HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS.
Practise in mixing dough and baking; it is useful. If possible, get a baker to give a lesson. But let each scout mix his own dough with the amount of water he thinks right. Let him make his mistakes at first to get experience.
A visit to a slaughter-house and butcher's shop to see the cutting up is useful for boys.
Get scouts to make their own linen ration bags.
Issue raw rations, and let each scout make his own fire and cook his own meal.
Hockey, Rounders, Football, Basket Ball, which is practically football played only with the hands, with a basket seven feet above ground as goal. A small bit of ground or a room or court will do for the game.
"Bang the Bear" (from Mr. Seton Thompson's "Birchbark of the Woodcraft Indians.") One big boy is bear, and has three bases, in which he can take refuge and be safe. He carries a small air balloon on his back. The other boys are armed with clubs of straw rope twisted, with which they try to burst his balloon while he is outside the base. The bear has a similar club, with which he knocks off the hunters' hats. The hat represents the hunter's life. A good game for introducing strange or shy boys to each other.
Songs, recitations, small plays, etc., can be performed round the camp fire, and every scout should be made to contribute something to the programme, whether he thinks he is a performer or not. A different patrol may be told off for each night of the week to provide for the performance; they can thus prepare it beforehand.
"Woodcraft." By Nessmuk. 2s. (Pub.: Forest and Stream, New York.)
CHAPTER V.CAMPAIGNING.
Outdoor Training—Exploration—Boat Cruising—Watermanship—Mountaineering—Patrolling—Nightwork—Weather Wisdom.
The native boys of the Zulu and Swazi tribes learn to be scouts before they are allowed to be considered men, and they do it in this way: when a boy is about fifteen or sixteen he is taken by the men of his village, stripped of all clothes and painted white from head to foot, and he is given a shield and one assegai or small spear, and he is turned out of the village and told that he will be killed if anyone catches him while he is still painted white. So the boy has to go off into the jungle and mountains and hide himself from other men until the white paint wears off, and this generally takes about a month; so that all this time he has to look after himself and stalk game with his one assegai and kill it and cut it up; he has to light his fire by means of rubbing sticks together in order to cook his meat; he has to make the skin of the animal into a covering for himself; and he has to know what kind of wild root, berries, and leaves are good for food as vegetables. If he is not able to do these things, he dies of starvation, or is killed by wild animals. If he succeeds in keeping himself alive, and is able to find his way back to his village, he returns when the white paint has worn off and is then received withgreat rejoicings by his friends and relations, and is allowed to become a soldier of the tribe since he has shown that he is able to look after himself.
It is a pity that all British boys cannot have the same sort of training before they are allowed to consider themselves men—and the training which we are now doing as scouts is intended to fill that want as far as possible. If every boy works hard at this course and really learns all that we try to teach him, he will, at the end of it, have some claim to call himself a scout and a man, and will find if ever he goes on service, or to a colony, that he will have no difficulty in looking after himself and in being really useful to his country.
There is an old Canadian scout and trapper, now over eighty years of age, still living, and, what is more, still working at his trade of trapping. His name is Bill Hamilton. In a book which he lately wrote, called "My Sixty Years in the Plains," he describes the dangers of that adventurous line of life. The chief danger was that of falling into the hands of the Red Indians. "To be taken prisoner was to experience a death not at all to be desired. A slow fire is merciful beside other cruelties practised by the Indians. I have often been asked why we exposed ourselves to such danger? My answer has always been that there was a charm in the open-air life of a scout from which one cannot free himself after he has once come under its spell. 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.
Mr. Roosevelt, the President of the United States of America, also is one who believes in outdoor life, and heindulges in it himself on every possible occasion when his duties allow. He writes:
"I believe in outdoor games, and I do not mind in the least that they are rough games, or that those who take part in them are occasionally injured. I have no sympathy with the overwrought sentiment which would keep a young man in cotton wool. The out-of-doors man must always prove the better in life's contest. When you play, play hard; and when you work, work hard. But do not let your play and your sport interfere with your study."
I knew an old Boer who after the war said that he could not live in the country with the British, so he went off to take service with the German troops which were at that time fighting in the neighbouring district of South West Africa. But after some months he came back and said that after all he preferred to be with the British.
