The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-26
philosopher though he be. Who
knows?
EFFECT OF READING ON YOUTH.

/
Some days before the Carson con-
test took place boy in New York,
who wanted to see it. stole a railroad
ticket to go to Nevada. He was ar
rested and explained how he came to
commit the theft. The incident was
seized upon by a leading New York
paper for the purpose of showing the
evil effects of newspaper accounts of
what was daily transpiring at Carson,
and pointing a moral. Heaven forbid
that we should say aught against
pointing a moral; on the contrary
whenever a moral is pointed we would
have everybody stop and regard it for
at least a few moments. But news
paper accounts of fistic encounters are
not the only things published that fire
the imagination of youth and at times
lead them to do those things they
should not do. The study of American
history occasionally has the effect to
fire youths imagination until youth
emulates some of the deeds of which
they have been reading. Such case
occurred near Poughkeepsie, N. Y, the
other day. The children had been
reading about the deeds of the Indians
and how they tortured people at times.
The story of the effect of the history
of the sufferings of the early settlers
and the doings of the Indians is tolN
in a special telegram to the Pittsburg
Dispatch:
Willie Terpening and Allie Bergen
object lesson in American history,
which their youthful schoolmates had
sought to furnish. Willie is 10 years
old and Allie is about a year younger.
They are pupils in the primary grade
of the free school at Staatsburg.
On Friday morning the class in Unit
ed States history had an unusually in
tere--rg lesson. 1t was all about the
hardships of the early settlers of the
western country, and of the massacres
by Indians. During the noon recess
the boys gathered in the school yard
and related to the younger ones the
exciting events that had been told
about in the history class.
Willie and Allie listened with open
mouthed wonder and when party
started for the woods, which lie west
of the schoolhouse, they followed,
listening with deep interest to the In
dian stories that Cecil Horn, Ernest
Gilmore, Frank McWarney and John
McWarney, who composed the party,
were exchanging.
Say, fellows, I'll tell you what:
let's play Indian" said one, as they
reached the woods.
Good" exclaimed another. I'll tell
you what we'll do. Let's burn some
body at the stake, just like Indians
used to do in those school books
Wouldn't it be dangerous?" asked
Frank McWarney. Besides, whom
will be burn?"
why, here's two kids who won't OBJ
ject,' retorted the first speaker. Hold
fast to them, fellows. while 1 go and
get a rope"
The boys seized young Turpening
and Bergen and held them until two
girls skipping ropes had been brought
from the schoolhouse. Then the two
youngsters were bound with their
backs to a tree. They cried for help,
but they were too far within the
woods for their cries to be heard.
Their captors next gathered up dry
leaves and brush, which they piled in
circle around the tree, and then ap-
piled a match. The four young stu
dents of Indian history INDUCED in a
brief war dance and then ran as fast
as their legs would carry them out of
the woods.
The timidity of Frank McWarney,
who had first spoken against the pro-
posed pastime and whose thirst for
this kind of sport did not quite rise to
the level of his schoolfnates, operated
to save little Willie and Allie from
possible death. His conscience smote
him, and, turning about, he hurried
back to liberate the victims. He got
there just as Turpening succeeded in
freeing himself. The flames had crept
dangerously near to the Bergen boy
and were singing his knickerbockers.
The lad was in paroXysm of fright
and powerless to help himself as Nc
Warney cut the ropes and dragged
him away from the fire.
Fortunately the little boys were not
injured, though they had very mar
row escape.
Here is a case where the teaching
of United States history was every bit
as bad in its effect upon children as
reading about the Carson contest wa
in the case of the lad who stole the
ticket to go to Carson and about whom
so many were terribly shocked and
drew such long morals. If there is
any moral to this it is that drawing
morals is a game at which two can
play.