The Long Journey Home by Don Coldsmith

Author:Don Coldsmith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2011-07-07T04:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-EIGHT

The noon Cumberland Valley train drew to a stop at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on Friday, August 16, 1912, brakes squealing and her venting steam chest hissing. A cheering crowd of 15,000 greeted the travelers as they stepped down to the platform. There were students and townspeople and dignitaries, and banners proclaiming “Hail to Chief Thorpe,” “A Carlisle Indian,” and other slogans. The band was playing.

There were speeches of congratulation, led by Superintendent Friedman of the Carlisle Indian School.

“This is an occasion for congratulation. It is a national occasion. The things we celebrate here and the heroes we welcome to Carlisle concern the whole country … . We have here real Americans, known as Indians, but whose forefathers were on the reception committee which welcomed to this soil the famed first settlers who arrived on the Mayflower.

“We welcome you, James Thorpe, to this town and back to your school. You have covered yourself with glory … .”

The speeches went on for some time, and the excitement lingered even longer. It was a good day.

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