He said that one of his reasons for disliking the British was that when they arrived in the country they were so 'stom' as he called it—i.e.so utterly stupid when living on the veldt that they did not know how to look after themselves, to make themselves comfortable in camp, to kill their food or to cook it, and they were always losing their way on the veldt; he allowed that after six months or so the English soldiers got to learn how to manage for themselves fairly well. But when he went to the Germans he found that they were even more 'stom' than the British, with the great difference that they went on being 'stom,' no matter how long they remained in the country. He said they were 'stom' till they died, and they generally died through blundering about at the business end of a mule.
The truth is that, being brought up in a civilised country like England, soldiers and others have no training whatever in looking after themselves out on the veldt, or in the backwoods, and the consequence is that when they go out to a colony or on a campaign they are for a long time perfectly helpless and go through a lot of hardship and trouble which would not occur had they learnt, while boys, how to look after themselves both incamp and when on patrol. They are just a lot of "Tenderfoots."
They have never had to light a fire, or to cook their own food; that has always been done for them. At home, if they wanted water they merely had to turn on the tap, and had no idea of how to set about finding water in a desert place by looking at the grass, or bush, or by scratching at the sand till they began to find signs of dampness; and if they lost their way, or did not know the time, they merely had to "ask a policeman." They had always found houses to shelter them, and beds to lie in. They had never to manufacture these for themselves, nor to make their own boots or clothing. That is why a "tenderfoot" talks of "roughing in camp"; but living in camp for a scout who knows the game is by no means "roughing it." He knows how to make himself comfortable in a thousand small ways, and then when he does come back to civilisation, he enjoys it all the more for having seen a contrast; and even there he can do very much more for himself than the ordinary mortal who has never really learned to provide for his own wants. 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.
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. This can equally well be done with bicycles, or, in the winter, by skating along the canals.
Scouts in carrying out such a tramp should never, if possible, sleep under a roof—that is to say, on fine nights they would sleep in the open wherever they may be, or, in bad weather, would get leave to occupy a hay loft or barn.
You should on all occasions take a map with you, and find your way by it, as far as possible, without having to ask the way of passers-by. You would, of course, have to do your daily good turn whenever opportunity presented itself, but besides that, you should do good turns to farmers and others who may allow you the use of their barns, and so on, as a return for their kindness.
As a rule, you should have some object in your expedition, that is to say, if you are a patrol of town boys, you would go off with the idea of scouting some special spot, say a mountain in Scotland or Wales, or a lake in Cumberland, or, possibly, some old castle, or battle-field, or a sea-side beach. Or you may be on your way to join one of the larger camps.
If, on the other hand, you are a patrol from the country, you can make your way up to London, or to a big town, with the idea of going to see its buildings, and its Zoological Gardens, circuses, museums, etc. And you should notice everything as you go along the roads, and remember, as far as possible, all your journey, so that you could give directions to anybody else who wanted to follow that road afterwards. And make a map. Explorers, of course, keep a log or journal giving a short account of each day's journey, with sketches or photos of any interesting things they see.
Instead of tramping or cycling, it is also an excellent practice for a patrol to take a boat and make a trip in that way through the country; but none should be allowed in the boat who is not a good swimmer, because accidents are pretty sure to happen, and if all are swimmers, it does not matter; in fact, it is rather a good experience than otherwise.
I once made such a cruise with two of my brothers. We took a small folding-up canvas boat, and went as far up the Thames as we could possibly get till it became so narrow and small a stream that we were continuallyhaving to get out and pull our boat over fallen trees and stopped up bits of river. Then we took it on the Avon, which rises near the source of the Thames, but flows to the westward, and here, again, we began where the river was very small, and gradually worked our way down until it developed into a big stream, and so through Bath and Bristol on to the Severn. Then across the Severn, and up the Wye into Wales. We carried with us our tent, stores, and cooking apparatus, so that we were able to live out independent of houses the whole time. A more enjoyable trip could not be imagined, and the expense was very small.
