Towson University - Tower Echoes Yearbook (Towson, MD)

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Cows OI' Cars l-IERE are more things accomplished by prayer than this world dreams of, but did you ever stop and think about what can be accomplished by a cow? They supply milk for the world, but this cow in particular caused the starting of the steam locomotive on the first rails of the Baltimore and Ohio. On a certain sunny morning in September, Farmer Jim Brown turned his pretty cow out into the pasture, never dreaming what a revolution she would eventually cause. As for Bessie, she calmly chewed her cud, ate a little grass, saw a break in the fence, and walked out. Somehow the grass near the railroad tracks seemed' sweeter than any other, so there Bessie established herself. Early on the same morning the Treadmill Car started out from Baltimore City for the daily run to Ellicott Mills. The horse was established in its place, the driver took his seat, and the twelve pas- sengers climbed up the high steps to the coach. The ladies made quite a flurry about their long, trailing skirts, as ladies have done ever since they wore ,such things, but with the help of the four gentle- men present, were finally fixed comfortably. There was a waving of handkerchiefs, a calling of goodbyes, and the Treadmill Car, the latest and most efficient device for motive power, started on its long journey. As the car scraped over the streets and into the open country the passengers looked around them with a bored air, which every traveler assumes when he wishes a fellow traveler to think he is used to travel. Each one furtively eyed his next door neighbor, to try to determine his disposition and occupation. The occupation of the dozen occupants must have been varied, to judge by their dress. One meek little gray lady, with a large bli:-lc bag and a green straw reticule, could be no other than agseamstress. A thin old gentleman, wearing glasses and a topped hat, and carrying three large volumes, must have been a professor or teacher in one of the Baltimore schools. There was a Sister of Mercy, a Methodist minister, indeed, a fairly representative bunch, but the most interest- ing members of the party were a young lady and a young gentleman. A 13

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12 THE TOWER LIGHT all ready to put up. The boys are going to do that this week in their class. , I guess I have told you about all I can about the things I have to work with. At first, I was most discouraged, for I just could not get accustomed to the backwardness of the children. The little tots nearly drove me mad, for they didn't know a word of English. Now, I am enjoying the work with the older ones. We exchange words once in a while, and I am getting quite a Spanish vocabulary. I cannot roll my r's correctly, and the children have lots of fun when I practice saying their words. They are very well-behaved, but I really prefer Americans. If I had an American class. we could really accomplish something this year. One of the state supervisors told' me that only those teachers who had been raised on the misquite meat of Arizona should teach here. I agree with him heartily, but I didn't tell him so, for I didn't know what misquite meat was, at that time. I have since learned that it is the bean that grows on the misquite tree, one of the native shrubs of Arizona. We are going to have the Southern Arizona T eachers' Institute right here in Nogales on October 14th. The teachers will have a banquet and dance across the line. Most all of the parties around here are held in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Can you guess why? Taking everything into consideration, I am enjoying my experi- ence immensely. This country is rather desolate, but everyone has a good time. The Mexicans live in little adobe huts, in a most crude fashion, but it all fits in with the colorings around. The sunsets are glorious, and I'll not even mention the moonlight nights. You must come out sometime. Your fortunate sister, SARAH. g Ei :'g.!j1 - I: . ,gui V2 Z Q.,

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14 THE TOWER LIGHT The young lady was interesting because she was pretty, in a sweet, blonde fashion, and because she had been looked upon enviously by the seamstress and other elderly members of her sex, admiringly by the older men, and adoringly by the young man. He had seen her before on Baltimore Street early in the morning, and his admiration had blossomed into an alarming state. He was interesting because, in his turn, he was good-looking, and the only young man in the party. It was such a beautiful, sunny morning, and spirits ran so high, that soon the members of the party were engaged in a lively conver- sation. It veered from the weather, to crops, to the scenery, and finally to the more personal items of their journey. The seamstress was going to make an outfit for a rich old lady in Ellicott Mills, the professor to visit his sister, and the young lady to teach school. But the young man had the most interesting journey, for he carried a letter from Mr. William Brown, in Baltimore, to a prominent lawyer in Ellico-tt Mills. The letter asked the lawyer to use his influence with his clients in that city to consent to the trial of anew device, the steam engine, on the track from Baltimore to Ellicott Mills. Of course this started a discussion immediately. The plump little Sister of Mercy shook her head, and said that steam-engines were an invention of the Evil One. She even withdrew her skirts a little from the one who went on such an ungodly mission. The Methodist minister cleared his throat, and started in for a long oration, but the young teacher saw his intention, and quickly launched into a warm defense of the new invention. Engines had been proved successful in steamboats, she said, why wouldn't they be as good on land? At least the passengers would'n't drown. The little spinster blew her nose and looked distressed at the idea of a woman expressing her- self so freely. The young man, whose name they had found to be john Morris, threw the pretty little teacher a glance of gratitude. The car scraped on over rolling hills and green levels, where pretty brooks meandered through fields, and red and white cows browsed in the pasture. The passengers grew a little quieter after their excited' conversation. Mary Robbins, the school teacher, looked at the scenery and thought what a nice young man John Morris was, and john Morris looked at Mary Robbins and thought about how lovely she was, and what a nice wife she would make if she were brought around to his way of thinking. The car lumbered along, but somehow it didn't seem to travel as well as it did before. It jerked, stopped, started and jerked again.