PriEeAU iD UB ON BRUCE E TIN 37 
possible to see her in our own region. One of the best things about it, 
in my estimation, is the fact that this opportunity is offered to poor boys 
who would otherwise probably never have a chance to get into the woods, 
for deserving boys who could not afford to go have part or, sometimes, 
all of their expenses paid. “hese camps are under the direction of trained 
leaders and experts who supervise the camps and stand ready to give the 
boys trained leadership whenever they wish it. 
‘The camps are located on two fine lakes, Big Blue and Crystal Lakes. 
Two camps are located on Big Blue and four camps on Crystal. About 
these lakes, the Scouts own twelve hundred acres of virgin timber. “The 
variety of wild life in the fields, dunes, and woods offers an exceptionally 
fine opportunity for study and observation. Near Big Blue Lake is a tama- 
rack swamp where Pitcher Plants grow in great profusion in the Sphag- 
num Moss. Here also are found several rare Orchids such as Yellow 
Fringed Orchids, Purple Fringed Orchids, many Pink Lady-Slippers 
and a few Showy Lady-Slippers. In one clump we counted seventy- 
two Pink Lady-Slipper plants in an area about three feet square. In the 
woods bloom Trilliums, Wintergreen, Partridge Berry, Urailing Arbutus, 
Bird’s Foot Violet, Lupine, and many other rare and common flowers. 
One youngster has collected over one hundred and three different species 
of flowers near the camps. Wild animals are also abundant. Saucy Red 
Squirrels and Gray and Fox Squirrels are everywhere. Chipmunks and 
Red Squirrels play tag over the tent tops in the early morning or watch 
the boys from safe places of concealment. Raccoons are quite common; 
their tracks in the mud show where they fished for crayfish and washed 
their food. [he caretaker, Mr. Miller, has several as pets. Muskrats 
are common in the small lakes. At night, foxes occasionally come into the 
camps to look for food and leave their unmistakable odor behind them. 
Skunks also occasionally wander into the camps and Woodchucks make 
their burrows unmolested in the woods. Cottontails are everywhere. 
Meadow Mice and Pine Mice eat things in the tents, not put away, and 
occasionally a mole is caught by one of the boys and brought back to camp. 
One boy brought me a Star-nosed Mole that had been caught in a path. 
Once in a while a boy brings back a story of seeing a deer. On three dif- 
ferent occasions I have seen deer; tracks of Otter are sometimes seen in 
the mud along the banks of streams and inlets and Mink are common. 
I think there is a greater profusion of bird life about these camps and 
near them than can be found in most regions about Chicago. Most of 
our common birds are found there, as well as many not found about Chi- 
cago. A lone Bald Eagle has his aerie on Big Blue. Many a scout has 
pulled his blankets over his head, when he heard the weird, spooky calls 
from the woods and answers from the lake, before he found out that they 
were made by Great Horned Owls and the Loons. Even spookier is the 