It is very necessary for a scout to be able to swim, for he never knows when he may have to cross a river, to swim for his life, or to plunge in to save someone from drowning, so those of you that cannot swim should make it your business to begin at once and learn; it is not very difficult.
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. You should be able to row one oar in time with the rest of the boat's crew, or to scull a pair of oars, or to scull a boat by screwing a single oar over the stern. In rowing, the object of feathering or turning the blade of the oar flat when it is out of the water, is to save it from catching the wind and thereby checking the pace of the boat. You should know how to throw a coil of rope so as to fling it on to another boat or wharf, or how to catch and make fast a rope thrown to you. Also you should know how to make a raft out of any materials that you can get hold of, such as planks, logs, barrels, sacks of straw, and so on, for often you may want to cross a river with your food and baggage where no boats are available, or you may be in ashipwreck where nobody can make a raft for saving themselves. You should also know how to throw a lifebuoy to a drowning man. These things can only be learnt by practice.
As a scout you must know how to fish, else you would find yourself very helpless, and perhaps starving, on a river which is full of food for you if you were only able to catch it.
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.
Then, again, you are very liable to be caught in fogs and mists, which are at all times upsetting to the calculations even of men who know every inch of the country. I had such an experience in Scotland last year when, in company with a Highlander who knew the ground, we got lost in the mist. But supposing that he knew the way, I committed myself entirely to his guidance, and after going some distance I felt bound to remark to him that I noticed the wind had suddenly changed, for it had been blowing from our left when we started, and was now blowing hard on our right cheek. However, he seemed in no way nonplussed, and led on. Presently I remarked that the wind was blowing behind us, so that either the wind, or the mountain, or we ourselves were turning round; and eventually it proved as I suggested, that it was not the wind that had turned, or the mountain, it was ourselves who had wandered roundin a complete circle, and were almost back at the point we started from within an hour.
Then scouts working on a mountain ought to practise the art of roping themselves together, as mountaineers do on icy slopes to save themselves from falling into holes in the snow and slipping down precipices. When roped together in this way supposing that one man falls, the weight of the others will save him from going down into the depths.
When roped together each man has about 14ft. between himself and the next man. The rope is fastened round his waist by a loop or bowline, the knot being on his left side. Each man has to keep back off the man in front of him so as to keep the rope tight all the time; then if one falls or slips the others lean away from him with all their weight and hold him up till he regains his footing. A loop takes up about 4ft. 6in. of rope and should be a "bowline" at the ends of the rope, and an "overhead knot" or a "middleman's loop" for central men on the rope.
Scouts generally go about scouting in pairs, or sometimes singly; if more go together they are called a patrol. When they are patrolling the scouts of a patrol hardly ever move close together, they are spread out so as to see more country and so that if cut off or ambuscaded by an enemy they will not all get caught, some will get away to give information. A patrol of six scouts working in open country would usually move in this sort of formation: in the shape of a kite with the patrol leader in the centre, if going along a street or road the patrol would move in a similar way, but in this formation keep close to the hedges or walls. No. 2 scout is in front, Nos. 3 and 4 to the right and left, No. 5 to the rear, and No. 6 with the leader (No. 1) in the centre.
Patrols when going across open country where they are likely to be seen by enemies or animals should getover it as quickly as possible,i.e., by moving at the scout's pace, walking and running alternately from one point of cover to another. As soon as they are hidden in cover they can rest and look round before making the next move. If as leading scout you get out of sight of your patrol, you should, in passing thick bushes, reeds, etc., break branches or stems of reed and grass every few yards, making the heads pointforwardto show your path, for in this way you can always find your way back again, or the patrol or anyone coming after you can easily follow you up and they can judge from the freshness of the grass pretty well how long ago it was you passed that way. It is also useful to "blaze" trees—that means take a chip out of the bark with your axe or knife, or chalk marks upon walls, or make marks in the sand, or lay stones, or show which way you have gone by the signs which I have given you.
Patrol in the Open, or on a Road or Street.Patrol in the Open, or on a Road or Street.
Patrol in the Open, or on a Road or Street.
Patrol in the Open, or on a Road or Street.
