“Here the wild deer still roam through the forest, the ruffed grouse make their nest at the foot of the trees, the speckled trout still inhabit the mountain streams…”
Beard was appointed the first Boy Scouts of America National Scout Commissioner after his Sons of Daniel Boone organization, founded in 1905—which became known as the Boy Pioneers—merged with the burgeoning Boy Scouts of America organization.
Beard´s colleagues John Burroughs, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft served on the Advisory Committee of his outdoor school in Pike County. A promotional brochure entitled The Dan Beard Outdoor School for Boys in the Mountains of Pike County, PA describes the setting, which surely attracted Hensel´s artistic eye, as such: “Here the wild deer still roam through the forest, the ruffed grouse make their nest at the foot of the trees, the speckled trout still inhabit the mountain streams, and even such a rare animal as the otter is occasionally seen in the lake; wild ducks nest in the sedge, and the mocking laugh of the loon is sometimes heard in the early morn.”
Beard was also a naturalist and well-known writer and illustrator of his day. He edited the popular outdoor publication Recreation magazine as well as the boys section of Pictorial Review, and illustrated Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, published in 1889.
Beard is the author of more than 20 books on outdoor living and survival skills, the most well-known being 1882´s The American Boys Handy Book: What to Do and How to Do It, which he also illustrated. The work developed from an article titled “How to Camp Without a Tent” that Beard authored earlier the same year for St. Nicholas magazine.
Beard´s Handy Book served as an inspiration to many fellow founders of the Boy Scout movement including Sir Robert Baden-Powell, who established the Boy Scouts in England.
Beard´s popular columns and illustrations in the scouting magazine Boy´s Life, of which he served as Associate Editor for a time, made him a highly recognized and respected leader, and his Handy Book was a classic among young boys of the era.
To most scouts and leaders he became known as ’Uncle Dan´ and is credited with developing a reward system to recognize good scouting practices such as “deeds of conspicuous merit and for the best behavior.” And, though he most often wore buckskins, he helped to design the original Boy Scout uniform that included a hat, shirt and neckerchief.
Beard was born near Cincinnati, Ohio, but through the course of his travels and career came to own property on Pike County, PA´s, Lake Teedyuskung in Lackawaxen Township. His home on the lake was known as ’Wild Lands.´
“Here the wild deer still roam through the forest, the ruffed grouse make their nest at the foot of the trees, the speckled trout still inhabit the mountain streams…”