Recreation, 1905 (article)
THE SONS OF DANIEL BOONE.
Some of you are subjects of King Edward and some subjects of no ruler, each and every one being a little King Edward himself, in other words, a citizen of the United States. But whether we owe allegiance to the brave old British lion or the fierce American eagle makes little difference, we are all boys together and are going to unite in one brotherhood for the preservation of our brothers in fur, scales, feathers and bark.
Let me tell you that when you are united and each lad working for the cause, you will find that even President Roosevelt, and King Edward will be more than glad to serve you and earn your support and commendation, for those men know that the boys of to-day are the men of to-morrow.
Form yourselves at once into local branches and write to me and I will see that there is an appropriate badge, constitution and by-laws made for the organization, and will also devote this department to your service and entertainment. Let me hear from you immediately, so that we may have a good start before the season is spent. Then ho for the woods and the canoeing company and fishing excursions of the brave Sons of Daniel Boone, and when we grow strong enough in numbers, we will hold a CONVENTION of delegates from each branch and do things which will make the grown-up men sit up and take notice.
SONS OF DANIEL BOONE.
Recreation's “Sons of Daniel Boone,” is destined to be a big success. Letters are already coming in asking for information and telling of the fact that the local branches are being formed in various parts of the country. There is a Fort Pike branch, in Pike county, Pa., and the Recreation Camp, in Connecticut, already named and others are appealing to us for names for their local councils.
Since Daniel Boone, himself, was so intimately connected with a fort by that name it has been suggested by one of our correspondents that all the various branches establish forts. It is not to be understood by this that they will necessarily build forts, but that each branch or organization shall be called a fort, as, for instance, Fort Marquette, Fort Davy Crockett, Fort Lewis and Clark, Fort Washington. In fact, the councils may appropriately name their forts after any well-known scout, explorer, back woodsman or naturalist. This is a rattling good idea and I would suggest that it be carried out by the various branches now starting councils.
When people began to settle in Kentucky one of the first acts of old Daniel Boone was to advocate laws for the preservation of game animals, and this is one reason why we love the memory of the old pioneer and why we call ourselves “The Sons of Daniel Boone.”
Recreation proposes to give a prize to the fort containing the largest number of active members by September 1st, the prize to consist of a council tent, to be used on camping excursions. For the fort that can show the greatest number of official notches on the stock of its tally rifle Recreation will also award a handsome prize, the nature of which will be decided later, after we hear from the boys and learn what would most please them in this line.
Each Fort must secure an old gun of some kind. The gun must always be unloaded and need not be a good one or even one capable of being fired. All that is necessary is that it have a stock and barrel and the more it shows the signs of wear and service the better it will be for the purpose. This old gun will be in charge of
the gun keeper and be used as a tally to keep record of praiseworthy acts of the council to which it belongs. In olden times, our pioneer ancestors were wont to keep a record, by notches on the stock of their rifles, of the deer or bear killed; and even in times of savage warfare of the number of Indian scalps taken. But in these days we do not propose to hunt the poor, persecuted Indians or scalp them as our half savage ancestors did, and while we want to emulate these ancestors in all their sturdy, manly qualities we will only use our tally gun for a record of good deeds we do in the preservation of game and farests.
An official rifle consisting of a picture of a gun will be furnished by Recreation to each Fort, and every time the Fort does some notable deed in the way mentioned, Šablona:recreation will send them an official notch, consisting of a stamp to be gummed on the picture, by the Gun Keeper in the presence of the club at a meeting appointed for this purpose and then, when directed by the president of the Fort, the notch shall be cut by the Gun Keeper in the stock of the tally gun, to correspond with the official stamp.
For the fun of the thing a little ceremony is necessary and the old tally gun should be treated with great respect by the members of the organization, not because there is anything respectable in its appearance, for it may be battered and disreputable, rusty and apparently fit only for the junk shop, but the respect due to the tally gun should be of the same nature as that due to our national flag. The flag itself is nothing but a patched piece of bunting, and as such, deserving of no more reverence than your mother's bed quilt, but the flag represents and is the symbol of country and the grand principles of human justice upon which our nation is founded, and because of that we treat the flag with reverence and even fight and die for it. The old tally gun is the symbol and record of the Fort and of the noble deeds done by the Fort, and hence we treat it with ceremony and respect and look upon it the same as a soldier does upon the medals which he has won, with which to decorate his uniform, and as the savage does upon the tattoo marks, which represent
his feats as a warrior. The medals on the soldier's breast are nothing but bronze or precious metal and deserving of no reverence by him or anyone else; the tattoo marks on the savage are nothing but scars filled with pigment and deserving of no respect by him or anyone else, but what each represents is bravery, courage and fortitude, all of which are respected not only by the soldier and the savage, but by everybody.
Now, since it has been suggested that each council be called a Fort, we have carried that idea a little further and given a name to each of the officers of the council. In place of Mr. President for the presiding officer we have simply the name Daniel Boone. For secretary, the title of Davy Crockett ; for treasurer, the title of Kit Carson; for librarian the title of Audubon; for the keeper of the tally gun we could find no more appropriate name than that of Simon Kenton, the friend of Daniel Boone, the tall, long-legged pioneer, who had so many adventures with the Indians when Kentucky was known as the “dark and bloody ground.”
