Chapter 9

Torture.Torture.

Torture.

Comfort.Comfort.

Comfort.

I saw lately a man in charge of a loaded cart whose horse was thus tied up. He wanted to get the cart through some heavy mud (it was on the new Mall from Buckingham Palace to Charing Cross) and the horse tried to lean forward to pull but could not. The man beat him for not trying—the poor beast in his pain and terror reared up on his hind legs, and the man beat him again for "showing temper."

When I saw it I felt inclined to beat the man, but I went up and said I thought I could make the horse do it. The man grinned while I was undoing the hame-rein and said I should have to get another horse to do it then. But when the horse found his head free and I smacked him on the back, he flung the whole of his weight into the collar with his head well down, and with both hindtoes dug into the ground he heaved the cart forward a few inches, and then again a few more, and not many seconds later had it all safe on the hard road.

Often you can help a horse struggling with a load on a slippery road by scattering a few handfuls of sand or ashes. Miss Lisette Rest used to do this in London and when she died she left money for that purpose.

Other tame animals to understand are, of course, dogs. And a good dog is the very best companion for a scout, who need not think himself a really good scout till he has trained a young dog to do all he wants of him. It requires great patience and kindness, and genuine sympathy with the dog.

A dog is the most human of all animals and, therefore the best companion for a man. He is always courteous, and always ready for a game—full of humour, and very faithful and loving.

Of course a scout who lives in the country has much better chances of studying animals and birds than one who lives in a town.

Still if you live in London there are lots of different kinds of birds in the parks, ducks and waterfowl of every kind, pelicans, woodpigeons, woodpeckers, and most of the English birds; there is almost every animal under the sun to be seen alive in the Zoological Gardens, or stuffed and set up in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington—so that a Boy Scout in London ought to know as much about all animals as most people. And even in Leadenhall Market you can see a number of different kinds of live animals for sale, as well as in the many animal shops about London or any other big town.

In other towns it is perhaps a little more difficult, but most of them have their Natural History Museum where a fellow can learn the appearance and names of many animals; and you can do a lot of observing in the parks or by starting a feeding-box for birds at your own window. And, best of all, by going out into the country whenever you can get a few hours for it by train, or bicycle or on your own flat feet, and there to stalk such animals as rabbits, hares, water-rats, birds, fish, etc., andwatch all they do, and get to know their different kinds and their names, and also what kind of tracks they make on the ground, their nests and eggs, and so on.

If you are lucky enough to own a camera you cannot possibly do better than start making a collection of photos of animals and birds taken from life. Such a collection is ten times more interesting than the ordinary boy's collection of stamps, or crests, or autographs, which any ass can accomplish by sitting at home and bothering other people to give.

And cameras can be got very cheaply now: it only means saving up money in a money-box for a short time.

The wild animals I shall talk of now are those which you find in Great Britain. Any scouts who live in the Colonies or elsewhere must make up their own lists for themselves.

As a scout you should study the habits of as many of these animals as you can:—

Red DeerHaresRabbitsRatsBadgersFoxesMiceWeaslesOttersFallow DeerBatsMolesHedgehogsVolesSquirrelsPolecatsStoats

Red Deer

Hares

Rabbits

Rats

Badgers

Foxes

Mice

Weasles

Otters

Fallow Deer

Bats

Moles

Hedgehogs

Voles

Squirrels

Polecats

Stoats

Every animal is interesting to watch and it is just as difficult to stalk a weasel as it is to stalk a lion. Even the humble hedgehog can be a hero among animals. Here is a description of a fight between a hedgehog and a viper by Mr. Millais in his book on the "Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland." (Mammals mean animals that have "Mammas"—that is, they are born alive, not like chickens in eggs that have to be hatched—birds are not mammals.)

"Everyone knows that the hedgehog is a sworn enemy of reptiles in general and of the viper in particular; but few, perhaps, are aware in what way he overcomes so dangerous an enemy.

