Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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OUT-DIRI2 45 for, notwithstanding our fears to the contrary, we had arrived early, and most of the Indians had not yet left their wigwams. However, the disappointment did not last, for an old, bent squaw, who had been sitting quietly under a tree doing nothing when we arrived, rose and slowly started towards us. She was dressed in the typical Indian costume, with a brilliant red and yellow blanket thrown about her shoulders, and a tan-colored beaded skirt reach- ing just above her ankles. Iiather hurried to meet her. to ask her to take us through the camp. She spoke very broken Iinglish, but we were soon able to understand that she would act as our guide for ten cents,-paid in ad- vancc. XYe then made our way through the little settlement of Indians, often poking our heads through the small low openings in the tept es. and, just as often, quickly drawing them out again! They were dirty and very close, and as a rule, smelled disagreeably of paint. Iior days the braves had been decorating their bod- ies with any sort of paint that they had been able to secure. Outside of one tent, hanging between two tall trees. was a small, queer ham- mock made of twigs, in which an old squaw rocked a papoose. In many tents beads were sold, and we were just buying a string of very commonplace ones from an old Indian, who had persuaded us that they were very odd, when we heard in the distance a deep, rather musical rumble. This, our guide told us, was the music of the tom-tom, a peculiar instru- ment much like our drum, on which the musi- cian beats with two sticks tipped at each end with a small ball. Since this was a signal for the Indians to assemble to begin the dance, we turned and hurried in the direction from which the strange sound was coming. For this stamp dance a larffe suace had been - C 1 b I L cleared and surrounded by logs. Later we tried sitting on these logs to rest, but we were immediately ordered by the chief himself to rise. as, he anfrrily explained, the logs were for old squaws only. At one end sat the musician, swaying to D the use of the of the clearing and fro in time to the slow music of his queer instrument: at the other end, almost one hun- dred young squaws were lined up in three rows. They were dressed mostly in blankets, with fringes, strings, and tassels of beads. They, also, were swaying from side to side with a slow, rhythmical movement, patting their feet softly on the ground, and advancing slow- ly, Indeed, they advanced so slowly that, though the dance lasted way into the night, they had only reached the other end of the clearing when it was over! just as we reached the scene of the dance all the braves rushed from their wigwams into the clearing, and then commenced to creep here and there, closely in- specting the ground. Suddenly, there was a yell. one of the braves, evidently, had found strange foot-prints on the damp earth. There was a hurried consultation around the huge tire and then all the Indians separated and ran into the forest. Later, having one by one re- turned and gathered around the fire, they held a long and earnest pow-wow. The warriors finally, apparently having come to a decision, all joined in their regular war dance. This was by far the longer and more interesting part of the performance. The Indians danced wildly. waving their arms in the air, stamping fiercely upon the earth, and never once ceasing to yell. .Xltogether it was a sight of which we seem- ed unable to tire. Ifor hours we walked about or sat still, sometimes trying to escape the rather dull, monotonous drumming of the tom- tom, at other times straining our ears to hear better this same music. when the musician him- self seemed to feel the wildness of the scene. and so played with a savage fierceness, as though he were trying to express his wild feel- ings through his music. Always we watched the peculiar, savage-like movements. and often tried to puzzle out the meaning of some action that seemed to cause especial attention. Later it was all explained to us. The dance represented a revival of the war between the pale-face and the savage. The Indians had been notitied by scouts that strange men had entered their country, and all the bravcs left their tents to look for some trace of them. Af- ter their search in the woods. they returned to their camp-fire, and having discussed the in- formation that they had been able to gather, they declared war on the pale-faces. Then en- sued the war-dance. NYC had a picnic tea in the woods. and then. although we had not at first intended to, wait- ed till the moon rose to start on our trip home. In the fiickering light of the fare, the Indians. against the dark background of trees, seemed more primeval and savage than ever, and so it was with a little shiver of fear, which we were unable to repress. that we took our departure from the camp. A. I... ao.

