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GIFT OF 
 A. F. Morrison 
 
SEBAGO-WOHELO 
 CAMP FIRE GIRLS 
 
From an original portrait photograph by Gertrude Kasebier. 
 
 CHARLOTTE VETTER GULICK 
 
From an original portrait photograph by Alice Boughton. 
 
 HIITENI 
 Mrs. Gulick in Camp Fire Ceremonial Gown 
 
The Camp Fire Girl 
 
Sebago-Wohelo 
 Camp Fire Girls 
 
 BY 
 
 ETHEL ROGERS 
 
 WITfl Atf INTRODUCTION BY \ 
 MRS. LUTHER HALSEY GULICK 
 
 a 
 
 BATTLE GREEK, MICHIGAN 
 GOOD HEALTH PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 1915 
 
//S33 53 
 
 Copyright, 1915, by 
 Mrs. Luther Halsey Gulick 
 
 Copyright, 1915, by 
 Good Health Publishing Co. 
 
 • • • 
 
 • • • • • » 
 
 GIFT Of 
 
fh 
 
 This Book Is Dedicated to all 
 mothers and daughters, in the 
 hope that it will make the way 
 simpler for them to have the best 
 of times together, and so bind 
 them more closely in the common 
 interests of the home. 
 
 ivi95603 
 
A 
 
 Primitive Woman 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction 13 
 
 The Call 27 
 
 The Answer 29 
 
 Building the Fires 37 
 
 The Freedom of Camp 46 
 
 The Threefold Flame 58 
 
 Camping in the Mist 73 
 
 Mastering the water, and Primitive 
 
 Cooking 92 
 
 Canning and Camping 106 
 
 Every Tent a Song 115 
 
 Camping in the Rain 132 
 
 The Blazed Trail 149 
 
 In Case of Accident 161 
 
 Douglas Hill 180 
 
 Marketing Day 195 
 
 Mermaids on Parade 210 
 
 "Fire's Gwine Out" 228 
 
 Kee-wee's Good Night Song .... 247 
 Symbolic Names of Sebago-Wohelo 
 
 Camp Fire Girls 248 
 
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INTRODUCTION 
 
Ek-o-le-da 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 T^ROM the time Dr. Gulick and I were 
 A married we agreed that in all things our 
 first consideration should be for our children — 
 where we should live, and how we should live, 
 were to be decided by what seemed best for 
 them. 
 
 So we went camping the summer before the 
 first child was born, and we have camped every 
 summer for twenty-seven years, with but two 
 exceptions, when we were in Europe. 
 
 Vividly I remember those outdoor experi- 
 ences, but especially that first summer, lived 
 not only for ourselves, but for the child com- 
 ing to us. I found the best selection of kin- 
 dergarten songs to be had and learned every 
 song in the book. I used to sit by the water's 
 edge for hours, singing to the guitar and 
 dreaming of the life that was to be. 
 
 All our outdoor life has been associated 
 with music. For twenty years we camped on 
 the Thames River near New London, Con- 
 
 13 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 necticut. There we invited friends and rela- 
 tives to c&mj) nearby. One summer there 
 were seventy-five people about us in family 
 groups. And every looming we all met to 
 sing. Sometimes we gathered around a fire, 
 according to the weather; but unless it rained 
 we met out under the sky, and sang sometimes 
 for hours at a time. Our favorites were some 
 of the immortal old hvmns. If I could ask 
 those who made that group what they now re- 
 member of those summers with the greatest 
 pleasure, I believe that most would speak first 
 of the singing together. 
 
 Our children grew up with the freedom, the 
 vigor and the joy that this outdoor life gave. 
 We tried many experiments. Some summers 
 we had helpers to do the work of the camp 
 and care for the children. But we soon found 
 that when we camped alone and worked to- 
 gether, life had a richness and sweetness that 
 was lacking when the tasks were done for us 
 and opportunities for services were reduced 
 by paid helpers. 
 
 I have always believed that necessary 
 work could be made interesting if imagina- 
 tion, insight and affection are brought to it. 
 Even the humblest task you can imagine be- 
 
 14 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 comes a challenge. The system of honors now 
 used by the Camp Fire Girls was developed 
 largely from this idea as we worked it out with 
 our children in camp. 
 
 When we lived without helpers we lived, 
 too, more spontaneously. Seldom were all 
 three meals of the day eaten in the same place. 
 In such little ways we made life a daily ad- 
 venture. 
 
 When the impulse came we sailed away on 
 the Sound for a cruise — just ourselves and 
 the children — to share whatever trials of en- 
 durance or emergencies or dangers or pleas- 
 ures might come. 
 
 Our family learned the ways of boats and 
 of wind on the water. They learned prompt- 
 ly to co-ordinate thought with action, and 
 many lessons of judgment and resourceful- 
 ness. 
 
 The children also became acquainted with 
 the beaches and islands along both shores of 
 the Sound, places associated for them with 
 many events of treasured memory. Again and 
 again we revisited these favorite spots, which 
 they had learned to love because of some va- 
 riety of shells found, or the surf bathing af- 
 forded, or it might be for a dozen other things. 
 
 15 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 By the time the eldest of the five was 
 twenty and the youngest nine, outsiders be- 
 gan to discover in the older children the value 
 of their experience. They were in demand at 
 summer camps, for they knew how to do 
 things. 
 
 So, to keep our family together, we had 
 to start a camp of our own — and face new 
 problems. We wanted to have our children 
 learn in camp various hand-crafts, that 
 called for expert paid instructors, and we 
 wanted, besides, to give them the human, so- 
 cial experience of entertaining a group of 
 their friends — both projects beyond our 
 means. So a plan for the sharing of expenses 
 was formulated, and in this way Sebago- 
 Wohelo was started. It is told in the story 
 how we got our name. 
 
 This name, "Wohelo," I gave to the Camp 
 Fire Girls with, at first, a sense of deep per- 
 sonal loss. It was the name of my camp, and 
 my daughters and camp girls felt that it was 
 personal, sacred. Before they could see the 
 reasonableness of it I had to explain what it 
 might mean to have thousands of girls, instead 
 of merely the few who gathered with us in the 
 
 16 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 summer time, trying for a balance of Work, 
 Health and Love in their lives. 
 
 The camp is now six years old, and no two 
 summers have been quite alike. One year I 
 had the wish that these girls who come to me 
 should know the joys of cooking, and learn 
 to meet with patience and good cheer its 
 hardships. I wanted them to think and dis- 
 cover by living in this primitive way, how this 
 part of woman's work can be simplified, and 
 the drudgery turned into a stimulating exer- 
 cise of talent. 
 
 I think that woman's work is inherently 
 far more fascinating than man's. It has, for 
 example, the greatest variety. To let it be- 
 come monotonous is just stupid. We must 
 think as deeply and profoundly about it as 
 men do about their work, to make it as inter- 
 esting and as successful. There is nothing in 
 man's world to be compared in its possibili- 
 ties for rich living with the creation and 
 maintenance of a beautiful home and the care 
 of a child from babyhood till it is ready to 
 face the world alone. 
 
 So that summer I taught my camp girls 
 the fun of cooking, and the drudgery con- 
 nected with it. Under a talented guide they 
 
 17 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 did all the cooking and dish-washing for a 
 month, and learned many important things. 
 It was soon discovered, for instance, that 
 there was more romance and pleasure in eat- 
 ing the evening meal informally, in true camp 
 fashion, than in sitting formally at a table. 
 So supper committees were appointed to seek 
 new and varied places to eat, and the equip- 
 ment was limited to a cup and spoon — which 
 each washed at the water's edge. 
 
 It soon fell to the committee to arrange 
 entertainment for the evening as well. This 
 was not obligatory, but was esteemed a privi- 
 lege, and the more enterprising often gave us 
 most delightful surprises. What a group of 
 bright girls banded together can think of and 
 execute in an impromptu way is astonishing. 
 Indeed, I can imagine an engaging and serv- 
 iceable book written on this phase of camp 
 life alone. 
 
 I was amused and pleased the next sum- 
 mer to be faced with a miniature rebellion 
 when we began the season with the former 
 custom of serving supper at table. They 
 loved the simpler way, as I did, and we re- 
 turned to it for good. But we could not have 
 learned this except by doing the work our- 
 
 18 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 selves, as we did that summer, and so learning 
 the joy of it. 
 
 It was much the same with the hand-crafts. 
 I felt that two hours of each morning in this 
 work was not too much for the well-being of 
 the girls, but at first I was not sure of the 
 willing response that I felt to be more im- 
 portant than the work itself. The work was 
 therefore not made obligatory, although the 
 two-hour period was provided. My fears 
 were unfounded. As the interest of making 
 things with their fingers caught them, it be- 
 came my problem to hold their enthusiasm in 
 check. 
 
 In all things that we did I have required 
 that the girls should really want them before 
 they were granted. Only a wholehearted re- 
 sponse would make it worth while. If there 
 was less than that, either the thing was less 
 appealing, and therefore less essential, than 
 I had believed, or else it had been imperfectly 
 presented. 
 
 One day I heard a group discussing the 
 Nature walks. "Oh, dear," said one girl, "I 
 don't want to go." 
 
 Next morning I announced that the Na- 
 ture walks were discontinued, and explained 
 
 19 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 that unless the girls really wanted them there 
 was no place for them in our camp; that to 
 know one bird or one tree and love them meant 
 more than to know all the birds and trees of the 
 forest, and that what I wanted for them was 
 a love for life about them. 
 
 Of course there was a prompt protest from 
 the girls, who really did love the walks. But 
 when, after an interval, the frequent tramps 
 were resumed, they were not formally labelled 
 as Nature walks, but were just impromptu 
 excursions. 
 
 So, too, with our water sports. The bath- 
 ing hour is not merely a jolly frolic. It is not 
 even merely a time for learning to swim well 
 enough to meet emergencies. It is always a 
 step in the direction of further achievement, 
 and the daily goal is held always in mind. 
 
 Has a girl mastered the breast stroke? 
 She eagerly sets about the task of learning 
 three more standard swimming strokes, so 
 that at the weekly Council Fire she may stand 
 before her sisters to receive the red honor bead 
 that is a token of her achievement. She is not 
 content till she has won another bead by fetch- 
 ing bottom from eight feet of water. 
 
 20 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 So she grows in fearlessness and bodily- 
 control through the carefully graded steps 
 that carry her to mastery in aquatics, always 
 stimulated to constructive effort by a desire 
 for progressive achievement. That is a very 
 different thing from the usual pleasant pad- 
 dling and splashing about called "a swim," 
 and its results are not even comparable. 
 
 My own is a case in point, and since this 
 is so personal an introduction to the story of 
 Sebago-Wohelo, I may mention it somewhat 
 particularly. 
 
 I learned to dive after I was thirty-five 
 years old. I am told that to master the co- 
 ordination of one's muscles in a new feat such 
 as this, is usually very difficult after one is 
 thirty. So my achievement of the simple 
 straight dive greatly elated me, and, with 
 new-found confidence, I set out to win new 
 accomplishments. Each year I kept my reso- 
 lution to learn some new muscular feat, and 
 two years ago I achieved the more difficult 
 back dive. It has meant a great deal to me — 
 more even than the reawakened sense of bod- 
 ily elasticity and control, and a new and joy- 
 ful physical fearlessness. 
 
 21 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 I am reminded often of Emerson's signi- 
 ficant lines: 
 
 "To vision profounder 
 Man's spirit must dive." 
 
 There is to me a spiritual reaction from 
 the exultant exercise of one's body in such 
 feats as these. 
 
 Learning to dive has helped me, too, in fel- 
 lowship with my camp girls. It has helped me 
 to don the ceremonial gown, and be one with 
 them around the Council Fire. 
 
 My experience has a moral, too; an obvi- 
 ous one, perhaps, but pertinent. It is this: 
 
 Only by effort can we learn, though in 
 making the effort we may learn a great deal 
 that we were not trying for. As long as we 
 keep trying, we keep growing, and so long 
 as we are growing, we are one with all the 
 youth of the world. 
 
 I believe deeply and earnestly that spirit- 
 ual health and development is a direct corol- 
 lary of bodily vigor and control; that the joy 
 that comes from the exercise of efficient mus- 
 cles has its counterpart in the soul; that to 
 exercise the one is to exercise the other. 
 
 Upon that rock has Wohelo been built, 
 
 22 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 and its use of symbols is, perhaps, more than 
 anything else, a working and ever-present 
 declaration of the spiritual values inherent in 
 all the humblest phases of our everyday life 
 in the world. 
 
 So in all the activities of camp we have 
 striven to make them, not only a symbol of 
 the big things in after life, but a miniature 
 epitome of that life, seen with loving vision 
 and attacked with courage and devotion. Be- 
 cause we believed that life was beautiful we 
 have tried to give a beautiful preparation for 
 it, to awaken unquenchably a sense of its in- 
 finite significance. 
 
 m 
 
 23 
 
Su-no-wa 
 
SEBAGO-WOHELO 
 CAMP FIRE GIRLS 
 
'I must go with the pull 
 That has hold of my heart' 
 
THE CALL 
 
 MARGARET BRADSHAW 
 
 rpHERE'S a great wild pull 
 A That's come into my heart, 
 Like the pull of the wind on the sea. 
 There's a far, far call, 
 Flute-sweet and small, 
 Like the song of new sap in the tree. 
 
 There's a restless joy, 
 
 And a glad, dull ache, 
 
 And a longing to understand 
 
 The meaning that lies 
 
 In butterflies, 
 
 And sunsets, and stars, and sand. 
 
 For the spring has bloomed 
 
 In a goldeny mist 
 
 Of willow buds, sap and tears, 
 
 And the fleecy sky 
 
 Gives promise shy 
 
 Of the "country that knows no fears." 
 
 27 
 
m m m n b © ss^se^ in 
 
 And my heart feels tied 
 
 And calls out to be free, 
 
 For it longs for the woods and the earth, 
 
 And a fire's soft light 
 
 In the velvet night 
 
 When dreams dare bloom to birth. 
 
 I must go with the pull 
 
 That has hold of my heart ; 
 
 I must touch the warm earth and be free. 
 
 And I have no choice 
 
 But to follow the voice 
 
 Of the haunting joy-to-be. 
 
 
 Can-su 
 
THE ANSWER 
 
 T^OR five summers The Call of the Camp 
 has been answered by a group of eager 
 girls, who come each year to the shores of Lake 
 Sebago, and go home two months later with 
 a bit of the lake in the very hearts of them. 
 
 "Wohelo! Wohelo! 
 How we sail over Lake Sebago's waters blue! 
 
 Wohelo! Wohelo! 
 Our days with you are far too few!" 
 
 they sing in the long, happy days as they pad- 
 dle over the clearest of waters, singing softly, 
 and with mist-dimmed eyes, as the summer 
 draws to a close. But it is of more than the 
 lake that they are singing, though it is a spot 
 lovely enough to be crystallized into song for 
 itself alone. The trees, the birds, the moun- 
 tains, the morning mist, the sunset sky and the 
 soft twilight — all of these, and more, are in 
 the song! 
 
 29 
 
Sebago is so little that you can love it, 
 and yet so large as to suggest dreams of long 
 mysterious journeys toward the mountains, 
 which rise bluer and bluer on the sunset side 
 — dreams that become real in the form of en- 
 chanting camping trips as the summer goes 
 by. It is safe for canoeing, and just over in 
 the cove where the birches grow, the beach is 
 shallow and soft enough for any child; while 
 near shore, where the great rocks plunge down 
 almost perpendicularly into the deep trans- 
 parent water, one may find all the joys of 
 swimming and diving that the bravest may 
 desire. And about it all is the cool, invigor- 
 ating breath of the northland, fanning energy 
 and vigor into every pulse of life. 
 
 THE SPIRIT OF CAMP 
 
 As the girls have camped together sum- 
 mer after summer, under the inspiring leader- 
 ship of a mother whose mother-love was great 
 enough to reach beyond her own little circle 
 of daughters and make all of the girls of the 
 camp her own, they have thought out, lived 
 out and made real a new and beautiful dream, 
 more precious even than the lake and the 
 wholesome outdoor life which is its gift. 
 
 30 
 
The camp had no name, no forms or tradi- 
 tions. But the love of meeting around the 
 open fire grew slowly into a poetic ceremony, 
 for which the girls donned a special garment, 
 fashioned simply, as those of the Indian 
 maidens who lived in the woods before 
 them. They studied the stories and art of the 
 Indians, and learned to love to express the 
 poetry of the life about them in the work of 
 their hands, with nature as their guide and 
 inspiration. They developed the spirit of real 
 campers, paddling their own canoes, carrying 
 their own packs, building their own fires and 
 cooking their own meals, if necessary, and 
 came to find a joy in this life that luxury and 
 idleness could never give. They learned also 
 to work and play in teams, to paddle together, 
 sing together, tent together, stand by one an- 
 other through rain and shine — and so the spirit 
 of loyal, devoted comradeship was born among 
 them. 
 
 THE MYSTICAL WORD 
 
 All of these things their leader had desired 
 with a great longing for her girls, and she 
 sought for a name that should express the 
 ideals for which the camp was striving. 
 
Those who gathered about the camp fire 
 had chosen symbolic names, expressing in 
 beautiful form the desires of their individual 
 lives. Hiiteni, "Life, more Life," was the 
 leader's name, very true to her spirit of eager 
 reaching out for new fields of beauty and 
 worth. The girls chose names for themselves 
 in the same way. 
 
 But for long the camp had no name. 
 Names that seemed to express the thought in 
 the heart of the founder failed in beauty. At 
 last it came to Hiiteni that the things for 
 which she wished it all to stand in the hearts 
 of the girls were expressed in the words, 
 Work, Health and Love; and that, by com- 
 bining the first two letters of each of these, 
 she could make a new word, "Wohelo," 
 lovely in sound and full of the meaning she 
 wished. The camp was named Wohelo. 
 
 THE GIFT OF SEBAGO-WOHELO 
 CAMP 
 
 So the life and ceremonial and watchwords 
 that are now known to girls all over the land 
 through the Camp Fire Girls of America 
 grew out of the life of this first Wohelo camp. 
 
 33 
 
H m E2 B © S3SftSSS2 ED 
 
 "Along the road that leads the way 
 We follow as it will" 
 
 They were a gift from Hiiteni and her girls 
 to all girls, gladly given at the request of those 
 who were organizing a new society for girls. 
 There are now many camps called Wohelo, 
 and the one on the shores of the lake in Maine, 
 
 34 
 
m ?k= §1 g © m 
 
 to distinguish itself from the rest, has come 
 to be known as Sebago-Wohelo. It is now a 
 Camp Fire center, for every girl who comes 
 becomes a member of the Sebago-Wohelo 
 Camp Fire, and the camp is ever following 
 into new realms the goal of its great desire, 
 working out new ways of doing the things that 
 girls all over the world are longing to do. 
 
 It is with a desire to share these ideals, and 
 whatever has been done toward their attain- 
 ment, that this story is written. How often, 
 when long vacation days bring joy and happi- 
 ness, do the words, "I wish that you were with 
 me!" find a place in letters written to dear ones 
 at home, springing from a sincere desire to 
 share with those beloved the gifts of heart 
 and spirit which the days bring. 
 
 This is a part of the message of the story 
 of Sebago-Wohelo camp — a real, personal 
 message to Camp Fire Girls everywhere, and 
 if all cannot come to the shores of Lake Se- 
 bago it may be that something of the life of 
 the camp can be shared with them. The glow- 
 ing, living coals from that Camp Fire have 
 been carried far, and new fires have been 
 lighted, and it may be that still others will 
 spring up to carry the Camp Fire spirit of 
 
 35 
 
m m m n m © gg^saraas m 
 
 Work and Health and Love to the shores of 
 other lakes and bays and rivers, into deep for- 
 ests and open prairies, and so into the homes 
 of the girls who dwell there, that by its light 
 they may be led to find new beauty and joy 
 in simple, common-place things, new love in 
 service. To the girls in these other camps the 
 girls of Sebago-Wohelo are singing a cheer. 
 Can you see them, standing there together on 
 the great rock above the water? 
 
 "Oh, we cheer, cheer, cheer — 
 
 Sebago-Wohelo ! 
 Oh, we cheer, cheer, cheer — 
 
 Sebago-Wohelo ! 
 Oh, we cheer, cheer, cheer — 
 
 Sebago-Wohelo ! 
 
 Oh, our comrades, 
 
 We're singing 
 
 To you!" 
 
 Woh-do-ke-ca 
 
 86 
 
II 
 
 BUILDING THE FIRES 
 
 /^NE of the songs that Sebago-Wohelo 
 ^-^ maidens love to sing begins: 
 
 "There is a spot 'way up in Maine 
 They call Wohelo-he; 
 It's full of girls both short and tall 
 And just like you and me — " 
 
 and if any girl doubts the truth of that she 
 should have been one of the crowd of girls, 
 with a sprinkling of councilors scarcely less 
 girlish, who came to camp in the summer of 
 1914. They came in a "sleeper," but did they 
 sleep? Just about as much as you or I would 
 have done in their places! 
 
 To be sure they did not talk. Oh, no! Pos- 
 sibly two, who had been "dearest friends" the 
 summer before, and had not seen each other 
 since, may have crept into the same berth and 
 whispered a few little croonings of delight in 
 the joy of being together again. Perhaps 
 some of them may have "wondered out loud" 
 
 37 
 
B U ® ® S3£ft£g&2 m 
 
 "if the lake is still there?", "if it will look just 
 the same?" and, "how could it possibly be a 
 whole year since they had broken camp!" 
 Among those who had not been of the camp 
 the year before were some who came from the 
 same school, and these were glad to meet 
 again, and may have spoken once or twice. 
 Girls will be girls. But it would be unfair to 
 say that they talked. 
 
 Some had conspicuous boxes of candy 
 that had been given to them before leaving, 
 and seemed strangely eager to devour every 
 piece at once. An impression had gone 
 abroad that candy was not allowed in camp, 
 and they had best eat it while they might. 
 One girl confessed that she had eaten — was it 
 ten? — dishes full of ice-cream the day before, 
 supposing there would be no such treat in 
 camp. Little did she know of the Saturday 
 expeditions to the neighboring village, and cer- 
 tain little pasteboard boxes with tin spoons 
 stuck temptingly in the top, to say nothing 
 of the great freezer which inhabits the camp 
 kitchen. 
 
 Morning, and Portland, found a sleepy- 
 eyed but eager group of girls, ready for break- 
 fast and the ride on another train, which pres- 
 
 38 
 
ently brought them to the dock to take the 
 busy little steamer across Lake Sebago. It 
 was nearly noon when the trip was over and 
 the steamer brought them to the dock at 
 camp. 
 
 5VELCOME! 
 
 These Sebago-Wohelo maidens did not 
 come to an unstaked camp in the woods. The 
 fires had been started days before, and a joy- 
 ous welcome awaited them, with everything in 
 readiness for their comfort. Some of those 
 already in camp had been working during the 
 days of waiting, others had been resting, en- 
 joying the stillness of the woods, disturbed 
 only by the whispering of the leaves and the 
 murmurings of the waves, which now was to 
 be broken by happy laughter and Cheer 
 Songs. 
 
 Those who gathered on the dock to wel- 
 come the girls were dressed in white middies 
 and blue bloomers, and laughed at the out- 
 landish appearance of city clothes, and poked 
 fun at tight skirts and high-heeled shoes 
 which slipped and caught along the rocky 
 paths leading to the tents. But they did not 
 laugh long, for nearly every girl had bloom- 
 
 39 
 
ers, a middie blouse and a pair of sneakers in 
 her suit-case. Soon all emerged in camp cos- 
 tume, with hair comfortably down in two 
 braids, all but one incorrigible, who left hers 
 in the french-roll, and for days held to this 
 remnant of boarding-school fashion. City 
 clothes were hung in the loft over the bunga- 
 low, like grinning relics of a by-gone age. 
 Later, trunks arrived, and the girls unpacked 
 the necessary articles to be kept in wooden 
 boxes under their beds. Bundles, which had 
 been sent in advance by express, were opened 
 to make the beds, which each girl did accord- 
 ing to her taste, some with regulation sheets 
 and pillow cases, while others found gray 
 blanket sheets quite as comfortable. 
 
 As they worked, busy and happy, the sun- 
 set time came softly down, and the bustle of 
 camp died away with the wind. When the 
 bugle sounded a whisper went abroad that 
 supper would not be served in the bungalow, 
 as dinner had been, but at Hiiteni's fireplace, 
 where a huge boulder rises for a background, 
 and around it is a little natural orchestra cir- 
 cle enclosed by rocks and trees, opening up in 
 full view from the doorway of Hiiteni's tent. 
 Here were piled long pine branches for the 
 
 40 
 
m m m a h ® gssfs^sss in 
 
 fire, while from the great rock across the path, 
 big tin cups of milk, sandwiches and peaches, 
 were given out, with great pieces of the deli- 
 cious cake that was to become a most welcome 
 feature of all the camp suppers. 
 
 AROUND THE FIRE 
 
 Cups and spoons laid aside, all drew close 
 in the gathering darkness, with the strange, 
 new stillness all about them, the wind astir in 
 the trees, and the red flame of the first camp 
 fire, now smouldering, now leaping high to 
 reveal their faces to one another. The new 
 family began to dream dreams in the firelight. 
 
 But the dreams were not all the same. 
 Each was colored by the home-life that had 
 been left behind, and by the thoughts and pur- 
 poses in her heart that had led its owner to 
 camp. One had come because her health was 
 frail from overstudy; another because she was 
 strong, and loved the water-sports; another 
 because she loved the quiet of the woods ; one 
 had the soul of an artist, and longed to excell 
 in the craft-work, while others came just seek- 
 ing new experiences. Girls with dispositions 
 as varied as their tastes, differing in ages from 
 Wa-zi and Fuzzie, the dear little "Blue 
 
 42 
 
Birds," up to the college girls, some of whom 
 were numbered as councilors. All had an- 
 swered the Call of the Camp, and stepped 
 lightheartedly into experiences that were per- 
 haps to change the whole current of their 
 lives. 
 
