Washougal High School - Kaiyawi Yearbook (Washougal, WA)

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ee e Qlfaunmnwh . . Qfff:---ee A We We-A Ifiter ,: 1 . f , 'wtf X f 'fa '5 1, I E? ,fs .s Y A 43 1 ! ? 5 EEL, an .3 Glllflllltllf bb! 'QMZZ N e 9 lag A 1107 R 5 15,7 .lg The Spectator It is an occasion ot' real pleasu1'e to me to tramp alone in the woods, or to skirt the secluded banks ofa mountain stream. This may surprise some of my friends, who perhaps have thought that because of my morose habits, I could take pleasure only in reading old books. Yet at times Nature has a call for meg there comes an indescribable longing to leave behind the material thoughts that surge one upon another in the datly routine, and I wanter away alone into the woods or open fields. Never have I been disappointed in finding a pleasant solace there, nor have I ever failed to discover some new sight or sound to delight me. To him who will search out her secrets, Nature is satisfying. She does not only steal away the sharpness of our darker hours, but exerts a soothing influence that goes with us for many days after we have visited her woodland haunts. My course on one ot' these solitary rambles of a warm afternoon in mid- autumn took me to a point on the Washougal River near the old swimming hole. The stream flows with an unwonted placidity here above the dam. The willows that line either bank are reflected in the still, clear water: and on this particular day great flcecy sails of clouds glided across the stream. The willows and shrubs were now in the bright tints of the declining year. Osso berries flamed yellow among the boulders and rocks, now overlaid by a mellctwing cover of wild tea and blackberry. There was a cooling shade beneath the shrubs on the south bank. Already the sun was well into the afternoon sky, ami to one who had 'heen walking in the heat of the day the quiet of the place was refreshing. An object in the water near the opposite bank attracted my attention almost immediately, as much because I had never seen such before as that, being an :tnimaite thing. It apparently took no notice ot' my approach. It was the drake of a small species of duck, which I have since been told is called a nmd-hen. This I could perhaps have believed. but for the total absentee of any mud in the vicinity. He was floating up and down near the willows, so utterly quiet as to seem a life'ess thing upon the water.

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mmomah is A l soon noticed two other ducks, apparently hens, farther down the stream. They were making their toilet, beating their wings upon the water, dipping their heads down to throw the water over themselves, and uttering now and then a satisfied quack, quack! I could not but be impressed with the thought that Nature, ever watchful, had these creatures in her keeping, Presently the hens ceased their preening and washing of feathers and started upstream. l made a stir among the shrubbery, to come out nearer the water's edge. Suddenly the drake uttered a cry so strange and unexpected that it startled me. The two hens dove down at the warning, not to reappear, for they seemed to have swam over beneath the low branches of the willows. The drake himself took no further concern. He glided slowly upstream as calmly as before. lt puzzled me why he had given the hens warning of danger, but seemed to take no notice himself. After several minutes, when he was well upstream, the same weird call was repeated. The hens immediately eame out t'rom their hiding place, to swim out to the middle of the stream, where they began diving for small trout. Appar- ently they were little disturbed by my intrusion upon their quiet solitude. R Soplfs Lament' Once upon a midnight dreary A Sophomore pondered, weak and weary, Over problems many another Had to toil upon beforeg As he worked there, nearly napping, Suddenly there came a tapping, As ol' someone gently rapping. ltapping at the chamber door, Merely this and nothing more. Ah, distinctly he remembered, How his soul had been dismemhered, As each separate unsolved problem Flashed before him, tinged with fore. Uh, how he did dread the morrow, Life was cheerless, all was sorrow. lfach sad day did only harrow His poor work-worn soul the more. XVould it last forevermore'? Presently his soul grew stronger. Hesitating then no longer, Open wide he lung the shutter, Help from Heaven to imploreg Hut behold! in stepped a raven, And the Soph., who was no craven, Asked that grim and ghastly raven From the night's Ptutonian shore: Raven, said he, some tomorrow