Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 42 text:

,to OUT- DIRE the ball with a pat and a kiss, for both he and his wife considered it his duty to be there as one of the leading' citizens. .Xs she watched the carriage roll down the drive into the dark- ness, ,Xunt llargaretta blinked hard. She was not too old lim be greatly disappointed. Xkhen she had shut the door on the cool spring night she went into the candle-lit drawing' room and. picking' up a book, resigned herself to a dull and lonely evening, In the meantime, the judge called for Lafay- ette and escorted him to the ball, XYhat a gorgeous spectacle it was! The ladies and gen- tlemen were dressed in the gayest of silks and satins, looking like a flock of brightly plttm- aged birds, and the hall itself was decorated with flowers and wreaths, .-Xt one end was the lirench Hag, and at the other, the new Ameri- can one. Lafayette, after paying his respects to the ladies present, asked the judge where Klrs. Iirown was, for he had expected to see her in the receiving line. I-Ier husband explain- ed that she felt that her conscience would not allow her to attend a dance. In that case, receive me at her said Lafayette, would she home The judge was by no means doubtful ' ' ' ' see Lafayette, and of his wifes willingness to so together they slipped away from the ball. Imagine the surprise and delight of .Xunt Margaretta when. a short time later, the bell tang and the Marquis de Lafayette was an- nounced! The three spent a long' evening' talk- ing' together, and, though the ball may have been delightful in spite of the absence of the guest of honor, I am sure that himself more than that same my aunt, and her husband. no one enjoyed guest of honor, gk. lx., IU OUR REALIZATION OF PROBLEM. THE INDIAN Last year, during the latter part of August, father, mother and I took a motor trip through New York state, As the weather was beauti- ful and the roads excellent, our trip proved to be a very lovely one. Hn either side of the road stretched miles and miles of well-tended vineyards, broken here and there by fields of wheat, corn, and buckwheat. Swarms of bees were buzzing in the fields and the sweet smell of the buckwheat was wztfted through the air. Ifinally this scene of abundance and wealth was changed. Un either side of the road now stretched fields, desolate and untilled. XYC were amazed at this sudden change and wondered why these acres and acres of good gTOL1HCl had been thus left, untilled. Soon we came to a lit- tle Indian village. Here we stopped a few minutes to study more carefully the pitiable sight which lay before us. It may well be called pitiable when one thinks, on the one hand, of the Indians of long ago, the cordial welcomers of our forefathers landing on this continent, and then, on the other hand, sees the Indian of to- day, deceived, robbed in commercial transactions, and gradually driven from home either by force or by treaties, which we must acknowledge to our shame, have been repeatedly disregarded. This village consisted of about ten wretched shanties, built side by side in a straight row. Their dilapidation was terrible, The windows, of which there were few, were mostly broken. leaned to one side and looked as if with one would tumble to pieces. be empty except for the In fact, the shanties so were so infirm, that it strong gust of wind' they Inside, they appeared to dirt and filth. The yards were filled with tin cans and rubbish heaps. The Indians. of whom there were about fifty. seemed to be in the same dreadful condition as their homes. The men were poorly clad in citizens' clothing, consumptive 1 the women, igno- rant, nntidy: the children, scrawny, sickly, dirty and half-naked. Their idleness and slothfulness was only too apparent. The men sat on the rickety doorsteps smoking their pipes, while the women stood, lazily talking or scolding their children, who were playing in the dirty yards with a few thin, hungry looking dogs. Except for the children there seemed to be practically no life in the village. When we had seen all that we wished to see, we returned to the machine and continued our journey. Soon we had left the Indian colony far behind and vineyards again stretched before our eyes. Ilut we could not forget the Indians and their wretched homes. How could we! :Xl- though twenty decades have passed since our civilization first reached this continent, hundreds -yes, thousands-of Indians are still living in ignorance and superstition. XYe now realized that this fact constitutes the Indian Problem. That the Indian is confused in mind as to his status and very much at sea as to our purpose toward him is not surprising. Treated as an enemy at first, overcome, driven from his lands, given by a treaty a distinct boundary which was never to be changed while water runs and grass grows, he later found himself pushed beyond that boundry, negotiated with, and then set down upon a reservation, half captive: half protege. XVhat could an Indian, simple thinking and di- S xfk..-aa-lail