 NEW FRIENDS AND OLD 
 There were introductions that evening. 
 Timanous stood high on the rock above the 
 fire, and, calling the councilors one by one, 
 made them stand up in their places while he 
 told "what he knew about them/' and a great 
 deal besides which his ready humor suggested. 
 Woh-do-ke-ca, the camp artist, was forced to 
 prove that she had other accomplishments by 
 making her famous "rabbit face," and Em- 
 bers, the poet, was introduced as an ever-pres- 
 ent help to one who wanted to get into mis- 
 chief. Alaska created a little stir of excite- 
 ment because she had come from so far away, 
 and she was given a special welcome when her 
 magic touch upon the piano became known. 
 Helpful the Great, who, as his name indi- 
 cates, was one of the most valuable of the 
 councilors, smiled his droll, half-embarrassed 
 smile when it was published that he was a fid- 
 dler of no small gifts, and Helpful the Little 
 
 43 
 
m m u n b @ ss?B£332 in 
 
 was introduced as one having power, sounding 
 the bugle that rules the camp with its melody, 
 full of meaning, if not always of beauty. 
 
 OLD-TIME CAMP SONGS 
 
 Later, as the fire burned low and all grew 
 closer in the mysterious shadows, Ce-ki-ca-ti 
 led in some of the old-time camp songs, in 
 which those who had been in camp before 
 joined with hearty good will, while those to 
 whom it was all new listened with something 
 of sadness, but hummed the tunes, resolving to 
 learn the words as soon as possible. And the 
 songs, with the smouldering firelight and the 
 lengthening shadows, whispered to those who 
 understood of a time when the camp had been 
 one at heart, and gave promise of happy days 
 before them, when this should again be true, 
 and the spirits of all gathered in this new cir- 
 cle should be blended into a complete union 
 of comradeship and love. 
 
 All the while the fire had been teaching 
 its own lessons, telling its own stories, and 
 performing real introductions of heart to 
 heart. 
 
 Those who have sat about a camp fire to- 
 gether can never quite forget the mystic bond 
 
 44 
 
SBftEg^fcS §1GQ§I 
 
 that is there created between them. For the 
 new house the house-warming, for the new 
 home the hanging of the crane, and for the 
 new camp the first burning of the camp-fire. 
 
 Ge-me-wun-ca 
 
 45 
 
Namesakes 
 
 III 
 
 THE FREEDOM OF CAMP 
 
 A SCAMPER of tiny feet across the floor, 
 ^* a crackle and crunch of sharp little teeth, 
 then scamper, scamper again across the floor 
 and away among the rocks! 
 
 46 
 
These were the sounds that woke "The 
 Chipmunks" on that first morning in camp. 
 "Hush! Don't scare him!" whispered Kee- 
 wee, the councilor, sitting up in bed with a 
 peanut in her hand. "Maybe he'll come 
 again." 
 
 And presently he came, a dear little bright- 
 eyed, friendly chipmunk, making swift starts, 
 stopping to listen, then darting up bravely 
 with a flash of his bright brown tail to seize 
 the coveted booty from Kee-wee's fingers — 
 then to a safe distance on the rock outside of 
 the tent, where he shelled the nut and stuffed 
 it away in his already baggy cheeks as fast as 
 possible. 
 
 It was a joyful visit from the tiny native 
 of the woods, welcoming the girls to a life al- 
 most as free as his own. They were still 
 watching, with eyes almost as bright as those 
 of the chipmunk, when the bugle blew for ris- 
 ing, and the quiet tents about them were all 
 alive with a buzz of voices. It was time for 
 the morning dip, and if the youngest girl, who 
 had never been in camp before, felt a trifle 
 timid about the cool plunge, she was soon 
 laughed into going with the others for the lux- 
 urious morning bath of the woods and lake. 
 
 47 
 
Scurrying out with toothbrushes and soap in 
 hand "The Chipmunks" met sleepy figures 
 in bathing suits, flocking down the path to the 
 dock from the other tents. There was just a 
 moment of shivering and waiting for each 
 other to jump, but soon the water was all 
 a-splash with girls, and a few moments later 
 they were hurrying up the path, glowing with 
 warmth and energy, every thought of sleepi- 
 ness left far behind. 
 
 "Oh, I'm so happy! I'm so happy!" cried 
 Wa-zi, a "Blue Bird," clapping her hands as 
 she ran, voicing the feeling of all in her child- 
 ish ecstacy. 
 
 MORNING SONGS 
 
 After breakfast in the bungalow all went 
 to the craft house, where every morning they 
 met to sing. The girls sat Turk-fashion on 
 the floor facing Hiiteni and Alaska, who had 
 taken her place at the piano. Two carefully 
 selected hymns were sung, then everyone stood 
 and repeated the Lord's prayer, after which 
 they sang more hymns and camp songs to 
 their hearts' content. It was difficult to stop 
 singing. Often Hiiteni allowed the singing 
 hour to encroach upon craft-work time. Only 
 those who have experienced the peace and 
 
 48 
 
aspirations that come after such a meeting 
 can understand what starting the day in this 
 way means. Singing together brings a con- 
 sciousness of unity, and makes a bond of 
 priceless value. 
 
 On that first day Ce-ki-ca-ti sat up in front 
 with a flag in her hand, and a wise grin, which 
 reminded everyone that it was the Fourth of 
 July, and suggested that something was go- 
 ing to happen. Hiiteni announced the plan of 
 celebration for the evening, in which each tent 
 was to present an original drama representing 
 Freedom, the freedom of thought and action 
 for which women as well as men are striving. 
 
 Then the girls were invited to choose songs 
 they wished to sing. Various patriotic songs 
 vied with the old camp favorites, "The Lone 
 Fish Ball," "The little Tin Soldier," and 
 many others. Ce-ki-ca-ti, with a mysterious 
 air, resisted all calls for "Old Glory" till the 
 very end, when she called for it herself, ask- 
 ing to have the last stanza sung as a march 
 while the girls were leaving the craft-house. 
 
 It was a game of "Follow my Leader," 
 and out of the door they went, hands on each 
 others' shoulders, proclaiming gaily to the 
 world : 
 
 49 
 
m m m n b © sa^^ggs eo 
 
 "We come, we come, we come, 
 To the roll of the rattling drum!" 
 
 and wound, in as even a line as they could, up 
 over the rocky path to the tennis court, then 
 round and round, faster and faster, breaking 
 into a run and ending at last in a grand salute 
 to the flag that hung at the end of the court. 
 
 SWIMMING TIME 
 
 The rest of the morning passed quickly 
 enough in an introduction to the tents and 
 their dwellers, from far and high "Heavenly 
 Rest" and "The Heavenly Twins" (two tents 
 on one platform) to "Kingfishers" and "Whip- 
 poor-wills'' down to the house in the trees 
 where the "Blue Birds" live. 
 
 Before one could realize the time had come 
 for the swimming hour, and a crowd of happy 
 girls dashed down to the dock to wait for the 
 welcome call, "All in!" from Ti-ya-ta, who 
 was in command. 
 
 An unusually large number of the girls 
 could swim this year, and there was a clamor 
 at once for chances to take the hundred-yard 
 test, for each girl knew that without this she 
 could not enter a canoe. 
 
 There are few rules in camp, but those 
 
 50 
 
M S3ffittg3£ft U E3 ES o 
 
 governing the going into the water and the 
 coming out of it are inflexible, and to them in- 
 stant and unquestioned obedience is required. 
 Not even councilors are allowed in canoes un- 
 til they have taken the swimming test. This 
 is not only a safeguard against accidents, but 
 it acts as an incentive for girls to bend every 
 energy to learn to swim. All girls want to go 
 in canoes, so naturally, if for no other reason, 
 they learn to swim as soon as possible. 
 
 He-ta-ya and one of the twins had asked 
 first to take the test, and one after the other 
 they started out, close beside the row-boat, 
 which moved slowly across the clear water to 
 the beach, until it made the distance at last, 
 and a cheer went up from the dock. 
 
 "Oh, Wohelo! Oh, Wohelo! 
 We raise a song to you, 
 For we'll ever be true 
 To the white and the blue, 
 Oh, He-ta-ya, we sing to you!" 
 
 There was a different cheer for the twin, for 
 Wohelo maids love variety. 
 
 "You don't know what a wonderful feel- 
 ing it gives you," said one of the girls after 
 
 51 
 
she had taken the swimming test. "You feel 
 so free and so unafraid, as if you had gotten 
 the lake in your power!" Both cheers were 
 repeated formally at dinner, which is the offi- 
 cial time for cheers of every sort. 
 
 ROUTINE OF CAMP 
 
 Dinner that second day was served beside 
 Hiiteni's fireplace. There was a great kettle 
 of pilau, which is a mixture of rice, chicken, 
 and tomatoes, and was served, with other good 
 things, on paper plates. How little it really 
 requires to make a happy meal! Not every 
 banquet is eaten with half the zest of this out- 
 door dinner. 
 
 After dinner came rest hour, during which 
 the girls understood that they were expected 
 to be quiet in their tents, though reading and 
 writing letters were allowed, and some other 
 things happened occasionally that were not in 
 the schedule. At three o'clock the bugle 
 sounded again, and the girls assembled for the 
 Saturday afternoon trip to the village, which 
 ended in a gathering at the ice-cream store and 
 the happy hour of mail from home. 
 
 While the others were feasting on ice- 
 cream, Alaska had been seen triumphantly 
 
 53 
 
waving a large piece of tinfoil, which she had 
 captured by hook or by crook. Mysteries were 
 in the air all the afternoon, "The Chipmunks" 
 were studying a typewritten thing that looked 
 like a song, and others of the girls spent fever- 
 ish moments with their heads together, plot- 
 ting the evening's performance. When they 
 reached camp again the wise ones made a 
 quick dash for the properties trunk in the 
 bungalow loft. 
 
 THE MAGIC STAGE 
 
 The stage was the tennis court, with a fire 
 in the big fireplace on the farther side, and 
 Japanese lanterns to add to the festivity. 
 Alaska's tinfoil was explained when her girls 
 appeared with silver crowns on their heads, 
 and vivid costumes of red and blue to suit the 
 new song of patriotism which they sang. They 
 stood high on the rock above the fire with the 
 dark trees behind them, a daring bit of stag- 
 ing that thrilled the audience below. All of 
 the other scenes were given on the tennis court, 
 within the circle of the listeners, who changed 
 places from time to time, leaving the audience 
 to take their own parts on the magic stage 
 with its mysterious shadows and shifting lights. 
 
 54 
 
m s^^sas u m g m 
 
 The small white goat which Helpful the 
 Little had brought with him from the city was 
 a prominent actor in several of the scenes, as 
 he had become a great favorite in camp. 
 
 The themes ranged all the way from Votes 
 for Women to affairs in Mexico. But through 
 them all, from "The Chipmunks' " dear little 
 song to "The Heavenly Twins' " melodrama, 
 in which the good knight "Sanitas" rescued a 
 Camp Fire Girl from the power of candy, so- 
 das, ginger ale and the nightmare of patent 
 medicines, to the last act by "Top o' the 
 Rocks" and "Fawassa," in which "Work," 
 "Health," and "Love" gave the freedom of 
 camp to the Girl, wound a thread of thought 
 of the freedom that comes from health and 
 right living, which makes one strong to do and 
 dare. 
 
 "Candy," personified, or represented by 
 an empty box, made numerous appearances 
 on the stage. Possibly this was to be explained 
 by the candy incident on the train, and a talk 
 that had been given in councilors' meeting the 
 next day. At all events the slavery to candy 
 gradually became a thing unknown in camp, 
 without the announcement of any laws or pen- 
 alties. 
 
 55 
 
§IIG01§1 S3ft£?» m 
 
 After the girls from the different tents had 
 all covered themselves with glory there came 
 a call to the craft-house for music. The Jap- 
 anese lanterns went, too, transforming the 
 rustic porch, a fit setting for the strains of the 
 "Song of the Evening Star," which floated 
 out to the listening figures on the veranda 
 floor and away over the dark water. Then, to 
 crown the beauty of the night, a great raft 
 appeared and slowly burst into a blaze, a 
 blaze that floated and floated, fairy-like 
 against the darkness, till the watchers drifted 
 with it, far, far out on a raft of dreams, to 
 lands that never were. 
 
 Ma-na 
 
 56 
 
The Blue Bird's Nest 
 
IV 
 THE THREEFOLD FLAME 
 
 CUNDAYS at camp were quiet days, with 
 leisure for visiting, reading, writing home 
 letters, taking pleasant walks, or paddling 
 about on the lake in happy groups. 
 
 But no two days in camp were alike, and 
 this first Sunday was set apart from all oth- 
 ers by a rare talk from Timanous at the morn- 
 ing service. It w r as a trifle difficult for one 
 who had known Timanous only as comrade 
 and leader in the gaiety of camp to imagine 
 him in the character of preacher, but his au- 
 dience was not less attentive for that reason. 
 The girls were glad to sit for an hour at a 
 time, and scarcely thought of being tired or 
 cramped when Timanous talked. 
 
 His theme this morning was an invitation 
 to all to seek the key to these new sensations 
 that were coming to them each day, the great 
 inner joy which lies behind every little touch 
 with Nature, — the sound of the waves in the 
 stillness when one wakens in the night, the 
 
 58 
 
m sBfi^sss n fa n m m 
 
 clinging touch of the water when they gave 
 themselves to its clasp, the sun in the spray, 
 the feeling of the earth on bare, wet feet, and 
 the glow that follows the morning dip when 
 the air is chill and bracing. "The key to it 
 all," Timanous said, "the nameless something 
 that thrills to deepest depths, is the love of 
 God at work through his world of nature." 
 And he read a number of beautiful poems, 
 closing with St. Francis's noble "Canticle of 
 the Sun," which made the heartstrings vibrate 
 to this note of loving reverence. 
 
 Timanous returned that afternoon to the 
 big city, where the work of the great Camp 
 Fire Girls' organization needed him. But he 
 had set the imaginations of those in camp to 
 work with an enthusiasm that promised much 
 for their understanding of the first law of the 
 Camp Fire, "Seek Beauty," and they were 
 ready for the fuller explanation which Mon- 
 day brought of the plan for the summer's 
 work and play, and how it was to be related 
 to the poetry of life as well as to the prac- 
 tical work of womanhood by the Camp Fire 
 flame of Work, Health and Love. 
 
 Between the morning service and the craft- 
 hour, which began at nine-thirty and ended at 
 
 59 
 
m m m o h ® ^; v E °s m 
 
 eleven-thirty, there was usually about a half- 
 hour's time for putting tents in order against 
 the coming of the tent inspector, who proved 
 to be Ta-ku, a capable young college girl 
 whose popularity could not be hurt even by 
 this unwelcome position. But formalities had 
 not yet begun on this first Monday, and the 
 morning service was followed by a short talk 
 on the craft-work of camp. 
 
 CRAFT WORK AND SYMBOLISM 
 
 Woh-do-ke-ca showed paddles decorated 
 with the girls' own symbols, carved wooden 
 spoons, dainty balsam pillows, and some 
 painted wooden boxes — these last promising 
 to be the fad of the season. Ce-ki-ca-ti held out 
 glowing prospects of silver bracelets, rings, 
 and other jewelry to be taken home in the fall, 
 while work in pottery, weaving, and dyeing 
 were discussed, and vied with one another in 
 kindling anticipations of delightful mornings. 
 A filmy scarf of chiffon bordered with a wood- 
 block pattern in salmon pink and gray, de- 
 signed from a fungus and the silver bark of 
 the birch on which it was found, suggested 
 possibilities for the interpretation of woodsy 
 things in forms fitted for use as well as beauty. 
 
 60 
 
m !i grists HG000 
 
 Quite naturally after this came Hiiteni's 
 talk about the symbolism which is so much a 
 part of Camp Fire life, as it has been a part 
 of the lives of all primitive women who have 
 woven lovely things from Nature's materials 
 with Nature's own beauty to guide them. 
 "Every Camp Fire girl," explained Hiiteni, 
 "is expected to choose a symbol of her own, 
 to express in artistic form that which in her 
 heart she most wishes to be. This symbol she 
 is to use in all of her craft work, just as the 
 Indian woman wove her symbol into her bas- 
 kets, and so made them a poetic expression of 
 her life." The form of the symbol, the girls 
 learned, can be changed to suit the different 
 materials in which it is used. 
 
 Then, very simply, came the story of how 
 this symbolism had grown up in the camps of 
 other years, and how the girls had been helped 
 in their plan of life by choosing for themselves 
 names as well as symbols for use in the Coun- 
 cil Fire, and as an expression of the ideals that 
 were to rule their lives. Slowly, in all its 
 charm, was shown the plan of the Camp Fire 
 Girls' organization, with its honor beads 
 awarded for achievements in the seven crafts, 
 Home - Craft, Health - Craft, Camp - Craft, 
 
 61 
 
Hand-Craft, Nature-Lore, Business, and Pa- 
 triotism; and its rank of progress, Wood-Gath- 
 erer, Fire-Maker, and last and noblest, Torch- 
 Bearer, the rank of those who are ready to 
 pass on to others the light which they have 
 received. 
 
 The girls ran gaily out of the craft-house 
 singing a little song Embers had taught them, 
 which now had a new meaning: 
 
 "Every Camp Eire maiden has a symbol 
 all her own! 
 Every thought and feeling by some 
 symbol can be shown ! " 
 
 But under the gaiety of it they were think- 
 ing hard, for the haunting symbol-search had 
 laid hold upon them. The whole summer 
 opened before them, with fascinating oppor- 
 tunities for winning honors, especially in 
 health-craft and hand-craft. 
 
 CEREMONIAL GOWNS 
 
 Perhaps the most pressing problem of all, 
 for the time being, was that of their ceremonial 
 costumes, without which they could not become 
 Wood Gatherers or even enter the charmed 
 circle of the Council Fire. 
 
 63 
 
® m m n m ® isa^sa^ss m 
 
 Over in the bungalow, as the afternoon 
 wore on, Mna-ka fitted the girls for costumes, 
 postponing her lessons in weaving till this im- 
 portant task should be finished. There were 
 yards and yards of khaki, and a generous pile 
 of brown leather skins to make fringe for the 
 gowns, but as several of the girls had not even 
 tried to use a sewing machine before, it was 
 no slight task to transform the materials into 
 simple, but well-made, gowns. Mna-ka cut 
 them all, but each girl made her own, as no one 
 wanted to miss the hand-craft honor for doing 
 so. Ni-ma-ha, who had never tried to do any 
 sewing, surprised herself and the rest by stitch- 
 ing straighter seams than many an older girl. 
 
 The most difficult lesson for all to learn 
 was to gather up their materials when they 
 had finished work. As the cloth was all alike, 
 it was not quite safe to leave one's material in 
 the bungalow and expect to find it in the same 
 place next day. The exasperating stuff would 
 disappear! This was not conducive to poetic 
 feeling, but was not the least of the lessons 
 of Camp Fire for all that. Nearly all of the 
 things which happened at camp had a way of 
 teaching valuable lessons without seeming to 
 
 do so. 
 
 64 
 
NAMES AND SYMBOLS 
 
 Meanwhile those who were not busy with 
 their costumes were besieging Woh-do-ke-ca 
 and Embers in the craft-house for help in the 
 choice of names and symbols to express the 
 things they wished. Sun-o-wa, after careful 
 thought, had decided that her desires were for 
 music, friends and happiness, which were sym- 
 bolized for her by the sunlight on the water, 
 sunshine being happiness, the sparkles friends, 
 and the water music. But she could find no 
 name which would combine these thoughts; 
 she was in despair until the suggestion came 
 of combining parts of the words "Sun on 
 water" to make the name "Sunowa." One of 
 the twins chose as her symbol an eagle mount- 
 ing toward the sun, the idea being to seek per- 
 fection in all she undertook, and she was strug- 
 gling to make an artistic design that should 
 combine this symbol with the Indian sign for 
 thought. 
 
 Not every girl knew at once what she 
 wished to express by her symbol, but as the 
 afternoon shadows grew longer several went 
 about happily telling their friends that they 
 had succeeded in the search. "I've found my 
 symbol," one gleefully proclaimed, "It's the 
 
 Go 
 
humming-bird, and it means finding the good 
 in everybody. The Indian name of it is To- 
 he-ha, and that's my name!" Thoughtful 
 Su-ni was just as happy in her quieter way 
 when she had found a symbol for her name, 
 which means "Doing more than is asked," a 
 true and beautiful expression of her character. 
 
 THE FIRST COUXCIL FIRE 
 
 While the girls were busy, the supper com- 
 mittee, which happened that night to be from 
 one of "The Heavenly" tents, had planned a 
 little surprise. The bugle sounded from the 
 dock, and when the girls came they were as- 
 signed to canoes and sent out on the lake, to 
 land, they knew not where. Indeed, they did 
 not land at all, but ate in their canoes, with 
 sandwiches, milk, and cake served from the 
 launch. Under the surprise and restfulness of 
 it the day's excitement died away, leaving 
 quieted spirits for the first Council Fire of the 
 year. 
 
 It was held on the tennis court, the "old 
 girls" in costume forming the circle, the "new 
 girls" sitting on the edge of the woods, drink- 
 ing in the beauty of the scene with rapt atten- 
 tion. Many of them now saw for the first time 
 
 66 
 
the bringing of fire from wood by the rubbing 
 sticks, as it was done in early days by the In- 
 dians. Ti-ya-ta made the fire, while from the 
 circle rose softly, like a breath of the woods, 
 an old Indian melody — the Fire Song. 
 
 "Keep rolling, keep rolling, 
 Keep rolling, keep rolling!" 
 
 swelling with the triumphant note: 
 
 "Smoke arises! smoke arises! 
 And the smoke, sweetly scented! " 
 
 as a little white wreath curled slowly from the 
 wood-dust under Ti-ya-ta's hand. All the 
 circle shared with her effort, the anxious wait- 
 ing, the sweet victory, the preciousness of the 
 gift that in modern times has come to us so 
 easily that we do not realize the part it plays 
 in our lives. 
 
 As the spark was caught by the tinder, 
 fanned to a flame, and touched to the waiting 
 wood in the great fireplace, the girls of the 
 circle rose to sing "Burn, Fire, Burn," with in- 
 terpreting motions, while those in the woods 
 listened and shared the poetry of this primal 
 experience — the making of the fire, around 
 
 67 
 
bMO 
 
 ~l 
 
 
which woman's home and woman's happiness 
 have centered since the great gift of it was 
 first given to the world. 
 
 The ceremonial was continued with a roll- 
 call of those who had been in camp the year 
 before. Following this two Counts were read, 
 one by Ti-ya-ta, telling of the journey to 
 camp this year, the other by Embers, recount- 
 ing something of the events that had taken 
 place before camp had formally opened — how 
 the goat had chewed off some of Kee-wee's 
 hair, and how four girls had helped to shingle 
 the little house, Wakana Hit (house of In- 
 spiration) built for Timanous, that it might 
 be complete before he came. The Count 
 ended with the story of the week of rain that 
 had preceded the girls' arrival, and a happy 
 burst of welcoming gladness: 
 
 "On it rained, as if the sunshine 
 Had been swallowed up forever 
 By the great gray- feathered cloud bird! 
 Till, like Noah's gorgeous rainbow, 
 Promise of the sun and sunshine, 
 Came the sound of merry voices, 
 Came your songs and happy laughter. 
 And the sight of you brought sunshine 
 
 70 
 
To the world, and to our hearts, too — 
 Burst the sun forth o'er Wohelo 
 And we welcomed you together! 
 No more lonesome, no more silent, 
 Now Wohelo's tents are happy, 
 Sheltering you so long, long absent; 
 Now the rocks are no more voiceless, 
 Ringing with your songs and laughter, 
 And our hearts are very happy 
 That you all are here, my sisters." 
 
 Then Hiiteni asked Alaska and the guar- 
 dian from Kansas City each to tell something 
 of their Camp Fires at home. It was interest- 
 ing to hear of the tireless efforts by which a 
 camp had been established in Kansas City, 
 and thrilling to know of the Camp Fire in 
 far-away Alaska, where the girls were learn- 
 ing to brave rain and snow in their wet, cold 
 country to go out among its beautiful mount- 
 ains for fun and health. The girls realized as 
 never before, how great a thing it was to be 
 a part of this nation-wide circle of girls of 
 which they had that morning been told. 
 
 The fire was flickering low when they rose 
 and circled slowly out into the darkness to the 
 strains of the good-night song, "The Sun Is 
 
 71 
 
m m m n b ® iss^^s m 
 
 Sinking in the West," humming softly and 
 more softly as they scattered to their tents and 
 found their way to rest in the darkness. And 
 one heard whisperings from those girls to 
 whom it was all so new and wonderful, "Oh, 
 isn't Camp Fire splendid! I want to belong 
 as soon as I can!" 
 
 Kini-da-ka 
 
 72 
 
V 
 CAMPING IN THE MIST 
 
 "TITH AT is the matter with the end-table? 1 ' 
 * * someone whispered at dinner on Wed- 
 nesday. Loh-ah and Kani-da-ka, who were 
 waiting on the end-table that day, turned rosv 
 and giggled as they walked to and from the 
 serving table, and it was a moment before any- 
 one could discover the reason for their peculiar 
 appearance. "Oh, they've put on their middies 
 wrong-side before!" It burst upon everyone 
 at once that the end-table was nearly choking 
 in its heroic attempts to be original, with the big 
 square collars, that should have been behind, 
 hanging down oddly under their chins. 
 
 "Babies — why — are — you wearing bibs?" 
 chanted Ti-ya-ta's table in a strong, clear 
 chorus, talking together, as the girls often did 
 in camp. 
 
 What those of the end-table would have 
 replied in self-defense no one knows, for at 
 that moment Hiiteni called for silence, and 
 made an announcement that drove all other 
 
 73 
 
m m m sa s © sa^sas m 
 
 thoughts into the background. She asked all 
 of the girls to go to the tennis court immedi- 
 ately after rest-hour, taking their ponchos and 
 blankets, to learn from Ho-sa how to roll 
 these for a camping trip. A camping trip! 
 The air was full of mystery and delight ! 
 
 LEARNING TO MAKE 
 A PONCHO ROLL 
 
 When they reached the tennis court Ho-sa, 
 with Ge-me-wun-ac's help, was cutting ropes 
 in two different lengths, and distributing them 
 to the girls as they arrived. Ho-sa was one 
 of the oldest campers, having been with the 
 camp since its very beginning, and was wise 
 in all its ways. She went about her work to- 
 day with a sphinx-like deliberation that made 
 one feel she had in trust some vast secret 
 which she would reveal only when the ap- 
 pointed moment should arrive. 
 
