POLK COUNTY NEWS; TRYON, NORTH CAROLINA
HAIR -Id FLAMES;
DIES FROM BURNS
Girl Uses. Gas Heater Instead
of Electric Drier After
Swim.
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TTUNDREDS of thousands of Boy Scouts
of America this summer and fall have .
enjoyed their camps all over the coun-
try. They had wonderful experiences
and some of these will be remembered
all their lives. For the time these boys
forgot all about cities ..and civilization
i2a the joys of swimming, boating, mountain-
tiimbing and athletics of all kinds. Instruc
Qouu in . scouting was, of course, mingled with
ifiaese sports. At all of these camps the scouts
v&awi a good time while gaining in health, self
reliance and everything that .helps to prepare them
Soar the unselfish patriotic service which Is the
keroic dream of every true scout in khaki.
How far can the summer camp serve the ambl
iQous scout who wishes to advance In his tests?
'How can the routine work of the camp be made
:aa interesting matter of service to the camp
.qjwmnunity? On the trail of these and many re
3atd questions, several hundred camp directors
.tsre working. It is clear that the best way to
teach camping is to let the boy actually camp. The
presence or proximity of an experienced camper
help him to-learn the best . way more readily,
and with less hazard, but the way itself Is that of
rtfae apprentice rather than the book student. The
r&abit of self-reliance and of common sense can
IlkpKt he develonpd In n rnmn nhprp lnfmnfJrr a
combined with hours and days that throw the
t2oys on their own resources.
Must Not Be Foolhardy.
"Repeated warnings are being sent out by Scout
""Executive George W. Ehler of Pittsburgh, Pa to
ooutKpndertaking life saving not to venture on
: Caolhardy ventures, nor to. make useless sacrifices.
: Scouts are likely unnecessarily to endanger their
wn lives. It must be made clear to the scout '
34at every person must be well able to swim if he
'sjwrald save others from drowning. No one will be
considered a coward who is not able to swim and
iasho refuses to go to the aid of another in danger.
. .Sir. Ehler advises that every scout in the troop be
v&sade a swimmer.
It Is directed that each troop in camping where
liiere is water enough to practice rightly, be di
vided into victims and rescuers. The boys must
1 taught to practice on each other the various
"SSsgar carrying a person through the water.
Especial practice should be emphasized for break
ing the "strangle hold." If the boys learn, quickly
Hjey:will be ready for the lesson Jn resuscitation.
What a variety of experiences these scouts ' had !
Tlie camp of the scouts from North Dana, Mass.,
was on Lake Nesseponsett. Near this lake Daniel
Shays encamped with 2,000 men in the famous
Stays' rebellion of 1786-87, so that it is historic
soil. Here also once lived the notorious Glazier
"Wbeeler, a counterfeiter, and here he had a cave
"where he turned out spurious coin. -What
upon further exploration may develop into
one of the wonder-caves of Arkansas W-as discov
ered near Glenwood by boy scouts. It is high up
fi rocky face of the Burnham Mountain cliff.
"'The entrance is small, but opens into an Immense
room, from which a fissure extends downward to
a series of spacious chambers. The Arsenic caves,
: 25 miles west, and the cave on Markham mountain,
five miles northwest, have long been points of In
terest fer visitors, but this seems to be the mother
cav?E of them all.
v w Forty scouts from Salt Lake City made' the
rip to Wondemountain. The trail leads up Provo
canyon, under forests of aspens, along rugged
precipices, skirting along clear mountain streams'
:md through miles of alpine flowers. Camp was
made at Emerald lake, which is covered with ice.
. Camps at Squaw Point
A troop from New York city camped at Squaw
jpoint on the Hudson river. The experience to be
remembered the longest was the trip that T. J.
.Anderson, a local school teacher, took with the
troop on a dark night. The trail led up a hill,
trough a swamp in a woods, In the field, over
vails, through bushes, and at last they came to
me old wine cellars, Mr: Anderson then put
aat the only light they had. Ghost stories calcu
lated to make them brave: In. the dark and initia
tion lntoji mystic tribe followed up to midnight.
