Editor’s Note: A 21 Club member from the distant past offered the Nass a brief glimpse into their ritual.

It was a cold and snowy morning. Each of the 21 older members brought a new member, the kid to whom they had given their bid, and they all convened behind one of the eating clubs. After all 42 people were seated outdoors, snow falling, three people silently lugged in three kegs and they started pouring out brews. The new members began drinking. You had one minute to drink your beer. Then a minute of rest. Then another beer, all the way to 21. If you had to boot, you were to boot only during the minute on (along with consuming that round’s beer). If you booted during the minute off, the round didn’t count. And so they drank roughly 35. They drank and drank and drank and did other things too. Vomiting. On each other. Urinating. On each other. One poor fellow bent over, trying to vomit, but he couldn’t, and he just keeled over and fell into the urine-infused mud. And then several of the other kids started peeing on his face …