A ROYAL RANGERS MAGAZINE FOR BOYS LEADERS EDITION FALL 1989

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by Grover Brinkman

night, when a fire at the mill threatened Matt's room,Rock had tugged at his covers until he was awake.

Rock had wandered off into the swamp, somethingunusual. When he didn't come home last night, Mattspent a sleepless vigil. The morning came, and stillno Rock. So he asked Abe Ryan, the owner of the millwho employed him, for a day off to search for his pet.

"You're liable to discover him dead, Matt.""I'm afraid of that.""Nathan Prell isn't too good to poach, even kill a

good dog-"

THE MISSIONThe swamp was a steamy jungle of moss-draped

trees. Some lwiter had called it "the land of the trem-bling earth," and in Matt's estimation it pinpointedthe turpentine flats and the bayous of dead water quitewell. It was raining now and the fog was coming inas well.

A persistent voice of caution urged him to turn back.But something even greater urged him on. Somewhereahead was a very good friend, not a human, but hisdog, Rock.

I've got to find him! It could be I'll find his body.You don't find dogs as loyal as Rock very often. One

"No! His son Johnnydoesn't like me forsome reason, but nei-ther he nor his dadwould kill Rock!"

"I hope you're right,Matt!"

Now Matt cupped his hands to his mouth, shoutingas long and loud as he could. No answer, no familiaryelp. An owl's mournful cry sobered his face evenmore.

Frequently he ran the pirogue onto a mud bank tocheck for tracks-raccoon, fox, even those of one ofthe black bears that inhabited the swamp-but no dogtracks.

The light was failing. Wisps of fog laced the bayous,Matt decided he had an hour, possibly. Then he wouldbe compelled to turn back.

Attending Sunday school was a weekly ritual with

FALL T989

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oooGhg o o o ElaveRaqg@rGode tsflble

by Bob Fox

In the early 1800s, the westernmountains of the United States wereinhabited mostly by Indian tribes.These included the mighty Siouxand Cheyenne, the skillful horse-men of the Crow nation, the peace-ful Shoshone and noble Nez Perc6,and the most feared enemy of whiteand red man alike, the "ornery"Blackfeet.

But braving passage through thisdangerous territory was a group ofcourageous, sometimes cantanker-ous, beaver and fur trappers. Re-specting, but fearing neither grizzlynor "Bug's Boys" (as they called theBlackfeet), the mountain men freelytrespassed into this last Americanwilderness. The legendary JimBridger, courageous John Colter,lighthearted Joe Meek, and tough-old Hugh Glass were some of thebest known of these men.

Perhaps one of the least well-known, but most impressive of thelot, was a "straight-shootin', Bible-totin'," lanky youngster named ]ed-ediah Strong Smith. Among hiseventual accomplishments was thediscovery of South Pass. This wasthe gateway through the ColoradoRocky Mountains that would beused by settlers traveling the Ore-gon and California trails, beginningin 1840.

Smith was born in 1798, just ayear after George Washington's sec-ond term as president had ended.Jedediah (Diah) Smith was oneamong many young adventurerswho had come west to seek his for-tune. With the others, he read thisenticing advertisement in the Feb-ruary 13, 1822, edition of the St.Louis Gazette:

TO ENTERPRISING YOUNG MENThe subscriber wishes to en-

gage '100 men, to ascend theriver Missourito its source, thereto be employed for 1, 2 or 3years. -For

particulars enquireof MajorAndrew Henry, neartheLead Mines, in the County ofWashington, (who will ascendwith and command the party)orto the subscriber at St. Louis.

-Wm. H. Ashley

And so at 23, Jedediah Smith, an"apple-cheeked, beardless boy. . , Iank as a bear in spring," washired on as a "green hand" by MajorHenry. So began an action-packedadventure for young Jed Smith thatended all too soon just 9 years later,[He had an unfortunate meetingwith some very unfriendly Co-manches in New Mexico.J

Part of his life story might best betold to Royal Rangers by its com-parison with the Ranger Code. Solet's commence with the talel

|edediah Smith was AIERT. Aman needed three pair of e1'es tosurvive in this dangerous territorvin ihe 1820s. One pair must be onthe lookout for hostile Indians rrhowere always ready and obliging to"lift a scalp." Another pair mustconstantly study for other fiercecritters such as the then-abundant,unpredictable grizzly bear. The lastpair of eyes must be "trained to theweather." All of these were poten-tial killers. Diah was not only phys-ically and mentally alert, but spir-itually alert as well, as we shall seeIater.

|edediah Smith was a CLEAIJ-liv-ing man. His was a rough-and-tum-ble age when some men said that

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bv K,E, Matchette

\-: -r: Teiediah Smith studied their.-.'..s:ra:ei ad in front of him care-::ll'. The subscriber wishes to en-:=:: 100 men to ascend the river\I:s,.clri to its source, there to be

=l-::1ri-ed for 7, 2, or 3 years." He::ai rt out loud.

'Sounds like the perfect chance,Pa," he said. "With a job like that Icould send all the boys to school."r_ledediah Smith was one of 12 chil-dren including 5 younger brothers.)

"l suppose, Diah," his fatheragreed reluctantly. "But it's a roughlife-heathen country out there."

Diah laughed. "Listen to you, Pa.You sound like someone drew a linealong the Mississippi and told GodHe couldn't cross."

"I suppose you're right, Son, Dowhat you think is right."

Diah made a pack for his clothes,wrapped his Bible and a few otherbooks in a small "plunder bag,"cleaned his rifle, and set out fromhis home in Ohio for St. Louis, Mis-souri.

IE-DEDIAH SqfG&oocHIGH AD\ENTI-RE

tn St. Louis, Diah made his wayto the home of General WilliamAshley of the Rocky Mountain FurCompany. "I'd like to sign up foryour trapping party," he said.

Ashley studied his visitor. He sawa brown-haired young man about 6feet tall. "You sound like an edu-cated man, not a trapper," Ashleysaid, "Why do you want to go?"

"I have five little brothers, Sir.What I earn will pay for theirschooling.... And I welcome thechance to explore."

"What can you do?""I'm a crack shot, sir. And I've

lived on the frontier all my life."General Ashley smiled. "You're

hired."On May 8, 1822, the trapping

party led by General Ashley's part-ner, General William Henry, leftMissouri. A 100-foot keelboat, theEnterpilse, carried their supplies.

While the other men rowed andpoled their way up the Missouri,Diah hunted the woods along theriver. Each evening, when theycamped, he brought meat to thecooks.

The first night out, Diah took hisBible and began to read. "What's hedoing?" a happer asked. "I came outhere to get away from religion."

"Let him be!" another man saidquickly. "Who cares so long as heshoots our supper?"

About 300 miles up the Missouri,a current caught the Enferprise andturned her on her side. Diah and theother men could only save a smallpart of their supplies.

"Diah!" someone called. "Theregoes ydur plunder bag!"

Quickly, Diah jumped into thewater. Once he caught his foot on aroot and nearly went under, But atlast he grabbed the bag, and hisfriends pulled him out. His pre-cious Bible was safe.

The following year when some ofthe trappers were in what is nowSouth Dakota, they tried to buyhorses from the Arikara (Ree) In-dians. But the Indians tricked themand attacked the men and horses.

Diah and his rifle led the fight.Before they escaped, the Indians hadkilled 13 men. One of them wasDiah's friend, fohn Gardner.

"You know God," Gardner toldDiah as he lay dying. "Please pray

that prayer. Today a mural at theSouth Dakota Capitol shows fede-diah Smith making the first publicprayer ever prayed in the state.

One day as Diah led the groupthrough the brush, a grizzly bearleaped for his head. Before anyonecould stop the bear, it squeezed Diahtightly, then tore half of his scalpaway. He fell to the ground. Theother men shot the bear, then lookedhelplessly at their leader. Was hedead?

Diah opened his eyes. "Bring mesome water. You, Jim! Get yourneedle and sew me up!"

When lim finished, the menhelped Diah onto a horse, and theyrode back to their cemp. Ten daysIater he was ready to continue west-ward.

They spent that winter camped atthe eastern foot of the "Rockies."American trappers had nevercrossed the "Rockies," but Diahwanted to see what was on the otherside.

Crow Indians told him of a pass.Following their directions, Diah ledthe men across what is now calledthe South Pass-ttre route coveredwagons later took on the OregonTrail.

Carefully, Diah drew a map oftheir route in his diary. "Somedaysettlers will come this way," he said.

That spring (7824) the mentrapped in rich territory west of the"Rockies." In summer Diah pushedfarther west until he met trappersfor the Hudson's Bay Companywhich had a base in Oregon. Hehaveled with the Hudson's Bay meninto Flathead country (near Kali-spell, Montana).

One night, when the trappers hadcamped with the Indians, Diah no-ticed that they bowed their headsbefore they ate. "What are youdoing?" he asked.

"We are praying," they said."Do you know about God?""We know only a little. But we

know there is one God, and He sentHis Son to die for us."

Diah smiled. "I know Him, too."He pulled his Bible from the plun-der bag. "This is His Book, Wouldyou like to hear God's words toyou?"

"Oh, yes!"When he left the Flatheads, it was

time to return east of the "Rockies"

at the yearly rendezvous.The following year, Diah took a

small partyand crossed the MojaveDesert in California. They were thefirst white men to cross.

In those days, California was partof Mexico. The Spanish there or-dered him to leave. But Diah leftmost of his men camped in themountains when he returned to thatyear's rendezvous.

That summer he returned andtook his party north, trapping as hewent. By the next spring (1828), themen had reached Oregon country.Once again they were the first whitemen to take that route.

As they traveled north, Diah no-ticed that they frightened the Indi-ans and made them an$y. At theUmpqua River, he took two men andan Indian guide and went upstreamto find a way through the moun-tains. "Don't let any Indians into thecamp," he warned the other men.When the explorers returned, theyfound the men dead. Indians hadattacked them.

Fort Vancouver, the Hudson's Bayfort, was 150 miles away. Now thethree men had to reach it or die.

For a month they scrambled overmountains and plodded north alongocean beaches. At what is now Til-lamook, friendly Indians guidedthem through the mountains to thefort.

In March 1829, Diah and ArthurBlack, one of his men, left Fort Van-couver and canoed east up the Co-lumbia. Five months later they metwith the other traders in Wyoming.

The following year Diah returnedto St. Louis.

But after 8 years of wandering, hefound it hard to stay in one place.In 1831 he and two of his brothersjoined a trading party to Santa Fe.On the way, unfriendly Comanchesshot him while he looked for water.

Today, the places Diah exploredare important parts of the UnitedStates. And Americans have neverforgotten Jedediah Smith and hisBible.

A marker at the site of the Umpquamassacre sums up his life as Diahwould want it remembered: "Jede-diah Smith had three ambitions: toserve his God, to provide for hisfamily, and to become a great Amer-ican explorer. In all three things hesucceeded." I

Diah did. His friends

. . . the Ranger Codecontinued from page 4

"God took care to stay on his ownside of the Mississippi River." Theannual summer rendezvous was thebest of times and the worst of timesfor these men. There they sold thepacks of beaver they worked so hardfor throughout the year. And it wasthere that many of them drank orgambled away their profits. It wasnot uncommon to see men playingcards on the back of an unfortunatecomrade who had died in one of thefrequent drunken brawls at rendez-vous. Yet, while necessity had madehim a companion of such men, led-ediah Smith was known for hisavoidance of alcohol, tobacco, andprofanity.

