t NDIthDS of thousands of Boy Scouts
of AnioriQfi tills summer and full have
enjoyed their camps all over the coun
try. They had wonderful experiences
and some of those will he remembered
all their lives. For tile time these boys
forgot till about cities and civilization
• i
in the joys «>f swimming, boating, mountnln
eliuibing and athletics of ail kinds. Instruc
tion in scouting was, of course, mingled with
these sports. At nil of these camps tin* scouts
had a good time while gaining in health, self
reliance and everything that helps to prepare them
tor the unselfish patriotic service which is the
heroic dream of every true scout in khaki.
How far can the summer camp serve the ambi
tious scout who wishes to advance in his tests?
I low can the routine work of the camp he made
an interesting matter of service to the camp
community7 tin the trail of these and many re
lated questions, several hundred camp directors
are working. It is clear that the best way to
each camping is to let the hoy actually camp. The
prestYice or proximity of an experienced camper
will help him to learn the best way more readily,
and with less hazard, hut the way itself is that of
the apprentice rather than the honk student. The
habit of self-reliance and of common sense can
lies! tic developed in a camp where instruction Is
combined with hours and days that throw the
hoys <m their own resources.
Must Not Be Foolhardy.
U ■ (watt'd warning' art* being sent out tty Scout
iixc. utive Hcorge \V. Elder of Pittsburgh. l’a., to
scout' undertaking life saving not to venture on
foolhardy ventures, nor to make useless sacrifices,
'eon's t:re likely unnecessarily to endanger their
■mn lives, it must he made elear to the scout
that every person must he well able to swim if he
would save others from drowning. No one will he
considered n coward who is not utile to swim and
who refuses to go to the aid of another in danger.
Mr. Elder advises that every scout in the troop lie
made a swimmer.
It is directed that each troop in camping whore
there is water enough to practice rightly, he di
vided into victims and rescuers. The hoys must
he taught to practice on each other the various
“grasps" for carrying a person through the water.
I ".special practice should ho emphasized for break
-ng the “strangle hold." If tilt' hoys learn quickly
they will he ready for the lesson in resuscitation.
What a variety of experiences these scouts had!
The camp of the scouts from North Dana. Mass.,
v s on Lake Nesseponseit. Near this lake Daniel
Sha's encamped with i-MHO men in the famous
Shu vs’ rebellion of 17Mi,S7. so that it is historic
,,;t Here also once lived the notorious (Hazier
Wheeler, a counterfeiter, and here lie had a cave
v hero he turned out spurious coin.
\Vh:;t upon further exploration may develop into
one til the wonder caves o! Arkansas was disco.
orod neat' tihmvnod by hoy scouts. It is h gh up
(ho rocky face of the Burnham Mountain elifl".
The entrance is small, hut opens Into an immense
room, from which a lisMire cxlends downward t*>
i series of spacious chambers. The Arsenic caves,
'_‘o miles west, and the cave on Markham mountain,
jjVC md.s northwest, have long been points of in
- crest for visitors, hut this seems to lie the mother
cavern of them ail.
Dortv scouts froi i Salt take City made tIn*
trip u» Wonder mountain. The trail leads up Provo
canyon, under forests of aspens, along rugged
precipices, skirting along clear mountain streams
,, d through miles of alpine flowers. Camp was
made at Emerald lake, which is covered with ice.
Camps at Squaw Po nt.
\ troop from New York city camped at Squaw
point on the Hudson river. The experience to be
remembered the longest was the trip that T. .1.
\nderson, a local school teacher, took with the
troop on a dark night. The tra.. up a hill.
through a swamp in a woods, in the field, over
Avails*through bushes, and at last they came to
some’ old wine cellars. Mr. Anderson then put
out the onlv light they had. Chost stories calcu
lated to make them brave in the dark and initia
iion into a mystic tribe followed up to midnigh'.
I ho troop has some very good evidence of Indian
activities in the shape of Indian relics, such as do
arrowheads, ten spearheads, one Indian hoe. one
meal grinder, lei. Indian sinkers. 13 tomahawks,
several pieces of Hint, and an Indian's skull in
verv good condition.
Bov scouts, digging into a large mound neat
Park River N. D.. unearthed the skulls and the
skeletons of three Indians, who must have been
hurled there long ago. ns the mound was there
when the earliest pioneers came to that section
of the State It Is believed that further excavating
will yield some Interesting relics of aboriginal
Indian days. , .
Scout Morgan Coyte of Troop No. > *■" Scot
<icorge Petrie of Troop No. ... both of Ktdgeftel.l
Bark. N. J., pitched their tent near New Bridge
:«!«>nir (In* 1 Inokensaek river. Having satisfied
their appetites the scouts “turned In” for the night.