"My keeper was going his rounds this summer in a wood which was infested by vipers when he espied an enormous one asleep in the sun. He was on the pointof killing it with a charge of shot, when he perceived a hedgehog coming cautiously over the moss and noiselessly approaching the reptile. He then witnessed a curious sight. As soon as the hedgehog was within reach of his prey, he seized it by the tail with his teeth and as quick as thought rolled himself into a ball. The viper, awakened by the pain, at once turned and made a terrific dart at him. The hedgehog did not wince. The viper, infuriated, extends itself, hisses and twists in fearful contortions. In five minutes it is covered with blood, its mouth one large wound (from the spines of the hedgehog), and it lies exhausted on the ground.

"A few more starts, and then a last convulsive agony, and it expires.

"When the hedgehog perceived that it was quite dead he let go his hold and quietly unrolled himself. He was just about to begin his meal and devour the reptile when the sight of my keeper, who had approached during the struggle, alarmed him, and he rolled himself up again till the man had retreated into the wood."

We are apt to think that all animals are guided in their conduct by instinct, that is by a sort of idea that is born in them. For instance, we imagine that a young otter swims naturally directly he is put into water, or that a young deer runs away from a man from a natural inborn fear of him.

Mr. W. Long in his book "School of the Woods" shows that animals largely owe their cleverness to their mothers who teach them while yet young. Thus he has seen an otter carry two of her young upon her back into the water, and after swimming about for a little while she suddenly dived from under them and left them struggling in the water. But she rose near them and helped them to swim back to the shore. In this way she gradually taught them to swim.

I once saw a lioness in East Africa sitting with her four little cubs all in a row watching me approaching her. She looked exactly as though she were teaching her young ones how to act in the case of a man coming.

She was evidently saying to them, "Now, cubbies, I want you all to notice what a white man is like. Then, one by one, you must jump up and skip away, with a whisk of your tail. The moment you are out of sight in the long grass you must creep and crawl till you have got to leeward (down-wind) of him; then follow him, always keeping him to windward, so that you can smell whereabouts he is and he cannot find you."

Teaching the Youngsters.Teaching the Youngsters.

Teaching the Youngsters.

In "The School of the Woods," Long writes:

"Watch, say, a crow's nest. One day you will see the mother bird standing near the nest and stretching her wings over her little ones. Presently the young stand up and stretch their wings in imitation. That is the first lesson.

"Next day, perhaps, you will see the old bird lifting herself to tip-toe and holding herself there by vigorous flapping. Again the young imitate and soon learn that their wings are a power to sustain them. Next day you may see both parent birds passing from branch to branch about the nest aided by their wings in the long jumps. The little ones join and play and, lo! they have learned to fly without even knowing that they were being taught."

BIRDS.

A man who studies birds is called an ornithologist. Mark Twain, the amusing, yet kind-hearted, American writer, says: "There are fellows who write books about birds and love them so much that they'll go hungry and tired to find a new kind of bird—and kill it.

"They are called 'ornithologers.'

"I could have been an 'ornithologer' myself, because I always loved birds and creatures. And I started out to learn how to be one. I see a bird sitting on a dead limb of a high tree, singing away with his head tilted back and his mouth open—and before I thought I fired my gun at him; his song stopped all suddenly, and he fell from the branch, limp like a rag, and I ran and picked him up—and he was dead: his body was warm in my hand, and his head rolled about this way and that, like as if his neck was broke, and there was a white skin over his eyes, and one drop of red blood sparkled on the side of his head—and—laws! I couldn't see nothing for the tears. I haven't ever murdered no creature since then that warn't doing me no harm—and I ain' agoing to neither."

A good scout is generally a good "ornithologer" as Mark Twain calls him. That is to say he likes stalking birds and watching all that they do. He discovers by watching them where and how they build their nests.

He does not, like the ordinary boy, want to go and rob them of their eggs, but he likes to watch how they hatch out their young and teach them to feed themselves and to fly. He gets to know every species of bird by its call and by its way of flying; and he knows which birds remain all the year round and which only come at certain seasons; and what kind of food they like best, and how they change their plumage; what sort of nests they build, where they build them, and what the eggs are like.

