Baron Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell Baden-Powell of Gilwell

“ Half the battle in keeping yourself hidden, while yet seeing everything yourself, is to study the colour of your background; thus, if clothed in things that match the rocks in colour, you can boldly sit out in front of a rock, with little risk of detection, so long as you remain motionless; if you are hiding in the shadow alongside of a rock or bush, take care that your form thus darkened is not silhouetted against a light background behind you. To show even your hand on a skyline would, of course, be fatal to your concealment. ”

“ So Boy Scouts owe much to Lord Strathcona for that, and for setting a real living example of how a man should stick to it in doing his duty, and in being kind and helpful to others.
From these stories of poor boys who have made successes of their lives and become rich men I do not want you to think that I look upon money as the aim of your life. You should only wish to gain sufficient money to put you in a position where you can live happily into old age if necessary, and bring up a family without calling on other people to support you. ”

“ The Union Jack stands for something more than only the Union of England, Ireland, and Scotland—it means the Union of Great Britain with all our Colonies across the seas; and also it means closer comradeship with our brothers in those Colonies, and between ourselves at home. We must all be bricks in the wall of that great edifice—the British Empire—and we must be careful that we do not let our differences of opinion on politics or other questions grow so strong as to divide us. We must still stick shoulder to shoulder as Britons if we want to keep our position among the nations ”

“ It is the dreams which we teach them: it is the Utopias which we conceive for them: it is the thoughts which we think for them, which will rebuild the world. Give us the young before the evil has held them and we will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. ”

“ I was hunting butterflies, and it was always a good introduction with which to go to anyone who was watching me with suspicion. Quite frankly, with my sketch-book in hand, I would ask innocently whether he had seen such-and-such a butterfly in the neighbourhood, as I was anxious to catch one. Ninety-nine out of a hundred did not know one butterfly from another—any more than I do—so one was on fairly safe ground in that way, and they thoroughly sympathised with the mad Englishman who was hunting these insects. ”

“ STUDYING ANIMALS. The boar is certainly the bravest of all animals: he is the real "King of the Jungle," and the other animals all know it. If you watch a drinking-pool in the jungle at night, you will see the animals that come to it all creeping down nervously, looking out in every direction for hidden enemies. But when the boar comes he simply swaggers down, with his great head and shiny tusks swinging from side to side; he cares for nobody, but everybody cares for him; even a tiger drinking at the pool will give a snarl and sneak quickly out of sight. ”

“ Those who preach shutting our eyes to what is quite patent to all who dare to look out will themselves be guilty of tempting the enemy on, of bringing war upon our country, and of the blood and ruin which will assuredly follow—if there is any truth in history.
With our rising generation brought up as good citizens, sensible of their responsibilities and duties in return for the benefits which they enjoy in a free country, there would be no danger for the State; but without manliness and good citizenship we are bound to fall. ”

“ Show them fresh spoor, and they will scarcely believe that it is that of the enemy, who should be somewhere in sight if he were not hiding, and, seeing nothing to be alarmed at themselves, they are apt to mistake discretion for funk, and foolhardiness for pluck; they think that precautions, to say the least, are derogatory; to see them saunter into danger, is as it were to watch a child playing on the edge of a cliff. It is that same foolhardiness that stands in the way of many men becoming good scouts; there are plenty who are ready, if asked, to go and look into hell’s mouth ”

“ You should therefore study the handbook, learn all about Scouting, what it aims for, and then how you can carry out the instructions given; practise the things yourself that are shown you, know that you can do the different things well; and then you will be able to have confidence in yourself, your Scouts will obey your orders, and so you will be able to carry out the training of them and their discipline perfectly well. You lead entirely by your own personal example, don’t forget that; that is what tells, and that is the easy way to gain success; not only the easy way, but it is the only way. ”

“ Now and again we cross a transverse donga or tributary watercourse that runs into our stream, the donga sometimes rising to the dignity of a ravine with steep and broken sides. And when we have found a place, and safely crossed it, we turn and approach it from the other side, so that should we happen later on to be pursued and want to get across it in a hurry, we shall know the landmarks that should guide us to the ‘drift.’ The stars are palpitating now and striving hard to increase their gleam, which means that dawn is at hand. ”

“ Sir, you that desire to receive the Order of Knighthood, swear, before God, and by this Holy Book, that you shall not fight against the King, who now bestoweth the Order of Knighthood upon you; you shall also swear with all your force and power to maintain and defend all ladies, gentlewomen, widows, orphans, and distressed women; and you shall shun no adventure of your person in any way or war wherein you shall happen to be. ”