 By her direction each girl spread her 
 poncho wrong side up on the tennis court, and 
 laid her blankets straight upon it. One or two 
 who had brought small ponchos were puzzled 
 until Ho-sa explained that they must fold 
 their blankets to make them fit, as the poncho 
 should extend beyond the blankets on every 
 
 74 
 
m es^mss u fa n @ m 
 
 side. "Now," said Ho-sa, stooping beside the 
 nearest poncho, "lay your nightgown, and 
 whatever else you want to take with you, near 
 the edge, this way, and then roll the whole as 
 tightly as you can, from the side, and tie it 
 in the middle — so ! Be sure you make a square 
 knot, or it will come undone, and spill every- 
 thing. Then tie the longer rope around one 
 end, not too near the end or it will slip off, 
 and then around the other end, holding them 
 together — so! Now you are ready to throw 
 your poncho over your shoulder, and tramp 
 away." 
 
 She slung the horse-shoe-shaped roll over 
 her shoulder, and walked off a little, looking 
 so very camper-like that the girls could 
 scarcely wait to be following her example. 
 They fell to work on their own ponchos, work- 
 ing in twos for the most part, because they 
 could roll the bundles more tightly by working 
 one at each end. Ho-sa watched them, giving 
 correction or advice where either was needed, 
 and meanwhile explaining how to make their 
 beds when the camping place was reached. 
 
 "You'll find it easier," she said, "to sleep 
 two together, using one poncho on the ground 
 and the other over you, and if you have enough 
 
 75 
 
® Ull E3 B ^3 S»S ID 
 
 blankets to put more than one under you, it 
 makes your bed much softer. Pin all the 
 blankets together around the edges with big 
 blanket pins, clasping them through the eye- 
 lets in the edge of the poncho. In that way 
 you make a big sleeping bag into which you 
 can crawl and sleep snugly without fear of 
 taking cold even though the ground is damp 
 or the dew falls heavily." 
 
 "And if you sleep alone how do you make 
 your bed?" asked one of the girls. 
 
 "Oh, you just fold your blankets and pon- 
 cho over all together, and make a narrow bag 
 instead of a wide one. Some people like that 
 better than 'sleeping in twos.' ' 
 
 But most of the girls saw delightful possi- 
 bilities of chumming in the first plan, and 
 there was much pairing off in advance. Any- 
 one could have guessed that Pi-ki-da and 
 I-wa-da-ka would sleep together, for theirs 
 was one of the cases of inseparability which 
 had been evident almost from the first. And 
 they began to plan at once for being together. 
 Ki-lo-des-da was heard making similar ar- 
 rangements with Loh-ah, and Ti-ya-ta, their 
 councilor, hastily decided to make her bed near 
 theirs, wherever that might be. "If those two 
 
 76 
 
get together there will be some mischief brew- 
 ing," she declared. 
 
 LAUNCHING THE WAR-CANOE 
 
 The camping trip was to begin on Thurs- 
 day afternoon, and the girls would scarcely 
 have known how to wait patiently if some- 
 thing had not happened that was almost as 
 exciting as the thoughts of the prospective 
 trip. As soon as the ponchos were carried back 
 to the tents the bugle called the girls together 
 to go to Wohelo Island to launch the war- 
 canoe. The "old girls" shouted with delight, 
 and the "new girls" thrilled with anticipation 
 when they heard of a large canoe in which 
 twelve or more could paddle together, and of 
 regular drill, with fancy strokes, and an "All- 
 Wohelo" crew to be picked before the end of 
 the summer. 
 
 The island, where the war-canoe had been 
 lying high and dry, waiting for its summer 
 playtime, was only a short distance across the 
 water, and, with the help of the good launch, 
 "Red Beak," and canoes for those who were 
 allowed to enter them, all soon reached it, 
 finding it a pretty wooded spot with rocky 
 shores. 
 
 77 
 
m issftsss 11 m a @ m 
 
 After a scramble through the trees the war- 
 canoe was discovered, and with a cry of de- 
 light the girls marshalled themselves around it, 
 placed their shoulders under the sides, and, 
 with Helpful the Great sitting reluctantly on 
 its big backbone, carried it to the water's 
 brink, there to launch it with shouts of glee. 
 
 It was soon manned by a crew and swung 
 away to the rhythmic tune : 
 
 "Oh, we own the lake! 
 Oh, we own the lake! 
 Oh, we own the lake the people say! 
 Oh, we own the lake! 
 Oh, we own the lake! 
 W-O-H-E-L-O, yea, yea!" 
 
 Instead of going back to camp the girls 
 were kept on the island while the "Red Beak" 
 returned to bring their suppers to them. The 
 war-canoe came back with its impromptu 
 crew, and supper was served from a lone, 
 high boulder and eaten beside a roaring fire. 
 There were sandwiches and milk and mara- 
 schino jam, with a beautiful birthday cake to 
 crown it all, for it was I-ma-ga-ga's birthday, 
 and the candles were named and blown out 
 
 79 
 
m m m n b m ^^s m 
 
 with proper ceremony. After supper the "new 
 girls" were required to entertain the "old 
 girls" with stunts, but as there were more "new 
 girls" this year than usual they showed a very 
 independent spirit. Under Te-ca-ya's leader- 
 ship they worked up a fine charade and gave 
 it, but firmly refused to do individual stunts 
 unless the girls could guess their charade. But 
 their triumph was short-lived, for clever 
 Ti-ya-ta guessed it, so the girls were obliged 
 to tell rhymes and jokes. 
 
 This was the first of many Wednesday 
 night suppers on the island, which came to be 
 one of the familiar haunts. But, perhaps be- 
 cause this was the first, every moment of the 
 evening was keen-edged with delight, and the 
 girls were reluctant to go home to their wait- 
 ing tents. But at last they crossed the water 
 in the quiet night stillness, wondering if a 
 camping trip could be much more delightful 
 than this! 
 
 THE FIRST CAMPING TRIP 
 
 The next day dawned clear, exhilarating, 
 with sunlight dancing in the trees and on the 
 water. Impatiently the girls lived through 
 craft-hour, folk-dancing and rest hour, then 
 
 80 
 
hurried up to the tennis court to spread and 
 roll their blankets. They were all in dark 
 serge middies, and in a twinkle of time they 
 had their ponchos over their shoulders ready 
 for tramping. 
 
 Ce-ki-ca-ti came up with a smile to an- 
 nounce: "We start from the canoe dock. All 
 down to the canoes as quickly as you can get 
 there!" After she had enjoyed their surprise 
 for a moment, she added, "We thought we 
 had better give you an easy trip for the first." 
 
 The girls loved canoeing too well to be dis- 
 appointed, and willingly laid their ponchos 
 in the bottom of the craft and arranged them- 
 selves under Ti-ya-ta's direction. It was some- 
 thing of a test of judgment to arrange the 
 canoes. In all water trips greatest care was 
 taken against accident. No canoes could start 
 without a "water- witch," one who had not only 
 taken the test of the 100-yard swim, but swum 
 a distance about twice as far as that of the 
 test, undressed in deep water, tipped over a 
 canoe, righted it, and paddle to shore again, 
 and, in addition, showed herself possessed of 
 skill and judgment necessary to one who was 
 to be trusted with the management of a ca- 
 noe with other girls in it. 
 
 81 
 
m m m n b @ issues \ 
 
 The decorated canoe procession 
 
 At last the canoes were ready to start, the 
 girls who had not taken the test in the war- 
 canoe, and soon they were paddling over the 
 lake, the hills echoing to their happy songs 
 and laughter. 
 
 They passed several islands and a number 
 of pretty points and coves along the shores 
 before they reached the long, sandy beach of 
 Frye's Island, where they were to land. There 
 was room here to draw up the canoes along the 
 shore, build a great fire, and cook supper, and 
 plenty of space besides for spreading the pon- 
 
 82 
 
chos on the sand to make the beds. Most of 
 the girls chose their places at once, some look- 
 ing for secluded spots among the trees, while 
 a few lazily dropped their ponchos wherever 
 they landed, trusting to luck to find a good 
 place to sleep. The thoughtful ones began to 
 gather drift wood, and soon a fire was blaz- 
 ing merrily. 
 
 The girls had scarcely noticed a bank of 
 mist that was rolling slowly up from the west 
 shore of the lake, but now its filmy blanket 
 
 'Dipping our paddlers, 
 Now swift, now slow' 3 
 
 83 
 
m u m q Ei sa^^aas m 
 
 spread softly over their cove, and across the 
 clear blue waters of the lake, till the warmth 
 and sunshine vanished, and the dancing waters 
 grew gray under its chilly touch. The "Red 
 Beak," coming later with its precious freight 
 of food for the trip, bringing also Hiiteni and 
 a guest, had been wrapped in the mist soon 
 after leaving camp, and was guided to the 
 girls by the light of their fire, which glowed, 
 like a living thing out of the soft, gray blue of 
 the level shore. Coming nearer, Hiiteni saw 
 the dark canoes drawn up along the water's 
 edge, and the girls moving about, so busy and 
 contented, so at home there, camping in the 
 mist, that she was drawn irresistibly toward 
 the magnet of the fire, with its cozy protec- 
 tion against all the chill outside world. 
 
 SUPPER AND FROLIC IN THE MIST 
 
 As soon as the provisions brought by the 
 "Red Beak" had been landed, black pots be- 
 gan to boil over little fires along the shore — 
 the big fire was chiefly for comfort and com- 
 pany — and the supper of bread and butter, 
 boiled potatoes, creamed beef, and maple 
 syrup boiled down on walnuts was speedily 
 cooked. Some of the girls who were not busy 
 
 84 
 
M SBtfE&T&S 11 O ® EO 
 
 paddled around the cove, making dreamily 
 beautiful pictures in the mist, but none were 
 absent when the committee began serving the 
 appetizing supper to the hungry girls. 
 
 The real Frye's Island frolic came after 
 supper. A huge stump was blazing on the 
 fire now, making strange shadows and weird 
 fire pictures. The mist wrapped the scene 
 about with a veil of privacy and aloofness, till 
 in that lonely spot the rest of the world 
 seemed hardly to exist at all. One by one 
 strange forms crept out from the bushes to 
 bask in the glow of the fire. Hair down, arms 
 bare, one in flaming yellow, another in sea 
 green, with now a kimono of scarlet wrapped 
 about bare white feet, or gowns of white 
 draped and girdled in fantastic forms, the 
 mist-maidens began their revelry. They 
 danced before the fire with sylph-like grace; 
 they acted a tragic Indian legend; they sang 
 quaint old English folk-songs, repeating with 
 thrilling impressiveness the one which ends, 
 
 "Tonight she'll sleep in the cold open field, 
 Along with the raggle-taggle gypsies, oh!" 
 
 The mystic beauty of the scene had cast 
 its spell over all, and set to its own harmony 
 
 85 
 
m m m n ® gs^^ggK 01 
 
 the thoughts, the feelings, even the fun and 
 frolic of the night. 
 
 It was late before Hiiteni could bring her- 
 self to call the revelry to an end, but at last 
 she invited all to a good-night dip in the lake. 
 Gladly they went, and mysteriously the waters 
 closed about them, soft and cool. The beauty 
 of the scene can only be described by Embers's 
 poem: 
 
 IN MEMORY OF FRYE'S ISLAND 
 The sand was silver white. The night 
 Was tenanted with wraiths of mist. 
 The dusky pebbles on the shore 
 Were wetly kissed. 
 And thick against the sky, and high, 
 The forest crowded down to meet 
 The mist wraiths hovering on the sand 
 About its feet. 
 
 Upon the sand, a band 
 
 Of maidens circled 'round a fire 
 
 That redly blazed, and touched with gold 
 
 Their strange attire. 
 
 Sounds rose of mystic chants, their dance 
 
 Wove in and out with solemn tread. 
 
 Reflected in the shifting waves 
 
 The fire was red. 
 
 86 
 
m &?i& ^ u ® m m m m 
 
 The dance grew fast, its song more strong, 
 
 Then melted to a rosy flight 
 
 Of gleaming forms, that stole away, 
 
 Fire-touched with light, 
 
 And slipped into a swirl and curl 
 
 Of mist-clad waters, softly cool, 
 
 Whose velvet cling closed swiftly 'round 
 
 Without a sound. 
 
 The witchery of that hour a power has given 
 To take the clean, wild gifts of earth and 
 
 heaven, 
 The love of stars at night, the light of fire. 
 The joy of song, the mystery of desire, 
 And dare the freedom of a wild new birth 
 Into the silent, great, glad joys of earth. 
 
 The warmth of the fire welcomed the maid- 
 ens back to earth and reality, and soon they 
 were slipping into their beds on the sand, too 
 happy at first to lose any of the new experi- 
 ence by falling asleep. The loon laughed his 
 long, eerie laughter, far out over the lake. 
 Close by, in the marshes of the island, a frog 
 tuned his bass viol with vigor, and the girls 
 felt as if they were waiting restlessly for the 
 tune to begin. But they fell asleep still wait- 
 
 87 
 
ing, and when they woke it was daylight, and 
 a chickadee was balancing on the end of a 
 branch to sing them a friendly good-morning. 
 The early risers tried to be very quiet, 
 talking to each other in sign language and 
 moving about with mysterious silence; but 
 the sleepiest woke at last, and tongues were 
 loosened, and everyone hurried down to chris- 
 ten the new day with a dip. Then came break- 
 fast, with fried toast cooked on little fires in a 
 row between two logs, and cocoa from one 
 large kettle. Half a dozen girls were given 
 frying pans, and after they had fried their 
 own toast they passed on the use of the fire 
 and the pan to others. "Have you promised 
 your frying pan? May I have it next?" was 
 the slogan. 
 
 "A TANGI" 
 
 The sun was bright that morning, so every- 
 one was glad to sit in the shade and do craft- 
 work, wood-blocks, bead-bands, etc., while a 
 story was read aloud. Then came another dip, 
 a hurried rolling of ponchos, and the "Red 
 Beak" was at hand again to take them home. 
 A stiff breeze had risen, making the return 
 quite a different thing from the trip of the 
 day before. Everyone was tired, and a few 
 
 39 
 
0MG0 @ gs^^ggs m 
 
 who were not very good sailors, were seasick 
 when the shore came in sight. 
 
 "How good camp looks!" cried Ma-na. 
 
 "But how terribly civilized it seems!" an- 
 swered Wa-ye-ka, looking with a dazed ex- 
 pression from one to another of the trim little 
 tents which a day or two before had seemed 
 so very primitive. It was a far cry back to 
 the city life, yet so gradually had they come 
 that they scarcely realized the steps they had 
 taken. 
 
 Supper that night was simple and quiet, 
 beside Hiiteni's fireplace, and after it Alaska, 
 clad in strange costume, talked from the high 
 rock about the native people of New Zealand, 
 where her childhood days had been spent. She 
 told of many interesting customs and tradi- 
 tions, but the one that particularly impressed 
 the girls was the tangi, which, she explained, 
 was a meeting of women to weep together, for- 
 mally, over one who died. 
 
 That night after the girls had gone to their 
 tents a woesome noise arose from "Niebelun- 
 gen" and was caught up by "The Heavenlies" 
 and swept over all the camp, a noise like a 
 nursery full of grown-up babies deprived of 
 their favorite toys. It was a tangi. Why it was 
 
 90 
 
m ssft^.ss u @ ® m 
 
 given no one knew, unless because the first 
 camping trip of the season was over, and the 
 "Camp in the Mist" could never again be any- 
 thing but a memory in the hearts of the weep- 
 ers. 
 
 Ca-da- 
 
 91 
 
VI 
 
 MASTERING THE WATER AND 
 PRIMITIVE COOKING 
 
 "T^rE pull long, we pull strong, we pull 
 * * keen and true, 
 A dip now, a foaming prow, through waters 
 
 so blue. 
 We sing to the king of the big black rocks, 
 Through waters we glide like a long-tailed 
 fox!" 
 
 On the second Tuesday of camp this song 
 echoed across the lake, for crew practice had 
 begun. The four crews had already been 
 chosen, "The Flying Fishes," "The Singing 
 Swans," "The Blue Beavers" — the fourth was 
 yet nameless, as there had been but three in 
 other years. Helpful was to train two of the 
 crews, and To-mo-ke the other two. 
 
 Monday evening had been the time of 
 Council Fire, and the girls were a trifle sleep- 
 ier than usual, but the crew of "The Flying 
 Fishes" struggled bravely out of slumber at 
 a quarter of seven to the rattle of pebbles on 
 
 92 
 
m gBftSSEES H S3 O © EQ 
 
 the tent roof. Dressed in bathing suits, they 
 tumbled sleepily into their places in the war- 
 canoe for the half hour of drill in the myster- 
 ies of "rest, "cross-rest," "fin-rest," etc., not 
 to mention the simple art of paddling together 
 in perfect time. It was a beautiful sight on the 
 still morning to see the long canoe on the silent, 
 gray lake, moving rhythmically farther and 
 farther away, then returning gaily just as 
 camp awakened. The girls came in singing 
 "Oh, we own the lake !" with an accompani- 
 ment of waving paddles, and lined up on the 
 dock for their trainer's "Thanks for the day, 
 Comrades," to which they replied with a vig- 
 orous and prolonged "Yea!" that made the 
 rocks echo. Then they joined the other dip- 
 pers, and crew practice was over for that 
 morning. 
 
 LEARNING TO FLY 
 
 A dock was in place now, and the girls 
 noticed when they went out for their practice 
 that morning that a springboard had been 
 added. This meant that diving was to begin, 
 and the swimming hour was a time of great 
 excitement. Ki-lo-des-ka started the ball roll- 
 ing with her famous dives, and others soon f ol- 
 
 93 
 
lowed, some making neat, clean dives with 
 feet together, some going down flat with a 
 stinging pain, but getting up to try again. 
 Some, even of those who could swim, were too 
 timid to try diving, but the brave ones cheered 
 them on. He-ta-ya especially devoted herself 
 to helping Sun-o-wa, who only needed self- 
 confidence. But today she refused to attempt 
 to dive, so He-ta-ya gave her up at last, and 
 took her own turn at the springboard. She 
 had never learned any but the simplest form 
 of diving, but she watched Ki-lo-des-ka, and 
 tried some of her dives with a fearlessness and 
 skill that promised well for her future attain- 
 ment. 
 
 Meanwhile Ki-lo-des-ka had been swim- 
 ming under water, her yellow hair glinting 
 golden in the sunshine. Those who watched 
 her, disappearing for long intervals, coming 
 up to breathe, then swimming away again, un- 
 derstood how she had won her name of "The 
 Mermaid." Three other girls were out in the 
 lake with overturned canoes, trying with rare 
 persistence to splash out the water and paddle 
 back to shore. No sooner was one wave 
 splashed out, than another leaped defiantly in, 
 and the canoes were all the while drifting a 
 
 94 
 
Ki-lo-des-ha swimming under water 
 
little farther from shore in the wind. When 
 the swimming time ended Da-su, one of the 
 twins, had paddled to shore, but the others 
 were compelled to give up and try another day. 
 
 WELCOMING A GUEST 
 
 In their strenuous play the girls had given 
 little heed to a visitor who had arrived during 
 swimming hour, and now sat on the bank 
 watching, commenting in a pleasant, southern 
 drawl on all that they were doing, exclaiming 
 over the value of these lessons in self-reliance, 
 which would fit them to meet any emergency 
 that might arise. She sat there quietly, with 
 an air of leisure that might have led anyone 
 to suppose she had never done anything more 
 strenuous in her life than watch from the 
 grand stand and smile a graceful approval. 
 
 But at dinner-time word was given, "Sing 
 a cheer to Miss Moore." 
 
 "Oh," one after another exclaimed with 
 enthusiasm, "she is the government expert 
 who has come to teach us canning!" And they 
 sang with right good will: 
 
 "Give a cheer, give a cheer, 
 Wake the echoes far and near, 
 
 96 
 
To the pride of the white and blue ; 
 
 Oh, Wohelo, we'll sing till the mountain 
 
 echoes ring, 
 Miss Moore, here's to you!" 
 
 To this song of greeting Miss Moore made 
 smiling, graceful acknowledgment, and the 
 girls took her into their hearts at once, and 
 during her short visit in camp she proved that 
 they had made no mistake in giving her cordial 
 welcome. 
 
 Then Hiiteni made a little speech which 
 absorbed all thoughts. "This evening," she 
 said, "the girls of each tent may cook their 
 own suppers. If there is no fireplace beside 
 your tent you can build one. Last year the 
 weather was too dry so that we were afraid 
 of causing fires, but this year it will be quite 
 safe, and unless conditions change, we shall 
 do this every Tuesday night. Each group 
 must fill a pail of water and keep it near the 
 fire, to be used in case of emergency. Ti-ya-ta 
 will give out the provisions from the kitchen. 
 You may send two representatives from each 
 tent to receive them when the bugle blows. 
 There will be bacon, potatoes, bread and but- 
 ter, and materials for fudge. If you like, you 
 
 97 
 
® m m n b ®. assess m 
 
 Top o' the Rocks" 
 
 can pour the fudge on the bread and butter 
 before it is quite stiff, and make a delicious 
 dessert, but you may eat it as candy if you 
 prefer. Please decide during rest hour how 
 you will cook your food, and, if you need any 
 extra materials, you can ask for them when 
 you receive your supplies." 
 
 This meant a busy afternoon spent in 
 gathering wood, repairing the little stone fire- 
 places, and plunging into the delights of cook- 
 ery. Several girls prepared to cook supper 
 
 98 
 
m ^Mr w e°gTr l l § u m n ® eo 
 
 with Miss Moore at the guest tent, "Top o' 
 the Rocks," which is generally agreed to pos- 
 sess the most picturesque fireplace in camp. 
 It was built on the very edge of a rock which 
 slopes steeply down into the water, with a 
 little, sturdy, slanting pine tree leaning out 
 beside it, making Japanese outlines against the 
 sunset sky. 
 
 SUPPER-TIME IN THE TENTS 
 
 That evening Embers sat in the farthest 
 corner patiently baking potatoes in a special 
 fire under an overhanging rock, while the 
 others passed wood to her as she needed it, 
 and fed her with bread and butter and bacon. 
 Miss Moore toasted her slice of bacon with 
 girlish delight and enthusiasm, offering to 
 teach the girls how to make real southern hoe- 
 cake the next week. Dis-ya-di performed the 
 astonishing feat of stirring fudge with one 
 hand and holding her bacon stick with the 
 other, without harm to either. The little group 
 was just enjoying to the full the thrilling 
 sense of being quite independent of the devices 
 of civilization, when a call from above told 
 that someone was passing around with a large 
 tray of cake, bidding them take one piece each. 
 
 99 
 
m m m n m gs^^sas eo 
 
 With a noble effort they subdued their ob- 
 jections and helped themselves to cake. Then 
 "The Chipmunks" brought Miss Moore a dish 
 of ripe red raspberries which they had gath- 
 ered, washed, and sugared for her, and which 
 she insisted upon sharing with her supper- 
 mates. Gradually the "Tuesday-night-supper 
 feeling" began to come to every one, — the feel- 
 ing that there is a great deal too much to eat 
 in this world, and that it were best to lie down 
 and rest awhile after the exertion of doing 
 one's duty by it. Before the summer was 
 ended this feeling was too well known to need 
 comment. 
 
 But "The Top o' the Rocks" family ral- 
 lied bravely to new activities. A councilor 
 volunteered to be Miss Moore's guide on a 
 tour of the camp, while the others cleared up 
 the supper dishes. Some of the tents had fin- 
 ished their supper, but all had a little fudge 
 left for the purposes of hospitality, which they 
 pressed upon their visitors in spite of protests. 
 It was delicious, and the visitors were inter- 
 ested in observing the little differences in ways 
 and devices for cooking. "The Kingfishers" 
 had neatly spread on a paper plate the oiled 
 paper in which their bacon had been wrapped, 
 
 100 
 
SEBACO-WOHELO 
 CAMP FIRE GIRLS 
 
 II 00§0 
 
 The Heavenlies' kitchen 
 
 and poured their fudge out on this to harden. 
 Some had boiled their potatoes, some had 
 baked them, and one tent had served them 
 French fried. "The Whippies" had been 
 cooking in a kettle, which hung on a crane 
 over a large fireplace near the tennis court. 
 Now that the feast was over they had filled 
 the kettle with water, and were nobly wash- 
 ing their dishes in hot water, an example that 
 others might well have followed. Several of 
 the tents talked largely of the ovens they were 
 going to have, and the things they were going 
 
 101 
 
m m m n m »°„£° G « m 
 
 to bake, boasts which happily they lived to 
 fulfil. 
 
 Last of all the visitors came to "The Heav- 
 enly Twins," whose fireplace, on the highest 
 ledge of all, nearly rivalled in picturesque ef- 
 fect that of "Top o'the Rocks." When the 
 guests stood on the platform between the two 
 tents, looking down over the rustic railing, 
 the girls responded to their greeting by sing- 
 ing a fudge song they had composed while 
 eating, with He-ta-ya as cheer leader to direct 
 the tune and the motions. The song has not 
 survived the test of time, and perhaps the 
 world is not much poorer, but during its short 
 life it was a success. When other visitors came 
 up to the tents a little later they were cor- 
 dially urged to repeat the performance, and 
 they gracefully did so. 
 
 "THE HEAVENLIES" AS 
 ENTERTAINERS 
 
 The singers stood before the closed tent 
 flaps of "Heavenly II," while their audience 
 sat in the doorway of "Heavenly I," or re- 
 posed in comfort on its little cots. Cheering 
 was enthusiastic. Intoxicated by their success 
 the singers soared to undreamed of heights, and 
 
 102 
 
m iss^r^ss u m n © 10 
 
 volunteered to give an opera — or was it an up- 
 roar? They retired into the tent for costumes 
 that proved to be fearful and wonderful com- 
 binations, — dyed lingerie of the summer, sup- 
 plemented by a bath robe, a mannish straw hat, 
 and similar accessories. They rendered the Sex- 
 tette from Lucia, in six different keys at the 
 same time, and a tragic opera in an unknown 
 tongue, but with perfectly intelligible slayings 
 and lamentations. He-ta-ya and Te-pa gave 
 their famous "Toreadore" performance, 
 which never ceased to be called for, at inter- 
 vals, from that time until the end of camp. 
 Sun-o-wa rendered a Danish dance, and Ce-ki- 
 ca-ti came in just in time for a Spanish one, 
 with the aid of a scarf and sombrero. The 
 audience was steadily growing in numbers, 
 and was fairly shaking the tent with laughter 
 and applause. 
 
 After repeating each act several times the 
 actresses retired with many bows and modest 
 hints of their disappointment at the absence of 
 flowers. But the audience was so insistent for 
 more that at last they yielded. "We have one 
 more act to give," Ce-ki-ca-ti announced, "but 
 it will take us some time to prepare for it, and 
 we shall have to ask you to wait patiently." 
 
