Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1950-3-15, Page 31`�R9 Joh Wanted 8y ltiehard 1fill Wilkinson It was snowing when tiny started over the pas.. The filling station attendant at Jackson had warned him against it, but Guy had only smiled crookedly, ft was. early May and snowstorms a any con- sequence didn't happen in May, not even in the high country, Besides, the way he felt, it 'wouldn't make much difference if anything did happen to him. Nos even if he perished in the drifts or froze to death. Death would solve all his problems. It would be a relief from worry and hopelessness and bleak despair. Foolish though for a young mass 26 years old, But young men can sometimes become pretty wild and desperate in their thoughts. Guy remembered Mr. Moore's cynical smile. "Sorry, son, we haven't a place for you. Full up." "But not good reporters. I've had experience, Mr. Moore, I'm a good writer. I always scrape up a new.angle to a story that mattes interesting reading. Be- sides—" there was desperation in Guy's tone, because Mr. Moore had begun,shuffling papers on his desk, "When I wrote enquiring about a job, you said you'd be glad to talk to me." He had driven alt the way up from Denver -1,000 miles—because Mr. Moore had said he'd talk to him, It had taken nearly his last dollar to buy enough gas to make the trip. Now he had nothing left but the five-year-old car. Just about enough to get hint back home, from which he'd started out six mouths ago, bound and determined to land s. job on a newspaper. Toward noon, Guy understood why the filling station man had warned hint. The snow formed an impenetrable wall. The wind was rising and it was colder. Now he was stuck. Hours passed. Twice Guy had thought he heard someone call, The third time he roused up. Through the slanting curtain of snow, he saw $ figure floundering toward him. He got out. The man was nearly exhausted; his face frost bitten. Guy got him inside the car and turned on the heater full, speeding up the motor. Presently the man Be half carried, half dragged the woman up" to the shack, and left her there near the stove. looked at him, wild-eyed. "Hy wife! She's sick! 'We're stuck—up the road 1" Guy thought quickly. There was the shack, Apparently the man had passed it in the storm. It must be close by. At any rate, it was Their only chance! Afterward, Guy wondered how he'd found the shack, or what it was that kept him going when the desire to lie clown and sleep and forget everything was so strong. It was all like a dream—the way he'd stumbled against the shack itself, found the door, and fell in- side. He remembered that the wind and cold were shut out. Theta he remembered the sick woman, The place he'd found was a road camp. There was a stove and wood and a few cans of food on the shelf, He got a fire going and placed water on it to boil. 'Then he lunged out into the storm again, fought his way down the road and found, the stranger's car. He half Carried, half dragged the woman up to the shack and left her there, near the stove, while he went for the man. • The storm lasted two -days. it took another clay for a rescue party to get through. They took the three of thein down to Jackson and to a hospital, Guy was put into a room by himself and fed. Then he went to sleep. When he awoke, kir, Moore was standing by Inc bed, "Feeling bet. ter, son? Good! How about a story on your experiences? That man you saved was Senator Chinon!. "The lady wasn't his wife at all. See what I mean? You want a job and we want a story, because Ostrand is on the opposi- tion ticket, here's your chance, boy." Gay closed his eyes. Well, why not? he thought, After all,' a man has to live, has t6 look otit for him- self, Wily not? Why not? Theis ' thought kept pounding .5galnss his brain. Thai he opened Isis eyes. ".Sorry," he said. "Sorry, that ihn's the kind of a job I'm after," Eat 6 Pounds of Beef Every Day Forced by their brutal guards to drag themselves on and on . :Driven from Weir country by the merciless decree of a 111511 revelling iu his newly -found power. Remorse- lessly and savagely hounded for in- terminable months through danger- ous and infested jungle, over treach- erous mountain paths. liarefo rted and barebacked, kicked es they stumbled exhaustedly along by well - booted guards—„heroes” of a new regime. For hundreds of miles these piti- fttl, straggling, destitute exiles were driven to the border, Unable to use their hands to fend off the whippiuy brush of the jungle which flayed and tore their flesh to ribbons, or to push away the swarming clouds of fierce insects viciously biting them. Goaded on and on by the malicious guardsmen, the victims' faces and bare trunks—when fin- ally they had been drivenacross the frontier