Page 41 text:

OUT- DTRE 39 cycle it mentions Noah's wife, and states that she insisted on spinning and would not enter the ark. She disliked the shape, for she said she could not tell the front from the back! At last, as the tlood rises higher and higher, Noah picks her up, spinning wheel and all, and car- ries her to safety. The miracle plays were often given on page- ants. A pageant looked like a huge box on low wheels. This box was divided into two stories,-the lower one, enclosed by curtains, was used as a dressing room, and the upper one as a stage. The pageants were drawn through the town, stopping at each appointed place, and giving one play in the series. At each stopping place the townspeople gather- ed and could, by remaining in one spot, see the whole cycle from beginning to end. The cos- tumes of the actors were always in the latest English fashion, and the scenery was decided- ly crude. At almost the same time as the miracle plays came the Moralities. These were alle- gories, i. e., symbolic representations in which abstract qualities were personified. They showed every man's constant struggle with various temptations and evils. They were usually performed in courtyards, over which the balconies 'hung on three sides, leaving the fourth as a stage. One of the most famous plays of this kind is Everyman, in which the hero represents an ordinary human being, who is oppressed by earthly vanities. Gradually, humor began to enter more and more into these plays, until. the audience became more in- terested in the funny little evil spirits who hopped about and annoyed the hero, than in the good spirits who recited long religious moralizing speeches. About the middle of the sixteenth century, John Heywood introduced a new form of amusement called the Interlude. The Interludes were often performed between the courses of a banquet or immediately after it. They were short, comical plays, composed mostly of wit- ty conversations. Heywood's best-known work is 'KThe Four P's,,'-a dialogue between the Palmer, the Pardoner, the 'f'Poti- ti ti 'AP H Cary, an ie edlar. For a prize each man tries to tell the biggest lie. The Palmer wins, for his lie is that, in all his travels, he has never seen a woman out of patience! The only thing n-ow needed to make a regu- lar drama was the development of a plot and a cli-max. The first regular comedy, Ralph Roister Doisterf' was written by a Sql-10O1maS- ter and acted by his pupils. The plot turns on the importance of correct punctuation. l'oor Ralph, tricked by his friend, sent what he thought was a love letter to a fair widow. Sweet mistress whereas 1 love you nothing at all, Regarding your substance and riches chief of all, For your personage, beauty, demeanor and wit, f commend me unto you never a whit. Sorry to hear report of your good welfare. fly changing the punctuation to its correct position, we have what the hero reallv intend- ed to say: I Sweet mistress, whereas l love you: nothing at all Regarding your substance and riches: chief of all For your personage, beauty, demeanor and wit I commend me unto youi never a whit Sorry to hear report of your good welfare. The first English tragedy was Gorboduc or Ferrex and Porrexf' From this time on, drama developed in plot, characterization, and variety of subject matter. I. McC., '16. A VISIT FROM LAFAYETTE. fn 18.24, when Lafayette revisited the United States, he was to spend an evening in Frank- fort, Kentucky, The town was greatly ex- cited over this coming honor and eagerly set about to prepare his welcome. An entertain- ment committee was elected, consisting of the most prominent citizens. Among these was my great-great-aunt, Rfargaretta Brown, who was usually chosen for such duties because she was the wife of the judge. She was doubly pleased to find herself in this position. as Laf- ayette had been a friend of her own father. NYashington's army chaplain. and she herself knew him. But she heard with dismay that it was decided to hold a large ball in his honor, for, having been brought up in a strict Pres- byterian household, she felt that it would be wrong to go. However, preparations did not lag for want of her help. She did her best in decorating the city hall and in assisting with the refreshments. It was to be a delightful af- fair and Aunt Kfargaretta's part in the antici- pation made her wish to go more than ever. The day came only too rapidly, but every- thing was in readiness. At the appointed hour. even ,fudge flrown had been looked over and approved by his fond wife, and started oiif for