The troop has some very good evidence of Indian
activities in the shape of Indian relics, such as 40
arrowheads, ten spearheads, one Indian hoe, one
. racal grinder, ten Indian -sinkers, 15 tomahawks
jj- ci ai yiciw ui uiui, auu au luuian S SkUlI ITA
wery good condition. .
Boy scouts, digging into a large mound heai
Park River, N. D., unearthed the skulls and the
-skeletons of three Indians, who must have been
t rrarled there long ago, as the mound was there
vtfken- the earliest pioneers came to that section
the state. It Is believed that" further excavating
will -yield some interesting relics of aboriginal
Sndian days. .--V.' t-'j
Scout Morgan Coyte of Troop No. 1 and Scout
3eorge Petrie of Troop No. 3, both of Ridgefleld
FSMk, JJ. pitched their tent near New Bridge
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along the Hackensack river. Having satisfied
their appetites the scouts "turned In" for the night.
Scout Covte on awakening saw opposite his face
a small, ithlck bundle, 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 the
reptile had sprung forward, burying its fangs -deep
into the protecting arm, withdrawing as
quickly and wrfggling off into the shrubbery along
the river bank.
Young Coyte awakened his companion and they
improvised, a tourniquet from his handkerchief and
a small stick. Realizing that the wound was not
flowing freely enough he cut into and around the
bite until It bled profusely. Emptying the contents
of a cartridge Into the break in his flesh, he ap
plied flame to the powder and .withstood the tem
porary pain. It was later determined that he had
successfully offset the possibility of a fatal result
" through his commendable presence of mind. He
had burnt all trace of poison completely from his
arm and In a few days was again back at his job,
none the worse for his experience. .
It is a principle of the boy scout movement to
avoid secret ceremonies and initiations. Hlgh
tensioned initiations are dangerous to boys in the
adolescent stagel The virtues of the ceremony
carried out, however, by the scout council for
. Delaware and Montgomery counties, Pennsylvania,
are so obvious, its thrills so real and yet reason
able, that it can readily be used.
Their camp site was occupied many years -ago
by the Unaml tribe of Indians." This tribe
had an initiation ceremony for its young men
which has been preserved up to the present day.
Scouts who have taken camp honors by doing a
specified amount of work in scoutcraf t are given
this initiation under the direction of R. Harring
ton and Alonson Skinner of the Institute of Amer
ican Indians, of New York. The ceremonies are
performed by Amos Overoad, a Sioux Indian con
nected with the Institute. They are described as
follows: .j.
Ceremonies of Initiation.
The ceremonies should begin before dusk and,
with the fasting, etc., should last about 26 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 water should be placed at the
back of the sweat house opposite the door, to
gether with about a peck of cedar twigs about
six inches long. When all is ready the chief,
wearing only a breechdoth, stand3 at the door of
the sweat house and addresses the candidates,
lined up stark naked before him. He makes a
speech to them, something like this:
My sons, we are about to take you a little way
along the Unami trail ; to show you the ways of
the Lenape (grandfathers. But first we must
purify ourselves outwardly by "the , sweat bath,
inwardly by the blackdrink (made of herbs), for
such is the custom that has 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
ears-r-all will help him to endure the trials that
must be his tomorrow." . "
He then goes into the . sweat hbuse and seats
himself In the back, opposite the door ; the candi
datesfollow and seat themselves around the"
sides.' The Oshkosh roll the 12bot stones tnto a
pile before the chief, then shut the door curtain.
The chief then announces, "Now we will purify
ourselves," and throws some cedar twfgs on the
hot stones, then a splash of water, upon which a
sweet-smelling steam arises. He then cries, "Fire,
water, cedar purify us," takes a stick from his
bundle and lays it aside, whereupon all the candi
dates cry "Hooo." He then throws on more twigs
and another splash of water, then lays aside the
second stick and so 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 all
plunge Into the water. They emerge and dress.
A little later each candidate Is approached by a
mysterious person In Indian dres and is led out
into the dark woods, where he finds a hideous
creature, the Mislngw,, orLiving Solid Face, boil
ing a Nttle kettle over a small fire. The Mlsingw
cries, "Hon, Hon, Hon, .;. Hon," and shakes his
,rnttle at the candidate, then dips him up a wooden
ladle full of the herb brew, which the candidate
drinks from a little wooden bowl. x
Breakfast Before Sunrise.
