"GO EAST, OLD MAN"
(Continued )

-and here we're going to stay". I can
see no other reason for the location of
many of the prairie towns. Later some
were joined up by a rail-road and those
that were missed either moved to the
lifestream or choked from their own ob-
stinacy. It might be well at this time
to describe a prairie town, It is an
elevator surrounded on all sides,ezcept
three, by buildings. It consists of a
main drag and then nothing. They are
nothing of themselves but are the cen-
tres around which revolve the great in-
termeshing cogs of the farm and ranch
industries.

It would be gross cruelty to gloss
over superficially the courage that
built the prairie towns and that still
supports them.

We passed at one time a modern ver-
sion of the prairie schooner, drawn by
horses and with a small herd driven be-
hind, heading for “the Peace". The
traveler experienced a feeling of rev-
erence for these modern pioneers going
up into a new country with hope and
courage, and his waved hand was a bene=
diction, He visioned the first settlers
beset by Indians, prairie fires, cold,
blight, heat, drought. He saw tragedy
sweetened by bravery. Mentally he lifte
ed his hat.

“Bang - you're dead!" This, whooped
in the ear,brought oyr artist traveller
out of his dreams, Twelve children (a
record for that line we hope) had or-
ganized a scalping party. Eleven of
them played Indians and one, too young
to protest, became a whole settlement
of whites and was slaughtered by the
thousands until he (or she) went to
sleep in self-defence, Theeleven tribes
then held a pow-wow and viewed with gli
stening eyes the weary traveller. It was
with considerable relief that he heard
his station announced and he jumped off
with the feeling that he had escaped a
tribal massacre.

THIS DIATRIBE WILL BE CONTINUED, WE
EXPECT,IN OUR NEXT ISSUE, WITH A STORY
OF “SUNBURNT SKETCHES" "SOME COWS I
HAVE KNOWN" “DRAWING THE BULL BY THE
HORNS" and “SKETCHES OF SOCIAL -CREDIT
SCENERY" by "THE VISITING ARTIST",

ALPHA GAMMA DELTA (Continued)

It was a stroke of genius, I had sur-
prised even myself, An electric sil-
ence quivered in the air broken only
by the clock. One- two- three- four.
Would it never come? Then as from one
men the mighty cheer blasted forth,
deafening - a royal tribute to the pow-
ers of eloquence, I HAD TRIUMPHED!

I was taking out my handkerchief to
mop my streaming brow when the door op=
ened and a feminine voice piped "What's
going on here - for Pete's sake, what
is all the noise about? The Prize
Snooper, Cora Coid, busting in again!
"No women allowed at these meetings,
Cora, close the door behind you please,’
I grated. "But you might at least tell
me why you boys are kickingup this din?”
she parried. I frowned and marvelled
at my own powers of endurance. "Briefly
this is a pep talk, I was telling the
boys what kind of article to write for
the Christmas Palette, something ---- "
"Yes, I know, something helpful and
newsy. Christmas gift
f'rinstance."” She interrupted.

It was the debacle. I bowed my head
in resignation -- what more could man
do? She chirruped herself gaily out of
the room while there was a hurried
scramble for pens and paper. Gift sug-
gestions it would be! There was some+
thing mocking ond‘ sinister in the
scratching of those pens.

Hours later, amid the welter of ink
paper and overturned desks I wandered -
The War of 1812..,.,Waterloo..... quis
custodiet ipsos custodes" ...+..."et tu
Brute!"

NOTE: The Editor regrets to announce
that owing to a page of gift suggest
ions being submitted a day after the
publication of the Palette we are un-
able to include it in this issue.

10

suggestions,