish for some time. I was about one hundred rods away from them when I saw a Roman Soldier beat the complaining criminal with a whip. When I arrived on the hill, this Jesus had also just completed the journey from the city to the hill. I grabb- ed a Roman ' s water bottle from the ground and advanc- ed towards the exhausted man. I looked into his pacifying eyes and was about to hand him the bottle of water, when the savage kick of a Roman Soldier kicked me aside. I got up and watched. They stripped him from his garments and tied him to the cross. Then they nailed him to that tree, amid the jeers and insults of his own people. I watched horrified as blood poured from his pierced hands and feet. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do . He gasped. At about twelve o ' clock the sky began to turn black. The lightnings seemed to be hurled at Him as He hung upon the cross. Jesus sent up a despairing cry: My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The day dragged on slowly. I watched Jesus agonising on the cross. At about three o ' clock in the af- ternoon Jesus gasped, Father into thy hands I com- mend my Spirit. With this his eyes rolled towards the back of his head, he bowed his head and died. Thunder roared and rocks split open. Tombs were broken open, and many of the dead were cast out. The earth shook and lightning occasionally flashed forth from a cloud, revealing the lifeless body of Jesus hanging on the cross. I was amazed and went throughout Judea preaching of Jesus Christ, the King of all Mankind and the Son of the Living God. Death Before Dishonour K. Lambert 5T 22

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By:- L. Smith (2 A) If only men knew how to live with each other, If only men joined hands and worked with one another, If only men of war would destroy all their devastating toy, If only men had a heart of joy. If only men could share the earth with all of nature ' s Children, If only men wouldtry to save them from extinction. If only men would let God into their heart. And from them Satan would depart. If only men would hold the population level down There would be enough food to go around. If only men would try to remove Crime ' s ciaw. Of only men made sensible laws. If only men wouldn ' t descriminate one ' s races, creeds or colours, If only men learned to live like brothers. If only men would walk the path of righteousness and love. We all would live eternally in that beautiful city above. If only ... Improved Pembroke Canal R. Amos 2A FOG IN THE COUNTRY By:- Mark Hamilton (1M) In the early mornings in New Zealand when the fog settled down upon the country side like a white blanket, we could see the dew drops clinging to the cobwebs like a necklace of pearls. Many mornings when we had gone for a walk and had reached the top of a hill, we could just see the tips of them, for the fog had covered most parts of the hills and it looked to us as though we were on an island surrounded by a pure white sea. There was a crispness in the air and when we took deep breaths we exhaled long white vapours which disappeared into the surrounding mist. Soon the sun would appear like a hazy glow and gradually disperse the heavy blanket of fog from the valleys below. APPROACH OF A THUNDERSTORM By:- Marl Hamilton (1M) The night was pitch black and all was silent, until a blinding white streak of light flashed across the sky. You could hear the thunder crash like the voice of an angry God. With a resounding crack, the old oak split in two when hit by the forked lighting, whilst the wind howled through the trees and disturbed the white foaming sea, which pounded at the foot of the cliff. The clouds scuttled across the dark angry sky. All of a sud- den a cloud burst and sent sheets of driving rain down upon the cottage of the lighthouse which stood remotely upon the cliff top. After the Gale 24