There are 177 different kinds of birds in Great Britain.Here are some of the commoner birds which a scout should know by sight and sound:

Wood pigeon Heron JackdawPheasant Wren RookPartridge Wagtail CrowGrouse Swallow RavenCuckoo Martin ThrushSkylark Woodpecker BlackbirdSnipe Gull TitWild duck Tern FinchPlover Owl WoodcockWild goose Hawk CurlewRobin Falcon KingfisherStarling Moorhen

Wood pigeon Heron Jackdaw

Pheasant Wren Rook

Partridge Wagtail Crow

Grouse Swallow Raven

Cuckoo Martin Thrush

Skylark Woodpecker Blackbird

Snipe Gull Tit

Wild duck Tern Finch

Plover Owl Woodcock

Wild goose Hawk Curlew

Robin Falcon Kingfisher

Starling Moorhen

A good deal of natural history can even be studied by keeping birds in your houses, or watching them in your neighbourhood, especially if you feed them daily in winter. It is interesting to note, for instance, their different ways of singing, how some sing to make love to the hen birds, while others, like the barndoor cock, crow or sing to challenge another to fight. A herring gull makes an awful ass of himself, when he tries to sing and to show himself off to the ladies, and an old crow is not much better. Then it is interesting to watch how the young birds hatch out; some appear naked with no feathers and their eyes shut and their mouths open. Others, with fluffy kind of feathers all over them, are full of life and energy. Young moorhens, for instance, swim as soon as they come out of the egg; young chickens start running about and hunting flies within a very few minutes; while a young sparrow is useless for days, and has to be fed and coddled by his parents.

There are over forty different kinds of birds which visit England from abroad, especially from India and Africa, at certain times of the year, chiefly in April, such as the sand martin, swallow, house martin, nightingale, hobby falcon, cuckoo, corncrake, and swift.

A good many birds are almost dying out in GreatBritain, because so many boys bag all their eggs when they find their nests.

Birds'-nesting is very like big game shooting—you look out in places that, as a hunter, you know are likely places for the birds you want; you watch the birds fly in and out and you find the nest. But do not then go and destroy the nest and take all the eggs. If you are actually a collector, take one egg and leave the rest, and, above all, don't pull the nest about, otherwise the parent birds will desert it, and all those eggs which might have developed into jolly young birds will be wasted.

Far better than taking the eggs is to take a photo or make a sketch of the hen sitting on her nest, or to make a collection of pictures of the different kinds of nests, made by the different kinds of birds.

Aberdeen in Scotland is supposed to be specially well off for skylarks, for the following reason.

A few years ago there came a very severe gale and snowstorm late in March—and all the high ground inland was so buried under snow and ice, that the birds were all driven to the lower land near the coast. The fields by the seashore were covered with them.

Numbers of people went out to catch them with bird-lime, nets, snares, and guns. Large numbers were taken alive to be sent to market in London and other towns.

One gentleman found a man selling a big cage full of them. They were crowded up to a fearful extent and all fluttering with terror at their imprisonment, struggling over each other in their frantic desire to escape. He felt so sorry for them that he bought the whole lot and took them to his warehouse where he was able to give them plenty of room and food and water.

Then he offered to buy all the larks that were being captured for the market at market prices. In this way he received over a thousand—and these he put in a big room where they had comparative freedom and plenty of food. It is said that the noise of their singing in the morning was almost deafening and crowds of birds used to gather over the house to hear them.

At last the bad weather passed off, the sun shone outagain and the fields became green and bright, and then the kind man who had housed the birds opened the windows of the room and all the birds flew out in a happy crowd chirping and singing as they mounted into the bright warm air or fluttered off to the adjoining fields and woods. And there they build their nests and hatched out their young so that to-day the song of the lark is to be heard everywhere round Aberdeen.

Through ignorance of natural history many keepers and others see no difference between sparrow-hawks, merlins, and kestrels, and destroy all of them as mischievous to game. Sparrow-hawks and merlins do, no doubt, kill young game, but a kestrel hardly ever, if ever. He lives principally on field mice. You can tell him by his flight—he spends much of his time hovering in the air looking out with his sharp eyes for a mouse upon which to swoop down. The sparrow-hawk flits in and out round rocks and over fences hoping thus to come on prey by surprise. The merlin is a very small but very plucky little hawk and hunts down his prey by fast flying.