 103 
 
h m m n h @ sssftssss m 
 
 They drew the tent flaps behind them, 
 while the admiring audience slipped furtively 
 out for bouquets of hemlock branches. Then 
 they came back and waited. They waited long, 
 until at last it was discovered that the tent 
 behind the closed flaps was empty. The ac- 
 tresses had quietly climbed out by the back 
 way! And so the "Heavenly Opera" ended 
 as unexpectedly and quite as effectively as it 
 had begun. 
 
 These spontaneous gayeties — what is it 
 that suddenly calls them into existence in a 
 happy moment of exhilaration, dowering them 
 with a wild, wilful humor that we could not 
 have caught with months of forethought and 
 drill? It seemed as if this evening of cooking 
 together by the tent fire had called into being 
 a new element of comradeship that fused the 
 spirits and powers of the girls into joyous ex- 
 pression. 
 
 ~®F 
 
 Ca-oh 
 104 
 
r 0h, we own the Lake! 
 
VII 
 
 CANNING AND CAMPING 
 
 TF Miss Moore had been rather uniquely 
 A entertained on her first day in camp, it was 
 her turn now to open the eyes of the girls to 
 another kind of outdoor cookery that proved 
 scarcely less novel and fascinating. She ap- 
 peared the next morning in a trim white apron 
 and cap, and all in camp followed her to 
 the open space beside "The Blue Birds' " tent. 
 
 Tin cans and little tin tops came out of a 
 box, together with the very newest kind of 
 "topper," an ingenious device to aid in solder- 
 ing. Last came the canner itself, a square, 
 zinc box, with a chimney, which was easily 
 fitted into place. The lower compartment was 
 a firebox, the upper was to be filled with water, 
 and Miss Moore cautioned the girls never to 
 forget to put the water in before starting the 
 fire if they did not wish to ruin the canner. 
 
 There were amusing little stories to accom- 
 pany the explanation of the working of the 
 canner. One could see her, as she talked, vis- 
 
 106 
 
iting the towns of her state, and introducing 
 the subject of canning. She related some of 
 her conversations with women who evidently 
 had thought her a mere schoolgirl. 
 
 "Was canning hard work?" 
 
 "Well, they guessed she had never tried 
 it or she would not ask that!" 
 
 "Did it keep?" 
 
 "Why, of course. Sometimes you had to 
 go a long way down to get past the mould, 
 but it kept." 
 
 Then tactfully she had persuaded the wom- 
 en to try the new method, placing the fruit 
 or vegetables in the cans before cooking and 
 lowering them into the hot water for the "pro- 
 cessing," as she called it; and to their amaze- 
 ment she had proved to them that this method, 
 which seemed like play compared with the old, 
 indoor, stand-over-the-stove way, nevertheless 
 kept the fruit much better, and gave more of 
 its original flavor. She explained to them that 
 the new method could be used with glass cans 
 as well as tin, by leaving the tops a trifle 
 loose while "processing," and that, if one had 
 no canner, a boiler over a stove would answer 
 the purpose very well, the principle being ex- 
 actly the same. 
 
 107 
 
m m m n q @ sb^^sss eo 
 
 She paused a moment to show the girls 
 how the cans were to be lowered into the water 
 by the racks made for the purpose, then went 
 on to the story of how this canning work had 
 started in Tennessee, after the success of the 
 boys' corn clubs had driven the girls wild with 
 envy. She told how a plucky little school 
 teacher had taken a leave of absence from her 
 work and devoted herself to finding what 
 could best take the place of corn as a special 
 study for girls' clubs, and had finally hit upon 
 the tomato, which can be used in perhaps a 
 larger variety of ways than any other vege- 
 table, and is beautiful as well as nutritious. 
 Miss Moore told amazing tales of what some 
 girls had done with the tenth of an acre of 
 land, planted with tomatoes they cultivated 
 themselves, and of exciting contests and trips 
 to Washington that were awarded as prizes for 
 the best work. 
 
 It touched a little spring of Camp Fire 
 pride to learn that, in part, the Canning Clubs 
 were striving for the same purpose as the 
 Camp Fire Girls' organization, to give girls 
 new opportunities for social life, for working 
 together at something worth while, and, best 
 of all, for knowing the joy of earning their 
 
 108 
 
own living in wholesome, healthful ways. She 
 added that the Camp Fire Girls had the ad- 
 vantage in cultivating the beauty and romance 
 of life with the practical side, and that nothing 
 could be finer than for the two organizations 
 to work together. 
 
 Her enthusiasm, and the earnestness that 
 lay beneath the bright winsomeness of her 
 ways, had kindled the girls to eagerness to 
 take up this new craft, but they were obliged 
 to wait to begin the actual work of canning 
 until the fruit could be selected, which in a 
 camp in the Maine woods in early summer was 
 not a matter of a moment's time. But when 
 Hiiteni and Miss Moore went motoring off 
 to Portland the next morning they knew that 
 the fruit would be soon forthcoming. 
 
 THE SECOND CAMPING TRIP 
 
 Meantime came the second camping trip — 
 but there is not space to tell all the things that 
 happened before it was over. This time the 
 girls really walked with ponchos over their 
 shoulders all the way from the camp to the 
 point called "Frye's Leap," where a white 
 man named Frye is supposed to have saved 
 his life by diving into the lake when followed 
 
 109 
 

 © ^ 
 
by Indians. Here they cooked and ate and 
 dipped, and in the morning they saw the lake 
 steamer go by with a load of Camp Fire Girls 
 on board. This was an event indeed. The 
 Sebago- Wohelo girls called to them, speaking 
 all together as they so well knew how, and the 
 girls heard and repeated the name. 
 
 But when they tried to give their own in 
 return their voices scattered and were lost, 
 either because they were unable to mass them- 
 selves together in the boat, or because, as 
 Tiamanous would have said, "they had not 
 fully mastered the art of team work." So they 
 passed "like ships in the night," yet left behind 
 a glow of fellowship and a sharing of ideals, 
 for whoever they were, whatever their name, 
 they were Camp Fire Girls ! 
 
 CANNING AGAIN 
 
 When the girls returned from this trip 
 they found alluring crates of fruit waiting 
 on the dock, and on Saturday morning the 
 first canning crew went to work, with the rest 
 of the girls on the bank above watching them. 
 They had no dainty uniforms, but they did 
 their best, with bathing and boudoir caps and 
 such aprons as they could find. Beans, to- 
 
 111 
 
m 13 m n b ® sssftgira m 
 
 matoes and peaches were canned, some in glass 
 jars, some in tin, and when dinner time came 
 one of the girls ate her dinner beside the can- 
 ner to watch the peaches, which were last to 
 finish. When these were at last completed 
 they very proudly surveyed their rows of jars, 
 and planned great things for the time when 
 blueberries should be ripe. 
 
 Next Monday evening at the Council Fire, 
 when canning days were reached in the Count, 
 Hiiteni asked the reader to pause a moment. 
 Forth came four maidens and sang the "Song 
 of Canning," to the tune of "Oh, I'm here 
 and you're here, ,, which has since become fa- 
 miliar to Sebago-Wohelo maidens. It goes: 
 
 "Oh 111 can, and you'll can 
 All that we can can! 
 So start a fire in the canner 
 And fetch out a pan — 
 And we will blanch and peel and wash 
 Tomatoes, peaches, beans, and squash, 
 And they will simmer 
 In air-tight containers 
 Of crystal and stone, 
 All packed with a grace and a style 
 That is really our own, 
 112 
 
And we will make the whole world 
 Sit up and take notice 
 That we can can!" 
 
 Incidentally on that evening Miss Moore 
 was initiated into the ranks of The Camp 
 Fire Girls, which ceremony wedded The Can- 
 ning Clubs and The Camp Fire Girls more 
 firmly together, and the conquest of cookery 
 and canning as outdoor sports was complete. 
 
 (Information about the Canning Clubs 
 may be had by writing The Department of 
 Agriculture, Washington, D. C.) 
 
 Mna-ka 
 
 113 
 
* 
 
 %jtsk.Ak/Jikydk 
 
 
 ti^tf*^ 
 
 
 l^iWBtt- Wf ^Sfc -*- 
 
 
 JfVZZ aZZ pw/Z together 
 For we're maids of Wohelo 
 
VIII 
 
 EVERY TENT A SONG 
 
 rpHE Camp Fire fever was at its height. 
 ■*■ Timanous had made another visit, and 
 given a talk on "The Desires of the American 
 Girl," her desire for money of her own, for 
 something worth while to do, for friendship 
 and for a home. He had kindled into life many 
 latent desires for self-reliance and worth- 
 while achievements in the hearts of his listen- 
 ers, and the activities of camp were every day 
 giving them fresh outlet. 
 
 "Kingfishers' Inn" had announced itself 
 as ready to receive guests in pairs for five 
 cents a night, pillow fights five cents extra. 
 Every night some new form of entertainment 
 was provided, and registration was full for 
 at least a week in advance. This was a new 
 and novel way of earning the money for dues. 
 Every Camp Fire Girl earns the money with 
 which she pays her dues by her own efforts, 
 no matter what may be her income or allow- 
 ance. 
 
 116 
 
m m m a h s.sstt^Rss m 
 
 Other tents and individuals chose less spec- 
 tacular ways of earning, such as taking in 
 washings of middies, giving shampoos and 
 neck washes at swimming hour and gathering 
 balsam for those who had not time to gather 
 it themselves. Every girl in camp seemed to 
 be fitting herself for a business career by tak- 
 ing account of whatever talents she could turn 
 to practical and lucrative purposes. In swim- 
 ming, in era ft- work, in nature lore and cook- 
 ery the girls were striving eagerly for honors 
 and promotion in the ranks. 
 
 It had been amusing on the last camping 
 trip, at a place afterward known to the girls 
 as "Flat Rock Island," to see the eagerness 
 of everyone to take part in cooking the meals. 
 In the morning eggs were given out to a num- 
 ber of girls to cook for the party, and one 
 could be heard calling, "Poached eggs over 
 here!" while another begged, pathetically, 
 "Please somebody order a fried eggl I want 
 to fry an eggl" As a result of their zeal sev- 
 eral were waiting to claim the honor, as one of 
 them expressed it in Council Fire, for "cook- 
 ing an egg in four different ways." 
 
 It was Monday now, and, to complicate 
 matters further every tent was in the throes 
 
 116 
 
of musical composition in preparation for the 
 great contest. "Original words and music" 
 had been the orders, with "Health" as the sug- 
 gested subject, though other subjects might 
 be allowed. The songs were to be sung in the 
 evening at the ceremonial meeting. All day 
 Sunday, except during service and rest-hour, 
 the piano had been wearily twanging out the 
 processes of composition, similar in effect, to 
 unsympathetic ears, to the tuning of the in- 
 strument. All day Monday the tents slipped 
 away together whenever a pause in the 
 day's program permitted a hasty practice 
 in the woods, for a last attempt to brush up 
 the melody or the words. 
 
 A FAREWELL 
 
 The day began sadly enough, with a fare- 
 well to the guardian from Kansas City, whose 
 hearty laugh had rung out so merrily that 
 camp was going to seem strange without it. 
 She was a clever girl, and a good camper, and 
 it seemed like losing a bit of camp to have her 
 leave, but the girls were going to say good- 
 by merrily, if say it they must. So when 
 breakfast was over, a group of the girls 
 emerged from the bungalow playing on combs, 
 
 117 
 
@I1GB§ ^K°ffi IH 
 
 ! 
 
 imi. 
 
 3? 
 
 
 
 |l - •■• ■ " 
 
 v ^ i 
 
 
 
 Jfc^ 4k 
 
 J vA 
 
 
 
 y^s^i^w 
 
 
 
 
 
 HE ■ y 
 
 §1 
 
 
 **& It 
 
 7 x "^ 
 
 ; 
 
 an 
 
 Mj 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 Yarn /or J/ie Weaving 
 
 with Embers at the head, walking backward 
 and beating time with a tennis racket. The 
 others fell into line behind them, escorting 
 Hiiteni and the departing guardian, both of 
 whom looked painfully civilized in city skirts 
 and hats. Up the long path they went to the 
 road, where the auto waited, and there the 
 Kansas City maiden kissed them all good-by 
 and promised to return for the last two weeks 
 of camp if possible. She did not come back, 
 
 118 
 
Create a new home in our woods 
 And light the teepee in the night" 
 
m m m m © rKt? m 
 
 but a parting is easier if we can at least pre- 
 tend that it is only for a little while. 
 
 The girls hurried back to their craft work, 
 reluctant to lose time on it, only pausing a 
 little as they went to ask the meaning of a 
 great white thing that was going up in the 
 woods behind the tennis court. "What is 
 it? What is it for?" 
 
 "It is Hiitems teepee," Kee-wee explained 
 proudly. "Isn't it wonderful? We are going 
 to have Council Fires in there on rainy nights, 
 and sit in it often to tell stories." 
 
 "Oh, I wish it would rain tonight!" cried 
 one of the girls. 
 
 "Don't wish that!" protested a "Heavenly." 
 "We need space for singing our song." 
 
 "Oh, do you? Guess it's going to be an 
 action song." 
 
 "The Heavenly" suddenly became uncom- 
 municative, and Kee-wee went on happily con- 
 fiding to the world that she, too, had a teepee, 
 a little one she had made all herself, which she 
 was going to set up somewhere in the woods. 
 
 HONOR BEADS 
 
 This Monday afternoon was the busiest 
 time imaginable. In the bungalow Ce-ki-ca-ti, 
 
 120 
 
who had charge of the honor records, was re- 
 ceiving lists of those the girls had won during 
 the week, and giving out beads for the ones 
 which had been awarded them the week be- 
 fore. In so large a group it was impossible 
 actually to award all the beads at the Council 
 Fire, for the mere reading of the honors took 
 up many minutes, and Hiiteni was eager for 
 someone to suggest a way of making it more 
 interesting. Already Ce-ki-ca-ti's resourceful 
 mind was at work on the problem. 
 
 The girls were busy at the tables, each one 
 filling out her honor sheets by painting, in its 
 appropriate color, the symbol for each honor 
 she had won, after which the beads would be 
 given her. Some were decorating the neat 
 brown pages of their individual Count books. 
 Over in one corner a girl was singing "Amer- 
 ica" to Ta-ku, as a test for one of the required 
 honors, while in another corner Helpful was 
 testing several as to their knowledge of ele- 
 mentary bandaging. Another was telling over 
 the mythical stories of seven constellations 
 that she had learned to distinguish, for, on 
 pleasant evenings, To-mo-ke had been holding 
 a star-gazing class on the rock before the 
 bungalow. With Ki-lo-des-ka's help he had 
 121 
 
m m m ea © » G r°^°s m 
 
 contrived to make a little sky of blue mosquito 
 bar, outlining on it, in beads of different sizes, 
 the most prominent stars and groups of the 
 season, and this had been hung overhead in the 
 bungalow for study before there was any at- 
 tempt to decipher the real stars out-of-doors. 
 Evenings on the water or by the edge of it 
 were made much pleasanter by this new in- 
 timacy with at least a few of the mysterious 
 watchers from above. 
 
 Not until the supper bugle sounded was 
 the bungalow entirely deserted. Then the last 
 stragglers seized their beads and hurried over 
 to Hiiteni's fireplace, where a fire had been 
 built, and a huge kettle hung from a rude 
 tripod over it. The supper committee soon 
 emerged from the kitchen with a large dish 
 of melted butter and a basket of crackers. 
 The lid of the kettle was removed and delic- 
 ious, tempting, savory steamed clams were 
 dished out in large quantities on paper plates, 
 to be dipped in the melted butter and eaten. 
 The accessories of sandwiches, cake, etc., had 
 scant attention that night. 
 
 When supper was over the girls hastened 
 away to don their ceremonial costumes before 
 sunset. Softly and sweetly from the water's 
 
 122 
 
SSgfiSS&S U S ® O 
 
 edge sounded the call "Wo-he-lo, Wo-he-lo, 
 Wo-he-lo!" and softly the girls answered as 
 they came gliding down, some stepping out 
 on the boulders that straggled away from 
 shore, others standing tall and straight on the 
 rocks above. 
 
 THE SUNSET SONG 
 
 As the sun went slowly down behind the 
 mountains far across the lake, they lifted their 
 arms and sang, "Good-night to Thee, Sun 
 Mother," repeating it softly and still more 
 softly, till the flaming globe of light slipped 
 behind the crest of the mountain, then knelt 
 for a moment with bowed heads in reverent 
 thankfulness for the day that was gone. How 
 the maidens felt about this sunset song may 
 be shown by lines from the Count of the next 
 week, written by the girls of "Heavenly Rest" : 
 
 "There they sang their good-night 
 greeting 
 And were answered by a promise, 
 Written not in words and music 
 But in glorious light and color. 
 And they knew that after twilight, 
 After darkness, after dawning, 
 
 123 
 
to 
 
 I 
 
 g 
 
 a 
 
 £ 
 to 
 
 .fee 
 
 
There would come again the greeting 
 Of the morrow's glorious sunrise." 
 
 After the song the moccasined feet of the 
 girls stepped softly up through the woods to 
 the place of the Council Fire. Here a new de- 
 light awaited them. Hiiteni had often been 
 dissatisfied with the fire at the side of the ten- 
 nis court because in the motion songs the girls 
 could not circle around it. So tonight they 
 gathered around a fire made in a box filled 
 with sand, and set in the center of the circle 
 on the court, the triangular form, for Work, 
 Health, and Love, being the final artistic 
 touch that completed the happy solution and 
 delighted the girls. 
 
 CONFERRING HONORS AT THE 
 COUNCIL FIRE 
 
 Several guests, who had come to watch 
 the Council Fire, were sitting back among 
 the trees. Two of these were a part of the 
 Camp Fire Girls' organization in the city and 
 were asked to rise while the Indian names 
 they had chosen were bestowed upon them. 
 Then Alaska initiated several new Wood 
 Gatherers, giving them the coveted siver rings 
 
 125 
 
@i@^B@ srs ED 
 
 with the seven fagots for the "Seven Points of 
 the Law." 
 
 Seek beauty, 
 Give service, 
 Pursue knowledge, 
 Be trustworthy, 
 Hold on to health, 
 Glorify work, 
 Be happy. 
 
 "I never wanted anything so much in my 
 life as I wanted that Wood Gatherer's ring! " 
 one of the girls said afterward. She had many 
 rings more costly than this, but she had not 
 striven and worked for those, nor found any 
 sweet meaning of comradeship and growth in 
 the wearing of them. 
 
 Embers had been asked to initiate the Fire 
 Makers, for she was a guardian, and so had a 
 right to give the symbol of rank. She could 
 not resist the impulse for a bit of fun in the 
 initiation of Te-pa, asking her how she in- 
 terpreted the requirement to know "the ap- 
 propriate dressing of the hair." Remember- 
 ing the ever-present french-roll and comb 
 the girls laughed gaily. But Embers returned 
 to the serious in a moment, giving a litttle talk 
 
 126 
 
m ssffigm n m g b © o 
 
 on the meaning of becoming a Fire Maker, 
 one of those who really keeps the fires of love 
 burning, wherever they are found, whose 
 coming brings brightness into any circle, who 
 makes real her pledge to tend 
 
 "The fire that is called 
 The love of man for man, 
 The love of man for God." 
 
 Hiiteni herself initiated the Torch Bearers, 
 and her eyes shone tenderly, for Ki-lo-des-ka, 
 her youngest daughter, Ki-lo-des-ka of the 
 golden hair, was one of them. She had this 
 summer assumed responsibilities with the girls 
 in camp that entitled her to become one of 
 those who pass on to others the light that they 
 themselves have received. 
 
 When the list of honors had been read, Ce- 
 ki-ca-ti suggested a new way of emphasizing 
 them. She asked all who had received home- 
 craft honors to rise and sing the canning song ; 
 all who had received health honors a boating 
 song, and so on with each of the seven crafts, 
 ending with "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for 
 patriotism. Then everyone sang the Work 
 Song with motions, to fittingly celebrate the 
 
 127 
 
work which they had done in winning their 
 honors. 
 
 Woh-do-ke-ca and four other girls had 
 volunteered to act out the tale of " Theseus 
 and the Minotaur/' and this they did in an 
 original style that set the fashion for many 
 charming folk stories before the summer's 
 end. When quiet Su-ni appeared as the mino- 
 taur, on all fours and growling dangerously, 
 the classic beauty of the myth was in danger 
 of being received with levity, but tragedy 
 sobered the audience at the sad climax. 
 
 THE SONG CONTEST 
 
 "But why the strange unusual tension 
 Which we felt throughout the meeting?" 
 
 the next week's Count inquired, and an- 
 swered itself by telling how the maidens were 
 racking their brains to remember the words 
 and tunes for the contest that was to follow 
 this first bit of entertainment. With mingled 
 terror and relief they heard Hiiteni ask two 
 of the guests to aid Timanous in deciding the 
 victory. 
 
 "Heavenly I" set a high standard, with a 
 spectacular Torch Bearer's song, in which ten 
 
 128 
 
Singing around Hiiteni's fire place 
 
girls wandered in the darkness with unlighted 
 torches outside of the circle, then stepping 
 inside, found Hiiteni to light their torches and 
 to give them the privilege of passing on the 
 light to others. "The Blue Birds" sang a little 
 health song of their own, sang it with a sweet- 
 ness and care that showed how well their 
 councilor had trained them. "The King- 
 fishers" disgraced themselves, but amused the 
 company, by forgetting their song in the mid- 
 dle, though they always insisted it was stage 
 fright. At all events the song, or at least two 
 lines of it, won instant and complete popu- 
 larity. It begins: 
 
 "When Helpful blows the bugle, 
 Down to the dock we go!" 
 
 and is sung while gently, but firmly, holding 
 your nose. For Helpful the Little had not 
 yet learned to blow the bugle and breathe at 
 the same time. 
 
 The song of "Heavenly II" also won popu- 
 larity, in spite of the fact that the girls were 
 seized with giggles in the middle of it, and 
 left brave Te-ca-ya to finish it alone. But 
 their song was rivalled by the sweet "Camp 
 Fire Good-night" which Kee-wee had written 
 
 130 
 
m isstf^s&s u ® o @ m 
 
 for "The Chipmunks," and taught their soft 
 little voices to sing with perfect harmony. 
 Another rival was the song of "Top o' the 
 Rocks" and Fawassa, which Dis-ya-di de- 
 clared she had stolen from a song sparrow that 
 woke her every morning. These three the 
 judges asked to have repeated, and finally de- 
 cided that the song of "The Chipmunks" de- 
 served the prize. The song proved the Tight- 
 ness of their choice by singing itself into the 
 hearts of everyone in camp at once, and from 
 that time the Council Fires were seldom closed 
 with any other tune. 
 
 /2& 
 
 Kee-wee 
 
 131 
 
IX 
 
 CAMPING IN THE RAIN 
 
 A LL summer long Alaska had been making 
 •**■ remarks about the weather. She fre- 
 quently said that in her country you could not 
 go anywhere without planning for rain, and 
 that it seldom disappointed you, while Sebago- 
 Wohelo Camp Fire Girls had taken trip after 
 trip without a drop of rain to hinder. She 
 could not become accustomed to it. 
 
 At some time she must have spoken loud 
 enough for the weather-man to hear, and, just 
 to prove that he knew how to send rain if he 
 wished, he must have been ready for the 
 Crooked River trip, which thoroughly estab- 
 lished his reputation. If any girl thought 
 that the best he could do was the soft, drizzly 
 rain which had driven the Council Fire into 
 the teepee on the Monday night before, she 
 was to find herself much mistaken. 
 
 The annual Crooked River Trip was one 
 of the most important of the whole summer. 
 It is a long trip, lasting over two nights in- 
 
 132 
 
m ESB^ffi^fcS I1S0I21O3 
 
 stead of one. The launch tows the canoes as 
 far up the Songo River and its Crooked 
 branch as possible, then the girls land and 
 camp for a night, to paddle on the next day 
 to a camping spot farther up the river. The 
 scenery is of rare beauty and a pleasant change 
 from the rough, hard outlines of the rocky lake 
 shore. The girls had heard much of this trip, 
 they felt in fine trim for paddling, and every- 
 one was eager to go. 
 
 THE WEATHER MAN DOES HIS 
 WORST 
 
 And, presto, change! On the very Wed- 
 nesday morning on which they were to start 
 the sky clouded over in real earnest! Hiiteni 
 looked worried, but Ti-ya-to, who had charge 
 of the trip, was confident that she could keep 
 the girls dry, "even if it did rain a little," and 
 of course the girls were with her in pleading 
 to go just the same. They went — about nine 
 o'clock in the morning, with the rain beginning 
 to sprinkle as they reached the dock. The 
 canoes had been fitted out with new hooks 
 and staples to fasten the ropes which held 
 them together, and the long line curled into 
 place in the wake of the "Red Beak," and 
 
 133 
 
® m m n b © g^ap-sss m 
 
 glided smoothly away, the girls smiling de- 
 fiance at the threatening sky above. 
 
 They were but out of reach from shore 
 when the rain came, first steadily, then in tor- 
 rents ! They put on their sweaters, covered the 
 provisions as best they could, and rode gaily 
 on. Helpful the Great offered to take them 
 back, but they scorned his offer. Long before 
 they reached the first-night camping ground 
 the rain was falling in such sheets that further 
 progress seemed inconvenient, to say the least, 
 so they landed and sought shelter under a tree, 
 and the "Red Beak" chugged away alone 
 through the rain. 
 
 "What a glorious chance to earn our honor 
 for building a fire in wind and rain!" cried 
 Alaska. They set to work with such materials 
 as they could find, using dead branches from 
 the trees for the first fuel, then gradually add- 
 ing damp wood as the fire grew strong enough 
 to bear it. They succeeded at last in getting a 
 splendid blaze. Then they cooked and ate a 
 very welcome dinner, and sat down around the 
 fire to spend the afternoon. 
 
 By some magical flash of forethought 
 Alaska had brought with her "Three Men in a 
 Boat," which, under any circumstances, is one 
 
 134 
 
m sshs&ssb n m g s © id 
 
 of the funniest books that can possibly be read 
 aloud. Here, under conditions that made 
 every discomfort of that famous river trip 
 seem real and plausible, with Alaska's Eng- 
 lish accent and humorous tongue to add to the 
 spice, it was "roaringly funny!" The girls de- 
 clared that they had never had so jolly a time 
 in their lives! They forgot the wetness, and 
 time slipped away almost unnoticed until a 
 sense of inner want reminded them of its 
 flight. Then they cooked and ate a delicious 
 supper and made their beds for the night. 
 
