Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-13
PLAYING INDIAN.
BALD EAGLE TELLS ABOUT ERNEST THOMP-
son SETON'S WOODCRAFTERS.
THE FEATHER TALLY.

BALD EAGLE TELLS ABOUT ERNEST THOMP-
SON SETON'S WOODCRAFTERS
THE FEATHER TALLY.
Any boys, or girls either. who want to
play Indian. but who missed the first of
these weekly articles telling you how to
get up your tribe and make your teepee,
may catch up by sending to Mr.. Ernest
| Thompson Seton, Cos Cob. Conn. for a
COPY of his little Red Book of instruc-
| tons. 1t costs but Is cents. Mr.. Seton Is
| the big medicine man of the whole ma
| tion of Woodcrafters. His Indian name is
| Chunka-Sa (Black Wolff, and he wants
as many tribes formed as possible. The
motto, u.s. The best things of the best In
| dams.
Every time Bald Eagle reads of an ac-
cident by drowning he asks himself why
| boys and girls don't learn to swim. There
| have been many warnings lately that
| he feels like fairly shouting 1t at the
Woodcrafters, learn to swim. If you have
| tried and have not succeeded try once
more and let this try be the winner. If
| you can't do any other way get piece
| of board that will help you to just keep
| your head out of water; lie down on it
| and kick like frog. You know how that
| is. You know, too. how boys use their
arms in swimming. Keep both your arms
and legs under water, and keep them in
| motion. When you can propel yourself
we'll that way get a smaller board or
stick. Keep at it until you can keep
af1oat without stick The rest is easy.
But don't put off learning.
One fine point in all this Indian play is
keeping the records. OF course the feather
tally or Chief of the Painted Robe is sup
posed to do this, but he can be helped
very much by suggestions made around
the council fire by the rest of the tribe.
So it is important to know how the In
dians We're accustomed to count time and
cod
CRATER asked not long ago how the In
dians named the months. The reply is
that they name month by what is hap
pening then. But the month. or, rather,
the moon. as Indians say when corn is
planted will not be the same in warm
climates as in cooler ones. Hence there
was no uniform system.
Black Wolf recently sent out a notice
like this. for his local tribe:
The Sinawa Indians go into camp at
the village of Standing Rock in the coun-
try of Black Wolf, the medicine man, on
the first sun of the hay moon"
This meant July, of course, though in
our southern states the same expression
might mean June. However, no Indian
tribe, or even nation, ever wished to re-
cord events and make history for 9TH
ers Each nation was complete in itself
1t is only when we become civilized that
we begin to feel our dependence upon
| others The more civilized we are the
more We are interested in each other
The Indian year began among some ma
tons with spring. among others with
Winter-the time the first snow fell Here
are some expressions that have been used
by various tribes: January Moon of the
Black Smoke" or Moon Very Hard to
Bear"
February. Month the coons come out"
March Moon of Sore Eyes
April Little Grsss Moon" or moon the
| Geese Lay Eggs
| May. Planting Loon" or Moon when
| Corn is Planted or Moon when the Buff
| falo Comes"
June, Moon Strawberries Ripen"
| August, Harvest Moon"
September, Moon when Wild Rice
| Ripens.'
| November. Moon the Leaves Fall Or,
| December, Moon Deer Shed Horns"
| An Indian was so many winters old. nor
| so many springs, or summers or Years
| Even boy was a boy of eight winters or