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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/6673.txt b/6673.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fc7a562 --- /dev/null +++ b/6673.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8922 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Young Knights of the Empire, by Sir Robert Baden-Powell + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Young Knights of the Empire + Their Code and Further Scout Yarns + +Author: Sir Robert Baden-Powell + +Posting Date: June 4, 2012 [EBook #6673] +Release Date: October, 2004 +First Posted: January 12, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE *** + + + + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. This file was produced from +images generously made available by the CWRU Preservation +Department Digital Library + + + + + + + + + + + +YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE + +THEIR CODE AND FURTHER SCOUT YARNS + +BY + +SIR ROBERT BADEN-POWELL K.C.B., K.C.V.O., LL.D. + +AUTHOR OF "SCOUTING FOR BOYS," "YARNS FOR BOY SCOUTS," "SCOUTING +GAMES," "MY ADVENTURES AS A SPY," ETC. + +1917 + + + +FOREWORD + + +TO BOY-MEN,-- + +In offering this collection of yarns, I do not suggest that these are +anything more than further illustrations of the steps already schemed +in _Scouting for Boys_ for self-education in character and good +citizenship. + +But illustrations by themselves are of comparatively little value +unless the theories and ideas conveyed by them are also put into +actual and habitual practice. + +It is in this that the boy needs your encouragement. + + ROBERT BADEN-POWELL + + + + +YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE + + + + +THE SCOUT LAW + +Perhaps you wonder what is a Young Knight of the Empire. + +Well, you know what a knight is--or rather, used to be in the old +days--a gallant fellow who was always ready to defend weaker people +when they were being bullied; he was brave and honourable, and ready +to risk his life in doing his duty according to the code or law of +Chivalry. + +Well, nowadays there are thousands of boys all over the British Empire +carrying out the same idea, and making themselves into fine, reliable +men, ready to take the place of those who have gone away to fight and +who have fallen at the Front. These are the Boy Scouts. Their code is +the Scout Law--that is, a set of ten rules which they carry out in +their daily life. + +I will explain these Laws, and will give you some other yarns of camp +life and adventure such as the Scouts go in for. + +HONOUR + +Law 1. A SCOUT'S HONOUR IS TO BE TRUSTED. + +_If a Scout says "On my honour it is so," that means it is so, just +as if he had taken a most solemn oath._ + +_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 Scout were to break his honour by telling_ a lie, or_ by +not carrying out an order exactly when trusted on his honour to do so, +he may be directed to hand over his Scout badge and never wear it +again. He may also be directed to cease to be a Scout._ + +People of a civilised country, just like boys in a school, are bound +to conduct themselves in a proper manner, because of the law which +causes them to be punished if they misbehave. There is a code of laws +drawn up for this purpose. + +But there is another kind of law which binds people just as much as +their written laws, though this one is neither written nor published. + +This unwritten law is Honour. + +A boy who has clambered over the school wall to go out of bounds and +smoke secretly has committed an offence against the published law of +the school. If next day the master asks in school, "Who has broken out +of bounds?" the boy is not bound by the law to confess that he did; he +can remain silent and thus escape punishment; but he is a +poor-spirited creature if he does so, and has no sense of honour. If +he is honourable he will manfully and honestly tell the master that he +broke out and will stand whatever punishment comes of it. By so doing +he will have proved to the master and to the other boys that he is +manly and not afraid to tell the truth, and is to be relied upon +because he puts his honour before all. + +So the first training that the Boy Scout gets is to understand that +Honour is his own private law which is guided by his conscience, and +that once he is a Scout he must be guided in all his doings by his +sense of Honour. + + +LOYALTY + +Law 2. A SCOUT IS LOYAL to the King, and to his officers, and to his +parents, his Country, his employers, and to those under his orders. He +must stick to them through thick and thin against anyone who is their +enemy or who even talks badly of them. + +There was a Scoutmaster in the East End of London who when the war +broke out felt it his duty to give up the splendid work he was doing +amongst the poor boys of the East End in order to take up service for +his Country. + +Scoutmaster Lukis--for that is his name--felt bound, by his sense of +loyalty to his King and his Country, to give up the life he was then +living and face the dangers of soldiering on active service. + +But the example which he set in loyalty was promptly followed by some +eighty young fellows who were his Scouts or Old Scouts. + +Their loyalty to him made them wish to follow their leader wherever +his duty led him. So they became soldiers like himself and all went +together to the Front. + +A day came when the trenches which they were holding were heavily +shelled. The danger was great and the losses were heavy, and finally a +piece of shrapnel struck Captain Lukis in the leg and shattered his +thigh. Two of his East London Boy Scout's sprang to his assistance and +tended him with devoted care. They waited for a lull in the firing and +finally between them they carried him, although exposed to a deadly +fire, to a place of safety. While so doing one of them was hit and +severely wounded. + +But the spirit of the lads was splendid. They cared nothing for their +own safety so that they got their beloved Scoutmaster out of danger. +That was loyalty. + +Loyalty means faithfulness. Your dog is faithful to you and sticks to +you even though you may beat him. He overlooks your faults and your +unkindness and remains loyal to you. + +Loyalty begins at home. + +Some boys are always thinking that their parents are wrong or unfair +to them. If you think that your parents have any faults, don't look at +those faults. Be loyal to your parents; remember only that it is +thanks to them that you are alive and able to be a Scout. + +Obey your parents, believe in them, and respect them; if you can at +any time help them, do so. By doing these things you are being loyal +to them. By being loyal to them you are carrying out that commandment +of the Bible which says: "Honour thy father and thy mother." Be loyal, +also, in the same way-by obeying and thinking no evil and by backing +them up-to your Patrol-leader, your Scoutmaster, and your +schoolmaster. If you are a working boy carry out the same idea towards +your foreman, your manager, and your employer. + +On taking up your work, you have agreed to do a certain amount for a +certain wage, and it is loyalty on your part then to stick to that +agreement and to give good work in return for your pay. + +If, on the other hand, you are a well-to-do boy and come to have a +servant or a man working under you as you grow older, you should +equally be loyal to him. Remember that in taking him on you expect a +certain amount of work from him for the money you give him; if you +find that he gives you more work than you agreed for, you will be +acting loyally to him if you then increase his wage: but never go back +on your agreement, and do not try to make more money out of him than +you meant to do when first making the contract. So, too, if you are a +Patrol or other leader, and if those under you get into trouble +through carrying out your ideas, be loyal to them; own up that it was +through your fault that they did wrong. + +Whatever line of life you may be in, be loyal to God, to your King, +and to your Country. + + * * * * * + +ANTARCTIC SCOUTING. + +All Boy Scouts know of Sir Ernest Shackleton, a brother peace-scout of +the Empire--and a first-class one, too. + +On one of his voyages of exploration to the South Pole he was very +nearly successful in getting to that point, he was within ninety-seven +miles of it, in fact, when his food supplies gave out, and he and +those with him were in great danger of starving, and had, most +unwillingly, to turn back to regain their ship. + +They had left the ship when they had got her as far south as was +possible through the ice; they then went on foot over land and sea, +all hard frozen and covered with snow, and they took their food with +them, and stored depots, or what Scouts would call "caches," to use on +their return journey. For weeks they struggled along over difficult +ground. + +One day in January, although they had cut down their rations and ate +as little as possible (so little indeed that they were getting weak), +they found that they were coming to the end of their food, and they +must either turn back or go on and die, in which case the record of +their work would have been lost. So they planted a flagstaff with the +Union Jack on it, and left a box containing a notice that they had +annexed the land for Great Britain and King Edward VII. + +They took a long look with their field-glasses in the direction of the +South Pole to see if any mountains were to be seen, but there were +none. And then they started on their desperate tramp to the ship. + +They made a number of interesting and useful discoveries. They came +upon mountains and glaciers of ice, and mineral rocks of coal and +limestone. + +And they found tiny insects which are able to live in the ice, and +when they boiled them, they did not kill them! + +They found that the penguins, the great wingless birds which sit up +and look just like people, enjoyed listening to a gramophone, which +they set going for their benefit. + +But their journey back was a very anxious and trying experience for +them. + +In order to guide them they had planted flags here and there along +their path, but storms came and blew them down, and it was, therefore, +most difficult to find their way from one food depot to another. They +did it largely by spooring their old tracks. + +This is how Sir Ernest Shackleton describes their doings on one +particular day: + +"We were thirty miles from our depot. Although we could see it in the +distance, it was practically unattainable, for soft snow covered +treacherous crevasses, and as we stumbled along in our search for food +we seemed to get no nearer to our longed-for goal. The situation was +desperate. + +"Two of our party, utterly worn out and exhausted, fell in harness, +but with the greatest pluck again pushed on as soon as they had +temporarily recovered. It was with a feeling of devout thankfulness +that we crossed the last crevasse and secured some food. Beyond a +little tea we had had nothing for thirty-four hours, and previously to +that our last meal consisted merely of one pannikin of half-cooked +pony maize-not much foundation for work under such conditions, and +with an extremely low temperature. Under these conditions we marched +sixteen miles in twenty-two hours. + +"On another occasion during that same journey we were all struck down +with dysentery, and this at a distance of ninety miles from our depot. +Though the weather was fine, we were all too weak to move, but here, +as on other occasions, Providence came to our rescue, and strong +southerly blizzards helped us along. + +"From December 4th, 1908, to February 23rd, 1909, we lived in a state +of constant anxiety, intensified by more acute knowledge gained from +narrow escapes and close contact with death. Over and over again there +were times when no mortal leadership could have availed us. + +"It was during these periods that we learnt that some Power beyond our +own guided our footsteps. If we acknowledged this--as we did--down +among the ice, it is only fitting that we should remember it now when +the same Power has brought us safely home through all these troubles +and dangers. No one who has seen and experienced what we have done +there can take credit to himself for our escape from what appeared to +be overwhelming difficulties." + +Sir Ernest Shackleton also praises the conduct of his officers and men +as helping largely to their success. He says: + +"We were all the best of comrades. Every man denied himself, and was +eager to do his level best." + +True Scouts, all of them. + + * * * * * + +SOME FAMOUS VICTORIES THROUGH LOYALTY TO LEADERS. + +Trafalgar. + +The month of October is full of glorious national memories for Scouts. + +On October 21st, 1805, was fought the battle of Trafalgar, when the +British Fleet, under Admiral Lord Nelson, attacked and defeated the +combined forces of French and Spanish men-of-war. + +It looked almost hopeless for a small fleet to attack so large a one; +but Nelson made that grand signal which called on every man _that +day to do his duty,_ and every man, like a true Scout, did his +duty, even though in many a case it cost him his life. + +Nelson himself showed the example, for he drove his ship in between +two of the enemy's ships and fought them, one against two. He never +attempted to take cover, but exposed himself to danger as much as +anyone, and was killed at the moment of victory. The sailors of to-day +still wear a black silk neckerchief round their necks as a sign of +mourning for the great admiral. + + * * * * * + +BALACLAVA. + +Then on October 25th, 1854, in the Crimea, in South Russia, took place +two grand charges by the British cavalry-against the Russian cavalry. + +One of these, the charge of the Light Brigade, every boy knows about, +but somehow the charge of the Heavy Brigade is not so much talked +about, although it was equally fine in its way. + +I have been lucky, because I have served in two cavalry regiments, and +both of them were in these charges one, the 13th Hussars, was in the +Light Brigade, and the other, the 5th Dragoon Guards, was in the Heavy +Brigade. + +I don't mean that I was in the charges, too-no; I wasn't born then! +But I am very proud to belong to two regiments that were there. + +Hussar regiments are called light cavalry, because they used to have +small, light-weight men who could ride far and fast to scout the +enemy. Dragoons were heavy troopers on big, strong horses, who by +their weight and long swords could deliver an overwhelming charge upon +an enemy. + +A Brigade consists of three regiments. Two Brigades make up a +Division. So the Cavalry Division in the Crimea was made up of a Light +Brigade and a Heavy Brigade. + +On October 25th the Light Cavalry Brigade got the order to charge the +Russian artillery, which was supported by the infantry and cavalry. + +It was a hopeless task. The order had really been given by mistake. +But that did not matter to men who were accustomed to obey. They +charged, and, though it cost them a great number of gallant lives, +they carried out their duty with such bravery and dash as to command +the highest praise even from their enemies, and they won for British +soldiers the name of being ready to sacrifice their lives to carry out +their orders, even though the job looked hopeless. That is why Scouts +to-day have as their motto the single word, + +"BALACLAVA" + +to remind them that if they get an order which it is a bore or even a +danger to perform, their duty is to do as their brave fathers did at +Balaclava, and carry it out cheerily and well. + +Now I will tell you about the charge of the Heavy Brigade, + + * * * * * + +"THE THIN RED LINE." + +You have often heard the British Army talked of as "the thin red +line." Well, it got that title at Balaclava. Four hundred men of the +93rd Highlanders and a battalion of Turks were posted to guard the +road leading to the harbour of Balaclava, when the Russians, some +twenty thousand strong, proceeded to attack them. The Turks didn't +like the look of things, so they turned tail and bolted but the brave +Sir Cohn Campbell, who was in command of the Highlanders, said to +them: + +"My lads, remember there is no retreat from here. You must die where +you stand." + +And the gallant fellows meant to do it if they had to die--but they +were not the sort to say die before they were dead They formed a +line--a "thin red line," as it was afterwards described--on a small +rising ground, and received the first charge of the Russian cavalry +with so well-aimed and deadly a fire, at close range, that it put the +others off charging for a while. + +The British Commander-in-Chief, seeing their danger, sent a message to +the Heavy Brigade of cavalry, who were camped in the neighbourhood, to +go to their assistance. + +The "Heavies" were already parading just outside their camp, when +suddenly there appeared over the rising ground, within half a mile of +them, the head of a big force of Russian cavalry quietly advancing +towards them. Rather a startling apparition when the squadrons were +all moving out of camp to form up on parade. + +But the General--General Scarlett--did not lose his head or hesitate +for a moment. + +The enemy were on the left flank of the squadrons as they were moving +out. He ordered them to wheel into line to the left, and, without the +usual first orders to "Trot" and then to "Gallop," he directed his +trumpeter to sound "Charge!" and he at once turned his horse towards +the enemy, and started, with his staff officer and orderly, at a +gallop to lead the attack. + +"DO OR DIE." + +The Brigade saw what was wanted. They did not wait to form into one +line--that operation would have taken time--but each squadron wheeled +up, and, closing in towards its neighbour, galloped forward to back up +the General in the charge. + +The Scots Greys, in red tunics and bearskins, mounted on their grey +horses, were in the front line with some of the Irish Inniskilling +Dragoons, and close behind them came the 5th Dragoon Guards and the +1st Royal Dragoons, with their red tunics and shining helmets. + +There were not more than three hundred of them altogether, while the +Russian column amounted to some twelve thousand. 'It looked as if the +British must be smashed up by such overwhelming odds. + +[Illustration: This sketch map stows the positions of the British and +Russian Forces in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava.] + +But the General knew that he must do his best to save "the thin red +line" from being overridden, and the men knew that they had got the +order to "charge," and it was their business to carry out the order, +and not to look at the danger in doing it. So they charged. + +The Russians were not less astonished than the British had been; +instead of surprising the British, they were themselves surprised. + +For a minute or two they hesitated. No officer gave any command, no +one knew quite what to do, and in another minute the bolt burst upon +them. + +General Scarlett and his staff came--bang, _smash_!--right +through their front ranks, followed immediately by the crashing weight +of the Greys and the wildly cheering Inniskillings. + +The shock of this charge rolled the foremost ranks of the Russians +down underfoot as it ploughed its way into the centre of the column, +and gave a sort of backward surge to the whole mass-for the Russian +force was simply a big, square mass of men and horses. + +Our charge, being made by a very small body, only broke into the +central part of the Russian front, so the two flanks of their line +wheeled forward like two arms to enfold it. But just as they were in +the act of doing so they were caught by our second line of Royal +Dragoons, 5th Dragoon Guards and Inniskillings; and were rolled up and +ridden over in an awful confusion. + +These heavy blows seemed to send the great Russian mass staggering +backwards, when at this critical moment two more squadrons of Heavies, +belonging to the 4th Dragoon Guards, suddenly plunged into the right +flank of the Russian column, and completed its break-up. + +It reeled again, and in a few minutes more was gradually melting and +spreading over the hills behind in hurried flight from the +battlefield. And the thin red line was saved. + +The whole fight had lasted only eight minutes, the British loss was +fifty killed and wounded, while the Russians lost about four hundred. + +This battle, like Trafalgar and like many other British victories, +showed that, with good, plucky leaders, backed up by men _who can be +trusted to obey their orders,_ we could attack overwhelming forces +against us and come out victorious every time. + +Without discipline it could never have been done. + + * * * * * + +THE LOYALTY OF JACK TARS. + +Sir Christopher Myngs was one of the tough sea-dogs of the British +Navy in the old days. + +He was killed in action at sea in 1666. He had been wounded by a +bullet in the throat, but he held the wound together with his fingers +and went on fighting till a second shot struck him, and he shortly +afterwards died of his wounds. He was a splendid leader, brave and +strict, and beloved by his men. + +His body was brought ashore to be buried in London, and at the funeral +a party of sailors came up to the carriage in which Sir W. Coventry +sat, and the leader of them, with tears in his eyes, asked him to beg +of the King to give them an old ship which they might use as a +fire-ship, and with which they might sail into the middle of the +enemy's fleet and set fire to it. + +They would, of course, all lose their lives in doing this, but they +did not mind so long as they could avenge the death of their beloved +leader. + +It was a fine spirit of loyalty to their chief which led these simple +seamen to do this, and their loyalty--not the spirit of revenge--is an +example to all to be loyal to their chief in whatever line they may +be. Don't look out for faults in him; note his good points, and stick +to him through thick and thin, for the good of what you and he are +doing together whether it is defending your Country or running a big +business. + + +USEFULNESS + +Law 3. A SCOUT'S DUTY IS TO BE USEFUL AND TO HELP OTHERS. + +_And he is to do his duty before anything else, even though he gives +up his own pleasure or comfort or safety to do it. When in difficulty +to know which of two things to do, he must ask himself, "Which is my +duty?" that is, "Which is best for other people?"--and do that one._ + +_He must Be Prepared at any time to save life or to help injured +persons._ + +_And must try his best to do a good turn to somebody every day._ + + * * * * * + +DO IT NOW. + +Once when driving in my car I passed a man on a sunny, dusty road, and +I thought after I had passed him whether I might not have offered to +give him a lift. Then I thought probably he would be only going a +short distance to some house a little farther along the road. + +As I sped farther and farther upon my way, I saw no house and no +turning, and therefore I argued that the poor man would have to be +walking all this dusty way when I might have given him a lift. + +But while I sat all this time thinking, my car was rushing me miles +away from the spot. Eventually I made up my mind that I ought to go +back and do my good turn to the man. But I had gone so far that when I +got back again to where I expected to find him, he was not to be seen. +He had evidently taken some short cut across the fields, and I never +saw him again. + +But the memory of it lingered in my mind for a long time, and ever +since that, when driving along, I have been quick to make up my mind +and use the opportunity when it has presented itself, of giving a lift +to any weary wayfarer. + +I don't want to make out myself as being so very good for doing this +kind of good turn, for that is easy enough with a motor-car; but what +I do want to point out is that you should never let your chance go by, +else you may regret it, as it might not occur again. Your motto should +be--"Do it now." + + * * * * * + +GOOD TURNS. + +Always remember that in going through this world we only pass this way +once, and if we miss our chance it never comes again. + +I believe that our first business in life is to be happy. This world +with all its beauties and its sunshine of happiness was meant for us +to enjoy. When clouds come over with grief or pain, they are only the +contrasts to show us what true happiness is and to make us appreciate +it when it comes. + +The shortest and most certain way to happiness is to make other people +happy. Even if we cannot make them happy, we can at least be helpful +to them. But so often we forget to do this, or, as I did in the +motor-car, leave it till too late, and let the chance slip by. + +In order to be continually happy, the thing is to be continually doing +good turns. To get a habit you must at first carry out a great deal of +practice, and that is why it is part of the Scout Law to do a good +turn every day. + +At first it may come a little difficult to remember each day that you +have this duty to do, and you may have some trouble in finding a job +that will be helpful to other people but if you stick to it, and force +yourself to do it day by day, it very soon grows into a habit with +you, and you then find how many little things you can do which all +count as good turns although small in themselves. + +I could tell you endless yarns of the different kinds of "good turns" +which the Boy Scouts have done, but one of the most pleasing that I +have heard lately was when a Scout carefully placed a piece of orange +peel on the pavement, and when asked why he had done this, said: + +"I am doing a good turn to some other Scout by giving him the +opportunity of doing his good turn by removing that orange peel so +that people will not slip on it!" + + * * * * * + +"AN AWFUL ACCIDENT." + +A poor fellow was lying pretty badly hurt when I came upon him one +afternoon. His left leg was broken, and an artery in his right arm was +cut through, while he was evidently badly burnt about the chest. + +How it all happened I didn't stop to inquire--I merely looked at the +steps which had already been taken to doctor him. His arm was bound up +with a handkerchief "tourniquet," twisted tight with a stick, to stop +the blood squirting from the artery; his leg was bound between two +straight bits of wood; and his tummy was covered with a mixture of +wool, oil, and flour, which suggested that with a little more roasting +the patient would have made a good pie! + +I need scarcely add there was not much the matter with him except that +he belonged to a patrol of Boy Scouts who were practising "first aid." + +In the same troop another patrol were cooking a very savoury Irish +stew, mixing dough on a haversack (which, I think, is quite as good as +my way of doing it inside my coat!), and baking bread in an oven made +out of an old biscuit tin, and roasting "twists" made on stakes +planted near the fire. (For "Tenderfoots," anxious for details as to +how these things are done, I recommend a study of the chapter on camp +cooking in _Scouting for Boys_.) + +The point about this cooking was that the food was being really well +cooked, and fit for anyone to eat with enjoyment. + +In the same troop signallers were at work sending and receiving +messages. And also one of their horsemen was there to act as mounted +dispatch rider, with a smart pony which he was able to saddle and look +after as well as to ride. Nearly every Scout in this troop was a First +Class Scout, of an average age of thirteen. + +Two hundred yards from their little camp was another troop of younger +Scouts, of about eleven years of age. All were busy cooking their teas +at numerous little camp fires at the time when I saw them, and made a +most picturesque scene. + +Then a third troop had its camp in a different spot, where three +patrols of boys of about fifteen years of age were collected. Fine, +strapping, long-limbed types of Britons. It was a pleasure to see them +going "Scout pace" across the grass, and a still greater pleasure when +I found that they were as good Scouts as they looked. Nearly all were +First Class Scouts. I was invited to hand out to them the Efficiency +Badges they had been winning. + +These included quite a number of First Class, Cyclists', Firemen's, +Musicians', Electricians', Cooks', etc. + +I had just said a few words to the troop of my pleasure at seeing them +so smart and so efficient, when the alarm was given that the school +buildings were on fire. A few brief words of command were given by the +Scoutmaster, and each patrol streaked off in a different direction at +a great pace. We hurried to the scene of the outbreak, and had just +time to see (in our mind's eye only) dense clouds of smoke with +tongues of flame and showers of sparks bursting from the doomed +building, while the windows were alive with terrified women and +screaming children--that is what we were picturing--when out came a +knot of Scouts running the fire-hose into position, and joining it up +from one part of the building, while from another there came a second +patrol trundling along the great giraffe-like fire-escape. Within four +minutes of the alarm the leading fireman was up on the ladder +directing the nozzle of the hose-pipe with a strong jet of water on +the windows of the (supposed) burning chamber. + +It was all very smartly, quickly, and quietly carried out, and the +patrols thoroughly deserved the Firemen's Badges which they had won. + +Denstone College, where I saw all this, is one of the great schools +which have taken up scouting as a sport and training for their boys; +and the results, according to the masters who act as Scoutmasters, are +most satisfactory. + + * * * * * + +SCOUTS' GOOD TURNS. + +Recently, all in the one day, I came across three cases of Scouts +doing their duty. + +One lady told me that when travelling in a crowded train she and her +daughter were put into a carriage which was already crammed full of +boys. + +She did not like it a bit at first, but she soon found the difference +between "Scouts" and "boys." These were "Scouts," and they at once +helped the ladies and their baggage into the carriage, and then made +plenty of room for them by sitting on each other's knees, and kept +order and behaved so nicely that she fell in love with all of them, +and talked with them and found them "quite charming and gentlemanly." + +Another lady told me that some Scouts had asked leave to camp in her +grounds, and as she has allowed boys to do this for some years past, +she did not like to refuse them: at the same time she was not very +glad to have them, because she had found it expensive and troublesome +every year to have to get the camping-ground cleaned up and set right +after they had gone. + +The day after the Scouts had finished their camp, she sent as usual +some men to work on the camp-ground, when to her astonishment, they +came back and said there was no work to be done there, the ground was +all clean, rubbish and ashes removed, and turf replaced. And then she +remembered that these were "Scouts," not ordinary boys, who had been +camping there--and she will be glad to see them there again whenever +they like to come! + +The weather this morning was beautifully hot and fine, but in the +afternoon it suddenly changed to cold, windy, and steady rain. Numbers +of ladies and children had gone out for a day on the beach or in the +country. In one case a woman and her two children had to come back +part of the way in an open boat, and then in a steam-launch, in their +summer clothes, without umbrellas or waterproofs. + +A Scout who was there seemed to have foreseen bad weather, as he had +two waterproof coats, and he gave up one and offered it to cover the +children. + +"Well!" you would say, "that is easy enough, and he kept himself dry +and snug in the other." + +No, he didn't, he put that on the woman, and went and did the best he +could for himself on the lee side of the deck; he put a smile on and +pretended that a cold trickle down the back is a good thing for the +complexion; and that is what any other Scout would have done in the +circumstances. + + * * * * * + +GALLANTRY OF BOY SCOUTS IN HELPING THE POLICE. + +On different occasions I have had the pleasure of issuing Silver +Medals to Scouts for gallantry in saving life or assisting the police. + +Scoutmaster Crowther, of the Huddersfield Boy Scouts, went to the +assistance of a police constable who was being violently assaulted by +some roughs in a slum. Although he was knocked about himself in doing +so, Crowther managed to help the officer, and, by blowing his whistle, +to get more police on to the scene. The principal offenders were +arrested, and ultimately got six months' imprisonment from the +magistrate, who at the same time highly complimented Mr. Crowther on +his plucky action. + +Scout P. L. G. Brown, of the 7th (All Saints) Southampton Troop, did +much the same thing. He saw a police constable struggling with four +violent roughs, and, although there was a hostile crowd round them, +Brown remembered his duty and dashed in to help the officer. Although +he got a kick on the knee, he was able to get hold of the policeman's +whistle and to blow it, and in this way brought more police upon the +scene, so that the four men were arrested and punished. + +Brown himself went away without giving his name or making any fuss +about what he had done, but he was discovered and later on received +the Silver Medal. + +Then, when I was reviewing the Gateshead Scouts, I heard of the case +of two Boy Scouts being rewarded by the magistrate for their gallantry +in assisting the police. + +The Scouts of Newton Abbot were at hand when a motor-car dashed into a +cart, smashing it up and injuring the two occupants. The Scouts +detained the car; and although the motorists endeavoured to drive off, +they put their staves between the spokes of the wheels and hung on and +prevented the car getting away until the police came up and took +charge. + +It was splendid how these Scouts showed such pluck and readiness in +helping the King's officers. They got knocked about in doing so, but +what are a few bruises? They wore off in a few days; but the thing +that won't wear off is the satisfaction that each one of those Scouts +will feel for the rest of his life--namely, that he did his duty. + + * * * * * + +THE SCOUT OF LABRADOR. + +Dr. Wilfred Grenfell is an ideal type of peace Scout, and during his +labours as a missionary in Labrador he has had many adventures. + +On one occasion he had to visit a sick man at a place two days' +journey from where he lived, and he started off with his sledge and +team of dogs, to cross a frozen arm of the sea, which would save him a +long journey round by land. But it was in the month of April, when the +sea ice was beginning to get treacherous and to break up. + +The distance across the ice was about seven miles, with an island +about half-way. + +He reached the island all right, and was pushing on from there to the +opposite mainland, when he found that the ice was becoming rotten and +soft--what is called "sish"--that is, pounded ice formed from big +slabs which have been ground together by the action of the sea. + +As he found himself sinking in this, together with his sledge, he +slipped off his heavy oilskins and coat, and quickly got out his knife +and cut the traces of his dog-team, winding the leader's trace round +his wrist. + +In this way he was himself pulled along by the dogs plunging through +the slush. The leading dog got on to a solid ice-floe, and Grenfell +was gladly hauling himself up to him by the trace, when the dog +slipped all his harness off, and his master was left, sinking among +the other dogs in the "sish." + +Then he luckily caught the trace of another, and pulled himself along +that till he managed to get on to the block of ice, on to which he +helped the rest of the dogs. + +But it was quite a small block, which would soon break up, so he saw +that the only chance was to struggle on through the "porridge-ice" +till he could reach a bigger floe, which could serve as a raft for +him. + +He did not, as some people might have done, give up all hope; he +wasn't going to say die till he was dead. + +So he took off his gauntlets and moccasins and packed them on to the +dogs' backs, then he secured their harness so that it could not slip +off, and tied the traces round his wrists so that the team would drag +him through; then he tried to start. + +But the dogs did not like facing the danger, and he had to push them +off the block; even then they only struggled to get back, till a +particularly favourite dog understanding him when he threw a bit of +ice on to another "pan" or block? started, and so led the others to +get to it. + +In this way, dragging their master after them, the dogs struggled from +pan to pan, till at last they reached one larger than the rest, about +ten feet by twelve in size. + +It was not real solid ice, but a block of powdered ice, which might +fall to bits at any time. Still, it was the best they could get, and +with the rising wind and current it soon floated with them on to more +open water, and began to drift away from the shore and down the coast. +So they had no choice but to make the best of a very poor substitute +for a raft. + +The cold was intense, and poor Grenfell, like a clever Scout, at once +thought out a plan for making himself a coat. His moccasins were long, +soft boots made of sealskin reaching to the thigh, so he slit these up +with his knife, and, by means of a bit of line, he made them into a +kind of cape to put on his back. + +Hours passed, and they kept drifting out from the coast, and night was +approaching. + +Then he saw that he must have more clothing, and also that he and the +dogs must have some food the only thing to do was to sacrifice one of +his beloved team. So he made a noose with one of the traces, and +slipped it over a dog's neck, and tied it to his own foot; then, +holding its head down in this way, he threw the dog on its back, and +stabbed it to the heart. + +Two more were killed in the same way. Then he skinned them and +stitched their hides together with thin strips of leather, and thus +made himself a coat, with the fur inside. + +All the clothes he had had on till then were some old football things +he had come across that morning in his house. A pair of football +shorts and stockings of the Richmond Football Club (red, yellow, and +black), and a flannel shirt and sweater, so he was practically in Boy +Scout's kit rather than what you would expect a missionary-doctor to +be wearing. + +But then, you see, he was quite as much a Scout as he was a doctor or +missionary; and we understand from this story how, like a Scout, he +was able to turn his hand to anything and invent for himself the +different means for saving his life although he was all alone with his +dogs on a small lump of rotten ice floating past the coast of +Labrador. + +There was one little point in which, perhaps, a Boy Scout could have +helped him had he been there. As darkness came on, he thought he would +light up a flare, which would catch the attention of anyone on shore, +so he frayed out a piece of rope and smeared it with the fat of the +dead dogs, and was about to light it when he found that his matches +had got wet, and in that damp air he could not get them dry. + +I wonder whether he thought of the Scout's dodge of drying them in his +hair for a minute or two? + +[Illustration: Dr. Grenfell as he appeared on the ice-floe, with a +cloak of dog-skins, and puttees made of flannel taken from a dog's +traces. He used his shirt for a flag, and made a flagstaff of frozen +dogs' legs.] + +In order to keep warm he used one of the dead dogs as a seat, with the +other dogs hugged close round him for warmth. His feet being in thin +moccasins, which easily got wet through, were freezing with cold till +he thought of an idea for keeping them warm. + +He had seen the Laplanders put a lot of grass into their boots before +pulling them on, and then filling up the legs with as much more grass +as they could cram in. + +There was not much grass growing on his ice-floe, so Grenfell had to +invent something to use in place of it; he cut from the dogs' traces +some flannel with which they were lined to prevent chafing, and with +this he stuffed the moccasins, and so made them warmer, and then bound +the remainder round his knees as puttees. + +In this way he got sufficient warmth to enable him to sleep. Towards +morning he awoke with the idea that he must make something in the way +of a flag to attract the notice of people on shore, and to show them +that there was someone in distress on the ice. + +The question was, how to make a flagstaff? I wonder whether a Boy +Scout could have seen a way? + +Grenfell took the frozen legs of the three dead dogs, and bound them +together with strips of raw hide, and thus manufactured a staff, on to +which he then tied his shirt to act as a flag. It worked very well +till the sun rose, and then the legs began to melt a little, and the +flagstaff became a very wobbly one; and, as the Doctor describes it, +"almost tied itself into knots." + +Like a true Scout, Grenfell never despaired; he kept thinking out +different ways by which he might survive the danger. + +He thought of setting light to some unravelled rope by using a piece +of ice to act as a burning glass. In this way he hoped to attract the +attention of the people on shore by a smoke signal; but, while he was +busy preparing it, he saw the distant sparkle of what looked like an +oar from a boat, presently he saw it again, and soon he could see the +boat itself. + +His flag had been seen by the fishermen, and they pushed out in their +boat through the frozen ice till they got him and his faithful dogs +all safely aboard. + +One man had seen him the night before just as it was getting dark, and +had spread the news down the coast, so that all the time, though he +did not know it, anxious eyes were watching him. + +The only difficulty was to get a boat through the mass of broken +ice-floes and drifting ice, which covered the heaving surface of the +sea between him and the shore, but pluck and strong arms did it. + +In the end his rescuers brought him safely ashore, where every man, +woman and child in the settlement was on the beach to welcome him with +cheers and--many of them--with tears of joy. + +Doctor Grenfell says that during the whole of this terrible experience +he did not once feel fear. He felt that he would probably lie down and +sleep his last sleep on that ice-floe; the thought did not disturb him +very much. + +At the same time, he did feel something of that regret which comes to +all people when dying, and that was the remembrance of how much time +he had wasted (even he!) when he had life and opportunities for doing +good for other people, and how he had let his opportunities slide by +without doing so much as he might have done. + +So keep on doing good turns every minute whenever you can get a chance +of doing them, and then when you are face to face with death, you will +be able to say: + +"Well, I did my best to do my duty. I did not waste much time on other +things." + + * * * * * + +A PLUCKY BOY SCOUT. + +It is not always in the field of action that Scouts can show their +heroism; sometimes it is at home or in their private life, where their +deeds are not so much seen. Here is a case: + +Patrol Leader Leonard Sanderson, of the 1st Jesmond Troop, met with a +bad lift accident, and smashed his thigh. But even when in awful pain, +and in the shock of the sudden accident, he made light of it for fear +of worrying his parents. Then he was for many weeks in hospital, and +had to undergo several operations, but he was always cheerful and +patient. + +Many presents of fruit came to him, but, like a true Scout he shared +them with the other patients. He made toys for the sick children, and +helped the nurses to roll bandages. He never forgot his duty as a +Scout, and proved himself a good example for others to follow. + + * * * * * + +A SCOUT WHO WAS A SCAMP. + +"The boy who stopped the runaway horse would never have done it if he +had not been a Scout. He was formerly a first-class young scamp and +always in some mischief." + +That is what the report says of him. + +But that is what happens when a lad becomes a Scout; he is no longer a +fool-boy, who goes about yelling aimlessly and making himself a +nuisance to everybody. Instead of that he smartens into a manly +fellow, ready at any moment to give a helping hand to anybody who +wants it, and without taking any reward for it, and without thinking +how poor or rich, how old or young the person may be. + +I was talking once to a well-known nobleman, who told me that he broke +his leg not long ago, and when it was getting right his doctor advised +him to go and walk a little every day with two sticks to support him. + +He accordingly went to Hampstead Heath, and was waddling along quite +comfortably, an inch at a time, when a patrol of Scouts came up, and +the Leader saluted and said: + +"May we help you, sir? We could make a stretcher out of our coats and +staves, and carry you." + +The Duke said that when he looked at the boys and thought of them +trying to carry him--for he is not a small man--he nearly laughed +aloud; but as it was he thanked them very much and told them how he +was walking purposely to get his leg into working order. + +This kind intention, however, has given the Scouts a warm place in his +heart. + + * * * * * + +TRACKING EXERCISE. + +When I am walking along a road or path, I generally do a little +tracking every day, because it is only by constant practice that a +fellow can learn tracking or can keep his eye in when he has learnt +it. It is quite easy and simple to do, only Scouts often do not think +of doing it. + +Here, for instance, is what I did one morning. There is nothing +wonderful in it, but Scouts will understand all the better that such +practice should be an everyday matter, and not merely attempted on +some great occasion. It is bound to be a failure then if it has not +been regularly gone in for before. + +My practice was on an ordinary country road, dry and hard, with a +slight layer of dust in most places, up and down hill; between high +hedges; no wind (wind, you know, soon flattens out tracks in dust and +makes them look much older than they really are). + +At about eight o'clock in the morning, as I passed from one field to +another, I crossed the main road at the point where it reached the top +of a hill. + +I read some news on the ground, and this is what it said + +"_Mrs. Sharp is ill this morning; and Johnny Milne has been to the +railway station to fetch some newspapers._" + +This was how I got at it. + +There were only two fresh tracks. One was of a boy walking and the +other of a bicycle. + +The boy's footmarks showed a nailed boot, not big enough for a man, +walking along the road which led to the school and to the railway +station. It was Saturday, a whole holiday, so he could not be going to +school; he would therefore be going to the station. + +Why to the station? Because at 7.33 the train came with the +newspapers, and there were his tracks going back again, (_They +occasionally overtrod the outgoing footprints._) + +One boy in the village, Johnny Milne, was employed by the shop to +fetch the papers from the train. + +So if the train were punctual he would have passed this spot on his +way back about twenty minutes later; that was at seven minutes to +eight. + +[Illustration: "Mrs. Sharp is ill, and Johnny Milne has brought the +newspapers from the station."] + +Now, the bicycle track showed that the machine was ridden up the hill +(_the track zig-zagged along the road, whereas if it had been +running downhill it would have gone pretty straight_), the rider +getting very tired (more _zig-zag_) near the top. There the +bicycle had stopped (_sharp turn and slither of the wheels in the +sand_), and the rider had got off to rest. It was a woman (_small +foot, no nail marks, small, sharp heel_). + +She had stood a short time (_footmarks on top of each other_), +and had then remounted and ridden on. She had passed this spot between +7.15 and ten minutes to eight. (_The bicycle tracks had passed over +Johnny Milne's outgoing track of 7:15, but his returning footmarks of +ten minutes to eight overtrod the cycle tracks, so they had been made +since it passed._) + +What lady would be cycling along this road at that hour of the +morning? (_A rather stout lady, too, judging from the breadth of her +foot and the fact that she had to rest on arriving at the top of the +hill_.) + +The road led to a cottage where lived Mrs. Sharp, who was not very +well. + +The lady must surely be Mrs. Clarke, the matronly district nurse on +her bicycle going to see Mrs. Sharp and she was still there (_as +there were no return wheel marks_). + +That is how a Scout can read news from the ground, and, though this +morning's news was not important, it is always worth while to practise +reading, because some day you will probably want to pick up some +important information, and it is only everyday practice that will +enable you to do it. + + +FRIENDLINESS + +Law 4. