172 



NA TURE-STUD Y REVIEW [17:4— April, 1921 



calendar for the insertion of the names of birds and flowers ob- 

 served. Outside the house a long window box was placed to hold 

 ferns and other plants brought from the woods, and on the porch 

 a large square table held our aquarium, and terrarium.. Now — 

 with a Iccal habitation and a nam.e — we were ready for work. 



Our aim — first, last, and always — was to m.ake nature study at 

 carri.p a joy and an adventure, — never an irksome task. Having 

 served for several years as head of an outdoor school where the 

 woodcraft work was given prominence, I had learned to value the 

 woodcraft council as an aid to nature study and decided to intro- 

 duce it into cur summer's program. The notice of our first council 

 as posted on the cam.p bulletin board, was written in the Indian 

 Picture Writing ar d read as follows : 



Trwttir^l^^ 



^^\ 



The interpretation of the drawing is : 



"On the Tenth Sun of the Thunder Mcon (the loth day of July) 

 we shall take the trail by cance to the hem.lock grove on the edge 

 of the water. There we shall hold a council. Scout reports of 

 flowers, birds and wild anim_als will be brought in. We shall also 

 have a poetry contest. If it rains the council will be held in the 

 lodge." 



The council was opened by singing, with uplifted hands, the 

 Om.aha Tribal Prayer, after which scout reports were asked for. 

 These were brief accounts of birds, flowers, or wild anim.als ob- 

 served. The first scout to see any flower or bird "claimed" it in 

 council and this fact was noted on our nature calendars. At the 



