Indian Scout Talks: a Guide for Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls

Part 1

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INDIAN SCOUT TALKS

INDIAN SCOUT TALKS

A GUIDE FOR BOY SCOUTS AND CAMP FIRE GIRLS

CHARLES A. EASTMAN (OHIYESÄ)

Author of "Wigwam Evenings," etc.

BOSTON LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 1914

Copyright, 1914, By Little, Brown, and Company. All rights reserved

Published, September, 1914

THE COLONIAL PRESS C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.

These chapters represent the actual experiences and first-hand knowledge of the author. His training was along these lines, until he was nearly sixteen years of age. It is with the earnest hope that they may prove useful to all who venture into the wilderness in pursuit of wisdom, health, and pleasure, that they are dedicated to

The Boy Scouts of America and The Camp Fire Girls of America

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author acknowledges the courtesy of "Boys' Life," "The Boy's World," "The Churchman," "The Youth's Companion," and "St. Nicholas," in permitting the use of chapters of this book which first appeared in their pages.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE I. At Home With Nature 1 II. Indian Methods of Physical Training 7 III. How to Make Friends With Wild Animals 15 IV. The Language of Footprints 25 V. Hunting With Sling-shot and Bow and Arrow 34 VI. Primitive Modes of Trapping and Fishing 42 VII. How to Make and Handle Indian Canoes 48 VIII. The Camp Site and the Carry 55 IX. How to Build Wigwams and Shelters 61 X. Fire Without Matches and Cooking Without Pots 69 XI. How to Make and Follow a Blazed Trail 77 XII. Indian Signals in Camp and Field 85 XIII. An Indian Boy's Sports 91 XIV. A Winter Masque 99 XV. An Indian Girl's Sports 106 XVI. Indian Names and Their Significance 112 XVII. Indian Girls' Names and Symbolic Decorations 120 XVIII. The Language of Feathers and Ceremonial Dress 126 XIX. Indian Ceremonies for Boy Scouts 137 XX. The Maidens' Feast: A Ceremony for Girls 146 XXI. The Gesture-language of the Indian 151 XXII. Indian Picture-writing 159 XXIII. Wood-craft and Weather Wisdom 168 XXIV. The Art of Story-telling 175 XXV. Etiquette of the Wigwam 182 XXVI. Training for Service 188

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Portrait of the Author, Dr. Charles A. Eastman Frontispiece 1. Method of Tracking a Moose 32 2. Framework of the Wigwam 62 3. The Wigwam 63 4. Framework of the Teepee 65 5. The Teepee 65 6. Implements for Making a Fire Without Matches 70 7. Making the Fire 71 8-10. Ground Arrows 94 11. Indian Symbol for the Home 120 12. Indian Symbol for the Four Points of the Compass 121 13. Indian Symbol for Life Here and Here-after 121 14. Indian Symbol for Happiness in the Home 121 15. Indian Symbol for Eternal Union 121 16. Indian Symbol for Footprints 121 17. Indian Symbol for Lightning or Destruction 122 18. Indian Symbol for Mountains or Prayer 122 19. Figure of the Thunder-Bird 143 20. The Peace Pipe 145 21-26. Indian Picture Writings 160

I--AT HOME WITH NATURE

To be in harmony with nature, one must be true in thought, free in action, and clean in body, mind, and spirit. This is the solid granite foundation of character.

Have you ever wondered why most great men were born in humble homes and passed their early youth in the open country? There a boy is accustomed to see the sun rise and set every day; there rocks and trees are personal friends, and his geography is born with him, for he carries a map of the region in his head. In civilization there are many deaf ears and blind eyes. Because the average boy in the town has been deprived of close contact and intimacy with nature, what he has learned from books he soon forgets, or is unable to apply. All learning is a dead language to him who gets it at second hand.

It is necessary that you should live with nature, my boy friend, if only that you may verify to your own satisfaction your schoolroom lessons. Further than this, you may be able to correct some error, or even to learn something that will be a real contribution to the sum of human knowledge. That is by no means impossible to a sincere observer. In the great laboratory of nature there are endless secrets yet to be discovered.

We will follow the Indian method, for the American Indian is the only man I know who accepts natural things as lessons in themselves, direct from the Great Giver of life.

Yet there exists in us, as in you, a dread of strange things and strange places; light and darkness, storm and calm, affect our minds as they do yours, until we have learned to familiarize ourselves with earth and sky in their harsher aspects. Suppose that you are absolutely alone in the great woods at night! The Indian boy is taught from babyhood not to fear such a situation, for the laws of the wilderness must necessarily be right and just, and man is almost universally respected by the animals, unless he himself is the aggressor. This is the normal attitude of trust in our surroundings, both animate and inanimate; and if our own attitude is normal, the environment at once becomes so. It is true that an innate sense of precaution makes us fear what is strange; it is equally true that simplicity and faith in the natural wins in the end.

I will tell you how I was trained, as a boy, to overcome the terror of darkness and loneliness. My uncle, who was my first teacher, was accustomed to send me out from our night camp in search of water. As we lived a roving life in pursuit of game, my errand led me often into pathless and unfamiliar woods. While yet very young, all the manhood and self-reliance in me was called forth by this test.

You can imagine how I felt as I pushed forward alone into the blackness, conscious of real danger from possible wild beasts and lurking foes. How thrilling, how tantalizing the cry of the screech-owl! Even the rustling of a leaf or the snapping of a dry twig under foot sent a chill through my body. Novice that I was, I did not at once realize that it is as easy as swimming; all I needed was confidence in myself and in the elements.

As I hurried through the forest in the direction my uncle had indicated, there seemed gradually to develop sufficient light for me to distinguish the trees along my way. The return trip was easier. When, as often happened, he sent me for a second pailful, no protest or appeal escaped my lips, thanks to my previous training in silent obedience. Instinct helped me, as he had foreseen, to follow the trail I had made, and the trees were already old acquaintances. I could hear my own breathing in the silence; my footfall and heart-beat sounded as though they were those of another person coming behind me, and while this disturbed me at first, I quickly became accustomed to it. Very soon I learned to distinguish different kinds of trees by the rustling of their leaves in the breeze which is caused by the stir of man or animal.

If you can accustom yourself to travel at night, how much more you will be able to see and appreciate in the daytime! You will become more sensible of the unseen presences all about you and understand better the communications of the wild creatures. Once you have thrown off the handicap of physical fear, there will develop a feeling of sympathetic warmth, unknown before.

Part 2

In the event of sudden danger, I was taught to remain perfectly motionless--a dead pause for the body, while the mind acts quickly yet steadily, planning a means of escape. If I discover the enemy first, I may be passed undiscovered. This rule is followed by the animals as well. You will find it strictly observed by the young ones who are hidden by their mother before they are able to run with her; and they are made to close their eyes also. The shining pupil of the eye is a great give-away.

It is wonderful how quickly and easily one can adjust himself to his surroundings in wild life. How gentle is the wild man when at peace! How quick and masterful in action! Like him, we must keep nature's laws, develop a sound, wholesome body, and maintain an alert and critical mind. Upon this basis, let us follow the trail of the Indian in his search for an earthly paradise!

II--INDIAN METHODS OF PHYSICAL TRAINING

The desire to be a man--the native spirit of the explorer and the hero--this is the strong inner motive which leads a boy out on the wilderness trail to discover the world anew. First of all, he discovers what he himself must be in order to overcome difficulties, to resist pain and hardship, and to win the object of his quest.

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