FOOTNOTE:

[F] From unpublished verses by Captain Harry Beard.

CHAPTER XIV
RITUAL OF THE COUNCIL FIRE

CHAPTER XIV
RITUAL OF THE COUNCIL FIRE

The ceremonies of the Council Fire may be conducted with the accompaniment of pageantry to any extent desirable. At the Council Fire of the Dan Beard Outdoor School, the officers dress in costume; not masquerade costumes but the real ones. The Man of the North, who attends to the Northern Lights, is garbed in the blanket clothes of a northern lumberman and carries an axe. The Man of the East, who attends the fire where the sun maidens dwell, may be arrayed in the clothes of one of our Pilgrim fathers. The Man of the West, who attends the fire of the Blue Mountain, is decked in the fringed buckskin clothes of the trapper, plainsman, or mountaineer. The Man of the South, who guards the fire of the Red Mountain, is dressed in the picturesque costume of a Mexican with a high-crowned sombrero. The seats of the different courts are draped with the colors of the courts.

Program of a Council Fire

The guests enter and take their seats, then the Herald enters dressed in the costume of a scout, a frontiersman, or a medicine man, according to the plan of the particular Council Fire. The Herald faces the north from his stand in the center of the council ground and blows assembly call, or a blast on a cow's horn, then wheels about and faces the east, then the south and then the west, and at each he blows assembly. With the last notes and the last call the Scouts, Woodcrafters, Pioneers or students enter the circle, marching single-file around until the circle is complete, and they stand opposite where they are to sit. The Herald now blows a fanfare and the officers march into the council ground with the colors and the color guard. The officers group themselves around their Chief, the Scout Executive, the Scout Commissioner, the Headmaster or the man in authority at the North Court.

Invocation

The Leader, or head officer, steps forward and throwing both hands up in a gesture of appeal, in which he is imitated by the assembly, he repeats:

Weave for us, O Great Mystery, etc. (as already given).

Then he cries:

Four Winds of the Earth, we have saluted you!
Wind of the North, from whence come our snow and ice,
Wind of the East, from whence come our clouds and rains,
Wind of the West, from whence comes our sunshine,
Wind of the South, from whence comes our warmth,
Send us your men to guard the mystic fires.

The Men of the North, East, West and South, now step in front of the Chief, and he directs them to

See that the mystic fires are blazing.

The fires, having already been carefully prepared, are now lighted by the fire-keepers under the direction of the men of the Four Winds, and the latter return and report to the Chief in the following manner:

Chief. . . . Man of the North, you whose mighty axe bites to the heart of the pine,
Are the mystic Northern Lights burning at Kon-win?
Is He-le-jah, the Mountain-lion, on guard on the yellow mountain of the North?
Man of the North. . . . Chief, the Medicine fire has been lighted, the Mountain-lion is guarding the yellow mountain of the North,
All is well.
Chief. . . . Man of the East, is the Medicine Fire at Too-le-ze blazing?
Is the White Wolf on guard at the White Mountain, where the sun-maidens dwell?
Man of the East. . . . Chief, Too-le-ze blazes in the East, the White Wolf is on guard. Wah-tab-bah, the robin, shields the fire,
All is well.
Chief. . . . Man of the West, man of the plains and mountains, does the mystic fire at Kor-le blaze?
Is the Black Bear guarding the Blue Mountain, where the sun sets?
Man of the West. . . . Chief, Kor-le is ablaze, the Black Bear's growls may be heard in the torrent that guards the Blue Mountain.
All is well.
Chief. . . . Man of the South, how blazes the fire at Too-winks?
Has the Red Badger come from its burrow to stand guard on the Red Mountain?
Man of the South. . . . Chief, Too-winks flames to the sky. The Red Badger is on guard.
All is well.

The Color Guard now enters, marches up to in front of the officers and all stand at salute. The Color Guard with colors about faces and the guests and all present recite in unison:

The Pledge and Creed of All Americans

"I believe in the people of the United States, I believe in the United States form of government, I believe in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence, I believe that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

"I believe in our Government of the People, by the People and for the People, a government whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed, a Sovereign Nation of many Sovereign States, a Democracy in a Republic, a perfect Union, one and inseparable.

"A Union which will live because of the vital principles of Freedom, Equality, Justice, Humanity and Kindness which it contains, and for which American Patriots have willingly sacrificed their lives and fortunes.

"I therefore believe that in order to respect my own manhood I must love my country, support its Constitution and obey its Laws; also that I must respect its Flag, and defend it against all enemies."

After which may come the Scout oath, Pioneer oath or Camp-fire oath, as the case may be. Then the command is given to "spread ponchos," followed by the command "squat!" when all the Scouts, Woodcrafters, Pioneers, or students squat tailor-fashion upon their ponchos, and the guests seat themselves on the benches which have been provided for them.

Following this comes the address by the speakers, the entertainments and exhibitions of woodcraft, scoutcraft, or handicraft, the games, and other entertainment; then follows the awarding of honors. After which all stand to sing "America." Then the Chief or Leader steps forward and repeats the following

Appeal

O Great Mystery, we beseech thee (as previously given) and ends up with the benediction, in which he uses the Indian phraseology:

"May the Great Mystery put sunshine in all your hearts. Good-night."

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired. The text sometimes had very narrow spaces between words this was not retained. Varied hyphenation was retained.

Page ii, "quad" changed to "quod" (objectum quod complexum)

Page 103, "Rodger" changed to "Rodgers" (Washington, George Rodgers Clark)

Page 137, an upside down 1 was present in the number "192". (([Fig. 192]), then put a loop)

Page 189, illustration of a Pack Train Outfit is missing letters for Q and R.

Page 202, "confortable" changed to "comfortable" (a very comfortable mattress)