South Hills High School - Lives Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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10 THE SESAME , lead expressed Black J ack's feelings on writing, he looked once at the rope, realized that if the bartender pulled it not a man in the town would be able to sign his name in the next world, and said as much. However, un- complimentary remarks were passed his way and with them a few beer bottles. That night benevolent citizens amused themselves by dropping lighted boards on his shanty, but with his Bible he retired to a nearby wood, only to return the next night, and under the protection of his former bene- faitors, mounted his keg and started with Jo . Misery showed itself in the face of every listener, and a number took an unusually large amount of stimulant in an effort to drown the voice, but found that in this case they were not even able to think about their card games, which of course gave them only one other thing to think about and thus tend- ed to make matters worse. Eventually they consented to try their luck with the small instrument which has been termed greater than the sword. So they were taken, several each evening, and surprising as it may seem, interest soon became rife as to who could most readily distinguish an i from an e, and who could most capably write his own signature and correctly punctuate it. This interest soon grew to such propor- tions that the undertaker began to sense good days coming back again, but he was doomed to disappointment for the Parson had arranged a little contest wherein each man was to write his name tif he knew it, the correct one, if not, one of his own choicej on a sheet of paper and then he, the Parson, had promised to award that man doing this the best bottle of a certain amber fluid which he promised them would be in the nature of an expensive gift. Finally the night arrived. It had been con- veniently arranged for Saturday when they all collected their dust, earned by blasting hills or strangers' heads and deposited it in the small safe at the saloon, when they were thus placed in the best humor, and least likely to shoot the fortunate winner of the prize. At the last minute, as a final precau- tion, so to speak, the Parson decided that any man who wished to write must leave his gun outside the door, and readily agreeing to this request every man, save the two ruf- fians who had gone off on a prospecting ex- pedition, entered. A long sheet of paper with a goodly margin at the top was passed around, and although some labored under the difficulty of having to use tobacco juice as ink, every name was duly and proudly at- tached. Finally the document reached the Parson. He looked it completely over, and suddenly whipped out two guns! Boys, he g1'inned, 1 reckon I took you- all in. l'm not a preacher. I'm a patent med- icine salesman. Sell Maloney's Marvelous Mixture, an amber liquid. It'll cure anything from downright drunkness to auto-intoxica- tion. Heard how you treated your last doc- tor and thought you might need some. Had to get your -signatures to an agreement to buy it. l have them and each one of you will receive thirty-six bottles. And by the way, in case you wouldn't have liked to pay for it my two comrades have relieved you of the gold in the safe! With this he backed to the door where he was joined by the other two, and disap- peared. High Hat literally blew up. The medicine arrived and most of it was thrown into the creek, but some drank part of theirs to get their money's worth. David Rankin. ,,,,, ...'.g. - P PITTSBURGH ? Where the waters of two rivers Join to make a shining third, Stands a city, great and mighty, Whose voice o'er the world is heard. Girded by the Alleghenies, Hemmed by powerful mills and inarts, Pittsburgh stands, in power triumphant, Honored in her children's hearts. Great she is 5 industrial greatness Spreads her fame o'er all the land From the Gulf to the Pacific Where men work with brain or hand. Let her fame be undiminished, O'er the land and o'er the sea, Great she is, but even g1'62It91' In the future can she be. - Let us, children of great Pittsburgh, Keep her fame forever bright, See that she becomes a leader In the onward march for right. Mildred Grayburn, 12-B.

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THE SESAME 9 HIGH HATU The settlement was usually known as High Hat, not through any social activities of note, but because rumor had it that the first settler on the spot was a minister who had worn such a headpiece. It appears that he had there met a stranger and due to a misunder- standing had his existence shortened some- what, The Hat being damaged by the man who had helped him to the next world, con- sidered it a fitting namepiece for a settle- ment for which he thought the wild and lonely spot ideal. The judgment. so displayed was soon rewarded by the arrival of every tramp, miner, and desperado who had made the surrounding towns fthe nearest of which was a hundred miles distantj too hot to hold him. PAnd so High Hat existed, a deserted town by day when it's populace was robbing the earth's treasures or more frequently those of stray travelers, and by night an orgy where every inhabitant crowded to the Saint's Rest saloon, tried to outcurse every other inhabitant in every language save Siamese, tried to outdrink every other inhab- itant with bad whiskey which Black Jack Jones dispensed at twenty-five cents a swig, and tried to outplay the house at roulette or stud poker. Black Jack, himself a leading and characteristic citizen, cracked jokes or men's heads as the occasion might demand, and occasionally answered a call to the gam- bling room in the center of which hung a rope providing communication with a Chinese un- dertaker whom he had engaged for all night service, and whom he frequently summoned when accidents befell gentlemen found with five aces or other undesirable evidence on their person. Now in this connection it is interesting to note that the municipality had no doctor, that the first and last doctor who had pre- sented himself there had written a prescrip- tion and since no one was able to read the inhabitants mistook it for a joke on the sick man, whereupon they cursed doctors and learning, and threatened to shoot the next medic found in the mountains thereabout. One evening there rode into this thriving retreat a quiet, unassuming young man whose somber dress of the clergy caused a sudden halt in the pleasant activities of Saints Rest the minute he saw fit to enter that worthy establishment, and when he pro- ceeded to drag an old keg from a corner of the room, mount it, and start reading slowly from a Bible which he carried the boys crowded around thinking they were going to hear something which, though they could not read, might be of immediate interest to them. Very soon, however, the novelty wore off and the rioting commenced with added vigor, but above the cursing in all its varieties could be heard the monotonous reading of the stranger, who