looked more !lice raw beef than anything human Their sufferings leave little to the imag- ination. For every mile of the long, tor- tuous, agoniing journey, every "tan had been compelled to use his hands to liold up Itis trousers, Their banishment had been the order of one c?f. J.,ati,5 America's most picturesque dictators, Ana- stasio Somoza—such a gentleman in his own palace, who scorned to treat his opponents as such. It was his National Guard, responsible for conducting the exiles to the frontier who had conceived .the finishing touch—that of removing the pris- oners' belts. This is -but one of the many gripping stories related by Willard Price in his book, "Tropic Adven- ture". His journey from Rio Grande to Patagonia, described fn fascinating -detail, is one that should delight every "armchair" voyager. Hitting the Panama Cartel Zone, the author met an extraordinary colour bar. In the early days of canal digging Americans were paid in American gold, the rest in the silver currency of Panama—an ad- roit way of drawing the colour line. All are now paid in the sante cur- rency, but the distinction is con- tinued. Zone stores and restaurants are marked either "Silver" or "Gold",'and woe betide the wearer of a dusky skin who ventures to enter a house of "Gold." Similarly, in a hotel there are two ladies' rooms—"Gold Ladies" and "Silver ,Ladies." Comfort stations must be eyed with care, for there are "Gold Men," "Gold Wooten, "Silver Men" "Silver Women." Under the words "Gold Only" on a drinking fountain, far from any other drinking place, a wag, either in anguish or amusement, has pen called the ironic legend: "Silvers get thirsty, too." More than likely the reader would regard the offer of unliisjted, free, fertile land as either- bristling with hidden snags or a colossal leg-pull, Yet the offer is genuine enough. Two-thirds of Colombia, a republic occupying the north-west sooner of the South American con- tinent, is empty. Land is given to anyone who wants it—fertile land on the Pacific coast—the only pro- viso being that the beneficiary must occupy and cultivate the land and give the government seven per cent of Its production, Tragic Slavery In the upland city of Arequipa we are confronted with the stark realism and tragedy of slavery. That 1s the lot of the Indian in Peru— men, , women and. children. The tragedy of a slave girl in a house- hold is a sad reflection in an age when "human rights" in the charter of so many responsible organiza- tions. Should the girl be unfortunate enough to bear a child—the respon- sibility for which invariably lies at the door of a "member of the house- hold—it will not -be allowed in the house, nor will the mother be re- leased from servitude to rear it Infanticide or adoption by an orph- anage is the heartless decision, OK, 'Fiends in a Different Setting—Last Autumn. we ran several pages of exclusive p:c.ures. showing scenes from a great many of Ontario's Fall Fairs Greatly enlarged copies of these pi:tures were one of the features at the recent Ploughmen's Convention arid the annual Con- vention of Ontario Agricultural Societies held at the King Edward Hotel Toronto. The above shows some of the pictures on display there, where they drew many favorable com- ments from the thousands of delega tes and their friends who saw then. • To a nun at an orphanage Wil- lard Price put the question: "But aren't such girls protected by law?'' "Yes," came the reply, "very well protected. But the laws are not en- forced." s. Leaving tragedy behind, we are taken tourist fashion to Santiago, thence to the large copper mining camp of Rancaqua, which is smoth- ered in May snow, Yet if any tennis enthusiasts there feel like a game, the fact that the courts lie buried under about twenty feet of snow doesn't deter them. They make light of sawing the snow into blocks, loading it in trucks and hauling it away before spinning for service, Now, Argentine—The Land of Plenty—looms in sight. This is the land that exports more chilled beef than any other—eighty-four per cent of the world's total, but a mere thirty-five per cent of what it produces --•the rest is eaten at home. Annually, Argentinians con- sume 300 lbs. per capita"; each capita represents a than. woman or child. Haitian Hat—Hibiscus blooms and turkey feathers are featur- ed on this oversize bonnet at the Haiti -Bicentennial Exposi- tion in.Port-au-Prince. ®ry 11' IiiII"1f111Il" 4i111 141111!Iiil PUTTY Harold Arnett STAMP FOR CONCRETE YOU CAN PRINTT 4, - DATE IN WET CONCRETE WORK WITH STAMP THAT USES OLD LICENSE PLMES NUMCMU RlYaaaaD �i� WITH RAISED NUMERALS, anw000 ton s i� CUT NUMBERS FROM PLATE AND NAIL TO WOOD BLOCK WITH ' REVERSE SIDS UP. US! WHITE LEAD PUTTY FOR OUTER I!DGC qF NUMBERS NAIL POLISH TRICK