Scout Hoy to on nwakening saw opposite his face
a small, thick handle, a coil. Very quickly he
realized that it was a venomous snake of the
copperhead variety, and instinctively he thrust
his arm upward to protect his head and neck. He
had not done so too quickly, however, for ttie
reptile had sprung forward, burying its fangs
deep into the protecting arm, withdrawing us
quickly and wriggling oft into the shrubbery along
the river hunk.
Young Coyte awakened his companion and they
improvised a tourniquet from his handkerchief tint!
a small sti-'k. Realizing that the wound was not
(lowing freely enough lie cut into and around the
bite until if hied profusely. Emptying the contents
of a cartridge into the break in bis flesh, he ap
plied llntne to the powder and withstood the tem
porary pain. It was later determined that he had
successful!} offset the possibility of a fatal result
through his commendable presence of mind. He
laid burnt : 11 trace of poison completely from iiis
arm and in a few days was again back at Ids Job.
none the worse for his experience.
It is a principle of the boy scout movement to
avoid secret ceremonies and Initiations. Iiigh
tens.oned initiations tire dangerous to boys in the
adolescent stag''. The virtues of the ceremony
carri-'d out. however, by the scout council for
In iawaie and Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania,
are so obvious, its thrills so real mid yet reason
able. that it can readily lie used.
Their camp site was occupied many years
ago b\ tin* I'nami tribe of Indians. This tribe
had an Initiation ceremony for its young men
which has horn preserved up to the present day.
Scouts who haw taken camp honors by doing a
spocit'.cd amount of work in scout craft are given
tills initiation under tin* direction of It. Harring
ton and Alotison Skinner of the Institute of Amer
ican Indians of New York. The ceremonies are
perforim d b\ Amos Owrond. a Sioux Indian con
nected with the institute. They tire described as
follows:
Ceremonies of Initiation.
'The ceremonies should begin before dusk and.
with the fasting, etc., should last about 20 hours.
'The first thing before beginning the ceremony is
to make an Indian “sweat house" for purification,
then to build a large fire some distance east of its
entrance and to heat. 12 stones varying from the
size of a coconut to that of a man's skull. Two
forked green sticks should be provided to roll the
hot stones Into the sweat house; also two large
earthen jars of witter should he placed at the
back of the sweat house opposite the door, to
gether with about a peck of cedar twigs about
N inches long. When all is ready the chief,
wearing only a breech,loth. stands at the door of
tlie sweat house anti addresses tin* candidates,
lined up stark naked before him. lie makes u
speech to them, something like this:
“Mv sons, we are about to take you a little way
along the t’nami trail: to show you the ways of
jhe I,enape grandfathers. Hut first we must
purify ourselves outwardly by the sweat bath,
inwardly by the black drink (made of herbs), for
such is the custom that 1ms been handed down to
us When one has been purified in these ways the
powers of nature will look upon him with favor,
and the winds will whisper sweet words in his
_ji11 will help him to entiure the trials that
mast lie ids tomorrow."
He then gi*e« into the sweat house and seats
hituself In <he back, opposite the door; the candi
dates follow and seat themselves around the
sides. The Oshkosh rotl the 12 hot stones lot* m
pile before 5lie chief, then shut the door curtain.
The chief then announces, “Notv we will purify
ourselves," ;ind throws some cedar twigs on the
hot stones, then a splash of water, upon which a
sweet-smelling steam arises. He then cries, “lire,
water, cedar—purify us," takes a stick from his
bundle and lays it aside, whereupon all the candi
dates cry “Hooo.” lie then throws on more twigs
and another splash of water, then lays aside the
second stick—and s.> on until all the sticks have
been laid aside, twelve in all, then pours on a lot
of water until the stones give no more steam.
Then the chief rises and says, "It is finished,
and walks out. followed by the others, and nil
plunge into tiie water. They emerge and dress.
A little later each candidate is approached by a
mysteriou person in Indian dres; and is led out
into the dark woods, where he finds a hideous
creature the Misingw. or Living Solid Face, boil
ing a little kettle over a small fire. The Misingw
cries, “lion, lion, lion, lion,” and shakes his
rattle at the candidate, then dips him up a wooden
ladle full of the herb brew, which the candidate
drinks from a little wooden howl.
Breakfast Before Sunrise.
Alter till lmve taken this "blank drink they are
supposed to "sleep out ill the woods, it* till,
weather permits. Before dawn next day they
must rise and got their breakfasts (preferably
prenare tlieir own) and clothe themselves only in
a breeeheioih and an old blanket. All breakfasts
must be eaten before sunrise, the “sun must not
see them eat on this day of fasting.