After ail have taken this "black drink" they are
supposed to "sleep out" In the woods, if the
weather permits Before dawn next day they
jmust rise and get their breakfasts (preferably
prepare their own) and clothe themselves only in
a breechcloth 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 up before the chief
and the Oshkosh smear the face of each with
ground charcoal. Then the boys are taken out to
their 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 carrying a gun, ap
proaches each boy. He announces himself the
owner of the property and orders the boy off as a
trespasser. Four times he repeats this order,
then, failing, he goes on to the next boy.
At noon boys come along and stop near the
candidate's post to eat a sandwich or so then
offer him one. Four times they offer him one to
eat, then falling, go on to the next boy.
Along in the afternoon the chief himself comes
out, ostensibly to inspect the f asters ; he looks
around to see if anyone is watching, then tells the
boy confidentially that he has felt sorrr for him
and has smuggled him out a bite to eat. Four
times he offers him food, and falling goes on to
the next. Tills makes 12 temptations in all.
From time to time the Mislngw visits the posts
and, peers at the candidates from bushes or from
behind trees.
After the sun goes down a whoop. is raised, at
which the candidates come in, wash the mournjng
paint from their faces, dress in gala attire, eat
their supper" and gather in 'the Big House, where
fires have been lighted by Jthe Oshkosh andx 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
black with powdered charcoal. The chief stands
with his back to the west door of the Big House
and, says:
Admitted to ihe Tribe.
"My sons, we have fasted as " did our Unami
grandfathers only they fasted four or more days
and nights absolutely without food sometimes
longer. Now we are going to admit such jf you
as 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 their faces
; painted. . '
When all have been taken into the tribe,' the
chief takes his place and an Oshkosh brings him a
bundle of ' speech sticks. Then he announces .
"I will now read from these picture writings the
; 12 blessings which I pray may be ours as warriors
of the Unami tribe' He , then reads' the sticks.
As he finishes each and lays it aside, the tribe
cries, "Hooo I" until all have been read. Then,i
led by the chief and the six Oshkosh, they march
, in ' a line completely around the two fires from
left to jpight, then outside, where they line up fac
ing the, east and cry "Hooo r . 12 times, which
finishes the ceremony, ,
FIRE ENVELOPS HEAD
Friends Attempt to Rescue Victim In
Vain Death Due Chiefly to Shock,
Physicians Say Inhaled
Gas Fumes.
Pittsburgh. A few minutes after
yttle Miss Eleanor Asher scrnmbl(vd
merrily out of a swimming pool, she
lay dying from shock caused by ter
rible burns.
Eler. hair caught fire while she was
drying it over a gas heater at the
Abington .Y. M. C. A. and hr death
occurred in the Abington hospital.
Miss Asher, who was fifteen years of
age, was the. daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Sydney S. Asher. 1858 tforth Sixtieth
street. At present they are occupying
their summer "home at Noble.
The Y. M. C. A. which is in York
road near Susquehanna road. Is given
over to girls and women three nights
of the week. Friday night was girls
night, and Miss Asher went over for
a swim.
Laughing gayly after her4 plunge.
Miss Asher went down to the locker
room to dry her hair. There are two
electric hair driers In the room, but the
young women have found that the four
gas heaters installed by Y. M. C. A.
during the season of coal shortage, for
the purpose of taking, the chill off of
the room, dry hair more quickly than
do the electric drlea-s. Their use,' how
ever, has been against the house rules.
Flames Envelop Head.
Miss Asher used the gas heater Fri
day night, She chatted pleasantly
with the girls about her, as she lower
ed her head to the heater.
Suddenly her head was enveloped In
flames. The strands of heir long brown
hair had touched the blue fire of the
gas.
Miss Asher screamed and rushed
wildly about the" room. Her friends
bravely made an effort to put out the
flames, but they tried in vain.
Only Miss Ruddech, physical direc
tor for the women, seemed to have
kept her mind free from hysteria. She
heard the screams of the young women
Her Head Was Enveloped in Flames.
and the agonizing cry of little Miss
Asher and rushed to the locker room.
Without hesitation she seized a
heavy coat lying on the bench and
threw it over the girl's head.
"Turn on the showers!" she Cried to
the weeping girls.