 WEIRD NIGHT WATCHES 
 
 They had taken a vote as to whether or not 
 they should go home, but every vote was neg- 
 ative. It was not raining so hard now, and 
 as the blankets were dry they were sure of a 
 comfortable night. They turned the canoes 
 over for shelter, arranging for four to sleep 
 together with their heads under a canoe and 
 the ponchos to cover them. Ce-ki-ca-ti and 
 Ho-sa, for variety, made a shelter of their 
 poncho by hanging it over them on four sticks. 
 
 When these arrangements were made they 
 settled down by the fire for more of "Three 
 Men in a Boat." It was still raining quietly, 
 
 135 
 
and the soft swish of it among the trees was 
 disturbed by gusts of wind that wailed through 
 the wet branches over their heads. As dark- 
 ness fell the weird mystery of the situation in- 
 creased. 
 
 The girls were just in the mood for Ti-ya- 
 ta's suggestion that they build watch fires and 
 tend them by turns all night. "It will seem 
 more cheerful," she said, "and we can dry each 
 other's shoes and stockings while we watch." 
 The girls went to work at once to build fires, 
 at long distances apart, and to divide the night 
 into watches. At two of the fires two or three 
 girls shared each watch, but the third was 
 tended by a single maiden through every 
 period of the night. 
 
 "How did you feel when you were watch- 
 ing by your fire?" someone asked Ma-na the 
 next morning. 
 
 "Oh, wonderful! Like some old pioneer 
 sitting alone in the forest," she answered. 
 
 "And it was the strangest thing," Embers 
 added, "to wake in the night and see that lone 
 watcher silhouetted against the firelight! Oh, 
 it was indescribable!" 
 
 "It was so funny to be wakened and told 
 that your time had come for watching," Kani- 
 
 137 
 
m m g h m sa^^sss m 
 
 da-ka added. "Why, I thought I had just 
 fallen asleep when Alaska waked me and said, 
 'Don't you want to watch?' I thought she 
 meant didn't I want to watch when my turn 
 came, and I turned over and went to sleep! 
 She had to shake me hard before I understood. 
 And when I called Wa-ya-ka she slipped one 
 arm into her kimono, then dropped asleep 
 again before she knew it." 
 
 Never say girls do not sleep on camping 
 trips in the rain! They slept, they woke well 
 and happy, and not one of them showed the 
 slightest sign of a cold, either then or later. 
 
 MORNING! UP AND ONWARD 
 
 The last watcher in the morning had seen 
 a rift of sunshine break through the clouds, 
 and by the time all gathered for breakfast the 
 sky was bright, and the clouds were blowing 
 away. Then, in the words of a favorite camp- 
 ing song: "The pancakes in the morning built 
 their constitutions up" for the paddling that 
 was before them. Ti-ya-ta made a trip to the 
 nearest hamlet for a few supplies, and tele- 
 phoned to Hiiteni that all was well. She 
 brought back word that Hiiteni had offered 
 to send the launch to bring them home, and 
 
 138 
 
m gBfts^Bs n ia o m m 
 
 they laughed at the thought. They had had, 
 they declared, the greatest experience of the 
 whole summer, and they talked together for 
 many days of the wonder of that watch ia 
 the night. 
 
 The banks of the river, as they paddled 
 cautiously up its shallow, winding course, 
 were hung with lovely green things, fresh as 
 the shower could make them. Goldenrod was 
 beginning to gleam among the bushes, and 
 the cardinal flowers glowed like tiny blood 
 drops in the green. A king bird flashed black 
 and white in the trees. A dead branch bobbed 
 up and down in the water like a snake, and 
 the "old girls" laughed as they remembered 
 that it had played the same trick in other 
 years. Then they exclaimed: "Oh, there's the 
 place we camped last year," and laughed, and 
 then grew wistful over the memories. Soon 
 they passed the place where the boys of the 
 camp were staying, for they, too, had chosen 
 Crooked River as their camping ground, and 
 had passed a delightful night in the rain. To- 
 mo-ke, Helpful the Little, Pi-ki-da's brother 
 and Fuzzie's ten-year-old brother Pete made 
 up this party, and good campers they were, 
 too! 
 
 139 
 
0HS00 iss^^ias in 
 
 The final camping place was a long point, 
 jutting out where the river bent sharply back 
 on itself, a pleasant, grassy place, that looked 
 very familiar, the "old girls" said, except that 
 many of the trees had been cut down, "leaving 
 us more space to play in." It had been a long 
 pull up the river, and the paddlers were glad 
 enough to pull up their canoes and stretch 
 their tense muscles. Some of them were bare- 
 foot, for in several places it had been neces- 
 sary to lift the canoes over the rapids. Their 
 first thought now was to get into bathing suits, 
 and seek still further the acquaintance of the 
 river gods. 
 
 AMUSEMENT AND OCCUPATION 
 IN CAMP 
 
 Even if the girls had not brought bead 
 bands, spoons to carve, and other hand-craft 
 materials, they would have been busy as bees 
 that afternoon. Ce-ki-ca-ti and Ho-sa built 
 a fine little shelter of hemlock boughs, with a 
 wall on one side and a roof over it, ready to 
 sleep under when night came. 
 
 Alaska, with some assistance from her 
 girls, made a real Indian bed of hemlock 
 boughs, laying part of them right side up and 
 
 140 
 
part the other way to give spring to the bed, 
 bordering the whole with logs. Others built 
 hemlock beds, too, but Alaska's was the thick- 
 est and softest, and the girls came from all 
 over the camp to see it. Those who were not 
 similarly busy were sitting under the trees 
 making baskets of pine needles under the in- 
 structions of Mna-ka, who had thoughtfully 
 brought raffia and needles for the purpose. 
 This occupation proved so fascinating that she 
 could scarcely supply materials for all. 
 
 For supper there was corn chowder, with 
 biscuit baked in reflecting ovens, which the 
 girls had ingeniously made of syrup cans cut 
 and bent into shape. After supper there was 
 entertainment for all at the "Crooked Cuc- 
 koos' Curiorium," where massage was offered 
 at a modest price to two victims at a time, 
 with the privilege of resting on Alaska's bed 
 and listening to "pleasant conversation/' The 
 proceeds were to go as Camp Fire dues. So 
 many applied that some dates were left un- 
 filled until the next trip. While they waited 
 their turns the girls took delightful dips, or 
 watched the aesthetic dancing that was going 
 on far back among the trees near Ce-ki-ca-ti's 
 and Ho-sa's shelter. After these strenuous 
 
 141 
 
amusements it was a luxury indeed to sur- 
 render to the softness of Alaska's bed, while 
 the faithful little assistant kept a merry fire 
 burning close by, and Alaska and He-ta-ya 
 kept the conversation going no less merrily 
 over their patients. 
 
 Before breakfast in the morning a number 
 of the girls were off to gather branches with 
 which to make portable Indian beds, and the 
 few Wohelo knives that had come to Crooked 
 River were in great demand. Meanwhile 
 others went to a neighboring farm-house to 
 buy milk, and breakfast was soon on the way, 
 with one or two fancy styles in cooking the 
 eggs, such as poaching in milk and baking in 
 hot sand. Cocoa and toast gave the generous- 
 hearted an opportunity to wait upon those 
 who were busy over fires or hand work. 
 
 fillTENTS ARRIVAL 
 
 Hiiteni had been detained from sharing this 
 trip by a necessary journey to Portland, but 
 in the middle of the morning she arrived, and 
 was greeted with cheers of delight. She 
 brought with her a crate of fresh peaches, 
 which also received a cheer when they made 
 their appearance at dinner. In addition to 
 
 142 
 
m gB£ c f?MBS li^000 
 
 The camp mascot 
 
 this she made everyone's happiness complete 
 by saying "yes" to their eager plea for an- 
 other day at Crooked River. As she had 
 brought the mail with her, there was nothing 
 in the world for which to return, and the girls 
 felt as if they could remain here for the rest 
 of the summer. 
 
 Their energies now were redoubled. With 
 the aid of Ti-ya-ta's hatchet they cut down 
 hemlock boughs and built more shelters (care 
 being taken not to injure the trees), eagerly 
 calling Ce-ki-ca-ti to approve them so that 
 
 143 
 
m m m n b § r G ^ o s m 
 
 they could receive their honors for the work. 
 They made more pine baskets, finding beauti- 
 ful long needles for the purpose, and enjoyed 
 the eager search for balsam to carry home for 
 pillows. 
 
 At noon the boys made a visit to the camp, 
 bringing with them fish for dinner. Each girl 
 was given a fish to clean and cook for herself, 
 with the promise of a local honor for doing so. 
 The peaches which Hiiteni had brought com- 
 pleted a sumptuous feast. 
 
 Through the afternoon the girls paddled 
 around on the river, wrote letters, worked at 
 pine baskets, while Alaska read more from 
 "Three Men in a Boat," and were happy, 
 either quietly or actively, according to their 
 inclination. They retired early, with a beau- 
 tiful, lazy moon shining down upon them, and 
 slept as sweetly in their beds of hemlock or of 
 blankets on the grassy earth, as if they had 
 been in their own far-away homes. 
 
 HOMEWARD BOUND 
 
 Before they could realize it someone was 
 singing, "Wake ye, arise !" and it was five 
 o'clock and time to be off to meet the launch! 
 As the next week's Count said : 
 
 144 
 
m !SBft?M3S U E3 B @ m 
 
 Breakfast 
 
 "Very early rose the maidens, 
 And they spent no time in fooling, 
 But they hastened on through breakfast, 
 Looked at food and thought they ate it, 
 Packed their blankets and their baskets, 
 Took canoes and then sped downward 
 Just as if pursued by white men." 
 
 There is a tradition about the return from 
 Crooked River which would probably suggest 
 itself anew every summer even if it had never 
 been heard of before. Instinctively the girls 
 
 145 
 
m u fi n b © gft^aas eq 
 
 began to decorate their canoes with the 
 branches of balsam they had gathered, and as 
 they passed down the river, now one canoe, 
 now another, drew up along the banks to 
 gather more boughs and blossoms, willows, 
 goldenrod, berries, and ferns, to transform 
 their craft into fairy barques, with drooping 
 vines of clematis to twine in the hair of the 
 fairy princesses who rode in them. One canoe 
 bore at its prow a purple thistle fastened to a 
 pine branch. The boys, who had joined the 
 procession on its way, had a small pine tree 
 planted in the middle of their craft. There 
 was variety, and everywhere loveliness and en- 
 chantment in the line of ten canoes that fol- 
 lowed the "Red Beak" down the Songo, and 
 out into the open lake. 
 
 The girls were contentedly busy with their 
 hand work, or idly talking and singing. Two 
 in the war-canoe were comparing the gems of 
 poetry they knew, in an effort to find the 
 twenty-five lines needed for one of the re- 
 quired honors. They were a trifle chagrined 
 to find how much they thought they knew but 
 did not, but finally recalled several short 
 poems that more than met the requirement. 
 One of these was Tennyson's "Crossing the 
 
 146 
 
Bar," which gained a new meaning out on the 
 water, with the memory of lake sunsets about 
 them : 
 
 " Sunset and evening star, 
 And one clear call for me; 
 And may there be no moaning on the bar 
 When I put out to sea." 
 
 The lake was quiet and the canoes glided 
 smoothly along, making as rapid time as pos- 
 sible in order to meet the steamer at the South 
 Casco dock. For on that steamer were Madge, 
 an "old girl," and two "new girls" who had 
 warm friends at camp waiting to give them a 
 welcome. They arrived on time, and the "Red 
 Beak" circled about, swinging the long line of 
 flower-decked canoes gracefully after it, while 
 the people on the steamer crowded to the decks 
 to watch. As the ribbon of canoes rested by 
 the dock the girls sang a cheer of welcome to 
 the new arrivals, then they swung away to 
 camp. 
 
 "You may go in for a dip when you have 
 made up your beds," Hiiteni announced. And 
 the girls welcomed the word with delight, for 
 their faces were burning from the long ride 
 in the sun. So they found the best delight 
 
 147 
 
m m m o b m ^^sts m 
 
 that homecoming held for them, in plunging 
 from their own dock and splashing in their 
 own clear waters, which seemed more crystal- 
 clear than ever in contrast to the brown water 
 of Crooked River. 
 
 If you should meet a girl somewhere who 
 showed you a wooden salad spoon which she 
 had decorated with carvings, and she should tell 
 you that the zigzag pattern on the handle was 
 for Crooked River, could you guess what that 
 spoon meant to her? If on the bowl of the 
 spoon she had carved an overturned canoe, 
 with four little heads under it peeping out 
 from under a blanket, could you imagine the 
 memories and dreams which lurked in the carv- 
 ing on that spoon? 
 
 He-wan-ka 
 
 148 
 
X 
 THE BLAZED TRAIL 
 
 T7 VERY week in camp is lived over twice, 
 ■" once as the days go by, and again at the 
 Council Fire the following Monday, when the 
 Count brings it all back with a fresh personal 
 interest. The Crooked River trip was so great 
 an event that it has been celebrated in song, 
 as well as in the classic lines of the Count, for 
 most opportunely the second song contest fol- 
 lowed before the rare experiences of the trip 
 were forgotten. 
 
 This contest was open to individuals in- 
 stead of tents, and the tunes were not neces- 
 sarily to be original, provided they were not 
 commonly known. Before the contest a notice 
 had appeared on the bulletin suggesting as 
 subjects: 
 
 The Barcarole of the "Red Beak" 
 Three Girls in a Boat 
 That Tin Can Reflecting Oven 
 Earning Money's All the Rage 
 
 149 
 
m m m n s @ samara m 
 
 Ode to the Mail Bag 
 Threnody to the Teepee 
 
 These subjects were not noticeably adopt- 
 ed, perhaps because no one but the originator 
 of them could have lived up to their humor, 
 but the results of the contest were quite en- 
 tertaining enough. 
 
 THE SECOND SONG CONTEST 
 
 The ceremonial was over, and all had been 
 put in a gay humor by a vivid rendering of 
 the story of the Faithful Servant, in which 
 the princess and the servant had cantered ju- 
 bilantly about on imaginary horses, in a way 
 that prevented anyone's taking the scene with 
 entire seriousness, even though the beauty of 
 its lesson was not lost. Twin sisters from Hol- 
 land, who had come to visit the camp, gave a 
 folk dance in wooden shoes, with native cos- 
 tumes improvised for the occasion, and made 
 a warm place for themselves in the heart of 
 the camp. Hiiteni then opened the song con- 
 test by calling upon the girls in turn around 
 the circle. 
 
 There was a sound of smothered laughter 
 when she started with Ho-sa, but Ho-sa rose 
 
 150 
 
m ssftEgE&s 11 n © 
 
 bravely, and three other maidens with her. 
 They were, Ho-sa announced, the poorest 
 singers in camp, but they had decided to con- 
 tribute their mite to the occasion, and the} 
 would award a prize the next morning to any- 
 one who guessed the tune of their song. 
 
 Amid roars of laughter, they sang bravely 
 through their three stanzas, without once mak- 
 ing the mistake of striking the same key at the 
 same time. The words, with their mixture of 
 slang and cleverness, were reminiscent oi 
 nothing in particular. Next morning one 
 maiden guessed the tune correctly — "Sing 
 Tangent, Co-tangent," but another had been 
 equally sure that it was "Home, Sweet Home." 
 The four, who afterward came to be known 
 as the "Crow Quartette," were heartily en- 
 cored, and given the fame they deserved for 
 this noble sacrifice of themselves to the public 
 amusement. 
 
 Each girl who had written a song had in- 
 vited a select little group to sing it for her, 
 and Te-ca-ya, who had the best soprano voice 
 in camp, and a remarkable talent for keeping 
 the tune, had been quite distracted by the de- 
 mand for her services. She was called upon 
 now to bring her guitar and assist in render- 
 
 151 
 
m m m n © tga^a^ass m 
 
 ing Embers' newest song, written to the tune 
 of "Chapel Steps," which was given the prize 
 for that evening, and has since become part of 
 the regular repertoire of camp. 
 
 CROOKED RIVER 
 
 "Here in the dusk at twilight time, 
 When sunset glows are o'er, 
 We gather 'round the laughing fire 
 To sing our songs once more. 
 The drooping branches of the pines 
 In silence hover near, 
 While shadows of old camping days 
 Come creeping back to hear. 
 
 "From every haunted rocky nook, 
 From every listening tree, 
 A phantom voice comes stealing forth 
 To join our melody. 
 And visions of old fire-lit nights 
 Come creeping back again, 
 While touched with fire, a silent watch 
 Sits lonely in the rain. 
 Then as the flickering firelight dies 
 To dim the drowsy glow, 
 We listen to the shadowy voice 
 Of silent Wohelo. 
 
 152 
 
With dreamy eyes we turn away 
 And leave the dying light 
 To join the phantom memories 
 That linger in the night." 
 
 Alaska and He-ta-ya were also reminis- 
 cent of Crooked River with their surprising 
 song of the "Crooked Cuckoos Curiorium," 
 the chorus of which has ever since been ren- 
 dered with an abrupt, decisive ending, 
 
 "Mas-sage for-evah!" 
 
 in memory of Alaska's accent, about which 
 she so good-naturedly submitted to endless 
 teasing. 
 
 SUPPERS, TENNIS TOURNAMENTS 
 AND OTHER THINGS 
 
 On Tuesday evening, when the suppers 
 were cooked at the tents, "Niebelungen" en- 
 tertained guests in royal fashion, with a menu 
 in French, and floral decorations by "an expert 
 from New York." Eggs were served in sev- 
 eral styles, and fudge. Wo-do-ke-ca came 
 sumptuously attired as the "Comtesse de la 
 Brie de Sauce Mayonnaise," with an insignifi- 
 cant "Compte" on her arm, and Embers and 
 Mna-ka, as "George de Thames" and "Sir 
 
 153 
 
U M OB @ 
 
 SEBAGO-WOHELO fTl 
 CAMP FIRE GIRLS LL1 
 
 
 
 | ** «r Jk"*^ i; ■S&3 
 
 JBxSP 
 
 SBi ^ ■ v ~- ;f^Bspi j&Af^Mh 
 
 
 ^HP" 
 
 
 
 Primitive weaving 
 
 Harris Montmorency," flirted shockingly with 
 pretty Ma-na, who was waiting upon the 
 feast. 
 
 It was at this time also that the famous 
 tennis tournament between the "Darting Drag- 
 ons" and the "Crawling Crabs" took place. If 
 tennis has not been mentioned before it has 
 been chiefly for lack of space, for nearly every 
 morning after service, when Hiiteni said that 
 there were no more notices, Ho-sa had bobbed 
 up mildly to remark, "I'd like to say that So- 
 and-so will play So-and-so in tennis this 
 
 154 
 
morning," and later would come to tear them 
 cruelly away from the bungalow where Mna- 
 ka had them busily weaving rugs. 
 
 A mock war had grown up over the naming 
 of the new crew of the war-canoe. The "Dart- 
 ing Dragons" and the "Crawling Crabs" were 
 about evenly divided; songs and badges were 
 adopted, and each side vigorously defended 
 its own selection. 
 
 So it was agreed to have a tennis tourna- 
 ment between the two divisions, and, as Ti- 
 manous had arrived in camp again, the affair 
 started off gaily, with Timanous and Ce-ki- 
 ca-ti against To-mo-ke and Ki-lo-des-ka, and 
 went on for perhaps a week in the intervals of 
 other things. 
 
 But there was little sign of a division in 
 camp when they all met Thursday evening in 
 the bungalow for a Japanese tea. The supper 
 committee for that evening had decorated the 
 bungalow charmingly with ferns, flowers, 
 trailing evergreens, and Japanese lanterns. 
 They had inveigled To-mo-ke and his sis- 
 ter Dis-ya-da, both of whom had grown 
 up in Japan, into giving a demonstration of 
 a real Japanese tea ceremony. After that the 
 refreshments were served on plates decorated 
 
 155 
 
with ferns, passed by the supper committee 
 clad in Japanese kimonos. Besides the usual 
 sandwiches, milk and cake, there was rice to 
 be eaten with chopsticks, and the efforts to 
 master this art contributed not a little to the 
 fun of the evening. A gay time followed in 
 the bungalow, with games and a general frolic, 
 ending with music from Helpful' s violin. 
 
 On Friday came the traditional trip to Jor- 
 dan Bay, and the girls set merrily out with 
 ponchos over their shoulders, singing the good 
 old Jordan Bay Song which still fits as well 
 as when it was written. The first stanza goes : 
 
 "On a sunny day, sunny day, 
 Yes, a very warm day, 
 We stowed our stuff all away, 
 Set out at a clip, 
 With our grub for the trip, 
 And our ponchos 
 Slipping along, slipping along, 
 All tied up wrong, 
 But we hiked with a song 
 For Jordan Bay." 
 
 The girls were divided into two parties, the 
 older ones to follow the trail blazed by Ho-sa 
 and Ge-me-wun-ac, the younger to follow Ki- 
 
 156 
 
m SB^i^B IIS 0§ ID 
 
 lo-des-ka and Alaska. There was an old lum- 
 ber road that they might have followed, but 
 the blazed trail was much more romantic, and 
 it brought them out of the woods by the side 
 of the lake about a quarter of a mile from 
 where they meant to be, which, taking all 
 things into consideration, was not at all bad. 
 They all sat down by the lake and looked at 
 each other with faces flushed, but happy. It is 
 easy enough to follow the beaten road, but 
 there is a special zest in traveling for those 
 who are brave enough to blaze their own paths. 
 They came marching back into camp the next 
 day in a long line that wound over the paths 
 by the tennis court, down to the bungalow, 
 and back again, singing gaily as they went 
 an Indian refrain, 
 
 "Mu j - j e-mu-ke-sin-aw-yaw-yon," 
 which means, appropriately enough, "Worn 
 out shoes I am a' wearing," and is first-class 
 to march by. 
 
 "THE HEAVENLIES" BALL 
 
 There was a long rest Saturday afternoon, 
 for it was the night of "The Heavenlies' " 
 ball, and Loh-ah and To-ka, who had the fes- 
 tivities in charge, had saved everyone the em- 
 
 157 
 
barrassment of choosing partners by pairing 
 off the whole camp for this occasion. They 
 had also firmly proclaimed at dinner that good 
 clothes positively were not allowed. 
 
 This was a challenge to the ingenuity that 
 could not be lightly ignored. The loft was 
 tormented with visitors searching the proper- 
 ties' box and trunks for clothes that could not 
 be classed as "good." What they found was 
 merely raw material for the skill of the cos- 
 tume artists who suddenly developed among 
 them, and most of the work of genius was per- 
 formed in the hours "between the dark and 
 the daylight." The Japanese lanterns over 
 the tennis court were glowing in the gathering 
 darkness when the couples began to arrive. 
 
 Ta-ku, all black and shiny, and wrapped 
 in a brilliant shawl, sailed stoutly in on the 
 arm of a dusky gallant, who proved to be one 
 of the sportive twins. Woh-do-ke-ca came in 
 flowing robes, with a magnificent turban, her 
 exuberant fancy making her for the time a 
 real Haroun-al-Raschid and transforming 
 the maiden in flowing veil who walked beside 
 her into a very lovely Sheherezade. No one 
 was surprised, for it was well known that 
 artistic Woh-do-ke-ca kept a variety of rich- 
 
 158 
 
m Si^iEgESS U O © ED 
 
 hued scarfs and draperies at hand for occa- 
 sions like this, but Ta-ku really did attract 
 some attention by appearing as a cover de- 
 sign from Vogue in a waist made of middy 
 ties, and a skirt of a yard or two of cheap but 
 brilliant material she had bought in the vil- 
 lage that afternoon. 
 
 A tam-o'-shanter and a plaid hair ribbon 
 turned Wa-ya-ka into a witching Scotch lad- 
 die, while He-wan-ka and Alaska, with pow- 
 dered hair, both looked as if they had just 
 stepped from some colonial portrait. Last 
 came Helpful the Great, much greater than 
 usual by reason of a number of pillows stuffed 
 into the immense cotton wrapper which he 
 wore belted with a rope. He had a large, 
 flowery hat, and introduced himself as 
 "Lucy," in a weak, falsetto voice that might 
 have upset the dignity of the judges of the 
 Supreme Court. When he danced he bounced 
 like a great ship on a stormy sea, whirling his 
 helpless partner around in a jubilant career, 
 regardless of any unlucky mortal who failed 
 to elude them. 
 
 There was a grand march, and then danc- 
 ing, to the music of the victrola, which had 
 been brought from the bungalow. Everyone 
 
 159 
 
m m m n b ® ^»s m 
 
 danced, whether skilful or not, except the 
 chaperons, who had powdered their hair, and 
 sat demurely by the fire. All talked and 
 flirted and were happy. 
 
 After a while the master of ceremonies 
 announced that there would be a prize for the 
 best dancing, and began calling off the poor- 
 est couples, until at last there was no one left 
 on the floor but "Lucy" and her slender, faith- 
 ful partner, dancing alone in all their glory. 
 This couple was awarded a loving cup, which 
 was doubtless afterward returned to the 
 kitchen shelf. Refreshments of grape- juice 
 and cake were served in generous quantities, 
 and at ten o'clock the ball of the season came 
 to a happy close. 
 
 To-he-ha 
 
 160 
 
'Birds and breezes make music at meal-time' 
 
 XI 
 
 IN CASE OF ACCIDENT 
 
 A MYSTERY was in the air. Helpful the 
 -** Great had held a private conversation 
 with every tent with regard to its own share in 
 the events of the day, but just what each tent 
 
 161 
 
u gi n © s^ G r°^°o% in 
 
 was going to do, or when it was going to hap- 
 pen no one felt sure, and when the time really 
 came all were quite taken by surprise. 
 
 On Thursday, at swimming hour, Wa-han- 
 ka somehow lost control of herself in the 
 water, though she was an excellent swimmer. 
 The girls were making so much noise that the\ 
 did not hear her cries until someone sitting on 
 the bank noticed and called out to them. Ki- 
 lo-des-ka brought the unconscious girl to the 
 dock, and, by artificial respiration and rub- 
 bing, restored her to consciousness. The girls 
 stood around rather helplessly, vowing never 
 again to be so noisy in their sport that they 
 could not hear if anyone was in danger. 
 
