A WINTER HIKE
It was indeed an attractive group of girls who met on Saturday morning,
dressed in their new Scout uniforms, with their packs strapped to
their backs. Perhaps they felt a trifle self-conscious, but they had
no need to be ashamed of their appearance, for their suits could not
have fitted them more neatly if they had been made by a fashionable
dressmaker.
As soon as they left the building, they formed in a line--two
abreast--and swung along in step. Miss Phillips told them that when
they left the village and struck the open country, they might sing as
they marched.
“And that reminds me,” she said, “I want some Scout songs of our
very own, and I happened to mention the matter to Miss Allen, and
she offered a canteen as a prize for the best song submitted before
June first. So get to work, girls. You needn’t attempt to write the
music--unless you want to--but take some familiar tune and make up new
words.”
The day was clear and just cold enough to make the walk bracing. The
girls had gone to bed early the night before, and were in perfect trim
for the hike. And they were very happy. They would be glad to welcome
the new girls the following week, and make them their “Scout sisters”;
but for the present they were content to enjoy this last intimate
little adventure alone.
Miss Phillips had secured copies of the Nature Calendar of the Buffalo
Society of Natural Sciences; and the girls had made a list of some of
the February birds to look for. They had noted the characteristics of
the hemlock, the spruce, and the red and white cedars, and were anxious
to put their knowledge to a test.
Ruth and Ethel had been given two dollars from the treasury, with the
instructions to purchase wholesome food. “We shall have our first
lesson in out-door cooking,” Miss Phillips had said, “so be sure to buy
something that we can cook over a camp fire. But don’t get anything
like raw beans,” she had laughingly instructed them, “for they require
twelve hours’ baking, and we don’t expect to make it an overnight hike
this time!”
So Ruth and Ethel had done their purchasing, and had wrapped their
articles into eight packages; they gave each girl a bundle to carry,
but refused to tell what they had bought. And, of course, everybody
tried to find out by feeling her package, but in most cases this failed
to reveal the identity of the contents.
After ten minutes’ walk, the Scouts had left the town, and struck the
woods. Miss Phillips blew a series of short whistles and called the
girls together for instructions.
“We are going to lay a trail,” she said. “Frances, Ethel, Dorothy, and
Ruth are to go ahead, and put down the signals; the rest of us will
wait here ten minutes and then follow.
“Lay your trail until you come to a good place to make a fire and eat
lunch. Choose a spot somewhere near good water, and be sure that you
are well protected from the wind. If you can find a flat rock, so much
the better; but be sure that the ground is dry.”
“I’ve never eaten around a camp fire,” said Lily. “It’s going to be
such fun!”
“How will we know what signals to lay?” asked Ruth.
“I am going to tell you some of the simple ones: perhaps we shall
learn those more difficult later on from the Boy Scouts. Has anybody a
pen-knife?”
“I have, Captain,” said Marian, producing one.
“Will you lend it to Ethel? Now, Ethel, you can blaze a trail by
cutting off a piece of bark from a tree along a path which you are
following.
“But that is not to be the only signal. You can break a twig, and leave
it hanging, or you can set a small stone on top of a larger one to mark
the trail.
“Now for the turns--if you want us to follow the path to the right, put
a long mark on the right of the tree trunk beneath the blaze; or bend
your twig out straight to the right; or when you put your little stone
on top of your big one, place another small stone beside them to the
right--and, of course, vice versa for the left. Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes,” cried the girls.
“One thing more--has everybody matches in her knapsack?”
Fortunately everybody did have, for Miss Phillips had especially warned
the girls to be provided with them.
“Now,” she continued, “I want you to try to keep together; and always
remember this: no fewer than two girls must travel together in the
woods; but if anything ever should happen to separate one of you from
your companions, and you find that you are lost, select a high, open
spot and make two fires--carefully piling on lots of leaves and grass
to make smoke; for Girl Scouts have adopted the signal that two smokes
arising together mean ‘I am lost--help.’
“Now run along, girls, before you get cold!”
While the remaining girls--Edith, Marian, Lily, and Helen waited the
ten minutes, Miss Phillips instituted a game to keep them from becoming
cold.
When the time was up, they started off, looking carefully for signals
of the trail. Miss Phillips told them to call out when they discovered
a trail and instructed each girl to keep count of the signs she
discovered first. Once or twice, everybody missed a mark, and went
straight ahead; then, failing to see any evidences of the trail, they
all turned back and discovered they had missed the turn.
Finally Dorothy spied a smoke in the distance. “Can that be our girls?”
she asked.
“I guess so,” replied Miss Phillips. “One smoke means ‘We are camping
here.’”
The girls ran as fast as they could, and soon reached the spot. Ethel
had spread the big blanket on the ground, and the other girls had
succeeded in starting a good fire. Ruth had filled her canteen from a
spring not far distant, and offered the girls water. Frances was trying
to fasten branches into the ground from which to suspend the kettle for
hot water.
“It’s pretty hard to dig a deep enough hole without a spade, Frances,”
said Miss Phillips, after she had laid down her pack. “Let your fire
die down a little, and put two green logs on each side of it; then we
can set the kettle across them right over the fire.”
She turned to Ruth. “Now what have you for lunch?” she inquired.
“Doggies, rolls, cocoa (we have that in the thermos bottle), and baked
beans; and a surprise for dessert!”
“Baked beans!” exclaimed Lily, “what did Captain tell you?”