The shower was turned on and Miss
Ruddach shoved the suffering child
under the spray. By the time the
flames were extinguished, Miss Asher
had fainted.
Inhaled' Gas Fumes.
Her face had been scarcely touched
by the licking tongues , of flame. Her
shoulders and arms were burned and
she had Inhaled gasi fumes.
She was hurried j to the hospital,
where she died late in the night, as a
result of the shock, chiefly, the. physi
cians, say. ' " ;. r -... - -
Coroner ' Neville of Montgomery
county. Investigated the case and pro
nounced the death due to accident.
He exonerated the. institution of any
blame.
LOST BOY FOUND BY DOG
Child Hides in a Ditch, Af raltf to Re
port the Loss of 10
-.., Cents. ' t ' '
Youngstown. Taken from a sewer
ditch In .' Mill Creek park by a dog,
Henry Martin, seven, told of having
run awav from .his home in, Salt
Springs rofd Monday because he had
lost 10 cents change which he had beep
given at ,a store. v : '
J. Holt, a railroad policeman," went
through the park early today. His
dog stopped at the end of the. ditch.
Unable to coax the animal to Teuve,
Holt sent the dog Into ' the ditch and
the boy was dragged out. V-
(Conducted by
'"erica.) 4 n
scoui
DESERT BOY T0Be7
A letter frnm n,- .
near Lund, Utah, aTh
of scout officials in Salt ?e inte4
was written by a Z
trict in the intere ? the
shows an interest in everllad "h0
and whom the writer 2 '
bright to become eH
half-starved farmer on the UggV
The writer had reoen f
of a lad Just turning
abOUt to nttai v.: UeM0O!,
- ..net. u iUS o.v.U;,. 0
t be
coming a scout. ReliZT
ing might be thp v Ulat scout.
which the little hoL nn0M
mieu into a hio-o -Tri
.' "lit
asked lor any scout mp!!.
boy. etortfce
Scout Executive Oscar Kirn, i
written in reply that the lad W
come a pioneer scout thm, y"
tlon with any troop &
scout magazine published for 1? 1
and that the boy may become ,
didate for scout membership h
municating with New York hZl
ters of the national organiza
Kirkham declares that he feei ,
is now another worthwhile C02
made tn spnnt
v v.i.mues in the
farmer of Lund.
BUILDING A LOD.GE BY UKEi
as
A Scout That Can Build a Good Cab
in Can Later Make a Good Home.
SCOUTS AS PRIMITIVE ARTISTS.
Des Moines boy scouts are in a fair
way to become rivals of the Indians
ard Mexicans in the art of pottery
making.
Only the scouts do not use w
They employ sandstone, found at "The
Ledges," the summer camp of the
scouts.- near Boone, in shaping pitch
ers, match-cases, bowls, plaques auu .
dozen other different articles that
connoisseur would rave over.
Gilbert H. Gendall, boy . scont ex
ecutive, has a display table in nis
rice filled with the handicraft or
young sandstone artisans. .
The contour and design were"
quired by using a harder surface
-stone on the sandstone. ,
One enthusiastic business man
f ered $100 for a supply of the aru
Some of the youthful shapers
stone receptacles added a toucn
wild and untamed to their piew '
daubing black paint here and tne
a red sand surface. Varnish
the sand from dropping off.
- - . .r K.C RECORD
SCOUTS BHfcArv wi
Detroit boy scouts broke a natjjnjj
record in their survey of tn d
connection with the "f the
. paint-up" campaign. It nas
custom in larger cities to vaSS
the need of cleaning up .ir?n l9i7 Cin
prior to the campaign, and in rf v
cinnati set a record with a itary
200 reports of unsightly or
conditions needing attention.
In the board of commerce
was discovered that the s$fr
who had been busy for two tbi9
Ine the survey had turned
12,000report cards.
; whtd0' j
n '0- 2
The boy scouts of Troop
Sheridan, ni., report aro 0
good turns the clearing fro
snow during winter, t dDJo
from streets after storm an
weeds on vacant lots. fc T. i
At a contest in Asbury f
a scout tent was onereu Dta
that came from the fart
another to the bestPPe a
Troop No. 150 of MV
posed of Chinese beys,