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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 24, 1917)
’ 3"' MAY 8 The ChenrawaAmerican P r i n t e d a t C h e m a w a , O r e g o n , a n d D e v o t e d to t h e I n t e r e s t s o f I n d i a n E d u c a t i o n W e d n e s d a y , J a n u a r y 24, 1917 Vol. X IX H E W IL T E D W ilt tliou ta k e h e r for th y “ p a rti,” F o r b e tte r o r for worse, To have, to ho ld , to fondly g u a rd T ill h a u led off in th e hearse? W ilt thou le t h e r hav e h e r way, C onsult h e r m any w ishes, M ake th e fires up every day, A nd h e lp h e r w ith th e dishes? W ilt thou give h e r all H e r little purse will Buy h er a m onkey boa And a little sealskin th e stuff pack, and muff, sacque? W ilt thou com fort and S u p p o rt h e r fath er, m o th er, A unt Jem im a, U ncle Jo h n , T h irte e n siste rs a n d a brother? A nd his face grew pale an d b lan k . It was to la te to jilt, As tn ro u g li tn e chapel floor lie sank H e sadly said “ I w ilt.” O P P O R T U N I T IE S Did you ever h ear th e an c ien t legend of th e b eau ti ful you n g m aiden upon whom a fairy bestowed a bless ing, bidding her to pluck an ear of corn w hich had tal- ism anic v irtu es, th e virtu e to be in proportion to the size and beauty of th e ear g ath ered , and how the maiden started p lay in g and rejoicing th ro u g h the field, leaving m any fair ears beh in d , th in k in g she would g rasp better ones farth er on, until late in th e day she reached a part of the field w here the stalk s were th in n e r and the ears sm aller and not a perfect one am ong them , and at last at th e close of the day found herself at th e end of the field w ith o u t h av in g plucked an ear of any kind? T h e legend m akes us th in k th a t m any of o u r boys and girls are leaving unplu ck ed such ears of corn in th e shape of o p p o rtu n ities as th ey go th ro u g h school. At least it has been o u r experience th a t m any pupils seem to expect these o p p o rtu n ities to come around again and again. If th ey do not get th eir lessons perfectly, or if som ethin g m ore in terestin g takes th e ir atten tio n at the tim e they should be stu d y in g a lesson, they th in k they can m ake it up la ter or secure assistance from the in stru cto r. But perhaps the rig h t o p p o rtu n ity does not come and the lesson rem ains u n learn ed . You have the o p p o rtu n ity in a boarfling school like No. 15 C hem aw a of having v o u r in stru cto rs alw ays with you. T his circu m stance is a great advantage if used in the rig h t wav, but if used in the m anner ju st referred to it is a decided disadvantage. T h ere are many o p p o rtu n i ties com ing to you dav by day. Seize them as they come; do not wait for some big o p p o rtu n ity . T he chances are th a t th e little ones are big ones in disguise or th at you do not know the big ones when you see them . R ight now , under every condition, is th e tim e to take ad v an tag e of your o pportunities. W H A T IS SU C C E SS T h e A m erican has in previous issues m ade some effort in defining a successful life. It is an old tru th th a t riches or the accom plishm ent of some great task for w hich the world applauds you does not constitute success; but to some it may be new, and all of us need to have it laid before us once in a while. T h a t is w hy we p rin t the follow ing: Not long ago a firm in the E ast offered a prize for the best definition of success. T he prize was won bv a K ansas w om an, who gave this answ er: “ He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved m uch; who has gained the respect of in telligent men and the love of little children; who has filled his niche, has accom plished his task, who has left the world b etter than he found it, w hether by an im proved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul; who has never lacked appreciation of e a rth ’s beauty or failed to express it; who has alw ays looked for the best in o th ers and given th e best he had; whose life was an inspiration; w hose money was a b en e d ictio n .’’ T H E Q U E S T IO N M A R K P erh ap s all of you have heard of people going about w ith an interrogation m ark on th e ir faces. T his figure of speech is usually used in reference to persons who have a habit of p ry in g into other people's business, and in those cases the question m ark on th eir faces is a sad disfigurem ent. T h ere is another class of people who have an in- q firing tu rn of m ind who really “ want to k n o w ’’ for the sake of acquiring legitim ate inform ation. T h e boys and girls who ask questions about th in g s w hich they see and do not u n d erstan d —and we have m any such girls and boys at C h em aw a—are acq u irin g a fund of inform ation g reater than th a t which they are g e t tin g from books. It would be well if all ou r pupils would ask m ore of this kind of questions. C ultivate an in terro g ato ry attitu d e of m ind.
