Scouting

“ This is the net results of your relay race. Take it or leave it. You forgot that a scout never turns back; in scouting relay races are a myth. They just ain’t. A scout that starts always wants to see the finish. All that stuff in the scout handbook is nonsense. No scout ever handed a letter about eats and things to another scout and then went home—never. You’re all off on scouting, kid.
“Now look here, kid, this is Alton Beech’s crowd and you’re not going to break up the party. We’ve got a vacant cabin for these fellows and they’re going to bunk in it and eat down in camp. ”

“ One of the best things in scouting is the hunting of big game—that is going after elephants, lions, rhino, wild boar, deer, and those kind of animals; and a fellow has to be a pretty good scout if he hopes to succeed at it. ”

“ We scout in small squads over the entire area occupied by our forces, and often beyond; and, now and then, more frequently in the night, we patrol between our picket posts, to ascertain that all is well at the points most exposed to danger. The principal object of scouting is to learn the strength and position of the enemy, while the object of patrolling is to learn our own. ”

“ Thus on both sides the airman has come to stay, and the whole significance of his work is not in fighting but scouting. It is, of course, far the most valuable scout-work that can be done; altogether wider and more far-reaching than any other kind; and there can hardly be any doubt that in the future no Chief of Staff but will have to fly and to fly often. ”

“ No scout may ever use the call of another patrol. The second law binds you to be loyal, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Most of your work then consists in playing scouting games and practices by which you gain experience as scouts. When you have learned sufficient to pass the test you can win the badge of either a first class or second class scout.
That of the first class scout consists of a brass arrow head with the motto on it "Be Prepared." ”

“ As the work of scouts with an Army School is of supreme importance, since one uses them to personate the enemy in scouting schemes, the employment of such men as these was quite impossible. Good fortune here, however, came to our aid, for some performing scouts from G.H.Q., who were giving demonstrations, came to demonstrate to us, and were afterwards attached to the school. ”

“ An advantage of scouting is, that, when it comes to a standing camp, with its attendant evils of dirt, smells, and sickness, your business carries you away, in front, or out along the flanks, where you play at hide-and-seek with the enemy, trap and are trapped, chase and are chased, and where you bivouac healthily and pleasantly, if not in such full security, at some old Dutch farm, where probably fowls are to be bought, or milk and butter ”

“ To their surprise they saw several warriors in the lead, as scouts.
“They are getting very wise, in employing the scouting tactics, and this shows they are after some game, whether it is the other tribe’s or some one else.” John cautioned silence, and then continued:
“Their scouts will, of course, discover us before the main body comes up. We must not fire on the advance parties. Wait until they attempt a rush, so we can get enough of them in reach to make it count.” ”

“ Even on ordinary water, no one but a tenderfoot would sail a small boat with the "sheets" made fast; the men sailing the boat hold these in their hands ready to ease them up at any moment should a squall strike them. But the danger is much greater on a lake among mountains.
So you see a Scout needs to know something about sea scouting if he wants to get about successfully in a country where he has to make use of boats or canoes. ”

“ They'll probably send scouts miles up and down the stream to cross, and then hunt us out, but that'll take time, until night at least, and maybe they won't know positively until morning, because scouting in the thickets in the face of an enemy is a dangerous business. ”

“ The work of the signaller has been going on for many years, but the training of scouts is a movement which has come about and developed almost entirely during the last twelve years, which, as the Army reckons time, is but a very short period. It may be anticipated that the practice of scouting and the training of scouts will develop considerably as time goes on. ”

“ But, as the American would say, "it isn't a circumstance" to scouting which teaches a fellow to be a man.
[Make each boy lay a fire in his own way and light it. After failures, show them the right way (i.e., delicate use of dry chips and shavings, and sticks in a pyramid) , and make them do it again. Also teach them how to tie knots. See Part III.]
Chivalry.—In the old days the knights were the scouts of Britain, and their rules were very much the same as the scout law which we have now. ”

