On Looking Glass Lake

The little party soon scattered to pick wild flowers.

      The boys, however, forgot that Mary Frances' girl dolls were Camp Fire Girls, and "Blue Birds," and that girls as well as boys go on hikes and meet with mishaps.

      The mother of Soami Brave's chum was the Guardian of their Camp Fire. The very afternoon that

the boys were hiking, she took the girls of the first-aid class for a boat ride on Looking Glass Lake. They didn't happen to meet any of the boys, however.

      The sun shone very brightly into the playroom window, a beam falling radiantly upon Looking Glass Lake and reflecting brightly upon the faces of the happy boating party.

      "Isn't this lovely!" sighed Soami, as they drifted under the shade of a Christmas cedar tree which Mary Frances had planted on the edge of the lake.

      "Isn't it, though!" said Angie, her little chum; "only isn't the sun hot, Mother!"

      "It certainly is, dear," agreed her mother. "I didn't realize, or I would have told you to powder your faces to prevent sunburn."

      "Why, Mother!" exclaimed Angie, "you have always disapproved of face powder, and here you are recommending powder!"

      "I know," laughed her mother, "but I refer to toilet or talcum powder, a coat of which might prevent sunburn.

      As it is now, you girls will probably have to ask Miss Helpem's advice."

      "Our class meets to-morrow morning," said Soami. "Isn't that good!"

      By this time the little party had beached the boat on the shore and soon scattered to pick wild flowers.

"My, how my hand and arm burn and itch."

        At the sound of "Wohelo," the girls gathered for their homeward trip.

      "My, how my hand and arm burn and itch," exclaimed one of the girls, scratching her arm.

      "Oh, perhaps that is plant poison!" cried Soami. "Do you know poison ivy when you see it?"

      "No," the girl replied. "What does it look like?"

      "My big brother, Ima, explained it this way to me," replied Soami:

POISON IVY

       This vine runs along the ground and climbs trees in just the same way as the beautiful Virginia Creeper, it is quite readily distinguished, however, for Poison Ivy has but three leaves in a cluster, while Virginia Creeper has five leaves.

       The poison rash is caused by the irritating juices of the plant.

       "My, I wish I'd known that when gathering my flowers," said another girl. "I really believe I've gathered some poisnon ivy among them. Look, is this the ivy? It has three leaves."

       "It certainly is," said Soami. "Please throw it over-board. You may have a case of ivy

poison 'for fair,' though not everybody 'takes' poison. May be you'll be lucky."

       "I sincerely hope so," said the girl so fervently that everybody laughed.

       "Well, anyhow, don't scratch!" warned the Guardian of the Fire.

       But the next morning's class hour revealed the result of the day's adventures. Two girls came with bad cases of plant poison, and nearly every girl had been sunburned.

       "Well, well," said the assistant nurse, when the girls told of their experiences. "Although I'm sorry for you, this is really very interesting, for it will make you girls see the real helpfulness of our lessons. You can very soon relieve each other of your unpleasant skin irritations, for I shall give you notes on what to do for sunburn.

Poison ivy has three leaves.

SUNBURN
(See Reference List)

        Sunburn is the result of exposure to the direct or reflected rays of the sun, sometimes causing the skin to blister and peel.

To Prevent:

       Before exposure, spread over the face and arms, cold cream or

any grease at hand even cream off milk; or use toilet powder.

       Keep the head covered, but have air space between the top of the hat and top of head.

Treatment:

1. Never wash sunburn.
2. Never open the blisters.
3. Mix a lotion of one part limewater to three parts olive oil (sweet oil), and apply.
4. You see, the treatment is very much the same as for burns.

PLANT POISONING
(See Reference List)

       Poison Ivy and a few other plants cause a rash upon the skin after contact with their irritating juices. Everyone should learn to distinguish poison ivy, which has three leaves, not five, as has the Virginia Creeper (see picture in this chapter). If this poisonous plant were recognized and avoided, there would be but few cases of plant poisoning.

Treatment:

1. Do not scratch.
2. Mop on rash a saturated solution of Epsom salt, or boric acid, or baking soda,* with a small "sponge" of absorbent cotton, which is to be thrown away after using.
3.  Allow application to dry in the air.

PRICKLY HEAT

       Prickly Heat is an itching redness of the skin caused from over-heating the body. It appears oftenest on babies; sometimes on older people whose skin is very sensitive.

Treatment:

1. Bathe with a pure soap, as Castile.
2. Then bathe with a mixture of one part alcohol to three parts water.
3. Dust with talcum powder.

HIVES (NETTLE RASH)

       These itching lumps, which resemble mosquito bites, usually indicate stomach or intestinal trouble. They seem to appear after exposure to first, extreme heat; then, to sudden chill. Sometimes they are caused by certain foods; as fish or berries.

Treatment:

1. For the itching, rub with table salt.
2. Give a cathartic. Citrate of magnesia is excellent.
3. Then give a half-teaspoon table salt twice a day for two or three days.
4. An old-fashioned home remedy is one-quarter teaspoonful cream of tartar in one-quarter glass of water three times a day, at morning, noon and evening, for three days.
5.  If hives persist, see doctor.

       "Did you have it all planned to give us this lesson, Miss Helpem?" asked Soami Brave, while the girls bathed their sunburned faces as directed, and treated the poison ivy rash with the Epsom salt solution. 

       "Do you really want to know?" asked the assistant nurse.

       "Please tell us," they begged.

       "Well, to tell the truth," replied Miss Helpem, "your needs seemed to require this lesson so much that I didn't have to invent a game at all I just put you into practical practice."

       "By the way, Miss Helpem," suggested Angie, "would you mind not telling the boys' class about what happened?"

       "I promise secrecy," said Miss Helpem. The girls wondered why she and Shesa Brave laughed so heartily they didn't know that the boys had been given the same promise.

Introduction: Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, On Looking Glass Lake,  11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19