The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1907-05-02
LOOKING BACK.
WARD AN ESSAY

10, 2OO7.
1t is one OF the greatest pleasures |
enjoy to look backward over the day
OF my life in the Barrett public
schools.
Ii my memory serves me correctly
just 100 years h I've flown into eterni-
ty. In my fancy can hear the old
school bell calling us into line, and
can see our professor standing in the
hall bidding us welcome as We file pas
him to our respective rooms.
AS have been isolated from thu
affairs of the world during the last
few years, have not kept abreast OF
the .wonderfol changes t1at have been
taking place. When | glance back
over the past, filed with the wonder
ful achievements of men and women,
am reminded of the first message
sent by telegraph-"Wh hath God
wrought" Number 1923.
lime forbids that | mention all of
my schoolmates hence | will callt
your attention to those only, with
whom | was most intimately sssoci-
ated.
Soon after graduating Earl Thomp-
son, the natural genius of the school,
completed On aiIship. This had, with
out success for any years, been an ex-
pertinent, but Earl's experiment
proved to be successful. Travel to
distant and unknown parts of the
world was SO simple that in few
years no part of it was left unexplor-
ed.
|, being a classmate of Earl, pro-
cured one of these ships at normal
figure and equipped it for voyage to
the north and soutb poles.
After many years of wandering In
these desolste regions, | concluded to
turn to South America. There trav-
eled many more years. My ship was
so perfect that with little effort |
could lower it to the ground, rest for
a time, get provisions, reembark and
sail again.
One very wsrm day in June came
down to the earth by the side of
great forest near the Amazon river,
and In this forest there were all kinds
OF birds. Among them l noticed one
that resembled parrot, and observed
that it kept up continual chatter.
Finally heard it say what seemed to
me to be "Barrett. listened and
it repeated the same word over and
over many times. Once it seemed to
say "Barrett public school," had
not heard this tor so long time |
was perfectly amazed, and repeated
the word after 1t. barrett, Barrett,
Barrett public school.
The bird came to me directly and l
deceived that i, could talk, SO | be-
gan asking questions. In our chat i
learned that It was one of the stu
dents OF the Barrett public school. l
never had believed in the transmigra-
tion of the soul, tut here | began to
wonder how this could be anything
else. How could | account for this in
any other way than that some one
from Barrett public school bad died
and the departed spirit had taken up
its abode in this bird of the Amazon
forest. At last it disclosed to me that
it had been a spirit for many, many
wears. and had been travelling in un-
limited space which was all very we'll,
but to the popularity of the individ-
uaI makeup of its nature, this was
not the ideal life for it, and that it
preferred to be being that had the
bower to chatter and scream, came
from the fact that the bird was the
abode departed spirit OF Earl Moses.
Ea1l told me to hasten back to Bar
rett and see there the wonderful ad
yancement that had taken place. lie
said there | would find many things
to convince me of the truth OF the
transmigration OF the soul and that 1t
had all come from the teachings OF
Miss Wilson.
[ was so anxious to see and know
the wonderful facts that | Immediate
ly embarked in my ship and in few
hours | was sailing up to the place
had known rs Barrett, but how chang
ed, Nothing was natural. The soul
of the old public school had been
transmigrated and housed in mag
nifieent high school, supporting sew
eral chairs. 3
Among these found the chair of
embaiming-this is hardly an appro-
pirate tenn, but such will call 1T for
want of better name. OF course |
had been travelling and had not kept
up with the procession.
AT the head of this department,
whom should / find but our wise and
timid William Alexander Davidson.
Never after reading Poe's wonderful
tale. "a Few Words With Mummy"
did Willie rest until he had complet
ed a method of reviving mummies,
and the science that treats OF living
on the installment plan which he had
learned from the Egyptian mummy
that was so wonderfully revived after
having been embalmed for seven hun
dred wears. The process OF enbalm-
inc employed by DR.. William David
son is almost the same as that prac-
ticed by the Egyptians, but now the
process has been much improved by
the former. 1t is too long to be given
here. but IL you would. know OF lts
wonderful properties and benefits you
may call at the mummy shelves,
The first subject on which the doc
Tor practised was his schoolmate,
Kenneth Shoemaker. The process IL
something like this. The body is GOV.
cred very thick with coating Of
brown sugar taffy, mixed with Gin
namon and spice OF cloves etc. The
body is then wrapped as the mummle'
we're and put away in the cases til
the time desired to revive them, theE
current OF electricity or something
O; the kind is used foi that particular
purpose. After this proved such
grand success nearly every one II
Jarrett took advantage of the install
ment plan, especially the pupils ant
teachers OF the public schools. -.
The first | will mention was Mis
Wilson. She went into a mutua
agreement with Arthur Moses tha
she would get cased as mummy 10
10 wears and then he would be just Lit
lie older than she, then he bad he
rev we'd and they we're married.
Miss Rush is the same old maid a
of old. She has been living on the In
stallment plan and has never married
from the fact that she left her fello'
hanging on the door knob one coll
night and he froze to death. She ha
never ceased to mourn her loss.