Siskiyou Union High School - White and Gold Yearbook (Weed, CA)

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The water reviving him, he soon opened his eyes. On recognizing me he grasped my hand and said, You did follow my directionsg you saved the town. Good old fellow. But Wesley, how did you happen to send that note? Vlfhere were you? How did you get here ? I-Ie listened to my volley of questions and then explained in the following words: Well, john, as you know, Pete sent me to an outpost called Post Havenf' where I had a fierce encounter with the Mogues, and always won. They swore vengeance upon me. VVhen I came to Bello, where ammunitions were low, they did take their revenge. One night they surrounded the city. There were no guns and only a few men who could light. In order to save the village, I surrendered myself as captive to the plunderers. Still they were not satisfied. They made plans to sack Bello. Overhearing these plans, I bribed an Arab boy to bring you the note. As I lay tied hand and foot out there on the desert while the enemy galloped on toward you and Bello-well-the sound of that horn brought relief. Thanks to you, John Day! You are a true child of the Sahara. As we sauntered toward the village in the wee hours before dawn, I did become a true child of this desert, ready to give my life to it just as Wesley Duke had been willing to do. The desert is kind-its silence and beauty bring peace to discontented hearts. In this silence and beauty I had found a goal. The spell of the desert had caught me and held me for its own. Here I would live my life, for here I had first found life. DOROTHY IJAINIBERT '28-McCloud High School. HARVEST Third Prize P00111 You who'cl have a light heart All the busy day W'atch and ward your gleaming As you work or play. If you reach a Sunbeam, lf you hear a song, They are yours to gatherg Take their joy along. But if in the shadows Grudge or hate you see, Though they mask, and lure you, Leave them, let them be. Nowhere is a burden Heavier than theyg Keep your strength for lovingg Smile-and turn away. THELMA MCCOY '30-Yreka. I 181 GENERAL LITERARY SECTION

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Hurriedly I ran to the village and aroused the sleepy inhabitants: Quick! Get your guns and fortify the town! The Mogues are coming! The news struck terror in the hearts of everyone. Men ran hither and thither, jihbering to each other as they carried wood, piling it against the gate of the city. Women and children were weeping as they huddled together fearful of their fate. I must confess that I myself was not far from losing hope when gun inspection was made and I found only a hundred rusty rifles-a hundred guns, the gates of the village protected by piles of logs, and the clock nearly ready to strike the midnight hour! At precisely twelve o'clock a cry re-echoed through the town, breaking the silence of the desert with its horrifying sound. I glanced over the Wall. Hundreds of white-robed horsemen were swooping toward the wall with a shouting of voices and a firing of guns that could have been heard for miles. Fire!', I cried to my men. Shoot! The men of Bello fired, but not a bullet seemed to find its mark. The Mogues seemed better equipped with guns, for they wounded my men by the score. Peering through a hole in the wall I saw that the Mogues were coming closer and the Bellians were growing weaker. I realized then the need of finding the mysterious horn. Tree Y-North 8-6 East-7 Upg the words flashed through my mind. I glanced back toward panic-stricken Bello. In the center of the town was a tree, two limbs of which formed the shape of a HY. I ran to the tree. North 8 - what could this mean? There were ten Arab houses straight north from the tree. I ran to the eighth house. 6 East 5 I went six houses east and paused. What could 7 Up mean? There were more houses, so it could not mean seven houses up. I heard the battering of the Mogues at the gate and the frenzied call of the Bellians for help. ' If the horn could not be found within three minutes, the town would be plundered and burned. I stood undecided at the sixth house east. Again I heard the battering at the gates. Not hesitating now, I ran into the house. 7 Up -I quickly glanced around the one-roomed shack and saw a stairway leading up to the room above. 7 Up -I stopped at the head of the stairs in desperation. There could not be seven rooms in that small house. I heard the screams of terror from withoutg in one minute more the gates would be down. Running hurriedly to the bottom of the steps I counted them until I reached the seventh, then looked around. On one side was a wall. just above the seventh step there was a small door in the wall. I opened it with fear and hope struggling in' my heart. There lay the horn. Snatching it and putting it to my lips I blew one blast. The gun shots ceasedg the screaming subsided. Again I blew the enchanted horn, and this time I heard exclamations of terror and the swift mad gallop of horses' feet-the Mogues were going. It was not long before they were entirely out of sight. And it was not long before the excited villagers had quieted down for the night. Somehow I did not wish to sleep. I wandered out of the village gate to the sand dune. The desert appealed to me more strongly than ever before. Forgetting the excitement of the night, the disappointments I had met in Bello, and my longing for change of scene, I gloried in the beauty and peace of the desert. The moon was resplendent. I gazed into the great expanses into an everlasting silence. VVhat strange thoughts and feelings the desert yielded me! I had a feeling someone was drawing near. It seemed I could see a distant figure zigzagging toward me. Yes! A figure was staggering in my direction. As I ran to meet him, I saw him drop in his tracks. Giving him a drink from my canteen, I looked into his face. VVesley Duke ! I cried in astonishment. GENERAL LITERARY SECTION ! 17 l