The more usual reptiles in Great Britain are:

Grass Snake.Viper.Frog.Toad.Lizard.

Grass Snake.

Viper.

Frog.

Toad.

Lizard.

The commoner fishes are:

Trout.Grayling.Perch.Roach.Dace.Chub.Bream.Pike.Minnow.Salmon.

Trout.

Grayling.

Perch.

Roach.

Dace.

Chub.

Bream.

Pike.

Minnow.

Salmon.

and a number of sea fish.

Every scout ought to be able to fish in order to get food for himself. A tenderfoot who starved on the bank of a river full of fish would look very silly, yet it might happen to one who had never learnt to catch fish.

And fishing brings out a lot of the points in scouting, especially if you fish with a fly. To be successful you must know a lot about the habits and ways of the fish, what kind of haunt he frequents, in what kind of weather he feeds, and at what time of day, which kind of food he likes best, how far off he can see you, and so on. Without knowing these you can fish away until you are blue in the face and never catch one.

A fish generally has his own particular haunt in the stream and when once you discover a fish at home you can go and creep near and watch all that he does.

Then you have to be able to tie very special knots with delicate gut—which is a bit of a puzzler to any boy whose fingers are all thumbs.

And you have to have infinite patience; your line gets caught up in bushes and reeds, or your clothes—or when it can't find any other body it ties itself up in a knot round itself. Well, it's no use getting angry with it. There are only two things to do—the first is to grin a smile, and the second is to set to work, very leisurely, to undo it. Then you will have loads of disappointments in losing fish through the line breaking, or other mishaps; but remember those are what happen to everybody when they begin fishing and are the troubles that in the end make it so very enjoyable when you have got over them.

And when you catch your fish, do as I do—only keep those you specially want for food or as specimens; put back the others the moment you have landed them. The prick of the hook in their leathery mouth does not hurt them permanently, and they swim off quite happily to enjoy life in their water again.

If you use a dry fly, that is keeping your fly sitting on top of the water instead of sunk under the surface, you have to really stalk your fish just as you would deer or any other game, for a trout is very sharp-eyed and shy.

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.

A 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.

I believe that fried snake, like fried eel, is not half bad.

I have eaten the huge kind of lizard called an iguana. He had his head and tail cut off to enable him to go into the cooking pot, and when he was boiled and put on the table he looked exactly like a headless baby with his arms and legs and little hands. And when we ate him he tasted just like a baby too. Well—you know what a baby tastes like—sort of soft chicken flavoured with violet-powder!

A Viper (or Adder) has this marking on his head and neck; other snakes have none—in Great Britain.A Viper (or Adder) has this marking on his head and neck; other snakes have none—in Great Britain.

A Viper (or Adder) has this marking on his head and neck; other snakes have none—in Great Britain.

As far as snakes go, there are not, fortunately, many poisonous ones in England—only the viper is poisonous. It is differently marked from other snakes having a black V or arrow-head mark on its head and a dark zig-zag line along its back. It is generally dark brown in colour. The viper is sometimes called adder.

Of course a scout ought to know about snakes because in almost all wild countries you come across plenty of them and many of them dangerous.

They have a horrid knack of creeping into tents and under blankets, or into boots. You will always notice an old hand in camp before he turns in at night look very carefully through his blankets, and in the morning before putting on his boots he will carefully shake them out. I even find myself doing it now in my bedroom at home, just from habit.

Snakes don't like crawling over anything rough as arule; so in India you often construct a kind of path made of sharp jagged stones all round a house to prevent snakes crawling into it from the garden.

And on the prairie hunters sometimes lay a hair rope on the ground in a circle round their blankets.

A hair rope has so many tiny spikes sticking out of it that it tickles the snake's tummy to such an extent he cannot go over it.

I used to catch snakes when I was at school, by using a long stick with a small fork at the end of it. When I saw a snake I stalked him, jammed the fork down on his neck, and then tied him up the stick with strips of old handkerchief, and carried him back to sell to anybody who wanted a pet. But they are not good things to make pets of as a rule because so many people have a horror of them, and it is not fair, therefore, to have them about in a house where servants or others might get frightened by them.