Smith was always IIONEST. Hisword was good in a time when aman's word meant everything. Hewas a man of principle. The Britishtrappers of the Hudson's Bay Com-pany "saved his bacon" in 1828,after a disastrous loss of men, traps,furs, and horses to the Umpqua In-dians of Oregon's coast, Later, whenSmith's partners in the RockyMountain Fur Company wanted toexpand their business into the Brit-ish possession north and west of theColumbia River, ledediah objected."Except for them, I might have goneunder," he explained, And his part-ners listened, limiting their trap-ping to the American holdings eastand south of the river.

Jedediah Smith was COURA-GEOUS.

On his first trip up the Missouri,Ashley's brigade was ambushed bythe Arikara (Ree) Indians near thepresent-day Standing Rock IndianReservation in southern North Da-kota. It was a terrible fight! Themountain men were outnumberednearly ten-to-one! One-sixth of thetrapping party were killed, andmany more were wounded, The In-dians were so well fortified that theirlosses were minimal, It was theworst diaster in the history of thewestern fur trade.

Help lay several hundred milesupriver at a brigade encampment onthe Yellowstone. Ashley called forvolunteers to go for assistance. Notone of the veteran mountain menwho survived the fight would vol-unteer for the dangerous mission.That meant going upriver past the

Ree villagel With perhaps but a mo-ment's hesitation, young JedediahSmith volunteered for the job. Withone companion, he made the 800-mile trip upriver through hostileterritory. They got through, bring-ing back help just in time to savethe party from further trouble.

As a reward for his courage, ]ed-ediah was made a brigade captain.At age 24, he was the youngestmountain man to receive such anhonor.

On another occasion, while lead-ing a party of trappers through theBlack Hills of South Dakota, he wassuddenly attacked by a huge, en-raged grizzly which charged out ofthe brush and grabbed him by thehead. Like a dog shaking an old rag,the grizzly tossed Jedediah aroundfor several seconds before the restof the party arrived and drove "Ol'Ephraim" away. The wounds lookedfatal, His scalp was totally removedfrom half of his skull. One ear hunglimply, connected only by a shredof skin.

"What shall we do, Cap'n?" themen asked their bleeding, but stillalert leader. Jedediah told his mento get busy sewing him up!

"What shall we do with this ear?"one asked.

"Sew it up the best you can," re-plied Smith, who sat quietly n'hilethe repair was made without benefitof anesthesia.

Wounds healed quickly in thecool mountain air, and in 10 daysthe small party with its brave leaderwas on its way again to beaver coun-try.

A LOYAL man, Jedediah neverforgot his responsibilities to God, tohis family, or to his partners in thefur trade. Out in the wilderness, hewrote these words to family backhome: " . . . God onlyknows, Ifeelthe need of the watch and care of aChristian church. . . I hope you re-member me before a Throne ofGrace." His substantial earningsduring this "golden age" of beavertrapping went primarily to care for,and particularly to educate, hisyounger brothers back home "in theStates." It appears that his father haddied, leaving Iedediah to care forthe family's needs. He cared not onlyfor his own needs and for those ofhis family, but his loyalty to hiscompanions was unquestioned. Andhe never once let them down!

Diah Smith was a COURTEOUSman as well as a LOYAL friend. Hetreated women with respect andmen with dignity-Indians as wellas whites.

His kindness was appreciated byhis two companions who, whilehaveling through a waterless stretchfor several days, were finally over-come by dehydration. They couldn'tcontinue, so Smith buried both menup to their necks in sand to con-serve what body fluids they had left.He then continued on searching forwater. It was the dark of night whenhe finally found water, and thoughhe was "plumb tuckered out," led-ediah immediately headed back torescue his companions. He wasoverjoyed to find them still alive.Undoubtedly the men were evenmore pleased to see ledediah, withrvater!

Jedediah Smith was OBEDI-Er\T-first to the Laws of God, thento his superiors in the Rocky Moun-tain Fur Company. His faithfulnessto cary out orders, even at greatpersonal risk, made him a favoriteof his employer, General Ashley.This man, who lived "under au-thority," was soon given a com-mand of his own. Men followed himwithout question because they hadobserved his own respect for au-thority. They also listened to himbecause he became the "boosh-way," or boss, in 1826, Jedediah andtwo friends bought the company!

Finally,ledediah was a genuinelySPIRITUAL man. It has been writ-ten of him that "the pocket of hishunting coat bulged with his Bible,and that his buckskin breeches werebagged and frayed about the kneesfrom prayer." To his brother hewrote, " . . . are we ungateful to thatGod in whom 'we live, and move,and have our being'? How oftenought we on our bended knees tooffer up our grateful acknowledg-ments for the gift of His dear Son."

It has been said of fedediah that"he made the lone wilderness hisplace of meditation, the mountain-top his altar," and that he made "re-ligion an active, practical principle,from the duties of which nothingcould seduce him."

fedediah Smith serves as a good"mark" for all Royal Rangers to"stretch up to." So listen up all yougreenhoms! And you old hands bestpay heed as well!l

HIGH AD\TNTURE

THE BELUGAA warm, summer breeze riffled the

rvaters of Long Island Sound whilethe early-morning sun brushedagainst the hazy city skyline. Manymiles from shore a small white whalebasked in the warm rays of the sun.She had been swimming for hoursand now stopped to rest. The youngmammal was in strange waters, hav-ing ventured far from the open sea.But she already had made her firstcontact with people, and had estab-lished a pleasing relationship. Now,aJter feeding during the night hours,she was swimming back to the westshore.

the shark's; and one of these was nowfollowing her in a fast, open boat. Thishuman was intent on destroying herwhen she surfaced to breathe.

Some would sa1- that perhaps hethought the 1O-foot rvhale was ashark, a possible threat to swimmers.But in reality he n'as one of those rarehumans who killed for the sake ofkilling. The beluga rvas a sttange,en-

tity to him, a challenge to be dealtwith by the only means he knew. Hecarried a rifle aboard his craft, whichhe used, usually, to kill sharks. Andnow he intended to kiII the gentlemammal who unwittingly had losther bearings.

So the small, gentle whale swam

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fearful of her. But soon. aware of her . ; ' ^ ," . tgentle disposition, they had come'j.*- 'closer and playfully rubbed her back. r ', ,"'

'closer and playlully ruDDed her bacK. o: ;l:-"#fl,':jti.,...;i..iShe even allowed them to feed her ;''-

:

"^-^'" , :,.ltirythe kids laughed and played with her. ,' . '

But when the sun went down she t""iir..ti

In the shallow water of a small, -.,,

sandy cove the previous day, she haddiscovered a group of children en-:ioying a swim. At first they had been :

Occasionally, she came close to fish-

her and fed her fish. Her watm ac-,,'ceptance by people was in direct con-trast to the savage attacks by othersea dwellers, namely, the ever-hun-';::;.19;:ptgry sharks with their insatiable ap- -, ;*'.."petites.

Rested now, the small whale divedi

ing bo ats and rubb e d herself against'I, !iI's++1.,9.,1E9

*ffii

deep and, guided by her sonar-likei".,"'',,,;,.instincts, swam swiftly in the direc-,-.:"fIllJLlllULD, JW(llll DWutry tll LIIU UUUU-'- ..1;it:ir:.j:ti

tion of the sandy cove. She hoped, }',;.j'l- -:

that the children would again ber,..'::,:lt.there, She had forgotten ab-out her:{'i,,511:1iii;.€own kind, at least temporarily, for she . ." '. ,.

,

she Jidn't know that some huma"s i.,i#.:1,.];ri;;]ti;i:=had killing instincts as primitive

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FALL 1989

ffiQUANTffisby Ralph F. Wilson

Sailors poured onto the rocky beachas their small craft landed. Nearbycliffs echoed with a shout: "Grab thatshort one before he gets away!" TheIndian boy felt a sailor's callousedhands grasp his shoulders. Thoughhe thrashed and jerked, Squantocouldn't break free. As fibers from acoarse rope cut into his wrists, he fi-nally decided that struggle was use-less. He was dragged into a longboat,then carried aboard a three-mastedEnglish ship anchored offshore.

Squanto had been fishing along therugged coast when his friend hadlooked up and pointed, "Great boatswith white wings." They had scram-bled over the boulders to meet thestrange white-faced intruders. NowSquanto was their captive.

Weeks later, a pale Squanto wob-bled down the gangplank from thatIurching deck onto firm land, He andother Indians were taken to the elab-orate mansion of Sir FerdinandoGorges who had financed many ex-peditions to the New World. For thenext 3 years, the Indian youths weretaught English. At first Squanto found

the new tongue awkward, but even-tually he surprised himself: "Myname is Squanto. I have come fromAmerica."

His English host was eager for theIndians to master the language. Oneday Gorges called them to his quar-ters. "Young braves, you have stud-ied hard. Now you will be sent asguides on new explorations of Amer-ica. I will miss you."

Another ship? How can I stand thatconstantly rolling deck? Squantothought, But in time he gained hissea legs. His knowledge of the riversand natural harbors, of the tribes andchieftains" of his homeland provedvery helpful to the English explorers.

For years he had longed to see hisbeloved bay and village again. Oneday, as his ship sailed along the NewEngland coast, he spotted it. Squantoran to the captain. "May I go ashore,sir? That's my village. That's myhome!"

"Yes, young man. You have servedus well. Now you can return to yourpeople."

As soon as he heard the pebblescrunch under the longboat's hull,Squanto jumped out and ran to em-brace his parents. He was home!

But his homecoming didn't lastIong. Within weeks Sqrlanto spottednew sails on the horizon. No longerafi'aid of English ships, he proudly

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HIGH ADVENTURE

L

DECADE OF HARVEST12.......... .....WARNINC SICNS/3

THE CREAT TURKEY HUNT/4.5 .. ....... FRONTIER

RANCERS/6.........O" SOUND THE TRUMPET/7 "" .."....THE

EACLE AND THE DOVEIB-g..... ........... ALL TOCETHER

NOW1|10...........A QUICK AND EASY ENERCY SNACT(1O

HOMES FORWILDLIFE 111 .......... .............. BU ILDING

MEMORIES/12-13..................... LAUCHS FOR LEADERS/15

REACHINC THE UNREACHAB LEI16

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This year's General Council in Indianapolis rvill be the kickoff ofan intensive push unequaled in the histon' of the Assemblies ofGod. Our Royal Rangers goals:

o A 50 percent growth in membership. To win 200,000 boys to the Lordo Enroll an additional 20,000 leaderso A 25 percent increase in Assembiies of God churches with

Royal Rangers outpostso A 100 percent increase in training camps for leaderso Develop training programs for our older boyso Conduct an International Camporama, trvo National Camp-

oramas, and two National FCF Rendezvous. Conduct summer camps for Royal Rangers boys at the Na-

tional Training Centero Emphasize evangelism in the High Adventure and High Ad-

venture Leadero Encourage districts to set district goals for Royal Rangers

AII of us must be on the cutting edge. If we can assist you, pleasewrite:

Royal Rangers1445 Boonville Avenue, Springfi.eld, MO 65802

L2 HIGH ADVENTUNE

Pay Attention To Those

AY

KEEP

RIGHT

they hear a local justice of the peaceintoning, "That rrill be $25."