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44 OUT- DIRE the island, would see only a few hotels and sum- mer cottages clustered at one end. and at the other end. a line of hills, with here and there a few poles, covered with a network of wires, Stlg- gesting merely a wireless station. llut under- neath these innocent-lottking hills are the deadly cannon, for Fort XYright is built entirely under- ground, while behind them. in the harbor, are a number of long. black battleships. Shielded hy the tirst line of artificial hills are the parade grounds, the barracks, and the ofticers' quarters. The parade grounds present a marked contrast tu their surroundings, for they are sandy, hard, and dusty-looking, while on all sides are the fresh, green, cool hills. To the right of the grounds are the barracks. square red-brick buildings, with long porches stretching across the front. The officers' quarters are separate houses, on each side of a shady street, where the officers and their wives. for many are married men, live in a little village all their own. livery morning the summer hoarders are awak- ened at sunrise by the reveille, whose clear notes can be heard almost across the narrowest part tif the Sound. Then the fort suddenly be- comes alive. Subordinate otiticers in dark blue suits and the privates in khaki all stream towards the niess-halls. No black coffee and hard tack for these men. but fresh eggs. rich cream, and corn mutiins. due tu a nearby farm which also supplies the fort with fresh vegetables. Squads of men are then detailed to clean out the inner chambers of the fort, to oil the guns and other implements, and in general to prepare for the day's work. :Xt ten tiitxlticli, three days in the week, target practise is held. The tow-boats drag the targets. great, red, cone-shaped wooden HULIIS. which rise about twelve feet out of the water, a mile or a mile and a half out to sea. Then put- ting on full speed, they draw the targets past the fort. Men on the tops of the hills signal the dis- tance and the rate of speed of the boats to those at the lnittont, These signal lu the gunners, who, without even seeing their target, make the calcu- lations and tire the guns. .N terrilic report, which shakes all the window stnftl1Cl1L'iglllvti1'il1ghtrtlSes, is heard: mud flies in all directions, and a huge projectile whistles through the air. :Xlmost a minute after the report, the projectile strikes the water, and a geyser, from three hundred to four hundred feet high, shoots up near its target. But this kind uf practise is most expensive, for every time a sixteen inch diameter shell, one of the largest made in the United States, is shot, two hunrlrefl or three hundred dollars of Uovernment I I P5 money sinks to the bottom ot the seas, The afternoon is mainly given up to drills. The inspection officers gather in the stand at the end of the grounds. All along the street, facing the grounds, are the villagers, -the ofheers' wives and children, and the soldiers off duty. To keep these from crossing the grounds, or hindering the man- oeuvres of the soldiers, two sentries pass up and down, saluting their superiors as they pass before themf Then the band strikes up, and, with the band-master leading. the columns of soldiers go through their paces. Let a man lose his step, lower his gun too soon, bob his head, or commit any other breach of discipline, and he is instantly ordered to leave the lines. These clelinquents are often put to work cutting the grass, cleaning the streets, helping the gardeners. or smoking out the mosquitoes in the lower, swampy parts of the island. This is considered the worst kind of dis- grace, and the soldiers would much prefer so many hours' detention in the guard-house, or marching up and down, up and down, with heavy muskets on their shoulders. At six o'clock the sunset gun is tired as a signal for the end of the day's work. In the cool of the evening, the ofticers in white duck suits, attend the hops in the nearby hotels. and the pri- vates, in navy-blue uniforms, lounge on the porches, stroll along the beach. or have a gay time indoors, smoking or playing cards. lf we compare this peaceful scene with the tu- mult and the hardships of men on the other side of the ocean, how grateful we should be that our country is at peace, how uncomplainingly we should bear the trouble caused by the lack of im- ported goods and by the falling off in commerce. and especially how willing we should be to help relieve the sufferings of those who a1'e sick or wounded, who have no homes, and who are en- during all the evils caused by war. E. R. 't6. AN INDIAN STAMP DANCE. .Xll the way the hot, dry Oklahoma dust blew up into our faces, burning our eyes and parch- iitg our throats, while the old surrey rattled and shook, constantly bumping us up and down in a most uncomfortable manner, but we did not care, for we were on our way to see a real lndian stamp dance! Few white people were allowed to watch this dance, as the permission of the indian chief-a most careful savage- had to be gained, and this, as we had found, was no easy matter! But our party was well supplied with passports, and so, finally hav- ing come to the end of our journey, we had no trouble in entering the camp. Our Hrst feeling was one of disappointment. N