“ Second-class scout is one who has passed certain easy tests in scouting.
A Tenderfoot is a boy who is not yet a scout.
A Court of Honour is formed of the scout master and two patrol leaders, or in the case of a single patrol by the patrol leader and the corporal. It decides rewards, punishments, and other questions.
Tests: To become a second-class scout and gain the motto badge, a boy must satisfy his scout master in the following details:
1. Tie four of the following knots in less than thirty seconds each knot: Bowline, fisherman's bend, reef knot, clove hitch, sheet bend. ”

“ Another thing to look out for on these mountain lakes is that a bit of wind very quickly makes quite fair-sized waves, which, with a heavily loaded boat, may lop in over the side, if your helmsman is not very careful, and swamp the boat. So it is foolishness for any Scout to go on this sort of expedition unless he can swim.
In fact, every Scout ought to be able to swim; he is no use till he can, and he will always find it useful to know something of sea scouting. ”

“ The rules for this game as given in “Scouting for Boys” are these:
“Single scouts, or complete patrols or pairs [217] of scouts, are to be taken out about two miles apart, and made to work toward each other either alongside a road, or by giving each side a landmark to work to, such as a steep hill or a big tree, which is directly behind the other party, and will thus insure their coming together. The patrol which first sees the other wins. This is signified by the patrol leader holding up his patrol flag for the umpire to see, and sounding his whistle. ”

“ The enemy scouts; first he finds the ambush, and then his skill is shown in getting within touch of the alert foe without being discovered. But every family should possess Scouting in default of the chance of going on the war-path with a Red Indian. ”

“ The finances necessary to run a troop of scouts should be met by the scouts themselves. It is a main principle of scouting to teach the boys to be self-reliant, and anything which will militate against the constant sending round of the hat will be a national good. ”

“ The boat drifted towards the
Admiralty Pier until it was picked up and got safely in tow again.
That is the kind of "presence of mind" which every Scout should have.
* * * * *
HOW VAN TROMP'S BROOM WAS RAISED—AND LOWERED. In "sea scouting," it will, of course, be necessary to know a lot of small as well as big things about our ships which the ordinary fellow does not know. Here is one. A man-of-war on duty always flies a pennant at her masthead—that is, a very long, very thin flag, which makes the mast look like a whip with a lash on the end of it. ”

“ Stealing cautiously along, with a tread as light as that of a shade, was one of that famed and daring class, met nowhere save on the advance of American settlements—the border scouts, who, born to danger and inured to hardship, become, as a race, the very embodiment of bravery, endurance, strategy and recklessness. ”

“ A scout must learn to recognise at a glance at what pace the maker of the tracks was going, and so on.
A man walking puts the whole flat of his foot on the ground, each foot a little under a yard from the other. In running the toes are more deeply dug into the ground, and a little dirt is kicked up, and the feet are more than a yard apart. Sometimes men walk backwards in order to deceive anyone who may be tracking, but a good scout can generally tell this at once by the stride being shorter, the toes more turned in, and the heels being tightly impressed. ”

“ Similarly, if a scout officer says to a scout, "I trust you on your honour to do this," the scout is bound to carry out the order to the very best of his ability, and to let nothing interfere with his doing so. ”

“ If a stranger makes the scout's sign to you, you should acknowledge it at once by making the sign back to him, and then shake hands with the LEFT HAND. If he then shows his scout's badge, or proves that he is a scout, you must treat him as a brother-scout, and help him in any way you can. ”

“ When working singly the scout's staff is most useful for feeling the way in the dark, and pushing aside dry branches, etc.
Scouts working apart from each other in the dark keep up communication by occasionally giving the call of their patrol-animal. Any enemy would thus not be made suspicious.
All scouts have to guide themselves very much by the stars at night.
WEATHER WISDOM. Weather.—Every scout ought to be able to read signs of the weather, especially when going mountaineering or cruising, and to read a barometer. ”