Poisonous snakes carry their poison in a small kind of bag inside their mouths. They have two fangs or long pointed teeth, which are on a kind of hinge; they lie flat along the snake's gums till he gets angry and wants to kill something; then they stand on end, and he dives his head forward and strikes them into his enemy. As he does so the poison passes out of the poison bag, or gland as it is called, into the two holes in your skin made by the fangs. This poison then gets into the veins of the man who has been bitten and is carried by the blood all over the body in a few seconds, unless steps are at once taken to stop it by sucking the wound and binding the veins up very tightly.

Insects are very interesting animals to collect, or to watch, or to photograph.

Also for a scout who fishes, or studies birds, or reptiles, it is most important that he should know a certain amount about the insects which are their favourite foodat different times of the year or different hours of the day.

The usual insects about which a scout ought to know something, are:

Moths.Gnats.Beetles.Grasshoppers.Ants.Spiders.Glow-worms.Butterflies.Lice.Bees and wasps.

Moths.

Gnats.

Beetles.

Grasshoppers.

Ants.

Spiders.

Glow-worms.

Butterflies.

Lice.

Bees and wasps.

About bees alone whole books have been written—for they have wonderful powers in making their honeycomb, in finding their way for miles—sometimes as far as six miles—to find the right kind of flowers for giving them the sugary juice for making honey, and getting back with it to the hive.

They are quite a model community, for they respect their Queen and kill their unemployed.

Then some insects are useful as food. Ants make a substitute for salt. Locusts—a big kind of grasshopper—are eaten in India and South Africa. We were very glad to get a flight or two of them over Mafeking. When they settled on the ground we went, and with empty sacks, beat them down as they tried to rise. They were then dried in the sun and pounded up and eaten.

Set your scouts to find out by observation, and to report on such points as these:

In Country:How does a wild rabbit dig his hole? When a lot of rabbits are alarmed does a rabbit merely run because the others do, or does he look round and see what is the danger before he goes, too?

Does a woodpecker break the bark away to get at insects on a tree trunk, or does he pick them out of holes, or how does he get at them?

Does a trout when disturbed by people passing along the bank, go up or down stream? Does he go away altogether, or return to his place? How long does he stay away? etc.

In Town:Make your scouts go out and report if they see a lame horse or one with collar gall or sore mouth or tight bearing-rein.

Patrol to make a beehive or two, and put in queen bees or swarms, and start bee-farming for profit.

Scouts make lures, traps, snares, etc., and set them (not on preserved ground) to catch birds and animals for food.

The following marks can be gained in this section by First Class Scouts towards Badge of Honour.

For drawing correctly the foot-tracks of twelve different animals or birds, 3 marks.

Name twelve different kinds of fish and describe the points by which they may be recognised, up to 2 marks. The same illustrated by drawings, or models in clay, up to 4 marks.

Photos or sketches from life of twelve wild animals, birds, reptiles, &c., with short description of about twenty words each. Taken and developed, or drawn by the scout himself, up to 5 marks.

A lion is represented by one scout who goes out with tracking irons on his feet, and a pocketful of corn or peas, and six tennis balls. He is allowed half an hour's start, and then the patrol go after him, following his spoor, each armed with one tennis ball with which to shoot him, when they find him. The lion may hide or creep about or run just as he feels inclined, but whenever the ground is hard or very grassy, he must drop a few grains of corn, every few yards to show the trail.

If the hunters fail to come up to him neither wins thegame. When they come near to his lair the lion fires at them with his tennis balls, and the moment a hunter is hit he must fall out dead and cannot throw his tennis ball. If the lion gets hit by a hunting tennis ball he is wounded, and if he gets wounded three times he is killed.

Tennis balls may only be fired once; they cannot be picked up and fired again in the same fight.

Each scout must collect and hand in his tennis balls after the game. In winter if there is snow, this game can be played without tracking irons, and using snowballs instead of tennis balls.

"Every Boy's Book of British Natural History." by W. P. Westall. (Pub. Religious Tract Society, London.)

"With Flashlight and Rifle in East Africa," by Schilling.