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SCOTT VALLEY'S INDIAN MAID Third Price Story IGHTY-FOUR years have passed since the tepees of the Scott Valley Indian tribe were on the banks of Scott River, eighty-four years since Jennie laughed and sang with the other Indian maidens. She was a young growing girl with large dark eyes and tumbling black hair that fell in two braids to her waist. She was as fleet as the wind and as gay as the robin. She lived with her uncle Jackson, the old Medicine Man. Here she was very happy, giving no thought of the morrow. She was the pride of his tepee. One evening late in autumn, as the sun was lowering in the heavens and the twilight began to fall, Jackson, a very religious old brave and handsome Indian chief, stood straight as a statue and many times he was seen with his head bowed in prayer to the Great Spirit. Often after this demonstration he left his tepee and galloped over the ridge toward the North, not to be back until the morning. f' His lodge was left in stillness. Everything seemed to be in peace, even the smoke rolled up into the sky and became a part of the atmosphere. Just as dawn was breaking, the silence was broken by a hideous war-whoop. The Modoc Indians swooped down upon this sleeping tribe, led by their Indian chief, Longfellow. Longfellow was middle-aged, with a strong deeply-lined face expressing meanness. He wore a feather war bonnet reaching from the crown of his head to his feet. He had planned this attack to be at sun up be- cause the Indian custom is to rise early. The sleeping world before them woke to startled life. The black figures came pouring down upon the little lodge. Then in a moment there arose above everything a terrible sound dropping from the hill, echoing along the river bank. Tamdoka, tip-toeing into Jack- son's tepee, glancing cruelly about, noticed this beautiful Indian maiden sleep- ing on a pile of deer hides. He picked her up and rushed out, while the other protesting maiden tried to stop him. Jackson's daughter was shot above the knee. As quietly as they had descended upon the lodge, they disappeared, as if into space. As Jackson returned home, he found his people in great confusion. The fires were blazing up. The excited voices of the women came to him in sur- prise. He could see that his lodge had been attacked. He found his daughter killed by an arrow wound inflicted above the knee. Going further he found the bodies of two old Indians and a girl. But Jennie, his niece, could not be found. As he ascended the hill, following his enemies' tracks, he saw before him some dry sticks standing up with a Hr tassel attached to the top. This was a sign that a young girl was captured. Jackson took the sign into his tepee and fell down upon the deer hides and cried. This old Indian's heart was broken. He could not see why they had attacked them because he knew there was no reason, other than a trick. He searched days and days for Jennie, but he could not find her. Jackson prophesied that Longfellow would be killed for his treachery. Siskiyou County at that time was a wild, wooded forest. The Indian trails approximated the roads of today. Jennie knew she was taken as a slave, so did not try to make an escape because she knew they would kill her. They made her Walk, carrying a heay load on her back. As she went along she noticed the colors that nature paints the trees in the autumn. Their first stop was at the foot of the Yreka mountain, at the spring, above where the Forest House is now located. GENERAL LITERARY SECTION I 19 l