“ When a leader is shouting an order or message to a scout who is some way off, the scout, if he hears what is being said, should hold up his hand level with his head all the time. If he cannot hear he should stand still making no sign. The leader will then repeat louder or beckon to the scout to come in nearer.
The following signals are made by a scout with his staff when he is sent out to reconnoitre within sight of his patrol, and they have the following meanings: Staff held up horizontally, that is flat with both hands above the head, means "a few enemy in sight." ”

“ By squatting low in the shadow of the bush at night, and keeping quite still, I have let an enemy's scout come and stand within three feet of me, so that when he turned his back towards me I was able to stand up where I was and fling my arms round him.
A point also to remember in keeping hidden while moving, especially at night, is to walk quietly; the thump of an ordinary man's heel on the ground can be heard a good distance off, but a scout or hunter always walks lightly, on the ball of his foot not on his heels ”

“ Also, a scout should be able to manage a boat, to bring it properly alongside the ship or pier, that is, either by rowing it or steering it in a wide circle so that it comes up alongside with its head pointing the same way as the bow of the ship or towards the current. ”

“ The man who has had to turn his hand to many things, as the scout does in camp, finds that when he comes into civilisation he is more easily able to obtain employment, because he is ready to turn his hand to whatever kind of work may turn up.
EXPLORATION. A good form of scout work can be got in Great Britain by scouts going about either as patrols on an exploring expedition, or in pairs like knight-errants of old on a pilgrimage through the country to find people wanting help and to help them. ”

“ Remember that by your scout's oath you are on your honour to do it.
A good turn need only be a very small one; if it is only to put a halfpenny into a poor box, or to help an old woman to cross the street, or to make room on a seat for someone, or to give water to a thirsty horse, or to remove a bit of banana skin off the pavement where it is 25likely to throw people down, it is a good turn. But one must be done every day, and it only counts as a good when you do not accept any reward in return.
[Make each scout tie knot in his necktie to remind him to do a good turn next day.] ”

“ When patrolling at night, scouts keep closer together than by day, and in very dark places, such as woods, etc., they should keep touch with each other by each catching hold of the end of the next scout's staff. ”

“ Girl Scout Hunting.—One Scout is given time to go out and hide herself, the remainder then start to find her; she wins if she is not found, or if she can get back to the starting-point within a given time without being touched. ”

“ If you read about great scouts like Captain John Smith, the "Pathfinder," and others, you will generally find that they were pretty cheery old fellows.
The ordinary boy is apt to frown when working hard at physical exercises, but the boy scout is required to smile all the time: he drops a mark off his score whenever he frowns. ”

“ Enter advanced scout, left, finding his way by the map, noticing landmarks, and looking for sign. He crosses the arena and disappears, right, unless it is a wide, outdoor space, when he remains at a distance, squatting, on the look-out.
Enter scouts, left, in patrol formation, followed by second patrol in close formation. Scoutmaster halts them. One scout semaphores to advanced scout, "We camp here. Keep good look-out." Patrol leaders drill their patrols at quick, smart drill for about three minutes by whistle or hand signal, etc. ”

“ You can also catch fish by netting, or, as scouts often have to do, by spearing them with a very sharp three-pronged spear. I have done it many a time, but it requires practice to be successful.
131A scout, of course, has to look at animals of all sorts, partly with an eye to their being useful to him sometime or another for food. Reptiles don't look tempting as food but, once you have tasted frogs legs nicely cooked, you will want more of them. ”

“ But here at sea the English sailors evidently can see tracks ahead of them, otherwise they would not know which way to send the ship, and yet we, who are so good at seeing on shore, cannot see any sign of a track or mark on the water."
When getting on to very fresh spoor of man or beast, the old scout will generally avoid following it closely because the hunted animal will frequently look back to see if it is being followed. ”