Scouts must be able to find their way equally well by night as by day. In fact, military scouts in the Army work mostly by night in order to keep hidden, and lie up during the day.
But unless they practise it frequently, fellows are veryapt to lose themselves by night, distances seem greater, and landmarks are hard to see. Also, you are apt to make more noise than by day, in walking along, by accidently treading on dry sticks, kicking stones, etc.
If you are watching for an enemy at night you have to trust much more to your ears than to your eyes, and also to your nose, for a scout who is well-practised at smelling out things and who has not damaged his sense of smell by smoking, can often smell an enemy a good distance away. I have done it many times myself and found it of the greatest value.
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.
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.—Every scout ought to be able to read signs of the weather, especially when going mountaineering or cruising, and to read a barometer.
He should remember the following points:
Red at night shepherd's delight (i.e., fine day coming).Red in morning is the shepherd's warning (i.e., rain).Yellow sunset means wind.Pale yellow sunset means rain.Dew and fog in early morning means fine weather.Clear distant view means rain coming or just past.Red dawn means fine weather—so does low dawn.High dawn is when sun rises over a bank of clouds;high above the horizon means wind.Soft clouds, fine weather.Hard edged clouds, wind.Rolled or jagged, strong wind."When the wind's before the rain,Soon you may make sail again;When the rain's before the wind,Then your sheets and halyards mind."
Red at night shepherd's delight (i.e., fine day coming).Red in morning is the shepherd's warning (i.e., rain).Yellow sunset means wind.Pale yellow sunset means rain.Dew and fog in early morning means fine weather.Clear distant view means rain coming or just past.Red dawn means fine weather—so does low dawn.High dawn is when sun rises over a bank of clouds;high above the horizon means wind.Soft clouds, fine weather.Hard edged clouds, wind.Rolled or jagged, strong wind."When the wind's before the rain,Soon you may make sail again;When the rain's before the wind,Then your sheets and halyards mind."
Red at night shepherd's delight (i.e., fine day coming).Red in morning is the shepherd's warning (i.e., rain).Yellow sunset means wind.Pale yellow sunset means rain.Dew and fog in early morning means fine weather.Clear distant view means rain coming or just past.Red dawn means fine weather—so does low dawn.High dawn is when sun rises over a bank of clouds;high above the horizon means wind.Soft clouds, fine weather.Hard edged clouds, wind.Rolled or jagged, strong wind."When the wind's before the rain,Soon you may make sail again;When the rain's before the wind,Then your sheets and halyards mind."
Red at night shepherd's delight (i.e., fine day coming).
Red in morning is the shepherd's warning (i.e., rain).
Yellow sunset means wind.
Pale yellow sunset means rain.
Dew and fog in early morning means fine weather.
Clear distant view means rain coming or just past.
Red dawn means fine weather—so does low dawn.
High dawn is when sun rises over a bank of clouds;
high above the horizon means wind.
Soft clouds, fine weather.
Hard edged clouds, wind.
Rolled or jagged, strong wind.
"When the wind's before the rain,
Soon you may make sail again;
When the rain's before the wind,
Then your sheets and halyards mind."
Practise roping scouts together for mountain climbing. Practise (if boats available) coming alongside, making fast, sculling, punting, laying oars, coiling ropes, etc., and other details of boat management. Read barometer.
Practise scouts to hear and see by night by posting some sentries, who must stand or walk about, armed with rifles and blank cartridges, or with whistles. Other scouts should be sent out as enemies to stalk and kill them. If a sentry hears a sound he fires, calls, or whistles. Scouts must at once halt and lie still. The umpire comes to the sentry and asks which direction the sound came from, and, if correct, the sentry wins. If the stalker can creep up within 15 yards of the sentry without being seen, he deposits some article, such as a handkerchief, on the ground at that point, and creeps away again. Then he makes a noise for the sentry to fire at, and when the umpire comes up, he can explain what he has done.