was soon referred to in a rather unfriendly tone as the Parson Many pres- ent began to complain that their conversation was being interrupted by his gospel, and sev- eral fights started over their inability to de- cide whether lynching or just plain shooting would be the most fitting means of removing the impediment. Having decided that the for- mer would pay more reverence to his clothes a few of the more skilled assassins moved forward to perform this duty for the com- munity, when a brace of ruffians, who had reached town but three days before, in which time they had done as much deviltry as the average cut-throat i.n a week, stepped- up,-an- nouncing that the little neck-tie party was indefinitely postponed, that if the Parson wanted to read he was gonna spit it out, and any gentleman doubting this decision would be pumped so full of holes he wouldn't hold water! The verdict thus stood, espe- cially when backed by two revolvers built on the general dimensions of a canon. Boys, drawled the stranger, looking up from his Bible for the first time, 'Tm going to teach you-all two things: First, this cuss- in's gonna stop, and second every last one of you is gonna learn to write yore name. If you refuse I'm gonna read this Bible every night till you-all will be able to recite her word fer word. ' Apparently this little oration struck no vital spot among the listeners, for the pro- fanity was doubled if such a thing were pos- sible, and accordingly the parson read on. Thus several evenings passed, the Bible be- ing unfolded chapter after chapter, in a dull monotonous voice, and a pronounced dimin- ishing in hilarity making its slow but sure appearance. The reading appeared about as desirable as a cry for help, and finally things reached a stage where the Parson might stand for minutes without uttering. a word and then an unguarded curse from someone would start him on a new chapter, while a groan went up from the crowd. In this man- ner the inhabitants had learned, after sev- eral weeks, that ideas may be expressed more or less definitely without the use of some- what colorful but totally unnecessary adjec- tives, and the preacher announced one night that he was ready to proceed with the writ- ing lesson. Here it appeared that trouble would start in earnest. A stray shot removed the hat which was his pride, and although he had good reason to believe that that little piece of

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THE SESAME ' 11 . SMILE Did you ever stop to consider what this old world would be if we hadn't the power to smile? Do you know what a smile is? Well, a smile is a gift from God, it is the door to our souls which leads to happiness. Too many people leave this door closed. You say it is very easy to smile when you are happy but that it is hard to do when sad. True, but courage and perseverance will help you to smile through your sadness. Did you ever feel as though life was the most wonderful experience and while in this happy mood you met a friend who said this world with-all its hardshipswas unfair? Did you put yourself in his position and get at the bottom of his trouble and then discuss it with him? Did you show him his weak points and brighten his frowning face with an encouraging word and a smile? Or did you simply bid him the time and pass him by without lending a helping hand or a cheer- ful word? If you did pass him without encouraging him just imagine yourself being passed up by a friend in such a manner. Now be frank with yourself-wouldn't it have been more thoughtful to have helped him to see life in the way you saw it? You know yourself that life has many hardships and obstacles and that if we had a frown on our faces every time we had to meet one this world would not be very pleasant. Just let this thought enter your mind that God always sends enough rain in your life to make a beautiful rainbow after the shower. A smile is contagious. Remember the old maxim, Smile and the world smiles with you, weep and you weep alone. Helen Mae Barr, 12A. How many know of the wonderful fascina- tion and myste1'y of the snow-covered woods, the gaunt, bare trees bending and creaking in the cold, sharp wind that races along, toss- ing mists of snow into the air, the little tracks of some four-footed animal, that scur- ried away at the first signs of your approach, the bright green pine tree, suggestive of Christmas, the snappy, cold, keen air that makes the breath steam and smoke in dim frosty clouds about the head, the lonely stretch of white, with only the tracks of a small animal or rabbit? Who knows of the marvelous wonders of the cold, dismal forest of tall, leaiiess trees which nearly hide the heavy gray sky from sight, of the stinging force of the wind- driven crystals of snow-the ea1'th's most wonderful gift of beauty, of the long end- less stretch of pure white, dotted here and there with a dry brush heap or young pine tree, bright and green 3 the keen, chilling cold that penetrates the clothing and chills the bone to the marrow. In the coldest and keenest of mornings what is more delightful than to bundle up in a heavy fur coat, mittens and cap and walk through the snowdrifts under the trees to get the sleepiness out of one's eye, or the stiffness out of one's limbs, to walk exhilar- ated through the woods when the cold nips the nose, makes the cheeks red and the lips blue, stings the ears, tingles the blood and freezes the breath around the mouth, form- ing frosty little icicles on the lips and chin? The cold woods is still and grey in the early morning, only broken now and then by the moaning of the rising wind as it rushes through the gaunt, skeleton trees. Some- times, on the charred remains of a stump some little animal eats a nut from his store- house or plays about. He frisks and runs about tossing the snow into the air with his heels, and leaving queer 'little marks upon the snow. But soon he is off 5 perhaps he has sensed a human presence and was afraid. He chatters angrily from a nearby tree, scolding at being disturbed in his morning frolic. Still, except for a few rabbits or squirrels the place is lonely and silent and does not show much life. A bird screams harshly once or twice and is off g a rabbit bounces across your path, or a squirrel chatters from a tree, but a heavy silence seems to cover everything. It is bitterly cold and the snow is driven more sharply into the face. The clouds grow dark and heavy. The wind rises and moans through the trees. The snow swirls and sweeps unpleasantly. It becomes colder. The snow swirls harder around the tired Walker. He starts for home, knowing that the coming storm is dangerous. But the storm overtakes him. He falls g he is too tired to get up. He can go no further. He is utterly worn out. Then, yes, his home-a large cabin not far from him. He MUST get there. Staggering to his feet he lurches across the open space and opens the door of the cabin. He is saved, but the winter woods has lost much of its charm for him. Wm. H. Bergheiner, Jr.