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ALL and a Brother to every other Scout, +no matter to what social class the other belongs. + +_If a Scout meets another Scout, even though a stranger to him, he +must speak to him and help him in any way that he can, either to carry +out the duty he is then doing, or by giving him food, or, so far as +possible, anything that he may be in want of. + +A Scout must never be a snob. + +A snob is one who looks down upon another because he's poorer, or who +is poor and resents another because he is rich. A Scout accepts the +other man as he finds him and makes the best of him-- + +"Kim," the boy scout, was called by the Indians "Little friend of all +the world," and that is the name which every Scout should earn for +himself._ + +The Arabs of the desert are some of the finest Scouts in the world, +not only because they are brave and manly fellows who can shift for +themselves, but also because they are gentlemen at heart, kind to +strangers, and men of honour. + +When you come to an Arab encampment, he does not ask whether you are +rich or lowly born. Once you are within the neighbourhood of his tent, +he expects you to be his guest, and while you are with him he will do +everything that he can to protect you from your enemies. + +These kindly people, who always live in tents, have a habit of using +very long tent ropes for the support of their tents, and these stretch +out some distance on to the plain around their encampment. + +This is done in order that any stranger passing near will find himself +within the Arab's tent ropes--which means that he must come and be his +guest. He expects you to stay with him for about five days, during +which time he feeds you, houses you, and protects you, and he expects +no kind of payment when you depart. + +One of his first acts when you come into his camp is to offer you +water. This is partly in order that you may refresh yourself, but it +is also a secret sign meaning that he will not betray you. + +It is considered bad form to decline hospitality offered in this way, +and even if you are in a hurry you must suppress your own desire to +get forward in order to be courteous to the man who wishes to be your +host. + +The Arabs have a saying, "None but the base and ungrateful refuse +generosity"; but this does not mean that he will take a reward for +being kind to you. To offer a tip is to insult him, and I hope that +Boy Scouts will take it in the same light. + +If you pitch your tent near that of an Arab, and become good friends +with him, he will alter his tent-pegs so that they come within the +line of your own and the tent ropes cross each other. + +This again is a secret sign which means that he and those who live in +his tent are for ever friends of you and any who are living with you. + +Arabs are honourable fellows, and may be trusted to stick to such +understanding. + +One point in which an Arab shows himself more of a gentleman than, +say, the Germans in South-west Africa, is that he will never poison +wells, even though he knows his enemy may use them. + +True comradeship does not take any account of what the other fellow's +position in life may be. + +I remember that when I took a troop of Boy Scouts to Canada, they all +worked in pairs during the whole of the trip, and one of these pairs +consisted of two boys who were respectively the son of an Earl and the +son of a sergeant in an infantry regiment. Yet, although they had been +brought up on totally different lines, they were boys, they were +Scouts, they were not snobs, and they were the best of pals. + +And we see very much the same thing at the Front to-day, where, in the +ranks of every battalion, are to be found men of every class and +standing-- + + "Cook's son, duke's son, son of a belted earl!" + +And so, too, between officers and men there is a splendid feeling of +comradeship, each working for the other so far as he possibly can. And +that is a result that the Germans cannot possibly arrive at, for the +one reason that they are not gentlemen. + +I hope to see this spirit kept up and strengthened by the Scouts, and +especially that rule which makes a Scout a friend to every other +Scout, no matter what his class, creed, or country may be. I am +certain that if this rule is carried out in full it will be a very +great help after the war towards bringing real peace between the +different nations, since the Boy Scouts in each will be true friends +and comrades to those in the others. + + * * * * * + +DOCTORING THE NATIVES. + +A Scout ought to know a little about most injuries and diseases, and +to be able to treat them. In uncivilised countries the natives all +look on a white man as a born doctor, and they bring you cases of +every kind to deal with. + +When I was in Kashmir, a lad was brought to me who had just fallen +down a steep bank. He was in great pain, and his friends and relatives +were already considering him as good as dead. On examination, I found +no bones broken, but his right shoulder out of joint at the socket. So +I told them to lay him flat on his back, and I began to take off my +right shoe, or rather the grass sandal that I was wearing. + +Some of the bystanders, seeing me do this, said: "Oh! he is going to +pray," and immediately began unfastening my other sandal for me. + +You see, these people take off their shoes when they go into church or +to pray, just as we take off our hats. But I wasn't going to pray, and +only took my right sandal off. + +Then I sat down alongside the patient, facing towards his head, my +right leg against his right side, so that my heel came into the armpit +of the injured shoulder, I got one of his friends to sit on the other +side of him to hold him down; then catching tight hold of his wrist +with both hands, I gave a long, steady, strong pull at his arm, using +my heel as a lever, till the shoulder suddenly clicked into its place +again. Such a nice feeling to me, just as if I had hooked a salmon! + +Then he fainted. + +His mother howled? and said I had made a nice mess of the job, and had +killed him. But I grinned and put on my sandal, and told her that was +all part of the show, and that I would now bring him to life quite +sound and well, which I proceeded to do by sprinkling a little water +over his face. He gradually came to his senses, and then found that +his arm was practically all right. + +His own astonishment and theirs was very great, and within half an +hour my tent was full of fruit and chickens and eggs as +thank-offerings. + +But during the next three days all the sick, the maimed, and the blind +were brought in from the country round for me to cure. You never saw +such a lot. Men, women, and children with every conceivable ailment, +including bad eyes, which I treated by bathing with warm weak tea. One +poor chap had had half his face bitten off by a bear, losing his eye +and the whole of his cheek, so that all his teeth were showing in a +horrible grin--the more horrible because the wound had never been +properly dressed. + +Then one enormously fat man asked me to do something for him. Now, +what would you have done in such a case? I only had some lead lotion, +some disinfectant, and a few mustard poultice leaves. So I gave him +one of these mustard leaves, and told him if that wouldn't cure him I +didn't know what would, and in saying that I was speaking the exact +truth. I told him to wet it and put it on his "chest" when he went to +bed. + +Next day he came with tears of gratitude and said I had done more for +him in one night than all the doctors had done for him in years. He +felt that he was already growing thinner. + +I moved my camp twenty miles off that day, as I thought it better to +get away while I had such a good reputation, and, besides, they were +beginning to bring in patients from all over the district, and I had +nothing to cure them with. + +But that is the kind of thing you may expect when you are travelling, +and you should learn while you can how to deal with the usual +ailments, so that you can be of some help to the poor creatures when +you come across them. + + * * * * * + +THE SWASTIKA. + +All the nations of the world have customs of their own, which bear a +curious resemblance to each other. For instance, when a Zulu has to +undertake the dangerous job of crawling up to a lion, he likes to +dress himself in his war-paint before beginning. + +That same sort of idea is to be found in other parts of the world. +Even in our own country, not one hundred years ago, our sailors, +before going into action with an enemy, always liked to wash and shave +themselves, tie their pigtails nattily, and put on their best +neckerchiefs. And even now in Canada the Cree Indians, when they are +hunting a bear, put on their best clothes and decorate themselves +before tackling the danger. + +[Illustration: THE "SWASTIKA."] + +So you see we are all alike in some ways in different parts of the +world. If you sneeze in Scotland people say: "God bless you." If you +sneeze in Masailand (British East-Africa) a native will say: "Good +health to you!" + +There are hundreds of these little customs which are used by people in +different corners of the earth who have never had anything to do with +each other. + +But perhaps the most wonderful of all is the sign of the "Swastika," +which we Scouts use as our "Badge of Brotherhood." + +Nobody knows the exact history of where it came from, or what it +means; but it is found in almost every part of the world, and is very, +very old. + +Rudyard Kipling believes it was made by a man in ancient days, who put +two twigs crossed on the ground and trod them down into the mud so as +to leave a mark to act as a guide to others, like a Scout's +ground-mark. + +But another story is this: + +Where the Atlantic Ocean now is, people in old days believed that +there was a great land called Atlantis, which has since sunk under the +sea. + +This land was watered by four great rivers, which ran across the whole +in different directions--north, south, east, and west. This cross is +meant for the four rivers, and is the crest of the Continent of +Atlantis. + +But whatever the meaning of it was, the Swastika Cross is found in all +parts of the world as an ancient mark. + +Thus, in Norway it appears on the sword-scabbard of the ancient +Norsemen as a sign to bring good luck; also in Iceland, Germany, and +France on old pottery. + +In the south it is found in West Africa, in Greece, and Egypt. + +In the west it is found in America, in Arizona, and Mexico, and South +America. + +And in the east in India, Tibet, Japan, China, and Persia. + +Thus, it stands for Europe, Asia, Africa, and America--all the world; +and it is, in each of them, considered to be a sign of friendliness +and good wishes. + +That is how we come to use it in the Scouts, whose business is to do +good turns and to help other people wherever we may be. + +When, therefore, we want to show particular goodwill to anyone, +especially those who have done us a good turn, we give to them a +"Swastika," or "Badge of Brotherhood," to wear. This makes them +members of the brotherhood of Scouts, although they are not actual +Scouts themselves; and when they show their badge to a Scout he will +do all he can to help them in whatever part of the world they may be. + + * * * * * + +OUR BUTTONHOLE BADGE. + +I expect most Scouts have found, like I have done, that wherever you +go in the streets, or in a strange town, or far out in the country, +you come across a boy wearing a buttonhole badge. As you get nearer +you see that it is the well-known three-pointed badge of the Scouts. + +You make the salute sign, shake hands with left hands, and there you +are, in company with a friend and brother, who a minute before was a +total stranger to you. + + * * * * * + +CHILIAN SCOUTS. + +Our World-roving Commissioner--for we have one who travels about to +all countries now--was once in Chile, which, as you know, is a long, +narrow strip of country in South America, three thousand miles long, +and not one hundred miles wide, packed in between the Andes Mountains +and the Pacific Ocean. + +The Boy Scouts of Chile are among the best in the world. They have +done a lot of tramping-camps and other expeditions. Finally, their +Government arranged a cruise for them on board a man-of-war, and they +lived for over a week on the ship, about two hundred of them, learning +swimming, boating, navigation, engine-room work; in fact, all the +duties of Sea Scouts. + +These boys all had to pay their messing and other expenses, so it was +only the richer ones that were able to go; but since then they have +arranged to go another cruise, and each of the richer ones is going to +take a poorer Scout with him as his guest, and will pay his expenses +for him. + +That's what I like to see, and it tells me more than any other reports +that the Chilian Scouts have got the right spirit in them. + +A lad from Brixham, in Devonshire, went out to take up some work in +Chile. He was a Boy Scout, and continued while away to wear his +buttonhole badge. One day, when he was out in the back parts of that +out-of-the-way country, a Chilian boy came up to him, gave the Scout +salute, and pointing to his badge, said: + +"You Boy Scout? Me Scout too!" and he took him home to tea, and looked +after him, and thus they became good friends. + +So you see the use of being a Scout and of wearing your badge. + +Even in everyday life at home it is also a good thing to do, because +you may often have a chance of doing a good turn to a stranger Boy +Scout if he could only recognise that you were a scout. + +I suppose there is not a day passes without my coming across a Scout, +in plain clothes, wearing his buttonhole badge and so I am able to +spot him and to have a chat with him. Whereas, if he had not had his +badge on, I should probably never have noticed him. + +Also, it is a sign to outsiders. People have got to know now how +useful the Scouts are, and they are often anxious to get hold of one +to help them in some difficulty. Well, if they see a boy coming along +with the badge on, they know that he is a Scout, though not in +uniform, and they are able to ask him to do them the good turn. + +So wear your buttonhole badge for the sake of other people. + + +POLITENESS + +LAW 5. A SCOUT IS COURTEOUS. + +_A Scout should be polite to all--but especially to women and +children, old people and invalids, cripples, etc. And he must not take +any reward for being helpful or courteous._ + +Courteousness is much the same sort of thing as Chivalry, which is +closely allied to Honour. Both were practised in the old days by the +Knight's, who went about risking their lives in order to defend and +help the weaker people, women and children, against bullies and +marauders. + +Why did they do this? + +It did not bring them money, for it would be a disgrace to a Knight to +accept any reward for doing a good turn. It only brought them danger +of wounds or death. It was an adventure. They were good sportsmen and +manly fellows. Their conscience told them that it was right for the +strong and plucky man to protect those who were weaker than himself. +They were not obliged to do it by the law of the land, but there was a +stronger law which appealed to them--and that was their own sense of +Honour which led them to be chivalrous men. + +Honour was the _spirit_ that moved them; + +Chivalry was the putting into practice what their Honour bade them do. + +The ordinary boy has no chivalry--at least, he has got it all right +under the surface, only he is in the silly-ass stage, and he forgets +it. If he sees a poor hunchback or a cripple he will often laugh or +stare at him. He forgets that the other is an unfortunate, and has had +the bad luck to be born that way. + +A healthy boy on seeing a deformed person ought to thank God that he +is himself sound in body and able to enjoy life, and he should do what +he can to make things pleasant for his less fortunate brother. + +That, is what a Scout would do, because he is chivalrous. + + * * * * * + +KNIGHT'S OATH ON INVESTITURE + +A.D. 506. + +Sir, you that desire to receive the Order of Knighthood, swear, before +God, and by this Holy Book, that you shall not fight against the King, +who now bestoweth the Order of Knighthood upon you; you shall also +swear with all your force and power to maintain and defend all ladies, +gentlewomen, widows, orphans, and distressed women; and you shall shun +no adventure of your person in any way or war wherein you shall happen +to be. + +Fourteen hundred years ago the old Knights of Britain used to be sworn +to do their duty in these words. + +Their oath was much the same as the promise which the "young Knights" +of the present time make when they become Boy Scouts, for they promise +to serve God and the King, and to help others, especially women and +children, and not to think of their own trouble or risk so long as +they do a good turn to others needing help. + +The Knights, being mounted men, were called the "Chivalry," the old +word for "Cavalry"--from the Latin "_cavallus_" and the French +"_cheval_," meaning a horse. + +Then any noble act done by the Knights was said to be "Chivahous" or +Knight-like. + +So the word "chivalry" now means doing things which the Knights of old +did. + +It is chivalry to do one's duty to God and the King, to help women and +children, and all people in distress; and to be plucky and brave in +carrying out one's duty. + +That is why Boy Scouts are frequently being described in the papers as +"chivalrous." I hope they will go on and continue to deserve the +title. + +One great step in "Courteousness" is to be grateful when anybody does +you a "good turn," and to tell them you are grateful by saying "Thank +you." It is a little thing to do, but it is a great thing to the +person who has done the kindness to feel that it was not thrown away. + + * * * * * + +A DIRTY GENTLEMAN. + +A bus drove by under my window. It was crowded with people, inside and +out. On the outside every seat was filled, so much so that one woman +had to stand. I saw men look round at her, one apparently annoyed +because she accidentally jostled his newspaper, but none offered to +give her his seat. + +They were most of them well-to-do men, such as go by the name of +gentlemen so far as their dress and appearance went but when it came +to the true test of a gentleman, that is, the feeling of chivalry and +politeness to women, the only gentleman among them was a working boy, +a lad of about fifteen, in dirty clothes, with dirty hands and face. + +When he saw a woman standing he at once left his seat and beckoned her +into it. I hope that some of his so-called betters had the good sense +to feel ashamed at being taught manners by a working boy. Perhaps he +was a Scout. At any rate, he acted as a Scout would in the same +circumstances. + + * * * * * + +WHAT IS A GENTLEMAN? + +Many people are inclined to think that the word "gentleman" means a +man who was born rich, and that a boy brought up at expensive schools +and colleges must therefore be a gentleman when he has grown up. But +this does not always follow. + +A fellow who is lucky enough to have been brought up in that way has +certainly better chances of being a gentleman than many a poor boy +has; but at the same time a poor boy can be just as good a gentleman +as a rich one. + +A gentleman is what the word says; he is a man, but a gentle man, not +a rough, bullying, coarse customer, but a fellow who, though big and +strong, can be kind and chivalrous and helpful to other people. + +As good a sample as any of a "gentleman" is the London policeman. He +is at all times courteous and helpful to others, even to the extent of +being ready to risk his life at any moment to save people in cases of +accidents, or to protect them against rough handling, and he treats +rich and poor, old and young, with equal attention and patience, and +good humour. + + * * * * * + +SCOUTS OF THE DESERT. + +Several years ago I spent, some time with Arabs in North Africa, in +Tunisia and Algeria, and I found them first-rate fellows, They were +very fond of any kind of adventurous sport, and were hospitable and +courteous. + +Numbers of them used to come out with their dogs to help me to find +game, and after a long day's beating in the thorn bush and high grass, +when we finished hunting, they used to shake hands and go off home, +quite happy if I had had a good day, and not expecting or seeking for +a tip or a reward as is so generally the case, I am sorry to say, in +England. Men here seem to think that they ought to be paid for every +blessed thing they do. + +The Arab chiefs, too, were kindly hosts, they gave me the best of +food, generally a sort of Irish stew of chickens and rice, and made me +comfortable in their own tents at night under their blankets. + +They are very clean people, very brave, very courteous and very +honourable. So they are true Scouts of the Desert. They have a number +of little camp customs which Scouts ought to know--and many of them +are like those practised by scouts. + +Arabs are always very strict in saluting each other. + +The custom of saluting came, as you know, from the old times, when +everybody carried weapons, and the act of raising the right hand on +meeting another man was meant to show that you had not got a weapon in +that hand, and were therefore a friend. + +It is exactly the same to this day with the Zulus and other South +African tribes, who carry clubs and assegais; on meeting each other +they pass their weapons into the left hand, and raise their right to +show that it is empty, and that therefore they don't mean to fight +you. + +So it is, too, with the Arabs. + +If a horseman meets a man on foot, the horseman salutes first, because +he is in the more powerful position, and it is only fair that the man +on foot should therefore have his weapon ready till he knows that the +mounted man is friendly. + +In the same way, if a man is sitting down and another walks up to him, +the man who is walking is in the better position for attacking, so he +salutes first to show that he is friendly. + +It is very bad form to pitch your tent close to the water supply of +the camp, because it looks as if you were taking possession of the +spring, and that anyone else wanting to use it would have to get your +permission or be liable to be attacked by you when getting his water. +So an Arab always pitches his tent at some little distance away from +the spring or well, in order to show that it is free to all. + +When an Arab comes to a strange camp he rides up to the largest tent +and dismounts., and walks straight to the fire around which the +inhabitants are sitting. He then says in a loud voice: + +"Peace be with you." + +All those sitting round the fire get up and reply: + +"And with you, peace." + + +KINDNESS TO ANIMALS + +Law 6. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ANIMALS. + +_He should save them, so far as possible, from pain, and should not +kill any animal unnecessarily, even if it is only a fly, for it is one +of God's creatures. Killing an animal for food, or an animal which is +harmful, is allowable. + +It is a curious thing that animals and children both seem to recognise +a good man when they meet him, and are at once friendly with him; and +I have always found that the bravest men are in their turn kind to +them. + +You must have noticed how our soldiers at the Front and our sailors in +the Fleet all seem to have their pet animals and mascots, and when I +was in France I noticed on many occasions our men playing with the +little French children among their ruined homes close up to the firing +line. + +They were all the best of friends: although they knew scarcely a word +of each other's language. + +In the same way as a Knight or a Boy Scout is chivalrous to weaker +folk, so he is chivalrous also to animals. + +Animals are weaker folk than ourselves in the matter of mind and +understanding, but they can be very affectionate and faithful where +they have learnt that the human being, though strong _enough to_ +hurt, them, is kind and gentle. They are quick to show that they +appreciate such kindness. You know how your own dog half-curls himself +round Wagging his tail and grinning with pleasure when he sees you; +and also how your horse nuzzles you all over to find the sugar that he +knows you are going to give him. + +So give animals all the kindness you can, and make their lives happy. + +Many boys are inclined to be cruel simply because they don't +think--they are not yet manly enough--they are, as I said before, in +the silly-ass stage. + +But a Scout who is manly and chivalrous towards people will at all +times be the same towards animals. It is wonderful what pleasure you +can get out of it in return, whether you train your dog to obey your +slightest sign, or whether you tame a robin to be your friend. + +The other day I came across a proprietor of a garage who showed +himself to be a good and kindly man because he had supplied the Scout +troop of the town with a loft to use as a club-room. But he proved to +me that he was a good man by taking me into his sitting-room and +showing me his tame canary, which did every kind of trick at his +command, and sang to him, answered his whistle, and came at his call +and kissed him. + +Apart from the interest of training an animal in confinement, there is +all the fun and adventure to be got out of stalking and watching +animals and birds in the wild and learning their ways and customs. The +more you do this, and the more you understand about how they are made +and how they do their various works, the better you will understand +the wonders of Nature and of the Creator. + + * * * * * + +THE RIGHT WAY TO GO BIRDS'-NESTING. + +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 saw 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't 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. + +A good many birds are almost dying out in Great Britain, 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 haunts of the birds you want; +you watch the birds fly in and out and you find the nest. But you 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 photograph, or to make a +sketch of the hen sitting on her nest, or to make a collection of +pictures of the different kinds of nests built 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 snow-storm 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 birdlime, 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 out again, 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 built their nests and hatched out their young, so that +to-day the song of the lark is to be heard everywhere round Aberdeen. + + * * * * * + +BIRDS' NESTS. + +One January I went "bird's-nesting" with a party of Scout-masters. It +seems an odd time of year to do that; but we really went to see how +they manage to persuade birds to come and make their nests in the Bird +Sanctuary, near Brentford, just outside London. + +We went into the big wood there, and soon found ourselves in the +presence of birds, for everywhere one could hear the piping, trilling, +and whistling of unseen warblers, and every now and then one of them +would flit across our path. + +Then, on the side of almost every tree, we noticed a small box, +entirely closed up except for a small hole in the front. These were +the "nesting-boxes," and every spring the birds come and make their +nests in these boxes, and bring up their families. The consequence is +that the place is now alive with singing birds. + +The son of Mr. Mark Webb, the manager of the Sanctuary, is in his +teens, but he knows everything about the birds that come there and +their ways, and he also knows all the different kinds of plants and +trees that grow in the wood. He is a very complete stalker-Scout, and +evidently gets a lot of fun and satisfaction out of watching the birds +and their doings. + +Well, almost any Scout can do the same, and my advice to you is to +make a nesting-box or two as soon as you can, and put them up on +trees. Then, at the proper time, you may have the satisfaction of +seeing some rare kind of bird coming to your box and raising a family +there. + +The box should be eight to ten inches high, by six wide and deep, and +the top preferably sloping to run any rain off. + +[Illustration: A NESTING-BOX FOR BIRDS.] + +The door is a small round or pear-shaped hole near the top of the box, +so that there is plenty of room for the nest below it. + +A little ledge for the birds, and especially the young ones, to rest +upon, is a good thing to have on the front of the box. If possible, +paint your box roughly with dabs of green and brown to make it +match the tree stem and leaves, and put on it the name of your +patrol and troop if you like. + +Then fix it to a tree trunk about six feet above the ground, where it +is safe from rats or snakes, and on the side of the tree farthest from +the path, if there be one near, so that the birds will not be frightened + by passers-by. If it is on the sunny side, so much the better. + +Birds will build in almost anything which offers them safety +and shelter; an old kettle, for instance, or an old tin pot is a +favourite site for a nest. If you scatter a few crumbs or grains +of corn about your box every day at first, the birds will +become accustomed to it, and will soon adopt it as their home. + +Any Scout who has not a tree of his own to hang his box on can +probably get leave to put it up, if he asks nicely, in some +neighbour's wood or garden, or in a park, and can then visit it from +time to time to see how it is getting on. + +Most nesting-boxes have their roof, or front, on hinges, or made so +that it can slide off; but it does not do to examine the nest when +once it is made, or the old birds will desert it. + + * * * * * + +BIRD MIGRATION. + +The movements of birds as they change their quarters still puzzle the +naturalists. + +It is marvellous how they seem to like travelling, and no one can +understand why they take certain paths through the air when they are +doing it. + +For instance, the black pool warbler, in America, spends its summer in +Alaska, and goes down to South America for the winter. It takes the +straightest course it can from Alaska to Brazil, flying over land and +sea--and a wide sea, too, is the Gulf of Mexico. But the cliff +swallow, which also spends the winter in Brazil and the summer in +North Canada, takes quite a different route, and goes an extra 2000 +miles in order to avoid going over the sea, and follows the land all +round by Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and so +through the United States. + +The distances which birds cover when "migrating" are enormous. Some +American plovers are known to travel for 8000 miles, one part of the +journey being 2500 miles without resting as they pass over the sea. + +The arctic tern goes even farther, it nests near the North Pole, and +then makes its way down to near the South Pole, a journey of 11,000 +miles. + +Perhaps you wonder how we know that the birds travel these long +distances. Well, a good many naturalists and stalkers catch birds when +young or tired and mark them by putting a small ring round their leg +with a number on it. Then other naturalists keep a look out in other +parts of the world, and when they kill or find a bird with such a +number on it they report it. + +Aberdeen University marked a large number of birds in this way--with a +tiny aluminium ring round the bird's leg, with the words "Aberdeen +University" and a number on it. + +A wild duck which they had marked in Scotland was caught in a net the +same year in Holland. + +Of five lapwings marked in Aberdeenshire, four were shot in Ireland +the same year, and one in Portugal, 1250 miles away. A song-thrush was +also shot in Portugal, which had been marked in Scotland the same +year. + +A young guillemot was taken from its nest in Aberdeenshire and marked, +and less than five months afterwards it was shot in Sweden. + +So, you see, it is interesting to watch in this way what the birds do +in the travelling line. + +Scouts can help in keeping a look out, and if ever they capture or +hear of a bird marked with a ring, they should report it to Professor +A. Thomson, The University, Aberdeen. They should state the number on +the ring, the kind of bird, where found, and the date on which it was +found. + + * * * * * + +STUDYING ANIMALS. + +The boar is certainly the bravest of all animals: he is the real "King +of the Jungle," and the other animals all know it. If you watch a +drinking-pool in the jungle at night, you will see the animals that +come to it all creeping down nervously, looking out in every direction +for hidden enemies. But when the boar comes he simply swaggers down, +with his great head and shiny tusks swinging from side to side; he +cares for nobody, but everybody cares for him; even a tiger drinking +at the pool will give a snarl and sneak quickly out of sight. + +I have often lain out on moonlight nights to watch the animals, +especially wild boars, in the jungle, and it is just as good fun as +merely going after them to kill them. + +And I have caught and kept a young wild boar and a young panther, and +found them most amusing and interesting little beggars. The boar used +to live in my garden, and he never became really tame, though I got +him as a baby. + +He would come to me when I called him--but very warily; he would never +come to a stranger, and a native he would "go for," and try to cut him +with his little tusks. + +He used to practise the use of his tusks while turning at full speed +round an old tree stump in the garden, and he would gallop at this and +round it in a figure of eight continuously for over five minutes at a +time, and then fling himself down on his side, panting with his +exertions. + +My panther was also a beautiful and delightfully playful beast, and +used to go about with me like a dog; but he was very uncertain in his +dealings with strangers. + +I think one gets to know more about animals and to understand them +better by keeping them as pets first, and then going and watching them +in their wild, natural life. + +But before going to study big game in the jungles, everybody must +study all animals, wild and tame, at home. It would be a very good +thing if every Scout kept some kind of animal, such as a pony or a +dog, birds or rabbits, or even live butterflies. + +Every Boy Scout ought to know all about the tame animals which he sees +every day. You ought to know all about grooming feeding, and watering +a horse, about putting him into harness or taking him out of harness, +and putting him in the stable, and know when he is going lame and +should not therefore be worked. + + * * * * * + +CHIVALRY TO A SHEEP + +A lady was walking on the Sussex Downs with her old father, who was an +invalid. Suddenly, she saw below her a number of sheep penned in, as +they often are, for the night. Two large dogs had got among them, and +the bodies of two dead sheep told of the mischief already done, while +the other frightened sheep were huddled together, waiting for their +turn to be attacked. + +The lady did not know what to do; she did not like to leave her +invalid father alone while she went down, and it was far too steep a +descent for the latter to attempt. + +Just then, round the corner came five Scouts, quite small, the eldest +being only thirteen years old. They soon took in the situation and +advanced to the fray. When the dogs saw them, they left the sheep and +rushed, barking, at them, and the Scouts fled. But only for a minute! + +A council of war was held, and again they advanced, poles in hand, and +this time succeeded in driving off the dogs. The last the lady saw was +the plucky little patrol kneeling, with their coats off, round a poor +sheep on the ground. After that, she left, feeling the sheep was in +good hands. + +In a few moments the sheep revived, its temples were laved with water, +some of which it also drank and enjoyed. Still, it was beyond standing +alone, and what was to be done next? + +A stretcher was made with the poles and coats, and then came the +difficulty of getting the heavy body on to the stretcher. At last this +difficulty was overcome, and the procession started over the rough +field to the farm, two miles off. + +At last the farm was reached, and the Scouts, after helping the farmer +render further, and perhaps more useful, first-aid, started on their +journey homeward. + +This is an absolutely true story. What would have happened twenty +years ago had five town boys seen those dogs at work destroying sheep? + +They might perhaps have run away, possibly to seek help, but I am none +too sure that they would not have looked on and rather enjoyed it, +merely thinking what a good story they would have to tell their +comrades on their return home. + +Scouting has not only taught boys what to do in an emergency, but it +has taught, and is teaching, our small boys the meaning of love and +kindness to other human beings and also to animals. + + * * * * * + +LORD NELSON AT A BULL FIGHT. + +The following is what Lord Nelson wrote about a bull fight which he +went to see in Spain: + +"The amphitheatre will hold 16,000 people, and some 12,000 were +present. Ten bulls were selected, and one brought out at a time. Three +cavaliers on horseback and foot men with flags were the combatants. We +had what is called a fine 'feast,' for five horses were killed and two +men very much hurt; had they been killed it would have been quite +complete. + +"We felt for the bulls and the horses, and I own it would not have +displeased me to have seen some of the dons (Spaniards) tossed by the +enraged animals. + +"How women can even sit out, much less applaud, such sights is +astonishing. It even turned us sick, and we could hardly go through +it; the dead, mangled horses and the bulls covered with blood were too +much. We have seen one bull feast, and agree that nothing shall ever +tempt us to see another-" + +This is what Nelson, the hero of many a grimly fought battle, has +written, and it shows how even a man accustomed to the sight of blood +and death can be horrified and disgusted at it when it is done as a +form of sport and at the cost of pain to dumb animals. + +Scouts should always remember this in dealing with animals, and have +the same feeling which that prince of sea scouts, Nelson, had. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD YOUNG SCOUT. + +I met a young Patrol-leader going along in a hurry, evidently on duty. +So I asked him where he was off to, and he replied that he was going +to call his patrol together--there are only three in it at +present--and to get three more Tenderfoots to join it at once, as they +had serious work on hand. + +I then found out from his father that the serious work was this: The +patrol had come across a lot of boys torturing some frogs by blowing +them out with straws. The Scouts were not strong enough to stop them, +but they went to the police constable, and asked if they might take +the law into their own hands and "go for" these boys. + +The policeman consented, and now they were going to raise their patrol +to full strength in order to tackle the torturers, and put a stop to +the cruelty to the frogs. + +I heard afterwards that they were successful. + + +OBEDIENCE + +Law 7. A SCOUT OBEYS ORDERS of his parents, Patrol-leader, or +Scoutmaster without question. + +Even _if he gets an order which he does not like, a Scout must +do_ AS _soldiers_ AND SAILORS DO, _or_ AS _he would do +if he got it _FROM _his_ CAPTAIN _in a football match--he +must carry it out all the same, because it is his duty; after he has +done it he can come and state any reasons against it: but he must +carry out the order at once. That is discipline_. + + * * * * * + +PLAY THE GAME. + +Suppose you were playing outside forward in a football match, and you +were on the ball with a good opening for a run before you, when you +suddenly heard your captain shout "Centre!" What would you do? Go on +with the ball, or pass it to a centre player? + +You would, of course, obey the captain's order and pass it. + +Why? + +Because you know that if every fellow played the game for his own fun +and glory, his side would never win--the team would be all over the +place. + +To prevent this, each player has got his certain allotted place in the +field, and the captain, who is best placed for seeing how the game is +going on, is able to give directions that will help his side to win. + +Of course, the success depends on every player doing his best to carry +out his captain's orders efficiently and well. + +It is not only in football or hockey that this system brings success, +but in every game of life. + +We see it just now on a very big scale at the Front--in the great game +of war--where men obey their captains' orders not only when it is +inconvenient to them to do so, but often when it means danger and +death to them. But in doing it they well know that, though they are +sacrificing themselves, they are helping their side to win; and that +is the right, spirit in which to play the game of life. + +Therefore, even in small things, get yourself into the habit, of +obeying orders whether or not you like doing it. + +If you can thus make a practice of it in small everyday matters like +obeying your parents at home, or your Patrol-leader when scouting, +obedience will come quite natural to you in the bigger duties of life, +and you will then be looked upon by both your comrades and your +officers as a really valuable man--one who can be trusted to play in +his place and to play the game in obedience to the rules and to his +captain, not for his own glorification but in order that his side may +win. + + * * * * * + +BRITISH DISCIPLINE. + +When Gibraltar was being besieged a hundred and thirty years ago by +the French and Spaniards on land and sea, the British Troops holding +the place stuck it out valiantly for three long years, and were in the +end relieved by the Fleet from home. But though there were many who +wanted to give in and were dead sick of the whole thing, General +Elliott, the commander of the garrison, showed such dogged +determination, and insisted on such strict discipline, that he held +the garrison together. + +His measures for defence were so successful that every man realised +that the real road to safety and success was strict obedience to his +orders. In fact, it was a case where obedience won the day. And they +loved and admired the old general, too, for his pluck, his humanity, +and his sense of humour. + +On one occasion a man ventured to disobey an order that was given to +him, and when he was brought before the commander the General said +that if a man could disobey an order at such a critical time he could +not be in his right mind, he must be mad. Therefore he ordered that +the usual treatment accorded to a lunatic should be applied to the +offender. His head was to be shaved, he was to be blistered and bled, +and kept in a padded cell on a light diet of bread and water--and also +be prayed for in church. + +Well, the General was quite right. If a man cannot obey orders when +there is danger to all he must be mad. But it is difficult for a man +to be obedient at such a time if he has never learnt to be obedient in +ordinary times, and that is why discipline is so strongly kept up in +both the Army and Navy in peace time. + +A man is taught to obey even the smallest order most carefully and +without hesitation, until it becomes such a habit with him that when +an order is given him, a big or dangerous one, he carries it out, at +once without any question. And, when everybody can be trusted to obey +orders, it is an easy thing for the commander to manoeuvre his troops +and conduct the battle with some chance of success. + +You remember the story which I told you in _Scouting for Boys_ +about the ship _Birkenhead_, on board of which discipline and +obedience were so splendidly shown by the soldiers. + +The ship was carrying about 630 soldiers, with their families, and 130 +seamen. Near the Cape of Good Hope one night she ran on to some rocks, +and began to break up. The soldiers were at once paraded on deck +half-dressed as they were, just out of their hammocks. + +Some were told off to get out the boats and to put the women and +children into them, and others were told off to get the horses up out +of the hold, and to lower them overboard into the sea, in order that +they might have a chance of swimming ashore. + +When this had all been done, it was found that there were not enough +boats to take everybody, and so the men were ordered to remain in +their ranks on the deck, while the women and children, with a few men +to row them, moved off from the sinking ship. + +The boats had not gone far when the ship broke into half and began to +go down. The captain shouted to the men to jump overboard and save +themselves, but the Colonel, Colonel Seaton, interrupting the captain +ordered the men to stand where they were, and to keep their ranks, for +he saw that if they swam to the boats and tried to get in they would +probably sink them too. + +So the men kept their ranks, and as the ship rolled over and sank, +they gave a cheer and went down with her. + +Out of the whole 760 on board only 192 were saved, but even these +would probably have been lost had it not been for the discipline and +self-sacrifice of the others in obeying the order to keep their ranks +and not to try to get into the boats. + +So you see the value of discipline in a difficult crisis or moment of +danger. + +The great Duke of Wellington, who was Commander-in-Chief of the +British Army, when describing this heroic act on the _Birkenhead_, +praised very highly the discipline of the men--he did not praise their +bravery. It was brave of them, but he considered that all Britons are +naturally brave--he expected bravery of them. But discipline is another +thing; it has to be learnt. + +In battle or in a big danger a brave man may be very useful, but if he +does pretty much as he pleases he is not half so valuable as the man +who, besides being brave, has also learnt, to obey every order at +once. + +Watch firemen at work. They are all brave enough; they would all like +to be at the top of the ladder fighting the flames, but their +discipline makes them work at their different jobs, each playing in +his place, obeying orders, and doing his share in order that the fire +may be put out, not that he should win special glory or excitement for +himself. + +Even in the streets there is discipline. The policeman regulates the +traffic so that all vehicles moving in one direction keep to one side +of the road, and thus allow the traffic in the opposite direction to +keep moving along the other side. But if one 'bus-driver did not feel +inclined to obey orders, but dashed about in his own way, not caring +to which side of the road he went so long as he went ahead, there +would be accidents and delay in no time, and the whole traffic would +be upset. If you are in business with a large number of others, it is +useful for the good of the whole that you obey the orders which you +receive from those who are in authority over you. If the seniors can +be sure that their assistants will carry out their orders, they can +carry on the business properly. Discipline is necessary everywhere, +but the thing is to learn while you are young to carry it out in small +things, so that you would be able to do so when it comes to your turn +to do it in a great difficulty or danger. In order to do this you have +to be able to command yourself in the first place. + +The soldier does not go into a battle because he likes it. It is a +dangerous place, and he feels inclined to run away; but he commands +himself, and says "I must go whether I like it or not, because it is +my duty." + +When he gets his orders from his officers to attack the enemy, he +would probably be more anxious still to go in the opposite direction, +but he commands himself and says: "I must obey the orders of my +officers." + +And the officers obey the orders of the general, and so the whole +force moves everywhere to the attack simply from a spirit of +discipline, each man making himself do his proper share, so that +although he may lose his life, yet his side may win the battle. + +So it will be with you every day. You will have your duty to do, when +often you would much rather do your pleasure, or play some games; but +you have to command yourself and order yourself to do your duty in the +first place, and amuse yourself afterwards. + +When you succeed in doing this, and in always obeying the orders of +your officer readily and cheerily, in small things as well as in great +things, you will soon find that it becomes a habit with you and not a +trouble, so that when the time comes for you to carry out some +difficult and dangerous order you will be able to do it at once, +without any hesitation and with complete success for the good of your +side--that is, for the good of your business, your employer, or of +your Country, without thinking of the difficulty or danger to +yourself. + +With a Scout, your "_Duty_" is to do a good turn to somebody +every day. Your "_Discipline_" makes you command yourself to +carry this out, even though it may be irksome or dangerous, and though +nobody is there to see you do it. You do it because it is your duty +and you are trusted, on your honour, to do it. + + * * * * * + +A DISOBEDIENT SCOUT. + +I once had a brave scout in my force in the South African War. He was +a brave man and an active scout, but he was not good at obeying +orders, and in the end this cost him his life and did harm to our +plans. + +We had news of a force of the enemy which did not know of our presence +in that part of the country. So we hid ourselves, meaning to surprise +and capture them when they came along. + +The orders were that not a sound was to be made and not a man +_was_ to show himself, and these orders were faithfully carried +out--except by this one scout. He thought he knew better than others, +and he slipped away unseen to go and look out for the enemy's +approach. + +Presently he spied a hostile scout and fired at him; the enemy's scout +returned his fire, and after a short duel both of them fell mortally +wounded. + +But the noise of their shooting gave the alarm to the enemy's force; +more came upon the spot, and, finding a British scout there, they +naturally guessed that there must be more in the neighbourhood, so +they took all precautions, sent out scouts in all directions, and +then, coming on our tracks, at last discovered our hiding-place, and +gave warning to their own side, who were then able to make their +escape. + +If my scout had only learnt, when a boy, how to obey orders, it might +have made a great difference that day to him, to us--and to the enemy. + + * * * * * + +SCOUT TEXT. + +Here is a text which will help Scouts to discipline themselves: + +CHEW GUM IF YOUR JAWS WANT EXERCISE. + +That was the advice given by a "self-made merchant to his son." He +meant, don't exercise your jaws by talking if you have nothing +important to say don't talk for the mere sake of talking; and, above +all, don't argue when you get an order. + +Boys, you know, are rather fond of asking endless silly questions. +Before speaking you should think first whether what you are going to +say is really necessary or not, and then don't waste words or other +people's attention if it is not. If you _must_ keep your jaw +wagging, our American friend says "chew gum." + + * * * * * + +THE SILENT KING OF ASHANTI. + +In the expedition to Ashanti, on the Gold Coast, West Africa, when we +captured the King, Prempeh, he was carrying in his mouth a kind of nut +which looked like big, fat cigar. We found that he did this to prevent +himself talking too much. + +If he felt inclined to make some meaningless remark, or in the heat of +an argument to let out a hasty opinion, he could not do so without +first having to take this impediment out of his mouth, and that gave +him time to think twice about what he was going to say. + +I often think it would be a good thing if every nasty-tempered fellow +had to carry such a nut in his mouth, so that when he wanted suddenly +to let out a volley of abuse it would give him time to think and stop +it. + + * * * * * + +SHOUTING SCOUTS AT WIMBLEDON. + +I heard of a lady who, when riding on Wimbledon Common, came across a +party of Boy Scouts. She discovered their whereabouts by the immense +amount of jabbering that was going on; so, being the wife of an +officer, and knowing a good deal about scouting, she rode up to the +Scouts, and told them just what I should have told them, that unless +you practise keeping quiet at all times, you will forget to do so on +some important occasion, and so will give yourselves away. + +Scouts should always talk low and quietly, and also should always move +quietly and lightly. + +Remember on a still day or in the night a heavy, thumping footfall can +be heard a long way off, even in open country, and very much more so +in a street or in a house. So practise always treading lightly and +silently, and you will soon gain the Scouts' habit of moving unheard. + +I have heard from an officer at the Front, who regrets that two old +Scouts whom he had with him have been killed or wounded. He found that +ordinary soldiers would not move quietly at night, and so were useless +to him. He has now got an ex-burglar as the next best thing to an +ex-Boy Scout! + + +CHEERFULNESS + +Law 8. A SCOUT SMILES AND WHISTLES UNDER ALL DIFFICULTIES. + +_When he gets an order, he should obey it cheerily and readily, not +in a slow_, hang-dog _sort of way. + +Scouts never grouse at hardships nor whine at each other, nor_ +swear _when put out, but go on whistling and smiling. When you just +miss a train, or someone treads on your favourite corn--not that +Scouts should have such things as corns--or in any annoying +circumstances, you should force yourself to smile at once, and then +whistle a tune, and you will be all right. + +The punishment for swearing or using bad language is for each offence, +a_ mug of _cold water to be poured down the offender's _sleeve +by the other Scouts. It was the punishment invented by the old British +scout, Captain John Smith, three hundred years ago_. + +When I was encamped with my troop of Scouts at Humshaugh, +Northumberland, a gentleman living in the neighbourhood invited us to +come and visit the castle in which he lived. It was a beautiful old +tower left much in the state in which it was when it formed one of the +Border defences against Scotland. On the top was the fighting platform +from which the archers fired their bolts and arrows, and the gunners +fired their culverins. On the storey below were the rooms in which the +family lived, and below these again were the guardrooms of the +men-at-arms. On the ground-floor was the cattle stable into which the +herds were driven for security when the enemy were around. The +portcullis which closed the gateway was still in existence, hauled up +and down by means of ropes over pulleys of which the levers were +worked on the floor above. + +In later and more peaceful times, that is in the reign of James I, a +house was built on to the tower to give more room to the inhabitants. + +In the hall of this house was a noble fireplace above which there was +an elaborate overmantel of carved oak illustrating the seven Christian +virtues. There were little statues representing Fortitude, +Benevolence, Faith, etc., etc., all the qualities which a good +Christian should possess and carry into practice. But I felt, after +looking at them all, that there was still one virtue missing, and I +suggested to the boys that you might carry out all these seven good +qualities of a Christian without doing it to the best effect. You +might carry it out as an order to be kind, to be helpful, to be +chivalrous, and so on, but if you only did it because it was an order, +and therefore did it grumpily, half its value was lost. + +The important point is that when you know what is the right thing to +do, you should jump to it and do it cheerily with a smile. Therefore I +thought that we Scouts might add one more to these seven Christian +virtues--namely Cheerfulness. + +Then there is another good reason for being cheerful. + +Have you ever noticed as you walk along the street how very few people +look really happy? They are going along often with downcast eyes, and +nearly always with dejected, serious countenances; if one comes along +who looks at you smilingly it is a great relief, and makes you feel a +bit happier yourself. And _there_ is a reason why a Scout should +go about with a smile on, because it makes other people happy. You may +not always feel cheerful yourself, but you should not show this, as it +will make other people feel glum, too. If you make yourself look +cheerful, you will gradually find that you are becoming brighter. + +If you are troubled or anxious, or in pain, force yourself to smile. +It will be difficult at first; still, force yourself to do it, and you +will find to your surprise that your trouble is not so great as you +thought it was. + +I have known men in action getting very anxious when great danger +overshadowed them. But if one began to laugh and to talk cheerily, or +to whistle, the cloud passed by and everybody bucked up and was ready +to face the situation. + +That is what makes our men so formidable in the war just now. In spite +of heavy losses, in spite of overwhelming attacks against them, they +have always kept up their spirits and therefore their pluck. It has +often been the secret of their being able to hold their own, and it +will be the secret of their coming out victorious in the end. + +Remember this--and I have found it come true in hundreds of different +kinds of cases: + +"A difficulty ceases to be a difficulty directly you smile at it and +tackle it." + + * * * * * + +THE SCOUT'S SMILE. + +During one of my visits to Birmingham, I saw a Rally of the local +Scouts. One thing that struck me about them, besides their good work, +was their cheerfulness. The outside of their programme had printed +upon it portraits of eight of their smartest Scouts, and each one of +these has a big grin on. + +Well, that is what I like to see; fellows who can work, and work +cheerily. It is just what our men are doing at the Front. + +I saw a letter the other day from an officer describing how the men +lived a miserable existence crouching in the trenches, always wet and +cold and muddy, being shot at and shelled all the time, but they +welcomed the shells as if they were friends, giving them the nicknames +of Jack Johnsons, Black Marias, Woolly Bears, etc. He says of the men: + +"If I were asked what struck me most, I would say that it was the +marvellous cheerfulness of the men living in such awful circumstances. +Every one to a man seemed happy. They are always ready for a joke, and +they see fun in everything." + +And that is why we shall succeed in this war, because our men see the +bright side of it, and take things cheerfully and hopefully, even in +the worst circumstances. It is also the way to succeed in peace time +when doing work or suffering hardships or disappointments. + + * * * * * + +FIGHTING FROM A CHAIR. + +[Illustration: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE DOG.] + +One bit of advice I gave to the Birmingham Scouts was that, if ever +you run a race with a dog, keep your eye on the dog, and don't look +about at other things. I myself was an example of "how not to do it," +for I had had a race with my dog--I was running in shorts--and he saw +me looking round and promptly ran between my legs and threw me over. +So I had to go to Birmingham on two sticks with a bandaged knee. + +But what is true of a dog race is true of any other competition in +life. When you start out to do a thing, keep your attention fixed on +what you are doing, and do not let it wander off to other things, +otherwise you may come a cropper. + +It is a bit of a handicap to go about inspecting Scouts with one leg +out of action, but still I was only carrying out the example of other +Scouts. + +There was Rob. Miller, a Scout at Whitby, who, when he lost a leg +through a German shell, was quite cheery, and wrote to me that he felt +it an honour to be the first Scout wounded whilst on duty, and that he +meant to go on scouting notwithstanding the loss of a leg. + +Another Scout who lost his eye through a Toby Tenderfoot fooling with +a gun wrote to say that he could go scouting just as well with one eye +as with two. That is the spirit of the scouts. + +In addition to these, I had a fine example in a namesake of mine, +Major H. G. Powell, out at the Front. He had left the Army some ten +years ago, but when the war broke out he went back to his old +regiment. In advancing to an attack he sprained his ankle badly. +However, he got a stick and a chair from a neighbouring cottage, and +continued to hobble along at the head of his men, sitting down +whenever there was a halt and directing their operations from the +chair. He went on doing this until he himself was hit and badly +wounded, and he was able to be carried safely back still sitting in +his chair. + +[Illustration: A CHEERY OLD SCOUT.] + + * * * * * + +HOW TO LIVE LONG. + +I suppose none of you Scouts who read this are cheerful, happy +fellows! [I don't think!] But if you should happen to want to live to +be 100 years old, here is the way to do it--written by one who has +done it: + +"_Be cheery, and work hard!