The whale is made of a big log of wood with a roughly shaped head and tail to represent a whale. Two boats will usually carry out the whale hunt, each boat mannedby one patrol—the patrol leader acting as captain, the corporal as bowman or harpooner, the remainder of the patrol as oarsmen. Each boat belongs to a different harbour, the two harbours being about a mile apart. The umpire takes the whale and lets it loose about halfway between the two harbours, and on a given signal, the two boats race out to see who can get to the whale first. The harpooner who first arrives within range of the whale drives his harpoon into it, and the boat promptly turns round and tows the whale to its harbour. The second boat pursues, and when it overtakes the other, also harpoons the whale, turns round, and endeavours to tow the whale back to its harbour. In this way the two boats have a tug-of-war, and eventually the better boat tows the whale, and, possibly, the opposing boat into its harbour. It will be found that discipline and strict silence and attention to the captain's orders are very strong points towards winning the game. It shows, above all things, the value of discipline. The game is similar to one described in E. Thompson Seton's "Birchbark of the Woodcraft Indians."
A Whale Hunt.A Whale Hunt.
A Whale Hunt.
A Whale Hunt.
This has been played by tourists' clubs in the Lake District, and is very similar to the "Spider and Fly"game. Three hares are sent out at daybreak to hide themselves about in the mountains; after breakfast a party of hounds go out to find them before a certain hour, say 4 p.m. If they find them, even with field glasses, it counts, provided that the finder can say definitely who it was he spotted. Certain limits of ground must be given, beyond which anyone would be out of bounds, and therefore disqualified.
"A Woman Tenderfoot," by Mrs. Ernest Thompson Seton. 5s. (Published by Doubleday.) A book of outdoor adventures and hints for camping for women and girls.
"Two Little Savages," by Ernest Thompson Seton. 6s. (Published by A. Constable & Co.)
"Mountaineering." Badminton Library Series.
CAMP FIRE YARN.—No. 15.PATHFINDING.
Finding the Way—Judging Distances—Finding the North.
Among the Red Indian scouts the man who was good at finding his way in a strange country was termed a "Pathfinder," which was with them a name of great honour, because a scout who cannot find his way is of very little use.
Many a tenderfoot has got lost in the veldt or forest, and has never been seen again, through not having learned a little scouting, or what is called "eye for a country," when a boy. I have known many instances of it myself.
In one case a man got off a coach, which was driving through the bush in Matabeleland, for a few minutes, while the mules were being changed. He apparently walked off a few yards into the bush, and when the coach was ready to start they called for him in every direction, and searched for him, but were unable to find him; and at last, the coach being unable to wait any longer, pursued its journey, leaving word for the lost man to be sought for. Full search was made for him; his tracks were followed as far as they could be, in the very difficult soil of that country, but he was not found for weeks afterwards, and then his dead body was discovered nearly fifteen miles away from where he started, and close to the road.
It often happens that when you are tramping along alone through the bush, or even in a town, you become careless in noticing what direction you are moving in; that is, you frequently change it to get round a fallen tree, or some rocks, or some other obstacle, and having passed it, you do not take up exactly the correct directionagain, and a man's inclination somehow is to keep edging to his right, and the consequence is that when you think you are going straight, you are really not doing so at all; and unless you watch the sun, or your compass, or your landmarks, you are very apt to find yourself going round in a big circle after a short time.
In such a case a tenderfoot, when he suddenly finds himself out of his bearings, and lost alone in the desert or forest, at once loses his head and gets excited, and probably begins to run, when the right thing to do is to force yourself to keep cool and give yourself something useful to do—that is, to track your own spoor back again; or, if you fail, start getting firewood for making signal fires to direct those who are looking for you.
The main point is not to get lost in the first instance.
Every old scout on first turning out in the morning notices which way the wind is blowing.
When you start out for a walk or on patrol, you should notice which direction, by the compass, you start in, and also notice which direction the wind is blowing, as that would be a great help to you in keeping your direction, especially if you have not got a compass, or if the sun is not shining.
