Sumner High School - Spindrift Yearbook (East Sullivan, ME)

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24 THE HARBOR BEACONI at Fort Schuyler This fort was being be sleged and the forces were without a flag so they cut a sheet to make the white strlpes and some scarlet cloth for the red and the blue field was made from a blue coat which belonged to one of the captains Paul J ones was the first to display the American Flag on a naval vessel It was first carrled to foreign ground by an American warsh1p Providence to the Ba hama Islands An American painter claimed that he first carried the flag to Great Britain on the day when the United States gained her Independ ence carry ing it ln the form of a painting One of the captains of a whaling vessel of Nantucket IS elven the honor of first carrying the stars and st ipes to a Br1t1sh port On January 13 1794 by another act of the Continental Congress the flag was again changed from thlrteen to fifteen stars and from thirteen to fifteen stripes Vermont and Ken tucky having been added to the orlglnal states It had been decided to add a stripe for the ad misslon of a new state to the umon It was then thought that ln time the flag would become very clumsy so on July 4 1818 the flag was agaln changed havmg th1S tlme the thirteen red and white stripes and adding a star for the admlsslon of each state This remalns the form of the Amerlcan Flag to thls day D S M 19 Our New Possesslons On January 17 1917 with the formal ex change of ratlfications of the treaty of purchase between Secretary Lansing and the Dutch Mlmster Constantine Brun the Danish West Indies ceased to exist While on this date legal soverelgnty over the Isles became ours the United States did not enter into actual possession On March 31 1917 the Danlsh West Indies were transferred to the United States but be fore this country came into full possession of the islands Mlnlster Brun recelved from the United States Treasury a warrant for twenty five milllon dollars At eleven o clock on the above date Com mander Polluck the United States Chlef naval oflicer of the lslands was ordered by wlreless to take full possesslon in the name of the Lnlted States and at the same time the name of the islands was changed to Vlfgln Islands It IS lnterestmg to note that several names were suggested and each received more or less cr1t1c1sm American Vl est Indles Dewey Is lands and Lincoln Islands were among the names suggested As American West Indles would include Porto RICO that was reyected Devs ey havlng won his fame half a world s dist nce that also was dis carded Were one of our presidents to be honored Wilson who fostered thelr becoming ours should have the honor For this reason the name Lincoln s Islands was discarded These Islands having become a possession of the United States we should know something of their geographical and commercial resources and fac1l1t1es The Virgin Islands conslst of three lslands of importance namely St Thomas St Johns and St Crolx These islands are a main elevation of which Cuba J amalca and Porto Rico are the chlef representatlves They Iorm the connectlng l1nk between the Gre ter and Lesser Antilles St Thomas which IS the best known of the group hes thlrty-eight mlles due east of the northeast extension of Porto Rico St Johns hes twelve miles east of St Thomas while St Croix lies about fifty mlles south of St Johns and St Thomas and sixty miles southeast of the southeast point of Porto Rico These islands as a whole are small and with comparatively small productive capacity but they are of vast lmportance due to the fact that they hay e several fine harbors which offer value for strategic as well as general commercial points These island harbors can easily be put into condition for naval bases as well as supply stations The largest of the group St Croix IS about seventy miles long and from one to five miles L . - - , . . . , 7 Y Q 7 7 1 1 . . . ,. , , . . 3 ' rc 1 11 ', 1 1 ' U l Q - 1 o 7. . . . . 7 . Y . 1 1 ' . . , . A .- G 1 O . .. F. ,. . . . 1 . 1 1 7 7 ' . . . , . 4 , . . . v. . 1 ' 1 ' 1 . 1 1 - 1 ' 1 1 1 ' ' 1 1 . . . . - - 1- - . . 2, . U ' I , .... . . . , 0 . . . , . . - . . I 1 1 . ' . 1 1 7 1 . 1 Y . 1 1 A 1 1 , 1 ' - . . . , . 1 ' 1 . .. . ,. . . 1