Warning signs are there for a rea-son. One day a driver was tearingdown the highwal'at, or a little above,the speed limit. Suddenly he saw asharp-curve sl'6n, lvith a 25-mile-per-hour speed limit.

Oh, they can't be serl'ous/ hethought. So he slorved to about 40-and barely made the curve on twowheels.

Yes, he should have obe-ved thatspeed-limit sign. It's \r'rong to break

First Peter 5:8 warns us to proceedwith care: "Be sober, be vigilant; be-cause your adversary the devil, as aroaring lion, walketh about, seekingwhom he may devour."

"Sin not," is a stop sign containedin Ephesians 4:26.

The highway department posts itssigns to protect people. We shouldbe very grateful that they place thosesigns for our benefit. I think most ofus would be afraid to venture out ina car if there weren't some rules fordrivers.

So God posts His waming sigrrs andother instructions for us in His Wordbecause He loves us and wants whatis best for us, He doesn't want us tosuffer from the results of sin. Hedoesn't want us to go through life witha steering wheel (or something worse)wrapped around our necks!

When I say that, I think of all thepoor unfortunates I know who areslaves to some harmful habit they be-gan when just in their teens. I thinkof the physical and moral wreckssome people have become becausethey didn't heed C'od's waming signs.

Every human has a built-in warn-ing system from God; it's called a"conscience." Some people ignore itso often they cease to hear it. That'sa big mistake. It's there to help pro-tect us from ourselves and from thelies of the devil,

Besides a conscience, we who areChristians also have the Holy Spiritdwelling within us. He warns uswhen we're about to do somethingwrong. If we quench His voice, it'sas if we're driving blindfolded on thefreeway.

The Bible says, "Therefore weought to give the more earnest heedto the things which we have heard,lest at any time we should let themslip" (Hebrews 2:1).

God's warning signs have beenposted for our eternal benefit. To ig-nore them is sheer foolishness.I

the law. And it carr be downrightdangerous.

The same thing goes for ignoringGod's warning system. He has postedthe Christian's way with a number ofwarning signs. Many of these arefound in His Word. But you don't seea warning sign unless you look, doyou? That's why it's important for usto read His Word. "Thy word have Ihid in mine heart, that I might notsin against thee," said the psalmistfPsalm 119:11J.

God's Word is full of warning signs.First Thessalonians 5:22 waves acaution flag: "Abstain from all ap-pearance of evil." The first step in thedirection of sin is the most danger-ous.

DONOTPASS

$MRNING

srcNs!by Muriel Larson

When you drive, you see many va-rieties of road signs-stop signs, yieldsigns, slow signs, and sharp-curvesigns. What would happen if youdidn't stop at a stop sign, and a mo-torist with the right-of-way hit the in-tersection at 50 miles per hour? Youmight end up with a steering wheelwrapped around your neck!

Drivers often regard stop signsrather casually. They cruise up to thecrossroad, slow a little, glance left andright, and keep moving, Some findthemselves looking into the grim faceof a patrolman.

Then there are those speed-limitsigns. "It won't hurt to go a little overthe limit," say some drivers. Soon

FALL 1989 I-3

The GREATTURKEYHUNT

by M.|. Titus

The year 1933 will be rememberedby most people as the year of the GreatDepression, but to me and my brother,it will always be the year of the greatturkey hunt.

My brother and I were alwayscalled the Herron Twins whichwasn't true at all since )ohn was 11months older than L lohn was thequiet, studious type; and I usually gotinto trouble, or I should say, got usinto trouble.

I don't really think I should haveto take all the blame for the turkeyhunt. A lot of the blame goes to ourteacher, Miss Alexander; and a littleof the blame goes to Pokey Morn, ourpony.

We named him that because he hadto be prodded every step of the waygoing to school each morning; but heset records getting us home every

afternoon. Since I was the youngest,I rode in the saddle with lohn sittingbehind. In the afternoons, when Po-key needed a firm hand we ex-changed positions, and I hung on for"dear life." During the school day,Pokey would graze in the fencedschool pasture with several otherhorses.

We attended Willard School. Ithink it was called Willard Schoolbecause Mrs. Willard died and leftthe school board enough money fora new coat of paint and a nelv out-house. Anyway, it was a fairly mod-ern school with two rooms: one roomfor first, second, and third graders;and another room for fourth, fifth, andsixth graders. John and I were bothin Miss Alexander's room. I sat in thefifth-grade row and fohn in the sixth.

It all started Thursday morning, a

week before Thanksgiving. As usual,|ohn and I were riding the 4 milesfrom our farm home to school. Onthis particular morning, we arrivedearly for school. lohn dismounted,taking his metal lunch pail, while Ishowed Pokey to all my friends.|ackie Isler said he didn't think Icould do a back flip off Pokey's back,so I showed him. The only problemwas, as I hit the ground Pokey startedhome at a fast trot with my lunch pailstill attached to the saddle string,banging him in the side. It wasn't thefirst time John and I had to walk homefrom school, but it was the first timeI lost my lunch pail. Just then MissAlexander rang the bell for us to lineup.

When lunchtime came, John reluc-tantly shared his cold potato sand-wich and his jelly sandwich with mebut wouldn't give me any of his sugarcookies.

About the middle of the afternoon,Miss Alexander assigned us an essayon "What Thanksgiving Means toYou." I was so hungry all I could thinkabout was food, so my essay was allabout the wonderful Thanksgivingdinner that we would be having.There would be turkey with dressing,mashed potatoes, lima beans, applesalad, cranberry sauce, and fresh-baked pumpkin pie. I really outdidmyself with descriptions. I even de-scribed Mom's best tablecloth anddishes that we would be using. Theessay had to be 300 words!

The entire walk home, I kept talk-ing about food. fohn didn't say aword. I don't know if he was mad atme for letting Pokey get away or if hewas just weak from not having a fulllunch.

That night at the supper table Iasked dad when we were going to getour turkey for Thanksgiving. Icouldn't believe my ears when he saidhe was trading our neighbor, Mr.Martin, some of our canned pork fora couple of biddy hens. It seenns thatwith the depression we couldn't af-ford a turkey this year. I was reallydisappointed since I had my mouthall primed for turkey a whole weekahead of time.

As it turned out, that wasn't theworst of it. The next day at school,Miss Alexander announced to theclass that she had accepted an invi-tation to eat Thanksgiving dinnerwith the Herrons since it would betoo far to go to her parents'home dur-

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HIGTI ADVENTURE

ing such a short vacation. Having readmy essay, she told the entire classhow lucky she was to get such aninvitation, and that she would be infor a gastronomical treat. I wanted toslide through the knothole in the floorunder my desk.

While going home, I tried to thinkof a way to save face when Miss Alex-ander would arrive next Thursdayand be served two tough, old hensinstead of the huge roasted turkey Ihad promised.

That evening, as ]ohn and I walkedout into the pasture to get the familymilk cow, lohn quietly mentionedthat he had seen some wild turkeys.They had been drinking water fromthe nearly dry creek which runsacross the far corner of our pasture.That was all I needed to hear to getmy mind whirling with excitement.\tVhile lohn went after the milk, I wentafter the turkey.

Little Sugar Creek had run acrossthe pasture for so many years it hadcut a 12-foot deep gorge. I followedthe creek until I found turkey tracksaround a little water pool. My heartpounded. My reputation could besaved if only I could find a way tocapture a big wild gobbler.

After the milking was finished,fohn joined me at the spot to makeplans. We had the weekend and s

FALL 1989

days of the next r*'eek to produce apresentable Thanksgiving dinner.

We climbed the high bank, abovethe spot where the turkeys had ob-viously stopped to drink from the coolcreekbefore going into the neighbor'swoods to roost for the night. We layon our stomachs in the tall grasspeeking over the side, hardly breath-ing, waiting for the turkeys to appear.]ust as the sun was setting, we saw ahuge-black granddaddy gobblerstrutting down the creek bed. He wasfollowed by 2 hens and about 35youngsters. They didn't even lookaround but marched to the drinkingpool, bobbed their heads up anddown in the water, and paraded sin-gle file into the woods.

I didn't sleep a wink that Fridaynight. I had to create a plan to getthat gobbler. I was quite good with arope. Perhaps I could lasso him.Maybe I could borrow a rabbit trapand catch him. If only I had a rifle.Surely I could lie on the bank andshoot him when he came for his eve-ning drink. Yet, that wouldn't do. Ourmother wouldn't allow any of us tohandle a gun ever since she had heardabout some boy that had shot off hisbig toe while rabbit hunting last win-ter.

While I was losing sleep dreamingup wild ideas, John had already made

-+''

his plans, Right after breakfast, he an-nounced that we had to start trainingthat big gobbler.

We each got a pocketful of shelledcorn that had fallen from between theslats in the corncrib and walked downto the creek. We sprinkled the cornalong the sandy edge of the waterhole. At evening after hurriedly fin-ishing our chores, we lay on the cliffand watched the turkeys. They en-joyed pecking the corn and did nothurry off as quickly as they had onFriday night.

Then Sunday morning, we dug asmall cave in the side of the cliffnearby the water hole and sprinkledcorn about. In the afternoon, webrought dad's corn knife and a ballof binder twine. We gatheredbranches and formed a leafy, gridJikegate using the twine to hold it inplace.

Sunday night, we again watchedthe big gobbler rush ahead of the hensto get the larger share of the corn. Hewas getting closer and closer to ourcave, but our time was running short.

As soon as we got home from schoolMonday afternoon, we hurried tomake the cave larger and to see if the

_ gate was large enough. Again wespread corn, only this time we put

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_ cD,

L5

FRONTIERRANGERS

by Stan SinclairWhen the French Explorers, or

voyageurs, first entered the present-day states of Kentucky, Ohio, Indi-ana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wiscon-sin, they used rivers as their high-ways. The American-colonialfrontiersmen also used the rivers, butan overland route was needed fromsouth-central Indiana to the outposton the Wabash at Vincennes.

This route was created by vastherds of buffalo in their annual mi-gration from the prairies of Illinois tothe lush bluegrass and cane lands ofKentucky and Tennessee. The fron-tiersmen, as had the Indians beforethem, used the Buffalo Trace as a ma-jor east-west highway across the newIands.

The most widely traveled portionof the Buffalo Trace began at the greatfalls of the Ohio River betweenLouisville, Kentucky, and Clarks-ville, Indiana. It continued through|effersonville; New Albany; FrenchLick; to the ford in Vincennes, Indi-ana; the site of Fort Sackville; and thepresent-day George Rogers ClarkMemorial. The trace was packed hardby buffalo hoofs and passed near saltlicks, fresh-water streams, andthrough otherwise impassible canefields and forestlands. The trail wassaid to be "the width of two wagonsor more,"

Many famous people traveled theBuffalo Trace. Included were DanielBoone, General William Henry Har-rison, General fohn Tipton, ColonelAaron Burr, Colonel Francis Vigo,

Captain Toussaint Dubois, EditorElihu Stout, and Abraham Linc'..rln.