Then you should notice all landmarks for finding your way, that is, in the country notice any hills or prominent towers, steeples, curious trees, rocks, gates, mounds, bridges, and so on; any points, in fact, by which you could find your way back again, or by which you could instruct anyone to go the same line which you have gone. If you notice your landmarks going out you can always find your way back by them, but you should take care occasionally to look back at them after passing them, so that you get to know their appearance for your return journey. The same holds good when you are in a town, or when you arrive in a new town by train; the moment you step out from the station notice where the sun is, or which way the smoke is blowing. Also notice your landmarks, which would be prominent buildings, churches, factory chimneys, names of streets and shops,etc., so that when you have gone down numerous streets you can turn round and find your way back again to the station without any difficulty. It is wonderfully easy when you have practised it a little, yet many people get lost when they have turned a few corners in a town which they do not know.
The way to find which way the wind is blowing if there is only very light air is to throw up little bits of dry grass, or to hold up a handful of light dust and let it fall, or to suck your thumb and wet it all round and let the wind blow on it, and the cold side of it will then tell you which way the wind is blowing. When you are acting as scout to find the way for a party you should move ahead of them and fix your whole attention on what you are doing, because you have to go by the very smallest signs, and if you get talking and thinking of other things you are very apt to miss them. Old scouts are generally very silent people, from having got into this habit of fixing their attention on the work in hand. Very often you see a "tenderfoot" out for the first time, thinking that the leading scout looks lonely, will go and walk or ride alongside of him and begin a conversation, until the scout shows him by his manner or otherwise that he does not particularly want him there. On Thames steamers you see a notice, "Don't speak to the man at the wheel," and the same thing applies with a scout who is guiding a party. When acting as scout you must keep all your thoughts on the one subject, like Kim did when Lurgan tried to mesmerise him.
Every scout must be able to judge distance from an inch up to a mile and more. You ought, first of all, to know exactly what is the span of your hand and the breadth of your thumb, and the length from your elbow to your wrist, and the length from one hand to the other with your arms stretched out to either side, and also the length of your feet; if you remember these accuratelythey are a great help to you in measuring things. Also it is useful to cut notches on your staff, showing such measurements as one inch, six inches, one foot, and one yard. These you can measure off with a tape measure before you use your staff, and they may come in very useful.
Judging the distance of objects from you is only gained by practice, and judging the distance of a journey is generally estimated by seeing how long you have been travelling, and at what rate; that is to say, supposing you walk at the rate of four miles an hour, if you have been walking for an hour and a half you know that you have done about six miles.
Distance can also be judged by sound; that is to say, if you see a gun fired in the distance, and you count the number of seconds between the flash and the sound of the explosion reaching you, you will be able to tell how far off you are from the gun.
Sound travels at the rate of 365 feet in a second; that is, as many feet as there are days in the year.
A scout must also be able to estimate heights, from a few inches up to two or three thousand feet or more; that is to say, he ought to be able to judge the height of a fence, the depth of a ditch, or the height of an embankment, of a house, tree, of a tower, or hill, or mountain. It is easy to do when once you have practised it for a few times, but it is very difficult to teach it by book.
You must also know how to estimate weights, from a letter of an ounce, or a fish, or a potato of one pound, or a sack of bran, or a cartload of coals; and also the probable weight of a man from his appearance—these, again, are only learnt by practice, but as a scout you should take care to learn them for yourself.
Also you should be able to judge of numbers; that is to say, you should be able to tell at a glanceabouthow many people are in a group, or on a 'bus, or in a big crowd, how many sheep in a flock, how many marbles on a tray, and so on. These you can practise for yourself at all times in the street or field.
In the German Army instructions for judging distance are given as follows:
At fifty yards, mouth and eyes of the enemy can be clearly seen.
At 100 yards, eyes appear as dots; 200 yards, buttons and details of uniform can still be seen. At 300 yards, face can be seen; at 400 yards, the movement of the legs can be seen; at 500 yards the colour of the uniform can be seen.
For distances over these, think out for yourself which point is halfway to the object. Estimate how far this may be from you, and then double it to obtain the distance. Or another way is to estimate the furthest distance that the object can be away, and then the very nearest it could be, and strike a mean between the two.
Objects appear nearer than they really are: First, when the light is bright and shining on the object; secondly, when looking across water or snow, or looking uphill or down. Objects appear further off when in the shade; across a valley; when the background is of the same colour; when the observer is lying down or kneeling; when there is a heat haze over the ground.