_" + +That is what Mrs. Rebecca Clark, of High Road, Wood Green, said a few +days before she died, and she was 110 years old, so she ought to know. + +I think that most Scouts are doing exactly what she recommends--so in +A.D. 2010 there will be 200,000 old fellows of over 100 years of age, +skipping about in bare knees and worn-out hats, singing: "Boys, Be +Prepared!" + + * * * * * + +THE ONLY BAD THING. + +Mrs. Scoresby Routledge, a well-known lady explorer, wrote to me once +to say that while travelling in the Pacific she came across Scouts in +all sorts of unexpected places. + +After giving them a good character, she added that the only bad thing +about Scouts was that they whistled. + +She pointed out that a great many people already suffer from the +noises in the streets of our towns, especially people who are ill and +weak. Even small, harmless noises "get on their nerves," and keep them +from resting. And whistling is one of these dreaded noises. + +I hope Scouts, in going about the streets, will think of this, and +tone down their whistling, as a good turn to people who may possibly +be disturbed by it. + +At the same time, I need not remind you that it is good to whistle and +smile in a difficulty, when otherwise you might break out into curses, +or into a cry of pain or of panic, or take to your fists (or your +heels), according to what might be happening to you. + +I have known fellows whistle in very bad times in action, and their +whistling has not only kept them calm themselves, but has also made +those around them feel calm and cheery, too. + + * * * * * + +AN ANCIENT INSCRIPTION. + +At Timgad in Algeria there are some interesting ruins, among them +being those of the theatre and the baths. + +The theatre is a huge open-air one of horse-shoe shape with stone +seats rising like steps above each other, and with a row of private +boxes at the top. + +The stage is a handsome one built of stone with fine marble pillars, +and a back wall--for the Romans did not make use of painted scenery as +we do--and behind the stage are the dressing-rooms for the actors. + +The theatre itself was big enough to seat 3400 spectators, which is +more than most theatres in London could do, and as Timgad was merely a +country town of no very great size it shows that the Romans were as +fond of theatrical plays as the English are of cinematograph shows +to-day. + +They were equally fond of bathing, and in this one town alone there +were twelve public baths. They were what we call Turkish baths, that +is, there were bathrooms of several grades of heat to be gone +through--one tepid, the next warm, the next one very hot, and then +cooler and cold, and the Romans were fond of taking these baths every +day. + +This is too much of a good thing, as it is apt to weaken a man. The +Romans, as you know, were in the end driven out of their Empire, +because they allowed themselves to become weak in mind and in body by +too much laziness in theatre-going and continual hot baths. + +One inhabitant had inscribed on a stone in Timgad what he thought to +be the best form of happiness. He wrote: + +"_To hunt, to bathe, and to laugh--that's the way to live_." + +And there is a good deal in what he says, for in hunting you have to +use much woodcraft and hard exercise, and keeping clean and being +cheery is all part of the Scout's life. + +But he has forgotten to mention one very important thing towards +making your life a happy one, and I expect that any Scout could tell +me at once what that point is--couldn't you? + +He has left out the happiness which you get from doing a good turn. If +he had slightly altered his sentence, and had put it this way: + +"_To scout, to bathe, to do a good turn, and to smile--that is the +way to live and be happy_," he would have said the truth, and he +would have exactly described what every Boy Scout does. + + * * * * * + +DON'T STAND WITH YOUR BACK TO THE SUN. + +This is one of the Scout mottoes. + +Every Scout knows that when you examine footmarks on the ground, you +should generally do so facing the sun, have them between you and the +light, and you will see them all the better. + +But that is not the meaning of this text; it has a second and bigger +meaning. + +It means that when there is any sunshine or brightness possible, look +out for it when you are in trouble or misfortune, and make the most of +it. + +If you feel inclined to grumble at your lot because you have damaged +your leg and can't play in a game of football, think of other poor +cripples who never can play at all. + +However down on your luck you may be, remember there is a bright +lining to every cloud. There is some brightness somewhere, if only you +look out for it and don't turn your back on it. + +When things are looking their worst, and everybody is depressed, make +up your mind that you, at any rate, will be hopeful. + +Try to see where there is hope. + +Remember St. Paul said that God was the "God of Hope." Hope gives you +pluck and comfort at a bad time, and your hopefulness will comfort +others round you and nerve them to stick it out. + + * * * * * + +LORD ROBERTS. + +Lord Roberts died the best death that could have been hoped for him. +He died in the field, within the sound of the guns, doing his duty for +his Country even at the age eighty-two. + +It was very many years ago that I first got to know him. It was at +Simla, in India. I had just joined the Army, and was enjoying myself +in all the glory of my new uniform at a ball. I had gone to the +refreshment-room to get something for my partner, but I could not make +the native waiter understand what I wanted, as I had not at that time +learnt any Hindustani. + +A very small but very polite officer alongside me kindly explained to +the servant what I wanted. Then he said to me that if I wanted to +enjoy India I ought to learn the language as soon as possible. I +should get much more fun out of the country if I could talk to the +natives. And he asked me my name and where I was staying. + +After thanking him, I thought no more about the matter till next day, +when there arrived at my house a native teacher of Languages, who said +that Sir Frederick Roberts had sent him to give me some lessons! + +Thus, like everybody else, I began my acquaintance with him by +heartily liking him. He had gone out of his way to do a kindness to a +young officer of whom he knew nothing. But that was just like him--it +was his way. + +I need not tell you about his early career in the Army. Probably every +Scout knows how, in the Mutiny in India in 1858, Lieutenant Roberts +won the Victoria Cross. He had charged with the cavalry, and had +followed the flying mutineers, when he saw one of them attacking a +loyal native cavalryman. + +Roberts at once dashed to his rescue and cut down the Sepoy. As he did +so, he saw two more Sepoys making off with a regimental flag; so he +pushed on after them, although single-handed and alone. He seized the +Standard and cut down the man who held it. The other man aimed his +rifle at him, close against him, and pulled the trigger but the gun +failed to go off, and the man turned and fled for his life. + +In 1880 Lord Roberts made his famous march in Afghanistan, from Kabul +to relieve Kandahar, which was besieged by the Afghans. He took ten +thousand men and marched the 320 miles in twenty-two days, which was a +splendid performance in that difficult, mountainous desert. He arrived +in time to relieve Kandahar and to inflict a very heavy defeat on the +Afghans. For his splendid victory here he received the title of Lord +Roberts "of Kandahar." + +In 1900 he was Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the Boer +war in South Africa. Here again he displayed his self-sacrifice and +determination. + +His winning of the Victoria Cross had showed that, though a very small +man--he was very nearly rejected from the Army because he was so +small--he had great pluck. And he also had a great heart. + +His pluck and self-control were perhaps better proved by his bracing +himself up to send men to their death in battle when he loved them and +would gladly have saved them if duty and the good of the Country were +not at stake. And it was in South Africa that he met with the sorrow +of his life, when his only son was killed in trying to save the guns +at the battle of Colenso. + +For his gallantry on this occasion young Roberts was awarded the +Victoria Cross, although he was dead. It is seldom that the Victoria +Cross has been won by both father and son. + +In South Africa Lord Roberts again did me a kind act by riding out +many miles to meet me on my coming into Pretoria after the siege of +Mafeking. + +On his return to England after that war, Lord Roberts became +Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. + +When the Boy Scout movement began, he took the greatest interest in +it, because he was always fond, of boys and knew how useful to the +Country they might be if only they were trained to it. + +So he came on the Council of the Scouts' Headquarters, and he reviewed +the Scouts at a big Empire Day parade in Hyde Park. + +When I went to stay with him, he talked of little else but the Scouts; +and the Scouts at Ascot, who were raised and organised by his +daughter, Lady Aileen Roberts, miss their great friend. + +The Ascot Scouts formed part of the Guard of Honour which escorted his +body through that place on its way to burial in London. At St. Paul's +Cathedral I was glad to see also a Guard of Honour of Scouts, who had +come to pay their last respects to our national hero. + +Lord Roberts was a splendid example for any boy to follow, because he +rose from small beginnings to the highest position in the Army and, +what is more, to the highest position in the admiration and affection +of all his fellow-subjects of the King, whether they were white or +coloured. And he did it all by his own merit, though he was not +extraordinarily brilliant or clever as a lad. + +How did he manage it? + +I think it was largely because he was a true Scout in every sense of +the word. The things which brought him success were: + +His pluck in facing every kind of difficulty or danger with cheery +hopefulness. + +His eagerness to work hard and to do his duty regardless of whether it +was what he liked or wanted to do. His honesty and straightforwardness, +which made everybody trust and believe in him. + +His humility, by which he put himself on equal terms with everybody; +he had no kind of "swank" or pride, in spite of his brilliant +successes. + +His kind-heartedness and thoughtfulness for others, especially those +at the bottom of the ladder. And that was one of the secrets of his +success--those working under his orders worked like slaves for him +because they loved him. + +His simple faith in God, which led him true and straight through every +difficulty. + +Well, when you come to look into it, you will see that by doing these +things in his daily life Lord Roberts was exactly carrying out the +Scout Law. It is what you as a Scout are already aiming to do. + +So, now that you have his great example before you, all you have to do +is to go ahead and stick to it, with all the greater determination +that you will make yourself, like Lord Roberts, a cheery, brave fellow +and a valuable man for your Country. + + +THRIFT + +Law 9. A SCOUT IS THRIFTY. + +_It is expected that a Scout will save every penny he can, and put +it in the bank, so that he may have money to keep himself when out of +work, and thus not make himself a burden to others; or that he may +have money to give away to others when they need it_. + +There are many Boy Scouts to-day who will in a few years' time become +very rich men although they have not much to begin with. That is a +certainty, because a good many are determined to make their fortunes, +and if a lad begins by being thrifty he generally succeeds in the end. + +A fellow who begins making money as a boy will go on making it as a +man. Some fellows, of course, want to do it by easy means, and that as +a rule does not pay. + +Some fellows see a fortune in betting on a horse race or football +match; you may win a few shillings now and then but you are absolutely +certain to lose half the time, and it is a fool's way of trying to +make money, because the bookies who make a living by it trust to there +being a sufficient number of fools to keep on betting and supplying +them with money. + +Such money is not earned, it is only gained by chance and therefore is +not worth having--to a fellow with manly ideas. + +Any number of poor boys have become rich men, but it was because they +meant to from the first. They WORKED for it and put by every penny +that they earned in the bank to begin with. + +Lots of boys are already at work doing this, and I hope that very many +of the Boy Scouts are also at it. Two good rules are given for making +your fortune. The first is "_Spend_ less _than you earn_." +The second is "_Pay ready money, and don't run into debt_." + +Many of you probably have heard of the Nasmyth steam hammer which is +used in all the great iron works? + +Well, Nasmyth, as a boy, worked in his father's workshop, and used to +spend a great deal of his spare time in a neighbouring iron foundry, +and he took to using tools and making all sorts of models of engines, +etc., just as you Boy Scouts who are working up for your Engineer's +Badge might do. + +He made one model steam-engine so large that a man bought it for the +purpose of driving a machine tool in his factory, and so he began to +make money by selling his own home-made engines. And finally he went +to work at a big engineering shop because he felt that he was one of a +large family and that his father could not afford to keep them all and +he was resolved to make his own living. + +He could not afford to have his food cooked for him on the small pay +that he got as a boy at the works, but he manufactured his own +cooking-stove and found that with its help he was able to live on ten +shillings a week. + +He worked so well in the shop that the manager raised his wages to +fifteen shillings a week. But as he had found that he could live on +ten shillings, he put by the extra five shillings each week in the +bank, and all the time he kept making tools for himself in his spare +hours, and eventually started himself in business on his own account +with his own money and his own tools, and finally invented his +celebrated steam hammer. + +By the time he was forty-eight, he had made a big income and quite a +fortune. Many men would not have been content with this, but would +have gone on until they became millionaires. But Nasmyth did not, he +was content to retire from hard work with sufficient money to buy a +happy home, where he went in for making telescopes and studying +astronomy and also in doing good turns to people not so well off as +himself. + +And he gave some good advice to young fellows wanting to make a +success of their lives in the following words: + +"If I were to try to compress into one sentence the whole of the +experience I have had, and offer it to a young man as a certain means +of bringing success in whatever position he holds, it would be +this:'_Duty first, pleasure second_,'" + +"I am certain from what I have seen that what so many call 'bad luck' +comes in nine cases out of ten from putting that maxim the other way +round and satisfying your pleasure first and attending to work and +duty afterwards." + +One poor man, a farm labourer, made himself rich by writing poetry. +His name was Stephen Duck, the thresher poet. But unfortunately +numbers of other working men, seeing his good fortune, also thought it +would be an easier way of making money to write poetry rather than by +doing hard work, and Horace Walpole, when writing of Duck, said., +"that he succeeded as a poet, but he also succeeded in ruining at +least twenty good workmen." + +There are very few young men who have not at one time or another in +their lives thought themselves splendid poets. I hope this will be a +warning to them, and that they will take to hard work as a means of +making their way in the world. + + * * * * * + +THE MAN WHO "STUCK TO IT." + +Lord Strathcona began life as a poor boy in Scotland and he ended up +by being one of the richest men in Britain, and, not only the richest +in money, but in having also the admiration and affection of a vast +number of his fellow-countrymen. + +When he was eighteen, as plain Donald Smith, he went out to Canada and +joined the Hudson Bay Trading Company there. This Company used to buy +fur skins from the trappers and Indians, and their trading stations +were built in far-off, out-of-the-way places in order to be near to +the hunting-grounds of these people. + +Also, as you never could trust the Red Indians, they were all +fortified posts, ready for defence against attack. + +Young Smith was sent up to a place called Mingan, right away up in the +north-east of Canada, in Labrador, a cold, bleak, dreary country. + +After he had been there some time, his eyes began to give him great +trouble, and he feared he was going blind. There was no doctor nor +anyone else to consult, so he started off to make his way down to +Montreal to see a doctor. He took with him as guides two half-breed +Indians. + +For weeks he toiled through the awful wilderness, among snow and +blizzard, but at length he reached Montreal. + +Do you think they made a hero of him? + +Not a bit of it. His employers rounded on him for quitting his post +without leave, and told him to go back at once. + +At first he felt--like many of us would have done--so angry that he +was on the point of throwing up the whole thing and leaving the +service of the Hudson Bay Company. + +But on second thoughts he felt that, after all, the managers were +right. They had put him there to have charge of valuable stores and +important work, and that it was his duty to stick there, and not to +come in to civilised parts for his own sake. + +So he accepted the wigging, and started back on the long, dreary +journey to his gloomy post in Labrador. + +He had luckily been able to see a doctor, and had got his eyes put +right. + +It was an awful journey: so bad that the two guides gave way under +their hardships and died. But again Donald Smith _stuck to it_, +and struggled on, and in the end he just managed to get to his post, +worn out and exhausted. + +But that sticking to it was exactly what was the secret of his +success. + +For thirteen _years_ he stuck to his job in that awful country +and then his employers saw that he was so strong on doing his duty +that they promoted him to higher and more important work, till in the +end he became Chief Factor or Head Manager of the Company. + +Then came the idea of making the Canadian Pacific Railway right across +Canada. + +People said it was a mad scheme; that it could never pay to make a +railway into that vast wilderness which in those days had not been +properly explored. + +But Donald Smith looked far ahead, and saw the time when Britain would +be overcrowded with people, and corn-growing, cattle-raising land +would be needed for colonists. + +So he put his savings into the railway and worked hard to make it a +success. + +Everything seemed to go against it. But he _stuck to it_, and +fought against all difficulties, until in the end he _came_ out +successful. And to-day the Canadian Pacific is one of the greatest +railways in the world, and has opened up Canada to be a great country, +peopled by thousands of British colonists. + +And so he made his fortune, and later on, in return for his splendid +work for the Empire, he was made Lord Strathcona. + +Most men leave off work when they are between sixty and seventy, but +Lord Strathcona did not. He still continued to _stick to it_ for +twenty or thirty years longer than most men. Only a few days before +his death he was at work in his office (and he died at the age of +ninety-four). + +And in his office every day he _stuck to it_, for he went there +about eleven in the morning, but seldom left before seven--often he +was there till nine. + +When all the neighbouring offices in Victoria Street had turned off +their lights and closed their doors for the night, Lord Strathcona's +window was to be seen still brilliantly lit up, so much so that the +policemen and others about there called it "The Lighthouse." + +Now, why should a man go on working overtime like that? He was not +making money; he had enough of that and to spare. It was simply +because he considered it was his duty, and he _stuck to it_. + +Besides his adventures in Canada, and besides his power of sticking to +his duty, Lord Strathcona was also a good scout, because he was kind +and helpful to others. + + * * * * * + +MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING. + +For the South African War he paid the expenses of raising a regiment +to fight for the King--and a fine regiment it was, too--of mounted +men, which was called after him "Strathcona's Horse." + +Also the Boy Scouts owe him a debt of gratitude, because in the early +days of the movement, when we were struggling to get along, he gave +500 Pounds to me to help to start our brotherhood. + +So Boy Scouts owe much to Lord Strathcona for that, and for setting a +real living example of how a man should _stick to it_ in doing +his duty, and in being kind and helpful to others. + +From these stories of poor boys who have made successes of their lives +and become rich men I do not want you to think that I look upon money +as the aim of your life. You should only wish to gain sufficient money +to put you in a position where you can live happily into old age if +necessary, and bring up a family without calling on other people to +support you. + +And I would tell you just one more story of a poor man who yet made a +fortune other than that which money produced. + +This man was John Pounds, and he kept a little cobbler's shop in +Portsmouth, where he worked hard and well, so that people began to +bring their boots to him for repair in preference to any other +cobbler, because they knew that he did honest work and they got a +better return for their money. + +Soon he began to gather in much more cash than was necessary for his +modest wants. But he did not buy a big house and set himself up in +comfort. He did a better thing than that. + +When he was at his work, idle boys used to come and hang around his +shop watching him busily employed, and while he stitched and cobbled +he chatted with the boys and took an interest in them. + +Boys are good fellows, and when they found somebody thought about +them, although they were dirty, ragged urchins, they took an interest +in him, until gradually they came at their own desire to hear him +talk, and began to imitate him in doing steady work. Then he made use +of his savings in a way that was better than feeding himself on good +things, for he fed these boys who badly wanted a good meal. + +As time went on, he started a sort of club or school for his ragged +friends, and in the end had a sort of Scout troop of boys who learnt +handicrafts under him and became strong with their good feeding, +became good workmen under his instruction, and saved up money under +his example. + +Thus he was able to send out into the world a number of good, strong, +prosperous workmen who would otherwise have drifted into being +wasters. + +And from his little effort in Portsmouth sprang up similar ragged +schools and boys' clubs in different parts of the Kingdom. + +So he did as much by his thrift as many have done by saving their +millions. + + * * * * * + +HOW A POOR BOY BECAME RICH. + +"How can I ever succeed in becoming great and rich? It is impossible. +I am only a poor boy!" + +That is what a lad said to me. I was able to restore him to greater +hopefulness by saying: + +"Nothing is impossible if you make up your mind to do it. Many a great +man who is alive to-day began as a poor boy like yourself, with no +help besides his own wits and pluck." + +Then I told him about Sir William Arrol. At nine years of age he went +to work as a "piecer" in a cotton factory. A few years later he became +apprenticed to a blacksmith. He worked hard and well, and was very +steady, so that at the age of twenty-three he found himself foreman in +Messrs. Laidlaw's boiler works in Glasgow. Like a Scout, he was +thrifty, and in five years of this employment he saved up 85 Pounds of his +wages, and with this sum he started a business of his own. + +At first he made boilers and girders, and then, as his business grew +bigger, he took up bridge-building. + +Steadily he worked at this, being at all times anxious to show good +solid work, without any scamping. + +To start with he had met with disappointments and failures, but he +would not give in to then; when things looked their worst he kept a +smiling face and _stuck to it_. + +And in the end he came out successful, as every man does who is +patient and sticks it out. He got a name for steady, persevering work, +and for giving full value for any money paid to him. + +For these reasons he obtained good contracts for building bridges, and +soon enlarged his business into a very big one. + +Among others, the great Tay bridge and the bridge over the Forth in +Scotland are his work. + +He died a rich and highly respected man, but in the height of his +power he never forgot that he began as a poor boy, and he always did +what he could to help other poor boys to win their way to success. + +He used, however, to say that success depended mainly on the boy +himself. If a boy were determined to get on, and knew a handicraft or +two, he would probably succeed, but if he merely dabbled in one thing +and then another, and wasted his time in amusements, and could not +stick it out when luck seemed against, him, that boy would be a +failure, and would probably go on being a failure all his life. + + * * * * * + +THRIFT IS MANLINESS. + +So you see if, as a Scout, you pick up and really practise what +Scouting teaches you, it gives you every chance of being a success in +life, since it teaches you to be active and enduring, to be +trustworthy, to be obedient to your duty, to be thrifty, and to learn +handicrafts. + +In fact, it teaches you to Be Prepared to make a successful career for +yourself if you stick to it. + +The knights in the old days were ordered by their code of rules to be +thrifty, that is, to save money as much as possible in order to keep +themselves and not to be a burden to others, and that they might have +more to give away in charity. + +If they were poor, they were not to beg for money, but had to make it +by their own work. + +Thus, Thrift is part of manliness because it means hard work and +self-denial, and boys are never too young to work for pay, which they +should put in the Post Office Savings Bank or some other Government +security. + + +CLEANLINESS + +Law 10. A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED. + +_Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they +do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to +do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly._ + +When boys are getting big, they generally want to show off and to +impress other boys with their "manliness"--or at least what they think +is manliness. + +It generally begins with smoking. They think it fine to smoke, so they +suck and puff at cigarettes, partly because these are cheap, and +partly because a pipe would make them sick. + +The reason why half of them do it is because they are arrant cowards, +and are afraid of being laughed at by the other boys if they don't do +it. They think themselves tremendous heroes, while in reality they are +little asses. Then they like to use swear words because they think +this makes them appear tremendously ferocious and big. Also they think +it the height of manliness to tell smutty stories and to talk dirt. + +But these things don't say much for the boy who does them. He +generally curls up and hides them directly a man is present. He only +produces them for swanking in the presence of other boys, This shows +that he is not really very proud of his accomplishments, and the boy +who has a sense of honour in him knows at once that such things are +against his conscience-law and he will have nothing to do with them. + +This often puts him in a difficult position when among boys who are +showing off, as they will be ready to jeer at him; but if he has +honour and pluck--in a word, if he is a true Scout--he will brave it +out and, as a result, he will come out the only real man of the party. + +The probability will be that though they do not show it at the moment, +some of the others will see that he is right and that they are wrong, +and will pluck up courage themselves and follow his example in being +clean and straight. + +If, by his conduct, a Scout can in this way save one fellow, he will +at any rate have done something in the world. + +You may think there is no harm in a little joking of a risky kind, or +in the occasional secret smoking of a cigarette, although you allow it +may be silly; but if you look into it, and especially when you have, +later on, seen results such as I have seen that come of it, you will +at once understand there is great harm--great danger in it. It is the +beginning; and the beginning of anything is very often the important +point. + +If you talk or listen to what is wrong, you get to think about what is +wrong and very soon you get to doing what is wrong. + +By doing things which you would not care to do before your father or +mother, you are becoming a bit of a sneak. You do these things +secretly, you are not straight. + +A fellow who is not straight at starting is pretty sure to go on being +crooked for the rest of his career. He knows all the time in his +inmost heart that he is a sneak, and he can therefore never take a +pride in himself and others are bound to find it out sooner or later, +so he never gets a real friend nor a good employer. + +Then these things are likely to do him bodily harm. + +Smoking is poison to a growing lad. It may not do you much harm if you +take to it when you are grown up; but while you are still forming your +muscles as a lad it is almost certain to do damage to your heart, your +wind, your digestion, and very likely your eyesight and teeth. + +I take it that most boys want to be good healthy runners and able to +play at all the games, and I am certain that every Scout wants to Be +Prepared to be a good healthy man for his Country. + +Well, you can't do it if you begin by smoking as a boy. + +Drinking begins, like everything else, in a small way; but it very +soon grows on a fellow unless he is on the look out to stop it. More +than half the crime in Great Britain is due to drink, and so is most +of the poverty, and three-quarters of the insanity. And it is much the +same with thoughts about women; they soon grow into wrong action, and +if these are kept up they grow into habits which lead in an awful +number of cases to misery, disease, and madness. + +Brace up! + +Be a man! Keep off these dangers. + +If fellows around you are swanking in dirt, leave them and go +elsewhere. + +Don't let yourself BEGIN loafing about, taking drinks, talking smut, +or doing what you know is wrong; give yourself bettor things to +do--games, handicrafts, good turns, work, and you will grow up a +clean, straight, and happy fellow, and, what is more--a _man_. + + * * * * * + +MANLINESS IS NOT DIRTINESS. + +Not long ago there was a lot of argument about certain music-halls in +London. Many people were disgusted at the low and dirty talk or hints +made by some of the performers. Most of these rotten ideas of +half-dressed women, dancing about trying to look pretty, come from +abroad, and do not really please the ordinary British man. + +Harry Lauder is delightfully funny, but he is funny without being +dirty, and so is Chevalier, the coster singer. Dan Leno made you +laugh, but he was never dirty--and that was why he and these other +singers have been so popular. + +I saw a performance not long ago, where a half-dressed woman came and +danced about on the stage, but, though she was tremendously advertised +as the great attraction of the place, she got very little applause. +Soon after her there came a bright-looking girl in ordinary clothes, +who merely sang an English ballad, but she was cheered and applauded +till she had to come on again and sing a second, and even a third +time. + +I believe that the proper, manly Britisher likes a good clean show on +the stage; he likes to have a good hearty laugh, or to hear good +music, but I believe it is only a very few (and those nearly all +slackers and wasters) who care to go and see the nasty, half-indecent +shows which come sometimes from other countries. + + * * * * * + +THE ORDER OF THE BATH. + +In the old days when being made Knights, members of the Order of the +Bath used to go and take a bath as part of the ceremony. I was very +glad to see in Hull during a visit there that at the Boys' Club every +boy on coming into the club has a bath. + +In the first room he comes into on entering the club he takes off all +his clothes and puts them in a rack made for the purpose. Then he goes +into a big warm plunge bath, from which he goes into a drying-room, +and beyond this is a dressing-room, where he gets a club shirt and +pair of shorts to wear for the evening, till it is time to get into +his own clothes to go home again. + +[Illustration: BRITISH SOLDIERS SURPRISED THE FRENCH NATIVES BY THEIR +EAGERNESS TO HAVE A WASH, EVEN ON ICY COLD MORNINGS.] + +This daily bath is an excellent thing for keeping a fellow healthy and +strong--and the most important part of it is the rubbing with the +towel. + +Well, it is often difficult for a Scout to get a bath. Sometimes in +his home there are no means for doing it, and often out on the veldt +or desert there is very little water, but if he has a towel, +especially a damp one, he can always give himself a good rub down with +it--he should scrub himself well all over! and that is what I should +like every Scout to do every morning when he gets up. It will not only +keep him clean, but will make him grow far more healthy and happy and +strong, because it cleans the skin and wakes up the blood so that it +rushes through his veins and brings him health. + +So get yourself a towel, every Scout; and carry out your rubbing every +day when you get up. + +In the same way see that you clean your teeth regularly night and +morning--not because it will help you to pass the time away, but +because it will prevent your teeth from getting rotten, thus saving +you from toothache. + + * * * * * + +SPITTING. + +"Gentlemen _do_ not spit; men _must_ not spit" is a notice +which may be seen in an American city; also there is a similar one +which says: "If you _expect to rate_ as a gentleman, don't +_expectorate_." + +On the steamships to South America the English passengers were often +disgusted by the amount of spitting about the decks done by some of +the foreigners on board. + +One of the captains thought of a good idea; he ordered a sailor, +carrying a mop, to follow each of these foreigners where-ever he went; +whenever the foreigner spat, the sailor used the mop, and in a short +time _all_ the foreigners learnt that if they behaved like other +gentlemen and did not spit, they were spared having an attendant with +a mop, so they soon gave up the dirty habit. + +When I was in charge of a public building in Malta, which was guarded +at night by Maltese watchmen, I soon found that I need not be always +going round to see that they were alert, because their habit of +constantly spitting showed me next morning whether they had been awake +and where they had stood or walked during the night. + +One day I found the pavement of one man's beat quite clean and dry, so +I had him up and accused him of having been absent without leave. He +did not know how I found it out, so confessed that he had been away to +see a friend, thinking there was no harm in it, since the place was +all locked up and secure. + +Englishmen are fortunately not so dirty in their habits as to be +always spitting, but, still; there is a little of it going on in our +streets; and even a little is a bad thing. + +It is not only a habit that is nasty to other people, but it is +dangerous as well, for the following reason; + +So many men are suffering from consumption or disease of the lungs +even without knowing it. When they spit they throw out a number of +tiny "germs," which, although too small to be seen, get into the air +and are very easily breathed in again by other passers-by; and these +germs contain the seeds of the disease, which are thus sown in healthy +people, and make them "consumptives" also. + +Unhappily people are rather fond of spitting in railway carriages. A +man doing this was fined ten shillings and two guineas costs not long +since. + +His excuse was that he had a bad cough. + +Any Scout could have told him, apart from the dirty, disgusting part +of the habit, how very dangerous to other passengers it is for a +person with a bad cough to indulge in this habit. + +Little living seeds of disease are in this way let loose to get into +other people's throats and lungs, and possibly to bring them illness +and death. + + * * * * * + +THE WAR AGAINST CONSUMPTION. + +Sixty thousand people die every year of consumption in Great Britain. + +One death in every eight is from consumption. + +Two hundred and fifty thousand people, or one in every two hundred, +have the disease in them. + +Consumption is caught through carelessness or ignorance, by breathing +the germs, or in drinking them in milk. + +The following are a few simple rules which, if followed, should help +to prevent you from getting it: + + 1. Live much in the open air. + 2. Sleep with the window open. + 3. Breathe through the nose. + 4. If you drink milk, be sure that it is pure. + 5. Keep your blood healthy with exercise, good and plain food. + 6. Keep your home clean and well ventilated. + 7. Never neglect a cold. + + +Here are some pictures showing how people get the germs of consumption +into them unless they are very careful. + +A large number of cows have the germs or seeds of consumption in them, +and they give out these germs in their milk. So milk ought to be +"sterilised," that is to say, it should be made so hot that the germs +are killed before it is drunk. + +[Illustration: DO NOT DRINK MILK STRAIGHT FROM THE COW, AS A GREAT +NUMBER OF THESE ANIMALS HAVE THE GERMS OF CONSUMPTION IN THEM.] + +Then a large number of people have the consumption germs in them, +although they may not yet be ill with it. They will get ill sooner or +later, and they give out germs whenever they cough or spit. + +[Illustration: HOW CONSUMPTION IS SPREAD. + +A man spits and the germs rise. They try a boy who breathes through +the nose, but get thrown out again. Then they try another boy who +breathes through his open mouth, and so they get into his lungs.] + +These germs get blown about in the air with the dust, and get into +other people's mouths, and so into their lungs--that is, if the other +people go about with their mouths partly open. If they breathe through +their nose only, as I hope all Scouts do, there is less chance of the +germs getting into the lungs, as they get caught in the sticky liquid +in the nostrils, and get driven out again when you blow your nose. + +It is the same with other diseases besides consumption. + +The Missioner Scout can safely go about among people who are ill with +colds, measles, and other sicknesses, if he breathes only through his +nose. All illnesses that are "catching" are spread by germs flying +from one person to another. + +The consumptive germs get into you and go for your lungs, which are +big sponges inside you, through which your blood gets the air, which +is necessary to keep it healthy. Consumption germs "consume" your +lungs. + +The nasty little germ of disease thrives in dirt, and dark and muggy +_air_, and so he grips even the healthiest people in rooms that +are dark and dirty, and where the windows are not kept open. + +Fresh air, sunlight, and cleanliness kill the germs. + +Now that you know what consumption is, you will be doing a good turn +to get other people to understand it. + +I _want_ every _Scout who reads this to show the pictures to at +least five other people, AND EXPLAIN them. He may thus save lives._ + + + + +TRAVELS ABROAD + +CAMPING IN NORWAY + +After a delightful little voyage in one of the smart Wilson Line +steamers, I arrived one morning early in Christiania, the capital of +Norway. + +The town is an ordinary Continental town, but stands on the shores of +an arm of the sea which is so shut in by wooded hills for some twenty +miles that it is more like an inland lake than a gulf of the ocean. + +What a place for Sea Scouts! + +One of the first Norwegian boys to attract my attention was a Boy +Scout--so like an English Scout that he may have been one for all I +know, but I was not able to speak to him, I was catching a train, and +he was going off in a hurry in another direction, evidently in +trouble, as he was whistling and smiling! And it is difficult to tell +a Norwegian boy from an English boy by his appearance, for they are +very much alike. + +And so are the girls and young women very like their British sisters. +But then, as we all came of the same blood in bygone times, it is not +altogether surprising. + +Then their Royal Family is related to ours, for Queen Maud, the wife +of King Haakon, is sister of our own King. + +So Norwegians have much in common with the English, and since my visit +Scouts of the two countries have become good friends and camped with +each other. + +There could be no better country than this for camping out. As you +come through it in the train, you keep passing among wooded hills and +then alongside rivers and lakes; a great deal of wild country with +occasional cultivated parts where there are neat little wooden +farmsteads and villages. + +The houses are painted bright colours, and are roofed with tiles or +shingles, that is, wooden slates, as in Canada. In fact, with its +forests, lakes, and rivers, and their floating timber, and the +sawmills, the country generally is not unlike Canada. + +As wood is so abundant here, farm Scouts will be interested to see +from the picture how they make their fences in place of hedges or +ordinary post-and-rails. It is a kind of fence that you can make +easily with almost any kind of slats or with brushwood or branches. + +[Illustration: A NORWEGIAN FENCE.] + +A way which the Norwegian woodmen have of piling their small timber in +the woods in order to dry it is one which might also be useful to +Scouts when making a bivouac-hut, where there are plenty of saplings. +You pile them as shown in the picture, all with their butts or thick +ends together to windward, and thin ends splayed outwards. + +When you have got this frame together you can cover it with a +waterproof sheet, or straw mat, or brushwood, to keep out the weather, +and light your fire opposite the opening. + +In my camp I had one friend, George. + +[Illustration: AN EASILY-MADE BIVOUAC HUT] + +We found a good site on the bank of a rushing roaring river between +high hills covered with forest. We were thirty-five miles from the +nearest railway station, and about four miles from a farm, where we +got our butter and our milk. The river supplied our fish, and we shot +our own game. + +We carried just enough kit to make a load for a pack-pony--a bundle of +about 50lb. weight on each side of him. There were no roads, and a +pack-pony is the only means of carrying heavy luggage, such as tents, +etc. + +We each had our bivouac tent, bedding, change of clothes, cooking +pots, and fishing rods, etc. + +Of course, we did our own cooking, woodcutting, and cleaning up. And +cleaning up is a very important part of camp work. + +Our camp was small and never likely to be seen by anybody besides +ourselves, but it was always kept very neat and tidy, and we could +shift camp at any moment, and leave scarcely a sign that we had been +there. That is how Scouts should always have their camp--everything in +its place, so that you can find anything you want at a moment's notice +in the event of a sudden turn out in the dark, or for shutting up for +a sudden rain squall. + +All scraps of food should be burnt or buried, and not thrown about +round the camp. On service these scraps would be good "sign" to an +enemy's scouts as to who had occupied the camp, and how long ago, and +how well off they were for provisions, and so on. + +Another reason against letting your camp ground get dirty is that it +quickly becomes the camping place also of thousands of flies. If you +have flies in camp it is a sign that the camp is not kept clean. + + * * * * * + +A CAMP BEDROOM. + +I have made a sketch of my tent, which, as you will see, is a kind of +hammock with a roof to it, slung between two trees. This form of tent +keeps you dry in wet weather or on swampy ground; you never have to +lie on the ground, you can get snakes and other nice visitors crawling +into your bed. The cot is long enough to hold your kit as well as +yourself. + +It is kept stretched out by two side poles and a ridge pole. These can +be cut in the wood where you camp, and the cot itself, with bedding +and kit inside, can be rolled up in the waterproof, and this forms a +neat roll for half of the pack-pony's load. + +The cot is springy and most comfortable to sleep in. + +When you are ill or wounded it makes a very good stretcher, the side +poles forming the carrying handles. In the same way, when you are dead +it makes an excellent coffin, as the sides and ends fold in, and can +be laced over the body. I have not tried it myself in that way. + +Another advantage which I have twice found the cot-tent to have was, +when a tornado visited camp, and all the tents were blown down into +the mud, my little cot was swaying quietly in the wind--it cannot blow +down. + +In the drawing you see also, besides my bedroom (in the cot), my +dressing-room, my drawing-room, and my bathroom--in fact, my whole +residence. + +The dressing-room was where my fishing waders are hanging up to dry, +together with my shaving-glass, hat, and holdalls. + +Over the cot are hanging my overcoat and moccasins and towel. My +drawing-room was the rug on which I sit, my writing-case lying there +ready for use. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP RESIDENCE IN NORWAY. My cot-tent will be seen +in the centre of the picture.] + +My bath was down below, through the trees, in the river! + +My whole house was carpeted with a beautiful soft springy moss, so dry +that a match dropped on to it would soon set the whole forest in a +blaze. + +So we had to be very careful about our camp fire. + + * * * * * + +THE CAMP FIRE. + +We made our kitchen near the river, where this dry moss did not grow. + +A camp fire for cooking is not a bonfire. A tenderfoot never remembers +this; but an old campaigner can be recognised by the smallness of his +fire; he does not waste fuel. In the woods there may be plenty of +timber, but he is not going to waste time, energy, and axes in cutting +down piles of firewood when he can make a few handfuls do equally +well; and if he is out on the plains where firewood is almost unknown, +he has to do with a few roots of grass, or bits of cow-dung, etc. + +Then a big roaring fire, though it looks very cheery, sends off +sparks, and in dry camping weather these are very dangerous, whether +in the woods, or on the heather, or among the grass. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP KITCHEN.] + +We began our fire by, first of all, collecting a heap of firewood, +chiefly dead branches from trees; then by laying a few shreds of +birch-bark between two good flat stones of equal height (about six +inches), and on these we laid a few bits and splinters of dry wood +taken from the inside of a dead tree, and on that just two or three +small dry sticks, and then set it alight. As it burnt we gradually +added more small sticks till it was a good strong little fire, then we +added more and more sticks, the object being to get the space between +the stones gradually full of glowing red-hot bits of wood to give heat +to the cooking pots, which we then stood on the two stones so as to +bridge over the fire. + +The great art is to begin with a very _small_ fire and a +_very_ dry one. You can then add to its size as you please later +on, and when it is going strong you can add damper wood if dry wood is +scarce. Birch-bark cannot be found everywhere, but it is the best of +lighting tinder when you have it. + +The channel between the stones is much better if laid so as to face +the breeze. The fire can then be kept going at the mouth of it, and +the heat will blow through; a bigger kind of log can be put in from +the other end to catch fire and add to the heat in the channel. + +Of course, there are plenty of other ways of making fires, which you +can read about in _Scouting for Boys_, but this is the particular +kind of cooking fire that we used in my Norwegian camp. + +At night, when we had cooked our supper and the night was getting +chilly, of course, we put on big logs laid across each other, and so +got a big, star-shaped fire to make a blaze to warm us, + +But we kept a good watch on any sparks to see that they didn't touch +the moss or heather, and when we turned in, we trod out the fire and +poured water over the whole of the ashes, so as to prevent any chance +of embers blowing out into flame again during the night and setting +light to the grass. + +Scouts cannot be too careful in this matter, especially in England, +where landowners are very good at lending their ground to troops for +camping, but are naturally very nervous all the time lest by some +carelessness a grass fire may get started, and thousands of pounds' +worth of timber or property get burnt. + +Early in the morning we were to leave our rest-house near the railway +in order to drive (and partly to walk) to the place where we were +going to make our headquarters. This was forty-nine kilometres +distant. How many miles is that? + +As kilometres are generally used abroad for telling distances, a Scout +ought to know how to compare the two and here is a simple way of doing +it: Multiply your number of kilometres by five and divide the result +by eight, and you will have the number of miles. Thus: + +We want to know how many miles our forty-nine kilometres are. + + 49 + 5 + --- + 8)245 + --- + 30 5/8 or about 30 1/2 miles. + +As I have said, we were to leave early, but we found that the +Norwegian idea of early is not so very early as with us in England. +They thought eight o'clock breakfast very early, and the cart, which +was supposed to start at nine, did not get away till 10:30. + +It was a little ramshackle sort of dogcart with a very high seat, +which just gave standing room for us among our baggage, while the boy +in charge of the pony hung on as best he could behind. + +The pony was fine and strong and fat, but awfully sedate; in fact, it +was only after a lot of persuasion that we got him to move at a trot, +and then it was a marvellously slow trot. + +However, I found that if one showed him the spare end of the rope +reins, and offered to strike him with it, he mended his pace +considerably. He kept his eye on me all the time-- + +The Norwegians seem to be very kind to their animals. They don't use +whips or blinkers or bearing-reins on their horses and before we had +gone very far the boy in charge considered it time to unharness and +feed his horse for a few minutes. We walked on while he did so, and as +it wasn't for an hour and a half that he overtook us again, we guessed +he had given the horse a very fine feed indeed. + +[Illustration: THE HORSE KEPT HIS EYE ON ME ALL THE WAY.] + +We didn't do ourselves badly, either, because all along the road, +which ran through beautiful woods along the hillside, we found lots of +excellent raspberries growing wild. + +We changed ponies half-way: but when we had got nearly to our +journey's end, the boy said he must stop and feed the horse. We said: +"No; it is only four or five miles more, and the pony will be home." +But the boy began to cry at our cruelty, so we had to stop and let the +horse graze. It was very pleasing to see that they are so kind to +their animals. + +I have said that I was not one day in Norway before I saw a Boy Scout. +Well, I was not two days in the country before I saw a Girl Guide. +Correctly dressed in the same kits those in England, with her patrol +ribbons on, she was taking lunch at the rest-house where we stopped +for ours. Unfortunately, she could not talk English, so we could not +have a chat, as I should have liked. + +It is a grand thing for Scouts who care to travel that Boy Scouts are +now to be found in most foreign countries, because you have only to +make the secret sign a few times in any town, and you will get an +answer, and find a brother Scout ready to help you. + +In Norway, especially, they seem likely to be very useful to British +Scouts, because they are very like British boys, except that they have +much more practice in woodcraft. + +A large proportion of them live in wildish country, among the forests +and lakes, and so they know how to look after themselves; they are +nice, cheery fellows. They are very clean, and they speak the truth. +Well, that means a great deal, because you can trust a fellow who +speaks the truth, and, what is more, you can trust him to behave well +in danger or trouble. + +I find that men who tell lies in peace time are not among the bravest +in war; and telling a lie is, after all, a bit of cowardice--the +fellow who tells it is afraid to speak the truth, or he hopes to get +something in return for what he says, if he can only get the other +fellow to see the question as he wants him to. + +Well, that's a sneaking way of doing it. A manly fellow will speak +out, and always say exactly what he wants or what is the real state of +the case; he will be believed and will generally get his way. In any +case, show me a liar, and I can show you a "funk-stick." + + * * * * * + +HOOKS AND POT-HOOKS. + +You may be interested in a picture of our camp on the Allalaer River +in Norway. The shelter was rigged up with a waterproof sheet and a few +poles cut in the forest. + +Inside this shelter you see our store-cupboard; in other words, a box +turned on end, with a bit of the lid made into a shelf. In this we +stored our bread, coffee, sugar, and such things. + +Then down on the left of the sketch is a small log bridge over a +stream. Under this bridge we kept our milk, butter, and fish; it made +an excellent ice-cold larder. + +Next we come to the chopping block, an old log on which we chopped +firewood into the right size. If you chop wood on the ground you will +very soon blunt your axe, so always use a chopping-block. + +And when you have finished chopping, leave your axe sticking in the +block; this preserves its edge from getting rusty or knocked by +stones, etc. It also preserves your toes from getting cut by stumbling +over an axe in the dark. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP ON THE ALLALAER RIVER IN NORWAY.] + +Next we come to the important part of the camp--the fire. You see we +made the fire between two big flat stones. These were useful for +standing the frying-pan on, and cooking billies, etc. The fire is made +at the windward end of the channel, between the stones, so that the +heat blows into the channel, while the fire forms a pile of red-hot +embers outside, at which toast can be made. + +Notice our automatic toast-makers, made of a forked stick and a small +supporting fork. + +[Illustration: MY TOASTING-FORK.] + +Then over the fire we had a crossbar of green wood (if you use old +wood it will catch fire and drop your pot into the fire just as the +stew is ready); it was supported on two stout, firmly-driven forked +stakes, not the wobbly, rickety things which tenderfoots like to put +up. + +On the crossbar our kettle was hung by a pot-hook--just a hooked stick +with a good notch cut in it to take the handle of the kettle. + +Also on the crossbar in the sketch you see our tongs. These are most +useful things for a camp-fire for lifting hot embers into the spot +where you want them for giving extra heat. + +[Illustration: MY AUTOMATIC KETTLE-HOLDER.] + +The tongs are made from a green stick of hazel, or alder, or birch. +The stick should be about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long. At the middle you cut +away a good bit of the wood from one side for about 4 inches. Then cut +a number of small notches across the grain of the wood to make it +still more bendable at the centre. Here's the side view of the centre +part of your stick. + +[Illustration: THE TONGS BEFORE AND AFTER BEING BENT.] + +Then flatten the inner sides of your stick towards both ends, so that +they get a better hold on things; bend the two ends together and there +you have your tongs: + +Next to the tongs, in the sketch, you see a small branch of dwarf fir. +This makes a hearth-brush, which is very useful for keeping the fire +neat and clean. + +The ordinary-looking stick leaning against the crossbar is an ordinary +sort of stick, but a very useful one. He is the poker and pot-lifter. +He should be a stout green stick not easily burnt. Poplar is a +difficult wood to burn, but then many old hands won't use it, because +it is said to bring bad luck on the camp-fire where it is used; but +that is an old wife's story, and I always use it when I get the +chance. + +If the soup gets upset, I look on it as my fault, not the fault of the +poplar poker. In fact, whatever wood the poker is made of, one always +seems to get a kind of affection for him. He is only an ordinary ugly, +old half-burnt stick, but he is jolly useful and helpful. + +On this side of the fire you see the pile of wood that has been +collected for fuel. It is generally the right thing when in camp for +each camper, when coming in, whether from bathing, or fishing, or +anywhere else, to bring with him some contribution to the wood-pile. + +Different kinds of wood are needed for it. + +First you want "punk" and "kindling"--that is, strips of birch-bark +(which are better than paper for starting a fire), dry fibre from the +inside of old dead trees, dry lichen or moss, anything that will start +a fire. And also small, dry splinters, chips, and twigs to give the +flame for lighting the bigger wood. + +Secondly, you want lots of sticks, about 1/2 to 1 inch in thickness, +for making your cooking-fire of hot embers, or you can get bigger +logs, from which you can afterwards knock off, with our friend the +poker, red-hot embers for the cooking. + +Remember, you don't want a great blazing fire for cooking, but one +that is all made of red-hot lumps. + +For warming you up and giving a cheerful appearance to the camp at +night you can have any amount of big, dry branches and logs--the drier +the better for a good blaze. + +Beyond the fire, in the sketch, you see our dining-table and seat. +This is a plank set across a hole in the ground, and the table is +another plank beyond it. That is one way of making a dining-table. + +Another way to make seats and tables in camp, especially in a country +like this, where the forest is full of fallen timber, is to go and +look out for a suitable pine tree with branches so placed that by a +little lopping with an axe you can make a trestle like this: + +[Illustration: HOME-MADE SEAT.] + +Two such trestles can be made to support a few split saplings, or a +number of stout straight rods, which can then be nailed, spiked, or +lashed down with cross-battens to form a table; and more such trestles +can form the seats. + +On the right of the sketch you see three forked uprights. These formed +our rack for holding fishing-rods and landing-nets. + +The little tufts hanging on this rack are bunches of heather. + +Did you ever hear the yarn of the Boy Scout who, at his school +examination in natural history, was asked, "What is heather?" He +replied, "Well, sir, it is what we clean the cooking-pots with in +camp." + +He was quite right, though perhaps the examiner did not think so. + +A few bunches of heather are most useful as dishcloths for cleaning +dishes and pots. The reason why they are hanging on the rod rack is +that they are handy for use in the scullery, which is that part of the +river close by the rack. + +In using a river you always have certain spots told off to the +different uses. First and highest up-stream you get your drinking +water. Next is your handwashing place (not bathing place) and scullery +for washing plates and cooking-pots. + +Below that is the refuse place, where you throw away scraps off the +plates and from cooking-pots, and gut your fish. This should be where +the stream will carry away the scraps and not slack water, where they +will collect. + +Of course, this throwing of refuse into the river only does in a wild +country or where the river is big. In most English camps, all refuse +should be buried in a pit or burnt. + +I think that describes the whole of our camp. + +Oh, no, there is still one article--and one of great importance +Alongside the tent you see our camp besom or broom. It is made of a +few birch twigs bound together. (The long thin roots of the fir-tree +make very good cord.) This we used for sweeping the camp-ground every +morning when we tidied up. + +When we left our camp, the last thing we did after everything was +packed ready for moving was to go round and tidy up the whole ground, +and burn all the scraps, chips, and twigs that were left on the +ground. So when we left it would have been difficult for a stranger to +say that anybody had been camped there except for the place where the +fire had been. But we left the cross-bars, pot-hooks, and wood-pile +there, so that anyone coming after us would find them ready for his +use. + +[Illustration: A FISH CARRIER] + +But I expect they will all have rotted away before any one else comes +that way to camp, for it is in an out-of-the-way corner where very few +travellers come. + +Another hook I might, mention is one used for carrying your fish when +you have caught them. It is merely a twig cut from the nearest bush. + + * * * * * + +A BOAT VOYAGE + +I had heard of a wonderful gorge in the mountains to the west of us, +through which no man had ever passed, and George wanted to go "reeper" +shooting on the mountain slopes in that direction. (A "reeper" is a +Norwegian grouse.) So one fine morning found us starting in a boat to +row down the great lake, which would bring us to the foot of the +mountains. + +This lake is about eight miles long, and one mile wide. Steep, +forest-clad hillsides run down to the lake on both sides, and there +are not half a dozen farms in sight of it, so we felt that we were +getting into wilder parts as soon as we had started on our voyage. + +The boats here are only made for one pair of sculls to be used at a +time, so it came heavy on each of us in turn to have to row our +well-loaded ship with its cargo of two men, two dogs (Bruce and +Gordon), and all our luggage, guns, and ammunition. + +[Illustration: "I Rigged up my oilskin coat as a sail, with George to +act as mast and rigging."] + +Luckily for me, before it came to my turn to row, a good breeze sprang +up from behind us, so in a very short time I had rigged up my oilskin +coat as a sail, with George to act as mast and rigging, and I took an +oar to steer with. + +In a very short time we found ourselves running along at double the +pace that we could have got by rowing. + +On these lakes, though there are plenty of boats, you never see one +fitted with mast and sails for sailing. It is too dangerous; sudden +squalls come down from the hills and catch the sails the wrong way or +too violently, and so capsize the boat before the crew can do anything +to save her. + +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. + +By using an oar as a rudder--which is also understood by Sea +Scouts--we found we could sail to some extent across the wind as well +as before it, and so we were able to get round headlands which came in +our way without having to lower sail and take to rowing. + +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 oars of Norwegian boats are worked not in rowlocks, or crutches, +or between thole pins, as at home, but on a single thole pin, to which +they are attached by a "strop" or loop. + +This is a useful dodge to know of in case one of your thole pins +breaks, as sometimes happens. + +[Illustration: How the oars in Norwegian boats are worked.] + +In Norway, the strop is made of a stick of birchwood (hazel does +equally well), which is first twisted and twisted round to such an +extent that it is as flexible and as strong as a length of rope, and +is tied by twisting its ends round itself, as shown in _Scouting for +Boys_. + +A Scout should be able at any time to twist a stick into rope, but to +do it successfully he must know which kind of wood to pick out for it. +That is one reason for knowing the different kinds of trees by sight. + +While we sailed along we trailed a line astern of us with some +tempting-looking flies on it in the hope that we might get a trout for +dinner. + +Suddenly, just when we were in the middle of a busy time over a squall +of wind, there came a tug, tug, and a pull at our line. All was at +once excitement. + +"Down mast and sail!" "Reel in the line!" "Hold the boat with the +oars!" "Don't let him break away!" + +Steadily he is hauled, kicking and rolling over in the water, and at +last he is safely lifted into the boat--a fine, silvery, speckled +trout. + +"What a dinner he will make!" + +"How would you like him, grilled, fried, or boiled?" + +Alas! we thought a good deal about what sort of dinner he would make. +And he did make a dinner, too--but not for us! + +We presently heard Bruce crunching and munching something. He had not +waited for the fish to be fried, or grilled, or boiled. He just ate +him as he was. We only had bread and butter and coffee for dinner that +day--without any trout. We didn't even mention trout during the meal. +We didn't seem to want any, or we pretended we didn't. + +Still, we had a very jolly dinner at a beautiful spot where we landed +on the shore of the lake. Then after a further bit of sailing and +rowing we reached the end of the lake. + +Here we hauled up our boat high and dry, leaving all her gear in her, +for nobody steals things in Norway. We "humped our packs" on to our +backs, and, with rod and gun in hand and the dogs trotting alongside, +we started up the hills through the forest, bogs, and rocks, to get to +the farm three miles away, where we were to spend the night at the +foot of the mountains. + + * * * * * + +THE JASJVOLD SAETER. + +That means the name of the farm where we stopped, and we made it our +headquarters for several days. + +"Saeter" means "summer farm." The Norwegian farmers are mostly dairy +and cattle farmers, and in the summer they take their herds up on to +the high ground for the grazing, and bring them back into the lower +and warmer valleys in winter. + +Our farmer at Jasjvold was named Slackman; and he was a slack man to +look at--very wild and unkempt, with a tousled head of hair, and a +rough beard; clothed in a blue jumper, and breeches and rough +stockings, and carrying a big knife in his belt, he looked as if he +could and would willingly slit your throat while you were asleep; but +on Sundays he was a very different character. + +[Illustration: THE JASJVOLD SAETER.] + +Even away up here in the mountains, far away from any neighbours, he +did not forget to keep the Sabbath, and he appeared very clean and +smart, neatly dressed, with white collar and tie, hair and beard +trimmed, and altogether so different that at first glance I did not +recognise him on Sunday morning. + +But, in spite of his wild week-day appearance, he was a most cheery, +kind-hearted man, always anxious to do good turns for us, and to help +us in every way. In the evenings he would come and sit with us, eager +to teach us Norwegian, and equally anxious himself to learn English. +So we got along splendidly together. + +The saeter is a group of farm buildings; each one is a separate +single-storied log house. There is the farmer's house, the house for +guests (in which we lived), the men's house, the dairy, the bakehouse, +and the "staboor," which is a kind of hayloft, stable, and manure shed +all in one. Being built on the side of a hill, it has three storeys on +one side, and only one or two on the uphill side. + +The hay is put into the top storey, and can be dropped down through a +trapdoor into the stable, which is on the second floor. Then the +stable is cleaned out through trapdoors, which let all the dirt fall +into the lower storey, from which it can be carted away to manure the +fields. + +A curious thing about most of the Norwegian farms is that there are no +muddy cart tracks to be seen, the grass is green right up to the +doors. Then there are no chickens about the place, as a rule; nor are +there beehives, nor any garden. The carts are very small and low, +sometimes on wheels, sometimes on runners, as sledges. The harness is +very light, and yet strong; the driver walks behind the cart and +drives the horse with a long pair of rope reins. + +[Illustration: THE CARTS ARE SMALL AND LOW.] + +Our house in the saeter was, like all the others, a single-storied log +house, with a roof of planks covered with birchbark, over which is +spread a thick layer of earth, which soon becomes grass-grown, so that +it looks as if the roof were made of turf. + +There were three or four rooms in the house, nice, clean rooms, with +comfortable beds, and a great big open fire hearth in the corner, in +which you light up your log fire whenever you like to have it--and we +liked it pretty nearly always, for at this height, nearly 4000 feet, +close to snow-clad mountains, the evenings and early mornings were +very cold. + +On our door was a big lock, and a lock in this country is not boxed up +inside iron casing but is left open to view, so that you can see how +it works, and get your fingers pinched in it if you like to be +careless. + +The farmer's wife, a kind, cheery, clean, motherly woman, was always +cooking up good things for us, and feeding us to such an extent that +if we had stopped there much longer we should have grown too fat to +carry out our expedition. + +She didn't understand a word of English, but she used to stop her work +every now and then to come and hear us having our Norwegian lessons, +and she used simply to howl with laughing at our attempts to pronounce +the words the right way. + +The food she used to give us is much the same as you get everywhere in +Norway. For breakfast, which is generally about nine or ten o'clock +(we persuaded her to give it to us much earlier), you have a cup of +coffee and two or three glasses of milk, home-made bread, and a kind +of thin oatmeal cake, butter, and goats'-milk cheese. + +[Illustration: THE LOCK ON OUR DOOR.] + +Dinner is usually about three in the afternoon, but we never had any, +as we were out all day, and took bread and coffee with us. Supper, at +nine o'clock, was much the same as breakfast, with the addition of +trout, or soup, and stewed fruit and cream, again with milk to drink. + +There was one girl, who waited on us and did all the work of the +house. I never saw any servant do half as much as she did, and yet she +was always neat and clean and smiling. + +She chopped our firewood, made our beds, greased our boots, waited at +table, scrubbed the floors, tables, and chairs every day. You never +saw a place so clean, If I were sitting at a table writing when she +was on the scrub, I was politely requested to lift my feet up while +she did the floor beneath them! + +Then there was a boy at the saeter, who, though he could not speak a +word of English, was a very nice English-looking lad. + +He was in charge of the pony and cart, and his two ponies were the +cheekiest, tamest things I have seen. They would follow you about like +dogs, and seemed to understand what you said to them. That was all due +to kind treatment by their young master. + +This boy used to be sent off on long journeys over very rough country +in charge of the cart. Then sometimes he would milk the cows and +goats. Whenever he had any spare time he would take down his great +18-foot rod, and go fishing for trout, and generally he brought back +some good ones, too. Then he was a handy carpenter, and understood +mending a boat and sharpening tools on a grindstone. All these are +things which a Scout should be able to do, but I wonder how many of +them an ordinary boy in England can do. + +Then, sharpening your tools is a very useful thing to practise for +putting an edge on to your axe or knife. + +There is a saying among Sikh soldiers in India, when speaking of any +bad act, that it is "as disgraceful as having a blunt sword." A Sikh +always keeps his as sharp as a razor. It is a disgrace to him if it is +blunt. + +So, too, a woodman would never be seen with a blunt axe or knife in +camp. He would never get through his work if he had them. Yet I often +see Boy Scouts go into camp with axes so blunt that they will cut +nothing, and their knives very little better. You don't know the +pleasure of handling an axe till you have used a really sharp one. + +And then every Scout ought to know how to sharpen his own axe on a +grindstone. You must wet the stone first, and then get someone to turn +it, running the wheel away from you, while you lay the blade with its +back towards you, and its edge in the same direction as the wheel is +moving, and pass it gently on to the stone, doing each side of the +blade in turn a little at a time until the whole blade becomes bright, +especially at the cutting edge. + + * * * * * + +EXPLORING THE GORGE. + +You remember that George and I went to Jasjvold Saeter in order to get +some "reeper," and also to explore the gorge of which we had heard. + +As you get higher up above the level of the sea, the nature of the +country and of the plants changes. In the lower level you get trees +and bushes and flowers very much like those in England, but as you +rise higher nothing but fir trees, pines, and birch trees seem to +grow. Then as you get up a bit the fir trees come to an end, and you +find only small birch trees, after which there are no trees. + +You come out on the open moorland where there is heather, like that in +Scotland, and other small shrubs, one of which would interest boys +because it grows a very nice little fruit called "blue-berries." Above +the heather, that is, at a height of over 4000 feet, you get what is +called moss. This is really a kind of lichen like you see growing on +trees at home, a pale, yellowish-white, spongy kind of plant, which +seems to thrive on barren, rocky mountain sides, and forms feed for +the reindeer which run wild in these parts. + +Well, George and I used to go out from the Saeter directly after +breakfast each day, carrying our ruksacks on our backs, and one of us +a gun and the other a fishing rod in his hand. And the dogs went with +us. In our ruksacks we carried a kettle, some bread, butter, and +coffee, and a change of shoes and stockings, for what with wading +through streams and stepping into bogs we were pretty wet about the +feet before the day was ended. + +On the first day we went and discovered the head of the gorge, high up +on the mountain side, and each day after that we explored a new bit of +it till we had followed it down to where it opened on to the valley at +its foot. + +The gorge was a deep cleft in the mountain-side of dark, frowning +cliffs, with a bright, clear mountain stream running along among the +rocks and stones at its bottom. + + * * * * * + +THE TROUT STREAM. + +The farmer had told us there were no fish in this stream, and nobody +ever fished there. However, I thought I might as well use my rod, +having brought it all the way there, so, pretending to myself that +there was a fish in a swirling little pool behind a great rock, I +crept and crawled to a spot from which I could, unseen by the fish, +throw my fly so that it could float quietly in the current and be +carried round the corner. + +The first attempt from my crouching position was not a good one; the +line did not go out far enough, and merely got into a backwater and +drifted in close to me so I shortened it up by pulling in a handful or +two, and then shot it out again over the water. + +This time it fell well out, the thin gut cast falling lightly as a +cobweb on the surface, and then sliding off with the current close +round the edge of the rock; and just as it went out of sight there was +a sudden tug and a steady hold on it! A rock 1 No. The next moment +there was a rush and a strain, the rod bending over and showing that a +really nice fish was on. + +[Illustration: OUR DAILY EXCURSION.] + +I won't tell you all the joy that followed in playing the fish till he +was exhausted, and then leading him to a smooth shallow, where, having +no landing-net, I could draw him steadily and quickly from the water +and up the shelving rock without breaking the delicate line. But I got +him! And after him we got many more, enough for all our meals. It was +a delightful trout stream, and I could only wish that every Scout in +the world were there to enjoy it, too. + +One particular run of water pleased me particularly. The stream rushed +through an opening between some rocks, and then gradually opened over +a gravelly bed in a long, rippling current. The "tail of the run," as +they call it, is the place to expect fish, so I fished quickly over +the rapid part of the run, and went more gingerly when I got nearer to +the "tail," making my fly visit every inch of the water, and I was +quickly rewarded. + +A sudden ting like an electric shock on my rod, and a heavy rushing +and jerking hither and thither, till gradually the fish exhausted +himself, and I was able to hold him and gradually tow him up on the +shelving beach. Out of that one pool we got no fewer than fourteen +trout that day! Of course, we only kept those we wanted for food, and +slid the others back into the water, alarmed, but not hurt. + + * * * * * + +STALKING. + +After a few miles the gorge got deeper and deeper and more and more +narrow, until it ran between high cliffs which could not be climbed, +and the stream became a torrent running between the high rocks, so +that progress was impossible along the bottom. + +We were, therefore, obliged to keep up on the mountainside above the +cliffs and make our way along in the same direction as the gorge, +occasionally looking down into it to see its wonderful scenery. + +On steep parts of the mountain we had to clamber along as best we +could, and sometimes it was jumpy work, where, if you kicked aside a +loose stone, you could see it go bounding away down into the gloomy +gorge below. At other times we were walking on beautifully soft moss, +into which our feet sank for several inches; in fact, after a time, +with a good load on our backs we began to wish it was not quite so +soft! But it made our going very quiet and silent, and we kept a sharp +look-out for game. + +At one time George was leading the way when we came to a slight rise +in front. Like a good scout, he never came to a rise without checking +his pace and peeping very carefully over it before going on. This he +did more from habit than from any expectation of seeing anything the +other side, but it is a most valuable habit, and one which every good +scout has. On this occasion it proved its value. + +George dropped flat on the ground, and, taking the warning from him, +I, too, "squatted" at once, and made the dogs lie down. I did not know +whether we had an elk or rabbit in front of us, but presently George +crept back to me and reported that there were some duck on a pool a +short distance ahead. + +He, being the gun-bearer, then started to stalk these duck by going a +long way round, keeping behind hillocks and rocks until he could get +near enough to be within shot of them. It took him a long time. + +[Illustration: "George dropped flat on the ground, and, taking the +warning from Him, I, too, squatted at once, and made the dogs lie +down."] + +He had a good look at the ground first from our hiding-place, and he +noted any peculiar rocks or bushes which would serve as guides to him +while he was carrying out his stalk, and off he went, creeping and +crawling from one landmark to the next, until at last he wriggled up +to the bush which he had guessed would bring him within shot of the +birds. + +When he got there, he peeped through the stems of the bush, and found +that it was not so close as he had hoped--it was scarcely within +gunshot; but the duck had already some suspicion that all was not +well. They are the cleverest birds alive; they had all stopped +feeding, were looking anxiously about, and were beginning to swim +away. + +George saw that his only chance was to risk a long shot if we were +going to have any dinner that day, so, pushing his gun through the +bush, he fired at the nearest duck, and, immediately jumping to his +feet, he fired again at another, which by this time was on the +wing--and he killed both. + +Of course the dogs and I both hurried down to him in great jubilation. +There were two good fat ducks floating on the little lake. But how +were we to get them? Neither of the dogs was a water dog, and the lake +was really a wet bog, in which a man could neither swim nor wade. + +Luckily, there was a breeze blowing, so we went round to the lee side +and sat down to wait for the birds to drift to us. Slowly they came +nearer and nearer, but it was very slow work. It became slower and +slower as the breeze dropped and at last died away when they were not +twenty yards away. + +[Illustration: "FISHING" FOR DUCK.] + +Then George--again as a good scout would--invented a plan. He took my +rod and began to fly-fish for the ducks! That is, he threw the line +over a duck, and then gently drew it in so that the hook caught in the +bird's feathers. In this way he "caught" both of them in turn and +dragged them ashore. + +From the open high ground we gradually descended to lower heights. +First we came among scattered birch trees, and below these we entered +pine and fir woods, and through them we came steadily down to the +level of the valley in which lay the great lake. + +Just before getting to the valley we dipped once more into our gorge +where it finally left the mountains, and it was a grand sight. The +cliffs rose sheer up a hundred feet on either side, even overhanging +in some places, and the opening between the cliffs was quite narrow, +where the stream in a dense body of water rushed its way through in a +roaring cascade. It was a magnificent scene. + +Just below the cascade the gorge opened out, and the stream spread +itself over a shallow, stony bed, in many courses, till it joined the +main river in the valley. + +George and I clambered down the last cliff, and close to the cascade I +made the fire while he went and caught a couple of trout for lunch (we +were going to keep those duck for supper at the saeter), and we were +very glad of the lunch and a rest. + +Then we turned for home by a new road, walking round the foot of the +mountain over whose back we had come. But we turned for home in +another sense, for that was the turning point of my trip in Norway; I +had to go back home to England from there. + +On our way back we passed great swamps where there were duck, but we +had had enough of them to last us for the present. + +In one part of the swamp we came upon the spoor of elk. The elk, you +know, is a great big stag--the same as a moose in Canada; a very lanky +animal, as big as a horse, with a very blobby nose, and heavy, +flat-spread antlers. + +It was, of course, very good to learn that there really were elk in +the neighbourhood, but it only made me the more unhappy at having to +leave the country. George, who had no Boy Scouts demanding his +presence, was going to stay on there, so everything that made me more +sad made him all the happier--the unfeeling brute! + +Still, I can't complain. I think in the few weeks that I was in Norway +I had had as good a time as anyone could possibly have. There is no +better fun on earth than living in the open and catching and cooking +your own grub, in doing mutual good turns with a good comrade in camp, +and in recognising God's handiwork in the mountains and forests around +you. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO FISH. + +George and I would have gone pretty hungry in our camp and on our +tramps while in Norway had we not both been able to catch fish, for +there was little else in the woods to eat besides blue-berries (we +were now too high up for the wild raspberries which are so good in the +valleys). + +Every Scout must know how to fish, otherwise he would feel so silly if +he died of starvation alongside a stream full of trout. And +fishing--like shooting, or cooking, or swimming, or anything else--is +not a thing that you can do straight off without having practised it +beforehand; so my advice to Tenderfoots is to take every chance of +learning how to fish, so that they may be able to do it when they may +be in need of fish for food. + +Sea fishing, as you know, is generally done with a long line from a +boat, with a good lump of lead on the end of the line, and a number of +hooks every foot or so up it, baited with strips of fish with the +silvery skin left on them. + +Then in rivers and lakes you fish with rod and line, with a float to +hold the bait at the right distance above the bottom. The hook is on a +yard or so of gut line, which is invisible to the fish; this is +weighted with split shot or small bits of lead, and the bait is +usually a worm, or a grub, or a little bit of bread paste. This kind +of fishing is called bottom fishing. + +By the way, here is a good dodge for catching worms which every Scout +ought to know. + +Mix a little mustard powder in a can of water, and then sprinkle the +water over a grass plot, and very _soon you_ will see worms +coming up out of the ground in a tremendous hurry. + +It would be rather a fine conjuring trick to play when people are not +up to it--to take an ordinary watering-pot and apparently pour +ordinary water on the grass, and then play a mouth-organ or whistle a +tune to call up the worms. Someone else will be sure to try it, too, +and if you have taken care to empty your can of mustard and water they +will put in plain water and will get no result in the shape of worms. + + * * * * * + +FLY-FISHING. + +Then there is a third kind of fishing, and that is fly-fishing. It is +the most difficult, but at the same time the most useful, because it +is the only way that will do in the rapid rivers and streams with +which you meet in the wilds; and also it can be used on lakes and +slower rivers, and it is much the best fun. + +All the boys in Norway catch their fish by fly-fishing. You have to +have a whippy rod with a long line to it, and a long piece of gut +(called the "cast") on it, with from one to three hooks made to look +like flies on it, these are fixed at about two feet apart. + +By using the rod as a spring you can throw the line a long distance to +any point you wish, so that the flies will float past the nose of a +fish and tempt him to rush out and swallow one. + +The throwing of the fly--casting it is called--is at first the +difficulty for a beginner, but it comes all right with a little +practice. You can learn to do it perfectly well without going to a +river and without having any hooks on your line to begin with. + +Take a rod, and a line as long as a rod and a half, and try throwing +it in a field or road or anywhere--till you can get the line to go out +perfectly straight to its full extent on to the ground at the spot you +wish. The great points to remember which are the key to success arc +these: All the work is done by the tip of the rod, not the butt. Bring +your rod back with a little jerk at the end to throw the line back +behind you, but don't let the rod itself go back much beyond the +upright position. + +[Illustration: LEARNING TO THROW THE FLY.] + +Before throwing the line forward again, give a pause so that it has +time to straighten itself behind you--and that pause is the secret of +the whole thing. It must not be too short, or your line will still be +curled up when you shoot it forward and will not go out the distance +you want, and if the pause is too long it will fall and catch on the +ground behind you, and also will lose its spring. That is where +practice is so necessary, so that you know exactly how long to pause. + +Then an important point to remember is that the jerking of the rod, +whether forward or backward, is done from the wrist and only slightly +from the elbow, and not at all from the shoulder. A beginner would do +well to tie his elbow by a loose strap to his waist, so as to remind +him not to wave his whole arm as most beginners do. + +All this sounds a good deal to think of, but if you go and practise it +you very soon get into the way of it, and fly-fishing is the best +sport that I know. + +There are two kinds of fly-fishing, "wet" and "dry." Wet fly means +that you let your flies sink into the water and you then draw them +along under the surface. A dry fly is made in such a way that it +floats on the top of the water as many natural flies do, and the fish, +seeing it floating there, rises at it. This is the best sport of all +fishing, but is also the most difficult to do well. + +Of course, it is difficult for some boys to buy rods and fishing +tackle, but a Scout ought to be able to make his own as most of these +Norwegian boys do. + +[Illustration: USING A YOUNG TREE AS A FISHING-ROD.] + +Cut a straight, whippy rod of about ten feet, put on a line of strong, +thin twine, and a cast of horsehair out of a pony's tail if you cannot +get gut, A hook is difficult to manufacture for yourself, though it +can be done with a bit of wire and a file; but most Scouts going on an +expedition take a few hooks with them as part of their outfit. + +When I was out with George, I had to make myself a rod, as we only had +one rod between us and I got tired of waiting for my turn with it; but +we were high up in the mountains where the woods were thin, so I only +got a poor choice of sticks from which to make one. + +However, I cut down a likely looking birch sapling and trimmed him +down, and he did pretty well; but he was not very springy, so it +required more brute force on my part than skilful turning of the wrist +to get my line out, But I caught a lot of fish with him all the same. + + * * * * * + +REPAIRING A ROD. + +One day I broke the delicate top joint of my fly-fishing rod by +catching the fly in a bush during the back throw. + +Well, it's no use giving up fishing because your rod is broken; the +thing to do is to set to work and mend it. It is an accident which +often happens, especially to a beginner, and every Scout ought to know +how to mend his rod. + +My rod had snapped off a few inches from the tip, so I took the ring +off the broken tip, and, after trimming the broken end of the rod with +my knife, I put the ring on to this and thus made my rod workable; but +it was just a few inches shorter than it had been before. + +This is the way to bind your ring on to the new tip--at least, it's +the way I did it, and it served quite well for the rest of my trip. + +Having no beeswax, I took some "gum" from the bark of a fir tree and +rubbed a thin coating on the rod and on the black silk thread I had +with me; then, putting the ring on to the end of the rod, I bound it +there with a very careful and tight wrapping of the silk. This I had +previously wound on to a stick so as to get a good hold on it for +pulling each turn tight. + +To fasten the end of the silk, proceed as follows: + +[Illustration: HOW TO BIND THE RING OF A FISHING-ROD ON A NEW TIP.] + +After winding from A steadily up towards the point B (about an inch), +when you have still about half a dozen turns to do, make a big loop of +your silk C, and lay the loose end of it, B D, on the unbound bit of +rod, and go on binding over it until you have reached the point B with +your thread as in the sketch. You then pull D and the loop C gradually +closes in till there is nothing left of it. Then you cut off the loose +end D close to the rod. + +Put a coating of gum or varnish over the whole to make it fast and +watertight, and then you have your rod as strong and as sound as ever. + + * * * * * + +FISHERMEN'S KNOTS. + +In order to be able to fix your hook on to your line and to join up +the different bits of line, you want to know how to tie your knots; +but in addition to those which you have learnt as a Scout there are +several more which come in useful for a fisherman. + +I will only give you one or two here, but there are many others. These +are drawn half tied, just before pulling tight. + +Here is the overhand loop: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +To join a line to a loop do it this way: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +Much the same kind of knot is used to tie a hook to a line: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +To join two lengths of line together, even when of different +thickness, follow out this method: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + + * * * * * + +KILLING FISH. + +The Scout Law says that you should not kill God's creatures without +good reason. It is allowable when you need them for food. In the case +of fishing you often catch them when practising, but you need not kill +every fish you catch; you can take them carefully off the hook and put +them back into the water. + +The hook as a rule catches them in the lip, which with them is not the +tender flesh that it is with us, but merely a lot of bones held +together by gristle, so they do not suffer pain as we should--and this +is shown by the way the same fish will come on again after having been +already caught. + +When you want to keep a fish that you have caught, you should kill him +at once and put him out of his misery, and this you can do either by +hitting him on the head with a stick, or by driving your knife into +his brain, or by putting your finger down his throat and then bending +his head backwards and breaking his neck. + + * * * * * + +CLEANING A FISH. + +Then when you have killed your fish you will want to cook him. + +First of all you must clean him--that is, take his insides out. The +stomach and guts of the fish are carried rather far forward in his +chest, so with your knife you cut across the narrow bit of skin which +joins his chest to his chin, and with the point of the knife +underneath the skin slit the skin of his chest and belly open as far +as the fin near his tail. Then cut through the gut in his throat and +the whole of his insides will be let loose to fall out. + +But before doing this, if you have slit the belly neatly it is +interesting to look at the wonderful insides which he carries--the +heart, and lungs, and liver, and intestines, all beautifully arranged +and kept in their place and protected by the delicate ribs. It is a +wonderful piece of God's work, and when you come to find that each +trout that you catch is made exactly in the same way, and just the +same as a trout that you may catch in New Zealand on the opposite side +of the world, you begin to understand what a wonderful Creator there +must be Who makes us all, and gives this wonderful kind of machinery +inside the body, which keeps life going for us. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO COOK YOUR FISH. + +There are many ways of cooking your fish. The usual way is to fry him +in a hot frying-pan. A slit should be cut in each side of the fish, as +otherwise the heat is likely to burst his skin. A little salt and a +pinch of mustard put in with the butter in the pan will add to his +flavour. + +But the simplest way, for you don't generally carry frying-pans with +you when you go fishing, is to cut a long stick that bends at an angle +of forty-five degrees. Cut one arm to about one-third the length of +the other. Trim the short arm with your knife till it is fine and +pointed; pass this through the fish's mouth and then through the flesh +near his tail, and toast him by the fire, back downwards, with a small +lump of butter and a pinch of salt and mustard powder in his inside. +You will find him very good eating! A clean, flat stone makes a good +plate. + + * * * * * + +THE FISHERMAN'S HAIL. + +There, now I've told you how to catch and kill and cook your fish, I +hope that you will soon be able to do it, and I wish you the old +salutation which every fisherman wishes to another when they start out +to fish, "A tight line to you," meaning that I hope you will get a big +one on. + + + + +FOREIGN BOY SCOUTS + +THE NORWEGIANS. + +When my holiday in Norway came to an end, I was very sorry to pack up +and come away. Even when I drove the last thirty miles in a cart to +the railway I carried my rod in my hand, and when I saw a good-looking +pool or run in a river--we were generally near a river--I stopped the +cart for a few minutes and tried for a trout, and, what was more, I +occasionally caught one! + +[Illustration: NORWEGIAN SCOUTS WERE VERY LIVELY.] + +At last I got back to Christiania and to proper clothes and clean +hands--and I didn't like it a bit. + +However, I was comforted by being told that the Boy Scouts wanted me +to Inspect them, and I did so. + +There was a parade of nearly eight hundred of them; fine, strapping, +big lads they were, too, just like a lot of British boys, and dressed +the same as us, and very lively and active. + +[Illustration: THE NORWEGIAN FLAG. As you will see, it is something +like the Union Jack.] + +I had to present Colours to some of their troops, and their national +flag is in some ways a little like our Union Jack. And I told them +that they were as like British boys as their flag was like ours, and +that their forefathers, the Norsemen, were mixed up with our +forefathers in the old days, and I hoped that we would all be mixed +together, in a friendly way, in these days--as brother Scouts. + + * * * * * + +THE SWEDES. + +In England we are apt to look upon Norway and Sweden as almost one +nation, but they are not so in reality. The Norwegians in the old, old +days formed one nation with the Danes, but the Swedes have always been +a separate nation which has never been under the rule of any other +people. And they are very proud of this. So when I got amongst the +Swedes, I found a totally different people, but they were equally kind +and friendly to me, and they had an equally British-looking lot of Boy +Scouts. + +A large number of these had collected the day before I was to review +them in Stockholm, and were camped there. So I went and saw them +overnight in camp, and found them round their camp-fires, cooking +their suppers, as jolly as sandboys. If they could do nothing else, +they could, at any rates cook their food very well. + +But they could do other things, too, as they proved next day at the +Rally. + +This took place on a big open sports ground. + +The Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden were there to see them (the +Crown Princess is the daughter of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, our +President). Their Royal Highnesses are tremendously interested in the +Scouts, and watched all that they did most keenly. + +[Illustration: A SWEDISH BOY SCOUT AT THE RALLY.] + +I heard many reports of the good work done by Swedish Scouts. Here is +one: + +A poorly-paid working man in Gothenburg found himself in great +difficulties recently through his wife and two children being suddenly +taken ill with diphtheria and removed to the hospital. He himself had +to go to his work at the factory all day, but he had one of the +children left on his hands, as well as the home to look after. + +He got the wife of one of his neighbours to do this for one day; the +next he came back home during the dinner-hour to see how things were +going on, and he found his home all cleaned and tidied up, and a +strange boy sitting on the floor playing with his child, while another +was still finishing the cleaning-up work. + +When he asked who they were, they explained that they were Boy Scouts, +and, having heard that he was wanting help in his home, they had come +to give it. + +You can imagine how grateful he was, especially as the Scouts kept on +at the work for over two weeks until the mother had got well and +returned to take charge. + +One of those boys was the son of a rich man, while the other, his +comrade, was quite a poor lad. + + * * * * * + +THE DANES. + +In Denmark the Boy Scouts are strong in numbers and keen and good at +their work. Those of Copenhagen gave a Rally in my honour, and twenty +troops paraded and gave very good shows of scout work, each troop +doing its own in turn. They seemed very good, especially in their +cooking. + +There were two very smart troops of Girl Guides also present at the +parade, who cooked, too. + +[Illustration: AVENUE OF CROSSED STAVES. Formed by Boy Scouts and Girl +Guides at Copenhagen. I drove through it in a motor-car.] + +The consequence was that when I began tasting some of their good +dishes, I had to go and taste all, so that when the time came for the +official dinner I had to attend in the evening I was already so +"crowded" that I could not eat any of it! + +When I drove away from the parade-ground after it was over, the Scouts +and the Girl Guides made an avenue, crossing their staves overhead, +through which I drove in my motor-car. + +In Copenhagen, the Town Hall is the great "thing" to see. It is quite +modern, only lately built, and is a magnificent building. One of the +features about it is the lifts, which keep running slowly up and down. +They have no attendants in them. You simply have to jump in or out +fairly quickly. I saw one stout old lady come and look at the lift. +She did not seem to like trying to jump in, but there seemed no way +for getting it to stop for a minute; she looked helplessly around; +then she had another look at it. The more she looked the less she +liked it, and finally she gave up the idea of visiting the upper +floors of the building, and went sorrowfully away. + +[Illustration: The lift in the Town Hall at Copenhagen is a continuous +moving one--you have to jump in or out of it pretty smartly. Old Lady: +"Shall I venture?"] + +The Scouts in Copenhagen have been trained in first aid work by a +First Aid Corps which exists in that city. + +The Danish First Aid Corps is very much like our Fire Brigade. At the +first aid station are motor-cars fitted up with things needed for +almost every kind of accident, and they are ready to turn out at any +moment that their services may be required. Their office is on the +telephone with every police station, and when they get a call to an +accident, the motor, with all appliances, leaves the station within +thirty seconds of the alarm. + +When I was there the alarm came that a man had been run over by a +tramcar in Market Street. In a few moments a motor lorry ran out of +the station equipped with lifting jacks and levers to raise the +tramcar, while a second followed it immediately with stretcher and +first aid appliances for the injured man. + +In the station were kept all the things necessary for dealing with +railway accidents, for rescuing people overcome with gas, for saving +people in the water, and for pumping air into them when apparently +drowned; there were derricks for raising fallen horses, and fire +escapes of every kind. In fact, it was fitted up and manned by thirty +men, all trained and prepared to deal with every kind of accident that +could well happen. + +Well, that's just what I should like to see done by Boy Scouts in our +country towns and villages. They might make their club-room a first +aid station, with as many appliances they could get together in the +shape of bicycles, hand-carts, ladders, jumping-sheets, stretchers, +bandages, spare harness, and with every Scout trained to deal with +every kind of accident, or to form fence while others rendered first +aid, and so on. + +There might be some way of sending round or sounding the "alarm" when +an accident was reported, to bring together in a few minutes the +patrol whose turn it was for duty. + +In this way Scouts would do most valuable work. + + * * * * * + +THE DUTCH SCOUTS. + +Then I went to Holland, where I saw plenty more Scouts, both at +Amsterdam, Amersfoort, and The Hague; and fine, smart, clean-looking +fellows they were, too. + +[Illustration: Most of the Amsterdam Boy Scouts carry lassoes with +which they are very handy.] + +One thing which they did especially well was throwing the lasso. They +all carried light cord-lassoes on them. These came in useful for +hundreds of things, like making bridges, rope-ladders, rescuing people +from burning houses, and so on. But the Scouts also used them for +lassoing each other, and many of them were awfully good at it. + +The Dutch Scouts also had an excellent stretcher, which I think would +be very useful for some of our ambulance patrols. With its help, one +Scout alone could take an injured man to hospital. In the first place, +it was flat on the ground, without any feet to it, so the Scout could +roll or drag his patient on to it. + +[Illustration: THE DUTCH SCOUTS' STRETCHER.] + +Then it had two pairs of canvas flaps, which could lace across the +patient's chest and loins, with sort of pockets for his feet, so that +after the patient had been fastened on to it he could, if necessary, +be stood upright. This is sometimes useful in a narrow place like a +tunnel or a mine or a passage. Then, with a short chain and hook to +each corner, the stretcher was slung underneath a pair of wheels (a +Scout's hand-cart would do equally well), and the Scout was able to +wheel his patient away. + + * * * * * + +BELGIAN SCOUTS. + +Before my visit to Belgium the Scouts there did grand work in helping +the soldiers who had been sent to put out some forest fires. For +several days the Scouts were camped with the soldiers. + +They supplied a line of signalling posts, by which communication was +kept up with the nearest telegraph offices. + +They rendered first aid to a good number of soldiers who got slight +injuries from burning or other accidents in fighting the flames. And +also the Scouts did good work in keeping the soldiers supplied with +water when it was most difficult to get. + +When the campaign with the bush fires was over, the military +commanding officer published his very sincere thanks and praise for +the good work done by the Scouts. + +The Belgian Scouts made a very good kind of hut for themselves. In the +sketch below you see the framework of one hut, as well as the hut +completed by being covered with turf sods, and a wickerwork door. + +[Illustration: BELGIAN BOY SCOUTS' HUT. On the right is shown the +framework.] + +During the war, the Belgian Scouts have amply sustained the reputation +won for the Belgians by the men in the fighting line. Indeed, many of +the Scouts themselves, though boys, joined in the fighting. One boy, +Leysen, alone, was decorated by King Albert for having captured no +fewer than eleven spies, and for having accounted for one of the enemy +with his own hand. + +Two Belgian Scouts were captured by the Germans while observing their +lines and executed; while a large number have been employed in the +hospitals as orderlies, in addition to doing good work conveying +rations to troops in outlying trenches. + +On the occasion of one of my visits to the Front, I saw a smart troop +of Belgian Scouts. It was a cyclist troop and the boys had offered +their services at the outbreak of war for orderly duty to the military +authorities at Antwerp. They continued their work in the retreat from +that place to Dunkirk and to North France, afterwards being employed +on regular pay by their Army Headquarters as orderlies. + +I had the pleasure, too, of meeting the Chief Scout of Belgium, Dr. de +Page, the director of a splendid hospital for Belgian soldiers given +by the people of Great Britain. His three sons are Scouts, two of them +serving in the Army, and the youngest doing his bit in the workshop +attached to the hospital--where they make their own instruments, such +as scalpels, scissors, etc. + +Finally, I had an interview with King Albert of Belgium. He told me +that "he considered the Movement one of the best steps of modern times +for the education of the boy. His own son is an enthusiastic Scout, +and the Belgian boys who had taken it up were quite changed for the +better, and had done valuable service in the war. The war had been a +high test for it, but had proved that our training gave the very best +foundation for making good soldiers--by developing the right spirit +and intelligence as well as physical strength and activity." + +At the opening of the "Mercers' Arms" (the Hut for the use of our +troops which is manned by Scoutmasters) a Guard of Honour was formed +by a Calais Troop of French Boy Scouts under Scoutmaster Laut. These +boys have been doing helpful service in the military hospitals. It was +very pleasing indeed to see our international comradeship thus +exemplified. + + * * * * * + + +A TRIP TO ALGERIA + +One January morning my wife and I sailed from Southampton for Algeria, +on the north coast of Africa. + +As we came into the Bay of Biscay, after leaving the English Channel, +our ship got into a big swell, the seas rolling us heavily, and +occasionally rushing over our bows in frothing green and clouds of +spray. + +After about twenty-four hours of rough weather we sighted Cape +Finisterre--the first headland on the coast of Portugal, and not far +from that we passed Corunna, where, during the Peninsular War in 1810, +the British force under Sir John Moore successfully got away from a +superior force of French, though losing their gallant commander in +doing so. + +The next important town on the coast is Vigo, and it was in Vigo Bay +that Drake "singed the Spanish King's beard" by capturing and burning +his fleet. + +Also later, during the war of the Spanish Succession in 1702, an +Anglo-Dutch fleet under Admirals Rooke and Stanhope attacked the +Spanish "silver fleet" in Vigo Harbour, captured much treasure, and +sank many vessels. + +Past the Torres Vedras. where Wellington successfully held off +Napoleon's army till his own was fit to take the field. + +And near that is Oporto, where the port wine comes from, and which is +well known to Britons as being the place where the Duke of Wellington +defeated the French troops under Marshal Ney in the Peninsular War by +crossing the River Douro unexpectedly--the French thinking it quite +impassable by British troops, + +We got into calmer water near the mouth, of the River Tagus, and here +we saw the palace of our national guest, the young ex-King of +Portugal, standing high up on a mountain peak above Cintra. + + * * * * * + +ALGIERS. + +Continuing our voyage, we passed Trafalgar Bay and Gibraltar, where we +reviewed some Scouts. + +On arrival at Algiers, the chief seaport and capital of Algeria, the +first thing that struck us was the strange mixture of people we met in +the streets. + +There were Arabs, in their flowing white garments, brushing shoulders +with smartly dressed French officers and ladies, and picturesque +native soldiers and Turks and Italian peasants all busy at their +different pursuits. + +Algiers is now a modern French town, though formerly it was the +headquarters of the Algerian pirates. The native quarter of the city +is still a network of narrow streets and alleys, made quite dark by +the houses that almost meet overhead. + +Above the town stands the old fortress, called the Casbah. This was +the stronghold of the Turkish Corsairs and it was here that they kept +the prisoners which they captured from various vessels at sea. + +Those of the captives who were Christians they treated with unusual +severity, and a large number of British sailors suffered torture at +their hands. + +We saw here a massive doorway with chains hanging festooned upon the +upper part. This was called "the Gate of Pardon," because here the +prisoner was given a chance of release. + +He was made to run between two lines of soldiers armed with swords, +all of whom cut at him as he ran by, and if he were able at the end of +the course to spring up and catch hold of the chain he was allowed to +go free. If he failed he had to run the gauntlet back again, and very +few survived it. + +[Illustration: THE GATE OF PARDON, ALGIERS.] + +Another reminder of the Christian prisoners is to be seen in the chief +mosque of the city. This was designed and built by these captives +under the orders of their heathen masters. They naturally constructed +it like one of our churches in the form of a cross. This was +afterwards recognised by the Moors, and the church was used, but the +builders were put to death for their temerity. + +We can admire the bravery of these men, who, in spite of the danger of +being killed for it, did their best to maintain their religion to the +end. + + * * * * * + +CONSTANTINE. + +A day's journey by train from Algiers, through country closely +cultivated with vines and crops by the French colonists, and then +through a mountainous district inhabited by the Kabyle tribes, brought +us into Constantine. + +This is a wonderful city perched on a high rock, and surrounded on +three sides by a narrow gorge some 400 feet deep. It has been a +fortress since ancient times; and holds the record for being besieged, +having stood no fewer than eighty investments in its time. + +On the last occasion it was held by the Arabs against the French, +whose first attempt to take the place was defeated by the natives +after a desperate fight. It looks practically impossible to capture +the place, but for two years the French did not give up hope, +continuing their efforts until in the end they were successful. + +Like the Scouts they were not put off by very big difficulties, but +pluckily stuck to it, and gained their end. + +We visited here the French cavalry regiment, the 3rd Chasseurs +d'Afrique. This regiment distinguished itself in the Crimea by +supporting the charge of the British Light Brigade at Balaclava. + +It dashed bravely into the batteries of Russian artillery, who were +firing into the flanks of our force, and captured a number of their +guns, and thus enabled the survivors of the charge to make their way +back from the field. + +The records of this exploit are still preserved in the regimental +museum, or _salle d'Honneur_, as are also the trophies and +memorials of other fine deeds performed by the regiment on active +service. + +Among these was an interesting letter written by an officer after he +had been mortally wounded by a shot which shattered his jaw. It was +his last message to the men of his squadron urging them to do their +duty before all else, and saying he was proud to die in the cause of +his Country. + + * * * * * + +A ROMAN HOUSE. + +This portion of the Globe was once an important part of the Roman +Empire. + +As every Scout knows this great nation penetrated as far north as the +borders of Scotland, and ruled over England for nearly 400 years. They +also held Germany, France, and Spain, and the larger portion of North +Africa. + +In the course of our travels in Algeria, we came across remains of the +Roman occupation, the finest of these being the ruins of the city of +Timgad. + +These have been dug out of the sand, and preserved, so that it is now +possible to walk through the paved streets and visit what were once +the market place, theatre, bathing establishments, temples, public +libraries, and private houses of people who lived there over 1800 +years ago. + +The usual Roman house consisted of a front hall leading into a central +open-air courtyard, which was surrounded by a colonnade, and had a +fountain or tank full of fish in the centre. Then leading out of this +were the owner's study, sitting-room, bedrooms, dining-room, and a +series of three bathrooms, one warm, the second hot, and the third +cold. + +The floors of the rooms were made of cement, upon which ornamental +mosaic was inlaid, that is, a pattern made out of very small stones of +different colours. + + * * * * * + +AN ARAB MARKET. + +On arrival at Timgad my wife and I found the weekly Arab market in +full swing. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB TAKING A SHEEP HOME FROM MARKET.] + +It is not in the least like an English market with its tidy pens of +sheep and cattle and orderly arrangement of stalls, for this is a +dense crowd of white-robed Arabs, in the midst of which camels and +donkeys for sale stand about amongst tents full of clothes and corn +and seed, and strips of hide for making shoes. + +And here and there in the dust are dark men cooking and selling +unappetising bits of meat and making black coffee, which is their only +drink. + +Towards evening the fair breaks up. Those who have bought corn load up +great sacks of it upon their camels' backs. + +The camel, as you know, squats down on the ground whilst its master +loads it, and during the process looks round and gives out +heartrending groans as if complaining at the excessive weight being +put upon its back, but when the load is adjusted, the animal gets up +and walks away quite contentedly. + +The camel can travel long distances for days together without drinking +fresh water, because his throat is fitted by Nature with bladders, +which he fills with water before starting. When he feels thirsty, he +ejects one of these out of his throat, and then drinks the water from +it. + +Others of the Arabs who have been attending the fair mount their mules +or donkeys--often two of them on one mule--carrying their purchases +with them, in some cases even carrying live sheep across their +saddles. Many of them crowd into coaches to go home. These are +rickety-looking boxes on wheels with roofs to them, drawn by six +horses, which travel three abreast. + +When they were all comfortably settled in one of these coaches ready +for their journey, my wife stepped forward with her kodak to +photograph them. In a moment they were tumbling out of their places, +hurrying to get out of the range of the "Evil Eye"--for that is what +they think the camera must be; they fear it may bring sickness or bad +luck upon them. + + * * * * * + +THE SPAHIS. + +While we were at Timgad a gaily coloured little band of mounted men +came trailing across the plain, and finally made their halt close to +us. They were a troop of "Spahis," or native cavalry of the French +army in Algeria. + +The men dress in Arab costume, with the white turban on their heads, a +short red jacket, and baggy blue Turkish breeches with boots of red +morocco leather. They also wear a huge red cloak in cold weather. + +[Illustration: ASPAHI, OR NATIVE CAVALRYMAN OF THE FRENCH ARMY IN +ALGERIA.] + +They are mounted on small grey Arab horses, and sit in a very +high-peaked saddle, and the horses all wear blinkers. Altogether they +make very picturesque soldiers, and at the same time are good riders +and brave fighters. + + * * * * * + +A TRAMPING CAMP. + +Prom Biskra on the Sahara we started' on a walking tour among the +mountains of the desert. + +We got a couple of tents, bedding, camp furniture, and food, and two +mules to carry it all. We also got two Arabs to guide us and be +generally useful. Their names were Rahmoun and Ibrahim. + +Our preparations did not take us long, and we were soon camped out on +the desert, far from other human habitations, in the glorious sunshine +of North Africa. + +At night, although the air was keen and cold, we had our beds put +outside the tent in the open, and we slept under the stars. + +The drawback to camping was the difficulty in getting fresh water and +firewood. We generally carried bottles of fresh water with us, as even +when we were able to find a trickle of water in a river-bed, it was +frequently brackish or half salt. + +[Illustration: "We were soon camped out on the desert, far from other +human habitations, in the glorious sunshine of North Africa."] + +Then there were no trees or bushes with which to light our fire, so we +had to collect the smallest sticks and straws to act as "punk" and +loaded up any parched plants that we could find, and these, together +with twigs and branches of little thorn tufts, enabled us to make a +fire. It was not a big one, but then a Scout does not need a bonfire +to cook his food. + + * * * * * + +A FORTIFIED FARM. + +We left the railway to face the open stony desert and arid rocky +mountains with the greatest keenness, in the bright sun and clear air +of Southern Algeria. + +The last bit of civilisation that we saw was a French. colonist's +farm, fortified with a strong loopholed tower, in which the farmer and +his family could take refuge and stand a siege if the Arabs should +rise in rebellion. + +These fortified farms are to be seen in many parts of Algeria, and are +a sign, of the farmers _Being Prepared_ for what is _possible_, +though it may not be _probable_. + +If our own people in South Africa had prepared their homesteads for +defence in the same way against the Kaffirs, the Zulus, the Basutos, +and the Matabele tribes, they would have saved themselves in very many +cases from death at the hands of these savage warriors when they rose +at different times in rebellion against the white men. + +Any Boy Scout who goes later on to farm in an Oversea Dominion where +there are fighting natives will do well to remember this, and to make +one of his farm buildings defensible, so that it cannot be attacked or +burnt by the enemy, and where he and his family can stand a siege of +some weeks, having food, water, and ammunition always ready inside it. + +This is _Being Prepared_, and not leaving things to chance. + + * * * * * + +CLIFF HOMES. + +Our way next led us through a mighty gorge between the mountains. +There were high, rocky cliffs on either side, and a stream running +among the stones at the bottom of it. + +This ravine we clambered through for five or six miles, passing on the +way an Arab village of flat-roofed mud huts perched on the side of the +cliffs like swallows' nests. + +And not far from them were holes and caves in the cliffs in which some +of the Arab tribes lived. Many of them were so difficult to get at +that the inhabitants got to them by means of ropes lowered down over +the edge of the cliff. + + * * * * * + +A MOUNTAIN OF SALT. + +The Romans in the old days had marched, fought, and colonised all over +Algeria, and their doings have been recorded by their history writers. + +One of these, Herodotus, has described how in one part of Algeria +there were many wonders, such as springs of water in which the water +came out boiling, donkeys which had horns like rams' horns on their +heads, and lastly that there was a great mountain made of solid salt. + +Of course, he got a good deal laughed at, and was entirely disbelieved +by the Romans who stayed at home, but all the same his yarns were not +far off the truth. + +We ourselves were camped near one of the numerous hot springs in +Algeria, Hammam Mousketine, it was called; clouds of steam used to +rise from it always. + +Also, we met many English sportsmen tramping and camping among the +mountains in search of the "moufflon," a kind of mountain wild sheep, +which, at a short distance, looks very like a donkey with big ram's +horns on its head. + +In the course of our tramp we paid a visit to the Salt Mountain, and +found that Herodotus had told nothing more than the truth. + +The mountain is about 900 feet high, and about three miles long, and +consists of a jumble of crags and fissures, chiefly of yellow +sandstone, in which are imbedded great blocks and sheets of salt. + +The natives for miles round come with picks and mattocks, and cut as +much of it as their donkeys can carry to market. + + * * * * * + +IN A GALE. + +Our next march took us across endless dry water-courses with steep +sides, which had to be clambered up and down under a hot sun. + +There was no regular road, because every downfall of rain alters the +course of the ravines. So we had to make the best of our way in the +general direction of the place we were making for. + +It is wonderful how easily you lose your direction when you get into a +mass of ravines unless you notice carefully your bearings beforehand, +and either make for some good landmark, such as a distant mountain +peak, or else keep your direction by noticing the position of the sun. + +In doing this, you must, of course, allow for the sun also changing +his position in the sky as the hours pass by. + +We used the sun to some extent this day, but after a time a cold +breeze sprang up, and clouds began to gather, so that in a very little +while the sky was overcast and the sun was no longer any guide. + +Then came on a cold, cold wind, which got more bitter as we struggled +against it. + +But, cold as it was, I did not find that Scouts' kit was so cool as +people try to make out; the wind certainly whistled about my knees, +but I did not feel so very cold then. + +We searched for some sort of sheltered place to pitch our tent, and +found plenty of such in the dry bed of the river under the cliffs, +which formed its banks, but we dared not use it, as rain clouds were +banking up, and if heavy rain were to come the dry river bed would in +a very short time be a raging torrent. + +So we struggled on, and at last found a ledge among some rocks above +the river bed, which just afforded room for our tent, and here we +pitched it. + +And only just in time, for before we had got it well up the rain began +to come down, and continued to rattle on our canvas roof for the rest +of the night. + +But the storm had come with so little warning, and the wind had come +before the rain, so we comforted ourselves with the Scouts' weather +mottoes:-- + + "Long foretold, long last; + Short notice, soon past." + +And + + "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." + +Sure enough, next morning the sky cleared, and a beautiful sunny day +enabled us to carry out our next march in comfort. + + * * * * * + +ARABS' CANDLES. + +Our next camp was a delightful one--in place of the open, dry, stormy +desert, we found ourselves in groves of young palm trees on the river +bank, with plenty of fresh water and plenty of firewood. So we were in +luxury, and stayed two days in this spot to enjoy it to the full. + +We had the additional fun here of catching fish in the river with a +hook and line attached to a stick cut from an oleander bush. We found +some worms in the irrigated garden, and thus we were able to fish and +to catch a good number of barbel. + +These made a great addition to our larder. + +A very useful tip to know in Africa is that when all other wood is +wet, dead palm branches will always light and burn well. They are most +useful as torches in camp, and are nicknamed "Arabs' Candles." + + * * * * * + +A DRAGON'S LAIR. + +We left our camp ground, with its palm trees down by the river, and +with our tent and belongings packed on to two mules, and our two Arabs +as guides, trekked across a wide, stony plain under a blazing hot sun. + +Not a particle of shade the whole way, nor a drop of water; every +footstep had to be picked among the loose, jagged stones, and our way +was continually barred by deep, dry water-courses, which had to be +carefully clambered into and scrambled out of. + +It was a very trying day's march, but yet we enjoyed it. + +The views of the mountains around us were splendid. + +[Illustration: EL KANTARA] + +We were marching parallel with the wonderful range which stands like a +turreted wall between Algeria and the Sahara. It is so regular in its +outline that it looks almost as if built by the hands of giants, and +in the centre is a narrow, broken gap, El Kantara, through which run +the road, the river, and the railway. + +[Illustration: "THE TOOTH," or THE RED CASTLE MOUNTAIN.] + +We passed on our way close under a solitary peak which stands out from +the rest of the neighbouring mountains exactly in the likeness of a +great red ruined castle, called by the Arabs "The Tooth." + +Then we got into a deep ravine with red sandy cliffs on either side, +and marching up its rocky bed we finally got in among the mountains, +and there made our camp. + +After getting our tent pitched, and while the men were finding +firewood, my wife and I started a bit of engineering work in order to +obtain a water supply. + +We cleared out the little trickle of water which we found in the river +bed, and digging a hollow in the sandy bed, we planted in it our india +rubber bath, and diverted the trickle so that it ran into this, and so +gave us a standing supply of clear water for our camp. + +It was quite a triumph of engineering, though we got pretty wet and +muddy in carrying it out. + +Then we went exploring among the hills, following up our gorge. We +soon found that it became a narrow fissure between the mountains, so +narrow that the overhanging rocks often nearly touched each other high +above our heads. It was a most weird place--exactly the sort of spot +where one might expect a dragon to dwell. + + * * * * * + +ARAB POLITENESS. + +A thing that strikes one about the Arabs is their politeness and +readiness to do good turns. + +Every Arab we met as we tramped across the plains greeted us with +"good morning" in Arabic or French, and, though it must be a strange +sight to them to see a white lady walking, and a man in shorts and +shirt-sleeves (for I always wear the Scout kit for camping), they +never showed undue curiosity, and never thought of jeering at us as I +fear would be the case in many places in England. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB TENT. The goatskin slung on a tripod is full of +water for the use of the family.] + +If they saw our mules in trouble, or found us pitching our camp, they +were always ready to lend a hand without any idea of getting a reward +or a tip for doing so. + +They have a good deal of the Scout in them, and many tribes of them do +not know what it is to live in a house-they are "nomads," that is, +they are wanderers, and live always in tents, moving with their flocks +and families from place to place where the grass gives the best +pasture for their sheep and goats. + +Their tents are large, low, widespread awnings of black or brown +goats'-hair cloth, supported on numerous short poles. + +The tent ropes stretch in various directions, and round the whole they +put up a hedge or "zareeba" of thorn bushes to keep out the jackals, +and to keep in their goats during the night. + +In front of the tent hangs a goatskin slung on a tripod, and full of +water for the use of the family. + +Many Arabs are well behaved and hospitable to strangers. But all are +not so polite: there are some tribes who are pretty cunning thieves. +Our two Arabs always patrolled round our camp at night with loaded +rifle and revolver to drive off any would-be robbers, and our mules +were shackled up at night with "handcuffs" on their fetlocks, and +these were locked to prevent them being stolen. + + * * * * * + +THE HOT SPRINGS OF HAMMAM MOUSKETINE. + +The first thing one notices about the hot springs of Hammam Mousketine +which I mentioned above, is clouds of steam coming up out of the +bushes at different points. Here you will find water bubbling up out +of the ground and through a small mound of hard white or yellow crust. + +The water is boiling hot, and the crust is formed from salts and +chemicals contained in the water drying on the surface. + +There are about a dozen of these springs and a large number of cones +or mounds which have been springs, and which have choked themselves up +or run dry. + +Half a dozen of these cones, of about ten feet high, stand together in +a group, and the Arabs have a curious story about them, which I will +tell you in the next paragraph. Also close by is a great waterfall +about a hundred yards wide by fifty feet high, but all turned to stone +by the same process. + + * * * * * + +THE ARAB MARRIAGE. + +A rich Arab named Ali Cassam had a beautiful sister named Ourida. + +Ali thought her the best woman in the world, and although she was his +sister he determined to marry her. + +Such a marriage is considered just as unholy by the Mohammedans as it +is with us, and so everybody was against it. But Ali was great and +powerful, and he thought that by making a magnificent show of it he +would get over the feelings of those who said it was wrong. + +[Illustration: The wedding party were all there in their places, but +all were turned into stone.] + +So a splendid feast was arranged, and the ceremony began on a very big +scale. + +The priest Abdallah undertook to carry out the religious part of it, +and had just taken the first step in the marriage service of placing +the bridegroom's hand on the bride's head when there was a tremendous +flash of lightning, fire rushed out of the earth, the day was suddenly +turned into night, and boiling water spouted up in all directions. + +When the sun came out again the wedding party were all there in their +places, but all were turned into stone, and the boiling water still +bubbles up out of the earth round about them. + +Personally I could not recognise exactly the actors in this drama; it +needed a lot of imagination to believe that one mound represented Ali +and another Ourida, while Abdallah was recognisable by his turban! + +This was all that I saw of them. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD TURN TO A DONKEY. + +Owing to the absence of roads in the country the Arabs do not use +carts. All the carrying is done by camels, mules, or donkeys. The +donkeys are the commonest, being the cheapest; and very patient, +hard-working little servants they are. + +On one of our tramps we came across an Arab standing very forlornly by +his donkey, which had fallen down. There was the little beast lying on +its side with its huge load of halfa grass partly across it, and the +owner quite at a loss to know what to do. This "halfa" or "esparto" +grass is collected by the Arabs on the mountain side, and brought down +and sold to merchants to go and make paper in England. It weighs very +heavy, which we soon found when we went to the assistance of the Arab, +and lifted the load off the donkey. The little animal seemed in no +hurry to rise from his comfortable position on the ground, and the +Arab was proceeding with a big stick to hint to him that it was time +to get up, when my wife intervened, and showed the Arab that this was +no way to treat the good little beast. + +[Illustration: 1. IN DISTRESS.] + +Having induced him at last to rise, the load of grass was up-ended, +the donkey put broadside on to it, and the burden was quickly hoisted +on to its back again. + +[Illustration: 2. ALL HANDS TO THE RESCUE.] + +So we had been able to do a little good turn to the man, though the +donkey did not probably appreciate it quite so much at first, but he +did in the end, for as soon as his load was securely on his back the +man started to whack him on along his road. + +But again my wife put in a remonstrance, and the Arab, grasping her +meaning, refrained from using his stick, and coming back to us he gave +us each a hearty handshake, as if to show his gratitude for our help +and his determination to treat his four-footed friend with greater +kindness in the future. + +[Illustration: 3. ALL PLEASED EXCEPT THE DONKEY.] + + * * * * * + +A CAMP INVENTION. + +We were awfully sorry to finish our tramping camp. It was over much +too soon, but in the short time that we were at it we picked up lots +of health and enjoyment, and also a good many useful camp hints. + +[Illustration: WHENEVER WE HAD A MOMENT TO SPARE SHE SET TO WORK TO +SCRUB THE SAUCEPAN.] + +One of these--like so many great discoveries--was found by accident. + +My wife, like a good Scout, kept everything very clean in camp, and +our joke was that whenever there was a moment to spare she would set +to work to scrub the saucepan. That seemed to be her favourite job, +using a handful of sand and a twist of coarse grass, and the result +was a bright, clean saucepan in which to cook our food. + +A good deal of sickness comes in camps when dirty saucepans are used. + +When she was not cleaning the saucepan her other spare minutes were +spent in cleaning up the camp ground, and burning all scraps. + +One morning when doing this she made the great discovery. It was +this--how to make toast without a good fire. She had wrapped some +unused slices of bread in some waste paper, and put the whole lot +among the ashes of our palm-leaf fire in order to burn them. + +The paper gradually charred and burnt itself away, and left the bread +behind it nicely roasted into crisp brown toast! + + * * * * * + +TRUFFLE HUNTING. + +Another tip which we learnt in camp was how to find truffles. These +are a kind of root akin to a mushroom, which grow entirely +underground. They are very nice to eat, and command a good price in +the market. + +In France the people find them with pigs; the pigs are able to scent +them, and proceed to root them up with their snouts, when the man +steps in and collars the truffle. + +The Arabs showed us how to find them on the desert, where they are +quite plentiful. + +We had to examine the ground pretty carefully as we went along, and +where we saw a few little cracks in the surface leading out from one +centre where the earth bulged up a little--there we dug down two or +three inches and found the truffle. + + * * * * * + +AN EX-BOY SCOUT. + +At one railway station in Algeria we found a motor-car waiting to take +us to our destination. The driver, unlike so many motor-car drivers, +set to work to carry our luggage himself, and worked for us most +willingly and well. He spoke English perfectly, with a South African +accent. + +We soon found that he came from the Transvaal, and had learnt his +energetic helpfulness and courtesy through having been a Boy Scout in +Johannesburg! + + * * * * * + +THE STORY OF THE SIWASH ROCK. + +The story of the "Arab Marriage" reminds me of another legend about +rocks, but this one was a Red Indian story about a rock in British +Columbia, Canada. + +The Arab story showed that the Arabs respect decent behaviour, and +this one, on the opposite side of the world, shows that the Red +Indians also give honour to manliness and purity. + +[Illustration: TUNISIAN ARAB BOY WEARING A "CHEKIA" OR FEZ.] + +[Illustration: TUNISIAN WOMAN OUT FOR A WALK--BLACK MASK AND ROOMY +"BAGS."] + +Just at the entrance to the harbour of Vancouver stands a solitary +pinnacle of rock, straight and upright. It is called the Siwash Rock. + +A young chief had made himself renowned for his wonderful courage in +war and for his sense of duty to his tribe and to his religion, and +for his courtesy to women. + +He had married a wife, and when she was about to give birth to a child +they did as laid down in the laws of the tribe, that is, they both +bathed in the sea to be so clean that no wild animal should be able to +scent them. This would ensure their child being clean in thought and +deed. + +The woman returned to their tent, but the young chief went on swimming +to make sure that he should be clean and pure for the birth of his +son. + +While he swam a canoe came along with four giants in it. These shouted +to him to get out of their way, but he only laughed back at them that +he was swimming on important business. + +But they shouted to him that he must cease swimming in the channel, as +they were messengers of the great God, and that if he did not they +would turn him into a fish, or a tree, or a stone. + +[Illustration: A SPAHI (NATIVE CAVALRY SOLDIER) ADMIRED BY AN ABAB BOY +SCOUT OF THE FUTURE.] + +But he only replied that he must be clean for the birth of his child, +and therefore he meant to go on swimming, no matter what the risk was +to him. + +This quite nonplussed the giants. + +They could not run him down, because if their canoe were to touch a +human being their power over men would be lost. + +Just then, when they were pausing, wondering what to do, they heard +the cry of a baby come from the woods on the shore. + +Then one of the giants stood up and chanted to the swimmer a message +from the great God that, because he had bravely held out against all +their threats in order that his child should be the son of a clean +father, he should never die, but should remain for ever as a reminder +to other warriors to do their duty, and to obey the law of the tribe. +And his wife and child, too, should be for ever near him. + +So the moment he touched the shore he became the great upright rock, +now called the Siwash Rock. And a short distance from him, in the +woods, are two more rocks, a big one and a little one beside it--his +wife and child. + +They are monuments to the Indian belief that those who do their duty +in spite of any difficulty or danger are the best men and the greatest +heroes. + + * * * * * + +TUNIS. + +The Souks. + +Perhaps you do not know what a "souk" is? + +Imagine yourself in a long, narrow tunnel lit with skylights here and +there, with small open shops along either side. That is what one of +the "souks" or bazaars in Tunis is like. + +There are miles of them, and they are generally crowded from end to +end with the white-cloaked Arabs and shrouded figures of women with +black masks over their faces, all busy shopping, buying or selling. + +Each trade has a souk to itself. Thus, in one souk you will find +nothing but shoemakers' shops one after another, in the next will be +all coppersmiths, in another the cloth merchants, and so on. + +There still stand the "Bardo" or Palace of the "Bey" or King of Tunis, +and the "kasbah" or castle in which the Tunisian pirates of old days +used to imprison the Christians whom they captured at sea; and there +is still the old slave market where they used to sell them. + +Many an English sailor has been lost for ever to his home and friends +in that dismal place. + +But on one occasion the prisoners got the better of their captors. As +many as ten thousand of them had been collected, and they made a plan +to escape, and, rising against their captors, they overwhelmed them by +force of numbers and got away. + +"Home, Sweet Home," + +An interesting spot in the city is the old Christian cemetery, in +which lies buried the man who wrote the well-known song, "Home, Sweet +Home." Most people think that it is an English song, but the composer +was in reality an American--a clerk in the Consulate--named John +Howard Payne. + + * * * * * + +CARTHAGE. + +Close to Tunis is the site of Carthage, the capital of the great +country of that name in North Africa. + +There is very little to be seen of it to-day, for the city was +destroyed by its enemies, and the stones were taken to build the +present town of Tunis. + +It was founded nearly 900 years before the time of Christ, and was for +hundreds of years a powerful and prosperous country till 146 years +before Christ, when it was conquered by the Romans, and the city was +given over to the flames. + +The city was at that time twelve miles round, and was defended by huge +walls sixty feet high and thirty-three feet thick with rooms inside +them. In the lower storey were stables for horses and elephants (of +which there were 300), and the upper storey served as barracks for +over 20,000 soldiers, who formed the garrison for defence of the city. + +But very few of these soldiers were Carthaginians. The Carthaginian +young men did not care about soldiering: they preferred to loaf about +and do nothing but watch public games, and foreigners or poor men were +hired to do the soldiering for the country. + +The country was large and rich, and had many colonies oversea and +plenty of ships. + +It looked as though no enemy could ever arise to come and attack her. +But what seemed so unlikely actually happened in the end. + +The Romans had no great fleet to speak of, but they had a fine army, +and they meant business. They put their soldiers into crowded +transports, and sailed across the short distance of ocean that lay +between the two countries--not much farther than Hamburg in Germany is +from Hull in Yorkshire. + +Thus the country which, like Germany, had a fine, well-trained army, +landed a force in Carthaginia, the country which, like Britain, had a +great fleet and great colonies, but only a small army, and it smashed +up the Carthaginians through their not Being Prepared for it. + +Boar Hunting. + +From Tunis one sees to the southward a mountain called Zaghouan. +Though forty miles away it was from here that the Carthaginians got +their water supply, and they conveyed it by a small canal, which they +built all the way to Carthage. + +[Illustration: You can imagine the fun of having a lot of wildly +excited Arabs firing from the opposite side of the circle straight in +your direction, with the animal in between you.] + +That canal still serves to bring the water into Tunis, though it is +now a good deal over two thousand years old! + +I went to Zaghouan once to hunt wild boars. We got on that occasion a +hyena. It was an exciting time when our Arab beaters, working in a big +circle, gradually closed in on him from all sides. + +It was exciting because every beater carried a gun, and every man +meant having a shot at that hyena. + +You can imagine the fun of having a lot of wildly excited Arabs firing +from the opposite side of the circle straight in your direction at the +animal in between you! + +Fortunately on this occasion the first few shots killed him, and there +were no other deaths to record. + +The Arabs themselves see no special danger in it, because, they say, +the guns are all pointing downwards at the animal, and if the bullet +misses him it will only bury itself in the ground. + +That is all very well, but it might as likely as not hit a stone and +glance up again and catch one in the eye or elsewhere that might be +unpleasant. + +Personally, I did not hold with that kind of shooting, but the Arabs +seemed to enjoy it so much and were so cheery and jolly over it that +I, too, had to smile and look as if I liked it. + +There is plenty of game near Tunis, and this day we saw two dead wild +boars being brought in. + + * * * * * + +ELEPHANTS USED IN WAR. + +In the old days, as I told you, Carthage was the London of that time, +being a city of 700,000 inhabitants, and the capital of a great +empire, which had overseas colonies in Spain, Corsica, and Sicily. + +For a very long time it was at war with the Romans, who were the great +military nation then, and at first the Carthaginians got the better of +their adversaries. + +One great help to them was their corps of elephants. These elephants +had scythes fixed on to their tusks, so that when they charged they +not only cut down the serried ranks of their enemies, but they also +trampled them underfoot. + +In their great fight outside Carthage, the army belonging to the +Carthaginians under a Greek officer, Xanthippus, carried the day with +a grand charge of elephants, and thus defeated and routed the Romans +under Regulus. + +Of the 20,000 men who formed the Roman force only 2000 escaped. +Regulus and a number of his best officers were captured and held as +prisoners of war for several years. + + * * * * * + +A BRAVE MAN FACES TORTURE. + +As time went on, the Carthaginians tried to make peace, and they sent +their prisoner, Regulus, over to Rome to persuade the Roman Government +to come to terms. They made him promise on his word of honour that if +he failed to bring about peace he would return again to Carthage, and +become a prisoner once more. + +When he got to Rome, instead of urging them to make peace, he told his +countrymen to go on with the war. + +The Roman Government were inclined to do this, but at the same time +they saw that if they did, Regulus would probably be put to death by +the Carthaginians for not having procured peace, so they did not know +what to do. + +Regulus, seeing their difficulty, told them that he was an old man and +his life did not matter, and he pretended that he had already taken +slow poison. So the Romans resolved to continue the war, and Regulus +went back to Carthage, according to his promise, and gave himself up +to the Carthaginians. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB BOY AND HIS "MOKE."] + +You might think that they would have admired him for his courage and +sense of honour, but the Carthaginians, as I told you, were a cowardly +lot; they hired soldiers to do their fighting for them, and, like all +cowards, they were cruel, too; so instead of respecting this plucky +old Roman, they punished him by shutting him into a box lined with +sharp spikes, so that he could get no rest nor sleep. + +Then they cut off his eyelids, and took him out of his dark cell into +the blazing sunlight, so that he was blinded, and finally they killed +him by crucifying him. + +Supposing that we were invaded by an enemy who had a strong army, and +we had nothing but paid soldiers to defend ourselves with because our +men were too cowardly or too unpatriotic to learn how to defend their +homes. If such an enemy were to defeat our weak army, and then order +us to destroy every house in London, how should we like it? + +Should not we feel, like the Carthaginians, enraged with our +Government who had not made the country strong, and also enraged with +ourselves because we had not trained ourselves to defend our homes +before it was too late? + +The Carthaginians in despair sent more messengers to the Roman general +at their gates, begging for thirty days' grace in which to make their +arrangements, but the conquerors sent these men back with the order +that the destruction of the city was to begin at once. + +Then a change came over the Carthaginians. From a mob of despairing, +panic-stricken wretches they organised themselves into a defence +force. They barred the city gates, and started to make weapons to +replace those which they had surrendered to their enemies. + +Night and day they worked--men, women, and children. They manufactured +daily 100 shields, 300 swords, 500 spears, and 1000 balls for their +catapults, and the women cut off their hair and plaited it into ropes +for the catapults. + + * * * * * + +A CATAPULT. + +[Illustration: A CARTHAGINIAN CATAPULT.] + +The catapult which the Carthaginians used was not the little implement +that a boy uses nowadays; it was a big kind of windlass, by which a +number of ropes were twisted up tightly till they acted as a spring to a +strong wooden arm at the end of which was a leather cup. This held a +stone about the size of a man's head. + +When the spring was let go, this arm was flung violently forward, and +the stone was thereby hurled into the air, and flew with great force +for 400 or 500 yards. + +The catapults served the purpose of artillery in those days when +gunpowder had not been invented. + +The Carthaginians, when a favourable wind blew, sent a lot of fire +boats filled with faggots and tar to drift among the Roman fleet and +burn their ships. + +They also got together the wrecks of their own ships which had been +smashed up by the enemy, and from them they built up others and +sallied out of port in order to astonish the Romans. + +But they did not make any bold attacks, consequently the Romans only +sat tight and got reinforcements over, and in the end they attacked +and forced their way into the city. There the fighting in the streets +was very close and bitter. + +For six days it went on, but the stern discipline and valour of the +Romans gradually told, and very soon the whole city was in their +hands. Fifty thousand inhabitants were allowed to escape, and the city +was given over to the flames. + +One lot of defenders the Romans refused to spare. Some 900 of them +took refuge, and made a last stand, in the Temple of AEsculapius, and +among them was the wife of Hasdrubal, the commander of the +Carthaginians, and her two sons. + +Hasdrubal himself saved his skin by surrendering to Scipio, the Roman +commander, but his wife stood up on the temple, which was now on fire, +and reviled him as a coward. Then she killed her two boys, and threw +herself into the fire rather than give in to the Latin enemy. + + * * * * * + +MALTA. + +A Home of Scouting. + +Malta was a home of Scouting, since the Knights of St. John, who +settled there after the Crusades, were typical Scouts. + +They knew how to Be Prepared + +I remember reading the diary of a traveller who visited Malta in their +time--some three hundred years ago. He said that one morning a pirate +ship was sighted off the island. The Grand Master at once ordered one +of the fighting ships to get ready, and called upon the knights to man +it. Any who desired to go were to parade in front of the Castile +Palace (now the Mess house of the Royal Artillery). Some fifty or +sixty would be sufficient, but instead of this over three hundred +turned up on parade with their retainers and men-at-arms ready to +start then and there. + +In the Armoury can be seen among many others the suit of armour worn +by the Grand Master Wignacourt. + +One cannot but admire the beautiful fitting of the different folds of +armour, made so that the arms and legs could be bent and yet +thoroughly protected against wounds; also the whole is beautifully +engraved with ornamental designs. Among these a quick-sighted Scout +will at once notice the fleur-de-lys, or Scout's badge, on the breast. + + * * * * * + +NEVER SAY DIE. + +The badge also occurs on another badge of the knights, that is, on the +Maltese Cross, which all of them wore. This cross was eight-pointed in +shape, and was originally derived from the skull and crossbones; it +came from the crossbones, and served to remind the knights that it was +their duty to fight to the death and never to give in. + +[Illustration: A notice on the walls of the fortifications of Malta, +where caper-plants grow plentifully, says: "No one is allowed to cut +capers here except the Commanding Royal Engineer." This is how I +picture him.] + +Their motto might well have been that which the Boy Scouts use to-day: +_Never say die till you are dead_--struggle on against any +difficulty or danger, don't give in to it, and you will probably come +out successful in the end. + + * * * * * + +THE MALTESE CROSS. + +Most of the Oversea Scouts wear, in addition to the Scout's badge of +the fleur-de-lys, the badge belonging to their country. For instance, +the Canadian Scouts wear the maple leaf, and the New Zealanders wear a +leaf of the tree fern. + +If the Maltese Scouts want a badge of their own they could not do +better than adopt the Maltese Cross of the knights, and then stick to, +and act up to the meaning of it. + + * * * * * + +HOW MALTA CAME TO BE BRITISH. + +When Napoleon was trying to conquer the whole of Europe a hundred +years ago, he proceeded to take Malta. + +But the Maltese people rose, and held the rest of the island against +him, and sent and asked the British under Lord Nelson to come to their +assistance. + +This was promptly done, and the British Fleet laid siege to the French +in Valetta, so that no supplies of food could be brought to the +French, and some British troops were landed to help the Maltese. + +Thus the French were defeated, and the Maltese handed themselves and +their island over to become a colony of the British Empire. + +One celebrated officer who largely helped to defeat the French in +Malta was Admiral Troubridge. + +Someone was condoling with Nelson once on his losing his right arm in +action. The gallant seaman replied cheerily: + +"My good sir, I have got three right arms. Here is one (raising his +left arm), and there are my other two (pointing to Capt. Ball and +Capt. Troubridge)." + +At the time of the British investment of the French in Malta, the +Maltese themselves were suffering from famine, and their state was so +deplorable, and the British authorities so slow to help them, that +Commodore Troubridge could bear it no longer, and to ease their +sufferings he caused some grain ships at Messina to be seized and +brought to Malta and their contents to be given out to feed the +starving people. + +Commodore Troubridge began life as a ship's boy at fifteen, and rose +from seaman to be an officer through his steady attention to his duty, +so in all ways he was a good example for a Scout to follow. + +Malta remains to-day a British colony, small in size--not much bigger +than the Isle of Wight--but having a numerous population of people +speaking their own language, and at the same time loyal to King George +and the British Empire. + +Malta is chiefly valuable as having a harbour, dockyard, and coal +stores for our Mediterranean Fleet, and is therefore strongly +fortified and garrisoned by British troops, both infantry and +artillery. + +The Maltese themselves supply some companies of Fortress Artillery and +two battalions of Infantry Militia. + + * * * * * + +MALTESE BOY SCOUTS. + +Now, also, they have their Boy Scouts, whom I saw during my visit. + +For Sea Scouts it is an ideal place, with its fine harbours, and its +coasts with their numerous creeks and landing places. + +The warm climate also induces much to bathing, and the Maltese are +naturally good swimmers and handy men in boats. Their boats are very +graceful in shape; they are called "daisas," which is spelt "dghaisa," +but I never could see the use of the letters "gh" in the word; it +sounds all right without them. + +[Illustration: A MALTESE "DGHAISA."] + + * * * * * + +MY DGHAISA. + +Long ago I was quartered in Malta for three years, and I greatly +enjoyed my life there, especially the boating and the bathing. + +After the South African War the people of Malta very kindly sent me a +beautiful present, and, I suppose on account of my known love of +boating, it took the form of a silver model of a sailing dghaisa. It +was so accurately and carefully made that not only did it include oars +and boat-hooks, etc., but even the thole-pins and the scoop for +bailing out water. + +I was, of course, delighted to see the place again after twenty years' +absence, and to see so many of my old friends. Nothing seemed very +much changed in all that time, except that the Boy Scouts had come +into existence there as in every other important part of the British +Empire. + + * * * * * + +SICILY. + +Any boy who has read Marryat's _Midshipman Easy_ will remember +how that cheeky young Naval officer and a friend of his went for a +spree in an Italian sailing boat from Malta to Sicily, which is eighty +miles away, and how their spree turned into a pretty desperate +adventure. + +The boys were attacked by their boat's crew during the night, and they +only saved themselves by using their pistols on the Italian +desperadoes. They eventually landed on the Sicilian coast not far from +Syracuse. + +Anyone who has read Count Erbach's diary of his visit to Malta in the +time of the Knights of St. John will remember his exciting experiences +when, on leaving the island, for Sicily, the vessel in which he sailed +had got within sight of Syracuse when a rakish-looking craft, which +proved to be an Algerian pirate, ran out from under the land, and +chased and captured his ship, and carried him off a prisoner to Tunis. + +Going farther back, every boy who has read his Greek and Roman history +knows how Syracuse was in ancient days one of the great war harbours +of the Mediterranean. + +It was the arsenal where fleets fitted out, and the depot where they +brought back their booties of valuables and slaves after their +victorious raids. + +You may imagine, then, that it was interesting to us to steam into the +beautiful bay on a calm, sunny morning, past the old fort which guards +the entrance, and into the back of the island on which the town now +stands. + +All was looking sweet and peaceful where for hundreds of years had +been the scene of strife and adventure. The Cathedral and Circus. + +The walls of the cathedral are supported by immense columns, which, +500 years before Christ was born, formed the walls of the Temple of +Jupiter. + +Many are the signs of the Greek and Roman occupation of the place. + +We visited the great open-air circus where gladiators used to fight +each other to the death, and where slaves were given to lions to +devour before the eager eyes of ten thousand spectators. The seats are +still there, and the dungeons of the slaves, and the dens of the wild +beasts. + + * * * * * + +THE EAR OF DIONYSIUS. + +In the neighbourhood are the great quarries in which the slaves not +only worked, but also lived. They were made to cut the walls so that +they inclined inwards, and therefore could not be climbed. + +The only entrance to the quarries was by ladder, so there was no +escape for a man once he got in there. + +There are huge caves cut in the walls of the quarries in which the +slaves lived, and one of these caves has been cut into a narrow cleft +exactly on the principle of the inside of your ear. So that anyone +sitting at the top of the cleft can hear every word that is being +spoken or even whispered in the cave below. + +It is said that Dionysius, the ruler of Syracuse, had this made so +that he could sit in the cleft (where there is a little chamber with +private door) unknown to the people in the cave, and there he could +overhear all that the prisoners talked about and plotted among +themselves. + +The whole cave is called "The Ear of Dionysius." + +I remember a similar kind of "ear" in a natural cave in Matabeleland. +It was here that one of the native sorcerers used to hide himself, and +when he whispered through a crack in the rocks it could be heard all +over the cave. + +The people believed that it was the voice of a god speaking to them, +so they used to come and pray to him for advice, and the old villain +told them that they must rise up and murder all the white people, and +their chief, Lobengula, who had long been dead, would come to life and +lead them against their enemies once more. + +He had nearly persuaded them to come out on the war-path, when +Burnham, the American scout, made his way into the secret part of the +cave and shot the supposed god while he was preaching murder. + + * * * * * + +CARTS IN SICILY. + +A curious thing that strikes you in Sicily is the kind of cart and +harness used by the country people. + +[Illustration: A SICILIAN PAINTED CART AND DECORATED HARNESS.] + +The cart is a light, two-wheeled affair of an ordinary kind, but every +inch of it inside and out as far as the ends of the shafts and down +the spokes of the wheels, is painted in gaudy colours, for the most +part yellow, blue, red, and green. + +Pictures of incidents in Bible history, of the war against the Turks +in Tripoli, of ballet dancers, etc., are to be seen on most of these +carts, while on others ornamental patterns only are painted. + +Then the harness of the horse is of a very gaudy kind when new, but +being largely made up of cheap gold braid and coloured cloth, it soon +fades and looks tawdry. + + * * * * * + +A MUSICAL SADDLE. + +In place of a bit there is a steel noseband on the horse's bridle by +which he is driven and guided, and instead of the ordinary pad on the +horse's back, a great ornamental brass affair is used. + +Years ago I bought one of these pads and brought it home as a +curiosity. A friend met me as I was bringing it along, and said: + +"Hullo! what on earth is this? Surely it must be some sort of musical +instrument. Look here! I am getting up a concert; you _must_ +bring your instrument and play it there. Will you?" + +Of course, I always like to oblige a friend, and I did not like to +disappoint this one, so I meekly promised. + +I chose a beautiful piece of high-class music, and got the orchestra +to practise it over as accompaniment to my instrument, the "sellura." +I tuned it by winding the brass flags which adorn it. + +I fingered the knobs up and down the front of it as if they were the +notes; the big projections on either side I pulled as if to alter the +tone. + +And the music? Well, I got that out of a comb and paper affixed to the +back, and into which I sang. + +But, mixed up with the other instruments, it sounded all right, and I +got lots of applause and lots of questions afterwards as to where you +could buy these wonderful organs, and how long did it take one to +learn to play them, and so on! + + * * * * * + +TAORMINA. + +Six hundred feet up on a mountain spur overhanging the sea stands the +little town of Taormina. + +Long ago it was chosen as a beauty spot by the Romans and Greeks, and +here they had their villas and baths and theatre. + +The theatre stands to this day, in ruins, it is true, but sufficiently +whole to show what an ancient theatre was like. + +One can sit in the upper circle and look down upon the "pit" and +"orchestra," and the marble pillars and wall which formed the back of +the stage in those days in place of scenery. + +But an earthquake has thrown down the greater part of the back wall, +and has thereby opened up a beautiful view of the coast of blue water +and white sand far below, and of the purple slopes and snowy crest of +Mount Etna above--a scene such as no scene painter could have +equalled. + +[Illustration: THE THEATRE AT TAORMINA.] + +Among the quaint and ancient buildings of the town stand the old +monastery and church of San Domenico. The monastery is now the chief +hotel, and with the splendid view from its windows and its pretty +gardens makes a charming place to stay at in this most charming spot. + + * * * * * + +NAPLES. - VESUVIUS. + +Naples is a city lying around a great bay on the Italian coast, and +behind it, about ten miles distant, rises the double-peaked mountain, +Vesuvius. Vesuvius is, as you know, a volcano and a thin cloud of +smoke is always coming out of it. + +When I visited Naples a few years ago, the mountain was shaped like +this: + +[Illustration: ] + +Now it is like this + +[Illustration: ] + +It lost its peak in one night, and I was there the night that it +happened. + +I was sleeping peacefully in my hotel, when I was awakened in the +middle of the night by heavy bangings, and it at once occurred to me +that the artillery were firing guns in the street below my window. + +I thought: "Hullo, here's a revolution or something going on," and I +rushed out on to my balcony. + +The street below was empty, but in other streets I could hear people +calling to each other and crying out. + +Then came more of the awful banging, like claps of thunder, all round. +Then there was suddenly a great blaze of red light up in the sky, and +I realised that Vesuvius was breaking out. + +It was just like a fountain of fire squirting up, with volumes of +smoke and steam above it all lit up with the glow, and round it +jagged, white lightning kept blazing and darting about. + +Soon the flames were dimmed, the whole outbreak became a dull glare, +even the houses round us grew indistinct, and what seemed to be a +regular London fog set in. + +But it was not a fog; it was a cloud of light dust--the ashes from the +volcano, which had begun to fall over Naples. + +When daylight came you could no longer see the mountain, although you +could hear it rumbling like thunder. + +You could scarcely see across the street, so thick was the ash fog. +The fine dust got into one's eyes and nose, and everything, indoors +and out, was covered with a thick coating of grit. + +At the foot of Vesuvius a great stream of red-hot lava mud slid down +the mountain side, straight across fields and roads, and over farms +and villages, slowly but steadily pushing its way, the country people +fleeing before it with such of their property as they were able to +bundle on to carts or carry away with them. + + * * * * * + +POMPEII. + +But on the whole the people were not so frightened after the first +outbreak as one might have expected. + +Yet they had every reason to be, because near the mountain stand the +ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was overwhelmed, not +by lava, but by just such a fall of ashes from a great eruption of +Vesuvius about thirty years after the death of Christ. + +The ashes had fallen lightly at first, but so thickly that in a very +short space of time the whole city was buried under tons of it, and +the people were crushed or suffocated in their homes. + +You will find the whole story of it in the novel called _The Last +Days of Pompeii_, but if you ever go to Pompeii the ruins which +have been dug out tell their own story better than any book can do. + +You walk through silent streets of beautifully decorated houses, of +shops, theatres, and baths; the pavement is scored with the wheelmarks +of the chariots, and in some of the houses the skeletons of the +inhabitants are still to be seen. + + * * * * * + +BOY SCOUTS OF NAPLES. + +To-day the whole country around the foot of the mountain is thickly +populated, and towns and villages stand on the slopes of Vesuvius as +if there were no danger of his ever breaking out again. + +And Naples itself is a great, flourishing city with big factories, and +a busy seaport where ships of every nation congregate. + +And last, but not least, it has its Boy Scouts. + +They are Italian boys, but they dress and work just the same as their +British brothers. They have done a lot of camping out, and are all +very good at cooking their grub. And also they do a bit of sea +scouting in the splendid harbour and bay of Naples. + + + + +ON AN ORIENT STEAMSHIP + +OUR FLOATING HOME. + +Our ship of twelve thousand tons, R.M.S. _Orsova_, was more like +a floating hotel than a sea-going vessel, and the passengers living in +bright, comfortable cabins with a fine dining saloon and first-rate +food, could hardly imagine the work that was going on in other parts +of the ship to insure their travelling with such ease and speed and +safety. + +A tour round the ship, such as we made one day, is full of interest +and wonder. The second-class passengers are housed and fed just as +well as those in the first-class, and there is accommodation for 230 +of them. + +In the third-class, again, they are wonderfully comfortable in cabins +for two or for four people each, with nice dining and sitting-saloons, +and a roomy, roofed-in deck where they can enjoy the fresh air in all +weathers. There is room for 800 of these, and the cost of the journey +from England to Australia is only 17 Pounds, which means board and lodging +of the best description for six weeks while doing the journey out. + +The crew, of course, live forward, and, including seamen, stokers, +engineers, stewards, etc., they number about 300 men. On the +navigating staff of officers, quartermasters, and look-out men depends +much of our safety at sea. + +Then down in the depths of the ship are the engineers and stokers, who +make the ship go. Our chief engineer, like all chief engineers, is a +Scotsman, and he loves and takes a pride in his engines, and is glad +to show them. + +In Rudyard Kipling's song of the chief engineer, he describes him as +looking upon his engines as almost the work of God, in their wonderful +power and intricate working. + + * * * * * + +IN THE ENGINE ROOM. + +And it is indeed an impressive sight to stand below these great +monsters of steel and watch them faithfully and untiringly pounding at +their work, all in order, and exactly in agreement with each other, +taking no notice of night or day, of storm or calm, but slinging along +at all times, doing their duty with an energetic goodwill which makes +them seem almost human--almost like gigantic Boy Scouts! + +The great steel shaft which the four pistons keep driving round is +nearly 100 yards in length, and carries the big bronze screw propeller +at its end, which thrusts the ship along. There are two of these, one +on each side of the ship, which is therefore called a twin-screw +vessel. + +There are four cylinders to each shaft, and the same lot of steam is +used, passing from one cylinder to the other, beginning with the small +high-pressure cylinder, which it enters at its highest strength, +something like 250 lb. to the square inch, and ending with the big +low-pressure cylinder, where the pressure is only about 5 lb. + +Then there are numbers of other engines. One for condensing the salt +water from the sea and making it into fresh water for the boilers. +This is done by boiling up the salt water so that the watery part of +it becomes steam, while the salty part remains behind as salt; the +steam, when cooled, becomes fresh water, and is then fit to be used in +the boilers to make steam. + + * * * * * + +THE STOKEHOLD. + +Then we go into the stokehold among the mighty boilers. Here are +powerful, grimy men at work getting coal out of the coal bunkers, and +shovelling it into the furnaces. + +It sounds easy to shovel coal on to a fire, but it takes a lot of +practice to get the knack of stoking a fire properly, and a lot of +strength and skill to throw great shovelfuls quickly and well into the +right part of the furnace. + +The stokers work in gangs for four hours at a time, under "leading +stokers," whose duty it is to see that the proper pressure of steam is +kept up in the boilers by the heat of the fires. + +Anyone who has travelled on an ocean-going steamer will know the sound +which comes up from the interior of the ship every twenty minutes or +so, which sounds like a rataplan being hammered by someone for his own +amusement. + +This is in reality the signal which is given by striking iron with a +shovel, and can be heard by the men all over the stokehold, telling +them to stoke up their various fires. + +Besides the main engines there are pumping engines for supplying water +to the boilers and to the various parts of the ship. Then there are +ice-making machines for keeping the food-storage rooms cold, and +electric dynamos for supplying electric light all over the vessel, and +for use in the laundry. + + * * * * * + +THE LAUNDRY. + +This is an interesting department. Here all the bed sheets, towels, +tablecloths of the ship, and the linen of passengers are washed, +dried, and ironed by machinery. + +The linen is put into a circular "drum" full of soapy water and +whirled round and round till well washed. + +It is then partly dried by being put into another metal tub, which is +whirled round by electricity at such a pace that the water flies out +of the clothes. These are then put into a kind of mangle between hot +steel rollers, which squeeze out any water that remains, and at the +same time so heats the things that they come out quite dry and ironed +into the airing-room, where they receive a final drying in hot air. + +The ironing of small articles like shirts and blouses is done by a few +laundrymaids using flat-irons heated by electricity. + + * * * * * + +OUR BIRTHDAY CAKE. + +While on board we celebrated our birthday--that is, my wife's birthday +and my own (for by a curious chance we were both born on the same day, +though not in the same year!)