 Dinner-time came, and everyone was ab- 
 sorbed in removing the first keen edge from 
 the usual camp appetite, when a cry of "Oh, 
 she's fainted!" drew attention to poor I-ka- 
 ya-dan, who was leaning heavily on the shoul- 
 der of her nearest neighbor. Embers rushed 
 around the table with surprising promptness, 
 and in a twinkling they had I-ka-ya-dan on 
 her back on the bench, with her feet higher 
 than her head and her clothing loosened. A 
 glass of water dashed in her face brought her 
 rather abruptly to consciousness, vowing ven- 
 
 162 
 
m ssffigns u a n m m 
 
 geance on Embers for being too much in earn- 
 est. The girls at this table now tried to pre- 
 tend that they had known all the time it was 
 not a real faint, and made fun of He-wan-ka 
 for giving the alarm. 
 
 Embers was still more unfortunate, for 
 she choked severely on a fishbone — there was 
 no fish for dinner, but that is a small detail — 
 and Ti-ya-ta, with the assistance of several 
 stalwart maidens, took great delight in stand- 
 ing her on her head. No sooner had she re- 
 covered from this than she swallowed some 
 poison which made her deathly ill. Warm 
 water and mustard were fortunately at hand, 
 as well as a raw egg. Embers pretended to 
 swallow both, and leaned over the railing ex- 
 pressively. Then I-ka-ya-da splashed the 
 mustard water down her back in revenge for 
 the fainting incident, and both appeared to 
 have recovered fully. 
 
 FIRE AND DISASTER 
 
 It was a bit difficult to rest after this ex- 
 citement, but the girls went quietly to their 
 tents at the usual hour. A little group of the 
 older girls had gathered by special permission 
 on the craft-house porch for "Otherwise Phyl- 
 
 163 
 
m m m n © g^a^ss in 
 
 lis," which one of the councilors was reading 
 aloud, and just as the bugle sounded for the 
 end of rest-hour, she dropped her book with 
 a start at a cry of "Fire, fire!" All rushed to 
 the bungalow to find flames and smoke pour- 
 ing out of the fireplace. "Get your pails!" 
 came the order from Helpful, and very soon 
 all the girls were forming a line from the dock 
 up to the bungalow. Pail after pail of water 
 was passed up, till the fire was declared under 
 control. Some sheets of tar paper lay half 
 consumed on the hearth, with little wreaths of 
 smoke still curling about them. 
 
 He-ta-ya, eager as usual to be in the midst 
 of things, had somehow got her hand into the 
 fire, and was moaning with pain when the fire 
 brigade came into the bungalow. Ta-o rushed 
 to her rescue, made her hold her hand in a pail 
 of water to exclude the air until she could at- 
 tend to her, and finding the burn a bad one, 
 covered it with oil and wrapped it in a soft 
 bandage. He-ta-ya bore the pain bravely and 
 was soon sitting up on a bench, a trifle pale 
 but otherwise quite herself. 
 
 Surely no chain of accidents was ever more 
 swift or terrible than this. One after another, 
 things happened so rapidly that there was not 
 
 164 
 
a moment's rest! Mna-ka rushed in with a 
 long cut on her arm and red drops splashed 
 sickeningly about it. Helpful, who in a year 
 was to receive his medical degree, and spoke 
 with the latest authority, said the wound had 
 bled enough to cleanse it better than antisep- 
 tics could do, and Mna-ka sat on the floor, 
 while Woh-do-ke-ca and Embers, under Help- 
 ful's guidance, laid a neat strip of surgeon's 
 plaster on each side of the cut and sewed the 
 two strips together. Helpful explained that 
 this was a less painful method than sewing the 
 cut itself, and that he would have used it 
 when I-wa-da-ka cut her knee on the saw if 
 there had not been several cuts side by side, 
 so that there was no place for the plaster. 
 
 "Oh, oh!" wailed Wan-ye-ca's voice sud- 
 denly on the tense air. "I've got a sliver in 
 my hand!" Kee-wee, her councilor, pulled it 
 promptly out and held it up to view. No 
 wonder she had cried — the sliver was at least 
 ten inches long! This was followed by Ni- 
 ma-ha finding a bean up her nose, and they 
 gave her pepper to make her sneeze it out. 
 With young children like "The Chipmunks" 
 such acidents as these are to be expected at 
 any moment! 
 
 165 
 
Q 
 
Several of the girls were sitting on benches 
 beside the ladder into the loft, and Ge-me- 
 wun-ac was climbing down to give her assist- 
 ance to Ni-ma-ha, when, by mistake, she 
 stepped from the second round to the floor 
 and sat there all in a heap, nursing a sprained 
 ankle. She did not scream, for she was not 
 the kind to scream — nor, for that matter, to 
 fall down ladders, but this was a day of sur- 
 prises. The girls wasted no time wondering, 
 but held the ankle first in cold water, then in 
 hot, to keep the circulation active and so pre- 
 vent swelling, and then bound it up firmly 
 with adhesive plaster, to hold the ligaments 
 in place until they could heal. They prom- 
 ised to take the bandage off every day and rub 
 the ankle to keep it from becoming stiff. 
 
 SERIOUS INJURIES 
 
 Loh-ah, being a tentmate of Ge-me-wun- 
 ac's, had fallen in an attempt to get near 
 enough to help her. Ga-oh and Ho-sa picked 
 her up and examined her injuries, which were 
 many and varied. Her hand was badly cut, 
 her head hurt, and her shoulder broken. 
 
 They found a triangular bandage, and 
 used it first as a tourniquet to stop the blood 
 
 167 
 
m m m n s gi ^^s to 
 
 from flowing into the hand, as they knew 
 from the rich red blood which was spurting 
 from it, that an artery had been cut. A pencil, 
 slipped through the knot of the bandage, and 
 twisted round and round, answered the pur- 
 pose, and checked the dangerous loss of blood 
 at once. 
 
 Then they bandaged the hand neatly, and 
 removed the triangular bandage, which was 
 needed for the head. They laid it with the 
 base over her forehead, wrapped it around her 
 head, brought the two corners around to the 
 forehead and tied them in a square knot, then 
 tucked the corners in at the back. 
 
 The same bandage was used to make a 
 sling for the broken shoulder, but when it was 
 discovered that her knee had been hurt also, 
 Helpful said a different treatment was needed. 
 He brought out a roll of straight bandage, 
 properly sterilized, and the girls bandaged 
 the knee in figure-eight style, winding it first 
 above the joint, then below, with a twist each 
 time to make it smooth, and finally passing it 
 over the joint itself, thus leaving the knee 
 free to move. Poor Loh-ah was soon able to 
 walk a little, though it was some time before 
 the signs of her other injuries disappeared. 
 
 168 
 
m gssff^g^ u m n m m m 
 
 A little drama of very tender nature was 
 now enacted before the fireplace. A young 
 man was walking arm in arm with his sweet- 
 heart, when a cruel bee stung the maiden, 
 leaving its barbed stinger in her arm, and she 
 cried out with pain. Instantly he pulled the 
 stinger out, then placed mud over the wound 
 to counteract the acid by its alkali, and ap- 
 parently the maiden recovered and lived 
 happy ever after. Helpful remarked that if 
 it had been either a wasp or a hornet, which 
 have pointed stingers, the stinger would not 
 have been left in, but that with a honey bee 
 sting the first thing to do is to take the stinger 
 out and then apply the alkali treatment. 
 
 CALMNESS IN EMERGENCY 
 
 It was growing warm in the bungalow, 
 with so many crowding around the scene of 
 action, but no one would have supposed it 
 would cause a sunstroke. Kani-da-ka fell 
 down, however, very white and exhausted, 
 and they braced her against a bench in a sit- 
 ting posture while they bathed her face and 
 neck with cold water. When she recovered 
 they told her that she would have to be careful 
 in the future about exposing herself to the 
 
 169 
 
direct rays of the sun, especially in hot 
 weather. 
 
 The heat had affected Ma-na in a different 
 way. She grew faint, and two of the bystand- 
 ers tried to carry her out. First they made a 
 hand-chair, but as she became entirely uncon- 
 scious, and lost her hold on their shoulders, 
 they were obliged to try some other method. 
 One took her shoulders, one her feet, one sup- 
 ported her back, and they started, but just 
 then Helpful met them with a stretcher, hast- 
 ily improvised from two oars and a blanket, 
 and this proved the most comfortable way 
 to carry the helpless burden. 
 
 Outside of the bungalow Ma-na was 
 dropped abruptly, for Te-pa had broken her 
 leg, and everyone was needed to help her. 
 The best they could do was to bandage her leg 
 with a stick to keep it stiff until they could 
 reach a doctor, and, as Ma-na was quite herself 
 again, they rolled her out of the stretcher and 
 put Te-pa in her place. 
 
 Ta-o, who was trying to help carry the 
 stretcher, fell and broke her arm, and they 
 put that in a sling and helped her to go to 
 the doctor along with Te-pa, who professed 
 herself glad of company. Helpful explained 
 
 170 
 
that no one but a physician should attempt 
 to set a broken bone, but that if there is no 
 physician near it should be kept in an ice pack 
 to prevent swelling, which is very dangerous. 
 A snake bite followed close after this — 
 though there was no snake to be seen — and 
 the tourniquet came into use again to keep 
 the blood away from the poisoned spot. The 
 poison was then sucked and squeezed out, 
 which Helpful said was the only real cure for 
 a poisonous snake bite. The whisky cure he 
 declared a myth. 
 
 TROUBLE AND YET MORE 
 TROUBLE 
 
 Scarcely was this crisis past when I-ma- 
 ga-ga rushed in, quivering pathetically with 
 terror, crying out that a dog had bitten her! 
 They never found the dog! Two of the girls 
 washed out the wound and applied the tourni- 
 quet again, and there was some discussion of 
 sending her to a Pasteur Institute for treat- 
 ment until they decided that the dog had 
 shown no signs whatever of rabies. 
 
 A black eye was the next accident, but it 
 disappeared speedily under the treatment of 
 alternate hot and cold water. A rusty nail 
 
 171 
 
in Te-pa's foot called for prompt treatment, 
 and they washed out the rust, then bandaged 
 it carefully. The ointment Helpful recom- 
 mended for such cases, as being soothing and 
 also mildly antiseptic, was to be made of one 
 spoonful of boracic acid to two of vaseline. 
 
 Ek-o-le-la came in suffering with a fearful 
 toothache, which they treated with an ice bag 
 and some of the contents of a milk can that 
 was labeled "Oil of Cloves," in large letters. 
 Helpful said that a hot water bag for tooth- 
 ache is a mistake, as it only increases the 
 fever, while ice reduces it. Then, as if the 
 toothache had not been bad enough, Da-su, 
 one of the Twins, and another girl fell into 
 a disgraceful altercation, and each knocked 
 out one of the other's teeth. They hastily 
 picked them up and put them back to keep 
 the spaces open, hoping that the dentist could 
 bridge them into place! 
 
 Screams from without again! At the foot 
 of the hill lay Ta-ku, rolled in a blanket which 
 To-he-ha had thrown around her to put out 
 the flames that had threatened her very life. 
 With great thoughtfulness To-he-ha had 
 wrapped the blanket from the top down and 
 had so avoided driving the flames up into 
 
 173 
 
Ta-ku's face. It developed presently that 
 Ta-ku had caught fire in trying to help an- 
 other girl who was dyeing over the fire, and 
 had scalded herself with boiling water from 
 the big kettle. But Ta-ku s injuries proved 
 
 Wa-han-ka, dripping and limp 
 
 the worse of the two and they were obliged 
 to cut away the clothing carefully before 
 applying oil. 
 
 "The Blue Birds," who had been bobbing 
 about all this time in white-towel aprons with 
 red-cross bandages on their arms, kept their 
 heads splendidly when He-wan-ka, their coun- 
 
 174 
 
cilor, became a tortured victim of ivy poison. 
 They ran for a basin of soap and water, but 
 it was Ivory soap they brought, and even in 
 her pain He-wan-ka pushed it away, scream- 
 ing, "No, no!" Then they brought plain yel- 
 
 "The rescuer pressed forward, slowly counting three" 
 
 low soap, and washed her arm thoroughly, 
 which soothed it. Helpful remarked that 
 alkali is needed to dissolve the oil in the poison, 
 and that the Ivory does not contain as much 
 alkali as plain yellow soap. 
 
 The climax of the afternoon came now, 
 with a touch of reality that had not been 
 
 175 
 
arranged on the program. A scream from the 
 lake called everyone out to the rock before 
 the bungalow. Far out on the water appeared 
 an overturned canoe, with a girl struggling 
 desperately near it. Without hesitation 
 Ki-lo-des-ka plunged from the steep rock and 
 swam to the rescue. She reached the now un- 
 conscious girl and started to swim to shore, 
 holding her by the clothes at the back of her 
 neck, when a rowboat suddenly appeared on 
 the scene, hastening to the rescue in dead earn- 
 est from a neighboring boys' camp. The 
 shouts of laughter from the shore soon opened 
 the eyes of the brave councilor in the boat, and 
 he rowed back as fast as he could. Hiiteni 
 thanked him for his effort afterward, and 
 promised to send her neighbors word before 
 another "accident day" took place. 
 
 Meanwhile Wa-han-ka, for Wa-han-ka it 
 again proved to be, was brought to land drip- 
 ping and limp, and carried up to the bun- 
 galow on the little freight truck and placed on 
 a blanket on the floor. They laid her face 
 downward, turned her head to the left side, 
 and set up artificial respiration by pressure. 
 
 One of the girls sat across her hips and 
 placed both hands on the small of the unfortu- 
 
 176 
 
m SBft^SSfci u @ Q ® ID 
 
 nate girl's back with thumbs nearly touching 
 and the fingers spread out over her lowest 
 ribs. The rescuer pressed forward, slowly 
 counting three, then quickly swung herself 
 backward, releasing the pressure, but keeping 
 her hands on the body in the original position 
 with the arms straight. In three more counts 
 she repeated this movement. Some one hastily 
 brought hot water bags for artificial heat, 
 while others rubbed Wa-han-ka's limbs vigor- 
 ously till at last she breathed, and they knew 
 that her life was saved! 
 
 She sprang up, looking amazingly cheer- 
 ful and happy, and went off to find some dry 
 clothes. The other sufferers also recovered, 
 and all adjourned to Hiiteni's fireplace, where 
 supper was waiting to build up their weak- 
 ened vitality. The talk about the fire was 
 enlivened by discussions of how well Wa- 
 han-ka had acted her part, how difficult it had 
 been to tow her to land, how funny Ca-du-za 
 had been with her black eye, and why this or 
 that treatment was given for each accident. 
 
 After this day each Wohelo maiden felt 
 competent to handle any case of accident or 
 sudden injury that might come in her path. 
 
 After supper Alaska read by the firelight 
 177 
 
m mm 00 ® gssssaraBs m 
 
 from a paper that had come in the morning 
 mail about the progress of a great war that 
 was beginning in far-off Europe. In this little 
 world of peace and happiness it was difficult 
 to realize that anything so fearful and bar- 
 barous could be happening, but the fact that 
 the parents of some of the girls were travel- 
 ling in Europe, and that many had friends 
 there, helped to bring the reality home to 
 them. The ''Dutchies," as the twins from 
 Holland had come to be affectionately called, 
 were a living bond of connection with the 
 troubled Old World countries. 
 
 There is a Camp Fire Girls organization 
 in Holland, and the girls of Sebago-Wohelo 
 Camp were interested to learn that the Camp 
 Fire Girls in that little country were turning 
 their club rooms into hospitals, and helping in 
 every way they could to heal the sufferings of 
 war. It seemed suddenly a very wonderful 
 thing to be able to help, even a little, on the 
 side of healing and peace, and the girls were 
 glad for the lessons that helped to fit them for 
 emergencies, even though they hoped that they 
 would never have the same need for these 
 lessons as had their sisters across the sea. 
 
 "The Dutchies," who were always willing 
 178 
 
to contribute to the happiness of camp, sang 
 several songs in their soft, sweet voices, ac- 
 companying them on the guitar and mandolin, 
 closing with a restful lullaby which the girls 
 had learned to love, even though the words 
 were in a foreign tongue. They seemed to 
 have a new meaning tonight, a promise of 
 the peace which must surely come to the un- 
 happy peoples across the seas. The peace of 
 camp grew deeper and deeper for very con- 
 trast to the excitement of the day, and the 
 stormy tales of war, till the fire flickered low 
 in the hush of it, and everyone went quietly 
 to bed. 
 
 -£jp 
 
 Da-su 
 
 179 
 
The cross-bill 
 
 XII 
 
 DOUGLAS HILL 
 
 rpHE day had come for the last trip of the 
 A summer, which was to be straight across 
 the lake to the sunset mountains outlined so 
 invitingly against the sky. 
 
 180 
 
Very early in the morning one of the coun- 
 cilors, who had risen before the bugle to make 
 some preparation for the trip, happened to 
 pass Hiitenis tent and found her, as she often 
 was at this hour, awake and busy, looking over 
 her mail and making plans for the day. The 
 councilor slipped in for a moment's chat. 
 
 "Oh!" whispered Hiiteni suddenly, point- 
 ing to a pine whose branches were silhouetted 
 against the sky bej^ond her tent, "there are 
 the cross-bills! There have never been any 
 in camp before, so far as I know, but this 
 dear little pair has been building a nest, and 
 I have caught glimpses of them several times. 
 Oh, I believe I could take a picture of them 
 now, right from the tent!" 
 
 They rested the camera on Hiiteni's bed, 
 moving quickly but quietly, and though one 
 of the bird visitors flew away, the other posed 
 for several pictures, pirouetting daintily in 
 unconscious grace on the pine branch. Hiit- 
 eni's eyes were full of the hushed happiness 
 that such a little thing could kindle in her 
 nature-loving heart, and the light in them did 
 not quite die out during all of the happy day 
 which followed. She loved all of the wild 
 things of the woods — loved them in their free- 
 
 181 
 
m m m n b © %%%T2$& m 
 
 dom, and rejoiced in it, yet she had "captured" 
 the crossbill in a way that was to be a lasting 
 source of joy to her and to others. 
 
 A SONG TO MARCH BY 
 
 There were others awake early, too, for 
 soon after the bugle sounded, from the piano 
 was heard a strange but catchy little tune. It 
 was Helpful, Embers, and Te-ca-ya, compos- 
 ing a new song to a negro melody they had 
 known in college days, and they sung it after 
 the morning service, with the aid of Helpful's 
 violin. In a very short time the girls had 
 learned it, and were singing with laughter in 
 their voices: 
 
 "Oh Hiiteni built a shack 
 On Lake Sebago! 
 
 And every summer she comes back — 
 A long time ago!" 
 
 Chorus 
 
 "A long time ago ! A long time ago ! 
 And every summer she comes back — 
 A long time ago!" 
 
 "The Heavenly Rock is big and high — 
 On Lake Sebago! 
 
 182 
 
Ready for a hike 
 
mm mn m @ ga^sa?^ m 
 
 If you jump off you'll surely die' 
 A long time ago!" 
 
 and several other verses equally nonsensical, 
 some of them rather personal in their ref- 
 erences. 
 
 They were still humming it when they 
 scattered to their tents to roll up their blan- 
 kets, for Ce-ki-ca-ti, who had this trip in 
 charge, had ordered the ponchos down on the 
 dock before craft-hour, so that there might be 
 no delay in starting immediately after dinner. 
 To make sure that the order was carried out, 
 she had suggested that the having their pon- 
 chos promptly on the dock should count in the 
 tent inspection record for the week. 
 
 So there was no time lost after dinner in 
 loading the canoes, which were towed away 
 by the "Red Beak" after the same fashion 
 as on the Crooked River trip, except that to- 
 day the sun was blazing down upon them in 
 a manner almost too friendly. The ever-pres- 
 ent craft-work was much in evidence, and in 
 several groups one of the girls was reading 
 aloud, one from the poetry of Alfred Noyes, 
 another from the Ladies' Home Journal. In 
 one end of the war-canoe Alaska was enter- 
 
 184 
 
taining an interested group with tales of the 
 time when she attended the Henley Regatta, 
 and May Week at Oxford. 
 
 On the other side of the lake a wagon 
 waited for the ponchos, then started up the 
 hill, leaving the girls to climb up by a dif- 
 ferent road. Ce-ki-ca-ti marshalled them in 
 squads of eight, and they set out valiantly, 
 singing as they went. 
 
 "Oh, Hitteni built a shack 
 On Lake Sebago! 
 
 And every summer she comes back — 
 A long time ago !" 
 
 The tune was good for marching, and 
 helped in the long climb. They wound 
 through the village and slowly up the hill 
 road, passing comfortable looking farm 
 houses and apple orchards where the fruit was 
 beginning to look temptingly ripe. It was 
 "hard on to five mile,'' as the driver of the 
 wagon had said, and when the wagon passed 
 them about half way up, several, at Hiiteni's 
 persuasion, consented to a lift. But Ti-ya-ta 
 and Ta-ku had even carried their ponchos all 
 the way, and declared they were not tired a 
 
 13* 
 
mm igb@ assess m 
 
 bit, and that this was really the proper way to 
 "hike." 
 
 About half a mile below the top of the hill 
 they found their ponchos waiting near a hos- 
 pitable farmhouse, where they paused for a 
 rest and a drink of water. Then they shoul- 
 dered the ponchos and the baskets of food be- 
 sides, and started for the last, stiff climb. 
 
 SUNSET ON THE MOUNTAIN 
 
 Every moment the scene became more beau- 
 tiful! Mountain after mountain came into 
 view, with little chains of lakes hidden in the 
 hearts of them. It seemed impossible that so 
 short a journey from the quiet camp by the 
 lakeside could have transported them into real 
 mountain country, which now, as the sun- 
 set began to color it with rich purple shadows 
 and glowing lights, changed before their very 
 eyes into "the glory and the freshness of a 
 dream." 
 
 At the foot of the last climb, as if it were 
 for the keeper of the mountain, nestled a 
 pleasant home, and the girls stopped to fill 
 their pails with water and exchange a few 
 words with the daughter of the house, a col- 
 lege girl whom some had met in other sum- 
 
 186 
 
m Esa^a^ass ii^q^o 
 
 'Pushed upward as fast as the blue-berries would allow' 
 
 mers. Then they pushed on to the top as fast 
 as the blueberry bushes would allow. The ber- 
 ries were as large as strawberries, if the tales 
 the girls brought back were to be believed. 
 Small wonder that some of the hungry travel- 
 lers laid down their burdens to feast upon this 
 rich luxury, making this an excuse for a mo- 
 ment's rest, but others more valiant refused to 
 stop, and climbed on up over the scraggy, 
 
 187 
 
rocky hillside, only snatching a berry or two 
 as they went — perhaps they were not so fond 
 of blueberries! 
 
 At the top all dropped their ponchos and 
 looked around them, the full beauty of the 
 mountain sunset shining straight into their 
 dazzled eyes. The peaks and ridges glowed 
 with rose, gold, and unknown tints, and 
 through a rift in the clouds a shower of long, 
 glimmering rays fell aslant into a valley be- 
 tween the hills. Those who knew could pick 
 out individual peaks, Old Man, Kearsarge and 
 Mount Washington, clearly outlined, yet 
 transfigured by the veil of beaut y that swept 
 over them. 
 
 STAKING CAMP 
 
 But after the first hush of wonder the 
 hungry girls remembered the solid, rocky 
 earth beneath their feet, and, while keeping 
 one eye on the sunset, guided themselves with 
 the other to the richest blueberry patches. The 
 berries disappeared like so much dew, leaving 
 always plenty more to be had for the gather- 
 ing. Wa-zi demanded to have her bed made 
 in a clump of bushes, so that she could wake 
 and eat berries by moonlight, but others, 
 
 188 
 
110 q m sb^^sss m 
 
 moved by more aesthetic motives, chose spots 
 from which they could watch the sunrise in 
 the morning. 
 
 The top of Douglas Hill was marked by 
 a rough monument of stones, and near it 
 stood a fireplace of the same gray rock, walled 
 about on three sides like a stove, with an open- 
 ing in the fourth side. Here a fire was built, 
 and cans of beans set in the opening to heat. 
 Toasted bread, milk, and jam, with some 
 maple fudge, which the cook had sent as a 
 surprise, made a feast to satisfy the hungriest. 
 
 After supper a big fire was built in the 
 open to signal to To-mo-ke, who had remained 
 in camp, and they all sat down around it and 
 mere merry. "The Dutchies" sang their na- 
 tional anthem, and a tune or two besides, and 
 then everyone joined in the new camp song 
 about Hiiteni's shack, making new verses to 
 sing when the original ones ran out. Stunts 
 of the usual kind followed, and then came a 
 charming Hawaiian story by Ya-ke-ya, who, 
 though a new arrival at camp, had found her 
 place at once upon the roll of entertainers. 
 
 Stumbling down among the rocks in the 
 dark, or finding their way more comfortably 
 by the help of their pocket flashes, the girls 
 
 190 
 
were soon snuggled under their ponchos, 
 which were already damp with the heavy dew. 
 The moon came up, and the night was perfect, 
 clear and still and bright. No one wanted to 
 sleep, and Hiiteni's "Hush!" came several 
 times before the whispering was stilled. 
 
 "WAKE YE, ARISE! 
 LIFE IS CALLING THEE!" 
 
 rang over the hillside. It was early in the 
 morning, and the sleepy maidens woke to watch 
 the sunrise, some from their beds, others 
 from a jutting rock that commanded a sweep- 
 ing view of the eastern sky. They looked for 
 the familiar waters of the lake, but only the 
 peaks of the mountains were to be seen, ris- 
 ing above a sea of mist that rolled in billowy 
 whiteness all around. Slowly the sun rose 
 through the mist, a clear, flaming ball, touch- 
 ing the mountain tops with gold, and lighting 
 every misty wave crest. 
 
 As the novelty of the scene wore away the 
 girls thought of the long hours between sun- 
 rise and breakfast, and some crept back for 
 another nap. The rest went up and down the 
 hillside gathering berries, talking softly, as 
 they had promised Hiiteni, for fear of dis- 
 
 191 
 
m m m n b m gBEsa^gs eq 
 
 turbing the sleepers. They returned at break- 
 fast time with purple lips, and quarts and 
 quarts of berries to carry home. 
 