When all are ready they line tip before the chief
and the Oshkosh smear the face of each with
ground charcoal. Then the boys are taken out to
Uieir posts, each out of sight of all the others, and
left to fast and meditate.
About the middle of the morning a strange man.
dressed as a farmer, and carry ins a gun. ap
proaches each hoy. He announces himself the
owner of the properly and orders the
trespasser. Four times he repeats
then, failm;:. lie goes on to the next
At noon hoys come along and stop
candidate's post to eat a sandwich or
boy off as a
this order,
boy.
neaj the
so—then
,liter him one. Four times they offer him one to
eat. then failing, go on to the next hoy.
\lcag in ihe afternoon the chief himself comes
out. ostensibly to inspect the fnsters; he looks
.,,.„'lind to so. if anyone is watching, then tells the
l„,y confidentially that lie lias felt sorry for him
am! has smuggled him out a bite to eat. Four
limes he offers him food, and failing goes on to
tim next. This makes T_* temptations in all.
From time to time the Misingw visits the posts
;ind peers at the candidates from bushes or from
behind trees.
\fter the sun goes down a whoop is raised, at
which the candidates come in. wash the mourning
paint from their faces, dress in gala attire, eat
their sapper and gather in the Big House, where
fires have been lighted by the Oshkosh and the
hearths swept with turkey-wing brushes. The chief
is in gala attire, with the right half of his face
painted red with red ochre, and the other half
I,link with powdered charcoal. The chief stands
with ids hack to the west door of the Big House
and says:
Atim tted to the Tribe.
"My sous, we have fasted as did our Unatal
grandfntliets- -only they fasted four or more days
and nights absolutely without food—sometimes
loimer. Now we are going to admit such of you
ns stood the test to the rank of warrior of the
Unami tribe.”
One by one the candidates come up before him
and are solemnly admitted to the tribe and they*
are robed in the "turtle cape" and have tlieir faces
painted.
When till have been taken Into the tribe, the
chief takes his place and an Oshkosh brings him a
luu,die of speech sticks. Then lie announces:
••I will now read from these picture writings the
VJ blessings which I pray may he ours ns warriors
of the ITituni tribe." He then reads the sticks.
As he finishes each and lays it aside, the tribe
cries. “Ilooo!" until ail have been read. Thpn.
led by the chief and the six Oshkosh, they march
In a line completely around the two tires from
left to right, then outside, where they line up fac
ing the •Mist and erv "Hnoo!" 12 times, which
t-fd«&«•». the ceremony
GOOD LOADING IN CARS AND PRECAUTIONS
AGAINST DEVELOPMENT OF DISEASE URGED
Hucksters Salvaging Damaged Potatoes in Freight Yard.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
Cars of fruit and vegetables are
often dumped at large market termi
nals but persons who witness tills pro
ceeding should not conclude that this
practice is uneconomic or done to
keep ii]i prices, according to men in
the bureau of markets, United States
department of agriculture. The whole
sale dealer is not in a position to re
sort and repack damaged produce and
often enough decay is present to ren
der the produce unsalable iu its orig
inal container or bulk shipment.
Sometimes hucksters do go over the
damaged cars and salvage a limited
amount of food. More often, however,
the labor cost of such salvage work is
greater than the value of the products
saved.
Losses May Start on Farm.
There are many causes for loss of
perishable foods between the farm
field and the market. Some of these
causes go back to the time crops are
harvested. Take potatoes, for instance,
which are injured in digging. Unless
these injured potatoes are sorted out
and not packed with the good pota
toes, rot may develop in the shipment
and spread rapidly to other potatoes,
especially if the temperature in the
car is favorable for rot to develop.
Another source of great loss in per
ishables is found in lack of care in
loading. The packages must be spaced
to permit air circulation and also
braced to prevent shifting. Tempera
ture can not he controlled in loads
packed solid without any air spaces
between the containers, while bracing
must be carefully done or packages
; arrive containing only a part of their
| original contents.
Although care in packing, loading,
and bracing cars of potatoes, cabbage,
and the less perishable fruits and
vegetables is necessary to prevent
damage in ordinary freight care, it is
far more necessary for highly perish
able products that move to market in
refrigerator cars, such as strawber
ries, peaches, pears, grapes, lettuce,
and celery. Such products, oven with
tbe best of care, may arrive at city
terminals in damaged condition caused
by delay in transportation, ovorripe
ness, or disease developed in transit
because temperatures were not under
control while the cars were en route.
Disease in Shipped Products.