--and at tea-time a beautiful birthday +cake appeared upon the scene, beautifully sugared and decorated with +our names and appropriate inscriptions, just as if it had been made +ashore. + +I do not know how the knowledge of the birthday got about, but I do +know that the cake was a most excellent one, and the kind thought of +the baker in making it was greatly appreciated by both of us. + + * * * * * + +FOOD AND FEEDING. + +After seeing the stokehold, the engines, and the laundry, we visited +the kitchens. The feeding of the passengers is an important point, for +on board are no fewer than 200 first-class, 230 second-class, 800 +third-class passengers, and over 300 officers and crew--more than 1500 +people altogether. + +The voyage to Australia takes nearly six weeks, so you can imagine +that a pretty large amount of food has to be carried on board to take +the ship out and home again. + +Tons of fresh meat and vegetables, butter, and eggs are stored in +ice-cold cellars. Each day a supply is brought up and put into iced +larders for that day's issue. + +Here are some of the amounts taken in the ship for one voyage: 5 tons +bacon, 50,000 eggs, 6 1/2 tons butter, 45,000 oranges, 9000 lb. jam. + +In the great kitchen are a dozen cooks at work preparing the meals for +all classes--the cooking is exactly the same for all. Also the quality +of food is the same, except that the first-class get more variety and +choice of different dishes. In the bakery is made the daily supply of +bread for the whole ship, and also baked puddings, cakes, and +sweetmeats. + + * * * * * + +POTATO PEELING. + +There were lots of interesting machines used in the kitchen to save +time and labour. + +For instance, there was a machine for peeling potatoes; a round metal +tub in which the potatoes were rushed round and round until their +skins were rubbed off, and they were ready for the cooking-pot. + +There were egg-boiling machines, which, working by clockwork, kept the +eggs in boiling water for whatever time was desired, and then took +them out without any attention on the part of the cook. + +There was a bread-slicing machine and a plate-washing machine, the +dirty plates being placed in iron racks and lowered into a tank where +boiling water is dashed on to them from both sides, so that they clean +themselves in no time. There was also a machine for kneading the dough +for making bread. + +In fact, the whole place was a marvel of work and organisation all +compressed into a very small space, and yet done most successfully and +cleanly. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD DINNER. + +Here is one day's bill of fare for the third-class passengers, which +shows that they do not fare badly. I had some of it myself, and it was +excellent. + +BREAKFAST + +Porridge with Milk +Yarmouth Bloaters +Hashed Meat +Cold Corned Pork +Bread +Butter +Jam +Marmalade Tea +Coffee +Cocoa + + +DINNER + +Mulligatawny Soup +Roast Mutton +Potatoes +Mashed Pumpkin +Suet Pudding with Syrup +Children--Milk Pudding Bread +Cheese +Biscuits + + +TEA + +Lancashire Hot-Pot +Cold Meat Salad +Pickles Bread +Butter Jam +Marmalade Currant Cake + + +SUPPER + +Bread +Butter +Cocoa +Biscuits and Cheese +Gruel for Infants if required +Cocoa or Coffee with Biscuits at 6.30 a.m. + + * * * * * + +AN ECHO OF THE ZULU WAR. + +Of two of the cooks with whom I talked, one had been twenty-three +years in the service of the Orient Company and the other twenty-six +years: and nearly all the ship's company had been in this ship four +years, though their engagement only lasts for one voyage. So it looks +as though the Orient were a satisfactory line to serve with. + +One of the cooks had been a soldier in the Wiltshire Regiment, and had +served in the Zulu War of 1879. He had been in the siege and defence +of Etshowe. + +This place was surrounded by the Zulus, and another British force +tried to get into signalling communication with it by means of the +heliograph, which at that time was quite a new invention. + +I reminded my cook friend of this, and he told me this little yarn +about it. He said: + +"I was walking out on the ridge there close to the camp with a +corporal in my company when we noticed a light flickering on a hill in +the distance. He had been through a course of signalling, and said it +looked as if somebody were trying to flash a signal to us, so we got a +bit of looking-glass and flashed it in their direction. + +"Suddenly he said to me: + +"'Write down what I tell you.' + +"I got out a piece of paper and a pencil, and he spelt out a message +which was meant for Colonel Pearson, our commanding officer. It was to +say that if we sent a signaller on to the church steeple in Etshowe +they could signal direct to him. + +"I took the message to the colonel, and soon after a sailor managed to +get up somehow or other, and we very quickly had messages going and +coming." + + + +SEA SCOUTING + + +In the days of Queen Elizabeth, nearly four hundred years ago, the +sailors of Spain, of England, of Holland, and of Portugal were all +making themselves famous for their daring voyages in small sailing +ships across unknown oceans, by which they kept discovering new lands +for their country in distant corners of the world. + +There was one small cabin-boy on a coasting brig in the English +Channel who used to long to become one of these discoverers but when +he looked at the practical side of the question it seemed hopeless for +a poor little chap like him ever to hope to rise in the world beyond +his present hard life in a wretched little coaster, living on bad food +and getting, as a rule, more kicks than halfpence--but it shows you +how the poorest boy can get on if he only puts his back to it. + + * * * * * + +SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, + +Young Drake--for that was his name--did get on in spite of his +difficulties; he worked hard at his duty until he became a captain of +two small ships, one of seventy, the other of thirty tons, and with +these he sailed to fight the Spaniards, who were at that time our +enemies, away across the ocean in Central America. + +He not only fought them, but was successful in taking some of their +ships and a great deal of valuable booty from their towns. + +On his return home he was promoted to command a large expedition of +five ships, the biggest of which, however, was only 100 tons, and the +smallest was 15 tons--no bigger than a fishing smack. + +With these he sailed down the West Coast of Africa, then across to +Brazil and down the South American coast till he rounded the end of it +through the dangerous and difficult Straits of Magellan into the +Pacific. He coasted up the western side of America as far as +California, and then struck across the ocean to India, and thence +_via_ the Cape of Good Hope to England; this voyage took him +nearly three years to complete. + +His good ship, the _Golden Hind_, though much battered and +wounded with war and weather, was received with great honour at +Deptford. The Queen herself went on board, and while there she showed +such pleasure at Drake's good work that she knighted him, using his +own well-worn sword to make him Sir Francis Drake. + +Soon after this King Philip of Spain began to prepare an enormous +fleet, and though he told Queen Elizabeth that it was not intended to +be used against England, Sir Francis Drake, who was now in command of +a small fleet of British ships, maintained that it could be for no +other purpose. + +[Illustration: DRAKE'S SHIP, THE "GOLDEN HIND."] + +And a secret letter was shortly afterwards intercepted which proved +that his suspicions were right. + +Drake went off with his fleet and sailed up and down the Spanish coast +destroying their ships and stores wherever he could find them, and +thus he hindered their preparations for war. In this way he sank or +burnt some 12,000 tons of shipping, which meant a great many ships in +those days. + +He merely described it in his report as, "singeing the Spanish King's +beard." + +At the end of 1588, the great Spanish fleet--the Armada--was ready, +and sailed against England. But there were a fine lot of British +admirals and men awaiting it, for besides Lord Charles Howard of +Effingham, the Lord High Admiral, there were Frobisher, and Davis, +Walter Raleigh, and Francis Drake. + +It is true they had only 67 ships with which to oppose the 130 of the +Spaniards, but they sallied out and tackled them at once before the +Spaniards were really ready for them, and drove them into Dunkirk. +Here the Spaniards felt secure and would not come out till one night +the English sent fire ships in among them which forced them to put to +sea. Then ensued a tremendous sea fight, in which Drake, in the +_Revenge_, took the lead. + +The battle lasted all day, with guns roaring and ships foundering or +exploding. + +At length the Spaniards drew off northward to the German Ocean, the +only line of escape open to them. Round the north of Scotland and +Ireland they went, damaged by shot and beset by a gale, so that in the +end, out of the magnificent fleet of 130 sail which had set out for +the conquest of England, only 53 got back, with only about 9000 out of +the original 30,000 men. + + * * * * * + +NELSON. + +Two hundred years after Drake came Nelson. He was the son of a +clergyman in Norfolk, a poor, sickly little fellow, and was for a time +in the merchant service. + +His first step to greatness was when the ship which he was in captured +an enemy's ship, and the first lieutenant was ordered to take a boat +and some men and go aboard the prize. But owing to the heavy sea which +was running the officer gave up the attempt as too dangerous, +whereupon Nelson, like a good Scout, stepped forward and offered to +go. + +He succeeded, and thence was marked as a good officer. + +Every boy knows how, after a splendid career of fighting for Britain, +he finally won the great sea battle of Trafalgar against the French +and Spanish fleets, and fell mortally wounded in the hour of victory. + +But his work, and that of other great sea-captains who served with +him, completed the supremacy of the British Navy begun by Drake and +the sea-dogs of his time. + +The navies of our enemies were entirely swept from off the seas, and +their merchant ships could only carry on their trade so long as their +countries remained at peace with Britain. + +And that supremacy has remained with us till to-day. + +In consequence of this we have been enabled to put a stop to the awful +slave trade which used to go on on the coasts of Africa; to discover +new lands for our Empire, and to bring civilisation to savages in the +farthest corners of the world. And the enterprise of our merchant +ships has made our trade successful all over the globe, and so +increased the prosperity of our people both at home and in our Oversea +Dominions. + +The sailor has a grand life of it. Continually visiting strange and +interesting lands, with a good ship manoeuvring through distant +oceans, with plenty of contests with tides and winds. A free, open, +and healthy life, which breeds cheery handiness and pluck such as make +a sailor so deservedly loved by all. And all the time he is doing +grand work for his country. + + * * * * * + +OUR LIFEBOATMEN. + +We are hearing a great deal of the heroes of everyday life, but there +are perhaps no greater heroes, no truer scouts than sailors of the +kind that man our lifeboats all round the coasts of Great Britain. +They have to Be Prepared to turn out at any minute, when the dangerous +storm is at its worst, to face danger in order to save others. + +Because they do it so often and so quietly we have come to look upon +it almost as an everyday affair to be expected, but it is none the +less splendid of them or worthy of our admiration. A large number of +Boy Scouts have, by taking up "sea scouting" and by learning boat +management and seamanship, been able to take their place in the +service of their Country as seamen on our battleships, and in the +merchant service, and as lifeboatmen upon our coasts. + + * * * * * + +SEAMANSHIP GAMES. + +During the summer months Scouts in many parts of the country practise +sea scouting as well as camping on shore. This involves living on +board ship and learning all the duties of sailors--going on watch, +going aloft, managing boats, saving life at sea, and swimming and +saving life from drowning--with plenty of interesting games and +practices. + + * * * * * + +SMUGGLERS. + +One game which can be played either by night or day is that of +"Smugglers." + +A patrol of smugglers endeavour to land from the seaward in a boat to +conceal their goods, which consist of nothing more valuable than "a +brick to each man," in a place called the "Smugglers' Cave," and then +to get away in their boat again. + +Other Scouts arc distributed as "preventive men" to watch the coast +for a considerable distance with sentries. So soon as one of these +preventive men sees a smuggler land he gives the alarm, and collects +the rest to attack them; but the attack cannot be successful unless +there are at least as many preventive men on the spot as smugglers, +and if the smugglers succeed in depositing their goods in the +Smugglers' Cave and then getting away again before they are attacked +by an equal number of preventive men, they win the game. + + * * * * * + +TREASURE ISLAND. + +Another exciting game which tests the Scoutcraft of a patrol is that +where they approach the shore in a boat and look out for marks which +have been told to them, and, on finding these, they land, find a map +hidden away, which gives further clues by means of landmarks, compass +directions, tidemarks, and so on, to where the hidden treasure is to +be found. Only a certain time will be allowed for finding it. + +This game can be made a competition for one patrol against another, +each patrol taking it in turn to carry out the same task. Naturally, +each patrol would be very careful to wipe out all footmarks and +tracks. + +Then there can be whale hunts, as given in the book _Scouting for +Boys_, and also "Shipwreck," when everybody on board ship will take +their places and carry out orders for getting the women and children +safely away, followed by the men of the ship. + +"Castaways on a Desert Island" may also be practised, when they have +to get ashore on rafts and otherwise, and rig up such shelters as they +can out of the materials available, and light their fires and cook +their food, and so on. + +The pursuit of slavers' dhows by pinnaces from men-of-war can be +practised, and "cutting-out" expeditions by boats full of armed Scouts +taking a hostile ship or place in the night. + +"Salvage" may also be practised by boats going out in parties, where +they are to save some derelict ship in distress, and to tow her into +safety. + + * * * * * + +WATER SPORTS. + +Water sports can also be indulged in, such as polo, jousting, pillow +fighting, greasy pole, hurdle races, into the lifebuoy race, and other +exciting incidents. But to take part in these practices and games it +is necessary that a Scout should be able to swim, and I hope that +every Scout will take the earliest opportunity of doing so. + +And not only should he learn swimming without delay, but also study +the means he ought to take for saving a drowning man and for reviving +him when he has got him ashore. No Scout is too young for this. + +I saw a case in the paper recently which is a fine example to other +boys, where Frederick Delvin, eleven years of age, rescued another boy +from drowning in the Surrey Canal, near the Old Kent Road bridge. + +A small boy named George Spear was fishing in the canal when he fell +into the water, and was on the point of drowning when Delvin, who had +learned to swim last summer, jumped into the water and brought him +safely ashore, and thus saved his life. + +Well, now, any Scout could do that, if he knew how and had the pluck, +and I should hope that every Scout has that at least. + + * * * * * + +JACK TARS' PRESENCE OF MIND. + +A serious disaster was narrowly averted at Dover in connection with a +treat given to six hundred schoolgirls on the battleship +_Albion_. + +The children were being taken out to the battleship in boats in a +rather heavy sea. A steam pinnace, towing two whaleboats, each +containing about eighty girls, was rounding the Prince of Wales Pier, +when the Government tug _Adder_ unexpectedly came round from the +opposite side of the pier, bearing right down on them. + +There was great excitement, as a disaster seemed certain; but the +Naval men in charge quickly cut the second boat adrift, and the tug +passed between the two crowded boatloads. 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. Here is +the story of it. + +In the old days, 250 years ago, Britain and Holland were both powerful +nations at sea and rivals in commerce, but as we had command of the +British Channel we made all foreign ships salute our men-of-war when +passing them. + +One day, May 19th, 1652, a Dutch fleet of forty-five ships; under +their great admiral Van Tromp, came sailing up the Channel, and passed +a British Fleet of twenty-three ships under Admiral Blake. Seeing how +strong he was, the Dutch admiral declined to salute us. So our +flagship fired a shot across his bows, as a signal to remind him of +his duty; but Van Tromp promptly replied with a broadside into the +stern of Admiral Blake's ship. + +"That's very rude of him to break my windows," remarked Blake, and +promptly ordered his small Fleet to attack the Dutch, although it was +twice as strong. + +The battle began at four o'clock in the afternoon, and went on hammer +and tongs till after dark. The firing then lulled, and the British +Fleet, having been badly mauled, spent the whole night repairing +damages. + +By dawn, although tired, they were all ready for a further go at the +enemy, but as daylight came on they found there was no enemy to go +for; he had cleared away in the night to less dangerous quarters. But +only for a time, in order to get more ships, and a few days later he +reappeared with something like eighty vessels. + +This and a contrary wind proved too much for Blake's small Fleet, and +though he made an obstinate fight of it, he was at last compelled to +take refuge in the Thames, pursued by the Dutchmen. + +Then it was that Van Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead, as a sign +that he had swept the British from off the seas. But he was a little +bit "previous," as they say in America. The people in Britain rose to +the occasion, and, instead of being down-hearted, they at once started +to build a stronger Fleet, and trained men and boys--like sea +scouts--to man it. + +So soon as the ships were fitted out Blake put to sea with a Fleet of +sixty, and went to look for the Dutchmen, and he soon found them. + +Van Tromp, with seventy men-of-war, was coming up the Channel, +guarding a large fleet of richly-laden merchant ships making for +Holland. + +The British, of course, went for this convoy, and it was a pretty +tough fight, the Dutch merchantmen crowding on all sail to escape to +Holland, while their men-of-war kept behind them, fighting stubbornly +to hold off the pursuing British. It was a running fight, which was +kept up for three days and nights, and at the end the British came +home triumphant, having captured or sunk seventeen of the enemy's +men-of-war and thirty of his merchant ships. + +Van Tromp had to take down his broom. + + * * * * * + +HOW THE WHIP WAS HOISTED. + +It was in June, 1653, that the two fleets finally came together for +the deciding bout. Both countries had seen that a big naval fight must +come sooner or later, and both had gone on building ships as hard as +they could to meet the danger. + +When each fleet was about ninety ships strong, they met at sea. +Unfortunately Admiral Blake had been laid up in England with an old +wound, while the Dutch fleet was under three of their best admirals, +tough and plucky old sea-dogs all of them--Van Tromp, De Witt, and +Ruyter. For a whole day the two fleets were engaged, both sides +hammering away stubbornly and well, but by nightfall neither had +gained much. + +Next day they went at it again, and if anything the advantage was +beginning to rest with the Dutch, when suddenly, in the afternoon, a +fresh ship came banging its way through the rear of the Dutch fleet. + +It was Blake! + +His return seemed to put new life into the British. They went at it +again with all their might. They boarded Van Tromp's ship; he blew her +up and escaped to another; but in the end, with his fleet shattered +and broken, he had to make his retreat under cover of night as best he +could. + +The British thus remained masters of the Channel, with eleven good +Dutch men-of-war as prizes and eight more of them sent to the bottom. + +Then it was said that Blake's pennant was the whip that had driven +outsiders from off the seas. + + * * * * * + +THE LOSS OF THE "C 11." + +Whenever a British submarine goes down there is a tale of gallantry to +relieve the sorrow of it. + +"C 11," on her way to join the Fleet display in the Thames, was run +down by a steamer which came suddenly upon her in the night. + +A submarine, as you know, is a long, tube-like boat, shaped like a +hollow cigar, with one trap-door on the top leading to a small +look-out tower. She runs along with this tower above water until she +gets near to an enemy's ship; then the trapdoor is closed, and she +sinks herself down below water, and runs under the ship and fires a +torpedo into her in passing. + +I was on board a submarine not long ago, and when I was down in her +dark, narrow inside, surrounded with a tangle of pipes and engines of +every kind, I could quite picture to myself what the inside of the +whale's belly must have looked like to Jonah. Also I could picture the +hopeless feeling of dismay which must come over a crew of thirteen men +boxed up in this small vessel if an accident occurred to her. + + * * * * * + +A SAILOR HERO. + +The crew of "C 11" were all below, asleep, when the crash came; and +the boat rolled sideways, and then sank down under water almost +immediately. On the turret were Sub.-Lieut. Watkins and Able-Seaman +Stripes, who were navigating the vessel. + +Lieut. Brodie, the commander, was below at the time; but at the +collision he at once realised the danger, and first shook up some of +the sleeping men, and then sprang up the hatchway to see what was +wrong. Few were able to follow him before the vessel sank heavily +down. + +The next minute the survivors found themselves in the water swimming +for their lives. + +Sub.-Lieut. Watkins, being fully clothed and in his big sea-boots, had +great difficulty in keeping afloat, and was in immediate danger of +drowning, when Lieut. Brodie came to his assistance and held him up +until, fortunately, their plight was seen from neighbouring vessels, +and they were picked up just in time--both being completely exhausted. +But Lieut. Brodie never let go of his comrade in order to get a better +chance of saving himself. He had the true spirit of a Scout in him in +Being Prepared to give up his own life in the attempt to save another. + +If ever you find yourself in a position of difficulty or danger, keep +your head, think what is your duty, and do it: remember how it was +done in the case of "C 11." When sudden death and darkness were all +around, the officer kept cool and full of courage. + + * * * * * + +FISHERMEN HEROES. + +A terrific gale sprang up one winter in the Orkney Islands, away to +the north of Scotland. Three fishing smacks were out in it, and ran +for shelter into a narrow channel between two of the islands. + +Two of the smacks rode out the weather safely, but the third got +carried on to a small rocky islet and was wrecked, though her crew +managed to get ashore on to the rocks. + +Then it was that five brave fishermen on the island of Pharay, seeing +their plight, put off in a rough, home-made boat to try to rescue +them; but the wind and sea were so high, and a snowstorm was driving +against them to such an extent, that they could not get along, and +were beaten back, after two toughly fought attempts. + +But they would not be defeated, and at last, by sheer pluck and +determination, these hardy fellows got their boat across the channel +at the third attempt, and dragged the shipwrecked men one by one +through the water into their boat; and eventually, after going through +the greatest danger of being swamped, they got them all safely ashore +on Pharay. + +This was a true example of Scouts Being Prepared to risk their lives +to save fellow creatures. + +These five heroes arrived at Balmoral while I was there, as the guest +of King Edward, by whom they were received. He had the story of their +heroism read over, and he then congratulated them on their bravery, +and himself hung the medal for saving life at sea on the breast of +each and shook hands with him. That was his official reward to them, +but privately also he gave each man a personal friendly reminder in +the shape of a good pipe and some tobacco, which he chose himself for +them. + + * * * * * + +A BRAVE SEA SCOUT. + +The lads of the training ship _Mercury_ were manning one of the +boats to go ashore. There was a heavy wind blowing--it was still +dark--when one of the boys, named Newitt, fell into the water and was +swept away by the tide. + +Two of his messmates at once dived in to his rescue. One of these, +Yateman, was quickly picked up by the ship's boat in mistake for the +drowning lad. But the other boy, Driver, a Patrol Leader belonging to +the 8th Southampton (_Mercury_) Troop, succeeded in getting hold +of Newitt and swam towards the pier with him. + +But Driver was hampered with the suit of oilskins which he was +wearing, and in battling with tide and wind, he himself was nearly +drowned, although he was a good swimmer. + +A boat which put out from the pier got to him just in time to save +him, and he was pulled on board in an unconscious condition, from +which he did not recover for nearly two hours. The poor fellow, +Newitt, had slipped from his grasp and was drowned. + +Still, Driver had done all that he possibly could. He had not thought +of the danger to himself, but on the first alarm had, with the true +spirit of the Scout, at once sprung to the assistance of his comrade +in distress, and for this he was awarded the Bronze Cross, the Scouts' +highest award for gallantry. + + * * * * * + +SEA SCOUTS. + +I began my Scouting first of all as a Sea Scout, before I ever went +into the Army and before I ever saw the backwoods in Canada or India. +And I am very glad that I did, for as a Sea Scout, I learnt how to +swim, and I should have cut a poor figure as a soldier, or as a +hunter, or as a Scout, if I had not been able to do that. + +But besides swimming, there are so many things that one learns while a +Sea Scout which come in useful afterwards, whatever line of life you +may take up. + +For instance, I learnt how to tie knots, and unless a fellow can do +that he is a duffer; I learnt how to handle and manage a boat by +myself, how to right her when upset, and how to get in and out of her +when bathing. + +I learnt how to steer and manage a large sailing boat, taking my watch +alone at night; how to read the stars and charts; and how to take the +responsibility for navigating and not running her on to the rocks. + +As a Sea Scout you get mighty hungry, so in order to feed yourself +when on the water you have to be able to catch fish and to clean them, +and to cook them for yourself. All this means that you have to be what +a sailor is generally known as, a "handyman." + +Then the life is so jolly, free, and breezy; there is lots of hard +work at times, and difficulties and dangers to overcome, but also lots +of enjoyable sunny cruising into strange places with good comrades +around you. + +Fellows boxed up in a ship together naturally become the best of +friends and comrades if they are naturally good chaps with good +tempers; if they are not--well--then I would rather not be in that +ship, thank you! + +Sailors are always manly fellows, and know how to give and take, and +they manage to keep their tempers when small things go wrong. + + * * * * * + +GENERALS WHO WERE SAILORS. + +Two of our greatest generals to-day began their careers as sailors. + +Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood won his Victoria Cross as a midshipman +in the Royal Navy while serving in the Crimea. Field-Marshal Viscount +French, late Commander-in-Chief of our Forces in France and Flanders, +was a sailor before he joined the Army, and so was Sir Hamilton +Goold-Adams, who commanded the Town Guard so well in Mafeking. + +I have always found that a Boy Scout who has been a Sea Scout as well +as a Backwoods Scout makes much the best all-round Scout in the end. +So I can well advise Scouts to have a taste of both. + +A patrol or troop can easily take up Sea Scouting for one season if +they like, just as a change. But, of course, it means that each one of +them must learn swimming first, if he is not already a swimmer, and +must know his knots really well, for actual use, and not merely for +passing test examinations. + +It is well worth the trouble, for Sea Scouting, with its adventures +and its games, is full of enjoyment and fun. + + * * * * * + +WHEN SEA SCOUTING HELPED ME. + +When I was last in Canada I had to do a lot of my travelling by canoe, +because the forests there are almost impassable with their thick +undergrowth and boggy soil. + +There are lakes and streams everywhere, so it is comparatively easy to +go by water. But there are plenty of adventures to be met with by the +way, in the shape of snags and rocks and rapids, and out on the lakes +gales spring up, with a heavy sea, in a very short time. So a fellow +has to know how to manage a boat and how to face risks if he is going +to get on at all, and it is just as well that he should be able to +swim, as otherwise he is not likely to arrive at the end of his trip +in the way he had intended! + +[Illustration: A SEA SCOUT] Well, Jim and Ben and I were paddling in +our birch bark canoe across a good-sized lake where there were a lot +of small islands, when suddenly we scrunched on to a submerged rock, +which brought us to a full stop and bulged in the bottom of our +vessel, so that the water began to run in and flood the floor. + +So the canoe was quickly turned, and away we paddled as hard as we +could for the nearest island, and just reached it in time to scramble +ashore before our boat began to sink. + +We quickly pulled her up on the rocks, got our baggage out, and rolled +her over, so that the water could run out and we could get at the hole +to repair it. This was done in quite a neat way. + +Ben and I scraped away with our knives some of the "gum" or natural +pitch with which the seams of the canoe were caulked. Jim meantime had +made a little fire with driftwood. Then Ben took a bit of rag, which +he had used as a bandage for a wounded hand, and stretched it over the +hole in the boat, and fixed it there with little bits of "gum," which +he melted down with a red-hot stick taken from the fire. + +In this way he made a watertight patch over the leak in a very few +minutes, and we soon had the canoe afloat again. We loaded her up, and +within ten minutes of the disaster we were on our way again as happily +as ever, but we kept a sharper look-out than we had done before for +snags and rocks just below the surface of the water. + + * * * * * + +THE SEA SCOUTS IN WAR. + +Thanks to so large a number of Scouts having taken up the training as +Sea Scouts we were able to supply about 1400 useful and efficient +fellows to act as Coastguards directly the war broke out. This enabled +a large number of the regular Coastguards to be sent to man the Fleet. + +Since then, the Admiralty have been so satisfied with the good work +done by the Sea Scouts, who have been guarding our coasts from the +extreme north of Scotland down to the Land's End in Cornwall, that +they have asked for more of them, and we now have about 2000 employed +on this duty and as signallers on board mine-sweepers, coaling and +supply ships. + +The Sea Scouts have won for themselves a very good name by Being +Prepared before war broke out. + + + + +HOW TO BECOME A BACKWOODSMAN + +Any fellow who means to be a backwoodsman, whether it is for pleasure +or for work, should first of all get some practice at it at home. + +For eight years of my life I hardly ever slept in a house and I +thoroughly enjoyed it. But to enjoy it you must know how to make +yourself comfortable in camp. + + * * * * * + +TENTS. + +The first thing to consider is what kind of substitute for a house you +are going to have to protect you from bad weather. This depends a good +deal on what kind of country you are in. In a forest you can, of +course, get plenty of timber out of which to build huts, but it is not +much use being able to build a log-hut and then to find yourself in +the open desert of the Sahara. + +The best all-round kind of camp-house is, of course, a tent. I had +what is called a "Cabul" tent--a small square erection, seven feet +long by seven feet wide, which can be opened or closed at either end, +and has a double roof. I lived in this through the winter in +Afghanistan, through snow and blizzard, in the greatest comfort. At +one end I built a brick fireplace and chimney; and I built a low wall, +two feet high, round the outside; this kept out all draughts and +prevented snow from melting into the tent. And I lived there as cosily +and comfortably as in a house. + +In that same tent I afterwards lived in the blazing heat of the plains +of India. Instead of the fireplace at the end to keep it hot, I had a +great mat of Khuskhu's fibre stretched on a frame and kept always wet +to keep it cool; the hot wind blowing through this was at once cooled, +and kept the tent delightfully cold and fresh inside, and the double +roof prevented the sun from baking it. And I had a punkah, or +swinging fan, slung from the ridge-pole, and worked by a native from +outside. + +It was a sturdy little tent, too, and no gale could ever manage to +blow it down. So you see it did equally well for every kind of climate +and weather. + +Another form of tent which I used in Mafeking and South Africa, and +still use for sleeping out in, in England, is one which you would +hardly call a tent. It is really a slungcot, with a movable canvas +roof to it. It is called the "Ashanti Hammock." + +[Illustration: A BIVOUAC SHELTER.] + +It packs up quite small, and is put up in a few minutes. Requires no +pegs. Keeps you off the wet ground. And when the gale comes and all +the tents in camp blow down, you lie there swinging gently in the +breeze, the envy of all the rest. It also forms an excellent stretcher +if you are ill and have to be carried; and if you die it also makes a +very satisfactory coffin, being laced over you as you lie in it. Very +complete, isn't it? + +[Illustration: THE ASHANTI HAMMOCK.] + +There are tents of every sort and kind to be got, from a single-man +tent up to a hospital tent for thirty beds. And there are also many +kinds of camps there is a "standing" camp, where you remain in the +same spot for weeks at a time, or a "tramping" camp, where you move on +every day to a new place, and "boating" camp, where also you move but +can carry your tent in your boat. But it is rather necessary to know +which kind of camp you are making before you can tell which kind of +tent you need. + +As I have said in _Scouting for Boys_: "For a standing camp +'bell' tents are useful, or huts can be made. Bell tents can be hired +in almost any town for a few shillings per week, or you can buy a +second-hand one in good condition for about 2 Pounds. + +"You could probably let it out on hire to other patrols when not using +it yourself, and so get back your money on it. A bell tent, just holds +a patrol nicely. + +"Scouts' 'patrol' tents also do very well for camp, but you need a +second set of staves or poles for rigging them if you want to leave +the camp standing while you are out scouting. + +"You can make your own tents during the winter months--and this, +perhaps; is the best way of all, as it comes cheapest in the end. And +if, while you are about it, you make one or two extra ones, you may be +able to sell them at a good profit." + +A "lean-to" tent is used by many backwoodsmen. It can be made with the +Scouts' patrol tent on the same principle as the lean-to shelter +described in _Scouting for Boys_. + +If pitched with its back to the wind, with a good fire in front, it +can be made a most luxurious bedroom on cold night. The roof catches +all the warmth and glow of the fire, and you lie there warm in your +blankets, yet breathing the fresh air of the forest or veldt and +gazing at the stars. There is nothing better on earth. + + * * * * * + +THE "TRAMP" TENT. + +We will begin with the simplest and cheapest. Here is a one-man +"tramp" tent, which is used by a certain class of gipsy in Scotland. + +[Illustration: CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMP-TENT.] You want six hazel sticks, +all exactly alike, about 3 ft. 6 in. long, just sufficiently pliant to +bend over near the top, but not so thin as to be wobbly. + +Each should be sharpened at the butt, and marked with a nick ten +inches from the point to show how far to drive it into the ground. The +points should be slightly charred in the fire to harden them. + +Then you want a sheet of light canvas, or waterproofed linen, to form +your tent, six feet square, with eyelets or loops along the sides. + +[Illustration: ONE-MAN TRAMP-TENT COMPLETE.] + +Plant your sticks firmly in the ground, in two rows, two feet apart +from each other. Bend the tops inwards to form an archway. Over these +arches spread your canvas to form a kind of tunnel tent, and peg down +the loops to the ground. + + * * * * * + +THE "BIVOUAC" TENT. + +This is, perhaps, an equally simple tent. The roof, or "fly," can be 6 +ft. by 6 ft. Two poles, 3 ft. 6 in., should be planted firmly-at least +six inches in the ground. + +A stout ridge-rope should be stretched tightly between them, and tied +at the top of each, and then securely fixed to a tent peg well driven +into the ground in front of each end of the tent. + +[Illustration: "BIVOUAC" TENT.] + +The edges of the "fly" all round should have large metal eyelets, by +which the sides of the tent can be pegged to the ground, and flaps can +be laced on at the ends to give protection against wind and rain, etc. + +Instead of using pegs at the sides, it is equally good to lace the +edge along a stout log, or to a rope stretched tight, or a pole, and +well anchored in the ground. + +Then you have the "patrol" tent of canvas, as described in _Scouting +for Boys_, which is carried in pieces, which lace together, and, +with the staves of the patrol as supports, form the tent for six or +eight boys. These are very easy to make in a couple of evenings. + + * * * * * + +THE "CABUL" TENT. + +The "Cabul" tent, mentioned previously, was the kind that we used in +the war in Afghanistan. + +Cabul is the chief town of that country. + +These tents are equally comfortable in snow and rain, or in the baking +heat of the plains of India. + +[Illustration: CABUL TENT COMPLETE] It has an extra roof to keep out +the sun or heavy rain. A tent like this, with two roofs, is called a +"double-fly" tent. It is, of course, heavier and more expensive than a +"single-fly," but it is also more comfortable. + + * * * * * + +"CABUL" TENT POLES. + +The horizontal "ridge-pole," 5 ft. 9 in. long, has an iron eyelet at +each end The outer fly rests on this. The loops of the inner fly also +hang from it to hold up the inner roof. + +[Illustration: INNER "FLY" OF "CABUL" TENT] + +[Illustration: OUTER "FLY" OF "CABUL" TENT] + +[Illustration: CABUL TENT-POLES.] + +The upright poles are six feet high; each of these is fitted with an +iron cap and spike at the top to fit the eyelets of the ridge-pole. +Each is also fitted with a circular wooden disc at one foot from the +top; this supports the inner fly, the upper part of each pole having +been passed through the hole at either end of the inner fly-roof. + + * * * * * + +TENT MAKING. + +Before starting to make your tent, you should, in the first place, +have a good look at ready-made tents, and see exactly how they are +made-especially at the edges. + +[Illustration: TREES INSTEAD OF TENT POLES.] + +You should always make a model of the tent you propose to construct, +first with paper, to scale, so as to get the proper dimensions, and +then with linen, with string and poles complete, to see how to cut it +out in the right sizes. Afterwards, you can proceed to make the real, +article. + +This, again, is best done by cutting it out in newspapers pasted +together and spread out on the floor. These paper cuttings then serve +as "patterns," on which you can cut your canvas without wasting any of +it. + + * * * * * + +THE MATERIAL. + +The kind of stuff to use for tent making depends a good deal on how +much you can afford for material, and what work you want the tent for. + +Thus, if you want a very light tent for carrying on your back or +bicycle, and have plenty of money, a silk tent at 4s. a yard is very +nice; but probably you would like one of cheaper material, and fairly +light and strong. + +Lawn, made of Egyptian cotton, calico sheeting, or brown calico makes +a very satisfactory tent at an outlay of 10s. or so for the whole +thing complete. + + * * * * * + +SEWING. + +After having purchased your stuff, and cut it out according to the +paper pattern, pin it, or tack it, all together, and see how it fits. + +Then stitch the seams together, using cotton, not thick thread. + +[Illustration: STEEP SIDES TOO WIDE.] + +Seams should be double-stitched-that is, the edges of the two pieces +of canvas should overlap, and each be stitched to the other piece. At +all points where a strain is likely to come on the canvas-namely, at +the corners and at places where eyelets for ropes have to come, it is +best to have a strengthening patch of canvas sewn over the other +canvas. + +Then wide, stout tape should be sewn along the edge of the canvas +wherever there is to be any strain on it, such as eyelet holes for +ropes, or hooks and eyes, or strings for closing the ends of the tent, +etc. + +Often in woods you can find two trees standing, say, eight feet apart. +If you have a six-foot tent, you can use these for tent poles by tying +("lashing" is the word used by sailors and Scouts) each end of the +ridge of the tent to a tree. + +This can be more easily done if your ridge is strengthened with a tape +sewn inside it, and made into a loop at each end. It is always as well +to make these loops on your tents, as they come in useful in other +ways. + +A strip of canvas is often stitched on to the foot of the tent, as +shown in the picture, either to hold it down with pegs or stones, or +to be turned inwards underneath your ground sheet to prevent draughts +coming in under the wall. + +A tent should not be made wider than its height, because the roof will +not be steep enough to run the rain off quickly, and so will let it +through more easily. + + * * * * * + +TENT POLES. + +The poles should not be made of any weak wood liable to split or +break, but of tough elm, hickory, ash, or bamboo. + +For small tents of about five feet high they need be only one to +one-and-a-half inches thick. + +For heavy tents of over ten feet long and over six feet high, they +have to be at least two inches thick. Bamboos are generally tougher +than wood, so need not be quite so stout. + + * * * * * + +TENT PEGS. + +Tent pegs may be easily made of wood, but should be of a tough kind +that does not split easily. They are generally made in the shape shown +below, about ten inches long. + +You can also get them of iron, but these, though they do not break, do +not hold quite so well in the ground, and are heavy to carry. +Aluminium ones are lighter, expensive, and inclined to bend. + +Then you can use stones or logs instead of pegs, and what I like best +of all is half a dozen canvas bags filled with earth or stones and +buried in the ground as anchors. These can be used equally well in +sandy, muddy, or stony ground, where ordinary pegs would never hold. + +These bags are easily made during your winter evenings, and can be +used for carrying your kit from camp to camp. They also make useful +buckets and washing basins. They should be made of stout duck or +canvas. + +The top edge of this canvas should be folded over and stitched in +order to give strength. + +The handles are made of half-inch rope, passed through brass eyelets, +let into the canvas below the stitching? the ends of the rope being +knotted inside. + +In cutting out you must allow an extra inch for turning in at the +edges and joining to the other pieces. + +Supposing that you have not the time or means for getting tents and +that you are going into camp where there are plenty of trees, and you +have got the right to use them, then some of the following tips may be +of use to you. + +[Illustration: CORRECT TENT PEGS.] +[Illustration: A HANDY BAG.] + +A bivouac shelter, as described in _Scouting for Boys_, is the +simplest and best form of hut, and is easily made in an hour. Two +upright stakes are driven firmly into the ground, with a ridge pole +placed in position along the tops. Against this a number of poles +should be made to lean from the windward aide, with cross-bars to +support the branches, reeds, sods, or twigs, or whatever is to form +your roofing material. + +For a single man this shelter can be made quite small, _i.e._, +about 3 ft. high in front, and 3 ft. wide and 6 ft. long. + + * * * * * + +FRAMEWORK. + +You build your fire about 4 ft. in front of this, and lie in it +alongside your fire. + +If the "shack" is for more than one man, you build it 5 ft. or 6 ft. +high in front, and 5 ft. deep, so that several fellows can lie +alongside each other, feet to the fire. + +When you start to thatch your framework, begin at the bottom and lay +your roofing material on in layers, one above the other in the way +that slates are put on a roof. In this way you may make it watertight. + + * * * * * + +THATCHING. + +For thatching you can use thick spruce branches, or grass, reeds, +sods, slabs of wood or bark (called "shingles"), or small twigs of +heather closely woven in. + +It is generally advisable to lay a few branches and stout poles over +the thatch when finished in order to keep it on if a gale springs up. + +[Illustration: FRAMEWORK.] + +If you want to build a complete hut, you can make a lean-to from each +side on the same ridge-pole; but the single lean-to, with its fire in +front of it, is quite good enough for most people. + +Another way to build a shelter hut is to lean a ridge-pole or backbone +from the ground into the fork of a small tree about 5 ft. above the +ground, the butt of the pole being about 4 ft. to windward of the +tree. Then put up a few side poles leaning against this, and roof over +in the same way as for a lean-to. Build your fire just in front of +this, and you will have a very safe and cosy little house. + +[Illustration: THATCHING.] + +In country where there are no trees to make poles with, like parts of +South Africa, where there is only a lot of small thorn bush and long +grass, you can make "scherms," or loose thorn bushes piled in a heap +and made into a small horse-shoe, arched over, back to wind, and +covered or roughly thatched with grass. + +These, with a fire in front, make very good shelter against cold wind +or against sun, and, if covered with a canvas waggon-sail or +tarpaulin, make a good enough protection against rain and against very +hot sun. A "scherm" can be made with heather or gorse--only look out +for its catching fire! + +[Illustration: A SHELTER HUT.] + +Remember that to make a tent or hut cool in hot sun put on more +roof--put blankets over the top of your tent, and bank up the sides +near the ground. But if you want to make your tent or hut warm, take +care to thicken the walls at the foot to prevent draughts coming in +along the floor. + +Also never forget that your floor is on raised ground, not in a hollow +that will become a pool in wet weather. + + * * * * * + +CAMP FURNITURE. + +Having made your tent or hut, you will find it a good comfort in a +standing camp to have a table. + +This you can well make in winter evenings before the camping season, +and while you are at it making one for yourself; you may just as well +make two or three more to sell to other people, and so add money to +your camping fund. + +The table should be separate from its legs, so that it can be packed +easily in the cart. + +If stakes can be got at camp, you would drive four of these into the +ground with a "maul" (big mallet), making them exactly the same +height, and lay your table top on these. + +To make your table top, bits of board or old packing cases can be +planed smooth, and trimmed, and screwed together by cross-battens +underneath to form a tabletop of the size required; 34 in. by 40 in. +is a useful and portable size. + +[Illustration: TABLE WHEN FINISHED.] + +A pair of folding trestle legs can then be made for the table. These +are two frames, one just narrow enough to go inside the other, but +both of the same length. + +A CAMP STOOL can be made in much the same way, with a strip of canvas +or carpet or several strings of webbing nailed across, from the top of +one trestle to the other, the trestles, of course, being quite small. + +[Illustration: UNDER SIDE OF TABLE TOP.] + +CANDLESTICKS, Forks, Tongs, and other small articles of camp furniture +are shown in _Scouting for Boys_, and can easily be made in the +winter evenings. If neatly done they also command a good sale at +bazaars. + +CAMP BEDS are also described in _Scouting for Boys_, and straw +mats for making these may very well be woven in winter evenings, and, +with plenty of time for making them, can be really well made. When +finished, they can be rolled up and packed away until required for +camp. + +The fellow who owns one of these in camp can enjoy life under canvas +about four times as much as the fellow who tries to make himself +comfortable on a hard, stony bit of ground. I think you never find out +how full of corners you are till you try sleeping on a hard bit of +ground. + +Of course? every Scout knows that the worst corner in him is his +hip-bone, and if you have got to sleep on hard ground the secret of +comfort is to scoop out a little hole, about the size of a tea-cup, +where your hip-bone will rest. It makes all the difference to your +comfort at night. + +Your night's rest is an important thing a fellow who does not get a +good sleep at night soon knocks up, and cannot get through a day's +work like the one who sleeps in comfort. + +[Illustration: TRESTLE LEGS.] + +So my advice is, make a good thick straw-mattress for yourself during +the winter ready for camp. + +Another good way of giving yourself a comfortable bed is to make a big +bag of canvas or stout linen; 6 ft. long and 3 ft. wide. + +This will do to roll up your kit in for travelling; and when you are +in camp you can stuff it with straw, or leaves, or bracken, etc., and +use it as a nice soft mattress. + +A PILLOW is also a useful thing for giving you comfort in camp. For +this you only want a strong pillow-case (which also you can make for +yourself in the winter). This will serve as your clothes-bag by day +and your pillow by night, your clothes, if neatly rolled and packed in +it, serving as the stuffing. + +I have often used my boots as a pillow, rolled up in a coat so that +they don't slip apart, and for a long time I used a Zulu pillow, which +is a little wooden stand on which you rest your neck; it sounds +uncomfortable, but it is not so--when you're used to it! + +A Scout has to Be Prepared to turn out at any moment in the night. He +ought, therefore, to have his important clothes laid handy, so that he +can get into them at once in the dark. + +[Illustration: A ZULU PILLOW.] + +On service, of course, a Scout sleeps with shoes on, so that he can +turn out at any moment. + +I remember on one occasion some of my men gave up obeying this rule, +and thought it more comfortable to take their boots off. + +So one night I had the alarm given that the enemy were near, and +ordered the men to double out at once to a spot a short distance +outside the camp. + +The ground was covered with prickly grass and camel-thorn. How those +fellows hopped and skipped to get to the place. But they took care not +to go to bed barefooted again. + + * * * * * + +HUT BUILDING. + +In places where you can get the use of a wood for your camp, it saves +the cost of a tent if you can make yourself a hut. + +The important point in making a hut is to thatch it so closely and +well with heather, straw, or twigs of fir, etc., that it is +watertight. + +The double lean-to, already described, makes the simplest form of +hut--and if you like to make it more roomy, you can dig out the floor +a couple of feet. But this is always a messy proceeding, and +unhealthy, as upturned earth is very liable to give fever. + +In addition to the articles of camp equipment which are mentioned in +_Scouting for Boys_ as being easily made by the Scout himself, +there are several others which can be made during the long winter +evenings, and these will be of great use to you when you go into camp +in the summer, or they can be sold to other fellows wanting such +things. + +The following is taken, from Mr. H. Kephart's _Book of Camping:_ + + * * * * * + +HORN DRINKING CUPS. + +"Get a cow's horn from a friendly butcher, a little over a foot long. +Measure with a stick how far up it is hollow. Then, saw off the tip +just below where it becomes solid, except a strip of the solid part, +which should be left attached to the hollow part, about an inch wide +and five inches long, quarter of an inch thick; this strip will form +the handle of the cup." + +[Illustration: A HORN DRINKING CUP] + + * * * * * + +THE AXE. + +Of course a backwoodsman has to be pretty useful with his axe; and to +become a good axeman a fellow must know, firstly, how the thing ought +to be done, and, secondly, he must then have lots of practice in doing +it before he can be considered any good. + +Bad workmen complain of their tools, but before starting to work be +sure that your tool is a good one. + +Your axe should be a "felling" axe, of which the head will weigh +nearly three pounds. See that the handle or "helve" is perfectly +straight and true in line with the head and the edge. To do this look +along the helve with the edge of the head turned upwards. If the edge +is not true to the bevel, your cuts will go all astray. + +Then see that your axe is sharp--really sharp, not merely with a good +edge on it. A slightly blunt axe is no more good for cutting down a +tree than a very blunt knife is for cutting a pencil. You should know +how to sharpen it on a grindstone, learn this now, while you are in +civilisation, where grindstones can be found and there are men to show +you. + +When out in camp in India, for "pig sticking" (that is hunting wild +boar with spears) we found how very necessary it was to keep our +spears as sharp as a razor, and every time we killed a boar we would +sharpen up our spear-heads again ready for the next fight. + +We could not carry grindstones about with us, but we carried a small +fine file, with which we were able to touch up the edge; and that is +what many an old backwoodsman does for his axe, he carries a small +file with him. + +There is a saying with these men that "you may lend your last dollar +to a friend, but never lend him your axe--unless you know that he is a +good axeman and will not blunt it." + +The tenderfoot will go banging about with an axe, chopping at roots +and branches on the ground, and blunting the axe at every stroke on +earth and stones; and when his arms tire, if he has not meanwhile +chopped his own foot, he will throw the axe down, leaving it lying all +anyhow on the ground, probably where it will catch and cut the toe of +someone moving about after dark. + +When you want to leave your axe, strike straight down with it into a +tree stump, and leave it sticking there till required again, + + * * * * * + +USING THE AXE. + +In using an axe, the tenderfoot generally tries to cover his bad aim +by the extra strength of his blows. If an old hand is looking on he is +smiling to himself and thinking how blown and what a backache he got +himself the first time that he did it. + +Don't try to put force into the blow; merely be careful about aiming +it so that it falls exactly where you want it, the swing and weight of +the axe itself do the rest. + +A good axeman uses his axe equally well left-handed or right. It is +all a matter of practice, and most valuable. + + * * * * * + +FELLING A TREE. + +The way to cut down a tree is to cut first a big chunk out of the side +to which you want the tree to fall, and then to cut into the opposite +side to fell it. + +Begin your Notch 1, or the "kerf," as it is called, by chopping two +marks, the upper one, A, at a distance above the other, B, equal to +half the thickness of the tree. + +[Illustration: THE KERF.] + +Then cut alternately, first a horizontal cut at B, then a sideways, +downward cut at A, and jerk out the chunk between the two; go on doing +this till you get to the centre of the tree. The reason for making A +and B so far apart is that if you begin with too narrow a kerf your +axe gets wedged in the cut more easily. + + * * * * * + +CUTTING THE KERF. + +When you have cut your kerf half through the tree, you then fell the +tree by cutting in on the opposite side, only about three inches above +the level of B, + + * * * * * + +THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR. + +Before starting to fell your tree, first clear away all small branches +and bushes which might interfere with the swing of your axe, and +therefore spoil your aim. + +Also clear away any brambles or undergrowth that might trip you at the +critical moment. + +Cut out chunks when you are at it, not a lot of little chips, which +are signs to anyone coming there later that a tenderfoot has been at +work. It is all a matter of aiming your stroke well. + +Aim your kerf so that the tree will fall clear of other trees, and not +get hung up in their branches. + +[Illustration: THE TREE READY TO FALL] + +Then, when your tree falls, look out for the butt. This often jumps +back from the stump; never stand directly behind it; many a tenderfoot +has been killed that way. When the stem cracks and the tree begins to +topple over, move forward in the direction of the fall, and, at the +same time outwards, away from the butt. + + * * * * * + +FIRE-LIGHTING. + +As a backwoodsman you must, of course, be able to cook your own +food--you can't lug your mother about with you to do it! + +But you cannot cook food straight off without ever having learnt how; +and so I advise every Scout to set to work and learn this during the +winter months, before the camping season comes on. + +You can do a good deal by helping in the kitchen, and seeing how the +food is got ready. Also get a baker to show you how to mix dough and +to bake bread. + +But it is no use merely to be _shown_ how it should be done; the +thing is to do it yourself. You will make a few mistakes at first. +Your dough will come out like custard, and your porridge will be +burnt, and milk smoked, but after one or two trials you will soon find +yourself able to cook quite well. + +The first thing that is necessary for cooking, even if it is only to +boil a billy of tea, is to have a fire, and tenderfoot makes a pretty +hash of lighting a fire until he knows how. + +[Illustration: FIRE READY FOR LIGHTING.] + +Begin in _a_ small way by putting first some dry "kindling" or +small splinters and shavings, dry grass, or a _little_ paper, +anything that will easily take fire, and over that stack a lot of +small dry sticks, standing on end and leaning together, or leaning +against a log on the _windward_ side of it. + +Remember, dry _sticks_ are very different from _sticks_ when +it comes to lighting a fire. + +Dry sticks are seldom found on the ground, they are generally best got +from a tree. Find a tree with a dead branch or two, break these off, +and you will have dry sticks. For "kindling," a number of sticks +partly split or splintered with your knife are useful. + +Do you know what "punk" is? + +Well, "punk," or "tinder," is what _a_ good many backwoodsmen +carry about with them for lighting their fires. + +It can be a small bit of cotton waste soaked in petrol or spirits, or +very dry, baked fungus, or bark fibre, or anything that will catch +fire from the slightest spark. + +Then, if you have no matches, you can strike a spark with a flint and +steel (the back of your knife on a stone will do it), and so set light +to your punk. + +Or you can do it with a magnifying glass if there is a good sun +shining, by making the sunlight pass through the glass on to a small +amount of punk, and in a few seconds it will set it smouldering; and +you must then gently blow it up into a glow, and finally into a flame, +with which you can light the "kindling." + +Indians and savages, who have neither matches nor burning-glasses, get +fire by rubbing wood together. + +The easiest way is by putting a slat of dry wood on the ground and +boring a hole through it with a stick of dry wood, twirling the stick +by means of a bow string. + +The friction of the two woods causes the kind of sawdust which comes +from the hole to get red-hot, and if a little punk is then placed on +it and blown into, it brings a flame. + +So soon as you have got your small kindling fire alight, add bigger +dry sticks, upright and leaning together, until you can get a really +strong fire going, when logs can be added. + +But for a cooking fire, use plenty of sticks at first, as they make +the hot ashes and embers which are most necessary for cooking. + + * * * * * + +TIPS FOR THE CAMPING SEASON. + +If you make your own sleeping bag out of canvas or sacking, remember +two points: first, to have its flaps about a yard longer than +yourself, so that you can get well into it in case of rain, and +secondly: that to keep warm and dry you want more thickness underneath +than above you. + +[Illustration: A COMFORTABLE SLEEPING BAG.] + +The best way is to have a double sheet under you, or, in other words, +make your sleeping bag a double one; you can then fill the lower part +with straw, and sleep yourself in the upper compartment. + +The object of having long flaps is seen in the illustration. The lower +one can be rolled with your spare clothes inside it to form your +pillow, while the upper one can be supported by a crossbar to form a +little roof over your head. In a sleeping bag of this kind, if +waterproof, you can sleep out without a tent at all. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO MAKE A CAMP BED. + +A very simple and comfortable form of camp bed-and one which you can +easily rig up and use in your home, or at an inn, if a bedstead is not +available-is this: Make a "hasty stretcher" with two staves and a +sack, and lay the ends of the staves on a couple of logs, stones, or +boxes. + +[Illustration: READY FOR USE.] + +Keep the staves apart by crossbars, and you have a most comfortable +bed. But don't forget to put plenty of blankets, and some thick paper, +if you are short of blankets underneath you. + +This bed is the best possible one to use when you have to camp on damp +ground. + + * * * * * + +HOW A TENDERFOOT SITS DOWN. + +In camp you can generally tell a tenderfoot from an old scout from the +way in which he sits down. + +[Illustration: THE WRONG WAY.] + +A tenderfoot sits right down on the ground, but the old hand, knowing +that this is very likely to give you chill and bring on fever, +rheumatism, or other ailments, either squats on his heel, or on both +heels--which comes all the more easy if you put a stone under each +heel as a support, or if you have your back against a tree. + +[Illustration: THE RIGHT WAY.] + +When an old scout sits on the ground, he always takes care either to +sit on his hat, or on a bundle of dry heather, or something that will +keep him off the actual ground. + +[Illustration: HOW AN OLD HAND SITS DOWN.] + +Two ex-Boy Scouts, now officers in the Army, sent me a contribution to +our funds lately, as a thanks offering for all the campaigning dodges +which they had learnt as Scouts and which had been most helpful to +them on active service. + +So practise all you can of these tips which I have given: you never +know when they may not come in useful to you. + + + + +TRAINING AND TRACKING + +ZULU TRAINING. + +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 kinds of wild roots, +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 with great rejoicings by his friends and relatives, +and is allowed to become a soldier of the tribe, since he has shown +that he is able to look after himself. + + * * * * * + +TRACKING BY TOUCH. + +General Dodge, of the American Army, describes how he once had to +pursue a party of Red Indians who had been murdering some people. + +The murderers had nearly a week's start, and had gone away on +horseback. Rut General Dodge got a splendid tracking-scout named +Espinosa to help him. The Indians were all riding unshod horses except +one, and after Espinosa had been tracking them for many miles he +suddenly got off his horse and pulled four horseshoes out of a hidden +crevice in the rocks. The Indian had evidently pulled them off so that +they should not leave a track. + +For six days they pursued the band, and for a great part of the time +there was no sign visible to an ordinary eye, and after going for 150 +miles they eventually overtook and captured the whole party. But it +was all entirely due to Espinosa's good tracking. + +On another occasion some American troops were following up a number of +Indians, who had been raiding and murdering whites, and they had some +other Red Indian scouts to assist them in tracking. + +In order to make a successful attack, they marched by night, and the +trackers found the way in the darkness by feeling the tracks of the +enemy with their hands, and they went at a fairly good pace for many +miles, merely touching the track with their fingers; but suddenly they +halted and reported that the track they had been following had been +crossed by a fresh track, and on the commanding officer going up, he +found the Indians still holding the track with their hands, so that +there should be no mistake. + +A light was brought, and it was found that the new track was that of a +bear which had walked across the trail of the enemy! So the march +continued without further incident, and the enemy were surprised, and +caught in the early hours of the morning. + +I myself led a column through an intricate part of the Matopo +Mountains in Rhodesia by night to attack the enemy's stronghold, which +I had reconnoitred the previous day. I found the way by feeling my own +tracks, sometimes with my hands and sometimes through the soles of my +shoes, which had worn very thin; and I never had any difficulty in +finding the line. + +Tracking, or following up tracks, is called by different names in +different countries. Thus, in South Africa you would talk only of +"spooring," that is, following up the "spoor"; in India it would be +following the "pugs," or "pugging"; in America it is "trailing." + + * * * * * + +JACKAL CATCHING. + +In India I have seen a certain tribe of gipsies who eat jackals. Now, +a jackal is one of the most suspicious animals that lives, and is very +difficult to catch in a trap, but these gipsies catch them by calling +them in this way: Several men with dogs hide themselves in the grass +and bushes round a small field. In the middle of this open place one +gipsy imitates the call of the jackals calling to each other; he gets +louder and louder till they seem to come together; then they begin to +growl and finally tackle each other with violent snapping, snarling, +and yelling, and at the same time he shakes a bundle of dried leaves, +which sounds like the animals dashing about among grass and reeds. + +Then he flings himself down on the ground, and throws up dust in the +air, so that he is completely hidden in it, still growling and +fighting. + +If any jackal is within sound of this, he comes tearing out of the +jungle, and dashes into the dust to join in the fight. When he finds a +man there, he comes out again in a hurry, but meantime the dogs have +been loosed from all sides, and they quickly catch him and kill him. + +Mr. William Long, in his very interesting book called _Beasts of the +Field_, describes how he once called a moose. The moose is a very +huge kind of stag, with an ugly, bulging kind of nose. He lives in the +forests of North America and Canada, and is very hard to get near; and +is pretty dangerous when he is angry. + +Mr. Long was in a canoe fishing when he heard a moose bull calling in +the forest--so just for fun he went ashore and cut a strip of bark off +a birch tree and rolled it up so as to make a kind of megaphone, With +this he proceeded to imitate the roaring grunt of the bull moose. The +effect was tremendous; the old moose came tearing down, and even came +into the water and tried to get at him--and it was only by hard +paddling that in the end he got away. + + + + + +CONCLUSION + +Well, good-bye, my reader. I hope you will have got half the enjoyment +out of reading these yarns that I have had in spinning them to you. + +Will you try to remember some of the ideas which they bring to your +mind-most especially those ten "Scout Laws" with which I began the +book. + +I repeat them as a reminder for you. Learn them by heart-each one to a +finger. + + THE SCOUT LAW. + + 1. A Scout's Honour is to be Trusted. + 2. A Scout is Loyal. + 3. A Scout is Useful to Others. + 4. A Scout is a Friend to all. + 5. A Scout is Courteous. + 6. A Scout is a Friend to Animals + 7. A Scout Obeys Orders. + 8. A Scout Smiles and Whistles when in Trouble. + 9. A Scout is Thrifty. + 10. A Scout is Clean in Thought, Word, and Deed. + + +Will you try to remember these and carry them out in your daily life? +By doing so you will be a true Young Knight of the Empire. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Algeria, A trip to-- + Algiers, Interesting things in + Arab market, An + Arab politeness + Arab's Candles + Boar-hunting + Camping among the mountains of the Desert + Carthage-Ancient and Modern + Cold winds + Constantine, Celebrated French regiment at + Good turn to a donkey, A + Historical memories of the place + History of Ancient Roman occupation + Hot springs of Hammam Mousketine, The + Mountain of salt in, A + Mountain range between Algeria and the Sahara + Spahis, The + Truffle-hunting + Tunis and its "souks" +Axe, Take care of your + +B + +Belgian Boy Scouts + +C + +Camp bed, To make a +Camping season tips +Cheerfulness-- + Ancient exhortation to + British Army's example at the Front + "Don't stand with your back to the sun" + Earl Roberts, example of + Under difficulties + Whistling good, but not if it causes annoyance +Chilian Boy Scouts +Cleanliness-- + Bodily + Consumption, Wage war against by + Drinking against the law of + In thought, word, and deed + Manliness demands + Smoking as a boy offends + Spitting offends the law of + +D + +Danish Boy Scouts +Dutch Boy Scouts + +F + +Fire-lighting +Friendliness-- + Arab hospitality + Buttonhole badge worn by all Scouts a token of + Chilian Scouts help British visitors + Shown to all + "Swastika" an emblem know in all lands + Treating natives for minor ill + +H + +Honour-- + Examples of the sense of + Your word is your bond +Horn drinking cups + + +K + +Kindness to animals-- + Bird migration + Bird-nesting, humanely + Good and brave men show + Instances of + Lord Nelson on a bull-fight + Nesting-box for birds, To make a + Studying wild beasts + +L + +Loyalty-- + Balaclava Charge an instance of + Conquests achieved through loyalty to leaders + Instance of, at the Front + To King and Country + To parents and friends + +M + +Malta-- + Home of Scouts, The + Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in. The. + Maltese placed themselves under Great Britain's Protectorate + Maltese Cross and its meaning, The + Maltese Boy Scouts + +N + +Naples-- + Scouts in + Vesuvius overshadows +Neapolitan Boy Scouts +Norway, Camping in-- + Automatic toasting-fork, An + Bivouac hut, Easily-made + Boat voyage, A + Camp bedroom, A + Camp fire and kitchen + Cleaning and cooking your fish + Driving + Fishermen's knots + Fly-fishing + Norwegian fences + Norwegians are kind to animals + Picturesque experiences + Repairing a rod + Rowing boats + Stalking + Trout-fishing +Norwegian Boy Scouts + +O + +Obedience-- + British discipline, Examples of + Silence as discipline + To parents and Scoutmasters +Orient Line Steamship, Our life on an + +P + +Politeness-- + Ancient Knights' Oath of Chivalry, The + Courtesy to ail, especially the old and ailing + Scouts of the Desert show courtesy + True gentleman, The test of a +Pompeii, History of Ancient + +R + +Roberts, K.G., V.C., Field-Marshal Earl, + Lessons from the life of + +S + +Sea Scouting-- + Brave Boy Sea Scout, A + Chief Scout tells when it helped him + Drake, Career of Sir Francis + Dutch and English Admirals of 250 years ago + Fishermen heroes + Generals who were sailors + Lifeboatmen + Nelson, Career of Lord + Sailor heroes + Seamanship, Games to teach, + Use of, in war, + Usefulness of, at all times, +Sicily-- + Carts in, + History of, + Taormina, + Whispering caves in, +Sitting, The art of, +Strathcona, Lord, Lessons from the life of, +Swedish Boy Scouts, + +T + +Tents, How to build-- + Ashanti shelter, The, + Bivouac shelter, A, + Bivouac tent, A, + Cabul tent, + Camp furniture for, + Making of, and materials to use, + One-man tramp tent, The, + Shelter hut, A, + Tramp tent, The, +Thrift-- + Examples of men who became great through, + John Pound's example of, + Manliness of, +Two rules for earning a fortune, + +Training and tracking-- + Jackal-catching, + Moose-hunting, + Red Indians track by touch, + Zulu-training, +Tree-felling, The art of, + +U + +Usefulness-- + Badges to be won by, + Good turns, + Helpfulness to others, + Helping the police, + Instances of, + Peace Scout in Labrador, A, + Tracking exercise, + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Young Knights of the Empire, by +Sir Robert Baden-Powell + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE *** + +***** This file should be named 6673.txt or 6673.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/6/6/7/6673/ + +Produced by Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Young Knights of the Empire + +Author: Sir Robert Baden-Powell + +Release Date: October, 2004 [EBook #6673] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on January 12, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE *** + + + + +Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. +This file was produced from images generously made available by the CWRU +Preservation Department Digital Library + + + + + + +YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE + +THEIR CODE AND FURTHER SCOUT YARNS + +BY + +SIR ROBERT BADEN-POWELL K.C.B., K.C.V.O., LL.D. + +AUTHOR OF "SCOUTING FOR BOYS," "YARNS FOR BOY SCOUTS," "SCOUTING +GAMES," "MY ADVENTURES AS A SPY," ETC. + +1917 + + + +FOREWORD + + +TO BOY-MEN,-- + +In offering this collection of yarns, I do not suggest that these are +anything more than further illustrations of the steps already schemed +in _Scouting for Boys_ for self-education in character and good +citizenship. + +But illustrations by themselves are of comparatively little value +unless the theories and ideas conveyed by them are also put into +actual and habitual practice. + +It is in this that the boy needs your encouragement. + + ROBERT BADEN-POWELL + + + + +YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE + + + + +THE SCOUT LAW + +Perhaps you wonder what is a Young Knight of the Empire. + +Well, you know what a knight is--or rather, used to be in the old +days--a gallant fellow who was always ready to defend weaker people +when they were being bullied; he was brave and honourable, and ready +to risk his life in doing his duty according to the code or law of +Chivalry. + +Well, nowadays there are thousands of boys all over the British Empire +carrying out the same idea, and making themselves into fine, reliable +men, ready to take the place of those who have gone away to fight and +who have fallen at the Front. These are the Boy Scouts. Their code is +the Scout Law--that is, a set of ten rules which they carry out in +their daily life. + +I will explain these Laws, and will give you some other yarns of camp +life and adventure such as the Scouts go in for. + +HONOUR + +Law 1. A SCOUT'S HONOUR IS TO BE TRUSTED. + +_If a Scout says "On my honour it is so," that means it is so, just +as if he had taken a most solemn oath._ + +_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 Scout were to break his honour by telling_ a lie, or_ by +not carrying out an order exactly when trusted on his honour to do so, +he may be directed to hand over his Scout badge and never wear it +again. He may also be directed to cease to be a Scout._ + +People of a civilised country, just like boys in a school, are bound +to conduct themselves in a proper manner, because of the law which +causes them to be punished if they misbehave. There is a code of laws +drawn up for this purpose. + +But there is another kind of law which binds people just as much as +their written laws, though this one is neither written nor published. + +This unwritten law is Honour. + +A boy who has clambered over the school wall to go out of bounds and +smoke secretly has committed an offence against the published law of +the school. If next day the master asks in school, "Who has broken out +of bounds?" the boy is not bound by the law to confess that he did; he +can remain silent and thus escape punishment; but he is a +poor-spirited creature if he does so, and has no sense of honour. If +he is honourable he will manfully and honestly tell the master that he +broke out and will stand whatever punishment comes of it. By so doing +he will have proved to the master and to the other boys that he is +manly and not afraid to tell the truth, and is to be relied upon +because he puts his honour before all. + +So the first training that the Boy Scout gets is to understand that +Honour is his own private law which is guided by his conscience, and +that once he is a Scout he must be guided in all his doings by his +sense of Honour. + + +LOYALTY + +Law 2. A SCOUT IS LOYAL to the King, and to his officers, and to his +parents, his Country, his employers, and to those under his orders. He +must stick to them through thick and thin against anyone who is their +enemy or who even talks badly of them. + +There was a Scoutmaster in the East End of London who when the war +broke out felt it his duty to give up the splendid work he was doing +amongst the poor boys of the East End in order to take up service for +his Country. + +Scoutmaster Lukis--for that is his name--felt bound, by his sense of +loyalty to his King and his Country, to give up the life he was then +living and face the dangers of soldiering on active service. + +But the example which he set in loyalty was promptly followed by some +eighty young fellows who were his Scouts or Old Scouts. + +Their loyalty to him made them wish to follow their leader wherever +his duty led him. So they became soldiers like himself and all went +together to the Front. + +A day came when the trenches which they were holding were heavily +shelled. The danger was great and the losses were heavy, and finally a +piece of shrapnel struck Captain Lukis in the leg and shattered his +thigh. Two of his East London Boy Scout's sprang to his assistance and +tended him with devoted care. They waited for a lull in the firing and +finally between them they carried him, although exposed to a deadly +fire, to a place of safety. While so doing one of them was hit and +severely wounded. + +But the spirit of the lads was splendid. They cared nothing for their +own safety so that they got their beloved Scoutmaster out of danger. +That was loyalty. + +Loyalty means faithfulness. Your dog is faithful to you and sticks to +you even though you may beat him. He overlooks your faults and your +unkindness and remains loyal to you. + +Loyalty begins at home. + +Some boys are always thinking that their parents are wrong or unfair +to them. If you think that your parents have any faults, don't look at +those faults. Be loyal to your parents; remember only that it is +thanks to them that you are alive and able to be a Scout. + +Obey your parents, believe in them, and respect them; if you can at +any time help them, do so. By doing these things you are being loyal +to them. By being loyal to them you are carrying out that commandment +of the Bible which says: "Honour thy father and thy mother." Be loyal, +also, in the same way-by obeying and thinking no evil and by backing +them up-to your Patrol-leader, your Scoutmaster, and your +schoolmaster. If you are a working boy carry out the same idea towards +your foreman, your manager, and your employer. + +On taking up your work, you have agreed to do a certain amount for a +certain wage, and it is loyalty on your part then to stick to that +agreement and to give good work in return for your pay. + +If, on the other hand, you are a well-to-do boy and come to have a +servant or a man working under you as you grow older, you should +equally be loyal to him. Remember that in taking him on you expect a +certain amount of work from him for the money you give him; if you +find that he gives you more work than you agreed for, you will be +acting loyally to him if you then increase his wage: but never go back +on your agreement, and do not try to make more money out of him than +you meant to do when first making the contract. So, too, if you are a +Patrol or other leader, and if those under you get into trouble +through carrying out your ideas, be loyal to them; own up that it was +through your fault that they did wrong. + +Whatever line of life you may be in, be loyal to God, to your King, +and to your Country. + + * * * * * + +ANTARCTIC SCOUTING. + +All Boy Scouts know of Sir Ernest Shackleton, a brother peace-scout of +the Empire--and a first-class one, too. + +On one of his voyages of exploration to the South Pole he was very +nearly successful in getting to that point, he was within ninety-seven +miles of it, in fact, when his food supplies gave out, and he and +those with him were in great danger of starving, and had, most +unwillingly, to turn back to regain their ship. + +They had left the ship when they had got her as far south as was +possible through the ice; they then went on foot over land and sea, +all hard frozen and covered with snow, and they took their food with +them, and stored depots, or what Scouts would call "caches," to use on +their return journey. For weeks they struggled along over difficult +ground. + +One day in January, although they had cut down their rations and ate +as little as possible (so little indeed that they were getting weak), +they found that they were coming to the end of their food, and they +must either turn back or go on and die, in which case the record of +their work would have been lost. So they planted a flagstaff with the +Union Jack on it, and left a box containing a notice that they had +annexed the land for Great Britain and King Edward VII. + +They took a long look with their field-glasses in the direction of the +South Pole to see if any mountains were to be seen, but there were +none. And then they started on their desperate tramp to the ship. + +They made a number of interesting and useful discoveries. They came +upon mountains and glaciers of ice, and mineral rocks of coal and +limestone. + +And they found tiny insects which are able to live in the ice, and +when they boiled them, they did not kill them! + +They found that the penguins, the great wingless birds which sit up +and look just like people, enjoyed listening to a gramophone, which +they set going for their benefit. + +But their journey back was a very anxious and trying experience for +them. + +In order to guide them they had planted flags here and there along +their path, but storms came and blew them down, and it was, therefore, +most difficult to find their way from one food depot to another. They +did it largely by spooring their old tracks. + +This is how Sir Ernest Shackleton describes their doings on one +particular day: + +"We were thirty miles from our depot. Although we could see it in the +distance, it was practically unattainable, for soft snow covered +treacherous crevasses, and as we stumbled along in our search for food +we seemed to get no nearer to our longed-for goal. The situation was +desperate. + +"Two of our party, utterly worn out and exhausted, fell in harness, +but with the greatest pluck again pushed on as soon as they had +temporarily recovered. It was with a feeling of devout thankfulness +that we crossed the last crevasse and secured some food. Beyond a +little tea we had had nothing for thirty-four hours, and previously to +that our last meal consisted merely of one pannikin of half-cooked +pony maize-not much foundation for work under such conditions, and +with an extremely low temperature. Under these conditions we marched +sixteen miles in twenty-two hours. + +"On another occasion during that same journey we were all struck down +with dysentery, and this at a distance of ninety miles from our depot. +Though the weather was fine, we were all too weak to move, but here, +as on other occasions, Providence came to our rescue, and strong +southerly blizzards helped us along. + +"From December 4th, 1908, to February 23rd, 1909, we lived in a state +of constant anxiety, intensified by more acute knowledge gained from +narrow escapes and close contact with death. Over and over again there +were times when no mortal leadership could have availed us. + +"It was during these periods that we learnt that some Power beyond our +own guided our footsteps. If we acknowledged this--as we did--down +among the ice, it is only fitting that we should remember it now when +the same Power has brought us safely home through all these troubles +and dangers. No one who has seen and experienced what we have done +there can take credit to himself for our escape from what appeared to +be overwhelming difficulties." + +Sir Ernest Shackleton also praises the conduct of his officers and men +as helping largely to their success. He says: + +"We were all the best of comrades. Every man denied himself, and was +eager to do his level best." + +True Scouts, all of them. + + * * * * * + +SOME FAMOUS VICTORIES THROUGH LOYALTY TO LEADERS. + +Trafalgar. + +The month of October is full of glorious national memories for Scouts. + +On October 21st, 1805, was fought the battle of Trafalgar, when the +British Fleet, under Admiral Lord Nelson, attacked and defeated the +combined forces of French and Spanish men-of-war. + +It looked almost hopeless for a small fleet to attack so large a one; +but Nelson made that grand signal which called on every man _that +day to do his duty,_ and every man, like a true Scout, did his +duty, even though in many a case it cost him his life. + +Nelson himself showed the example, for he drove his ship in between +two of the enemy's ships and fought them, one against two. He never +attempted to take cover, but exposed himself to danger as much as +anyone, and was killed at the moment of victory. The sailors of to-day +still wear a black silk neckerchief round their necks as a sign of +mourning for the great admiral. + + * * * * * + +BALACLAVA. + +Then on October 25th, 1854, in the Crimea, in South Russia, took place +two grand charges by the British cavalry-against the Russian cavalry. + +One of these, the charge of the Light Brigade, every boy knows about, +but somehow the charge of the Heavy Brigade is not so much talked +about, although it was equally fine in its way. + +I have been lucky, because I have served in two cavalry regiments, and +both of them were in these charges one, the 13th Hussars, was in the +Light Brigade, and the other, the 5th Dragoon Guards, was in the Heavy +Brigade. + +I don't mean that I was in the charges, too-no; I wasn't born then! +But I am very proud to belong to two regiments that were there. + +Hussar regiments are called light cavalry, because they used to have +small, light-weight men who could ride far and fast to scout the +enemy. Dragoons were heavy troopers on big, strong horses, who by +their weight and long swords could deliver an overwhelming charge upon +an enemy. + +A Brigade consists of three regiments. Two Brigades make up a +Division. So the Cavalry Division in the Crimea was made up of a Light +Brigade and a Heavy Brigade. + +On October 25th the Light Cavalry Brigade got the order to charge the +Russian artillery, which was supported by the infantry and cavalry. + +It was a hopeless task. The order had really been given by mistake. +But that did not matter to men who were accustomed to obey. They +charged, and, though it cost them a great number of gallant lives, +they carried out their duty with such bravery and dash as to command +the highest praise even from their enemies, and they won for British +soldiers the name of being ready to sacrifice their lives to carry out +their orders, even though the job looked hopeless. That is why Scouts +to-day have as their motto the single word, + +"BALACLAVA" + +to remind them that if they get an order which it is a bore or even a +danger to perform, their duty is to do as their brave fathers did at +Balaclava, and carry it out cheerily and well. + +Now I will tell you about the charge of the Heavy Brigade, + + * * * * * + +"THE THIN RED LINE." + +You have often heard the British Army talked of as "the thin red +line." Well, it got that title at Balaclava. Four hundred men of the +93rd Highlanders and a battalion of Turks were posted to guard the +road leading to the harbour of Balaclava, when the Russians, some +twenty thousand strong, proceeded to attack them. The Turks didn't +like the look of things, so they turned tail and bolted but the brave +Sir Cohn Campbell, who was in command of the Highlanders, said to +them: + +"My lads, remember there is no retreat from here. You must die where +you stand." + +And the gallant fellows meant to do it if they had to die--but they +were not the sort to say die before they were dead They formed a +line--a "thin red line," as it was afterwards described--on a small +rising ground, and received the first charge of the Russian cavalry +with so well-aimed and deadly a fire, at close range, that it put the +others off charging for a while. + +The British Commander-in-Chief, seeing their danger, sent a message to +the Heavy Brigade of cavalry, who were camped in the neighbourhood, to +go to their assistance. + +The "Heavies" were already parading just outside their camp, when +suddenly there appeared over the rising ground, within half a mile of +them, the head of a big force of Russian cavalry quietly advancing +towards them. Rather a startling apparition when the squadrons were +all moving out of camp to form up on parade. + +But the General--General Scarlett--did not lose his head or hesitate +for a moment. + +The enemy were on the left flank of the squadrons as they were moving +out. He ordered them to wheel into line to the left, and, without the +usual first orders to "Trot" and then to "Gallop," he directed his +trumpeter to sound "Charge!" and he at once turned his horse towards +the enemy, and started, with his staff officer and orderly, at a +gallop to lead the attack. + +"DO OR DIE." + +The Brigade saw what was wanted. They did not wait to form into one +line--that operation would have taken time--but each squadron wheeled +up, and, closing in towards its neighbour, galloped forward to back up +the General in the charge. + +The Scots Greys, in red tunics and bearskins, mounted on their grey +horses, were in the front line with some of the Irish Inniskilling +Dragoons, and close behind them came the 5th Dragoon Guards and the +1st Royal Dragoons, with their red tunics and shining helmets. + +There were not more than three hundred of them altogether, while the +Russian column amounted to some twelve thousand. 'It looked as if the +British must be smashed up by such overwhelming odds. + +[Illustration: This sketch map stows the positions of the British and +Russian Forces in the charge of the Heavy Brigade at Balaclava.] + +But the General knew that he must do his best to save "the thin red +line" from being overridden, and the men knew that they had got the +order to "charge," and it was their business to carry out the order, +and not to look at the danger in doing it. So they charged. + +The Russians were not less astonished than the British had been; +instead of surprising the British, they were themselves surprised. + +For a minute or two they hesitated. No officer gave any command, no +one knew quite what to do, and in another minute the bolt burst upon +them. + +General Scarlett and his staff came--bang, _smash_!--right +through their front ranks, followed immediately by the crashing weight +of the Greys and the wildly cheering Inniskillings. + +The shock of this charge rolled the foremost ranks of the Russians +down underfoot as it ploughed its way into the centre of the column, +and gave a sort of backward surge to the whole mass-for the Russian +force was simply a big, square mass of men and horses. + +Our charge, being made by a very small body, only broke into the +central part of the Russian front, so the two flanks of their line +wheeled forward like two arms to enfold it. But just as they were in +the act of doing so they were caught by our second line of Royal +Dragoons, 5th Dragoon Guards and Inniskillings; and were rolled up and +ridden over in an awful confusion. + +These heavy blows seemed to send the great Russian mass staggering +backwards, when at this critical moment two more squadrons of Heavies, +belonging to the 4th Dragoon Guards, suddenly plunged into the right +flank of the Russian column, and completed its break-up. + +It reeled again, and in a few minutes more was gradually melting and +spreading over the hills behind in hurried flight from the +battlefield. And the thin red line was saved. + +The whole fight had lasted only eight minutes, the British loss was +fifty killed and wounded, while the Russians lost about four hundred. + +This battle, like Trafalgar and like many other British victories, +showed that, with good, plucky leaders, backed up by men _who can be +trusted to obey their orders,_ we could attack overwhelming forces +against us and come out victorious every time. + +Without discipline it could never have been done. + + * * * * * + +THE LOYALTY OF JACK TARS. + +Sir Christopher Myngs was one of the tough sea-dogs of the British +Navy in the old days. + +He was killed in action at sea in 1666. He had been wounded by a +bullet in the throat, but he held the wound together with his fingers +and went on fighting till a second shot struck him, and he shortly +afterwards died of his wounds. He was a splendid leader, brave and +strict, and beloved by his men. + +His body was brought ashore to be buried in London, and at the funeral +a party of sailors came up to the carriage in which Sir W. Coventry +sat, and the leader of them, with tears in his eyes, asked him to beg +of the King to give them an old ship which they might use as a +fire-ship, and with which they might sail into the middle of the +enemy's fleet and set fire to it. + +They would, of course, all lose their lives in doing this, but they +did not mind so long as they could avenge the death of their beloved +leader. + +It was a fine spirit of loyalty to their chief which led these simple +seamen to do this, and their loyalty--not the spirit of revenge--is an +example to all to be loyal to their chief in whatever line they may +be. Don't look out for faults in him; note his good points, and stick +to him through thick and thin, for the good of what you and he are +doing together whether it is defending your Country or running a big +business. + + +USEFULNESS + +Law 3. A SCOUT'S DUTY IS TO BE USEFUL AND TO HELP OTHERS. + +_And he is to do his duty before anything else, even though he gives +up his own pleasure or comfort or safety to do it. When in difficulty +to know which of two things to do, he must ask himself, "Which is my +duty?" that is, "Which is best for other people?"--and do that one._ + +_He must Be Prepared at any time to save life or to help injured +persons._ + +_And must try his best to do a good turn to somebody every day._ + + * * * * * + +DO IT NOW. + +Once when driving in my car I passed a man on a sunny, dusty road, and +I thought after I had passed him whether I might not have offered to +give him a lift. Then I thought probably he would be only going a +short distance to some house a little farther along the road. + +As I sped farther and farther upon my way, I saw no house and no +turning, and therefore I argued that the poor man would have to be +walking all this dusty way when I might have given him a lift. + +But while I sat all this time thinking, my car was rushing me miles +away from the spot. Eventually I made up my mind that I ought to go +back and do my good turn to the man. But I had gone so far that when I +got back again to where I expected to find him, he was not to be seen. +He had evidently taken some short cut across the fields, and I never +saw him again. + +But the memory of it lingered in my mind for a long time, and ever +since that, when driving along, I have been quick to make up my mind +and use the opportunity when it has presented itself, of giving a lift +to any weary wayfarer. + +I don't want to make out myself as being so very good for doing this +kind of good turn, for that is easy enough with a motor-car; but what +I do want to point out is that you should never let your chance go by, +else you may regret it, as it might not occur again. Your motto should +be--"Do it now." + + * * * * * + +GOOD TURNS. + +Always remember that in going through this world we only pass this way +once, and if we miss our chance it never comes again. + +I believe that our first business in life is to be happy. This world +with all its beauties and its sunshine of happiness was meant for us +to enjoy. When clouds come over with grief or pain, they are only the +contrasts to show us what true happiness is and to make us appreciate +it when it comes. + +The shortest and most certain way to happiness is to make other people +happy. Even if we cannot make them happy, we can at least be helpful +to them. But so often we forget to do this, or, as I did in the +motor-car, leave it till too late, and let the chance slip by. + +In order to be continually happy, the thing is to be continually doing +good turns. To get a habit you must at first carry out a great deal of +practice, and that is why it is part of the Scout Law to do a good +turn every day. + +At first it may come a little difficult to remember each day that you +have this duty to do, and you may have some trouble in finding a job +that will be helpful to other people but if you stick to it, and force +yourself to do it day by day, it very soon grows into a habit with +you, and you then find how many little things you can do which all +count as good turns although small in themselves. + +I could tell you endless yarns of the different kinds of "good turns" +which the Boy Scouts have done, but one of the most pleasing that I +have heard lately was when a Scout carefully placed a piece of orange +peel on the pavement, and when asked why he had done this, said: + +"I am doing a good turn to some other Scout by giving him the +opportunity of doing his good turn by removing that orange peel so +that people will not slip on it!" + + * * * * * + +"AN AWFUL ACCIDENT." + +A poor fellow was lying pretty badly hurt when I came upon him one +afternoon. His left leg was broken, and an artery in his right arm was +cut through, while he was evidently badly burnt about the chest. + +How it all happened I didn't stop to inquire--I merely looked at the +steps which had already been taken to doctor him. His arm was bound up +with a handkerchief "tourniquet," twisted tight with a stick, to stop +the blood squirting from the artery; his leg was bound between two +straight bits of wood; and his tummy was covered with a mixture of +wool, oil, and flour, which suggested that with a little more roasting +the patient would have made a good pie! + +I need scarcely add there was not much the matter with him except that +he belonged to a patrol of Boy Scouts who were practising "first aid." + +In the same troop another patrol were cooking a very savoury Irish +stew, mixing dough on a haversack (which, I think, is quite as good as +my way of doing it inside my coat!), and baking bread in an oven made +out of an old biscuit tin, and roasting "twists" made on stakes +planted near the fire. (For "Tenderfoots," anxious for details as to +how these things are done, I recommend a study of the chapter on camp +cooking in _Scouting for Boys_.) + +The point about this cooking was that the food was being really well +cooked, and fit for anyone to eat with enjoyment. + +In the same troop signallers were at work sending and receiving +messages. And also one of their horsemen was there to act as mounted +dispatch rider, with a smart pony which he was able to saddle and look +after as well as to ride. Nearly every Scout in this troop was a First +Class Scout, of an average age of thirteen. + +Two hundred yards from their little camp was another troop of younger +Scouts, of about eleven years of age. All were busy cooking their teas +at numerous little camp fires at the time when I saw them, and made a +most picturesque scene. + +Then a third troop had its camp in a different spot, where three +patrols of boys of about fifteen years of age were collected. Fine, +strapping, long-limbed types of Britons. It was a pleasure to see them +going "Scout pace" across the grass, and a still greater pleasure when +I found that they were as good Scouts as they looked. Nearly all were +First Class Scouts. I was invited to hand out to them the Efficiency +Badges they had been winning. + +These included quite a number of First Class, Cyclists', Firemen's, +Musicians', Electricians', Cooks', etc. + +I had just said a few words to the troop of my pleasure at seeing them +so smart and so efficient, when the alarm was given that the school +buildings were on fire. A few brief words of command were given by the +Scoutmaster, and each patrol streaked off in a different direction at +a great pace. We hurried to the scene of the outbreak, and had just +time to see (in our mind's eye only) dense clouds of smoke with +tongues of flame and showers of sparks bursting from the doomed +building, while the windows were alive with terrified women and +screaming children--that is what we were picturing--when out came a +knot of Scouts running the fire-hose into position, and joining it up +from one part of the building, while from another there came a second +patrol trundling along the great giraffe-like fire-escape. Within four +minutes of the alarm the leading fireman was up on the ladder +directing the nozzle of the hose-pipe with a strong jet of water on +the windows of the (supposed) burning chamber. + +It was all very smartly, quickly, and quietly carried out, and the +patrols thoroughly deserved the Firemen's Badges which they had won. + +Denstone College, where I saw all this, is one of the great schools +which have taken up scouting as a sport and training for their boys; +and the results, according to the masters who act as Scoutmasters, are +most satisfactory. + + * * * * * + +SCOUTS' GOOD TURNS. + +Recently, all in the one day, I came across three cases of Scouts +doing their duty. + +One lady told me that when travelling in a crowded train she and her +daughter were put into a carriage which was already crammed full of +boys. + +She did not like it a bit at first, but she soon found the difference +between "Scouts" and "boys." These were "Scouts," and they at once +helped the ladies and their baggage into the carriage, and then made +plenty of room for them by sitting on each other's knees, and kept +order and behaved so nicely that she fell in love with all of them, +and talked with them and found them "quite charming and gentlemanly." + +Another lady told me that some Scouts had asked leave to camp in her +grounds, and as she has allowed boys to do this for some years past, +she did not like to refuse them: at the same time she was not very +glad to have them, because she had found it expensive and troublesome +every year to have to get the camping-ground cleaned up and set right +after they had gone. + +The day after the Scouts had finished their camp, she sent as usual +some men to work on the camp-ground, when to her astonishment, they +came back and said there was no work to be done there, the ground was +all clean, rubbish and ashes removed, and turf replaced. And then she +remembered that these were "Scouts," not ordinary boys, who had been +camping there--and she will be glad to see them there again whenever +they like to come! + +The weather this morning was beautifully hot and fine, but in the +afternoon it suddenly changed to cold, windy, and steady rain. Numbers +of ladies and children had gone out for a day on the beach or in the +country. In one case a woman and her two children had to come back +part of the way in an open boat, and then in a steam-launch, in their +summer clothes, without umbrellas or waterproofs. + +A Scout who was there seemed to have foreseen bad weather, as he had +two waterproof coats, and he gave up one and offered it to cover the +children. + +"Well!" you would say, "that is easy enough, and he kept himself dry +and snug in the other." + +No, he didn't, he put that on the woman, and went and did the best he +could for himself on the lee side of the deck; he put a smile on and +pretended that a cold trickle down the back is a good thing for the +complexion; and that is what any other Scout would have done in the +circumstances. + + * * * * * + +GALLANTRY OF BOY SCOUTS IN HELPING THE POLICE. + +On different occasions I have had the pleasure of issuing Silver +Medals to Scouts for gallantry in saving life or assisting the police. + +Scoutmaster Crowther, of the Huddersfield Boy Scouts, went to the +assistance of a police constable who was being violently assaulted by +some roughs in a slum. Although he was knocked about himself in doing +so, Crowther managed to help the officer, and, by blowing his whistle, +to get more police on to the scene. The principal offenders were +arrested, and ultimately got six months' imprisonment from the +magistrate, who at the same time highly complimented Mr. Crowther on +his plucky action. + +Scout P. L. G. Brown, of the 7th (All Saints) Southampton Troop, did +much the same thing. He saw a police constable struggling with four +violent roughs, and, although there was a hostile crowd round them, +Brown remembered his duty and dashed in to help the officer. Although +he got a kick on the knee, he was able to get hold of the policeman's +whistle and to blow it, and in this way brought more police upon the +scene, so that the four men were arrested and punished. + +Brown himself went away without giving his name or making any fuss +about what he had done, but he was discovered and later on received +the Silver Medal. + +Then, when I was reviewing the Gateshead Scouts, I heard of the case +of two Boy Scouts being rewarded by the magistrate for their gallantry +in assisting the police. + +The Scouts of Newton Abbot were at hand when a motor-car dashed into a +cart, smashing it up and injuring the two occupants. The Scouts +detained the car; and although the motorists endeavoured to drive off, +they put their staves between the spokes of the wheels and hung on and +prevented the car getting away until the police came up and took +charge. + +It was splendid how these Scouts showed such pluck and readiness in +helping the King's officers. They got knocked about in doing so, but +what are a few bruises? They wore off in a few days; but the thing +that won't wear off is the satisfaction that each one of those Scouts +will feel for the rest of his life--namely, that he did his duty. + + * * * * * + +THE SCOUT OF LABRADOR. + +Dr. Wilfred Grenfell is an ideal type of peace Scout, and during his +labours as a missionary in Labrador he has had many adventures. + +On one occasion he had to visit a sick man at a place two days' +journey from where he lived, and he started off with his sledge and +team of dogs, to cross a frozen arm of the sea, which would save him a +long journey round by land. But it was in the month of April, when the +sea ice was beginning to get treacherous and to break up. + +The distance across the ice was about seven miles, with an island +about half-way. + +He reached the island all right, and was pushing on from there to the +opposite mainland, when he found that the ice was becoming rotten and +soft--what is called "sish"--that is, pounded ice formed from big +slabs which have been ground together by the action of the sea. + +As he found himself sinking in this, together with his sledge, he +slipped off his heavy oilskins and coat, and quickly got out his knife +and cut the traces of his dog-team, winding the leader's trace round +his wrist. + +In this way he was himself pulled along by the dogs plunging through +the slush. The leading dog got on to a solid ice-floe, and Grenfell +was gladly hauling himself up to him by the trace, when the dog +slipped all his harness off, and his master was left, sinking among +the other dogs in the "sish." + +Then he luckily caught the trace of another, and pulled himself along +that till he managed to get on to the block of ice, on to which he +helped the rest of the dogs. + +But it was quite a small block, which would soon break up, so he saw +that the only chance was to struggle on through the "porridge-ice" +till he could reach a bigger floe, which could serve as a raft for +him. + +He did not, as some people might have done, give up all hope; he +wasn't going to say die till he was dead. + +So he took off his gauntlets and moccasins and packed them on to the +dogs' backs, then he secured their harness so that it could not slip +off, and tied the traces round his wrists so that the team would drag +him through; then he tried to start. + +But the dogs did not like facing the danger, and he had to push them +off the block; even then they only struggled to get back, till a +particularly favourite dog understanding him when he threw a bit of +ice on to another "pan" or block? started, and so led the others to +get to it. + +In this way, dragging their master after them, the dogs struggled from +pan to pan, till at last they reached one larger