At various times, the Buffalo Tracewas called the Vincennes Trace, theClarksville Trace, the Old IndianTrail, the Trail to the Falls, the Gor'-ernors Trace, and the Buffalo Trail.Today, Highway No. 150 follorvs por-tions of the Buffalo Trace, and theGeorge Rogers Clark Memorial Bridgemarks the Wabash River ford.

At Vincennes, was an imporialtFrench fort from 7731-36, u'hen it rvassurrendered along with the OldNorthwest to the British. In February7779, George Rogers Clark took FortSackville, the territory, and the Buf-falo Trace from the British. In 1787.the Northwest Territory lt'as estab-lished by the new United States Gor-ernment. Indian terrorism increaseduntil General William Henrl' Harri-son fought the Battle of Fallen Tim-bers, and the Greenville Treatl' es-tablished an uneasy truce. La 1802,Governor Harrison negotiated for a

series of inns to be built about every25 to 30 miles along the trace. He alsonegotiated a series of treaties r+'ith theIndians for the land around the trace.However, the Indians again am-bushed, robbed, and terrorized-leading to the War of t8tz.

ln 7812, Governor Harrison ap-pointed a force of Frontier Rangers toprotect travelers on the Buffalo Trace.These men were chosen for their abil-

,t\

ity as woodsmen and served as earlyhighway patrols long before the in-vention of the automobile. They es-tablished ranger camps along the traceas bases for their patrols. The loca-tions of the Ranger camps are shownon historical maps.

Governor Harrison establishedthree ranger commands along thetrace: Vincennes to French Lick, In-diana; French Lick to the falls; andfrom the falls to Lawrenceburg, Ken-tucky. There were 150 rangers in theIndiana commands.

Certain goups within the RoyalRangers ministry have names similarto the patrols of the Buffalo Trace.

Trail Rangers are young men 15 to17 years old, Many Trail Rangers alsoserve as junior commanders. They arenot involved with patrolling thehighways, but they do serve others inmany ways, including trail improve-ments and other special projects.

The Frontiersman Camping Frater-nity is an honor society of both menand older boys who have distin-guished themselves in advancement,training, and camping. Frontiersmenpractice the early frontier skills, as-semble frontier uniforms, and worktogether learning valuable crafts topromote the Royal Rangers ministry.

Today there are many Royal Rang-ers outposts in Indiana, the home ofthe Indian and the Buffalo Trace.There are many Royal Rangers at-tending outposts in the Old North-west Territory, plus numbers of otheryoung Rangers across the UnitedStates and around the world.

As they follow in the trails of thoseearly rangers, they too, grow and serveGod, their church, and their fellow-man.l

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I

1

' : ats-'1af'#e 'Ja4 - r'5

A Miracle IsPerformed

by Gene CrawfordIt was Wednesday night, January

11, 1989, and the Royal Rangers gath-ered as they had for the past 9 yearsat First Assembly, West Helena, Ar-kansas. Yet, this was to be no ordi-nary Royal Rangers meeting. The Lordwas to perform this night the miracleof salvation for some Royal Rangers.

The weather was bad, and I wasexpecting low attendance. Yet theneighborhood boys and our churchboys soon began filtering into theroom. At starting time, we had about10 boys in the Pioneers.

Our session began as always withthe normal greetings and opening ex-ercises.

As our meeting progressed, I couldsense that the Lord was dealing withat least one of the boys. I went aroundthe table where the boys were seatedand assigned work necessary for theiradvancements.

As I worked with Brad, explainingto him the baptism in the Holy Spirit,other boys working their assignmentszeroed in on our conversation. NextI worked with Jason. I was teachinghim how to lead a person to Christby using the "Roman Road" method.Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit was pre-paring us for the miracle of salvation.

A young neighborhood boy, Ken-neth, who has been coming to RoyalRangers for the past 6 months, lookedat me as I was explaining the plan ofsalvation and said, "I want to be savedin the big church."

FALL 1989

I said, "Kennettr, you can be savedright here in class!" Kenneth agreed.I gathered all the boys around him,and we prayed. He received Christinto his life.

Kenneth's brother, Robert, said thathe wanted to receive Christ, also. An-other Royal Ranger, Chip, said he hadnever experienced salvation andwanted to be saved. Again the Pi-oneers prayed, laying their hands onthese two boys. Both were converted.

Overjoyed, I left to ask our newpastor, Donnie Sherrell, who waspraying at the time, to come and talkwith the boys. He shared with themhis happiness and their need to fol-low Christ's exarnple in water bap-tism.

I have been teaching Royal Rangersfor 7 years and have taught the "Ro-man Road" to almost 100 boys; yetnothing like this had ever happened.Seven years of prayer for Royal Rang-ers boys and teaching the plan of sal-vation, culminated in God's greatestgift-the miracle of salvation.

God works when He is ready, notwhen we want. Thank You, Lord, forthese miracles of salvation in WestHelena' * * *

]anuary 29, 1989, Kenneth andRobert Garrison, were baptized atFirst Assembly, West Helena, Arkan-sas.

Gene Craurford is the Sectional Commanderfor Section 8 in Arkansas.

The Plan ofSalvation

Paul H. Shene, |r.Our Senior Commander Dale

Brown, has long advocated LTC, andthe Greater Portland Assembly of God

fiohn Hawthorne, ]r., pastor) has hadmany commanders complete thetraining.

My wife, son, and I have diligentlytried to assimilate all the informationthat Paul Ahrens, Dwight McArthur,Bob Killin, Tom King, and HaroldHarms have dished out, and that'sconsiderable!

In mid-November, Harold Harmsgave each LTC candidate a'RoyalRangers New Testament and had usmark the plan-of-salvation Scripturepassages. We were then encouragedto practice on each other. I becameexcited about this exercise because Ireally didn't have a Scripture plan tolead someone to Christ.

The following Sunday, as a substi-tute teacher, I taught the wild-and-woolly Junior Class. For 2 weeks Itaught "The Plan of Salvation." TheHoly Spirit prompted 34 boys to ac-cept Jesus and many of these eitherwere baptized, joined Royal Rangers,or both.

Rocky Ray Robison was one ofthose saved. His testimony created adomino effect in his family. Rocky'sfamily, seeing the change Christ madein his life, were stunned when Rocky,a fourth grader, received his first Ain school. His normal grades were Csand Ds.

Late one Saturday night, my wifereceived a phone call from Rocky'smother who asked if he could be bap-tized. Not only that, but then sheasked if the entire family could bebaptized. At this point, I went to thephone with my Royal Rangers NewTestament in hand. Paula went to thebedroom to pray.

Due to the bad weather, I couldn'tgo to their home; yet I feared that agolden opportunity for Christ's workwould slip through my fingers. AfterI explained the plan of salvation to

please turn to page 14

L7

Then God spoke to me the words of my testimonyand gave me the vision to portray my experience.

that I still needed to find God, so Iset out to find Him on mY own. I didnot understand the plan of salvation.I knew only what I had learnedthrough confirmation rituals, andwhat little I could find reading themass book on Sundays.

I am about 7a Comanche from theQuahadi-Comanche Tribe. (QuannahParker was their last war chief') I hadspent most of 17 years studying theold lndian ways-the ways before thewhite man came. I knew the crafts,the rituals and ceremonies, old-way-survival skills, animal hunting, andhide tanning. In reality, I was lookingfor the Great Spirit and needed a placewhere I could go to meet Him.

I prayed to the Great Spirit, "Giveme a place on a high plateau with a

private entrance, a running creek and70-foot trees all around. I will pitchmy tepee, fast and pray, and give of-fering to you." I wanted to know whoI was, why I was on the earth, andwhat my life's mission was.

Well the Great Spirit answered mYprayer and gave me the exact place Iasked for.

L8

cated with him using my sacreddrum, my eagle-wing fan, my eagleclaws, my medicine pipe, my tradi-tional chants, and my fire-smokedances.

My methods of communicatingwith the Great Spirit were taught tome by an Indian princess from Ne-vada who I shall call Bird Woman.

Bird Woman said that she was sentby spirif all the way from Nevada justto meet me. I was to become an im-portant part of her organization-aninternational American-Indian de-velopment organization. I swallowedthis hook,line, and sinker. The truthwas, she did come as a spin f, but thisspirit was the "angel of darkness"-the enemy, Satan. I accepted this bercause I was deep into "witchcraft,ghost hunting, out-of-body experi-ences," and "magic." I had alreadYallowed 33 of Satan's angels to con-trol my life, all the time thinking thatthey were truly God's angels. Theyhad done so many good things forme.

I was soon given the title "vicepresident of American Indian Activ-

ities" in Bird Woman's organization,working with 12 major tribes in theUnited States. I was responsible forthe design, development, and oper-ation of five native Indian centers tobe built in five states. They were toaccommodate internationals whowanted to live as Indians for 3 weeks,or in other words, Fantasy Island, In-dian style.

I was so busy I could hardlY keePup with the pace. Satan will expeditethe activities he's concemed with. Butwhere was God all this time? He was

I

\

The Eagle andthe Dove

by Herman R. DeanMy real search for God began in

1974. I had been a Catholic for 52years. One evening our Priest cameby for us to sign a tithe pledge. Sincehe was available, I asked him if I couldpartake of communion without goingto confession. He said, "No!"

I told him that I would not be goingto his church any longer, that I didn'tbelieve in asking a mortal to forgivemy sins; and furthermore, that Iwouldn't be signing his Pledge'

After leaving the church, I knew

The only problem was that I soughtto converse with the departed spiritsof great Indian chiefs and continuedthe practice of witchcraft. I was look-ing for answers I could not find andwas burdened with social problemswith no solutions.

I wanted to know why minoritiesas well as the Indians were perse-cuted so unfairly and unjustly. I couldnot understand why modern civi-lized man was destroying the earth.

For 4 years I talked with \\ralanTanka, the Great Spirit. I 66mmuni-

HIGH ADVENTURE

-l

rright there, but I couldn't see Him. Ididn't want to; things were goinggood.

Well, events did turn for the worse.Earl OId Person, who was the tradi-tional chief of the Blackfoot Nation,became ill. Dallas Chief Eagle, thetraditional chief of the Teton Sioux,and my close friend, died. I also be-gan to lose confidence in the methodsfue used to communicate with theGreat Spirit.

Praying for me were mY Christianson and daughter. I finallY met with

FALL 1989

my son's pastor. I asked him if I werecommunicating with God. Aftersearching the Bible together, I wasconvinced that I was not talking toGod. Then who rvas I talking to? Thepastor showed me that if I wasn'tialking to God, then I must be talkingto Satan and his angels' I felt like a

fool that I had been deceived. Those33 angels were really demons of Sa-

tan.A few days later I went to an As-

semblies of God church with my chil-dren and accepted the Lord as mYpersonal Savior. At that very instant,I saw myself move fuom a stooPedposition-with the rvhole worldweighting me dorvn, to an upright-standing position-n'ith all the loadgone.

