Selwyn House School - Yearbook (Montreal, Quebec Canada)

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30 SELWYN HOUSE SCHOOL MAGAZINE The Phoenicians learned about ships from the Egyptian traders, and then began building ships of their own, that could hold great cargoes. To protect their trading ships from the pirates, they built long, narrow fighting ships with two rows of oars and a sail. Still later, the Greeks built war galleys with three banks of oars and a sail and had a long piece of metal which stuck out in front, which they used for ramming enemy ships. The Romans also made war galleys and had slaves chained to the rowing benches, to do the rowing. A drummer beat out the stroke, so they could all pull the oars at the same time. In the ninth and tenth centuries, Viking ships appeared, which were long and narrow with a single mast, but were pointed at each end, so they could go in either direction. Because the steering oar was commonly used on the right side of a ship, that side became known as the steerboard or starboard. Later, the fixed rudder was invented and placed at the back of the ship, to overcome the fact that the steering oar might become useless, if the ship leaned over in rough seas. During the fifteenth century, Prince Henry of Portugal made many improvements in ships. One was the three-masted ship, which was able to make more use of the wind. By the sixteenth century, Spanish galleons with high stems had their masts rigged with very large sails. They had guns for protection and bigger holds to carry treasure back from the Caribbean. By fifteen hundred, cannon were used on fighting ships and port-holes were invented. By the eighteenth century, ships were stronger and narrower and did not have high sterns. These were known as frigates. By eighteen hundred and nineteen, paddle steamers had been invented, but the first of these used both sail and steam: later they were able to use steam alone. In eighteen hundred and thirty-six, the screw propellor was developed. lt was one of the most important events in the history of ships. Ships later became made of iron and steel and gun turrets were invented, to allow guns to turn and fire in any direction. A big advance in shipping came when the turbine engine was invented. Even to-day turbine engines are used in warships and passenger liners, but they use fuel oil instead of coal. There are many other ships which are fascinating, especially the atomic submarine, the Nautilus. This submarine can travel around the world, without once coming to the surface. Atomic fuel marks the beginning of a new era in world shipping. Robert Monteith, Form IV.

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1961-1962 29 A DAY IN THE FOREST At prime, the sun's arrival is announced by the dim gray light in the east which dispels the stars from the heavens. On the sun's first appearance, it casts its warm rays on the cold gray wilderness. All at once the sleepy forest comes to life, the birds singing in the trees. Suddenly the cry of a crow comes to our ears, contrasting sharply with the pleasant song of the other birds. Meanwhile, chipmunks and squirrels scamper hastily about gathering nuts. The lovely scene is broken by a fox stalking prey for breakfast, then successfully returning to his den. At the other end of the forest, a deer satisfies its thirst at a sparkling brook. As the day grows older, the sun attains the summit of its arc, casting more direct rays on the earth. As the afternoon grows old, the sun is well on its descent to the west and the woods quieten down. At sunset, the sun resembles red hot coal straight from the Ere, and the whole horizon of mountains seems to be ablaze. Then, slowly, the sun hides behind the mountains, leaving the earth pleasantly warm. The stars and moon come out to light up the night, and Mother Nature goes to sleep after a hard day's work. She leaves only the howling wolves and the hooting owl on guard during the night. Can we also go to sleep feeling that we have accomplished something during the day like the sun? Gerald Smith, Form IV. SHIPS ARE FASCINATING Ships are really fascinating, when you stop to think of their origin and the way they have changed and developed over the centuries. The first boat was most likely merely a floating log, that someone discovered could hold up a man in the water. Later, it was discovered that a better boat could be made by hollowing out the upper side of the log, and thus the first dug-out was invented. The ancient Britons gathered small branches and wove them into round baskets large enough to hold a man. Then they covered the bottom and sides with animal skins and this they called a coracle. North American Indians built canoes with light wooden frames covered with birch bark. Canoes are still popular, but are now covered with canvas instead of bark. ln the far North, Eskimos made kayaks out of driftwood frames, covered with animal skins, with a small hole in the top for one man to sit in. The paddle had a blade at each end. These are still in use today. Eskimos also built larger sea-going skin boats called umiaks, to hold about eight men, for hunting seals and whales. Ancient boatmen felt the great power of the wind. They found it difficult to paddle against it, but easy when the wind was at their backs. By standing up and holding their cloaks wide to catch the wind, they could make their boats move without paddling. Thus they discovered the sail boat. Egyptians built sailing ships two thousand years before Christ.

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FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1961-1962 31 THE EMBEZZLER There was another robbery last night, Mr. Winters. Oh no! That's the third one this month. Are there any leads this time? No, it's the same as before. All the money was there when we quit work, and the guards didn't see or hear anything. Well, that did itl l'm calling in a private investigator. See if you can find me a fairly good one, Bill. All right sir, l'll get right on it. As Bill King walked out of the office, his boss, Robert Winters, who was managing director of a large automobile factory, began chuckling to himself. He was sure that a private investigator would not suspect someone who had hired him. About six months before, Winters, who had always been somewhat greedy, had started embezzling his companys money. At first he had taken a little at a time, but caution had given way to impatience, and he began to take as much as he could. ln another month he planned to leave the country. Soon Bill King returned with the name of the Don Tailor Detective Agency, that had been recommended by one of the employees. Two weeks later, Winters had occasion to work late one night. Half an hour after everyone had left, he put aside his work, walked into the next room where the safe was, opened it, and began to empty it. This was to be his last robbery before flying to ltoly the next week-end. He counted the money carefully, there was S50,000. He now had almost half a million. He was careful to avoid the guards when he left, as he had always been, just in case one of them was smart enough to put two and two together, and drove home very contented. The next day, during the course of the morning, Bill King was questioning the guards and taking notes. This disturbed Winters slightly, and so ot the end of the day he called King into his office. 'Yes sir? King asked as he entered. 'l see you've been doing some investigating Bill' said Winters. That's right, sir, he answered. Have you found anything? Yes sir, l believe I know who the thief is. 'tThat's very good, said Winters, trying to keep his composure, How did you do it? 'Well sir, none of the guards remembered seeing you leave last night, even though you were working late. This seemed very strange to me, then, with a little concentration l realized that to the best of my knowledge you had been working late every night that there was a robbery. More questioning showed that guards hadn't ever seen you come out. lt all fits together. As he finished, Winters lifted a revolver which was fitted with a silencer and shot him twice. Then, unscrewing the silencer, and stuffing the gun into his pocket, he grabbed