Alayna Jo
Escape from Alcatraz
On June 11, 1962, three Alcatraz prisoners escaped. As 36 others had tried, none had been successful, until this happened. For many months the prisoners chipped away the cement that contained them using spoons that were stolen from the cafeteria. Now they had done what no one thought was possible: Escape Alcatraz. They made a raft, and life jackets out of rain coats prior to the escape. This might not have worked well because of the quality of their raft (not store bought).
At 9:30 they put their fake heads on the beds and started the plan (they made these heads out of soap, toilet paper, and real hair). They crawled through the holes they dug and met on the roof. From there they got over the fence and onto their raft and started off. No one knows what happened during the time from when they launched, to the time they landed on Angel Island. Investigators believe the tides would have swept them away, but they might not have. Only the escapees know.
A month later, a freighter saw a body 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. It was wearing prison clothes. The body was NOT recovered, or identified. The mysterious part is the escapees were never seen again, but it makes sense not to want to be seen and reported. This provides information that they might have died, or they’re still hiding. More than 50 years later, it still remains a mystery.
People claim to have seen the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris, but none have been proved true. Whether they are still around and hiding, or they have died (which is likely because of age, they'd be in their 80’s) we may never know.
I think at least one survived the escape and maybe even two. To find out, we must continue investigating, and maybe we’ll find them. I firmly believe that we should keep the case open.
At 9:30 they put their fake heads on the beds and started the plan (they made these heads out of soap, toilet paper, and real hair). They crawled through the holes they dug and met on the roof. From there they got over the fence and onto their raft and started off. No one knows what happened during the time from when they launched, to the time they landed on Angel Island. Investigators believe the tides would have swept them away, but they might not have. Only the escapees know.
A month later, a freighter saw a body 15 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. It was wearing prison clothes. The body was NOT recovered, or identified. The mysterious part is the escapees were never seen again, but it makes sense not to want to be seen and reported. This provides information that they might have died, or they’re still hiding. More than 50 years later, it still remains a mystery.
People claim to have seen the Anglin brothers and Frank Morris, but none have been proved true. Whether they are still around and hiding, or they have died (which is likely because of age, they'd be in their 80’s) we may never know.
I think at least one survived the escape and maybe even two. To find out, we must continue investigating, and maybe we’ll find them. I firmly believe that we should keep the case open.
The Clue Case
One day in September, was perfect. The wind blowing casually through my hair on my evening walk. I went home just as the sun was setting, and settled down to read the evening paper. I was astounded to find what was on the front page. The rich man Mr. Boddy had died! The officials said that it was a work in progress, and that they were still investigating.
As a police investigator myself, I decided to go down and have a look around first thing the next morning. And that’s just what I did.
At 6:00 sharp I left the house and went down to the crime scene. The police were there and waiting, for I had phoned ahead I was coming.
“May I have a look around?” I asked.
“Certainly. We suspect that he may not have died of natural causes, but have been killed.”, answered the police chief.
I asked, “Why do you think that?”
“Well,” he replied, ” he had a bunch of guests and they all were acting weird the day he died.”
“I’ll certainly look into that,” I told him as I walked off.
As I entered the house I looked around, starting in the hall and working my way to the kitchen. Just as I was about to open the door, it opened. To my surprise, it was Colonel Mustard.
He informed me that indeed Mr. Boddy had been killed and had seen a revolver in Mr. Green’s room. I thanked him and went to Green’s room.
Just as the Colonel had said, there was a revolver in the clothes drawer hidden inside the suit jacket secret pocket. The revolver was fully loaded. I was wondering why a lawyer needed a gun, then the thought occurred to me that it might be planted, and why the Colonel knew about it. I came to the conclusion that either he planted it or he too was snooping.
I took the gun for evidence, and continued. I next I stopped in the library where I met the maid, Mrs.White. She told me that she had seen the professor in the study at a time that he wasn’t supposed to be there. I immediately jumped up and dashed to the study. To my surprise Professor Plum was there. He looked shocked to see me.
“Who are you?” he immediately said.
“That’s not important, what is: why you are in here at times you're not supposed to be.”
“All right, all right,” he said, “I heard that he had made an amazing discovery in his work, and I just had to know it.”
“Ahhh, that’s the secret.”
“Yes it is, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t kill Mr. Boddy. But I believe Mrs. White, used the knife from the kitchen to kill Mr.Boddy in the conservatory.”
I thanked him and went to the conservatory, where I found Mr.Green. We talked for a bit, and then I declared I was here to find Mr. Boddy’s killer. He finally admitted an accusation: he thought it was Miss Scarlet with the wrench in the dining room.
This case was beginning to give me a headache, so I went home to think. By now it was 5:00 and I needed to think, so I made dinner, and I went to bed.
Early the next morning, I went to the manor again where I ran into Mrs. Peacock. She immediately accused Plum of using the candlestick in the ballroom. I thought that it was odd how she immediately accused someone else and why she was so confident it was Plum. Maybe there’s a feud between them?