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THE HARBOP BEACON In some cases they recelved these lots by pay ment of five dollars and sometlmes by bulldmg new roads The number of one hundred acre lots thus surveyed was tlurty To thrs day may be seen some of the works of these ploneers Among them are the grlst and saw mlll dams whlch they bullt to furnxsh power as the txde rushed through the slu1ce On the farm on Crabtree s Pomt where Capt Agreen Crabtree llved may st1ll be seen the rums of the walls of a fort on whxch he mounted guns to plotect h1s farm from the forages of the rebels The oldest house IH the northern part of the town was buzlt xn 1814 and IS now occupied It 1S an old landmark and IS situated on Mc F arland s H111 Many f mlhes beheved IH wltches and falrles and several old women were sa1d to be W1tCh9S One old lady used to show a small whlte stone whlch she sald was dropped lnto her pall by one or the fa1r1es whlle she was mllklng her cow Another old lady was much annoyed by the mlschlevous pranks of a falry who had h1s resl dence ln a large beer Jug Wh1Ch stood ln the pantry The old lady declded to drlve out the Splrlt by the bomlmg process so heatmg the buck oven she placed the Jug corked tlght Wlth about a p1nt of water rn lt on the hot br1cks Soon the expanslve force of the gener ated steam blew out the cork wlth a loud report hxttmg her falr between the eyes It set her head whlrllng somewhat but when she got calmed down she saxd I m glad to get rld of the falry but the llttle cuss needn t be so sp1teful The agxhty and endurance of a certam early settler IS shown ln the followlng account RlSlHg before daylight he made a palr of shoes then Went lnto the woods and manufactured three bunches of shaved shmgles carrled them home on h1s shoulder and naxled them on h1s bulldmg the same day At another tlme he chopped five cords and two feet of wood ln one day Thls last statement may be somewhere near the truth as It IS an undrsputed fact that the Pumpkm Plre that grew along the coast were often ewhty feet between the butt and the lowest hmb RAYMOND HODGKINS 17 The Orngm of the American Flag There s a httle old house on a brlsk busy street Wlth hlgh dormar wmdows and gable roof neat A quamt llttle parlor Wlhh fireplace and tlles Where every brlght mornmg the sun peeps and smxles For there long ago on a joyous June morn Our beautlful banner Old Glory was born In thls qu mt llttle house llved Betsy Ross who first made the Amerlcan Flag When our thlrteen or1g1nal states first felt the pressure of the rule of Great Brltaln they formed a flag on vs h1Ch they placed a rattl snake cut ln thlrteen pleces Wlth the motto, Jom or Dxe VN hen the Brxtxsh became more cruel the pos1t1on of the rattlesnake was changed the parts bemg Jomed and placed as lf ready to sprlng and the motto also changed to Don t tread on me' But the Amerlcan flag was first ralsed at Cambrldge January 2 1776 by WaSh1HgtOH It was at th1s tlme made to th1rteen red and whlte strlpes and on a blue field was placed two crosses The flag was carrxed ln thxs form by a fleet commanded by Commander Hopklns On June 14 1777 the Contlnental Congress resolved that the Hag should be changed and that there should be thlrteen red and whxte strlpes and on the blue field ln place of the crosses there should be thirteen stars for the Th1rteen Oflglllal States These stars were placed ln a clrcle It IS not known by whom the xdea of the stars was suggested but John Adams was glven the credlt by some while others clalmed that xt was borrowed from the coat of arms of the Washmg ton famlly The fll st dlsplay of the flag ln thls form was . 23 . . . H . . ,, , . . D V I I U - 1 1 - ,.,L.,..i.. . . . , . , . . . , , . . . . . . r 1 . . . .L . 1 . 1 ' 1 - 1 17 I , . . F. . . a CL , . . . . . . . . n . co, , . . 1 . . . Y . 9 ,. . . . . . . . . . H . ' 1 ' 11 1 ' ' ' ' 1 1 ' 1 , ' 1 - ' - xc 1 . . . . . ,, , . 1 1 1 1 1 ' 1 , . . H , . . 1 1 1 . . , 1 . ,, . . . . . . . H . . . ,, 1 1 - 1 . . . . -1 1 1 1 ' 1 . . . 0 ' . . .