Every sailor boy knows the points of the compass by heart and so should a scout. I have talked a good deal about the north, and you will understand that it is a most important help to a scout in pathfinding to know the direction of the north.
If you have not a compass the sun will tell you by day where the north is, and the moon and the stars by night.
At six o'clock in the morning the sun is due east, at nine o'clock he is south-east, at noon he is south, at three o'clock in the afternoon he is south-west, and at six o'clock he is due west. In winter he will have set long before six o'clock, but he will not have reached due west when he is set.
The Phoenicians who sailed round Africa in ancient times noticed that when they started the sun rose on their left-hand side—they were going south. Then they reported that they got to a strange country where the sun got up in the wrong quarter, namely, on their right-hand. The truth was that they had gone round the Cape of Good Hope and were steering north again up the east side of Africa.
Directions.Directions.
Directions.
Directions.
To find the south at any time of day by the sun—hold your watch flat, face upwards, so that the sun shines on it. Turn it round till the hour hand points at the sun. Then, without moving the watch, lay the edge of a piece of paper or a pencil across the face of the watch so that it rests on the centre of the dial and points out halfway between the Figure XII. and the hour hand. The line given by that pencil will be the true south and north line.
(Instructor should make each boy find the south for himself with a watch).
The Stars.—The stars appear to circle over us during the night, which is really due to our earth turning round under them.
There are various groups which have got names given to them because they seem to make some kind of pictures or "sky-signs" of men and animals.
The "Plough" is an easy one to find, being shaped something like a plough. And it is the most useful one for a scout to know, because in the northern part of the world it shows him exactly where the north is. The Plough is also called the "Great Bear," and the four stars in the curve make its tail. It is the only bear I know of that wears a long tail.
Great Bear.Great Bear.
Great Bear.
Great Bear.
The two stars in the Plough called the "Pointers" point out where the North or Pole Star is. All the stars and constellations move round, as I have said, during the night, but the Pole Star remains fixed in the north. There is also the "Little Bear" near the Great Bear, and the last star in his tail is the North or Pole Star.
The sky may be compared to an umbrella over you. The pole star is where the stick goes through the centre of it.
A real umbrella has been made with all the stars marked on it in their proper places. If you stand under it and twist it slowly round you see exactly how the stars quietly go round, but the Pole Star remains steady in the middle.
Then another set of stars or "constellation," as it is called, represents a man wearing a sword and belt, and is named "Orion." It is easily recognised by the three stars in line, which are the belt, and three smaller stars in another line, close by which are the sword. Then two stars to right and left below the sword are his feet, while two more above the belt are his shoulders, and a group of three small stars between them make his head.
Now the great point about Orion is that by him you always can tell which way the north or Pole Star lies, and which way the south, and you can see him whether you are in the south or the north part of the world. The Great Bear you only see when you are in the north, and the Southern Cross when you are in the south.
If you draw a line, by holding up your staff against the sky, from the centre star of Orion's belt through the centre of his head, and carry that line on through two big stars till it comes to a third, that third one is the North or Pole star.
Then if you draw a line the other way, beginning again with the centre star of the belt, and passing through the centre star of the sword your line goes through another group of stars shaped like the letter L. And if you go about as far again past L, you come to the South Pole, which unfortunately is not marked by any star.
Roughly, Orion's sword—the three small stars—points north and south.
The Zulu scouts call Orion's belt and sword the "Ingolubu," or three pigs pursued by three dogs. The Masai in East Africa say that the three stars in Orion'sbelt are three bachelors being followed by three old maids. You see scouts all know Orion, though under different names.
Orion and his sword always point North and South.Orion and his sword always point North and South.
Orion and his sword always point North and South.
Orion and his sword always point North and South.
On the south side of the world, that is in South Africa, South America, and Australia, the Plough or Great Bear is not visible, but the Southern Cross is seen. TheSouthern Cross is a good guide as to where the exact south is, which, of course, tells a scout just as much as the Great Bear in the north pointing to the North Star.
Southern Cross.Southern Cross.
Southern Cross.
Southern Cross.