"Duty," by S. Smiles. (Chap. XIII., XIV.) 2s. 6d.

"A Year with Nature," by Westall. Giving the habits of animals and birds of the British Isles according to the months.

"Beasts of the Field" by William J. Luy. (Pub. Ginn & Co.).

"Countryside," weekly, Illustrated, 1d.

"Wild Sports of the Highlands," by C. St. John. (Murray.)

"I Go A-walking Through Lanes and Meadows." Photos and short accounts of English birds. Rev. C. Johns. (Foulis.)

* "The Jungle Book," by Rudyard Kipling.

"Jock of the Bushveld," by Sir Percy Fitz Patrick. A story of big game hunting in S. Africa, and the active part that "Jock" the terrier played in it.

"The Wild Animal Play." By Mrs. E. Thompson Seton. A musical play in which the parts of Lobo, Waahb, and Vixen are taken by boys and girls. Price 6d. Published by Doubleday, Page & Co., 133 East 16th Street, New York City, U.S.A.

CAMP-FIRE YARN.—No. 10.PLANTS.

Trees and their leaves—Eatable Plants—Practices and games connected with Plants—Books about Plants.

Although they are not animals, trees are things about which scouts should know something. Very often a scout has to describe country which he has seen, and if he says it is "well-wooded" it would often be of great importance that the reader of his report should know what kind of trees the woods were composed of.

For instance, if the wood were of fir or larch trees it would mean you could get poles for building bridges; if it were palm trees you know you could get cocoa-nuts (or dates if they were date palms), and the palm juice for drinking. Willow trees mean water close by.

Or if pine woods or sugar bush or gum-trees it would mean lots of good fuel. And he must know a poplar tree by sight, so as not to use poplar wood in camp if there are any old scouts present—they have a superstition that poplar brings bad luck.

A scout should, therefore, make a point of learning the names and appearances of the trees in his country.

He should get hold of a leaf of each kind and compare it with the leaf on the tree.

Oak.Oak.

Oak.

Elm.Elm.

Elm.

Poplar.Poplar.

Poplar.

Plane.Plane.

Plane.

Sycamore.Sycamore.

Sycamore.

Ash.Ash.

Ash.

Spanish Chestnut.Spanish Chestnut.

Spanish Chestnut.

Horse chestnut is not so called because horses like the chestnuts, but because it has on the bark of its smaller branches small marks like horse-shoes with all the nails in them; and then get to know the general shape and appearance of each kind of tree, so as to be able to recognise it at a distance, and not only in summer, but also in winter.

The common trees in Great Britain which a scout should know by sight are:

Oak Poplar Holly BeechElm Pine Horse BirchPlane Sycamore Chestnut SpanishCedar Larch Ash ChestnutFir Willow Lime Walnut

Oak Poplar Holly Beech

Elm Pine Horse Birch

Plane Sycamore Chestnut Spanish

Cedar Larch Ash Chestnut

Fir Willow Lime Walnut

But especially you ought to know which kinds of plants are useful to you in providing you with food. Supposing you were out in a jungle without any food, as very often happens; if you knew nothing about plants you would probably die of starvation, or of poisoning, from not knowing which fruit or roots were wholesome and which dangerous to eat.

There are numbers of berries, nuts, roots, barks, and leaves that are good to eat.

The same with crops of different kinds of corn and seed, vegetable roots, and even grasses and vetches. Seaweed is much eaten in Ireland (Sloke) and Scotland. Certain kinds of moss are also used as food.

HINTS FOR INSTRUCTOR.

Take out scouts to get specimens of leaves, fruits, or blossoms of various trees, shrubs, etc., and observe the shape and nature of the tree both in summer and in winter.

Collect leaves of different trees; let scouts make tracings of them and write the name of the tree on each.

In the country make scouts examine crops in all stages of their growth so that they know pretty well by sight what kind of crop is coming up.

Start gardens, if possible, either a patrol garden or individual scout's garden. Let them grow flowers and vegetables for profit to pay for their equipment, etc.

Show all the wild plants which may be made use of for food.