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THE HARBOR BEACON? 20 wlde w1th an area of e1ghty square mlles and a populatlon of nearly tw nty mxlhons St Crolx IS not only the largest 1n SIZQ and popula tlon but It IS the rlchest and most productlve A conslderable area IS devoted to agrlculture and the proouctxon of sugar cane and troplcal frults There are two towns on the lsland worthy of note Frederlcksted and Chrlstaxnsted These towns are bus1ness centres and very lmportant for thelr productlon of sugar St Thomas whlch hes nearest Porto R100 IS by far the most Important of the lslands for lts harbor fHClllt16S Charlott Amalle IS the most lmportant harbor of the whole group of lslands For years past It has been the centre of com merce and furnlshes a coallng statlon It also shelters many shlps from the hurrlcanes that frequent th s coast It has as a consequence nearly the whole of the populatlon of the Island centered about lt Over ten thousand of the twelve thousand of populatlon l1ve ln or near Amalle and over two thousand are engaged 1n agrlculture St Johns the smallest of the islands has an rea of nearly twenty one square miles and a population of about one thousand It dlffers from 1ts sisters ln that It has no facllxtx s for agrlculture and IS valuable only for ltS harbors The harbor IH Coral Bay IS sald to be one of the finest natural harbors 1n the lslands but It IS httle used at the present ture The lsl nds have all of the modern machlnery necessary for manufacturing and agrlcultural purposes The greater part of the populatlon IS negroes descendants of slaves freed ln elghteen hundred forty elght who speak the Ergllsh language I he natlves wear llttle ClOth1Hg as the cllmate IS troprcal throughout the year The fact that the lslands do a busxness much greater than one would suppose la shown ln the exports ard lmports The exports of St Thomas amourted to approximately twenty five thousand dollars and those of St Crolx to two hundred seventy five thousand dollars These conslsted chlefly of sugar troplcal frults wmes and tobacco The lslands are now flylng the Stars and Strmes and are under the rule of the Unlted States got erned at the present trme by James Oln er W R B 17 The Coward It was a tremendously hot afternoon ln the month of July when Kall Benson an overgrown freckle faced boy of slxt en sneaked down to the swlmmwng pool namely Trlanffle Creek and pe red thru the bushes S emg no one there he quickly strlpped off h1S clothes and runnlnfr out on th end of the plank made a perfect somersault dlve No sooner had he come to the surface than his arms shot out and he gllded ov er the water Wlth the grace and ease of an expert For about five mmutes he swam the plank for another d1ve But Just then somethlng happ ned for he stood as st1ll and alert as a fox when hldlng from the huntsman As the sound of shoutlng and laughlng reach ed hlm he sprang back from the plank pulled on hls clothes wlth the exception of h1s shoes and stocklngs whlch he took ln his hand and bounded back thru the bushes and out mto the open As he dashed across a nearby field great shouts arose from the boys who were Just start mg down over the bank There goes the yaller mutt shouted one who seemed to be leader and wlth that rocks and stlcks were drrected at th tleelng boy who was now runrnng wlth shoes and stocklngs In hand as tho l1fe depended upon hls gettmg away He soon reached home and golng 31 ourd the back way went up to hls room There he sat down to get hls breath and thlnk Yes he was a coward and he couldn t help It In splte of all the resolutlons he had made he could not over come that lmpulse to turn and ,. - L 2 1 ' - Lf 4 n , , A G - n , - D , . , 7 . 9 l V a . X , , . .,.... - . ' Y 1 ' .v 1 7 U 0 p . . - . D ,J , ' ' - - , ca ' 97 ' 1 - - 7 ' 7 o 1 - .e . e . . V, W C e . Q ll ' 77 ! 7 1 D A , I, .1 ' I . . . . , - , , splasned, dove and floated , then he came out on - , , 0 S a H r- ' ' ' . . . 5' 7 Q Y 1 7 7 . . . , .1 A . . Q . 1 . . . . N n , 77 ' . , . 0 . . . , . , . , I . . , . . . - e , - A . A 3 7 . . 1 -.A 1 F .N . . . f' . , . L - . y . ,' L - ' ' - 1 ' 7