NAIL POLISH WILL PROTECT LEATHER WATCH STRAP FROM PERSPIRATION .APPLY TWICE, ALLOWING POLISH TO DRY BETWEEN APPLICATIONS. . "I-Iow touch do your mess eat?" asked Willard Price of an estancia owner. "Six pounds of beef a day for every man," was the answer, "meate and mate—the green tea made from the yerba mate—keeps them fit and well supplied in vita- mins." Mr. Price tells us that ""work- men in the street -paving gangs did not,open alunch pail at noon and take out a sandwich and a pickle. One of their number trundled from the nearest butcher shop a wheel- . barrow full of steaks. A charcoal fire was built on the kerb, or some- times in the metal wheelbarrow it- self, and the steaks broiled over it. Every man got a slab of beef as large as his face and twice as thick as his hands. Some put away two such portions. "It's not that workmen who pour asphalt or lay algarroba blocks draw princely salaries, but simply that a T-bone steak of such propor- tions costs only ten cents." Paraguay is the place for then who like to be made a fuss of. here males are at a premium— one to every five women—and all a fellow need do is "buy a bit of land, hang up his hammock, and lie down in it and wait, Pretty soon he'll have women fighting for the chance to plant his ground, build his (souse, and cook hie meals 1" We pause for a brief spell in our wanderings to hear the story told of a famous opera singer who, for a fat fee—paid in advance— promised to sing itt the Manaos Opera House- When the 'singer ar- rived in the Manaos he was in- formed that the operatic perform- ance had been cancelled; he was to sing at a concert instead. The artist was taken by car to a dark group of buildings in a forest, led in complete darkness along a path, through a small door and eventually on to a dimly-lit stage, He sensed there was a large audience, but could see nothing in the auditorium. No applause greeted his singing —he might, have been in a tomb. The concert over, he was taken back to his hotel. Puzzled .by hie experience, he learned the following day that. it . jest outside the city is one of the largest leper colonies in the world, That is where you sang, Senor." . When the traveller on the River Amazon boards a ship he dons pyjj-' auras and doesn't remove them until he reaches Isis destination, Pyjamas —and bare feet—are recognized ship attire. But when he goes to dinner he is expected to observe the proprieties—by slipping a coat over the' pyjama top! An American ventured to the table coatless, but in silly shirt and collar and tie. It waa an astounding breach of decency! The captain glared from the head of tits table, whispered a few words to a waiter, who hurried off to hie cabin. WIth- in a few minutes he returned and presented to the "Improper" Amerf- can a white -duck coat upon a salves'. The Atne'ican accepted the seat, bowed to the eaptein, end put la cal. That same evening the Americen appeared at dinner correctly garbed, Presently he signalled to the waiter, JITTER 4. whispered a few instructions and sent hint to his cabin. The waiter returned and presented to the cap- tain a small package upon a eat - ver. The surprised captain opened it, It contained a pair of socks! A thoroughly enjoyable book. —A,G.W. in Tit Bite Nipped The Duke — A crew- man of the battleship Texas holds "Pinky," the ship's tnas- „cot, after the little Cuban Chihuahua took a bite out of the Duke of Windsor's coat. The duke, visiting the ship while touring the Houston wa- terfront, said that his checker- ed coat was perhaps "a bit too noisy" for the pup. Is Thrift a Sin? "When. I was a boy it was con- sidered not only safe, but honor- able, to create an estate, so that almost all men of standing wished to add to their possessions, and felt a certain dignified honor in pros- pering; but now one must apologize for any .success in business as if It were the utter violation of the moral law, so that today, It is worse to seem to prosper than to be an open criminal. Criminal(' can get off with a small punishment or a pardon, but there is no escape for the prosperous, as they are doomed to utter destruction, You can find more men banished for their wealth than criminals pun- ished for their crimes." That was not written this morn- ing. Its author was Isocrates, the Athenian teacher who said this about 354 B.C. when Greece was sinking into the morass which led to collapse of that civilization. The people who are now clam- oring for Parliament to spend more and more on this and that might remember that history has many times demonstrated the disasters that befall nations and civilizations when recklessness and ignorance take control. Moose Hunting In British Columbia Our particular outing was planned for the 'opening day' for moose