I was free from the worries of thepast. I had thought that I could finda way to solve the hurts of the Pastand change the n'orld for good, ButI was only striving after the wind.

Then God spoke to me the wordsof my testimonY ald gave me the vi-sion [as painted) to PortraY mY ex-perience.

It was extremel-v difficult leavingall the mystical knort'ledge and tra-ditions behind that I had leamed overthe past yearu. After I had given it allto God,I said, "Well, Lord, u'hat shallI do now?"

At present, I am a senior com-mander in the Royal Rangers minis-try. I enjoy the Rangers outdoorstheme and FCF rvhich emphasizes thefrontiersman spirit, wilderness sur-vival, and even Indian lore' So Yousee, God pruned off the bad thingsbut kept the good, and He is usingme in i mighty waY through the tal-ents and gifts He gave me' Now I usemy abilities to reach, to teach, and tokeep boys fand menJ for Christ.

Wherr I think of who I was andwhere the Lord has brought me to-day, I can only give thanks to God forHis mercy, His gtace, and His loving-kindness that He has shown me.

Once, I boasted about being a Co-manche Indian and an offspring fromQuannah Parker's tribe. Now I cansurely boast that I am a born-againChristian-an offspring of Israel-grafted in by the blood of fesus- |esu-sis my war chief who now fights allmy battles and hands me the victory'And yes, He has taken awaY the eagleand in its place given me the dove-His Holy Spirit.

Tepee inthe Sky

Not many moons ago as I PraYed tothe Great Spirit in the skY,

I sought council with spirit chiefsto answet my heart's crY.

With the owl on my shoulder and a

vision of a buffalo skull,My mind wandercd to enchanted

places, my senses grew dull.I would dream of a golden tePee in

the happy hunting grounds,Singing chants with my sacted

drum in old traditional sounds.

The Deer Woman, there with a

subtle smile on her face,Enticed me off my path to a dark

and evil place;And there I dwelt; I heard a voice-

four winters past."Stop!" Cfuist thundered, "You're

sinking fast!""Hold on to me, don't you heafi

I'lI set your feet on solid ground;fil lift you clear."

I knew then my past was all invain. None of it made sense, iustconfusion and sin.

So I answercd that voicethundering from above,

And He took away the eagle, andgave me the dove.

t ihen realized who this had to be,

You see, He was there all the time,His voice calling me.

He's made me a ptomise, I knowwi]l soon come true,

And He told me, "Go tell all theworld, and especially you,

That He's gone to preParc thatgolden tepee of dreams gone byr,

luit for you and me in His kingdomin the sky."

-,,WINTERHAWK"

Art by Heman R. Dean

L9

by Muriel LarsonDid you ever hear of a kitten and

a rat living in the same cage, to-gether? Well, scientists will try manythings in order to learn more abouthuman behavior. A Chinese biologistplaced a 3-week-old kitten in thesame compartment with a youngwhite rat to find out whether theseanimals could learn to cooperate.

After the kitten and rat became ac-customed to living and eating to-gether, a screen was placed betweenthem and their food. The only waythey could obtain their food was ifthey both pressed levers at the sametime.

The cat started playing with therat's tail, and in the scamper, bothlevers were accidentally tripped. Thescreen slid up, and there was theirdinner. But the next time the cat gothungry, he discovered that playingwith the rat's tail didn't work. Beforelong, however, whenever the rat sawthe cat's paw on his lever, he ran tothe other lever and pressed it. Thus,they learned to cooperate in order toget their food.

Cooperation between birds and an-imals of the same species has longbeen observed by naturalists and oth-ers. Parent birds work together to feed

iiiiir iru

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and to protect their fledglings. \Ion-keys at the zoo can often be seengrooming one another, removing thesmall lice that cause so much dis-comfort. Army ants roll themselvesinto a ball in order to float across ariver. Bees work together for the ben-efit of their colony, each bee har-ingits particular job.

The same is true in the rvorld ofmen. Whenever communities andcivilizations have developed in var-ious parts of the world, thel' hat'edone so because people cooperatedtogether. Some people grerv food;some cared for the children; somehunted and fished for meat; aad somemanufactured the clothing, pottery,and other items that were needed indaily living. The people that learnedbest to cooperate together lvere the

nd

verted into any one of a dozen dif-ferent deficrous dishes (said the TM'sJwith the mere addition of water anda touch of GI ingenuity. The medic-inal odor mingled with grayish-greenpallor of a mess kit, filled with thisversion of barnyard fruit, would con-vert any "4-F" outfit into a bunch ofcommandos.

ones who advanced the most.So it is in the family. It is said,

"The family that prays together, staystogether." But also, the family thatrvorks together harmoniously is muchhappier, as well as much more pleas-ing to God, than a family that doesn'tcooperate. Family members who ap-preciate what each other contributesto the good of the family will respondby wanting to do their share.

The Bible says, "Be kindly affec-tioned one to another with brotherlylove; in honor preferring one an-other" (Romans l2:7O). If we seekGod's help in developing this atti-tude toward the other members in ourfamilies, then our lives will enrichtheirs and will radiate Christ's loveand humility.l

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HIGH ADVENTURE

rirr tfir,t.l:r:ii i.lt,tl

r-t r .rtcolored substance that could be con-

Ll0

by Tom and |oanne O'TooleWhen housing isn't available in one

place, people have to look elsewhereio live. It'i the same with small ani-mals. If they can't find shelter forthemselves and their families, theymove away.

However, with a little imaginationand some effort, wildlife can be at-hacted to housing you create for them.And they will probably take uP res-idence.

As the woodlands are destroYedand reduced, and the Iand is clearedfor developments, housing, andfarming, the wildlife population isbeing deprived of its natural shelters.The loss of the natural habitat goes

hand in hand with the loss of wild-life.

There are some peoPle who live onmulti-acre tracts of land with run-ning streams, with stands of hees, andposiibly with more small animalsihan they ever wanted. Others aren't

as fortunate, and in these cases, ar-tificial shelters can keep wildlife inthe area; and the animals can be en-ticed to set up housekeePing.

To build your burow, find a nicesheltered area. Select a spot at theedge of the woods, along the fence,or somewhere else that the wildlifewon't feel threatened. Then dig a holeabout 18 inches square, and tz inchesdeep. Use hardwood for the foursidewalls but leave the floor natural.The removable roof (topJ should fitsnugly into place at ground level. Thetop can be covered with twigs andbrush to give a natural appearance.

The entranceways for the animals

should be clay tiles angled from op-posite bottoms of the burrow to theiurface. For a snug fit, semicirclesshould be cut at the bottom of the boxwhere the tiles will enter. It's best tohave at least two entrancewaYs.

Make sure you place these artificialburrows in a well-drained area, andnear good cover.

It is important you do nof aPPIYpaint, a protective coating, cteosote,or other substance to the wood. Leaveit natural, and the drabber, the better.The whole purpose is for it to blendinto the surroundings.

Nests and Dens

and 16 inches high. The top shouldbe slanted so that rainwater will runoff, and it should be hinged for an-nual cleaning. A 3- to 4-inch-diam-eter entrance should be at the top ofthe box (near the tree trunk), and anexha piece of wood just below theopening, will act as a step or ledge.

Presto! An instant home for thesquirrels, and no mortgage. Onceyou've got the concept, you'll Prob-

OTES FOR

ILDTIFEBurrows Squirrels enjoy living in artificial

For ground dwellers, you can eas- dens.ily ma-ke an artificial home. Just re- Your dens can take endless-sha-pesrnember, skunks are ground dwell- and sizes, and be built out of hollowers, too, so there is noissurance you logs, nail kegs, and old tires. Perhapswill always have ttrose cute, little the easiest, is to build youl own lec-bunnies for residents. tangular box, about 8 inches squale,

{3f^rd

o BoTTOt^IN BOX

ably build two or three just to createyour own neighb-orhood' I

SQUIRREL DEN

K$x

FALL T989

ARTIFICIAL BURROI^I

,u; !3) , ., 'a:;i'.,

It has been 10 years since that Sun-day morning when the pastor madethis plea: "A new ministry for boysis beginning and workers areneeded." The ministry was calledRoyal Rangers-something similar tothe Boy Scouts-from what I under-stood. From those first moments, itstruck me as something with the po-tential of being very special. Lookingback, I recall the clarity with whichGod spoke to my heart.l enlisted andbecame a part of this dynamic min-istry.

At 77,I was a first-year student atOral Roberts University, having grad-uated a year early from high school.I had big plans, not the least of whichwas to become a medical doctor. Godhad even bigger plans!

We started Royal Rangers at Car-bondale Assembly of God, Tulsa,Oklahoma, in October 1979. I wasquite "green," but was encouraged towork where I felt comfortable. At firstI taught a Bible study here and there,a few devotions, helped with recre-

Ltz

by David B. North

ation, or any number of other things.I felt better prepared as a leader aftercompleting the Leadership TrainingCourse.

But the day came when it u'as timeto return home for the summer. Iwould miss the boys I had taught.

That was my first association rvitha Rangers group; yet I will never for-get those boys who made commit-ments to Christ and began to IearnHis ways, Since that time, I haveworked with three other Rangers out-posts. Those experiences, havingchanged my life, cannot be expressedin a few pages.

I remember a boy from the streetsof Columbus, Ohio, who came to ouroutpost. Although still in houble withthe law, he seemed enthusiastic abouthis new Royal Rangers friends, OneTuesday night in the Trailblazersmeeting, Bruce gave his life to Je-sus-not just a quick raising of thehand and insincere prayer-but a life-hansforming commitment. Bruce wasplaced in a juvenile detention center

that same week. I was never allowedto visit him but was able to have theRoyal Rangers Bible Study coursesdelivered to him. I returned to col-Iege before his release, but I knowthat his conversion experience wasreal and permanent.

Matthew, a Trailblazer fromSpringfield, Missouri, taught me vol-umes about "what it means to be aChristian." On a canoeing trip, aftera flash flood had occurred just s hoursupstream from us, Matthew helpedbuild the motivation and positiveoutlook of the other bovs. Thoie sevenboys learned how teamwork couldaccomplish a common goal.

A few months later, that same groupwent on a backpacking trip to Her-cules Glades Wilderness area, lo-cated in southern Missouri. The en-tire campout was geared towardbuilding unity within the group (bodyministry). In a mock-disaster situa-tion, the boys came through! Theyfound me lying at the bottom of acliff, from the top of which I had sup-

HIGH ADVENTURE

posedly fallen, and was now uncon-scious and bleeding, ImmediatelYthey prayed and asked for God to helpthem save my life. Had I really beenhurt, my life would have been savedby five boys who had learned themeaning of teamwork.

As we were hiking out of theGlades, one of the boys decided hejust couldn't carry his Pack anYlonger. I carried it for about 20 min-utes when Matthew said, "Here, letme carry that!" Then, before long, an-other boy relieved Matthew. Thatnight we had a communion servicearound the campfire. As we servedeach other, the presence of God be-came so real. These memories willnever be forgotten.