Marks towards a Badge of Honour may be awarded to first-class scouts for collection of not less than twenty-five kinds of leaf—pressed, with names neatly written against them. Marks, 3; or the leaves may be drawn on paper. Marks awardable, 4.

Prize for best window-box of flowers planted and grown by the scout himself.

Start off your scouts, either cycling or on foot, to go in any direction they like, to get a specimen of any ordered plant, say a sprig of yew, a shoot of ilex, a horseshoe mark from a chestnut-tree, a briar rose, or something of that kind, whichever you may order, such as will tax their knowledge of plants and will test their memory as to where they noticed one of the kind required, and will also make them quick in getting there and back.

"School Gardening," by W. E. Watkins, 2s. (Philip & Son.)

PLAY.THE DIAMOND THIEF.

(Best performed in the open air and in dumbshow.)

A party of prospectors have been out into the wild country in South Africa, and have found a magnificent diamond. They are now making their way back to civilization with it. Horse-sickness has killed off their horses, and so they are doing the journey on foot, carrying their blankets, food, and cooking pots.

As the heat of the day comes on they camp for the day, meaning to push on again at night. They rig up blanket-tents and light fires and cook their food, weave mattresses, sing songs of home, play cards, etc. The diamond is taken out of the sardine tin in which it is kept for all to look at and admire. It is then put carefully back. The box is placed out in the open where it can be seen and one man is told off as a sentry to guard it. The remainder have their food, and then gradually lie down to sleep. When the camp is all still, the sentry gets tired of standing and presently sits down and begins to nod.

While he is dozing the diamond thief sneaks into sight, creeps near to the camp, and crouches, watching the sleeping man; when the sentry wakes up for a moment with a start the thief crouches flat.

Eventually the sentry reclines and goes to sleep. Inch by inch the thief creeps up, till he stealthily removes the sentry's gun (or pistol) out of his reach; then he swiftly glides up to the diamond-box, seizes it, and sneaks quickly away, without being discovered, dodges about, walks backward, and wipes out his tracks as he goes in order to confuse pursuers.

The leader wakes with a yawn, and, when looking round, starts when he sees there is no sentry standing about. He springs up, rushes to the sleeping sentry, shakes him up, and asks him where is the diamond. Sentry wakes up confused and scared. Remainderwake and crowd angrily together threatening and questioning the sentry.

When one suddenly sees the footprints of the thief he follows in jerks of a few paces; along the trail the rest follow and help to pick it up, first one and then another finding it till they go off the scene. The leader is about to follow them when he stops, and waves them onward, and then turns back to the sentry who is standing stupefied. He hands him a pistol and hints to him that having ruined his friends by his faithlessness, he may as well shoot himself. The leader then turns to follow the rest, looking about for them. A shout is heard in the distance just as the guilty sentry is putting the pistol to his head—the leader stops him from shooting himself. And both stand listening to shouts in the distance.

Remainder of the men return bringing in with them the thief and the diamond all safe.

They then sit round in a semicircle, the leader on a mound or box in the centre with the diamond in front of him. The thief standing with arms bound, is tried and condemned to be shot. He goes away a few paces and sits down with his back to the rest and thinks over his past life.

They then try the sentry, and condemn him as a punishment for his carelessness to shoot the thief.

All get up. They start to dig a grave. When ready, the thief is made to stand up, his eyes are bound. The sentry takes a pistol and shoots him. Remainder then bring a blanket and lift the dead man into it and carry him to the grave—to the opposite side from the audience so that everyone can see the "body" lowered into the grave. They then withdraw the blanket, fill in the grave, and trample the earth down. All shake hands with the sentry to show that they forgive him.

Pack up camp, put out fire, and continue their journey with the diamond.

N.B.—The grave is managed thus: A hole must be previously prepared rather near to the edge of the scena. Then a tunnel must be made by which the "corpse" can creep out of the grave and get away underground.This is done by digging a trench and roofing it with boards or hurdles and covering it over with earth and turf again, so that the audience will not notice it. The grave, too, is made in the same way, but shallower and partly filled up with sods; the diggers remove the top earth, then, hidden by the rest crowding round, they remove the board and pile up the sods on the surface. As soon as the corpse is lowered into the grave he creeps away down the tunnel, and so goes off the scene The diggers throw in some earth, jump down and trample it, then pile up the sods on top till they make a nice, looking grave.