in British Columbia's eastern district. Jack and Bill, my two hunting partners, and I left Vancouver by car in order to arrive at our destin- ation—Golden, a town on the fam- ous Columbia River in the heart of the Canadian Rockies --the day before our hunt was to begin, writes Harold Denton in "London Call- ing" -- Our guide and outfitter met us at a previously designated apot, with horses and all equipment ready to go. We followed faint trails through some of the most gorgeous and awe-inspiring scenery it has ever been my pleasure to behold: towering, snow-capped peaks and rushing streams—the latter frequently emptying into peaceful mountain lakes of beauti- ful green -blue colouring. In one spot, our congenial guide and host pulled up his horse short, and motioned for us to do likewise. He took out his binoculars, and he pointed, and handed his glasses to me. There, right before our eyes, were two mountain sheep, fighting. Several ewes were nonchalantly grazing nearby, completely disin- terested in the whole affair. The rams, however, would retreat from twenty to forty feet, square off, and then, with lightning speed, charge head-on with a terrific im- pact that we could dimly hear. It was a sight to behold, and I will never forget it. A few miles fur- ther on, we suddenly came into a huge valley spread out for utiles in front of us: that was our destina- tion. Camp had already been made, and although we were sore in spots from riding, we began to 'smell' the moose, and hunting fever got us, Joe assured us that early morning was the best time to hunt moose. So, after examining the ground in the thickets and in the swamp itaal& for moose signs--ws saw alt !elide of evidence that they were there— we decided to head back to califs attd get a good long ndght'e rest, because our arrangements ware to rise at 3,30 ata the morning, have breakfast, and arrive hack at titin swamp just at daylight—which we did. Front a knoll on the edge of the swamp where we had surveyed thst area the day before, we decided be take our Brae took. Thera was no sign of a living thing—not eves: a bird, Jack was jtist going to say something, when Joe whispered, 'quiet'. Then he let out several short guttural coughs, and il('tenod. He repeated the performance. Their there was a alight crackling noise over to our left. Having a position fax to the right of the others, I was the first to 9ee them—a pair of huge antlers, fee bigger than any I had ever seen before, graciously moving along behind one of the willow clumps. Then the head showed, and, finally, the whole animal. Ile was a beauty, and not more than 150 yards away. My rifle was trained on hint, but tate excitement was so great and my breathing so hard that the guide said: "Take it easy . . aim for a spot just behind the sat.' 'I can't," T whispered, 'he's getting away.' Joe grunted, or coughed, or what- ever it was that he did before,, and the moose stopped, turned slightly, and I squeezed the trig- ger. He dropped right there. 'A. nice shot!' chorused Joe and Pete, Jack and Bill shook my hand, and, then we started to run down into the swamp. Joe cautioned us against this because once, he told us, Itch was gutting at noose and a large cow charged hitt. During the rut- ting, or mating, season, both guidee explained, you cannot truat theta at all; they arse dangerous creat- ures. On arriving at my trophy, it found him to be five or sin years old, with a spread of antlers meas- uring sixty -and -a -half inches. Al- together, Ltogether, during our week's stay 1.4 camp, we saw over thirty bails slid many cows, but not one was levant' than my trophy. New And Useful Makes Saving Fun "Bank -It" pinball machine en- courage& saving; conventional pin- ball machine, scores by numbered holes into which balls drop, but pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters col- lected in built-in savings bank. Game object :le highest score. 5' • * s Electric Spade Combination robot garden spade, rake, hoe and electric drill cute horticulture drudgery, says Englisft makers. Two parallel revolving rode press into earth, break soli: electrie powered, Home Charger Plugs in light socket, low -coat home are welder ale* charges stan- dard 6 -volt lead acid auto batteries. "Lincwelder 60" on circuit fused. foe 30 amp. keeps battery charged through winter, raises discharged unit to engine starting strength in 10 hours, claims maker. Seeitic Start= Sweeping elouds,frotn a picturesque formai mu over calm Miami Beach watet'a at is start of the seventeenth annual Lipton Cup Race. Phe 28 -mile contest was won by Ticonderoga, a 72 -foot keel' owned Iry Allen Carlisle. 50111 CAN'T' PAY POR YOUR MCAL, lit"' , nrrltai� 'Y7dt F/01, THE morn on 81101 Domes Ata.. wear, 8 Arthur Pointer