 Dis-ya-di had been busy making up a 
 "Douglas Hill Song" to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra- 
 ra-boom-de-ay," and the girls sang it as they 
 marched down the hill soon after breakfast 
 with their ponchos in neat array over their 
 shoulders : 
 
 "From Douglas Hill we maidens come, 
 Laughing, singing, on the run! 
 My, but we've been having fun, 
 Eating berries by the ton!" 
 
 But as they neared the house at the foot of 
 the hill they stopped singing, and crept down 
 softly, to surprise their friends with a morn- 
 ing cheer. 
 
 Then began the long jaunt down the hill, 
 which was curiously easier than the upward 
 climb, and made easier still by some apples 
 that insisted upon falling from a tree hanging 
 over the road. Before they realized they had 
 reached the good, old lake again, and were 
 taking their places in the canoes, surprised to 
 find how much rougher the water had grown 
 during the night. Twice a canoe broke loose 
 
 192 
 
m ssftH^sss iios§e] 
 
 Working in clay 
 
 from the line. "It would not be the Douglas 
 Hill trip," Ce-ki-ca-ti said, "if the canoes did 
 not break loose," — but they were safely tied 
 again, and as good sailors should, they enjoyed 
 the trip more for the dancing of the craft on 
 the water, though one or two arrived at the 
 dock a little pale. 
 
 That afternoon and parts of the next day 
 were spent with "a fire in the canner," putting 
 up the fifty quarts of berries which had been 
 brought home from the trip. They were not 
 
 193 
 
mmm nm m is^^sas 
 
 the first blueberries of the season, for twice 
 Ki-lo-des-ka had marshalled "The King- 
 fishers" out before breakfast to gather berries 
 for canning. But the Douglas Hill berries 
 seemed to have a flavor all their own, mingled 
 of mountain sunrise and the vigorous delight 
 of the climb. 
 
 The evening was rainy, but no one cared. 
 They sat in the teepee around a cheerful fire, 
 toasting marshmallows, as cosily as could be, 
 while Alaska read aloud; and they wondered 
 how it could be that tramping up the hill in 
 the sunshine is so wonderful, yet coming 
 home again to one's own little teepee in the 
 rain is so very sweet. 
 
 l|^ 
 
 SF 
 
 Ki-lo-des-ka 
 
 194 
 
XIII 
 
 MARKETING DAY 
 
 rilHE Tuesday night suppers of the tents 
 -*■ had been gradually expanding from the 
 simple "bacon-bat" affairs of early summer to 
 feasts of considerable style and variety. The 
 girls of "Niebelungen" had made a bean-hole 
 early one Tuesday morning, and produced for 
 supper a generous supply of well-baked beans. 
 The Count for the next week said: 
 
 "As we were not bidden thither 
 To that feast of Niebelungen's 
 We can only hint and surmise 
 That their beans were either burned or, 
 Mayhap, underdone a trifle." 
 
 But that is too obviously the utterance of 
 a jealous mind to call for argument. The 
 beans were perfectly cooked, and had a rare, 
 delicious flavor. 
 
 Now a still greater spark of ambition had 
 fired the breast of one of "The Loons," who 
 
 195 
 
® m m n h ® gg^^agss m 
 
 came to Hiiteni with a modest request for per- 
 mission to buy and cook a chicken. She want- 
 ed to earn the home-craft honor, "pick, dress, 
 and cook a fowl." Hiiteni saw in her sug- 
 gestion a happy answer to another problem 
 that had been troubling some of the girls who 
 wanted to become Fire Makers, but had not 
 had opportunity to meet the requirement: "To 
 help prepare and serve, together with other 
 candidates, at least two meals for meetings of 
 the Camp Fire; this to include purchase of 
 food, cooking, and serving the meal, and care 
 of fire." "Perhaps," thought Hiiteni, "all of 
 the girls would like to choose their own ma- 
 terials for one Tuesday night supper, and 
 buy them from the village store or the farmers 
 in the neighborhood." 
 
 A NEW AND DELIGHTFUL WAY 
 TO EARN HONORS 
 
 The "perhaps" was still strong in Hiiteni' s 
 mind when she brought the subject before 
 the girls after Service that morning. She did 
 not wish to compel anyone to make this ex- 
 periment, she said, but she thought that, be- 
 sides solving the problem of the honor, it would 
 be a valuable experience. She told how, when 
 
 196 
 
m S^ftM^ IiG0[5]El 
 
 her own daughters were young, she had dis- 
 missed the servant, and given the kitchen into 
 the keeping of the girls, letting them buy and 
 cook the meals in turn, and so learn by first- 
 hand the knowledge of cost and preparation 
 of food. And she added that cooking out-of- 
 doors is the natural, biological way for a girl 
 to learn to love home-making, just as playing 
 at Indian battles is the boy's way of learning 
 strength and manly qualities. 
 
 Hiiteni intended to put the question to a 
 vote, but she had scarcely finished speaking 
 when the girls began to discuss their menus 
 as if it were already decided. 
 
 "How shall we get small enough quantities 
 of flour?" a practical maid demanded. 
 
 "You might club together in buying things 
 like that," was Hiiteni's suggestion. 
 
 "Oh," cried Ta-ku, bobbing up and down 
 with excitement, " 'The Loons' will buy flour, 
 and sell it to anyone who wants it!" 
 
 "'The Kingfishers' will sell salt!" put in 
 Ti-ya-ta. 
 
 "Get your baking powder from 'Niebe- 
 lungen/ " 
 
 "And when can we go to the village to buy 
 things?" 
 
 197 
 
@ u m E2 m © ggtfs&sgs m 
 
 It was finally arranged that each tent 
 should send two delegates to the village dur- 
 ing rest hour, and the Service broke up in a 
 buzz of planning. 
 
 Little else was talked of that day. The 
 telephone came into use for ordering the ar- 
 ticles that could not wait until afternoon, prin- 
 cipally two chickens, one for "The Loons" 
 and one for "The Heavenly Twins," who were 
 not to be outdone by anyone. "Heavenly Rest" 
 announced that ice-cream would be for sale 
 to all who wished to buy. 
 
 The storekeeper of South Casco must have 
 been taken by surprise when the horde of eager 
 housewives descended upon him in the after- 
 noon. There was Ta-ku, bustling about buy- 
 ing corn for everyone who wanted it, and, 
 finding that she had counted a dozen ears too 
 few, had to order more. There were the 
 "Dutch sisters" buying rice, and currants and 
 brown sugar for a native dish they were plan- 
 ning to serve at "Top o' the Rocks." Pi-ki-da 
 and I-wa-da-ka had their heads together as 
 usual, and were buying provisions for break- 
 fast, for "The Spiders" had permission for a 
 little camping trip of their own to a nearby 
 island. 
 
 198 
 
11 
 
 
 -O 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 i< 
 
 
 «9 
 
 
 <*o 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 
 
 § 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 «o 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 
 05 
 
 
 *> 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 i»o 
 
 
 05 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
m m m n © 3s$r&» 
 
 They all met at the "Red Beak," those who 
 had been in the store and those who had been 
 visiting the houses along the road, arms full 
 of many-shaped packages, and eyes bright 
 with excitement. On the way home they 
 busied themselves counting up how much they 
 had paid for their provisions, and making more 
 plans for the evening's feast. 
 
 THE WONDERFUL CHICKEN 
 
 Of the hum of activity that filled the camp 
 that afternoon, "The Heavenlies" seemed to be 
 the very center. The air about the three tents 
 fairly quivered with activity that hinted of 
 delicious viands preparing. Early in the day 
 the girls of "The Heavenly Twins" had dug a 
 hole near the tent, walled it around with 
 stones, built a fire in it, and laid in the ashes 
 a neatly stuffed chicken wrapped in oiled 
 paper, which was then covered over with earth 
 and stones and left to cook. They spoke of 
 "when we take the chicken out," very much 
 as they might have spoken of "When the night- 
 blooming cereus blossoms," with the tones 
 of those who are waiting breathless for a brief 
 but weighty crisis. They made a little fire, 
 with two forked sticks to hold a spit on which 
 
 200 
 
they could brown the chicken to a turn when 
 they had taken it out. Then they left Ce-ki- 
 ca-ti and To-ka to watch by the hole while 
 the rest went about the other cooking on the 
 fireplace beyond the tent. 
 
 In the intervals between entertaining the 
 interested visitors who came now and then to 
 inquire about the chicken, Ce-ki-ca-ta and 
 To-ka busied themselves making some rich 
 chocolate sauce. Helpful the Great, who had 
 been invited to supper, came near with a 
 hungry and almost w T istful expression, won- 
 dering, no doubt, whether the chicken would 
 yield up a meal for a man's appetite. A visit- 
 ing guardian, who was also to be a guest at 
 the feast, hovered about in a hungry search 
 for new ideas. She drifted over to "Heavenly 
 Rest" to watch with admiration the dexterous 
 maidens there, who were baking biscuit over 
 their fire by rolling the dough around a long 
 stick, which was then poised on two forked 
 sticks and turned until the biscuit were baked. 
 As the girls were cooking soup and agonizing 
 over the ice-cream that would not freeze at the 
 same time, the visitor was allowed, as a special 
 privilege, to amuse herself with a few turns at 
 the biscuit. 
 
 201 
 
m m si n h e gg^^ssas m 
 
 "Thank you so much for letting me see 
 just how it is done," she said, and hurried back 
 to "The Twins' " fireplace at a rumor that the 
 chicken was about to be taken out. Hiiteni 
 was hastily summoned, and in the presence of 
 a little group of favored witnesses the hole 
 was opened. The chicken lay there, slightly 
 blackened by the ashes, for the paper was 
 quite burned off, but with a cooked appear- 
 ance gratifying to behold. They poked it. It 
 was tender. It was even slightly browned, 
 but they finished it to the last touch of per- 
 fection, as they had planned, on the spit over 
 the fire. 
 
 Meanwhile the other viands, in their own 
 humble way, were turning out as well as the 
 chicken. Te-pa had taken charge of the sweet 
 potatoes, which had been allowed to cool, and 
 were then peeled and fried with a sprinkling 
 of sugar. "Because if you don't cool them 
 first," she explained, with an air of long ex- 
 perience, "the grease will soak in and spoil 
 them." Te-ca-ya had fried the tomatoes most 
 deliciously in plenty of butter, and the apples 
 had been left to bake in the natural reflect- 
 ing oven under the rock behind the fire, and 
 all were "done to perfection." 
 202 
 
m esb^mbs m m nm m m 
 
 "The Heavenly Twins'' sat down at last 
 and waited for Helpful the Great to carve the 
 fowl. "The tenderest I ever saw," quoth he. 
 "The best I ever ate," was the visiting guar- 
 dian's verdict. And, indeed, the chicken had a 
 taste that differed from chicken cooked in the 
 usual prosaic way, as corn roasted over an 
 open fire differs from corn boiled on the 
 kitchen stove. The eating of this feast was 
 such a simple, unadulterated joy that no one 
 felt the need of words to accompany it. 
 
 "PRIDE GOETH BEFORE A FALL " 
 
 They had gnawed every bone of the 
 chicken, and were waiting for the apple sauce, 
 which had to finish cooking on top of the fire, 
 when one of the girls from "Heavenly Rest" 
 announced that at last the ice-cream was fin- 
 ished, and for sale. They hurried to the tent 
 with cups and spoons, bought cream, and cov- 
 ered it thickly with the rich chocolate sauce. 
 They tasted it greedily. Then they puckered 
 up their faces. It tasted of salt instead of 
 sugar! The chocolate sauce was the one blot 
 upon that otherwise perfect meal! 
 
 To humiliate their pride a trifle further at 
 this point "The Niebelungens" announced that 
 
 203 
 
Sweet potatoes and apple sauce 
 
they had chocolate sauce for sale at three cents 
 a helping. A few of "The Heavenlies" hum- 
 bled themselves and bought it, but others ate 
 their cream with apple sauce, which by this 
 time was ready to serve. Purchasers from 
 other tents were now flocking up to "Heav- 
 enly Rest" and going away with five-cent 
 helpings of the cream, either in their cups 
 or in the neat little boxes the girls had bought 
 for the purpose. 
 
 EVERY TEXT A FEAST 
 
 The visiting guardian felt that she must 
 have fallen upon the chief feasting place of 
 camp, and that there could be nothing any- 
 where else to equal it. But she took a stroll 
 about camp, to find that each tent was fully 
 convinced that no supper had been half so 
 good as its own. "Niebelungen" had stuffed 
 tomatoes on toast, mashed potatoes, fried 
 apples, and scones made by Alaska's own 
 recipe, which was soon in demand. She gave 
 it thus: 
 
 One-half pound flour, one teaspoon baking 
 powder, one-half teaspoon salt. Mix with milk 
 or water till moderately stiff, fry in boiling fat, 
 when brown underneath, turn. 
 
 205 
 
"The Kingfishers" exhibited an empty tin 
 that bore silent witness to the charms of an 
 apple pie which they had baked in their own 
 oven. They had rolled the crust on a paper 
 on their table, with a glass jar for a rolling 
 pin. Besides this they had baked apples over 
 the fire, turning them on a stick and dropping 
 a marshmallow in the little hollow made in the 
 top of each when it was done. They gave 
 dazzling promises of blueberry biscuits which 
 were soon to be baked, but their visitor fled 
 from the temptation of further eating. 
 
 "The Whippies" had tomato soup, welsh 
 rarebit, and fudge. "The Loons" had fried 
 their chicken and made dumplings to eat with 
 it, besides having roast corn, and blueberry 
 fritters for dessert. "Top o' the Rocks" had 
 "cheese dreams," which are toasted cheese 
 sandwiches, and rice cooked with currants 
 and eaten with brown sugar. Nothing ex- 
 cept the chocolate sauce seemed to have given 
 a hint of failure, and all of the cooks looked 
 proud and happy. Hands, faces, and middies 
 were a bit blackened by the smoke of the fire, 
 but that was a usual accompaniment of Tues- 
 day night suppers, and gave one a reckless 
 feeling that rather added to the zest of things. 
 
 206 
 
While they enjoyed it all, the camp spirit 
 was busy weaving the experiences of the day 
 into their future, farther than they knew. 
 "They will never forget this," said Hiiteni, 
 "and the woman's work of choosing and pre- 
 paring meals for the home will have ever a 
 new romance for them because of it." 
 
 EXPENSE ACCOUNTS 
 
 Hiiteni asked each of the tents the next 
 morning to give her an account of their ex- 
 penses for the supper, and several of them 
 are given here for the perusal of any who may 
 be interested in camp cookery. Anyone who 
 is not must be a sad dyspeptic or must never 
 have known what real camp cooking is. Ask 
 the Wohelo maidens if this is not true; or, 
 rather, ask their guests, for the opinions of 
 the girls themselves might be tinged with the 
 rosy hues of the happiness they felt in cook- 
 ing. 
 
 In the keeping of these accurate accounts 
 the girls learned another valuable Camp Fire 
 lesson — that the housewife must keep books, 
 and "know just how she stands," if she is to be 
 as efficient in her profession as is her sister who 
 enters the business world. 
 
 207 
 
^iigggi sa^sas ID 
 
 "HEAVENLY 
 
 REST" 
 
 Cost of supper 
 
 
 Soup, 2 cans, 
 Butter, y 2 lb., 
 Apples, 2 doz., 
 
 
 $0.20 
 .16 
 .10 
 
 Corn, 8 ears, 
 
 Eggs, 1, 
 
 Flour, 
 
 Salt, 
 
 Baking powder, 
 
 
 .16 
 .03 
 .07 
 .01 
 .04 
 
 Total, 
 
 
 $0.77 
 
 Cost of ice-cream 
 
 Milk, 6 qts., $0.36 
 
 Ice, «25 
 
 Salt, -10 
 
 Sugar, -26 
 
 Milk, 2 cans, .20 
 
 Ice-cream boxes, .10 
 
 Eggs, 6, .18 
 
 Vanilla, ^05 
 
 Total, $1.50 
 
 Cost of supper, $0.77 
 
 Cost of ice-cream, 1.50 
 
 Supper & ice-cream, $2.27 
 
 Proceeds (ice-cream) $3.72 
 Total expense, 2.27 
 
 Net profit, 
 
 $1.15 
 
 "NIEBELUNGEN" 
 
 Cost of supper and mate- 
 rials for sale 
 
 Milk, 1 qt., $0.06 
 
 Bacon, y 2 lb., .15 
 
 Butter, l/o lb., .18 
 
 Potatoes, 2 qts., .08 
 
 Tomatoes, 2 qts., .12 
 
 Lard, % lb., .08 
 Baking powder, 1 can, .25 
 
 Flour, 1 lb., .05 
 
 Sugar, 1 lb., .08 
 
 Bread, 1 loaf, .10 
 
 Apples, .10 
 
 Eggs, 2, .06 
 
 Salt, .01 
 
 Ice-cream, .20 
 
 Total, 
 
 $1.52 
 
 Proceeds from baking 
 powder, $0.17 
 
 Proceeds from choco- 
 late sauce, .51 
 
 Total receipts, $0.68 
 
 Total expense, 
 Total receipts, 
 
 Cost of supper, 
 Cost per person. 
 
 $1.52 
 .68 
 
 $0.84 
 .21 
 
 208 
 
m g^fflas iios^i 
 
 "THE BLUE BIRDS" 
 Cost of supper for six 
 Spaghetti, 2 cans, $0.30 
 Butter, 1 lb., .36 
 
 Bread, 1 loaf, .10 
 
 Apples, 1 doz., .05 
 
 Corn, y 2 doz. ears, .15 
 Salt, .01 
 
 Sugar, y 2 lb., .04 
 
 Saltines, 1 box, .10 
 
 Total, $1.11 
 
 Cost per person, .18% 
 
 "THE LOONS" 
 
 Cost of Supper for four 
 Chicken, 3 lbs., $0.66 
 
 Flour, 7 lbs., .35 
 
 Eggs, 1, .03 
 
 Baking powder, .06 
 
 Salt, .01 
 
 Lard, % lb., .08 
 
 Milk, 1 qt., .06 
 
 Bread, 1 loaf, .10 
 
 Butter, y 2 lb., .15 
 
 Corn, 1 doz. ears, .15 
 
 Pickles, .10 
 
 Total, $1.78 
 
 Flour credited, .23 
 
 Expense of supper, $1.55 
 Cost per person, .39 
 
 rrrQ™ 
 
 Pi-ki-da 
 
 209 
 
XIV 
 
 MERMAIDS ON PARADE 
 
 /^vFTEN as the girls had sung of "The 
 V-** Lorelei," the witching creature who sits 
 combing her locks with a golden comb, and by 
 her voice luring sailors to destruction on the 
 rocks at her feet, they had never expected to 
 meet her on their journeys to and fro over 
 Lake Sebago. But that, it appears, was only 
 because they had never until this Wednesday 
 happened to approach her haunts. 
 
 AX ENCHANTED ISLAND 
 
 They had started in the canoes for Wohelo 
 Island, as they supposed, for the usual Wed- 
 nesday night supper. But the "Red Beak" 
 was towing them, and in the "Red Beak" sat 
 Helpful, who was the head of that night's 
 supper committee. Just before they reached 
 Wohelo Island he gave an unexpected turn 
 to the wheel and passed close to Ship Island, 
 a little heap of white rocks, with a bare tree 
 trunk standing straight in the middle like a 
 
 210 
 
® tSBft?&°&fc§ U G © o 
 
 mast, a ghostly place which offered little 
 temptation to human feet to land upon. But 
 as they came near they spied, on the farthest 
 rocky point of it, a figure in flowing sea-blue 
 garments, who combed her long locks with a 
 golden comb, and sang alluring melodies, 
 though the "Red Beak" chugged so loudly 
 they could scarcely hear her voice. As they 
 circled the island, a group of fairies appeared, 
 in snow-white robes with silver crowns on 
 their soft hair, peeping out behind the rocks 
 or stepping from stone to stone with bare, 
 white feet, while in the heart of the island, 
 close to the big tree, sat a grim old witch in 
 a long black gown, with a peaked hat, mutter- 
 ing to herself and grinning weirdly. 
 
 Then the "Red Beak" stopped, and in a 
 moment the girls were landing on the en- 
 chanted island, where the fairies gathered 
 around and served them sandwiches and milk 
 from their own ethereal hands. 
 
 "The Lorelei" and the witch ate with them 
 as if they had known them always. And all 
 this wonder and enchantment because they 
 had come to a spot which all summer they had 
 ignored! The fairies seemed to have worked 
 some magic, for now that the girls had act- 
 
 211 
 
The "form" He-ta-ya acquired during the summer 
 
m ss^a^^tg m m n ® in 
 
 ually landed, they found it not at all diffcult 
 to pick their way across the rocks, and in the 
 middle of the island was a hollow of solid land 
 large enough to hold them all in perfect com- 
 fort. 
 
 Here they settled down around a cheerful 
 fire for an evening of stunts and music. 
 Te-ca-ya sang some gay little airs with her 
 guitar, Ya-ke-ya told another story, and 
 everyone who had not done a stunt during 
 the whole summer was made to do something, 
 be it ever so simple. Bye-and-bye, as the 
 shadows grew deeper, the black witch crept 
 out on a rock that rose higher than the rest, 
 and began to chant of weird visions, while a 
 low, moaning sound could be heard echoing 
 her words from the darkness behind her. The 
 words she said were strange, yet the names she 
 used were familiar, and gradually it came to 
 the minds of her listeners that she was fore- 
 casting the future of those who sat in the 
 circle before her. They listened tensely, that 
 not a word might be lost. 
 
 The mere thought of the future brought 
 feelings that for the past few days they had 
 been trying to keep from their minds, and 
 though they laughed a great deal over the 
 
 213 
 
b m m n ei 3sȣggs2 n 
 
 prophecies, which were funny as might be, 
 there was under the laughter a little wistful 
 sadness, a drawing closer together as if some 
 subtle consciousness told them all that the 
 end of the summer's happiness was very near. 
 At the evening's close Helpful interpreted all 
 of this into tender melodies on his violin, which 
 echoed long after in the hearts of the 
 listeners. For this was to be the last gather- 
 ing of the camp around a fire in the open, 
 the quiet lull before the busy last two weeks, 
 which were to be lived more or less in the eye 
 of the public around Lake Sebago. 
 
 WATER SPORTS 
 
 That very Saturday the war-canoe, with a 
 picked crew, went to the village to perform 
 its prettiest manoeuvers and show the girls' 
 kindly feeling for the village that had been so 
 much a part of this summer. The people had 
 gathered for an important base-ball game, 
 and, the girls' share in the day's entertainment 
 completed, they watched the game in de- 
 lighted interest and with generous applause. 
 
 The next Monday afternoon all were in- 
 vited to the neighboring boys' camp to see 
 their water sports, and on Tuesday the boys 
 
 214 
 
returned the compliment by attending water 
 sports day at Sebago-Wohelo. 
 
 The day was perfect, a trifle cool in the 
 morning, but warm enough by ten o'clock, 
 when the sports began. The lake was dotted 
 around the dock with launches and boats from 
 neighboring camps and cottages, and the shore 
 was lined with people, tiptoeing on the rocks 
 or clinging to the trees in their effort to see 
 every event. They held neat brown pro- 
 grams, mimeographed on the machine that 
 did service for the copying of the Counts. 
 
 PROGRAM FOR WATER SPORTS 
 DAY 
 
 I War Canoe Manoeuvers. 
 II Undress in Deep Water. 
 Ill Demonstration of Tipping Over, 
 Righting and Emptying Canoe — 
 Ki-lo-des-ka and Helpful the Little. 
 IV Interrupted Canoe Race. 
 
 V Under Water Swim. 
 VI Follow the Leader. 
 VII Fearless Four. 
 VIII Individual Tent Stunts: 
 
 (a ) "The Loons" Playing Games. 
 
 (b) "Heavenly Rest" — Fry e 
 
 Takes a Desperate Chance. 
 
 215 
 
m u m n b @ ssmssss m 
 
 (c ) "The Kingfishers" Disappear. 
 
 (d) "The Dutchies" in a Folk 
 
 Dance, 
 (e ) "Niebelungen" — Wheelbarrow 
 Race. 
 
 (f) "Fawassa" and "Top o' the 
 
 Rocks" Run a Modern 
 Laundry. 
 
 (g) "The Spiders" — Parachute 
 
 Number, 
 (h) "The Blue Birds"— Life Sav- 
 ing Practice, 
 (i) "Heavenly II" — Casting 
 Away of Mrs. Leeks and 
 Mrs. Alshine. 
 (j) "Heavenly I"— A Garden 
 
 Party, 
 (k) A Burlesque. 
 (1 ) "The Chipmunks" — Pillow 
 
 Case Race, 
 (m) "The-whip-por-wills" — Um- 
 brella Race. 
 IX Tilting. 
 X Diving. 
 XI Final Plunge. 
 
 216 
 
h gs^°G H . E Rfc§ iiS0§ni 
 
 Ki-lo-des-ka in her birch bark canoe 
 
 CANOE AND SWIMMING PROWESS 
 
 The War-canoe manoeuvers came first. 
 There were two crews, first the paddlers from 
 Helpful' s training, then the best from To-mo- 
 ke's, and it was surprising to see the progress 
 both had made since the beginning of the reg- 
 ular morning drills. They paddled to and fro 
 in the cove, changing at a moment's notice to 
 "water wheel," "calisthenics," and all other 
 strokes which they knew. At the call of 
 "fainting stroke," every girl fell back on her 
 
 217 
 
seat with a long, wailing sigh of exhaustion, 
 and then with a musical "Whoo-oop" they 
 were up and paddling again, before the peo- 
 ple on shore had time to recover from their 
 astonishment. This was the special stroke of 
 the season, for which "The Heavenlies ,, 
 claimed the inventor's patent. 
 
 Six girls, with middies and bloomers over 
 their bathing suits, entered the contest for un- 
 dressing in deep water, while two others stood 
 on the raft to receive their clothes and call out 
 their names as fast as they finished the stunt. 
 Only one failed to leave her heap of wet gar- 
 ments on the raft before the contest was 
 closed, with Ki-lo-des-ka the victor. 
 
 Ki-lo-des-ka and Helpful the Little had 
 volunteered to show the tipping of a canoe, 
 and, as they did it, it really seemed as easy as 
 rolling off the proverbial log. They splashed 
 together, both hanging on one side of the 
 canoe, working so quickly that the water had 
 no time to flow back. Then one ducked under 
 the canoe and both jumped in from opposite 
 sides at the same instant, and paddled back to 
 shore. 
 