When the Forts form it is not necessary to have more than two or three boys. The secretary can also be treasurer and librarian, and the president can also be keeper of the gun and assume all the duties that go with the different offices; but as the Fort increases in numbers and more boys want to join, more officers can be elected. As for the government of the Fort, it can be done in the good, old democratic style of the town meeting, where every member has a voice in the management, or by a board of managers composed only of the officers of the Fort. But from a long experience in club life, I would advise for the boys the town meeting style, as that keeps up the personal interest and personal responsibility of each member. I find as soon as the power is delegated to someone else the members lose interest and depend upon the officers to do all the work.
While to succeed The “Sons of Daniel Boone” must have a high, moral purpose behind them, it must not be understood that it is necessary for them to go around as sober and solemn as church deacons. One object of this society is to prove to the rest of the boys that you can have a moral purpose and be jolly and full of fun at the same time, for we must not forget that as the Farmer's Journal puts it,
“A laugh is just like sunshine,
It freshens all the day,
It tips the peaks of life with light
And drives the clouds away.
And the thing that goes the farthest,
Toward making life worth while,
Costs the least, and does the most,
Is just a friendly smile.”
Do not think that all this preparation and organization is not necessary. You have base-ball clubs, tennis clubs, rowing clubs, golf clubs, and one and all of them have a constitution, by-laws and officers. You do this not because of a fad or because it is the style, but because experience has taught you boys that to really have fun and enjoy yourselves you must have some sort of an organization and not go at it as an undisciplined mob.
In the last issue of Recreation, I promised you that we should have a constitution and by-laws and Recreation would furnish them on request to the different organizations as they are formed. In Recreation we are all boys, but so as to keep “The Sons of Daniel Boone" within the limits of what most people call “boys” it will be necessary for all active members to be under twenty-one years of age. That is, all active members excepting the editor of Recreation, who is the founder. We have distributed the names of all the noted backwoodsmen among you boys, so will retain no title for the editor other than “Founder.”
When writing to Recreation on matters pertaining to the “Sons of Daniel Boone” address your letters to Founder Dan Beard, Recreation Office, 23 W. Twenty-fourth St., New York City.
As soon as a Fort is established send in the list of members and honorary members to Recreation that they may be recorded in the Boone Book and remember that we do not insist upon all the Sons of Daniel Boone being subscribers to this magazine; knowing that even a dollar a year is a large sum to some small chaps whose friendship we value and who can do valuable work in our favorite field of game protection.
We here give a rough outline of the proposed constitution, which is complete enough to serve the organizations until the regular printed copy is prepared and forwarded.
CONSTITUTION.
ARTICLE I.
NAME.
The name of this Association is THE SONS OF DANIEL BOONE.
ARTICLE II.
OBJECT.
The elevation of sport, the support and encouragement of all that tends to healthy wholesome manliness; the study of woodcraft, outdoor recreation and fun, and serious work for the making of and support of laws prohibiting the sale of game, and the preservation of our native wild plants, birds and beasts.
ARTICLE III.
THE OFFICERS.
The officers of this club shall be a President, with the title of Daniel Boone; a Secretary, with the title of Davy Crockett; a Treasurer, with the title of Kit Carson; a Librarian, with the title of Audubon; the Keeper of the Tally Gun, with the title of Simon Kenton, and a Founder.
The Editor of Recreation is the Founder and Presiding Officer over all the Councils, and the only boy over twenty-one having a voice in the Councils.
ARTICLE IV.
The duties of Daniel Boone, Davey Crocket and Kit Carson shall be those usual to the offices of president, secretary and treasurer.
AUDUBON.
It shall be the duty of Audubon to keep on hand Recreation as it is issued each month, also the latest copy of the game laws of the State in which the Fort is located, and all other papers and books on outdoor sport, travel and explorations which may, from time to time, become the property of the Fort.
KENTON.
It shall be the duty of Simon Kenton to keep the Fort's tally gun, and to make the notches in its stock in presence of the Council when so directed by Daniel Boone.
ARTICLE V.
MEMBERS AND HONORARY MEMBERS.
Any boy under twenty-one years of age of good moral character may become an active member. Any “boy” over twenty-one who is a subscriber to Recreation may be elected an honorary member, but can take no part in the business of the society, except as an advisor; and an honorary member's advice or suggestions may, or may not, be acted upon as the Fort to which he belongs decides.
ARTICLE VI.
ORDER OF BUSINESS.
CALL TO ORDER.
BRINGING IN THE GUN.
The gun-keeper, Simon Kenton, escorted by the Secretary, Davy Crockett, carries the gun to its accustomed resting place in the meeting-room, while all of the members stand.
COMMITTEE REPORTS.
NEW BUSINESS.
OLD BUSINESS.
Under these two last heads, Committees may be appointed, discussions held, and resolutions introduced looking to the furtherance of the objects of the Association, the preservation of game and the forests. Expeditions and amusements can also be discussed and arranged.
BALLOT FOR NEW MEMBERS.
DEBATE, READING OR OTHER ENTERTAINMENT.
ADJOURNMENT.