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46 QUT DIRE A SUNSET AT SEA. XX e had lieen tossing ahout on a rough sea all dav, lvut altout six o'clock it liecame very calm. ,,kr far as we could see there was scarce- lv a ripple. 'lihe air hecome crisp and cold and there was no wind stirring. is the sun low- ered. we saw a small hlack spot on the horizon. liol' a while we could not tell what it was. hut great was the excitement when it was found In he an ieehergl Meanwhile the low-hang- ing' clouds had lmecome crimson and gold. Une flame of red shot up into the sky making' every- thing' appear to he on tire, Even the boat no lly this frjl' sea, the Zllirl the we U the light fell upon it, it became a cloudy emerald green. Near this floating mass uf ice, two whales were playing. .Xt that distance they were merely lmlack ohjects that kept appear- ing and disappearing, lt was more interest- ing to watch a school of jellyfish, through which the ship had lieen plowing for an hour or more. 'lihe sailors caught some in a hueket caught and reflected the color, The 5621. longer dull, lmecame pink and orange. time we had come duite near the iceherg, three or four miles is a short distance at and it looked aliout four times the size of hom, It rinse In a point like a mountain, had many sharp pinnacles which caught sunlight and glistened like steel. XX'hen first saw it, it was grev and hlack. hut as SH that we might examine them more closely. These jellyfish were pale yellow and were shaped like stars. AX few of 1110 largest 112111 red markings which radiated from the center. iXt the sight of the icelrerg, the captain had turnezl the lvoat southward, and we seemed to 110 leav- ing the sun hehind us. Slowly, like a huge hall of tire, it sank lnelow the waves. 'lihough a glow remained over the sky, the water liecame so dark that we soon lost sight of the icelmerg completely. lil, li, '16, AN ADVENTURE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE. Une warm summer evening, while l was vis- iting' in Iilne llill, ten of us decided to make Z1 ll'l1r rrl L'XlllIJl'Zlll4Jll. lk L' lmiulq se-vergll stout sticks and a couple of lanterns with us, .Xfter a walk ot several miles we came in sight of a ramliling' old house surrounded by gr fleugg grove, through which a mislv moon gleanied faintly. lhe owls hooted from the treetops and frogs croaked from the marshes nearby, making it very dreary and desolate. By this time our busy tongues had ceased wagging and some of our courage had disappeared, but as we were determined to continue our quest, we approached the large old-fashioned Veranda with its worm-eaten pillars gleaming like mar- lile in the moonlight. Having timidly mounted the rickety steps, which squeaked at every move, we tried the door several times before it opened. As our courage was not quite sufficient for us to ex- plore. guided only hy a ray of moonlight which came through the vacant window frame, we lighted our lanterns and entered a dark, dreary and solemn hall. There were many holes in the lloor and the loose hoards squeaked loudly. liieht doors opened from this hall, seven of which we were successful in opening, but the eighth seemed to he locked on the inside. We divided into groups hefore exploring. lfive of us first visited a room which evidently had once been a fine lilvrary, as there were large hookeases containing' a numher of hooks that seemed to he very interesting, but which we found upon closer investigation to he far heyond our knowledge, XX'hile we were thus engaged, we heard an excited call from some- where further down the hall. XYe started in the direction of the sound, hut had reached only the lilirary door when our lantern went out. Xte fumhled ahout in the hall, which was very dark, and fell over every object that came in contact with our feet. fly the frequent exelamations, I judged that the others were also discovering that the floor was cluttered with a miscellaneous collection of old hottles, boxes and loose planks. .Xt last we came to a door through which a dim light glimmered. Upon entering the room the other five appeared to lie very much excited and interested by an old organ which, when the keys were struck, sereeehed and groaned like a soul in torment. ,lust as we were pocketing some pieces from the sheet of music for our memory hooks, we heard a key click and a door slowly open. This frightened us so much that we started for the hall, screaming att the top of our lungs. Xve got no further than the door, when our last lantern went out, and we were left in pitch darkness! Too terrified to move, we crouched in a huddled group in a corner. Soon light, tapping' footsteps were heard coming towards us, and in the ghostly moonlight two large ldack things were outlined. XVe screamed and elosed our eyes, clutching' each other vvith S