 The interrupted canoe race was between 
 four pairs at first, and Ta-ku and Te-pe, who 
 
 218 
 
brought up the rear, made fun for the com- 
 pany by calling out pleadingly to the others, 
 "Wait for us! Wait for us!" and scolding 
 each other for causing the delay. The race 
 was then given again between the two winning 
 pairs, each pair jumping out of the canoe, 
 climbing in from opposite sides, and racing 
 back to the dock. 
 
 Every girl who could swim under water, 
 and that was about three-fourths of all in 
 camp, lined up for the under water swim, each 
 starting as the one ahead of her bobbed up 
 from the water. In some cases that was a 
 very short time, but He-wan-ka, Ki-lo-des-ka 
 and one or two others swam out so far that 
 the people on shore held their breath to watch 
 them. He-wan-ka explained afterward that 
 she had been taking long, deep breaths for 
 several minutes before the contest, which 
 made her able to swim much farther than she 
 could otherwise have done ! 
 
 "Follow the leader" was now in progress, 
 with Te-pa at the head, leading a merry race 
 through different kinds of dives, jumps, and 
 swimming strokes about the dock. Then "The 
 Fearless Four" came down the dock in lock 
 step, and dove from the springboard one after 
 
 2'19 
 
m m m o m ss in 
 
 another, counting under water so as to come 
 up at the same time. They swam in several 
 strokes, counting eight strokes each time and 
 keeping their movements together, swinging 
 around in a pivot to bring themselves parallel 
 to the dock and climbing out together. 
 
 STUNTS BY TENTS 
 
 After this came the tent stunts, which were 
 gotten up for entertainment as well as for a 
 display of skill. "The Loons" played leap- 
 frog on the dock, each one jumping in when 
 she reached the edge. "Heavenly Rest" acted 
 out the Frye's Leap tradition from the 
 "Heavenly Rock," with a broad hat to dis- 
 tinguish Frye, and gay colored blankets to 
 mark the Indians in pursuit, who threw off 
 their blankets and jumped bravely after the 
 white man. "The Kingfishers" paddled out 
 in their little canoe in comical imitation of the 
 war-canoe, taking pains not to keep in time 
 in a single stroke, and jumped overboard, dis- 
 appearing under their overturned canoe, which 
 gave them plenty of air to breathe while they 
 swam back to shore. 
 
 The sisters from Holland gave the dance 
 that had won them so much applause at a 
 
 220 
 
m gS^A w E°SSS IIG0SI 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 " r lfci 
 
 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 • ^FT^P^ 
 
 
 77ie tilting tournament 
 
 Council Fire. Their wooden shoes clumped 
 merrily on the dock, and their bright red and 
 blue costumes, with the wholesome, smiling 
 faces above them, gave a touch of gaiety to the 
 whole scene. At the end of the dance one of 
 the sisters fell into the water, wooden shoes 
 and all, and the other rescued her. 
 
 "Niebelungen" had a wheelbarrow race. 
 Two of the girls were wheelbarrowed down 
 the dock by the other two, and before the race 
 ended all four were in the water. "Fawassa" 
 
 221 
 
and "Top o' the Rocks" represented the camp 
 laundry, which is carried on by the side of the 
 lake, but this time it was done with the aid of 
 a "Puffing Porpoise" that rolled away through 
 the water with middies to deliver to Ya-ke-ya, 
 who sat in a rowboat acting the part of "Siren 
 Seaweed, the Supersensitive Soaper, Scrub- 
 ber and S tardier," and doing funny things 
 with a cardboard eyeglass, making everyone 
 laugh. 
 
 "The Spiders" had planned a dramatic 
 parachute descent from the shack rock, which 
 was accomplished by tying the corners of a 
 sheet together, two at each end, and holding 
 one end in each hand over their heads while 
 they jumped off from the rock. The wind 
 filled the parachutes and made the effect as 
 picturesque as they had hoped it would be. 
 The people, who had crowded down to watch 
 them, stepped back now as they saw what was 
 happening at the dock again. It was Wa-zi 
 drowning herself, but He-wan-ka, her coun- 
 cilor, rescued her promptly and Fuzzie resus- 
 citated her with great self-possession. 
 
 "The Heavenly Twins" had vied with each 
 other in working up their performance. 
 "Heavenly II" rendered "The Casting Away 
 
 223 
 
m mm 000 ssmssbsb m 
 
 Ready for the final plunge 
 
 of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Alshine," the pair 
 who were so well prepared for a wreck that 
 they were able to read while they swept them- 
 selves ashore with a broom. They reached 
 shore, with their graceful bonnets and shawls 
 a trifle the worse for wear, but Te-ca-ya de- 
 clared that she would rather risk swimming 
 for her life than floating on a water-soaked 
 broom. 
 
 "Heavenly J" had been seen before the 
 program burying a variety of objects under 
 water in the quiet space between shore and the 
 
 224 
 
tg5£» c « 110000 
 
 arm of the dock. Can-zu now sat on the dock 
 playing at "mother getting ready for the par- 
 ty," and sending her willing children down- 
 stairs to bring her a comb, the silver, and vari- 
 ous other articles, including a pitcher of milk 
 for the baby, who sat by her side crying dis- 
 gracefully. The children dove obediently, and 
 were each rewarded by a banana, which they 
 ate under water. 
 
 The boys also gave an imitation of the 
 Frye's Leap episode, with Helpful the Little 
 shaking too visibly with fear as he made the 
 
 "All in! 
 225 
 
perilous lead. Then "The Chipmunks" gave 
 their pillow race, for which Kee-wee, with 
 several helpers, had been blowing up the pil- 
 low cases which had been soaking in the water 
 during most of the other acts. The race was 
 very pretty, but scarcely more exciting than 
 "The Whippies" , race that followed it, each 
 girl carrying an open umbrella while she 
 swam. 
 
 TILTING, DIVING, AND THE FINAL 
 PLUNGE 
 
 It was now near noontime and the last 
 three acts followed in quick succession. First 
 came tilting, in which two girls stood in the 
 ends of their canoes, each with a long pole 
 well padded with burlap, and tried to push 
 each other into the water without themselves 
 sitting down. The girls who steered the 
 canoes were skilful, and the contests were all 
 interesting. 
 
 The diving was from the shack rock, which 
 can be seen from the dock without much diffi- 
 culty. Everyone who could dive at all did 
 dive, and those who could not dive jumped, 
 one after another. Some made fine, clean 
 dives, some made poor ones, and brave Ca-du- 
 
 226 
 
za, who had never gone off from the rock be- 
 fore, went down with something of uncer- 
 tainty. He-ta-ya distinguished herself by a 
 perfect angel dive, for the promise of the early 
 summer had been fulfilled and she had become 
 a rival of Ki-lo-des-ka in difficult diving. 
 
 The final plunge was simply the usual fin- 
 ish of the swimming hour, — all the girls lined 
 up around the dock, on the springboard, on 
 the box, on the high springboard, on the 
 tower, and at a word from Ti-ya-ta all went 
 in at once with a glorious splash. 
 
 Then all gathered around to congratulate 
 the girls, Hiiteni, and Ti-ya-ta, who had 
 been in charge of the day. Ti-ya-ta was happy 
 because she had succeeded in her purpose of 
 showing, not what remarkable things a few 
 experts could do, but how the majority of the 
 girls in camp had advanced in mastery of the 
 water, in self-reliance, and in physical self- 
 control that forms the best possible basis for 
 higher forms of development and success. For 
 these are the real purposes in the water sports 
 of Wohelo. 
 
 To-mo-ker 
 227 
 
XV 
 
 "FIRE'S GWINE OUT" 
 
 "Please keep watch, Mammy Moon, 
 De fires gwine out pretty soon!" 
 
 the girls had sung every Monday night at the 
 Council Fire, when the coals were burning 
 low; and now the fire of camp itself was 
 "gwine out," for this was the very last week. 
 But they did not intend to let the fire go 
 out without a final blaze of glory. First of 
 all they wanted to give a farce, something that 
 should be just as silly as they pleased, as an 
 outlet for feelings that were bubbling up more 
 and more as their spirits reacted to glowing 
 health. So Ce-ki-ca-ti, with two other coun- 
 cilors, wrote a farce for them, or, rather, out- 
 lined the plot and chose the characters, leaving 
 the girls to fill out the lines to suit themselves. 
 This plot will probably never become famous, 
 but it was rich in the local thrusts that seemed 
 intensely funny at the time ; such, for instance, 
 as Ca-du-za, the "solemn, solid butler," an- 
 
 228 
 
SSftSgESfcS H n (3 ED 
 
 nouncing dinner to a fashionable house party 
 by blowing a toy bugle, while Ta-ku, as the 
 French maid, stood daintily holding his nose. 
 The boys of the neighboring camp were in- 
 vited for the entertainment. 
 
 TRANSFORMING THE BUNGALOW 
 
 It seemed that no sooner were the stage 
 scenery and properties cleared away from the 
 versatile bungalow, than came the day for the 
 craft exhibit. It had really been several days, 
 but everyone had been too busy preparing for 
 the exhibit and the final Council Fire to real- 
 ize how time was passing. 
 
 Tuesday afternoon found the craft-house 
 a scene of haste and anxiety. On the lower 
 floor Loh-ah was toiling with rare persistence 
 over a bracelet that would not solder, while 
 I-ma-ga-ga was fitting a besel for a silver 
 ring. The floor above shook a little with the 
 tread of those who were practicing for a new 
 Camp Fire dance to be given at the Council 
 Fire. Out on the porch were girls wood- 
 blocking chiffon scarfs of dainty tints, which 
 they were eager to take home as gifts for 
 mother, sister, or friend. And just outside the 
 craft-house others were busy at the dye-pails, 
 
 229 
 
m m m n @ gs^.s&s m 
 
 preparing costumes for the new dance which 
 was being rehearsed. In the midst of all this 
 came a call to come to the tennis court in 
 ceremonial costume, as the light was just right 
 for a photograph which Hiiteni wished to 
 take. The photographs of camp are among 
 the dearest treasures of every girl, but all 
 would have been very willing just then to be 
 photographed in their absence. The craft- 
 craze had them in its grip. 
 
 When Wednesday's dinner began the bun- 
 galow was far from ready for the craft ex- 
 hibit, which was to begin at half past three, but 
 many hands did wonders with it during what 
 should have been rest hour. They brought 
 ferns and great branches of vividly colored 
 leaves for decoration, they arranged the tables 
 and brought armsful of craft things to place 
 upon them, from the little house called "Wa- 
 kana Hit," where they had been accumulating. 
 "Wakana Hit" had been built for Timanous 
 early in the summer, but he spent so little time 
 at camp it had served many other purposes. 
 The pottery had been standing here ever 
 since it had been brought home from its bak- 
 ing oven in Boston, and here, too, Mna-ka 
 and Ya-ke-ya had been busy over a box which 
 
 230 
 
m gsgfi&ssB n m n m m 
 
 they decorated as a surprise for Hiiteni — but 
 she had spoiled it all by walking in and rinding 
 them at work one day. 
 
 THE CRAFT EXHIBIT 
 
 Before the guests began to arrive every- 
 thing was in order. The bungalow had been 
 transformed into a bower of autumn beauty, 
 and the tables were covered with wooden 
 boxes, carved spoons, tiny balsam pillows in 
 boxes decorated by wood-blocking, silver work 
 of great variety, Count books, baskets and pot- 
 tery. The weaving work, which was chiefly in 
 the form of rugs, was well displayed on the 
 large benches around the edges of the room, 
 while the walls were hung with the ceremonial 
 costumes, fascinating in the individuality 
 shown in their decoration. The filmy scarfs 
 fluttering from the tables gave a touch of 
 softer beauty to the scene. But to the prac- 
 tical eye there was nothing more beautiful 
 than the table full of canned fruit which stood 
 in its own place near "The Blue Birds" tent, 
 brave with a decoration of ferns. 
 
 In fact, it was almost as much of a revela- 
 tion to the girls as to their guests to see all 
 their work together and realize how much had 
 
 231 
 

 (J 
 
 Eh 
 
m ts^^as u g m m 
 
 been done. They were enthusiastic over the 
 large box that Mna-ka and Ya-ke-ya had dec- 
 orated, and they whispered to each other of 
 cedar chests which sometime in the future they 
 would decorate with their symbols, as this had 
 been decorated. They laughed over the rug 
 in which one of the girls had woven a lock of 
 auburn hair she had begged from Ca-du-za 
 "to give just the touch of sunset color she 
 wanted," and admired each other's rings and 
 bowls and boxes with generous impartiality. 
 As the Count said: 
 
 233 
 
m m m n ® gsstfs^ss m 
 
 "Happy was the hum of voices, 
 Happier still the silent voices 
 Of the symbols of our craft work, 
 Speaking of our happy summer, 
 Telling tales of our ideals, 
 Council fire and pleasant mornings 
 When the lake smiled calmly at us, 
 And with work our hands were busy." 
 
 After the guests had fully complimented 
 the exhibit they were invited to the tennis 
 court for the folk dancing, in which were 
 summed up the dances the girls had learned in 
 their drills each day. 
 
 THE LAST COUNCIL FIRE 
 
 The girls came to supper in their ceremo- 
 nial gowns, and, as the sun was setting earlier 
 each week, they hastened to the rocks by the 
 water's edge for the usual good-night to the 
 Sun-Mother. On this last evening the sun 
 veiled her face with clouds, but they sang 
 to her just the same, knowing she was 
 only hiding, and would smile again another 
 day. Then they went quietly up the hill to 
 the meeting place of the fire. 
 
 It was an eventful Council Fire in several 
 ways. At noon that day votes had been taken 
 
 234 
 
3 
 
 a. 
 
 
 
&l H'gm B © 3&ft&SS3£ 
 
 on many subjects, some of them funny, some 
 serious; from "Who is the prettiest girl in 
 camp?" to "Who has the best ceremonial cos- 
 tume?" and "Who is the most popular?" The 
 answers to these questions were to be an- 
 nounced to the circle about the fire, and great 
 was the tension with which they were awaited. 
 The nonsensical ones had been answered in 
 the spirit in which they were asked, Helpful 
 the Great being judged the possessor of the 
 prettiest ears, and "the best figure" being 
 given to the stoutest girl in camp, who oblig- 
 ingly rose as awkwardly as she could at the 
 demand and allowed her form to be viewed. 
 There was no jest, however, about voting 
 Ma-na's simple, but well planned ceremonial 
 gown the best, and when it came to the last-+- 
 the important question of camp spirit — no 
 trifling had entered into the matter at all. 
 Everyone knew that the buffalo robe, with all 
 the symbols for four summers past, would go 
 this year to the girl who had won this vote. 
 She who won it might well be happy, for jt 
 meant that her leadership had been recognized, 
 that she had been loved by all, and had sunk 
 her own wishes in the doing of those things 
 which were for the general happiness. 
 
 236 
 
m ekf^es n^Qgifo 
 
 There was a great cheer when the robe was 
 awarded to He-ta-ya, and though it was an- 
 nounced that Da-su the Twin had made a 
 close second and Ma-na a third, there seemed 
 to be little doubt that of all the fine, capable 
 girls of camp He-ta-ya, with her skill in water 
 sports, her gift of song, her power of leader- 
 ship, had best deserved the honor. As for He- 
 ta-ya, she could say nothing when the robe was 
 given her, but went back to her seat in the cir- 
 cle shaking with sobs. 
 
 After this the water-witches were duly ap- 
 pointed by Ti-ya-ta, and the final tent inspec- 
 tion report for the summer was read. Then 
 the circle sang camp songs, while a stage was 
 being made ready for the Pantomime of the 
 Seasons, in which every tent had a part. The 
 stage was just the little rise of ground oppo- 
 site the fireplace and the curtain was lifted and 
 dropped by Helpful and To-mo-ke. Embers, 
 who had written the poem, read it and directed 
 the action, with Little Daylight standing by 
 her side to give the hand-sign for each moon, 
 or month, as it was announced. The girls had 
 planned their own action in most of the scenes, 
 and some of it was very amusing, as when the 
 Camp Fire Girls were shown sowing seeds in 
 
 237 
 
ulbjhlb %ssfig%B& m 
 
 the spring and the flowers (three girls hidden 
 under a blanket) sprang up at their bidding, 
 or when another group made the sun rise by 
 lifting a lantern slowly up from behind a 
 poncho. 
 
 "June, or the Rose Moon," was kept to the 
 last, for this was to be illustrated by the dance 
 for which the girls had been practicing so faith- 
 fully under Embers' direction. The purpose 
 of the dance, which had been planned by To- 
 mo-ke, was to express growth, and that which 
 reaches out to others, then the Camp Fire 
 ideals of Work, Health, and Love, expressed 
 by postures and motions full of reverence and 
 grace, and, last, the circling figures danced 
 the seven laws of Camp Fire, interpreting 
 each with exquisite appeal to the imagination. 
 
 The effect is described in the Count that was 
 written after camp had closed, while the mem- 
 ory of the dance still clung with its haunting, 
 mystic beauty: 
 
 "Flashed the colors, red, blue, yellow, 
 In and out among the seven green — 
 White arms lifted up in dancing, 
 White feet glancing, leaping, turning, 
 While the moonlight and the firelight 
 
 238 
 
Seemed to brightly say together: 
 'By our light we help to show you 
 This symbolic dance, 'Wohelo.' ' 
 
 So the last Council Fire closed with one of 
 the loveliest of the summer visions — a gather- 
 ing into the poetry of motion the essence of 
 the summer's meaning. There was scarcely 
 need of good-night songs to bring the sense of 
 reverence and mystery which always fell over 
 the circle before the evening was at an end. 
 
 THE "KAPICA" 
 
 But the prose of parting was waiting in 
 the bungalow next morning in the form of 
 trunks to be packed, bundles of blankets to 
 be made ready — in short, all of the work of 
 the day of arrival to be reversed with no less 
 excitement and bustle. Breakfast was served 
 on the hillside, for the bungalow was still in 
 the sway of the craft exhibit, and after break- 
 fast there was a long wait while pictures were 
 taken of that same craft work in all its splen- 
 dor. But when the anxious packers were ad- 
 mitted everything speedily dropped from the 
 walls and jumped from the tables into the 
 trunks which were brought from the loft. 
 
 239 
 
Only the councilors had a thought for any- 
 thing but packing. They had been seen mak- 
 ing mysterious visits to the tennis court, and 
 soon the secret crept out — there was to be a 
 banquet! It was the first time in the history 
 of camp that such a thing had happened, and 
 they called it the first annual "Kapica," an In- 
 dian word which signifies that the people who 
 are attending the feast simply cannot bear to 
 be separted. 
 
 The tables were set in a circle on the court, 
 with flaming leaf branches arching over where 
 two tables met, and glowing Japanese lan- 
 terns hanging between the branches. At the 
 middle of the first table stood a large chair, 
 much decorated, waiting for Hiiteni. When 
 the bugle sounded all met at the bungalow and 
 marched to the tennis court with their hands 
 on each other's shoulders. At the end of each 
 course they left their places, marched around 
 to music and sat down when the music 
 stopped, in "going-to-Jerusalem" style. 
 
 Clever menus, made on rough gray paper 
 with wood-blocked decorations, were at the 
 places, and the names of the dishes written on 
 them sounded exceedingly foreign — so much 
 so that they almost defied translation. 
 
 240 
 
Once or twice during each course Ce-ki- 
 ca-ti rose and announced that Hiiteni had a 
 speech to make, which surprised Hiiteni as 
 much as anyone. But she really had several 
 things to say and gifts to give, which she did 
 from time to time. There were fire-making 
 sets for the girls who had learned to make fire 
 in the primitive way, Wohelo symbols to wear 
 on headbands or sweaters for the girls who had 
 excelled in various crews, etc., so that before 
 the evening was over many maidens were made 
 both happy and proud. A silver Wohelo sym- 
 bol was presented to He-ta-ya, for the buf- 
 falo robe could be kept for but one year, while 
 this simple token of the honor which had been 
 given to her was her very own, to be treasured 
 ' 'forever." 
 
 After the feast Ce-ki-ca-ti called on each 
 of the councilors for a speech, and the coun- 
 cilors altogether retaliated by calling upon 
 Ce-ki-ca-ti for ' a few remarks," which she 
 made in her own inimitable way, to the delight 
 of everyone. Then Hiiteni was made to climb 
 up on a table, which the girls carried round 
 and round the tennis court, singing to her out 
 of their very hearts the only camp song that 
 in any degree expressed their feeling for the 
 
 242 
 
one to whom, first of all, their summers hap- 
 piness was due : 
 
 TO HIITEXI 
 
 "On Sebago's sparkling waters 
 There's a band of Indian maids. 
 They are all Wokanda's daughters, 
 And good cheer there never fades." 
 
 Chorus : 
 
 "It is our Camp Wohelo, 
 It is our dear camp home, 
 And 'tis there that every summer 
 We so long to live and roam. 
 
 "We love our Indian mother, 
 And we know she loves us, too; 
 May Wohelo live forever, 
 And to her we'll e'er be true." 
 
 Hiiteni laughed a little at finding herself 
 carried so high in the air, but her eyes were 
 wet when at last she was lowered and helped 
 down from her somewhat precarious position. 
 Every tribute of appreciation and gratitude 
 paid to her by her girls touched her mother — 
 heart deeply. 
 
 243 
 
a u n h ® sMsarass in 
 
 "UNTIL ANOTHER SUMMER" 
 
 Sleep came slowly that night, and to some 
 scarcely at all. "The Heavenlies" sat up a long 
 time, loth to miss a minute when they could be 
 together, and the girls in each of the different 
 tents might be found clinging close to each 
 other, realizing, on this last night, that what- 
 ever happy days another summer might bring, 
 this summer could never come again! But 
 all rose easly, and, dressed in those dread- 
 ful city clothes, ate a hurried breakfast, 
 finished writing in everyone's address book, 
 looked after tags on trunks, and at last 
 stood waiting for the boat, looking more and 
 more disconsolate every minute. Then Ce-ki- 
 ca-ti suggested going to the craft-house to sing. 
 
 It was a solemn little procession that went 
 to the familiar place, now strangely desolate. 
 They sang the songs that had so many times 
 stirred them to laughter, and then drifted into 
 the serious ones, saying to themselves over and 
 over, "The last time, the last time!" To-he-ca, 
 supposedly one of the most irresponsible chil- 
 dren of camp, wept in the corner without re- 
 proof, and I-ma-ga-ga, who had cried herself 
 nearly ill with homesickness when she first 
 came to camp, sat weeping now for the leav- 
 
 244 
 
m firsts u m n m m 
 
 ing it. Perhaps others wanted to cry, too. It 
 had been a happy summer, and this was in- 
 deed "The last time." 
 
 The boat came, and those who were to re- 
 main in camp for a little while longer went 
 down to the dock to sing a good-by cheer. 
 Ki-lo-des-ka slipped on the boat with the de- 
 parting maidens, and when they had gone a 
 little way from dock made a dive from the 
 bridge of the boat, while the little group on 
 shore kept things waving, black middie ties, 
 then towels and sheets, as long as the boat was 
 in sight. The girls afterward sent back an 
 amusing Count of their homeward trip, by 
 which Hiiteni knew that not a good-by wave 
 had been wasted, and that under Ti-ya-ta's 
 care the girls had reached home safely. 
 
 Later came a happy sequel when the let- 
 ters began to arrive, some from the mothers, 
 telling how happy they were over all that the 
 summer had done for their daughters, some 
 from the girls themselves, full of love and 
 gratitude, of the new vigor gained for the days 
 and the years that lay before them, and plans 
 for returning when summer should come 
 again. 
 
 The little white tents seemed empty in- 
 
 245 
 
0IIG0 ® gBtf^BS 13 
 
 deed to those who were left behind, and soon 
 they, too, packed their trunks and their mem- 
 ories and sped cityward, leaving the camping 
 place by the lakeside alone with its dreams 
 and its stillness, until, when another year has 
 come, when the winter snows are melted and 
 the woods and lake are bright with summer 
 sunshine, the Call of the Camp shall be heard, 
 and its tents again be filled with laughter. 
 
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 Te-ca-ya 
 
 246 
 
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SYMBOLIC NAMES OF SEBAGO- 
 WOHELO CAMP FIRE GIRLS 
 
 Ca-du-za Strong Current. 
 
 Can-zu To be firm of heart. 
 
 Ce-ki-ca-ti To make fire for someone, 
 
 Da-su, To finish. 
 
 Dis-ya-di Moon child. 
 
 Ek-o-le-la To continue to grow. 
 
 Embers Fire dreams. 
 Fuzzie (A "Blue Bird") 
 
 Ga-ob Spirit of the wind. 
 
 Ge-me-wun-ac Bird that flies through the rain. 
 
 He-ta-ya Against wind or current. 
 
 He-wan-ka To brood over. 
 
 Hiiteni Life, more life. 
 
 Ho-sa Little Crow {chosen "just caws") 
 
 I-kan-ya-dan Keep near to. 
 
 I-ma-ga-ga To enliven; cheer, amuse. 
 
 Kani-da-ka A lover of nature. 
 
 Kee-wee Rainbow maid. 
 
 Ki-lo-des-ka Water-bird. 
 
 Loh-ah Reaching toward the sun. 
 
 Ma-na Grow like the green pine. 
 
 Mna-ka To weave. 
 
 >s'i-ma-ba Misty-water. 
 
 Pi-ki-da To be glad. 
 
 Su-ni To do more than is required. 
 
 248 
 
m ffiffi&°%& HS000 
 
 Su-no-wa 
 
 
 Sun on the water; friends, music, 
 happiness. 
 
 Ta-ku 
 
 
 Gift. 
 
 Ta-o 
 
 
 Singer. 
 
 Te-ca-ya 
 
 
 To make new. 
 
 Te-pa 
 
 
 White wings. 
 
 Timanous 
 
 
 The guiding spirit. 
 
 Ti-ya-ta 
 
 
 Love of home. 
 
 To-he-ha 
 
 
 Humming bird — finding the good in 
 everybody. 
 
 To-ka 
 
 
 First to come. 
 
 To-mo-kc 
 
 
 Lightning thought. 
 
 Wa-han-ka 
 
 
 To do difficult things well. 
 
 Wan-ye-ca 
 
 
 Firefly. 
 
 Wa-ya-ka 
 
 
 See beauty. 
 
 Wa-zi (A ' 
 
 'Blue Bird") 
 
 AVoh-do-ke- 
 
 ca 
 
 Skilful artist. 
 
 Wa-ye-ka 
 
 
 A story teller. 
 
 Loh-ah 
 
 249 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 ,. ^mvWt& 
 
 OCT 31 1947 
 
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