After a while I thought it was strange that I didn’t see Miss Scarlet. Then it all came to me. Scarlett did it. She took the wrench and hit Mr. Boddy on the head in the hall, and was hiding evidence in the other guests’ belongings. She was carefully avoiding me, and Colonel Mustard who had been looking for the answer as well. I finally told the Chief the conclusion, and he seemed happy with it. After that, he called it, “Case Closed!” Later, he asked how I cracked the case, and I said that I found the clues that never would have been found had I not talked with the guests. When I noticed Ms. Scarlet didn’t show up, it made sense that she did it and was hiding from me.
The Chief said, “Ahhhhh, yes! Another mystery solved by the great Detective Laker!”
As a police investigator myself, I decided to go down and have a look around first thing the next morning. And that’s just what I did.
At 6:00 sharp I left the house and went down to the crime scene. The police were there and waiting, for I had phoned ahead I was coming.
“May I have a look around?” I asked.
“Certainly. We suspect that he may not have died of natural causes, but have been killed.”, answered the police chief.
I asked, “Why do you think that?”
“Well,” he replied, ” he had a bunch of guests and they all were acting weird the day he died.”
“I’ll certainly look into that,” I told him as I walked off.
As I entered the house I looked around, starting in the hall and working my way to the kitchen. Just as I was about to open the door, it opened. To my surprise, it was Colonel Mustard.
He informed me that indeed Mr. Boddy had been killed and had seen a revolver in Mr. Green’s room. I thanked him and went to Green’s room.
Just as the Colonel had said, there was a revolver in the clothes drawer hidden inside the suit jacket secret pocket. The revolver was fully loaded. I was wondering why a lawyer needed a gun, then the thought occurred to me that it might be planted, and why the Colonel knew about it. I came to the conclusion that either he planted it or he too was snooping.
I took the gun for evidence, and continued. I next I stopped in the library where I met the maid, Mrs.White. She told me that she had seen the professor in the study at a time that he wasn’t supposed to be there. I immediately jumped up and dashed to the study. To my surprise Professor Plum was there. He looked shocked to see me.
“Who are you?” he immediately said.
“That’s not important, what is: why you are in here at times you're not supposed to be.”
“All right, all right,” he said, “I heard that he had made an amazing discovery in his work, and I just had to know it.”
“Ahhh, that’s the secret.”
“Yes it is, but to tell you the truth, I didn’t kill Mr. Boddy. But I believe Mrs. White, used the knife from the kitchen to kill Mr.Boddy in the conservatory.”
I thanked him and went to the conservatory, where I found Mr.Green. We talked for a bit, and then I declared I was here to find Mr. Boddy’s killer. He finally admitted an accusation: he thought it was Miss Scarlet with the wrench in the dining room.
This case was beginning to give me a headache, so I went home to think. By now it was 5:00 and I needed to think, so I made dinner, and I went to bed.
Early the next morning, I went to the manor again where I ran into Mrs. Peacock. She immediately accused Plum of using the candlestick in the ballroom. I thought that it was odd how she immediately accused someone else and why she was so confident it was Plum. Maybe there’s a feud between them?
After a while I thought it was strange that I didn’t see Miss Scarlet. Then it all came to me. Scarlett did it. She took the wrench and hit Mr. Boddy on the head in the hall, and was hiding evidence in the other guests’ belongings. She was carefully avoiding me, and Colonel Mustard who had been looking for the answer as well. I finally told the Chief the conclusion, and he seemed happy with it. After that, he called it, “Case Closed!” Later, he asked how I cracked the case, and I said that I found the clues that never would have been found had I not talked with the guests. When I noticed Ms. Scarlet didn’t show up, it made sense that she did it and was hiding from me.
The Chief said, “Ahhhhh, yes! Another mystery solved by the great Detective Laker!”
America Becomes a Nation
Back in the 1700’s, the Revolutionary War broke out. Britain and the colonists were close allies at first, but soon became enemies. After the French and Indian War, King George began to tax people for money in order to pay for troops, and debts. He enforced a rule that he would not let any of his colonists cross over the mountains to the land they had just won. People lost family and friends in the war and maybe they even fought in it, so they thought it unfair that they could not go to the new land they had fought for. More and more people crossed, but they were not protected by the King. This led to colonists wanting freedom and even to violence. The King kept putting more taxes and finally it got to the point where the Olive Branch Petition, a petition intended to avoid war with Britain, was made and sent to England. This was the colonists last attempt to settle the disagreements peacefully. However the King did not respond to the letter and the colonists became angry. All of Britain's troops were in the colonies. Finally, shortly after Paul Revere’s famous Midnight Ride, a shot was fired. No one knows who fired first. This started the Revolutionary War. It went on for seven long years and finally ended with an American victory. September 3, 1783 the Treaty of Paris was signed and American was officially a new nation.