In 1984, I accompanied eight of mYFCF Rangers to the National Rendez-vous in Hungry Horse, Montana. Theboys in our van began to sing: "Listento the Lord as He speaks softly. Listento the words of a perfect man. Listento the miracle God incarnate. Listeneven when you don't understand."What incredible sensitivity and un-derstanding from the hearts of boyswho had learned the importance ofunity in very practical ways throughtheir many experiences in RoYalRangers.

It seems I have spent much timetalking about the importance of un-ity. Come to think of it, that's reallythe essence of what I have to saY.

Memories your boys will treasuremost from Royal Rangers, will not bethe things they did, as much as thefriendships they made. Those will bethe times their commander stoPPedlong enough to listen or to pray withthem. Those will be the experiencesof feeling God's presence with othershaving common interests and con-cerns. Activities are wonderful op-portunities for building relation-ihips. The activities, in and ofthemselves, however, are only thingsthat we do. Friendships involve whowe are. And that, in the context ofChristianity, is an eternal proposi-tion.

Royal Rangers provides unique oP-portunities for the building of lastingfriendships-everlasting for thatmatter-with others of like faith andwith almighty God. When we viewthis as the most important thing we'redoing, then we trulY enter into therealm of ministry through buildingmemories that last-Ior eternitY!

FALL 1989

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L13

A Quick and Easy Energy Snackcontinued from page 1O

Yet there was one delicious snackin the K rations, which not only wasnutritious, but could be eaten with-out holding one's nose. It was knownas the fruit bar and was made from avariety of nature's confections. It washigh in energy-producing minerals,would keep indefinitely, and couldbe eaten as any ordinary candy bar.With the diet of GI's in the field alaxative was always needed, and thefruit bar provided it.

A year ago, while touring the hin-terlands of New Brunswick, I cameupon a group of fellow anglers fromConnecticut who were carrying fruitbars. The bars were even better thanthe GI brand-no line was necessaryto get it-and they were homemade.I was told that they were often carriedin the creel or pack, and a few of themwould keep one alive for days whilethe entire county was searching forhim.

Here is the recipe:

1 box of seeded raisins1 box of pitted prunes1 package of figs1 cup of dried apricotsYz crtp of chopped lemon peel1 cup or more of sweet cider

The raisins, prunes, and figs shouldbe ground coarsely. Add them to alarge bowl, and then add coarselychopped apricots and peel. Slowlypour cider over the fruit until it isworkable. Knead with hands; thenpress into a shallow cake pan whichhas been lined with waxed paper, andrefrigerate.

When firm, slice into bars and wrapin waxed paper. Store in a cool place,

Dates may be used, but sugar crys-tals have a tendency to form on thisfruit which causes it to dry out andbe tasteless. The moist texture of thefruit bar is one of its features.

When you take to the woods at theopening of deer season or embark ona hike, several of these can be carriedin a coat pocket with ease. Even iffrozen solidly, they are still palata-ble, providing you haven't forgottenyour dentures.

If you're an ex-dogface, as soon asyou eat one of these, you'll want toreach for those OD's again. They're

licious!

The Great Turkey Huntcontinued from page 5

most of the corn just outside our man-made cave and a little pile, tempt-ingly placed, just inside. Lying on ourstomachs at sundown, we watchedthe greedy gobbler follow the trail ofcorn right to the cave entrance. Hestretched his long, naked neck, drag-ging his wattles in the sand, to reachthe corn inside the cave,

The following day, we placed a rockabout 6 inches outside the cave en-trance. We braided the binder twinemaking a rope, thus suspending thegate over the edge of the cliff. There,we could drop it, trapping the gob-bler inside the cave. The rock wouldkeep the gate in place until we couldget down the cliff. Again we saltedcorn at the entrance and deep insidethe cave trusting the gobbler wouldnot notice our preparations.

Tomorrow would be the dav. \1'ewould have only once chance to catchhim. If we missed, we could neverfool him again. Either we would haveturkey or humiliation for Tha-n-ksgir,-ing dinner.

I couldn't sleep Thursday night,and the next day at school rvas ter-rible. Miss Alexander caught me day-dreaming, so I had to stay after schooland clean erasers. I couldn't believemy bad luck and neither could lohn.He just glared at me while Pokeypranced and I cleaned the erasers thefastest, ever.

We rushed through our milkingchores and took extra corn for ourtrap. The waiting seemed for hoursbefore the turkeys finally appeared. Iwas breathless with excitement. Johnwould handle the rope to the trap-door. His nerves were calmer thanmine, and he could probably getdown the bank faster,

Old Mr. Gobbler seemed slowergoing after the corn tonight. For awhile, it appeared that we might geta hen instead. ]ust when I was gettingused to the idea that a hen turkeywould be better than no turkey, theold gobbler pushed past the hen andwent for the food, way in the back ofthe cave.

Wham! Down went the trapdoor. Ithrew myself down the bank, fallingand rolling to the creek bed. Turkeyswere flying everywhere. I forced allmy weight against our makeshift gateas the big gobbler slammed againstthe other side. The air was so full of

sandy dust from the beating of wings,I could hardly see.

SoonJohn was at my side, We wereexcited with our prize catch but stillafraid that he would escape. The tur-key was putting up a strong-heroicfight. We had him, but he had us. Wecouldn't move for fear he would forcethe gate open.

It was a good thing John hadplanned ahead. I hadn't given anythought as to how we would get theturkey home, once captured. But Johnhad a braided binder-twine noose tiedaround his wrist which he eventuallygot around one of the turkey's scaledlegs, It wasn't easy since the big birdwas sporting 2-inch spurs and wasusing them with all his might. Weeventually got both legs tied togetherand stuck a carrying stick betweenthem.

It should have been a simple mat-ter, to march proudly home with ourThanksgiving prize suspended up-side down between us. Such was notthe case. We were both flogged,pecked, and scratched.

Johrr and I were the two proudestkids imagiaable when we served MissAlexander the toughest Thanksgiv-ing dinner any of us had ever eaten.I am sure she has never forgotten it,nor will we ever forget the great tur-key hunt of 1933. I

Sound the Trumpetcontinued from page 7

Tama and her husband, Mike, bothwere saved.

On November 20, 1988, Rocky, hisparents, his grandmother, and two ofhis uncles, having accepted Christ,were baptized. Virginia Pulos,Rocky's grandmother, having cometo the service in a wheelchair, as-cended the stairs to the baptisterywith the use of her cane and the helpof her son.

Following the praise service, Mrs,Pulos asked if the elders of the churchwould pray for her, anointing herwith oil.

She walked from the sanctuary toher car unaided by any means. Mrs.Pulos asked only if it would last.

I can witness that thus far, it has.

Paul H. Shene, fr. is a commander at GreaterPortland Assembly of God, Outpost 27, Port-land, Oregon.

Lt4 HIGH ADVENTURE

Designer labels have gone crazy. Iwent into a pet shop a few days ago,and saw two dog sweaters with labelson them reading, Pierre Cardog, andGoochie Poochie.

My parents loved scrapping. Dur-ing one of their more memorablecombats, my father grabbed twosheets of paper, handed Mom one,and said, "Let's write down every-thing we don't like about each other."

Mom wrote busily while Dad satand glowered at her. Whenever shewould stop to think, he would writesomething on his paper. At last theyexchanged papers. My mother grewbeet-red and said, "I want my paperback!"

On his sheet, Dad had writtennothing but "I love you, I love you,I love you."

* * *

A tourist from Florida was shop-ping in a California gtocery store.Loving to tease, he picked up a hon-eydew melon and asked the clerk, "Isthis the largest watermelon you cangrow in California?"

Without batting an eyelash, theclerk replied, "ff you don't mind,we'd rather you didn't handle thegxapes."

Martha f. BeckmanGranada Hills, CA

WA?

A middle-aged couple were sun-ning themselves on the beach.

"You know Harry," said the wifedreamily, "this is the first time we'veever been anywhere without thekids."

"Yes, Mary, but I kind of miss them.Throw to*u t:"u*'".*' face"'

A father took his young son on acamping weekend just to show himhow to rough it. Cupping his handsinto the water in a mountain stream,he explained what he was doing.

"You're not going to drink that, areyou?" said the wide-eyed boy.

"Of course," said the father, emp-tying his cupped hands into hismouth.

"Wow, Dad," said the boy. "I didn'tmean the water; I meant the tadpole."

Thomas LaMancePrewitt, NM

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FALL 1989

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L15

Reachingthe

Unreachable

"You're a Royal Ranger; you're aRoyal Ranger!" Calvin was saying.

"Why, yes, I am," I replied, flab-bergasted.

"I'm a Royal Ranger, too," he an-nounced proudly, "I joined lastweek!"

With that, the little 7-year-olddarted down the hallway and out thedoor to tell his mom about a newfriend at school. At last, he had foundidentity in a most unexpected way.

I haven't taught Calvin's class sincethen. I understand that he still hasproblems, but whenever the regularteacher wants to motivate Calvin, hepromises him a visit from that "RoyalRanger friend." And sure enough, Idrop by every Friday afternoon justto make that promise good.

I always wear my leader's jacketeven though the days are gettingwarm now. And I smile every time Iremember how the emblem we lead-ers wear so proudly, unlocked a littleboy's world.I

by fohn Eller

It was a morning with emergenciesas usual. The alarm was 30 minuteslate, my electric razor quit, and thephone was ringing "off the hook,"Then the principal from a nearbyschool district called asking that Isubstitute for a teacher who was sick.

"Sure, I'll be over shortly," I heardmyself saying, and wondered all theway to school why I should take onanother emergency.

When I arrived, I was shown to asmall room at the end of a hallwaymarked, "Special Education." I knewat a glance it would be a day of work-ing with children who had learningdisabilities.

The principal tried to brief me onwhat to expect and ended the 2-min-ute crash course by saying, "Watchout for Calvin. He's a little guy withsome big problems that even have theexperts baffled right now."

The bell rang shortly, and the little

L16

room began to fill with'faces of dif-ferent ages which bore the sad. some-times heartbreaking, countenance ofthe emotionally disturhed. Under mybreath I asked God to grant me ac-ceptance just this 1 day among livesso precious and fragile.

The day went well, except for Cal-vin. Like the rest of the class of twogirls and seven boys, he was excep-tionally bright, intellectually. Every-one tried to reach him, but he was sowithdrawn from his environment thatby the time the day was ending, I wasglad it was about over for both of us.

The other children had alreadygone to their lockers when I reachedfor my jacket, As I pulled the zipper,Calvin spoke for the first time. He wasall excited and was pointing at mychest. The noise attracted his class-mates from the hallway who stood byin amazement as Calvin jumped andlaughed.

HIGH ADVENTURE

led a band of young braves to greetthe sailors. Armed seamen seizedSquanto and tg other Pawtuxet [paw-TUX-et) Indians.

Once again he was imprisonedaboard a British merchant ship. Ratsscampered across the damp holdwhere the Indians were chained.Scarce provisions, a stormy trip, andcontinual seasickness took their toll.Several Indians were buried at sea.By the time they reached the Spanishslave-port of Mdlaga, Squanto wasvery weak.