Page 43 text:

U U I l satan 4, I rect of mind, 'think of all this? For centuries the Indian has been our creditor. XVe have enriched our language and our literature with his words, his romance. his tragedy and his heroism. We have made ourselves his neighbors. Can we evade a neighbors obligation? The solution of this Indian I'roblem is edu- cation and that Christian education applied con- tinuously and persistently. There are in the United States, exclusive of Alaska, 330,639 Indians, according to the latest reports. Okla- homa leads with an Indian population of tt7,27.t. Delaware is last in the list, having but tive ac- cording to reports. Of course, many degrees or steps in civilization are represented. Some are barely removed from barbarismi others are highly civilizedi still others are on middle ground. Certain things must be done to help the Indian in the onward march of civilization, or he will be trampled under foot and left be- hind. In order that the general educational work may bring the greatest possible results, there are a few details yet to be worked out. In the first place, tribal life must vanish. In 1987 Congress passed a bill known as the Dawes Bill, which provided for allotment to individual Indians of Indian lands held in common. The independ- ence of individual ownership is absolutely essen- tial for the best development of any individual. In the second place, there must be an improve- ment of the Indian's health and home, Accord- ing to the Indian Bureau, about 25,000 Indians are suffering from tuberculosis. It is also esti- mated that more than 60,000 Indians in the United States are suffering from trachoma. Thousands of Indians live in mud lodges, tepees, or wikiups, while others live on dirt floors and under the most terrible unsanitary conditions. Therefore the improvement of the housing and homes of the Indians is one of the most impor- tant features of the work. In the third place the government must build and operate etiicient edu- cational institutions, The work of these schools is of the greatest importance in the uplift, edu- cation and Christianization of the Indians of this country. In the fourth and last place, the Indian must be conserved. Land, forests, and minerals must be preserved, but only for the development of all that is best in the owners of such property. Then Christian education must be given lirst place. Teachers are needed in the Indian Service, men and women with enthusiasm and with svm- pathy. It has been said that the true teacher is an inspirer, and teaches his pupils to want some- thing, This is what we must teach the Indian, to want something, Xte should control less and should help more l'atcrnalism must change to fraternalism, There are no means bv which an Indian can be made to do anything, but there are many means by which he can be led, Rl,lt.Kl.'1o. A DAY IN YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. liarly on Saturday morning nine coaches left l,ittle tieyscr Inn, planning to reach 4 Fld Faithful Inn the same evening. The sun had just risen on a day that promised to be beautiful and birds were everywhere singing their happy songs of greeting to the morning. .-X wooded hill rose on one side of the road and on the other side stretched green meadows, marked here and there by small, clear mtwuntain-streams. llefore us were the mountains themselves, their peaks white with the snows of many winters. In our coach were three young school teachers, who spent most of their time eating chocolates, and a young bride and husband, who were so in- tensely interested in each other that they certainly were not aware of the presence of any of the rest of us. There was also an elderly lady, evidently accustonied to having everything arranged for her own convenience, for she complained contin- ually of the thick white alkali dust which filled our eyes and throats. as if it lay in our power to get rid of it. My father, and mother, several gentlemen, and I, completed the party in our stage-coach. After riding for about three hours. our coach and the coach just behind us stopped at I.one Star tleyser. This geyser does not erupt at reg- ular intervals, but we had the very good fortune to see it in action. A great mass of boiling water shot up in a solitary column to a height of nearly two hundred feet. lt made a thundering roar and filled the air with a thick warm vapor. Then, al- niost as quickly as the water had risen, it fell back again into its cone-shaped basin. lVe had dropped several miles behind the other stages to see the Lone Star, so the drivers were urging their horses forward at their best speed in order to make up lost time. lYe were then driv- ing along a lonely stretch of road shut in on either side by deep forests. Suddenly our coach stopped with a jerk. A masked man, carrying a great revolver which he pointed at us, stepped in-to the stage and calmly said, l'lands Cp. Most of the passengers, thoroughly frightened. put their hands up without hesitation, but others