“ His was an example of the work of a field spy which, although in a way it may be cunning and deceitful, at the same time demands the greatest personal courage and astuteness. It is something greater than the ordinary bravery of a soldier in action, who is carried on by the enthusiasm of those around him under the leadership of an officer, and with the competition and admiration of others.
The pluck of the man who goes out alone, unobserved and unapplauded, and at the risk of his life, is surely equally great.
The Boers used field spies freely against us in South Africa. ”

“ The way a man (or a woman) walks is often a good guide to his character—witness the fussy, swaggering little man paddling along with short steps and much arm-action; the nervous man’s hurried, jerky stride; the slow slouch of the loafer; the smooth, quick, and silent step of the Scout, and so on.
Judging character by the gait of a man.
With a little practice in observation you can tell pretty accurately a man’s character from his dress.
How would you recognize that a gentleman was fond of fishing? If you see his left cuff with little tufts of cloth sticking up, you may be sure he fishes. ”

“ A hunter when he is stalking wild animals keeps himself entirely hidden, so does the war scout when watching or looking for the enemy; a policeman does not catch pickpockets by standing about in uniform watching for them, he dresses like one of the crowd and as often as not gazes into a shop window and sees all that goes on behind him reflected as if in a looking-glass. ”

“ He talks of the soldier as going into a fight with his mind full of the question as to whether he is going to be killed, and if so—why? That he then discovers that fighting is not pleasure, it is not sport; he merely gets dazed, and all his senses are blurred.
As far as I know, men going into action are, as a rule, thinking of anything but getting killed, and they are anything but dazed. If they happen to think at all about anybody being killed, they do so as in ordinary life—and death: they reckon on their neighbours dying, but not on themselves. ”

“ But that is what happens when a lad becomes a Scout; he is no longer a fool-boy, who goes about yelling aimlessly and making himself a nuisance to everybody. Instead of that he smartens into a manly fellow, ready at any moment to give a helping hand to anybody who wants it, and without taking any reward for it, and without thinking how poor or rich, how old or young the person may be. ”

“ However independent and self reliant a girl may be, the finding of her life comrade, the settling of her own home and the bringing up of her little ones are the biggest happiness that can be had in this world. Nature never meant a man or woman to live alone, and though bachelors may think themselves happy and free, they cannot realize the intense delight that comes with the home, the married comradeship and the children. There a woman has her real opportunity and her kingdom, and at the same time her responsibility. ”

“ Give me the man who has been raised among the great things of Nature; he cultivates truth, independence, and self-reliance; he has generous impulses; he is true to his friends, and true to the flag of his country."
I can fully endorse what this old scout has said, and, what is more, I find that those men who come from the furthest frontiers of the Empire, from what we should call a rude and savage life, are among the most generous and chivalrous of their race, especially towards women and weaker folk. They become "gentle men" by their contact with nature. ”

“ I was at one time watched by a detective who one day was a soldierly-looking fellow and the next an invalid with a patch over his eye. I could not believe it was the same man until I watched him from behind and saw him walking, when at once his individuality was apparent.
For mannerisms, a spy has by practice to be able to show an impediment in his speech one day, whereas the next a wiggle of an eyelid or a snuffling at the nose will make him appear a totally different being.
For a quick change, it is wonderful what difference is made by merely altering your hat and necktie. ”

“ As we turn the corner, going up one of the paths, we find ourselves face to face with a similar string of rebels trotting down the path. For a moment the thought crosses one’s mind, Shall we stop to fire or go for them? but before the thought has time to fashion itself, we find ourselves going for them. Nor do they wait for our bayonets: they turn helter–skelter, rushing up the path, diving among the rocks and grass, for though fond of administering cold steel, it is the last thing they wish to meet with themselves, and so we treat them to the next best thing, a few well–aimed shots. ”

“ A Scout must never be a snob.
A snob is one who looks down upon another because he's poorer, or who is poor and resents another because he is rich. A Scout accepts the other man as he finds him and makes the best of him—
"Kim," the boy scout, was called by the Indians "Little friend of all the world," and that is the name which every Scout should earn for himself._
The Arabs of the desert are some of the finest Scouts in the world, not only because they are brave and manly fellows who can shift for themselves, but also because they are gentlemen at heart, kind to strangers, and men of honour. ”

