Aide-de-camp

“ In Great Britain the office of aide-de-camp to the king is given as a reward or an honorary distinction. In many foreign armies the word adjutant is used for an aide-de-camp, and adjutant general for a royal aide-de-camp. ”

“ An officer cannot be appointed until he has served two years with his regiment, and passed the prescribed examination. The number of aide-de-camps allotted to general officers in the field are: Commander-in-Chief, four; Generals of Division, two; General of Brigade, one. In time of peace a general has three only. Aide-de-camps receive extra pay in addition to the pay of their regimental rank, which rank is seldom above that of captain. Aide-de-camps are attached to the sovereign, the appointment carrying with it the rank of Colonel in the army. ”

“ There should be a head counsellor who takes the Director's place when necessary, and who assists her in many ways; a nurse who is responsible for the personal health of the Scouts and who teaches First Aid and Personal Health; a counsellor to have charge of each subject listed on the program, a handy-man if the camp is large and there is much heavy work to be done; a cook and cook's helper, and last but not least, someone to do all that no one else does—keep records of all kinds, write letters, arrange for the coming and going of campers, supervise the canteen, and be helpful generally. ”

“ The work of the day is sometimes done by tent groups or by boys grouped in alphabetical order, each group being under a leader whose part is assigned daily by the Camp Director (see chapter on Organization) . In the writer's camp, work is considered a great privilege. For instance, if three bushels of peas must be picked from the camp garden for dinner, a call is made for volunteers. From forty to fifty hands will go up and after careful choosing, six boys are selected to do this coveted work, much to the disappointment of the others. ”

“ That officer is happy who, besides a constitutional love of adventure, has also a love for the details of camp life, and likes to bring them to perfection. Nothing but a hen with her chickens about her can symbolize the content I felt on getting my scattered companies together, after some temporary separation on picket or fatigue duty. Then we went to work upon the nest. The only way to keep a camp in order is to set about everything as if you expected to stay there forever; if you stay, you get the comfort of it ”

“ One girl should be on duty at one time and another at another and all in regular rotation. No camp life can go on successfully [124] without some law and order of this sort. For it is just as necessary for the smooth running of household wheels in the log cabin as it is in the city home. Whoever occupies the guide’s position, that is the one who is chiefly responsible for everything, should be ably helped by the whole party but not by the whole party at the same time. Evolve a system for the particular conditions of the camp life in which you find yourself and stick to it. ”

“ Members of the different committees of the Emergency Corps visited the camp daily, consulting with the commanding officers as to the health, comfort, and needs, of the sol- diers in their charge. Open house was kept
at headquarters for the Volunteers when in the city, and everything human ingenuity could suggest and loving hearts contribute to smooth the pathway from comfortable civil life to the hardship and discipline of camp-life was done. ”

“ Be it man, woman, boy or girl, if he, she or it expects to be a camper, he, or she or it must learn to be orderly and tidy around camp. No matter how soiled one's clothes may be, no matter how grimy one's face may look, the ground around the camp-fire must be clean, and the cooking utensils and fire wood, pot-hooks and waugan-sticks, all orderly and as carefully arranged as if the military officer was expected the next minute to make an inspection. ”

“ Because of the stampede for the open, in which people of all ages have joined, there are so many kinds of camps nowadays: scout camps, soldier camps, training camps, recreation camps, girls' camps and boys' camps, that it is somewhat difficult for a writer to tell what to do in order to "Be Prepared." There are freight car side-track camps, gypsy wagon camps, houseboat camps, old-fashioned camp-meeting camps and picnic camps ”

“ All general officers should make themselves acquainted, as soon as possible, with the situation of the country near the camp, with the roads, passes, bridges, &c. leading to it; and likewise with the out-posts, that in case they should be ordered suddenly to sustain, or defend any post, they may be able to march without waiting for guides, and be competent, from a topographical knowlege of the country, to form the best disposition for the service. They should instruct their aids-de-camp in these particulars, and always require their attendance when they visit the out-posts. ”

“ Every bit of the scene was a pleasure to me; I missed none of the details. The files of cadets in the camp alleys getting their arms inspected; the white tents themselves, with curtains tightly done up; here and there an officer crossing the camp ground and stopping to speak to an orderly; then the coming up of the band, the music, the marching out of the companies; the leisurely walk from the camp of the officer in charge, drawing on his white gloves; his stand and his attitude; and then the pretty business of the parade. ”

“ Livingston nodded.
"Jasper will bring them over to-morrow—provided he has found his horse by that time," she added with a half smile.
"Do we have to gather wood?" questioned Grace.
"Sometimes. We all have to do our parts in this community. The young women of the organization do the cooking and the sweeping for the entire camp. They are divided into squads. All this is arranged by themselves. Those who are doing the work for the day are called the Workers. You will have to be up and ready for your duties by six o'clock in the morning when you are Workers." ”

“ The evening saw a merry lot sitting round the usual great camp fire, song after song passing on from officer or man until the bugle rung out the retire, and visitor and volunteer quitted the scene. But they had to be up early the next day; breakfasts soon after daybreak, their tents to strike, and the whole camp to be packed. This done, a picnic dinner on the short crisp turf of the wild downs, and the whole marched to Warminster on the return to their respective homes. ”

“ Friendships have been formed which will last through life. The same group of fellows will never come together again. The director, perhaps as no other person, realizes the importance of making this night one of permanent impression, and his "good-by" talk to the fellows will reiterate the "why" of camping and emphasize the taking home of the spirit of good which has prevailed and the making it count for the best things in home, school, factory and church life of those boys who enjoyed the benefits of the camp. ”

