Spiro High School - Bulldog Yearbook (Spiro, OK)

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A X it Evalee Jones Business Manager Vernon Ward ,4' Assistant 'hyf Business Manager ' 'L f , Y, 45. 1,3 A f' 4 , ly-J f w Paul Cox, Jr. Sales Manager Eva Terry Sponsor Yearbook tafi Lester Wade Sponsor ' K. F. Conrad Editor JoAnn Hull Assistant Josephine Haier Assistant A ,W 'd A ff ,f,17k k3 if 1 L 1 George Harvey Sue Chance Assistant Joan Edwards Art Editor Assistant New paper taii Margarett Barker , , ,,, s Q V A Ae , Vq,a.V' f . 'f'? '5?Qw7- ' Glenda Dun B h K th 1 Fr Advertisingam Egggziazgc Sgonggrne ances Editor Eva Terry Sue Chance Betty Remer Manage, Editor, Ponaaf' Arr Editor- Assistant Advertising Manager as ze C C ' 3 lg- V ff , f 'f A ,.,. K -,y ., . K .rx ! fi i f A f 1 1 Xl Doris CarterJoan Edwards Ruby Wright Paula Snawder Circulation Circulation Columnist C01l1lDI11St Manager Manager' Er-ma Lois Cloud nyce J. McClain Columnist Colu nist Carved shell gorgets S' g C , i q ' ' '70 y , Q A .. af. -2 a A A he vi ,, sy , A Xl A 11 G A , A 7 r ' Jo Ella Woodwyvonee Terry Loretta Gentry i ' MBTUTU Goforth DOI'1S Wilson 'Helen Perdue Mary Jones Columnist Typist Typist Twist Typist TYP5-St Typist Gail Harris Sport Editor

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Two other victims may be seen entering the passage way of the Temple. Each is followed by his eight execu- tioners. These are the Doctor and Pipebearer of the dead Warchief. This aboriginal doctor could not afford to lose his patient, since in so doing he signed his own death warrant. The Pipebearer holds the favorite pipe of the de ceased, an exact duplicate of one of the famous effigy pipes unearthed in the Spiro Mound. Large mats skillfully woven of cane and grass line the entrance passage, the roof of which has been removed in the model. The other victimes, kneeling on mats in front of the large cedar center posts are: the favorite wife, dressed in a blue gown worn off the shoulderg the Warchief's second wife, who is both bewailing the death of her loved husband and her own ill fortune, the Chancellor, the stern counsellor of the dead rulerg and a noblewoman whose friendship for the deceased has prompted her to join him in Spiritland. The moment depicted in this tragic scene is that Just before the strangling. Outside the Temple the evil-smelling people or commoners wail and lacerate themselves in their grief. The best hunters oflthe tribe have secured fat deer and antelope for the funeral feast to take place after the sacrifice. A little boy, seen in the upper corner, proudly brings his contribution-an opossum which has fallen easy prey to his minia- ture bow and arrow. Around the cooking pots may be seen the squaws, whose duties of tending to the papooses may not be neglected even on so solemn an occasion. Standing beside the house next to the Temple, a young warrior is painting a death mask on the face of his comrade. Up from the Arkansas River bank warriors from a nearby village hasten to take their places in the ceremony. A late comer quickly paddles his dugout to the scene. Dugout canoes were hollowed from cedar logs with the use of fire. The model for this one was taken from a sketch on a conch shell found in the Spiro Mounds. The house next to the Temple is a complete reconstruction based on field data from Spiro. The high roof is thatched with long river sedge grass, a custom practiced by the Caddo, Ceni, Taensas, Choctaw and Natchez Indians in historical times. In the rear of the second house from the Temple are seen a group of young warriors. This house has been cut away to show the manner of construction. Especial attention is called to the cane matting under the thatchwork of the roof. Du Pratz, Joutel, and other early explorers say that these houses were quite waterproof and might stand for 20 years without repairs. Note also the manner of attaching the rafters. Lacking the concept of nails, iron or wooden, these people utilized grass rope to lash the poles together. The French explorers have given us excellent notes on the furniture used in the houses. The beds shown in one of the houses are based on a model used by the Natchez Indians. It is a simple frame work covered with woven cane strips and supported on forked sticks. The cane matting in the model is patterned exactly after fragments unearthed at Spiro. It is an intricate twilled weave. 'All the implements, tools, weapons and pottery are exact duplicates of specimens found in the Spiro Mound. As in other crafts the Spiro Mound people were excellent potters. In front of the third house a pot is seen in the process of manufacture. Directly following the sacrifices, the body of the Warchief, with those of his wives, will be buried under the floor of the Temple. The other victims will be buried nearby. Included with the bodies of the victims will be all of the necessities for their new life in Spiritlandg water bottles, cooking pots, pipes, weapons, and quantities of intricately carved conch shells. Beads, copper-covered masks, and shell gorgets will also be placed in the graves for the use of the deceased and the benefit of future archaeologists. After the burial ceremony, the cabin of the Warchief will be burned, the people will return to their duties of everydayf life, and the Spiro Mound Culture will continue to flourish until claimed by oblivion. Such is the scene from the past as discovered by Oklahoma archaeologists. Though centuries old, it is a picture filled with pathos, tragedy, and human drama, made to live again. Department of Anthropology-University of Oklahoma ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Yearbook Staff and Faculty of the Spiro Schools express their appreciation to the following for their co- operation and assistance in the building of the theme for our Yearbook: 1. Bonnie C. Palmer, Museum Secretary, Museum of the University, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 2. Patrick Patterson, Director, Woolaroc Museum, Frank Phillips Ranch, Bartlesville, Oklahoma 3. Mrs. C. E. Cook, Curator, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City 5, Oklahoma REFERENCES 1. Aboriginal Dwellings in the Museum Center including A Heroic Statue of Sequoyah, Museum of the University of Oklahoma, Norman-1948. 2. Hamilton, Henry W., THE SPIRO MOUND, THE MISSOURI ARCHAEOLOGIST, Volume 14 cWhole Volumeb, October 1952, Columbia, Missouri. 3. Shead, Ralph B., ENGRAVED SHELLS POF THE SPIRO MOUNDQ Reprinted from The Seventh Annual Report of M The 1 v Nas man can tether tdme or tide.

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Annette Tobler, Johnny Downing, Beverly Clack, R. L. Williams, Frank W. Davies, Frankie Spiers, Mary Jones, J. D. Howell, Donna Marie Gill, Flora Lewis, Tommy Davis, Gerry Freeman, Leon Permenter, Carol Moore SFA I . ll-'H in-1