Under the Totem-Pole Chiefs and Braves

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 7, 30 March 1927, Page 5

Under the Totem-Pole Chiefs and Braves

The names of the following Chiefs and Braves have been inscribed on the Totem Pole with the pen-names by which they will be known. Their letters to Redfeather are answered as under: Braves: Ruby Blair: I have placed your name on the Totem-Pole and given you the pen-name of Eyes-of-the-Morning. A warm welcome to this Girl Guide into the Wigwam.—Redfeather. Dorothy Kidd: I am very pleased to enrol you, Dorothy, and I hope you will enjoy the Wigwam page each Wednesday. I have christened you Silver Cloud.—Redfeather. Margaret Blake: Welcome to this place of sun and open air. I am calling you Light-on-the-Water. Many thanks for your greetings and good wishes. —Redfeather. Billie Retter: Many thanks for your charming note. The Guides’ Corner will appear each Wednesday. Does the name of Sickle Moon, appeal to you ?—Redfeather. Mary Atherton: I have called you Misty Moon-ray and placed your name on the Totem-Pole. Yes, the Wigwam should prove a very pleasant place.— Redfeather. Annie Lake: Another Girl Guide, who will be known henceforth as Gleaming Pool. Have you noticed that essay competition? Welcome to the Wigwam.—Redfeather. Elsie Cook: Thank you very much for your letter. Your name is now on the Totem-Pole and I have called you Prairie Flower. With good wishes.— Redfeather. Beatrice Stone: Redfeather reciprocates your kind wishes. Welcome into the Wigwam. Would you like to be called Bird - on - the - Wing?—Redfeather. Lai la Burley: A warm welcome into the Wigwam, Laila. I can see you are going to be one of my good braves. Would you like to be called Singing Leaf ? —Redfeather. Peggy Wilson: Your name is now on the Totem-Pole, Peggy, and I have given you the pen-name of Blue MoonI hope you will always enjoy the Wigwam page. —Redfeather.

SIGNS and SIGNALS OF INTEREST TO SCOUTS Scouts know all about tracking and it. has not taken some of them very long to llnd the way to the Wigwam. The pach, I think, must have been marked with those secret knotted grass signs and stone pyramids which, to the uninitiated, mean nothing, but to scouts the simple injunction: “This is the way.” One troop leader reached the Wigwam in the twinkling of an eye and is now blazing a trail for his fellow scouts to follow. These signs and signals have always seemed to Redfeather to add a mysterious interest to scouting, but members of long standing are so well acquainted with them that the message can be picked up so quickly that ‘‘he who runs may read.” It is surely an exciting business blazing trails for those in the rear to follow. Do you know that blazed trees are sometimes used to attract the playful but destructive little opossums that THE SEA GIPSY

I am fevered with the sunset, I am fretful with the bay, For the wander-thirst is on me And my soul is in Cathay. There’s a schooner in the offing. With her topsail shot with fire, And my heart has gone aboard her For the Islands of Desire. I must forth again to-morrow! With the sunset I must be, Hull down on the trail of rapture In the wonder of the Sea. —Richard Hovey. have been imported into this country? A trap is set at the base of the tree, carefully hidden, and Master Opossum, who is essentially curious, is tempted to inspect the blazed trunk that so strangely differs from its neighbours. Soi iece Ol pa per is a fluxed to the trunk instead and serves the same purpose, though the story of the opossum that came closer and closer in order to read the newsprint on the paper, not for a moment should anyone believe! I should like you in your letters to tell me of your various experiences in dealing with these signs and also to give me an account of the work undertaken at your last meeting. Scouts have no regular periodical published in New Zealand and have therefore little opportunity of ventilating their affairs in print:; but in Redfeather you have a friend, always ready to take the keenest interest in all your doings, from tying a reef knot to building a bridge, blazing trails or assisting lame dogs over stiles. Watch for your own particular column each Wednesday. —REDFEATHER. J

Madge Erskine: I had a good laugh over your letter, Madge. Take as your pen-name Daughter-of-the-Canyon.— Redfeather. Chiefs: S. H. Barrett: Welcome to this troop leader who hopes there will always be room for a Scout column in the Wigwam. I have called you Big Brown Bear. Do you think that name will suit?—Redfeather. James Ividd: I was very pleased to have your letter, Jim, and to welcome you into the Wigwam. Would you like to be known as Pathfinder? With good wishes.—Redfeather. Percy Nicholas: Yes, the open air is certainly the place for big boys and girls and for people of all ages. I have called you Great White Light.— Redfeather. John Eastwood: Many thanks for your letter and your interest in the Wigwam. As one of my elder chiefs I am glad to have your co-operation, especially as you are an ex-Scout. I have called you Token Holder.—Redfeather. Lloyd Wrathall: Your name is now on the; Totem-Pole and I am sure you will enjoy the Wigwam. I have given you the pen-name of Wolf Tracker.— Redfeather. G. B. Tennant: So you are coming to Auckland soon, good chief Eagle Feather. I hope the Wigwam will always appeal to you.—Redfeather. M. D. Tennant: Many thanks for your interesting letter. Watch for the Wigwam every Wednesday. As Little Buffalo you will find your name on the Totem-Pole.—Redfeather. Vivien Burley: I am so glad you enjoyed the young people’s corner, Vivien. Many thanks for your cheery letter. I am calling you Panther Slayer.—Redfeather. David Adamson: That was a splendid trip you had, David, and I was very interested in your account of it. Would you like to be called Strong Bow ?—Redfeather. Sidney Johnson: You share the love of all boys for Indian stories, Sidney. Yes, I have read all the Deerfoot books- Call yourself Shooting-the-Rapids.—Redfeather. Other letters to Chiefs and Braves unavoidably held over will appear next week. —Redfeather.

Girl Guides’ Corner UNIFORM VALUE People are very often judged by their front doorsteps, even though there may be chaos in the kitchen. They cater for outward appearances, and by keeping the visible part of the house decorated and shining sometimes succeed in tricking the world. Houses are much like human beings, many of whom “turn the bonny side to London” in an endeavour to cloak a chaotic interior. I saw two girls to-day who were an interesting study. They lived for outward appearances and were slaves to fashion —and the lip-stick. With a shop window as a mirror they were performing their toilets, carefully outlining their lips, and re-decorating their tinted cheeks. Their conversation was as empty as their eyes. It was an amusing and pathetic sight that day by day is becoming increasingly common. They reminded me of the houses with the religiously polished doorsteps and chaos in the kitchen. Outward- appearances count for little where the interior falls short, but a coat of paint or an ornate exterior does not always deceive. How much wiser to wear the features that Nature has bestowed on us and let them be beautiful by the tan of exposure to sun *md wind, sea salt and the onward expression of well-kept and orderly minds. Nature does not deal in trickery. She gives us uniform value, and we know exactly where we are with her. It is only civilisation that stoops to sham. . Girl Guiding keeps a mighty young sisterhood in close touch wiht Nature, and is breeding coming women of the world with frank minds and dependable hearts. External appearances do not deceive them, for with the insight that comes with natural living they have learned to probe the surface instead of accepting people and circumstances at mere face value. And. as they take their places in the world, those of them with homes to keep have not only shining doorsteps to greet the public eye. but order and uniform value from threshold to kitchen. —REDFEATHER. > eaS on has moons, but moons not hers Lie mirrored on her sea. Confounding her astronomers. But oh! delighting me! —Ralph Hodgson.—