“ They frequented the circuses, where paid performers appeared before them in the arena, much as we see the crowds now flocking to look on at paid players playing football.
Football in itself is a grand game for developing a lad physically and also morally, for he learns to play with good temper and unselfishness, to play in his place and "play the game," and these are the best of training for any game of life. But it is a vicious game when it draws crowds of lads away from playing the game themselves to be merely onlookers at a few paid performers. ”

“ I learnt how to handle and manage a boat by myself, how to right her when upset, and how to get in and out of her when bathing.
I learnt how to steer and manage a large sailing boat, taking my watch alone at night; how to read the stars and charts; and how to take the responsibility for navigating and not running her on to the rocks.
As a Sea Scout you get mighty hungry, so in order to feed yourself when on the water you have to be able to catch fish and to clean them, and to cook them for yourself. All this means that you have to be what a sailor is generally known as, a "handyman." ”

“ Dashing along the spoor like a pack of hounds, we very soon found ourselves in the bush, and among a lot of huts and scherms; but too late! We could hear the crackling of twigs as the niggers bolted in front of us into the deep, thick bush. All their fires were left burning, and cooking–pots full of pumpkins and mealies were boiling merrily on the fires; their clothes and clubs, assegais and loot, were lying about in heaps; there were army greatcoats, white men’s and women’s clothes, axes, saws, tinned provisions, and other articles, evidently spoils of murdered whites ”

“ So, with the scouts, it has been made one of our laws that we do a good turn to somebody every day. It does not matter how small that good turn may be, if it were only to help an old woman lift her bundle, or to guide a child across a crowded street, or to put a halfpenny in the poor-box. Something good ought to be done each day of your life, and you should start to-day to carry out this rule, and never forget it during the remaining days of your life. Remember the knot in your necktie and on your scout's badge—they are reminders to you to do a good turn. ”

“ There was one small cabin-boy on a coasting brig in the English Channel who used to long to become one of these discoverers but when he looked at the practical side of the question it seemed hopeless for a poor little chap like him ever to hope to rise in the world beyond his present hard life in a wretched little coaster, living on bad food and getting, as a rule, more kicks than halfpence—but it shows you how the poorest boy can get on if he only puts his back to it. ”

“ The back of the valley was formed by a single high ridge of smooth granite, and from it five offshoots ran down into the valley like fingers from the ridge of knuckles. At the tip of each of these fingers rose rocky peaks among the bush and jungle of the lower valley; these peaks and the fingers themselves form the strongholds of the individual impis. ”

“ MOUNTAINEERING. A good deal of interesting mountaineering can be done in the British Isles if you know where to go; and it is grand sport, and brings out into practice all your scout-craft to enable you to find your way, and to make yourself comfortable in camp.
You are, of course, continually losing your direction because, moving up and down in the deep gullies of the mountain side, you lose sight of the landmarks which usually guide you, so that you have to watch your direction by the sun, and by your compass, and keep on estimating in what direction your proper line of travel lies. ”

“ A SCOUT SMILES AND WHISTLES UNDER ALL DIFFICULTIES.
When he gets an order, he should obey it cheerily and readily, not in a slow, hang-dog _sort of way.
Scouts never grouse at hardships nor whine at each other, nor_ swear _when put out, but go on whistling and smiling. When you just miss a train, or someone treads on your favourite corn—not that Scouts should have such things as corns—or in any annoying circumstances, you should force yourself to smile at once, and then whistle a tune, and you will be all right. ”

“ From our position on the top of the ridge we had a splendid view of jumbled mountain–tops and rocky, bush–grown gorges stretching in every direction,—a brutal country for military operations, but a splendid one from a rebel’s point of view. The ridge itself forms a kind of backbone or watershed through the mountains, and is passable throughout its length for troops and mule–guns.
Passing round the scene of the fight of the 5th, we came to the mountain which formed Mnyakavula’s stronghold, a place covered with huts among the bush and boulders, and evidently full of caves. ”

“ The main causes of the downfall of Rome is similar to that which resulted in the downfall of other great empires, such as the Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Spanish, and Dutch, and that cause may be summed up in each case as the decline of good citizenship and the want of energetic patriotism. Each nation, after climbing laboriously to the zenith of its power, seemed then to become exhausted by its effort, and sit down in a state of repose, relapsing into idleness, studiously blind to the fact that other nations were gradually pushing up to destroy it. ”

“ Going farther back, every boy who has read his Greek and Roman history knows how Syracuse was in ancient days one of the great war harbours of the Mediterranean.
It was the arsenal where fleets fitted out, and the depot where they brought back their booties of valuables and slaves after their victorious raids. ”