One by one the surviving braveswere pushed up onto the auctionblock to be sold. Finally it wasSquanto's tum. He could barely stand."Senores, what will you bid for thisstrong Indian?" the slave traderrasped. A brown-robed monk nod-ded and the auctioneer grinned. "Soldto the brothers of the monastery."

A heavy pouch of coins exchangedhands and the monk led Squantohome. At last his wrists were untied.A friar brought fresh water and plentyof food, though Squanto could onlyeat a little.

" 'Estas libre!' You are free."Squanto looked into the clear eyes ofthis man of God. Though he knew noSpanish, he understood. Over thenext few weeks he pieced it together.Their love for Jesus had promptedthese Christian brothers to buy In-dian slaves and teach them the Chris-tian faith. As the monks nursed himback to health, Squanto began to lovethis Jesus, too.

Yet he longed for home. The Indianused his command of English to finda fishing boat headed for London,where he rejoined his explorerfriends. Again, Squanto became aguide for explorations of the NewWorld. Years passed. The day finallycame when he saw the familiar coast-lands of home. Once more he wasgranted permission to go ashore.

No one greeted Squanto at thebeach. He ran to his village. The bark-covered roundhouses were empty.Not even a dog barked. Graves out-side the village told the story.Samoset, his friend from a neighbor-ing tribe, could bring little comfort."A white man's sickness struck yourpeople. One week, all dead. Manyvillages lie silent like Pawtuxet."

Squanto's emptiness over-whelmed him. Parents, brothers, sis-ters, forever gone. He wandered the

forests for weeks in his grief. Finallyhe went to live with his friend,Samoset.

One cold December morning, 6months after he returned, Squantowatched the white sails of a ship growon the stormy horizon. This time hehid as the men came ashore. Theirclothes looked different from thoseworn by sailors and the fancy Englishofficers he had seen on other ships.Broad hats and great black capesshielded them from the biting wind.He could glimpse white caps and longdresses of women aboard the ship an-chored in the bay, Often he saw chil-dren playing on the deck. As greenleaves came to clothe barren trees,the settlers began to build houses onthe very place where his village hadstood. Day after day Squanto watchedintently, but he kept himself hidden.

Samoset urged him to meet thesesettlers. A cry went up as the Indiansstrode into the settlement. Mengrabbed for their muskets.

The Indians Iifted their hands ingreeting. "My name is Squanto. Thisis Samoset. We come in peace." Thesettlers were astounded. An Indianwho spoke clear English? The Pil-grims lowered their muskets and in-vited the Indians to share their mea-ger food.

The sun had set by the timeSamoset got up to leave, but Squantohesitated. Many of the settlers hadalready died from disease and win-ter's bitter cold. There was little food.Yet they weren't giving up. Hethought of his old village's battle withdeath. "You go," Squanto told hisfriend in their Indian tongue, "l'mstaying. This is my home, my village.These will be my new people."

Squanto turned to the leaders."May I stay with you? I can help you.I know where you can find foods inthe forest."

The white men studied the Indiancarefully. Could he be trusted? Still,the struggling colony was in no po-sition to refuse help. "Yes, pleasestay!"

That spring and summer Squantoproved his worth many times over.He led them to brooks alive with her-ring beginning their spring migrationupstream. He showed the settlers howto fish with traps. He taught themwhere to stalk game in the forest. Thechildren learned what berries theycould pick for their families. Twenty

acres of corn grew tall after Squantoshowed the Pilgrims how to plant fishwith the native corn seeds from a lo-cal tribe.

Once a hostile tribe captur.edSquanto. "If he is killed," shoutedtheir chief, "the English have iosttheir tongue." A small Pilgrim forcearrived just in time, firing their mu-skets in the air. The terrified chiefreleased his captive and fled. Squantorepaid the Pilgrims' favor. His bar-gaining skills kept neighboring tribesfrom attacking the small PlymouthColony.

In the fall the Pilgrims planned afeast to celebrate God's merciful help.Squanto was sent to invite friendlyChief Massasoit and his braves.

They gathered around tables spreadwith venison, roasted duck and goose,turkey, shellfish, bread, and vegeta-bles, with woodland fruits and ber-ries for dessert. Before they ate, thePilgrim men removed their wide-brimmed hats and the Indians stoodreverently as the governor led themin solemn prayer.

"Thank You, great God, for thebounty You have supplied to us.Thank You for protecting us in hard-ship and meeting all our needs. . ."Toward the end of the long prayer,Squanto was startled to hear his ownname. "And thank You for bringingto us the Indian, Squanto, Your ownspecial instrument to save us frornhunger and help us to establish ourcolony in this new land." Squantostood proudly. It was a day to re-member.

Two years passed. Squanto laymortally ill, struck by a raging feverwhile scouting west of Plymouth. Heturned over in his mind the events ofhis strange life. It almost seemed thata plan had led him. The first time hewas captured he learned English. Thesecond time, he was freed by gentleChristians who taught hirn to trust inJesus. And though his own peoplehad died of sickness, God had senthim to a new people who built theircolony where his old village oncestood.

Pilgrim leader William Bradfordknelt at Squanto's bedside" "Pray forme, Governor," the Indian whis-pered, "that I might go to the English-men's God in heaven." Squantobreathed his last in November '|OZZ-gone from the New World, but en-tering a heavenly one.

FALL 1989

ADVENTUREClimbing a volcano, hiking through a desert, camp-

ing on a mountain-these are things that any RoyalRanger would dream of doing sometime in his life.My dreams became reality, as these are only some ofthe things I did during the last 2 years while servingas a United States Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya,East Africa.

This year marks my 20th year as a Royal Ranger. Iearned all the advancement ratings from Pioneers toTrail Rangers, including the Gold Medal of Achieve-ment, the Gold Buffalo, and the Silver Buffalo. WhenI left for Kenya in 1986, I didn't take these awards withme, but I did take the learning they represent. Manytimes my Royal Rangers training helped me meet thechallenges that I faced in the African bush. The Rangermotto, "Ready," became my daily motto.

Ready To WorkI was posted at a small secondary school in the mid-

dle of a semiarid plain. I had no electricity or runningwater.

After one especially heavy rain, we found that theschool's pit latrines had collapsed and had to be re-placed soon; or the school would have to close. I tookcharge of the project. Using available materials, wewere able to build new latrines designed to keep therain from washing them away again. It was work I hadnever done before, but Rangers had taught me to solveproblems using available means.

Because of my ingenuity, I was later asked to gowith a group of people from the Kikuyu Tribe to helpbuild a church for the Masai Tribe. Not long ago, Ki-

l0

kuyu aad Masai warriors might have met on this sameground to fight, but now they were working togethergathering stones to build a church. It was exciting tobe there helping, also.

Before we left, I traded my camping knife for a Masaiwarrior's spear. I was glad I had been ready to work.Ready To Play

Free time in the bush was usually spent preparingfor the next day's work, but occasionally there wassome time for fun. I enjoyed showing my studentsinteresting things to do. One particularly boring Sun-day afternoon, I took some bamboo sticks, string, anda little wrapping paper, and taught the boys how tomake a kite. Many had never seen a kite before, but itdidn't take long for them to become experts in kiteflying.

School breaks were a chance for me to meet withother peace corps volunteers for a little recreation.During one break, my friend Rex and I climbed into adormant volcano. Inside we found a large, flat space,dense with trees and plants. We climbed down thetreacherous walls to the crater bottom and campedovernight. We didn't have a tent, so we built a shelterfrom branches and grass, in case it rained. There arebaboons that live inside the crater, so we had to keepa fire burning all night to keep them away. I had agreat time because I have the campcraft skills thatmade me ready to play.Ready To Serve

Helping others is an important part of being a peacecorps volunteer and a Royal Ranger. Teaching and

by Brian Brolin

HIGH ADVENTURE

building were things I did, but first aid was one of themost important services I gave. Treating cuts, scrapes,and sprains was a weekly chore for me. The lack ofproper medicines and bandages was a problem, but Icontinually stressed the importance of cleanliness.During my 2 years there, I saw no serious infections.

One weekend I went camping with some friends,Scott and K.B. We backpacked about 10 miles in thescorching heat to a beautiful gorge in a game park. Atnightfall we set up camp and began to prepare supper.Suddenly K.B. squealed out in pain; He had cut hishand. It was a deep cut, but I was soon able to stopthe bleeding. Then K.B. began to show signs of shock.My first aid training had taught me the s5rmptoms andproper treatment. It was a dangerous situation; yet wewere too far away for other medical help. I silentlyprayed, and settled K.B, down by the fire, with somereassurance and a cup of hot tea. K.B. recovered be-cause I was ready to serve.

Ready To ObeyDoing what you're told isn't always easy. I obeyed

my directors and supervisors because they were incharge. But once I had to accept somebody else's ad-vice, and it wasn't so easy.

My friend Rex and I set off one morningrto trek about25 miles up Mount Rutungu on the northwest side ofMount Kenya. It took 3 days to climb to the peak, andwe really enjoyed the hike.

The morning of the third day, we left our gear atour base camp so we could explore the steep peakmore easily. On the side of the peak, opposite the basecamp, we saw a small lake and climbed down a sheercliff to reach it. We needed to refill our canteens forthe 2S-mile return trip down the mountain. When wereached the lake, we discovered the water to be stag-nant and undrinkable. We started down a game trail,thinking it would surely lead us to water. Darknesswas approaching fast, and Rex suggested we head backto camp. At my insistence, we continued down thetrail even though a still, small voice inside me said,Listen to Rex. Another mile-we still had not foundwater.

Finally I decided to follow Rex's advice. As weheaded back to camp, Rex said, "I think we need to

FALL 1989

run, else we lose the daylight and possibly miss thepath to the camp." I really didn't see the need, but Iobeyed Rex. Five miles later-just as it got too darkto see-we arrived at our camp. Thirsty and very tired,we bedded down; but by finally being ready to obey,we were safe.

Ready To WorshipEvery morning I would awaken to see the sun rise

over Mount Kenya and every evening see it set behindthe Aberdare Range. I wasn't able to attend an English-speaking church, often, but was always ready to wor-ship God at these special times of day.

Music is an important part of worship to the Afri-cans. I helped start a club called Christian Union atmy school. We would meet weekly and have a timeof devotion, singing, and prayer. The students wanteda drum for the meetings, so I told them how the RoyalRangers raise money for needed things. It wasn't longbefore they had enough money to buy a nice goatskindrum.

The drum got more students interested in the club,and soon local churches were inviting the ChristianUnion to take part in their worship services. With theuse of the drum, we were always willing and ready toworship.Ready To Live, Etc.

I learned many lessons throughout my years as aRoyal Ranger and as a peace corps volunteer in Kenya.But above all, I learned: to live a really good life, youhave to get ready to live it. But it takes a little morethan just getting ready.

My favorite saying in the Kenyan Swahili languageis "Kaa Chonjo." It means, "Stay Ready." To be goodRangers, volunteers, and Christians, we must "getteady" and "stay ready." Living by the Ranger Code,we truly become "Ready for anything," whether it'sliving an African adventure, or living in your home-town.

