Ernest Thompson Seton: A scout appeals for peace

Ever since the publication of the first Czech translation of Longfellow’s
Hiawatha in the 1860s, Czechs have had a special affection for the American
West. This was always more than just a fantasy about the space and freedom
of the open plains; for many Czechs, after centuries under Austrian rule,
there was also a somewhat romanticized sense of identity with the fate of
Native Americans at the hands of white settlers. So it is not surprising
that when scouting gained popularity at the time of the First Czechoslovak
Republic, it took on many symbols associated with the American Indian. As
David Vaughan reports, a major role in this process was played by the
writer Ernest Thompson Seton, one of the pioneers of scouting in the United
States, who visited Czechoslovakia in 1936.