Teach the boys to recognise the Great Bear and the Pole Star, and Orion; to judge time by the sun; find the south by the watch. Practise map reading and finding the way by the map; and mark off roads by blazing, broken branches, and signs drawn on the ground. Practise judging distance, heights and weights, and numbers.
The way to estimate the distance across a river is to take an object X, such as a tree or rock on the opposite bank; start off at right angles to it from A, and pace, say, ninety yards along your bank; on arriving at sixty yards, plant a stick or stone, B; on arriving at C, thirty yards beyond that, that is ninety from the start, turn at right angles and walk inland, counting your paces until you bring the stick and the distant tree inline; the number of paces that you have taken from the bank C D will then give you the half distance across A X.
Distance.Distance.
Distance.
Distance.
Height.Height.
Height.
Height.
To find the height of an object, such as a tree (A X), or a house, pace a distance of, say, eight yards away from it, and there at B plant a stick, say, six feet high; then pace on until you arrive at a point where the top of the stick comes in line C with the top of the tree; then the whole distance A C from the foot is to A X, the height ofthe tree, the same as the distance B C, from the stick, is to the height of the stick; that is if the whole distance A C is thirty-three feet, and the distance B C from the stick is nine (the stick being six feet high), the tree is twenty-two feet high.
Mr. G. L. Boundy, of Exeter, has been practising his boys in judging distances in the following manner:
He has a board put up on which are given the actual distances and heights and measurements of the various streets and buildings round about with which they are well acquainted. This gives the boys a standard to work upon, and they then go out and guess heights and distances, and other objects given to them by Mr. Boundy, who has previously ascertained their correct measurements by inquiry or otherwise. In this way they are able to learn a good deal of the subject in the immediate neighbourhood in the middle of the town.
It is often useful for the instructor, if he has a bicycle, to measure a number of distances beforehand by running over them and counting the revolutions of his wheel. He can then make the boys guess those distances, and can check them, knowing the correct distance himself.
Instructor takes a patrol in patrolling formation into a strange town or into an intricate piece of strange country, with a cycling map. He then gives instructions as to where he wants to go to, makes each scout in turn lead the patrol, say for seven minutes if cycling, fifteen minutes if walking. This scout is to find the way entirely by the map, and marks are given for ability in reading, that is to say, each scout is given ten marks on starting, and one is deducted for every mistake that he makes. If he makes no mistake at all throughout the exercise, his ten small marks will count as one real scout mark towards a badge "of merit."
Star-gazing.—Take out the scouts on clear nights and post them separately, and let each find the North Star and Orion, etc., and point them out to you as you come round.
Judging Distance.—Take a patrol and station its members about in different directions and with different background, according to the colour of their clothes; then take another patrol to judge distance of these points. Two competitors are sent in turn to three different points. At the first point they are merely given the compass bearing of the next one, which is some three hundred yards distant, and so on in succession. At each point each pair of scouts notices regarding the enemy—first, how many visible; second, how far off; third, what is their compass direction; fourth, how they are clothed. The best answers win provided they are within the specified time. The time allowed should be one minute for observation at each station, and half a minute for each bit of running.
Find the North.—Scouts are posted thirty yards apart, and each lays down his staff on the ground pointing to what he considers the exact north (or south), without using any instrument. The umpire compares each stick with the compass; the one who guesses nearest wins. This is a useful game to play at night or on sunless days as well as sunny days.
Other Games.—For further games in "Pathfinding," see Appendix, Part VI.
"Guide to the Umbrella Star Map," by D. MacEwan, member of the British Astronomical Association, 1s. "The Umbrella Star Map," made by Reid & Todd, 215, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. (An ordinary umbrella with all the stars in their proper places on the inside. This map can be correctly set for any day in the year and any hour, showing the approximate positions of the stars.)
"The Science Year Book," by Major Baden-Powell. 5s. King, Sell & Olding, 27, Chancery Lane.
"An Easy Guide to the Constellations," by the Rev. James Gall. 1s. (Gall & Inglis.) Contains diagrams of the constellations.
"Astronomy for Everybody," by Simon Newcomb. 6s. (Publisher, Isbister.) Also books on astronomy by Professors Ball, Heath, Maunder, and Flammarion.