In the case of plant diseases de
veloped in transit, there may not have
been any indication that the disease
was present when the car was loaded,
and perhaps the shipper thought that
his crop was free from disease. Prop
er refrigeration—plenty of ice and
air circulation—holds diseases in
check and unless long delays in tran
sit occur such perishable produce
might arrive in good condition. Such
shipments, however, often deteriorate
rapidly after being unloaded and must
be handled quickly and consumed be
fore rot develops.
Through the food products inspec
tion service of the department of agri
culture, the facts concerning losses
through plant diseases developed in
transit are being studied and labora
tories have been established at New
York and Chicago to work on these
diseases. Plant pathologists now re
port on shipments that develop dis
ease and tills information Is made
available to producers and shippers
where the fruit and vegetables were
grown, in order that prevention may
begin in the field and packing house.
SECURING LABOR IS
DIFFICULT PROBLEM
Maintenance of Steady Supply
Worries Stock Farmer.
He <9 Compelled to Use Temporary
Help at Harvest Time Which, in
Many Cases, Is Unreliable and
Quite Expensive.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
One of the most serious phases of
the farm labor problem Is the main
tenance of a steady supply of labor
and the interest of the laborer in farm
operations. In both of these matters
the farmer who lias little or no live
stock has a much more difficult prob
lem to solve than the one who main
tains the maximum amount of live
stock consistent with his farm opera
tions. For example, the farmer who
devotes his entire effort to grain pro
duction or cotton production is con
fronted with a keen demand for labor
at the most critical period in the crop
year. He has the rush during the
planting season, which shortly is fol
lowed by the tremendous demands of
harvest. Between times, especially
during tlie winter, this demand is not
so urgent and lie is, therefore, com
pelled to use temporary help (espe
cially at harvest time), which, in many
cases, is unreliable and expensive.
The farmer whose operations make
possible .the distribution of the maxi
mum amount of labor throughout the
year is in a much stronger position
from every standpoint than the one
who is compelled to call in large num
bers of temporary helpers at critical
| times.
Live stock production is a year
i round proposition and therefore makes
! possible such a distribution of labor.
! Furthermore, live stock are interest
ing to nearly all human beings. There
is much more to interest the average
man in watching the growth of the
young animals or the fattening of feed
i ers, and much less drudgery, even in
feeding operations, than there is In the
I tilling of the soil and the cultivation
of the crops. Beautiful as growing
j crops unquestionably are, and neces
sary as they are to the maintenance of
live stock, the farm which only has
; growing crops lacks for most people
the vital thing which Is necessary to
make country life attractive.
Many farmers recognize the appeal
which animals have for the average
! mam and cater to this In handling their
employees. For example, there are
cases where the farm owner gives the
laborer a share la the animal produce
of the farm, soch, for example, as ev
ery teeth pig. which becomes the prop
erty ef the aaaa who takes care of the
hogs, or a calf now and then, a Iamb,
etc.
Where there is a year-round require
ment for labor It is also possible to
utilize to better advantage the services
of married men, and their wives and
children can often be useful. Where
laborers are not needed on the farm
the year around there is not the advan
tage of this preference for married
men.
THRASHING TO SAVE WHEAT
Farmer* of Minnesota County Pro
vented Lose of $77,000 by Using
Clean Methods.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture )
Members of the farm bureau of Kitt
son county, Minnesota, saved $77,000,
or about $7)00 to each thrashing ma
chine, by using tight-bottom racks, can
vas under the feeder, cleaning up when
required after each setting of the ma
chine during the thrashing season. A
conservative ®stimnte of the saving
by clean thrashing by this county was
27,500 bushels of wheat, 20,400 bush
els of oats, and 10,000 bushels of bar
ley.
The wise use of cover crops will
conserve the fertility of the soil and
better its physical condition in many
cases.
• • *
In purchasing commercial fertilizers
consider the cost of the crop to be
grown as well as the price of the fer
tilizer.
• • •
A good dog is like u good son—he
stuys at home at night. Kept in good
habits, lie Is a guardian rather than a
murderer of sheep.
* * *
Few animals like rye as a steady
diet as they do oats or corn. When
rye is crushed and mixed with ground
oats or corn it makes good horse feed.
• • •
Drain tile set over each celery
plant blanches it nicely. Paper or
boards may be used in cool weather,
but are apt to decay the plants in
warm weather.
• • •
Clover will contain the proper
amount of dry matter to make good
allage If allowed to stand until some
what more than one-half of the blos
soms are brown.
• • •
It Is said that exposure to weather
causes greater destruction to farm Im
plements than using them. Avoid this
loss by storing all machinery and tools
I properly wider shelter beffere winter
I sets in.