“ Tent 3. Cleaning the boats, supplying wood for the kitchen, putting ice in the refrigerator, etc.
The next day tents 4, 5 and 6 will come on duty, and so on until each tent has been on duty during the week.
Leaders for the day will call the squad together after breakfast and explain the day's plans. Encourage the boys to do this work cheerfully. Lead, do not drive the boys when working. Not more than three hours should be consumed in camp work. ”

“ However, there is another side of camp life, particularly in a boys’ camp, which has been very little dealt with, namely, the exercise of one’s ingenuity in creating out of the limited resources at hand such devices and articles as will add to one’s personal comfort and welfare. ”

“ In the larger camps and training stations where the men stayed sometimes for several months, a simple organization was usually formed. In one camp, when the Worker called the men together, they chose, without any preparation save silent prayer for guidance, a board of directors consisting of a major, a captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant and a private. This board each month chose two readers to serve for the ensuing monthly period, the First Reader a commissioned officer and the Second Reader an enlisted man. ”

“ For eight weeks this past summer my family of two members camped with two servants. In addition we had the occasional services of a man who did all the heavy work. There was not enough for the servants to do in the cottage and log cabin of our establishment. They were discontented, faultfinding, and wholly out of the spirit of camp life. All of the day that their tone of voice reached was helplessly ruined. The only way to keep the camp joy and pleasure was to keep out of their way. ”

“ The opportunity of the boys' camp leader is, first, to engage in the service that counts most largely in securing the future welfare of those who will soon be called upon to carry on the work that we are now engaged in. Most people are so busy with their own present enjoyment and future success that they pay little heed to the future of others. ”

“ I did not rest long, but traveled all day without anything to eat, for we had left our haversacks and overcoats in the teams, which were now a long distance ahead.
At night we went into camp, then had to dress the pig, and it was cooked for the supper of the general and his staff, and we poor fellows got nothing. We pitched the general’s tent and were then turned over to the provost guard. About eight o’clock I went under guard to the general’s tent to do something he wanted done. “Guard, to your quarters,” said the general, “This man will not run away!” ”

“ The signalling class is under the trees back of the mess hall, the First Aid group in a shady spot on the edge of [176] the woods, the basketry class near their base of supplies but sitting on the grass in the shade, the nature lovers in the woods to find new birds and ferns and flowers—and so it goes.
During the working hours, the housekeepers have been busy performing all kinds of necessary camp work. Some Scouts enjoy all of it, others none of it, but rarely does anyone fail to do her part. ”

“ THE ORGANIZATION OF A CADET CAMP
In organizing camps for supplying cadet labor it is well to keep in mind that they are to be established on the basis of a business proposition; that they are not primarily play camps or recreational camps; that they are not to be located on a river or lake because there happens to be a good place for boys to swim, if there are not paying jobs near that river or lake on which the boys may work; that they are not to be established at random without reference to the continuity of work during the season, or without any real knowledge of the local demand for labor. ”

“ At every creek we found campers, some repairing wagons, yokes, chains, etc., doctoring sick cattle, washing clothes, or helping forward friends whose teams were weak. In all this there was excellent order, for the camps were organized in a general way by tens, fifties and hundreds. Peace and harmony prevailed all along the line. Evening prayers were attended to in each camp. There was much singing, mostly of sacred hymns or sentimental songs; and from no quarter could coarse songs be heard. Sometimes the camp would meet in a sociable dance in the evenings, to drive dull care away ”

“ This is truly Camp, and you are simply soldiers Camping.
The Director may have an orderly to do his work, but, as for the rest of the Campers, it is every man for himself, from the instructors down to the smallest boy. Each and every one must do his share. Beds are made, tents swept out, clothes hung up, and when the bugle again calls "Inspection" each and every boy must be at his tent.
The Director, accompanied by his staff, inspects, marking for and against each tent. Accordingly, there is keen competition between the boys to see who has the most orderly tent for the season. ”

“ His word is law, and if he understands his calling, he seldom makes mistakes; but I have known many instances where men have been reported for duty, who were not fit to be out of their bed.
Next, the orderly makes the detail for camp guard, police, picket, etc. At 8 o’clock A. M., camp guard is placed on duty around the camp, and remains so for twenty-four hours, two hours on post, and four off. Those detailed for police duty, are placed under a non-commissioned officer, and set to cleaning up camp. ”

“ Now that we have learned about the serious part of camping, hiking and woodcraft, about fire-building, cooking and axe work, we will leave the long trail and the hard trail and dump our duffel bag in a recreation camp, a Boy Scout camp, a Y.M.C.A. camp, or a school camp, and after we have pitched our tent and arranged our cot to suit our own convenience and everything is ship-shape for the night, it is time for us to get busy on our "good turn" and do something for the crowd. ”

“ So far, twenty-two miles of road have been constructed through the forest, at a small expense to the county, by the prisoners. A stone crusher and a compression drill are parts of the equipment of the road building gang, which is under the charge of the master of the camp.
Flanked on three sides by mountain slopes and by a large meadow on the other, the camp is situated in an ideal spot. Thankful are the prisoners for the change from indoor confinement, and in token of appreciation they work as hard if not harder than men on the outside who enjoy their full liberty. ”

“ She proposed that any girls who cared to devote their holidays to a useful end should join a camp of strawberry-pickers who were to be employed on the farm.
“It is being arranged by a Government bureau,” she explained, “and many people will be coming who, like ourselves, want to help to bear their country’s burdens—university students, journalists, social workers, hospital nurses, matrons of institutions, and mistresses and scholars from other 108 schools. We shall sleep in tents, and lead an absolutely outdoor life. ”