Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1946-08-18

Row Scouts but they'd fool
you Once they made rain
IF YOU would like to Indians again. take trip to
La Junta Colorado There you may see them IN dill hen
spectacular nery of beads and feathers dancing around tne
council fire the weird rhyhms of the Great Medicine Drum
You may them pacang the Great Thunder Bird and IN
voking the peace of Waconda Aqua, the Great spirit
Only they won't be real Indians They will be Boy Scouts
= boys named Stubs and McCluskey and Rlzzuto and
Henzman and other such ordinary American names You
will find that hard believe for the koshare Indian Dancers
of La unta officially Troop 23O of the Rocky Mountain
Council of the Boy Scouts of America are unuestonaoy
the worlds greatest paleface interpreters of the ways OF the
Red Their annual show beginning to make La unta as
famous it's way the Passion Play made rammergau
unta another proud boast 1t has one of the lowest
Juvenile delinquency the country And the two tacs
as anyone La Juna will tell together On the very
day arrived in La unta for this years show the newspapers
we're carrying of those stories about an
outburs youthful rowdysm and crime in another American
city Said local police official I'VE don't have to worry
much about that of thing Our young wild Indians stomp
out all their deviltry through their feet
No Time For Loafing
BIRsHEARs founder of Koshare and troop scoutmaster
puts another way 1T gets to be sort of religion
Bshears whose initials stand for James Francis but who
called Buck by every kid town The boys get deep in
Indian lore they don't have time inclination to hang
around pool halls get into mischief.
pretty La Junta girl complained not without note
of pride that her boy friend engrossed in being
Indian that they seldom movie or went dancing
Instead he got her help him make eagle feather buses
And a blond young giant of an Air Force captain was
still so wrapped up in the towns hobby that he had
brought back Czechoslovakia whole trunkful of
beads and other makings for Indian costumes.
When Buck Bursheas started the project back the early
3Os he simply merging two personal interests scouting
and Indian lore He had been the first Eagle Scout in the
Arkansas Valley and Soumaster of his old troop by the
time he to Colorado College, At college, he began
collection of Indian costumes, and ewelry which
has grown of the coorf in existence But when
he home and started getting his Boy Scouts dressed
Indian outfits and dancing Indian Dances most La Junta
people smiled olerantly and joked about Bucks bras
The has stuck but distinction La Juna today
be of Bucks bras Many of the youngsters have
up and been away to college to but they still count
themselves among the bras At this years show than
20 old Chiefs back from military out dancing
full Indian regalia One had his papoose along
- also in full costume.
It's Real Indian Country
WHAr Burshears had hit upon solution for of the
major national problems of Boy Scout and leaders:
holding the interest of boys after they get to
time when such healthy interest most needed
Until Buck started the koshae Ia Pueblo Indian word pro-
nounced kosharey and meaning play maker), La Junta
boys seldom stayed scouting beyond the time when the
began form their cheeks But Indian dancing that
something else again!
La Junta is railroad town of some $1,000 population