“Oh, they’re not that kind,” laughingly explained Ethel; “they’re all
cooked--by Mr. Heinz; we only have to heat them!”
The girls dropped the can in the hot water in the kettle, and each
proceeded to get a stick on which to toast the sausages. Soon they were
eating hungrily.
“Tell us how you liked our trail,” said Ruth.
“It was great!” said Miss Phillips. “By the way--who found the most
signs?”
“I believe Edith did, didn’t you?” asked Dorothy.
“Well, I found eight; did anybody get more than that?”
No one had; and Edith was congratulated.
“Now guess, girls, what we’ve got for dessert?”
“Apples?”
“No--better than that!”
“Cake?”
“No--still better!”
“Pie?”
“Yes!”
“What kind?”
“Hot mince pie! We covered it up, and put it among the coals. But
you’ve got to eat it with your fingers.”
“That’s easy!” exclaimed Dorothy, as Ethel handed two pies to Miss
Phillips to cut with Marian’s pen-knife.
“Ruth, you and Ethel are certainly dandies,” said Helen; “but do tell
us how you ever got all this wonderful feed for two dollars!”
“Well, we didn’t,” replied Ruth. “Mother sent me the pies this morning.”
“And that accounts for the reason they are so good!” exclaimed Lily. “I
thought you couldn’t get pies like these at the village bakery.”
“Girls,” suggested Frances, “let’s write Mrs. Henry a note of thanks
when we get back to school, and all sign it.”
“Now Captain,” said Marian, after they had finished eating, “do tell us
about some of your plans for the troop.”
“Yes, do!” the others urged.
“Well, next Friday we admit our new members. From then until spring
vacation, we will practice for our play and work for the second class
test. During spring vacation, we are to go to a big party at the Boy
Scout cabin.”
“How perfect!” exclaimed Ruth enthusiastically.
“After vacation,” the Captain continued, “we will give our play and
study for merit badge examinations, and take some hikes--maybe one
over-night hike--learning about trees and flowers. And, if any of you
girls want to go out for the Pioneer badge, the Boy Scouts said they
would show us how to build a cabin.”
“It would be wonderful to have our own cabin!” said Ethel.
“And, of course, you know, after that comes vacation and our week of
camping. But nobody can go camping who is not at least a second-class
scout.”
“Oh, it’s all so exciting!” exclaimed Ruth. “I’m so glad I’m a Girl
Scout!”
“I’d be perfectly happy if Marjorie were in it, too!” sighed Lily.
“Perhaps she will be soon,” said Frances, encouragingly. “Let’s hope
so!”
Ruth blushed self-consciously at this remark, but no one noticed her
embarrassment. She hastily changed the subject. “Tell us a story,
Captain,” she suggested.
“What kind of story would you like?” asked Miss Phillips.
“Oh, one about the out-of-doors,” answered Ruth.
“Well, we mustn’t sit here long--the fire is beginning to die; but I’ll
tell you a story of Ernest Thompson Seton’s--it’s in his book called
‘Two Little Savages,’ a boy’s book, but one which I think you girls
would enjoy.
“This story is about an Indian squaw, who was taken prisoner by some
tribe way up north. They marched her five hundred miles away, but one
night she escaped and set out, not on the home trail, for she knew they
would follow that way and kill her, but to one side. She didn’t know
the country and got lost. She had no weapons but a knife, and no food
but berries.
“She went as fast as she could for several days till a rainstorm came,
and then she felt safe, because she knew her enemies could not trail
her now. But winter was approaching, and she could not get home before
it came. So she set to work right where she was.
“Can you girls imagine yourselves in such a position? All alone in the
woods--no shelter, no food, no extra clothing, and the cold weather
coming on fast?”
Frances shuddered. “I guess most of us would soon give up and die!” she
said.
“We probably would--though maybe not after we have learned the
principles of Scouting.
“Well, anyway, she made a Wigwam of birch bark and a fire by rubbing
sticks together, as you saw two of the Boy Scouts do, only she used
the lace of her moccasin for a bow-string. She made snares of the
inner bark of the willow and of spruce roots, and deadfalls, too, for
rabbits. She was starving sometimes, at first, but she ate the buds
and inner bark of birch trees till she found a place where there were
lots of rabbits. And when she caught some she used every scrap of them.
She made a fishing-line of the sinews, and hook of the bones and teeth
lashed together with sinew and spruce gum.
“She made a cloak of rabbit skins, sewed with needles of rabbit bone
and thread of rabbit sinew, and a lot of dishes of birch bark sewed
with spruce roots.
“She spent the whole winter there alone, and when the spring came she
was found by Samuel Hearne, the great traveler. Her precious knife was
worn down, but she was fat, and happy, and ready to set out for her own
people.”
“And is that a true story?” asked Ruth, after a silence of a minute or
two.
“Yes,” replied Miss Phillips, “wasn’t she wonderful?”
The girls thanked their Captain for the interesting tale and Frances
led in the Scout yell.
They sang one or two of their favorite songs, as they put out the
fire, and buried the tin cans and refuse they could not burn. Miss
Phillips congratulated them on the appearance of the spot. “A Scout
leaves the place in perfect order after she has camped there,” she said
approvingly.
It was a happy, weary crowd that trudged into school that night. But
after they had bathed and dressed for dinner they felt better, though,
as Lily remarked, “glad that the next day was Sunday.”
“And the day after is Monday,” said Marjorie, excitedly--“and we’ll
know our marks!”