The whole thing wants careful rehearsing beforehand, but is most effective when well done, especially if accompanied by sympathetic music.

It is a good thing to use for an open air show to attract a crowd when raising funds for your troop.

SCOUTING FOR BOYS.PART III.will be published on February 12th, 1908,at FOURPENCE.CONTENTS—Chapter IV.—CAMP LIFE.Hints to Instructors.Camp Fire Yarn No. 11.—PIONEERING." " " No. 12.—CAMPING." " " No. 13.—COOKING.Practices, Games, Competitions, and Play.Books on Camp Life.Chapter V.—CAMPAIGNING;or, Work in the Woods and Plains.Hints to Instructors.Camp Fire Yarn No. 14.—LIFE IN THE OPEN." " " No. 15.—PATHFINDING." " " No. 16.—INFORMATION BYSIGNAL.Practices. Games, Competitions, and Play.Books on Campaigning.Published byHorace Cox, Windsor House,Bream's Buildings, London, E.C.

SCOUTING FOR BOYS.

PART III.

will be published on February 12th, 1908,at FOURPENCE.

will be published on February 12th, 1908,

at FOURPENCE.

CONTENTS—

Chapter IV.—CAMP LIFE.

Hints to Instructors.

Camp Fire Yarn No. 11.—PIONEERING.

" " " No. 12.—CAMPING.

" " " No. 13.—COOKING.

Practices, Games, Competitions, and Play.

Books on Camp Life.

Chapter V.—CAMPAIGNING;or, Work in the Woods and Plains.

Chapter V.—CAMPAIGNING;

or, Work in the Woods and Plains.

Hints to Instructors.

Camp Fire Yarn No. 14.—LIFE IN THE OPEN.

" " " No. 15.—PATHFINDING.

" " " No. 16.—INFORMATION BYSIGNAL.

" " " No. 16.—INFORMATION BY

SIGNAL.

Practices. Games, Competitions, and Play.

Books on Campaigning.

Published byHorace Cox, Windsor House,Bream's Buildings, London, E.C.

Published byHorace Cox, Windsor House,

Bream's Buildings, London, E.C.

CONTENTS OF THE PARTS.PART I.Scoutcraft and Scout Law, giving theDuties of Boy Scouts, their Secret Signs,Laws, Badges, War Dance, etc.PART II.Observation and Tracking.Woodcraft and Knowledge of Animals.PART III.Campaigning and Camp Life.Pioneering and Resourcefulness.PART IV.Endurance and Health.Chivalry and Brave Deeds.Discipline.PART V.Saving Life and First-Aid.Patriotism and Loyalty.PART VI.Scouting Games, Competitions, and Plays.Words to Instructors.Part III.FORTNIGHTLY.Price 4d. net.ScoutingFor BoysLIEUT GEN.BADEN POWELL C.B.Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House,Bream's Buildings, London, e.c.

CONTENTS OF THE PARTS.

PART I.

Scoutcraft and Scout Law, giving theDuties of Boy Scouts, their Secret Signs,Laws, Badges, War Dance, etc.

Scoutcraft and Scout Law, giving the

Duties of Boy Scouts, their Secret Signs,

Laws, Badges, War Dance, etc.

PART II.

Observation and Tracking.

Woodcraft and Knowledge of Animals.

PART III.

Campaigning and Camp Life.

Pioneering and Resourcefulness.

PART IV.

Endurance and Health.

Chivalry and Brave Deeds.

Discipline.

PART V.

Saving Life and First-Aid.

Patriotism and Loyalty.

PART VI.

Scouting Games, Competitions, and Plays.

Words to Instructors.

Part III.FORTNIGHTLY.Price 4d. net.

ScoutingFor Boys

Scouting

For Boys

LIEUT GEN.BADEN POWELL C.B.

LIEUT GEN.

BADEN POWELL C.B.

Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House,Bream's Buildings, London, e.c.

Published by Horace Cox, Windsor House,

Bream's Buildings, London, e.c.

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