"Kaa Chonjo!" I

ll

Royal Ranger Brian Brolin.

One of the many girafres in Naivasha, Kenya.

The Mission continued hom page 3

him, Did one pray for a dog as he did for human lovedones?

At last he found a clue, dog tracks in the mud, fol-lowing the bayou. In the pirogue he dipped the muckpole, watching the tracks on the bank. Ahead a moc-casin slid off a pile of debris and disappeared in thebrackish water,

. He cupped his hands and shouted again. No answer.He liked to assure himself that he knew the swamplike the back of his hand. Yet, he was never bittertoward it. He remembered his mother's words: "Don'thate anything the Lord has created, Son, There is apurpose behind it."

Soon afterward, his mother succumbed to surgeryin a nearby hospital, Yet, he still remembered hercounsel.

Again Matt checked for Rock's tracks, no longer inthe mud. But he saw something else-large animaltracks that were mysterious. There aren't any big an-imals in the swamp except the black bear. And thesearen't a bear's ffacks.

His muck pole sent the pirogue around a bend, andhe jerked up, surprised. A pirogue, much like his own,was drawn up on the mud of a turpentine flat.

Johnny Prell's boat!Matt dug with the muck pole, moving ahead, his

brow furrowed. Why would Johnny be in the swampat this tr'me? Good question, but none of his business,really! He dug with the muck pole once more to quickenhis speed. Then he held it in midair, thinking. /s ifright to pass up Johnny's boat? He is herc somewhere,possibly on the turpentine llat. Could he be injured,or ill? He could have blundered on a moccasin. Friendor not, was it imperative that he check? Some tinyvoice of conscience said, Yes, it is necessary.

He turned the pirogue and headed back. He beachedthe craft alongside the other boat and stepped into themuck. Was Johnny trailing his dog? Why? Surely notto kill him!

Now, his pirogue beached on the mud flat, Matt sawfootprints leading off to higher ground. Johnny Prell's,of course! But still there was no answer to the riddle.

Then an animal's snarl drew him up short. There itwas, in the low branches of a dead fir, a huge cat.

It looks like a leopard! But there are no leopards inthe swamp!

There it was, above the path, ready to spring!Fear traumatized him. Momentarily his sanity re-

turned. He was at the cat's mercy, If it leaped uponhim, he could not possibly survive. Dear God, helpme!

If only Rock were here! But he didn't have his dog,and besides, no firearm.

Time passed-seconds or hours?Then a voice, coming from the murk-|ohnny Prell's

voice."Don't move a muscle, Matt!"The cat flexed its muscles for the leap downward,

Then came the staccato crack of a rifle. The cat's bodyseemed to halt in midair. The rifle cracked again andthe animal fell to the ground, almost at his feet.

"Over here, Matt!"

t2

Trembling, Matt wormed through the palmetto,There was Johnny Prell, his back against a turpentinepine, the rifle across his knees.

"My teeth are still chattering. You saved my life!""Maybe you're saving mine," added Prell. "I took a

fall and my ankle hurts too bad to step on it.""Let's take a look," Matt said, hunkering down. With

|ohnny's boot off, he saw the swelled ankle."Boy, did you show up at the right time!" remarked

Iohnny."But the leopard still doesn't make sense to me.

There are no big cats in the swamp.""Circus train had a wreck. Several big animals es-

caped but were later captured. This leopard, consid-ered dangerous, got away in the swamp. They askedme to go in and track it down."

"Got a bad sprain, Johnny, but no break. I'll makea bandage out of an old tarp in the boat."

"I was tracking the cat," Johnny continued, "readyto turn back, for the fog was coming in. Then I spottedyour dog."

"Old Rock?""He had trailed the cat, then tangled with it.""So Rock's dead!""No, he's cut up some, but not dead."Matt, making Johnny comfortable under a big pine,

suddenly held out his hand."We've never been buddies, |ohnny, but we can

change that.""You don't owe me!""Yes, I do! But that's just one reason. We like the

samethings...."Johnny held out his hand. "Let's shake on it, Matt.

Now's the time to make a new start,"There was still something unsaid in Matt's eyes and

sober face. "I've got a confession to make, Johnny.When i saw your boat, I didn't stop. I knew it wasyours. But I didn't ask myself if you might be hurt-tangled with a moccasin, needing help,"

"You're taking words out of my mouth, We've gota conscience, both of us. I saw Rock fighting the cat,and just watched. He was getting mauled, but stillwouldn't back off. Then I realized I had to help. So Ifired a shot over the head of the cat, and it took off."

"You knew Rock was mine?""That's right. I was backing off , trying to get a second

shot at the cat when I tripped. Went down hard."Matt smiled. "These two confessions clear the slate."From the palmettos came a whine, a low bark, and

Rock limped into view. Matt saw his torn hide, a gashin his hip. But Rock's head was high and his tail waggedfuriously.

Did one pray for a dog?He had, and his prayer hadbeen answered in a very unusual way.

"Fog's too thick to make it back tonight," he said tofohnny. "I'll go down to the boat and get the survivalfood, Then we'll make a shelter under this pine."

"We'll have plenty to talk about," Johnny said. "Andit'll be a good talk!"

There was no need to answer that, just a pat on theshoulder.

Matt was wondering if lohnny knew about prayer.time to find out.This might be a

HIGH ADVENTURE

The Beluga Incidentcontinued from page 7

on, unaware that a different kind ofshark was thirsting for her blood. Nowand then, she'd swim to the surfaceto oxygenate herself, then submergeand swim ahead, joyfully anticipat-ing a day of fun with the children.She did not see nor hear the bulletsslicing the water around her.

Commander Jack Penny, and Lieu-tenant Kurt Waller, both belonging tothe local Sea Rangers outpost, hap-pened to be cruising back to port intheir launch, the Sea Dragon, The-vwere excellent scuba divers and hadbeen out since dawn spearing fish.Four large blackfish and three sea bass

were mute testimony to their keenmarksmanship. Both were avid fish-ermen and equally dedicated to fairplay and using their expertise to pre-serve the environment.

Jack was at the helm, while Kurtsat beside him, idly scanning theseascape with his binoculars. Kurtsuddenly tensed and swung theglasses back to observe a speedingboat in n'hich stood a lone figure. Theman had a rifle and was firing atsomething.

"lack, rvhat do you make of this?"Kurt said, passing the glasses to hispartner, "lt looks like someone thinksthe-v're in a shooting gallery."

Peering through the glasses, Jackquickly swung the Sea Dragon around

to follow in the other craft's wake. "Itlooks like he's firing at a shark, Kurt.Say-wait a minute!" He slid off hisseat. "Take the wheel, Buddy," hesaid, again peering through thebinoculars, "That isn't a shark, Kurt.I think it's that beluga whale every-one is talking about. And that fool istrying to kill it." Jack ducked belowand returned with a bullhorn.

"Why would anybody want to harmthat friendly creature?" Kurt said,pulling back the throttle. "He mustbe some kind of a nut."

"Worse than that, Kurt." Jack raisedthe megaphone to his lips and calledout, "Hey, man! That's a small whale,not a shark. Stop firing at it!"

Startled, the man looked over hisshoulder at the pursuing craft, thenlaid his gun aside. He veered in adifferent direction, fearful of theRangers catching him. But they weremore concerned about the belugawhale; it hadn't surfaced in quite awhile. Then their worst fear becamereality: The whale had been woundedand was leaving a trail of blood in itswake,

"There it is, Kurt." fack pointed toa sandy inlet where the whale lay,almost beached.

"It doesn't seem to be moving,"Kurt said, suddenly feeling great sor-row. "I'll cruise in slowly so as notto frighten it." He throttled the motordown, and soon they felt the hullscraping the sandy bottom.

lack immediately jumped over theside into waist-deep water. He wadedquietly over to the still form and ex-amined her. Blood was seeping froma bullet hole near her spine.

Suddenly her flippers moved, andshe rolled her large eyes and lookedat Jack. His heart went out to her. "Ithink it's just a flesh wound, Kurt.Luckily the bullet missed her spine.Toss me that first aid kit and I'll tryto stop the bleeding. I think you'dbetter try to get a veterinarian outhere, just in case."

An hour later a vet was at |ack'sside, praising him for stopping thebleeding. After treating the friendlybeluga, he had her airlifted by heli-copter to the famous Mystic Aquar-ium for further treatment. In a fewdays, she was released into a hugetank with glass walls so that she couldbe observed.

Thanks to the Sea Rangers, one ofthe ocean's most lovable creatutes,had been saved, I

S? ]RTS @U[Zby R.L. Peeden

Sports add glorious excitement and enioyment to our lives. Whetherwe are watching or participating in a sport, it enhances our lives. Evenwhile experiencing the pain of losing or the ioy of winning, hopealways remains alive. Sports teach us the meaning of loyalty, endur-ance, arld the fun of trying.

The shared companionship of fathers and sons participating orwatching sports together, brings harmony and mutual understanding.Communicating all aspects of the sport is part of the fun of the day.

The sports are in the first column. See how quickly you can matchthe correct sport term with the sport.

SPORTS

1. Baseball2. Tennis3. Hockey4. Badminton5. Football6. Bowling7. Golf8. Croquet9. Basketball

10. Swimming

Reference: Webster's New World DictionaryAnswers to "Sports Quiz" on page 15.

TERMS

a. quarterb. parc. dribbled. mallete. lovef. puckg. backstrokeh. framei. safe

i. shuttlecock

FALL 1989 l3

COMEDYCORNER,

swered and was told by one of therescuers that they were from the RedCross, "I'm sorry," said the old fel-low, "but I don't see how I could givea donation this year. It's been a ratherhardwinter."*

+ +

The customer was a would-becomic. "How much are your $40shoes?" he demanded of the sales-man.

Undaunted the salesman quicklyreplied, "Twenty.O"rl"rr a foot."

A man was grooming his horse oneSunday morning as the pastor walkedby on his way to church. "You know,Parson," he remarked, "they say thatcleanliness is next to godliness."

"Yes," the pastor replied thought-fully, "maybe the horse will make it."

Thomas LaMancePrewitt, NM

Q. What is the largest jewel in theworld?

A. A baseball diamond,

M.M. SavoieBrady, TX

Commander; "I don't know if Ishould try to go on the next camp-out. The last time I went my doctormade me take tranquilizers."

Ranger: "Why did he do that?"Commandet"'It was because of my

dreams. One night, I dreamed I wasa wigwam and the next night, Idreamedlwasatepee."

Ranger: "What did the doctor saywas wrong?"

Commander: "He said I was twotents! "

Ron DaySpringfield, MO

"Why can't you come to mychurch?" the boy asked his friend,

"Because," said the friend, "I be-long to another abomination."

After struggling through deep anddrifted snow, a rescue party eventu-ally came upon a small log cabintucked away on a mountainside. Theycleared a path to the door andknocked. A wizened hermit an-

f.i; 2. e;

TO 3. f; a.i;ANSWERS SPORTS 5.a; 6.h;

QUtz I:l; f I15

", rugfl rW v'wdxif rumrfi[L'T,+Ar'

FALL 1989