HARLINGEN — White embers snapped and sizzled at one end of the pit.
At the other end, smoke rolled into the air from chips of wood where fire rose quickly and fell.
“This is ash cakes,” said Nico Palacios, 13, a Star Scout with Troop 1954 in Edinburg.
He is also a member of the Order of the Arrow Wewanoma Lodge 272, which was presenting the 2016 Pow-Wow yesterday at Camp Perry.
The event attracted 1,250 scouts from 23 troops throughout the Rio Grande Valley Council who’d gathered at Camp Perry. They were spending the weekend learning archery, tomahawk throwing, drumming and Indian lore as part of the Order of the Arrow Pow-Wow.
While the scouts earned a few badges, the main purpose for the event was to provide new experiences.
“It’s going well,” said Robert Lyle, training chair for the Rio Grande Valley Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He looked at a crowd of Boy Scouts, Cubs Scouts and Girl Scouts watching a woman and two scouts skin a small deer. A nilgai and a hog roasted slowly in a pit, and a deer hide was stretched between a wooden frame.
“We’re exposing these kids to a little bit of the outdoors,” and showing them where their food comes from, Lyle said.
Back at Troop 1954’s area, Ryan Mercado stopped chopping a log to address a concern.
“Ax yard,” he declared, stepping around their enclosure where several activities were in progress. He marked the area where the ax yard was a safety zone.
He then returned to his activity, and Nico spoke more about the day’s activities, specifically, the ash cake.
“The Indians used their own flour,” he said. “We are using Bisquick and corn meal.”
More scouts poured into the large clearing and quickly flocked to whatever activities captured their attention. Taylor Villalobos and her fellow Venturing scouts from Mission had just finished teaching Indian sign language.
“I’m happy to see the kids enjoying the Indian experience,” said Taylor, 18, a member of Venturing Troop 1849. Venturing is a program of the Boy Scouts for young men and women between 14 and 20 years old.
“The kids are really enjoying the sign language,” she said. “They were really interested in the activity. It’s a really good family activity.”
Cub Scouts had plenty to say about it, too.
“It was awesome,” said Hiram Cruz, 8, a member of Cub Scout Troop 777.
What was awesome?
“The funnel cakes,” he said, looking at what he and the other kids were eating. “And the slingshots. And also I like the s’mores. The most important thing about this is family and friends.”
Camp leaders said their goal is to teach scouts practical skills while having fun, and it appears they’d done just that.