than the rest, about +ten feet by twelve in size. + +It was not real solid ice, but a block of powdered ice, which might +fall to bits at any time. Still, it was the best they could get, and +with the rising wind and current it soon floated with them on to more +open water, and began to drift away from the shore and down the coast. +So they had no choice but to make the best of a very poor substitute +for a raft, + +The cold was intense, and poor Grenfell, like a clever Scout, at once +thought out a plan for making himself a coat. His moccasins were long, +soft boots made of sealskin reaching to the thigh, so he slit these up +with his knife, and, by means of a bit of line, he made them into a +kind of cape to put on his back. + +Hours passed, and they kept drifting out from the coast, and night was +approaching. + +Then he saw that he must have more clothing, and also that he and the +dogs must have some food the only thing to do was to sacrifice one of +his beloved team. So he made a noose with one of the traces, and +slipped it over a dog's neck, and tied it to his own foot; then, +holding its head down in this way, he threw the dog on its back, and +stabbed it to the heart. + +Two more were killed in the same way. Then he skinned them and +stitched their hides together with thin strips of leather, and thus +made himself a coat, with the fur inside. + +All the clothes he had had on till then were some old football things +he had come across that morning in his house. A pair of football +shorts and stockings of the Richmond Football Club (red, yellow, and +black), and a flannel shirt and sweater, so he was practically in Boy +Scout's kit rather than what you would expect a missionary-doctor to +be wearing. + +But then, you see, he was quite as much a Scout as he was a doctor or +missionary; and we understand from this story how, like a Scout, he +was able to turn his hand to anything and invent for himself the +different means for saving his life although he was all alone with his +dogs on a small lump of rotten ice floating past the coast of +Labrador. + +There was one little point in which, perhaps, a Boy Scout could have +helped him had he been there. As darkness came on, he thought he would +light up a flare, which would catch the attention of anyone on shore, +so he frayed out a piece of rope and smeared it with the fat of the +dead dogs, and was about to light it when he found that his matches +had got wet, and in that damp air he could not get them dry. + +I wonder whether he thought of the Scout's dodge of drying them in his +hair for a minute or two? + +[Illustration: Dr. Grenfell as he appeared on the ice-floe, with a +cloak of dog-skins, and puttees made of flannel taken from a dog's +traces. He used his shirt for a flag, and made a flagstaff of frozen +dogs' legs.] + +In order to keep warm he used one of the dead dogs as a seat, with the +other dogs hugged close round him for warmth. His feet being in thin +moccasins, which easily got wet through, were freezing with cold till +he thought of an idea for keeping them warm. + +He had seen the Laplanders put a lot of grass into their boots before +pulling them on, and then filling up the legs with as much more grass +as they could cram in. + +There was not much grass growing on his ice-floe, so Grenfell had to +invent something to use in place of it; he cut from the dogs' traces +some flannel with which they were lined to prevent chafing, and with +this he stuffed the moccasins, and so made them warmer, and then bound +the remainder round his knees as puttees. + +In this way he got sufficient warmth to enable him to sleep. Towards +morning he awoke with the idea that he must make something in the way +of a flag to attract the notice of people on shore, and to show them +that there was someone in distress on the ice. + +The question was, how to make a flagstaff? I wonder whether a Boy +Scout could have seen a way? + +Grenfell took the frozen legs of the three dead dogs, and bound them +together with strips of raw hide, and thus manufactured a staff, on to +which he then tied his shirt to act as a flag. It worked very well +till the sun rose, and then the legs began to melt a little, and the +flagstaff became a very wobbly one; and, as the Doctor describes it, +"almost tied itself into knots." + +Like a true Scout, Grenfell never despaired; he kept thinking out +different ways by which he might survive the danger. + +He thought of setting light to some unravelled rope by using a piece +of ice to act as a burning glass. In this way he hoped to attract the +attention of the people on shore by a smoke signal; but, while he was +busy preparing it, he saw the distant sparkle of what looked like an +oar from a boat, presently he saw it again, and soon he could see the +boat itself. + +His flag had been seen by the fishermen, and they pushed out in their +boat through the frozen ice till they got him and his faithful dogs +all safely aboard. + +One man had seen him the night before just as it was getting dark, and +had spread the news down the coast, so that all the time, though he +did not know it, anxious eyes were watching him. + +The only difficulty was to get a boat through the mass of broken +ice-floes and drifting ice, which covered the heaving surface of the +sea between him and the shore, but pluck and strong arms did it. + +In the end his rescuers brought him safely ashore, where every man, +woman and child in the settlement was on the beach to welcome him with +cheers and--many of them--with tears of joy. + +Doctor Grenfell says that during the whole of this terrible experience +he did not once feel fear. He felt that he would probably lie down and +sleep his last sleep on that ice-floe; the thought did not disturb him +very much. + +At the same time, he did feel something of that regret which comes to +all people when dying, and that was the remembrance of how much time +he had wasted (even he!) when he had life and opportunities for doing +good for other people, and how he had let his opportunities slide by +without doing so much as he might have done. + +So keep on doing good turns every minute whenever you can get a chance +of doing them, and then when you are face to face with death, you will +be able to say: + +"Well, I did my best to do my duty. I did not waste much time on other +things," + + * * * * * + +A PLUCKY BOY SCOUT. + +It is not always in the field of action that Scouts can show their +heroism; sometimes it is at home or in their private life, where their +deeds are not so much seen. Here is a case: + +Patrol Leader Leonard Sanderson, of the 1st Jesmond Troop, met with a +bad lift accident, and smashed his thigh. But even when in awful pain, +and in the shock of the sudden accident, he made light of it for fear +of worrying his parents. Then he was for many weeks in hospital, and +had to undergo several operations, but he was always cheerful and +patient. + +Many presents of fruit came to him, but, like a true Scout he shared +them with the other patients. He made toys for the sick children, and +helped the nurses to roll bandages. He never forgot his duty as a +Scout, and proved himself a good example for others to follow. + + * * * * * + +A SCOUT WHO WAS A SCAMP. + +"The boy who stopped the runaway horse would never have done it if he +had not been a Scout. He was formerly a first-class young scamp and +always in some mischief." + +That is what the report says of him. + +But that is what happens when a lad becomes a Scout; he is no longer a +fool-boy, who goes about yelling aimlessly and making himself a +nuisance to everybody. Instead of that he smartens into a manly +fellow, ready at any moment to give a helping hand to anybody who +wants it, and without taking any reward for it, and without thinking +how poor or rich, how old or young the person may be. + +I was talking once to a well-known nobleman, who told me that he broke +his leg not long ago, and when it was getting right his doctor advised +him to go and walk a little every day with two sticks to support him. + +He accordingly went to Hampstead Heath, and was waddling along quite +comfortably, an inch at a time, when a patrol of Scouts came up, and +the Leader saluted and said: + +"May we help you, sir? We could make a stretcher out of our coats and +staves, and carry you." + +The Duke said that when he looked at the boys and thought of them +trying to carry him--for he is not a small man--he nearly laughed +aloud; but as it was he thanked them very much and told them how he +was walking purposely to get his leg into working order. + +This kind intention, however, has given the Scouts a warm place in his +heart. + + * * * * * + +TRACKING EXERCISE. + +When I am walking along a road or path, I generally do a little +tracking every day, because it is only by constant practice that a +fellow can learn tracking or can keep his eye in when he has learnt +it. It is quite easy and simple to do, only Scouts often do not think +of doing it. + +Here, for instance, is what I did one morning. There is nothing +wonderful in it, but Scouts will understand all the better that such +practice should be an everyday matter, and not merely attempted on +some great occasion. It is bound to be a failure then if it has not +been regularly gone in for before. + +My practice was on an ordinary country road, dry and hard, with a +slight layer of dust in most places, up and down hill; between high +hedges; no wind (wind, you know, soon flattens out tracks in dust and +makes them look much older than they really are). + +At about eight o'clock in the morning, as I passed from one field to +another, I crossed the main road at the point where it reached the top +of a hill. + +I read some news on the ground, and this is what it said + +"_Mrs. Sharp is ill this morning; and Johnny Milne has been to the +railway station to fetch some newspapers._" + +This was how I got at it. + +There were only two fresh tracks. One was of a boy walking and the +other of a bicycle. + +The boy's footmarks showed a nailed boot, not big enough for a man, +walking along the road which led to the school and to the railway +station. It was Saturday, a whole holiday, so he could not be going to +school; he would therefore be going to the station. + +Why to the station? Because at 7.33 the train came with the +newspapers, and there were his tracks going back again, (_They +occasionally overtrod the outgoing footprints._) + +One boy in the village, Johnny Milne, was employed by the shop to +fetch the papers from the train. + +So if the train were punctual he would have passed this spot on his +way back about twenty minutes later; that was at seven minutes to +eight. + +[Illustration: "Mrs. Sharp is ill, and Johnny Milne has brought the +newspapers from the station."] + +Now, the bicycle track showed that the machine was ridden up the hill +(_the track zig-zagged along the road, whereas if it had been +running downhill it would have gone pretty straight_), the rider +getting very tired (more _zig-zag_) near the top. There the +bicycle had stopped (_sharp turn and slither of the wheels in the +sand_), and the rider had got off to rest. It was a woman (_small +foot, no nail marks, small, sharp heel_). + +She had stood a short time (_footmarks on top of each other_), +and had then remounted and ridden on. She had passed this spot between +7.15 and ten minutes to eight. (_The bicycle tracks had passed over +Johnny Milne's outgoing track of 7:15, but his returning footmarks of +ten minutes to eight overtrod the cycle tracks, so they had been made +since it passed._) + +What lady would be cycling along this road at that hour of the +morning? (_A rather stout lady, too, judging from the breadth of her +foot and the fact that she had to rest on arriving at the top of the +hill_.) + +The road led to a cottage where lived Mrs. Sharp, who was not very +well. + +The lady must surely be Mrs. Clarke, the matronly district nurse on +her bicycle going to see Mrs. Sharp and she was still there (_as +there were no return wheel marks_). + +That is how a Scout can read news from the ground, and, though this +morning's news was not important, it is always worth while to practise +reading, because some day you will probably want to pick up some +important information, and it is only everyday practice that will +enable you to do it. + + +FRIENDLINESS + +Law 4. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ALL and a Brother to every other Scout, +no matter to what social class the other belongs. + +_If a Scout meets another Scout, even though a stranger to him, he +must speak to him and help him in any way that he can, either to carry +out the duty he is then doing, or by giving him food, or, so far as +possible, anything that he may be in want of. + +A Scout must never be a snob. + +A snob is one who looks down upon another because he's poorer, or who +is poor and resents another because he is rich. A Scout accepts the +other man as he finds him and makes the best of him-- + +"Kim," the boy scout, was called by the Indians "Little friend of all +the world," and that is the name which every Scout should earn for +himself._ + +The Arabs of the desert are some of the finest Scouts in the world, +not only because they are brave and manly fellows who can shift for +themselves, but also because they are gentlemen at heart, kind to +strangers, and men of honour. + +When you come to an Arab encampment, he does not ask whether you are +rich or lowly born. Once you are within the neighbourhood of his tent, +he expects you to be his guest, and while you are with him he will do +everything that he can to protect you from your enemies. + +These kindly people, who always live in tents, have a habit of using +very long tent ropes for the support of their tents, and these stretch +out some distance on to the plain around their encampment. + +This is done in order that any stranger passing near will find himself +within the Arab's tent ropes--which means that he must come and be his +guest. He expects you to stay with him for about five days, during +which time he feeds you, houses you, and protects you, and he expects +no kind of payment when you depart. + +One of his first acts when you come into his camp is to offer you +water. This is partly in order that you may refresh yourself, but it +is also a secret sign meaning that he will not betray you. + +It is considered bad form to decline hospitality offered in this way, +and even if you are in a hurry you must suppress your own desire to +get forward in order to be courteous to the man who wishes to be your +host. + +The Arabs have a saying, "None but the base and ungrateful refuse +generosity"; but this does not mean that he will take a reward for +being kind to you. To offer a tip is to insult him, and I hope that +Boy Scouts will take it in the same light. + +If you pitch your tent near that of an Arab, and become good friends +with him, he will alter his tent-pegs so that they come within the +line of your own and the tent ropes cross each other. + +This again is a secret sign which means that he and those who live in +his tent are for ever friends of you and any who are living with you. + +Arabs are honourable fellows, and may be trusted to stick to such +understanding. + +One point in which an Arab shows himself more of a gentleman than, +say, the Germans in South-west Africa, is that he will never poison +wells, even though he knows his enemy may use them. + +True comradeship does not take any account of what the other fellow's +position in life may be. + +I remember that when I took a troop of Boy Scouts to Canada, they all +worked in pairs during the whole of the trip, and one of these pairs +consisted of two boys who were respectively the son of an Earl and the +son of a sergeant in an infantry regiment. Yet, although they had been +brought up on totally different lines, they were boys, they were +Scouts, they were not snobs, and they were the best of pals. + +And we see very much the same thing at the Front to-day, where, in the +ranks of every battalion, are to be found men of every class and +standing-- + + "Cook's son, duke's son, son of a belted earl!" + +And so, too, between officers and men there is a splendid feeling of +comradeship, each working for the other so far as he possibly can. And +that is a result that the Germans cannot possibly arrive at, for the +one reason that they are not gentlemen. + +I hope to see this spirit kept up and strengthened by the Scouts, and +especially that rule which makes a Scout a friend to every other +Scout, no matter what his class, creed, or country may be. I am +certain that if this rule is carried out in full it will be a very +great help after the war towards bringing real peace between the +different nations, since the Boy Scouts in each will be true friends +and comrades to those in the others. + + * * * * * + +DOCTORING THE NATIVES. + +A Scout ought to know a little about most injuries and diseases, and +to be able to treat them. In uncivilised countries the natives all +look on a white man as a born doctor, and they bring you cases of +every kind to deal with. + +When I was in Kashmir, a lad was brought to me who had just fallen +down a steep bank. He was in great pain, and his friends and relatives +were already considering him as good as dead. On examination, I found +no bones broken, but his right shoulder out of joint at the socket. So +I told them to lay him flat on his back, and I began to take off my +right shoe, or rather the grass sandal that I was wearing. + +Some of the bystanders, seeing me do this, said: "Oh! he is going to +pray," and immediately began unfastening my other sandal for me. + +You see, these people take off their shoes when they go into church or +to pray, just as we take off our hats. But I wasn't going to pray, and +only took my right sandal off. + +Then I sat down alongside the patient, facing towards his head, my +right leg against his right side, so that my heel came into the armpit +of the injured shoulder, I got one of his friends to sit on the other +side of him to hold him down; then catching tight hold of his wrist +with both hands, I gave a long, steady, strong pull at his arm, using +my heel as a lever, till the shoulder suddenly clicked into its place +again. Such a nice feeling to me, just as if I had hooked a salmon! + +Then he fainted. + +His mother howled? and said I had made a nice mess of the job, and had +killed him. But I grinned and put on my sandal, and told her that was +all part of the show, and that I would now bring him to life quite +sound and well, which I proceeded to do by sprinkling a little water +over his face. He gradually came to his senses, and then found that +his arm was practically all right. + +His own astonishment and theirs was very great, and within half an +hour my tent was full of fruit and chickens and eggs as +thank-offerings. + +But during the next three days all the sick, the maimed, and the blind +were brought in from the country round for me to cure. You never saw +such a lot. Men, women, and children with every conceivable ailment, +including bad eyes, which I treated by bathing with warm weak tea. One +poor chap had had half his face bitten off by a bear, losing his eye +and the whole of his cheek, so that all his teeth were showing in a +horrible grin--the more horrible because the wound had never been +properly dressed. + +Then one enormously fat man asked me to do something for him. Now, +what would you have done in such a case? I only had some lead lotion, +some disinfectant, and a few mustard poultice leaves. So I gave him +one of these mustard leaves, and told him if that wouldn't cure him I +didn't know what would, and in saying that I was speaking the exact +truth. I told him to wet it and put it on his "chest" when he went to +bed. + +Next day he came with tears of gratitude and said I had done more for +him in one night than all the doctors had done for him in years. He +felt that he was already growing thinner. + +I moved my camp twenty miles off that day, as I thought it better to +get away while I had such a good reputation, and, besides, they were +beginning to bring in patients from all over the district, and I had +nothing to cure them with. + +But that is the kind of thing you may expect when you are travelling, +and you should learn while you can how to deal with the usual +ailments, so that you can be of some help to the poor creatures when +you come across them. + + * * * * * + +THE SWASTIKA. + +All the nations of the world have customs of their own, which bear a +curious resemblance to each other. For instance, when a Zulu has to +undertake the dangerous job of crawling up to a lion, he likes to +dress himself in his war-paint before beginning. + +That same sort of idea is to be found in other parts of the world. +Even in our own country, not one hundred years ago, our sailors, +before going into action with an enemy, always liked to wash and shave +themselves, tie their pigtails nattily, and put on their best +neckerchiefs. And even now in Canada the Cree Indians, when they are +hunting a bear, put on their best clothes and decorate themselves +before tackling the danger. + +[Illustration: THE "SWASTIKA."] + +So you see we are all alike in some ways in different parts of the +world. If you sneeze in Scotland people say: "God bless you." If you +sneeze in Masailand (British East-Africa) a native will say: "Good +health to you!" + +There are hundreds of these little customs which are used by people in +different corners of the earth who have never had anything to do with +each other. + +But perhaps the most wonderful of all is the sign of the "Swastika," +which we Scouts use as our "Badge of Brotherhood." + +Nobody knows the exact history of where it came from, or what it +means; but it is found in almost every part of the world, and is very, +very old. + +Rudyard Kipling believes it was made by a man in ancient days, who put +two twigs crossed on the ground and trod them down into the mud so as +to leave a mark to act as a guide to others, like a Scout's +ground-mark. + +But another story is this: + +Where the Atlantic Ocean now is, people in old days believed that +there was a great land called Atlantis, which has since sunk under the +sea. + +This land was watered by four great rivers, which ran across the whole +in different directions--north, south, east, and west. This cross is +meant for the four rivers, and is the crest of the Continent of +Atlantis. + +But whatever the meaning of it was, the Swastika Cross is found in all +parts of the world as an ancient mark. + +Thus, in Norway it appears on the sword-scabbard of the ancient +Norsemen as a sign to bring good luck; also in Iceland, Germany, and +France on old pottery. + +In the south it is found in West Africa, in Greece, and Egypt. + +In the west it is found in America, in Arizona, and Mexico, and South +America. + +And in the east in India, Tibet, Japan, China, and Persia. + +Thus, it stands for Europe, Asia, Africa, and America--all the world; +and it is, in each of them, considered to be a sign of friendliness +and good wishes. + +That is how we come to use it in the Scouts, whose business is to do +good turns and to help other people wherever we may be. + +When, therefore, we want to show particular goodwill to anyone, +especially those who have done us a good turn, we give to them a +"Swastika," or "Badge of Brotherhood," to wear. This makes them +members of the brotherhood of Scouts, although they are not actual +Scouts themselves; and when they show their badge to a Scout he will +do all he can to help them in whatever part of the world they may be. + + * * * * * + +OUR BUTTONHOLE BADGE. + +I expect most Scouts have found, like I have done, that wherever you +go in the streets, or in a strange town, or far out in the country, +you come across a boy wearing a buttonhole badge. As you get nearer +you see that it is the well-known three-pointed badge of the Scouts. + +You make the salute sign, shake hands with left hands, and there you +are, in company with a friend and brother, who a minute before was a +total stranger to you. + + * * * * * + +CHILIAN SCOUTS. + +Our World-roving Commissioner--for we have one who travels about to +all countries now--was once in Chile, which, as you know, is a long, +narrow strip of country in South America, three thousand miles long, +and not one hundred miles wide, packed in between the Andes Mountains +and the Pacific Ocean. + +The Boy Scouts of Chile are among the best in the world. They have +done a lot of tramping-camps and other expeditions. Finally, their +Government arranged a cruise for them on board a man-of-war, and they +lived for over a week on the ship, about two hundred of them, learning +swimming, boating, navigation, engine-room work; in fact, all the +duties of Sea Scouts. + +These boys all had to pay their messing and other expenses, so it was +only the richer ones that were able to go; but since then they have +arranged to go another cruise, and each of the richer ones is going to +take a poorer Scout with him as his guest, and will pay his expenses +for him. + +That's what I like to see, and it tells me more than any other reports +that the Chilian Scouts have got the right spirit in them. + +A lad from Brixham, in Devonshire, went out to take up some work in +Chile. He was a Boy Scout, and continued while away to wear his +buttonhole badge. One day, when he was out in the back parts of that +out-of-the-way country, a Chilian boy came up to him, gave the Scout +salute, and pointing to his badge, said: + +"You Boy Scout? Me Scout too!" and he took him home to tea, and looked +after him, and thus they became good friends. + +So you see the use of being a Scout and of wearing your badge. + +Even in everyday life at home it is also a good thing to do, because +you may often have a chance of doing a good turn to a stranger Boy +Scout if he could only recognise that you were a scout. + +I suppose there is not a day passes without my coming across a Scout, +in plain clothes, wearing his buttonhole badge and so I am able to +spot him and to have a chat with him. Whereas, if he had not had his +badge on, I should probably never have noticed him. + +Also, it is a sign to outsiders. People have got to know now how +useful the Scouts are, and they are often anxious to get hold of one +to help them in some difficulty. Well, if they see a boy coming along +with the badge on, they know that he is a Scout, though not in +uniform, and they are able to ask him to do them the good turn. + +So wear your buttonhole badge for the sake of other people. + + +POLITENESS + +LAW 5. A SCOUT IS COURTEOUS. + +_A Scout should be polite to all--but especially to women and +children, old people and invalids, cripples, etc. And he must not take +any reward for being helpful or courteous._ + +Courteousness is much the same sort of thing as Chivalry, which is +closely allied to Honour. Both were practised in the old days by the +Knight's, who went about risking their lives in order to defend and +help the weaker people, women and children, against bullies and +marauders. + +Why did they do this? + +It did not bring them money, for it would be a disgrace to a Knight to +accept any reward for doing a good turn. It only brought them danger +of wounds or death. It was an adventure. They were good sportsmen and +manly fellows. Their conscience told them that it was right for the +strong and plucky man to protect those who were weaker than himself. +They were not obliged to do it by the law of the land, but there was a +stronger law which appealed to them--and that was their own sense of +Honour which led them to be chivalrous men. + +Honour was the _spirit_ that moved them; + +Chivalry was the putting into practice what their Honour bade them do. + +The ordinary boy has no chivalry--at least, he has got it all right +under the surface, only he is in the silly-ass stage, and he forgets +it. If he sees a poor hunchback or a cripple he will often laugh or +stare at him. He forgets that the other is an unfortunate, and has had +the bad luck to be born that way. + +A healthy boy on seeing a deformed person ought to thank God that he +is himself sound in body and able to enjoy life, and he should do what +he can to make things pleasant for his less fortunate brother. + +That, is what a Scout would do, because he is chivalrous. + + * * * * * + +KNIGHT'S OATH ON INVESTITURE + +A.D. 506. + +Sir, you that desire to receive the Order of Knighthood, swear, before +God, and by this Holy Book, that you shall not fight against the King, +who now bestoweth the Order of Knighthood upon you; you shall also +swear with all your force and power to maintain and defend all ladies, +gentlewomen, widows, orphans, and distressed women; and you shall shun +no adventure of your person in any way or war wherein you shall happen +to be. + +Fourteen hundred years ago the old Knights of Britain used to be sworn +to do their duty in these words. + +Their oath was much the same as the promise which the "young Knights" +of the present time make when they become Boy Scouts, for they promise +to serve God and the King, and to help others, especially women and +children, and not to think of their own trouble or risk so long as +they do a good turn to others needing help. + +The Knights, being mounted men, were called the "Chivalry," the old +word for "Cavalry"--from the Latin "_cavallus_" and the French +"_cheval_," meaning a horse. + +Then any noble act done by the Knights was said to be "Chivahous" or +Knight-like. + +So the word "chivalry" now means doing things which the Knights of old +did. + +It is chivalry to do one's duty to God and the King, to help women and +children, and all people in distress; and to be plucky and brave in +carrying out one's duty. + +That is why Boy Scouts are frequently being described in the papers as +"chivalrous." I hope they will go on and continue to deserve the +title. + +One great step in "Courteousness" is to be grateful when anybody does +you a "good turn," and to tell them you are grateful by saying "Thank +you." It is a little thing to do, but it is a great thing to the +person who has done the kindness to feel that it was not thrown away. + + * * * * * + +A DIRTY GENTLEMAN. + +A bus drove by under my window. It was crowded with people, inside and +out. On the outside every seat was filled, so much so that one woman +had to stand. I saw men look round at her, one apparently annoyed +because she accidentally jostled his newspaper, but none offered to +give her his seat. + +They were most of them well-to-do men, such as go by the name of +gentlemen so far as their dress and appearance went but when it came +to the true test of a gentleman, that is, the feeling of chivalry and +politeness to women, the only gentleman among them was a working boy, +a lad of about fifteen, in dirty clothes, with dirty hands and face. + +When he saw a woman standing he at once left his seat and beckoned her +into it. I hope that some of his so-called betters had the good sense +to feel ashamed at being taught manners by a working boy. Perhaps he +was a Scout. At any rate, he acted as a Scout would in the same +circumstances. + + * * * * * + +WHAT IS A GENTLEMAN? + +Many people are inclined to think that the word "gentleman" means a +man who was born rich, and that a boy brought up at expensive schools +and colleges must therefore be a gentleman when he has grown up. But +this does not always follow. + +A fellow who is lucky enough to have been brought up in that way has +certainly better chances of being a gentleman than many a poor boy +has; but at the same time a poor boy can be just as good a gentleman +as a rich one. + +A gentleman is what the word says; he is a man, but a gentle man, not +a rough, bullying, coarse customer, but a fellow who, though big and +strong, can be kind and chivalrous and helpful to other people. + +As good a sample as any of a "gentleman" is the London policeman. He +is at all times courteous and helpful to others, even to the extent of +being ready to risk his life at any moment to save people in cases of +accidents, or to protect them against rough handling, and he treats +rich and poor, old and young, with equal attention and patience, and +good humour. + + * * * * * + +SCOUTS OF THE DESERT. + +Several years ago I spent, some time with Arabs in North Africa, in +Tunisia and Algeria, and I found them first-rate fellows, They were +very fond of any kind of adventurous sport, and were hospitable and +courteous. + +Numbers of them used to come out with their dogs to help me to find +game, and after a long day's beating in the thorn bush and high grass, +when we finished hunting, they used to shake hands and go off home, +quite happy if I had had a good day, and not expecting or seeking for +a tip or a reward as is so generally the case, I am sorry to say, in +England. Men here seem to think that they ought to be paid for every +blessed thing they do. + +The Arab chiefs, too, were kindly hosts, they gave me the best of +food, generally a sort of Irish stew of chickens and rice, and made me +comfortable in their own tents at night under their blankets. + +They are very clean people, very brave, very courteous and very +honourable. So they are true Scouts of the Desert. They have a number +of little camp customs which Scouts ought to know--and many of them +are like those practised by scouts. + +Arabs are always very strict in saluting each other. + +The custom of saluting came, as you know, from the old times, when +everybody carried weapons, and the act of raising the right hand on +meeting another man was meant to show that you had not got a weapon in +that hand, and were therefore a friend. + +It is exactly the same to this day with the Zulus and other South +African tribes, who carry clubs and assegais; on meeting each other +they pass their weapons into the left hand, and raise their right to +show that it is empty, and that therefore they don't mean to fight +you. + +So it is, too, with the Arabs. + +If a horseman meets a man on foot, the horseman salutes first, because +he is in the more powerful position, and it is only fair that the man +on foot should therefore have his weapon ready till he knows that the +mounted man is friendly. + +In the same way, if a man is sitting down and another walks up to him, +the man who is walking is in the better position for attacking, so he +salutes first to show that he is friendly. + +It is very bad form to pitch your tent close to the water supply of +the camp, because it looks as if you were taking possession of the +spring, and that anyone else wanting to use it would have to get your +permission or be liable to be attacked by you when getting his water. +So an Arab always pitches his tent at some little distance away from +the spring or well, in order to show that it is free to all. + +When an Arab comes to a strange camp he rides up to the largest tent +and dismounts., and walks straight to the fire around which the +inhabitants are sitting. He then says in a loud voice: + +"Peace be with you." + +All those sitting round the fire get up and reply: + +"And with you, peace." + + +KINDNESS TO ANIMALS + +Law 6. A SCOUT IS A FRIEND TO ANIMALS. + +_He should save them, so far as possible, from pain, and should not +kill any animal unnecessarily, even if it is only a fly, for it is one +of God's creatures. Killing an animal for food, or an animal which is +harmful, is allowable. + +It is a curious thing that animals and children both seem to recognise +a good man when they meet him, and are at once friendly with him; and +I have always found that the bravest men are in their turn kind to +them. + +You must have noticed how our soldiers at the Front and our sailors in +the Fleet all seem to have their pet animals and mascots, and when I +was in France I noticed on many occasions our men playing with the +little French children among their ruined homes close up to the firing +line. + +They were all the best of friends: although they knew scarcely a word +of each other's language. + +In the same way as a Knight or a Boy Scout is chivalrous to weaker +folk, so he is chivalrous also to animals. + +Animals are weaker folk than ourselves in the matter of mind and +understanding, but they can be very affectionate and faithful where +they have learnt that the human being, though strong _enough to_ +hurt, them, is kind and gentle. They are quick to show that they +appreciate such kindness. You know how your own dog half-curls himself +round Wagging his tail and grinning with pleasure when he sees you; +and also how your horse nuzzles you all over to find the sugar that he +knows you are going to give him. + +So give animals all the kindness you can, and make their lives happy. + +Many boys are inclined to be cruel simply because they don't +think--they are not yet manly enough--they are, as I said before, in +the silly-ass stage. + +But a Scout who is manly and chivalrous towards people will at all +times be the same towards animals. It is wonderful what pleasure you +can get out of it in return, whether you train your dog to obey your +slightest sign, or whether you tame a robin to be your friend. + +The other day I came across a proprietor of a garage who showed +himself to be a good and kindly man because he had supplied the Scout +troop of the town with a loft to use as a club-room. But he proved to +me that he was a good man by taking me into his sitting-room and +showing me his tame canary, which did every kind of trick at his +command, and sang to him, answered his whistle, and came at his call +and kissed him. + +Apart from the interest of training an animal in confinement, there is +all the fun and adventure to be got out of stalking and watching +animals and birds in the wild and learning their ways and customs. The +more you do this, and the more you understand about how they are made +and how they do their various works, the better you will understand +the wonders of Nature and of the Creator. + + * * * * * + +THE RIGHT WAY TO GO BIRDS'-NESTING. + +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 saw 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't 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. + +A good many birds are almost dying out in Great Britain, 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 haunts of the birds you want; +you watch the birds fly in and out and you find the nest. But you 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 photograph, or to make a +sketch of the hen sitting on her nest, or to make a collection of +pictures of the different kinds of nests built 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 snow-storm 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 birdlime, 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 out again, 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 built their nests and hatched out their young, so that +to-day the song of the lark is to be heard everywhere round Aberdeen. + + * * * * * + +BIRDS' NESTS. + +One January I went "bird's-nesting" with a party of Scout-masters. It +seems an odd time of year to do that; but we really went to see how +they manage to persuade birds to come and make their nests in the Bird +Sanctuary, near Brentford, just outside London. + +We went into the big wood there, and soon found ourselves in the +presence of birds, for everywhere one could hear the piping, trilling, +and whistling of unseen warblers, and every now and then one of them +would flit across our path. + +Then, on the side of almost every tree, we noticed a small box, +entirely closed up except for a small hole in the front. These were +the "nesting-boxes," and every spring the birds come and make their +nests in these boxes, and bring up their families. The consequence is +that the place is now alive with singing birds. + +The son of Mr. Mark Webb, the manager of the Sanctuary, is in his +teens, but he knows everything about the birds that come there and +their ways, and he also knows all the different kinds of plants and +trees that grow in the wood. He is a very complete stalker-Scout, and +evidently gets a lot of fun and satisfaction out of watching the birds +and their doings. + +Well, almost any Scout can do the same, and my advice to you is to +make a nesting-box or two as soon as you can, and put them up on +trees. Then, at the proper time, you may have the satisfaction of +seeing some rare kind of bird coming to your box and raising a family +there. + +The box should be eight to ten inches high, by six wide and deep, and +the top preferably sloping to run any rain off. + +[Illustration: A NESTING-BOX FOR BIRDS.] + +The door is a small round or pear-shaped hole near the top of the box, +so that there is plenty of room for the nest below it. + +A little ledge for the birds, and especially the young ones, to rest +upon, is a good thing to have on the front of the box. If possible, +paint your box roughly with dabs of green and brown to make it +match the tree stem and leaves, and put on it the name of your +patrol and troop if you like. + +Then fix it to a tree trunk about six feet above the ground, where it +is safe from rats or snakes, and on the side of the tree farthest from +the path, if there be one near, so that the birds will not be frightened + by passers-by. If it is on the sunny side, so much the better. + +Birds will build in almost anything which offers them safety +and shelter; an old kettle, for instance, or an old tin pot is a +favourite site for a nest. If you scatter a few crumbs or grains +of corn about your box every day at first, the birds will +become accustomed to it, and will soon adopt it as their home. + +Any Scout who has not a tree of his own to hang his box on can +probably get leave to put it up, if he asks nicely, in some +neighbour's wood or garden, or in a park, and can then visit it from +time to time to see how it is getting on. + +Most nesting-boxes have their roof, or front, on hinges, or made so +that it can slide off; but it does not do to examine the nest when +once it is made, or the old birds will desert it. + + * * * * * + +BIRD MIGRATION. + +The movements of birds as they change their quarters still puzzle the +naturalists. + +It is marvellous how they seem to like travelling, and no one can +understand why they take certain paths through the air when they are +doing it. + +For instance, the black pool warbler, in America, spends its summer in +Alaska, and goes down to South America for the winter. It takes the +straightest course it can from Alaska to Brazil, flying over land and +sea--and a wide sea, too, is the Gulf of Mexico. But the cliff +swallow, which also spends the winter in Brazil and the summer in +North Canada, takes quite a different route, and goes an extra 2000 +miles in order to avoid going over the sea, and follows the land all +round by Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, and so +through the United States. + +The distances which birds cover when "migrating" are enormous. Some +American plovers are known to travel for 8000 miles, one part of the +journey being 2500 miles without resting as they pass over the sea. + +The arctic tern goes even farther, it nests near the North Pole, and +then makes its way down to near the South Pole, a journey of 11,000 +miles. + +Perhaps you wonder how we know that the birds travel these long +distances. Well, a good many naturalists and stalkers catch birds when +young or tired and mark them by putting a small ring round their leg +with a number on it. Then other naturalists keep a look out in other +parts of the world, and when they kill or find a bird with such a +number on it they report it. + +Aberdeen University marked a large number of birds in this way--with a +tiny aluminium ring round the bird's leg, with the words "Aberdeen +University" and a number on it. + +A wild duck which they had marked in Scotland was caught in a net the +same year in Holland. + +Of five lapwings marked in Aberdeenshire, four were shot in Ireland +the same year, and one in Portugal, 1250 miles away. A song-thrush was +also shot in Portugal, which had been marked in Scotland the same +year. + +A young guillemot was taken from its nest in Aberdeenshire and marked, +and less than five months afterwards it was shot in Sweden. + +So, you see, it is interesting to watch in this way what the birds do +in the travelling line. + +Scouts can help in keeping a look out, and if ever they capture or +hear of a bird marked with a ring, they should report it to Professor +A. Thomson, The University, Aberdeen. They should state the number on +the ring, the kind of bird, where found, and the date on which it was +found. + + * * * * * + +STUDYING ANIMALS. + +The boar is certainly the bravest of all animals: he is the real "King +of the Jungle," and the other animals all know it. If you watch a +drinking-pool in the jungle at night, you will see the animals that +come to it all creeping down nervously, looking out in every direction +for hidden enemies. But when the boar comes he simply swaggers down, +with his great head and shiny tusks swinging from side to side; he +cares for nobody, but everybody cares for him; even a tiger drinking +at the pool will give a snarl and sneak quickly out of sight. + +I have often lain out on moonlight nights to watch the animals, +especially wild boars, in the jungle, and it is just as good fun as +merely going after them to kill them. + +And I have caught and kept a young wild boar and a young panther, and +found them most amusing and interesting little beggars. The boar used +to live in my garden, and he never became really tame, though I got +him as a baby. + +He would come to me when I called him--but very warily; he would never +come to a stranger, and a native he would "go for," and try to cut him +with his little tusks. + +He used to practise the use of his tusks while turning at full speed +round an old tree stump in the garden, and he would gallop at this and +round it in a figure of eight continuously for over five minutes at a +time, and then fling himself down on his side, panting with his +exertions. + +My panther was also a beautiful and delightfully playful beast, and +used to go about with me like a dog; but he was very uncertain in his +dealings with strangers. + +I think one gets to know more about animals and to understand them +better by keeping them as pets first, and then going and watching them +in their wild, natural life. + +But before going to study big game in the jungles, everybody must +study all animals, wild and tame, at home. It would be a very good +thing if every Scout kept some kind of animal, such as a pony or a +dog, birds or rabbits, or even live butterflies. + +Every Boy Scout ought to know all about the tame animals which he sees +every day. You ought to know all about grooming feeding, and watering +a horse, about putting him into harness or taking him out of harness, +and putting him in the stable, and know when he is going lame and +should not therefore be worked. + + * * * * * + +CHIVALRY TO A SHEEP + +A lady was walking on the Sussex Downs with her old father, who was an +invalid. Suddenly, she saw below her a number of sheep penned in, as +they often are, for the night. Two large dogs had got among them, and +the bodies of two dead sheep told of the mischief already done, while +the other frightened sheep were huddled together, waiting for their +turn to be attacked. + +The lady did not know what to do; she did not like to leave her +invalid father alone while she went down, and it was far too steep a +descent for the latter to attempt. + +Just then, round the corner came five Scouts, quite small, the eldest +being only thirteen years old. They soon took in the situation and +advanced to the fray. When the dogs saw them, they left the sheep and +rushed, barking, at them, and the Scouts fled. But only for a minute! + +A council of war was held, and again they advanced, poles in hand, and +this time succeeded in driving off the dogs. The last the lady saw was +the plucky little patrol kneeling, with their coats off, round a poor +sheep on the ground. After that, she left, feeling the sheep was in +good hands. + +In a few moments the sheep revived, its temples were laved with water, +some of which it also drank and enjoyed. Still, it was beyond standing +alone, and what was to be done next? + +A stretcher was made with the poles and coats, and then came the +difficulty of getting the heavy body on to the stretcher. At last this +difficulty was overcome, and the procession started over the rough +field to the farm, two miles off. + +At last the farm was reached, and the Scouts, after helping the farmer +render further, and perhaps more useful, first-aid, started on their +journey homeward. + +This is an absolutely true story. What would have happened twenty +years ago had five town boys seen those dogs at work destroying sheep? + +They might perhaps have run away, possibly to seek help, but I am none +too sure that they would not have looked on and rather enjoyed it, +merely thinking what a good story they would have to tell their +comrades on their return home. + +Scouting has not only taught boys what to do in an emergency, but it +has taught, and is teaching, our small boys the meaning of love and +kindness to other human beings and also to animals, + + * * * * * + +LORD NELSON AT A BULL FIGHT. + +The following is what Lord Nelson wrote about a bull fight which he +went to see in Spain: + +"The amphitheatre will hold 16,000 people, and some 12,000 were +present. Ten bulls were selected, and one brought out at a time. Three +cavaliers on horseback and foot men with flags were the combatants. We +had what is called a fine 'feast,' for five horses were killed and two +men very much hurt; had they been killed it would have been quite +complete. + +"We felt for the bulls and the horses, and I own it would not have +displeased me to have seen some of the dons (Spaniards) tossed by the +enraged animals. + +"How women can even sit out, much less applaud, such sights is +astonishing. It even turned us sick, and we could hardly go through +it; the dead, mangled horses and the bulls covered with blood were too +much. We have seen one bull feast, and agree that nothing shall ever +tempt us to see another-" + +This is what Nelson, the hero of many a grimly fought battle, has +written, and it shows how even a man accustomed to the sight of blood +and death can be horrified and disgusted at it when it is done as a +form of sport and at the cost of pain to dumb animals. + +Scouts should always remember this in dealing with animals, and have +the same feeling which that prince of sea scouts, Nelson, had. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD YOUNG SCOUT. + +I met a young Patrol-leader going along in a hurry, evidently on duty. +So I asked him where he was off to, and he replied that he was going +to call his patrol together--there are only three in it at +present--and to get three more Tenderfoots to join it at once, as they +had serious work on hand. + +I then found out from his father that the serious work was this: The +patrol had come across a lot of boys torturing some frogs by blowing +them out with straws. The Scouts were not strong enough to stop them, +but they went to the police constable, and asked if they might take +the law into their own hands and "go for" these boys. + +The policeman consented, and now they were going to raise their patrol +to full strength in order to tackle the torturers, and put a stop to +the cruelty to the frogs. + +I heard afterwards that they were successful. + + +OBEDIENCE + +Law 7. A SCOUT OBEYS ORDERS of his parents, Patrol-leader, or +Scoutmaster without question. + +Even _if he gets an order which he does not like, a Scout must +do_ AS _soldiers_ AND SAILORS DO, _or_ AS _he would do +if he got it _FROM _his_ CAPTAIN _in a football match--he +must carry it out all the same, because it is his duty; after he has +done it he can come and state any reasons against it: but he must +carry out the order at once. That is discipline_. + + * * * * * + +PLAY THE GAME. + +Suppose you were playing outside forward in a football match, and you +were on the ball with a good opening for a run before you, when you +suddenly heard your captain shout "Centre!" What would you do? Go on +with the ball, or pass it to a centre player? + +You would, of course, obey the captain's order and pass it. + +Why? + +Because you know that if every fellow played the game for his own fun +and glory, his side would never win--the team would be all over the +place. + +To prevent this, each player has got his certain allotted place in the +field, and the captain, who is best placed for seeing how the game is +going on, is able to give directions that will help his side to win. + +Of course, the success depends on every player doing his best to carry +out his captain's orders efficiently and well. + +It is not only in football or hockey that this system brings success, +but in every game of life. + +We see it just now on a very big scale at the Front--in the great game +of war--where men obey their captains' orders not only when it is +inconvenient to them to do so, but often when it means danger and +death to them. But in doing it they well know that, though they are +sacrificing themselves, they are helping their side to win; and that +is the right, spirit in which to play the game of life. + +Therefore, even in small things, get yourself into the habit, of +obeying orders whether or not you like doing it. + +If you can thus make a practice of it in small everyday matters like +obeying your parents at home, or your Patrol-leader when scouting, +obedience will come quite natural to you in the bigger duties of life, +and you will then be looked upon by both your comrades and your +officers as a really valuable man--one who can be trusted to play in +his place and to play the game in obedience to the rules and to his +captain, not for his own glorification but in order that his side may +win. + + * * * * * + +BRITISH DISCIPLINE. + +When Gibraltar was being besieged a hundred and thirty years ago by +the French and Spaniards on land and sea, the British Troops holding +the place stuck it out valiantly for three long years, and were in the +end relieved by the Fleet from home. But though there were many who +wanted to give in and were dead sick of the whole thing, General +Elliott, the commander of the garrison, showed such dogged +determination, and insisted on such strict discipline, that he held +the garrison together. + +His measures for defence were so successful that every man realised +that the real road to safety and success was strict obedience to his +orders. In fact, it was a case where obedience won the day. And they +loved and admired the old general, too, for his pluck, his humanity, +and his sense of humour. + +On one occasion a man ventured to disobey an order that was given to +him, and when he was brought before the commander the General said +that if a man could disobey an order at such a critical time he could +not be in his right mind, he must be mad. Therefore he ordered that +the usual treatment accorded to a lunatic should be applied to the +offender. His head was to be shaved, he was to be blistered and bled, +and kept in a padded cell on a light diet of bread and water--and also +be prayed for in church, + +Well, the General was quite right. If a man cannot obey orders when +there is danger to all he must be mad. But it is difficult for a man +to be obedient at such a time if he has never learnt to be obedient in +ordinary times, and that is why discipline is so strongly kept up in +both the Army and Navy in peace time. + +A man is taught to obey even the smallest order most carefully and +without hesitation, until it becomes such a habit with him that when +an order is given him, a big or dangerous one, he carries it out, at +once without any question. And, when everybody can be trusted to obey +orders, it is an easy thing for the commander to manoeuvre his troops +and conduct the battle with some chance of success. + +You remember the story which I told you in _Scouting for Boys_ +about the ship _Birkenhead_, on board of which discipline and +obedience were so splendidly shown by the soldiers. + +The ship was carrying about 630 soldiers, with their families, and 130 +seamen. Near the Cape of Good Hope one night she ran on to some rocks, +and began to break up. The soldiers were at once paraded on deck +half-dressed as they were, just out of their hammocks. + +Some were told off to get out the boats and to put the women and +children into them, and others were told off to get the horses up out +of the hold, and to lower them overboard into the sea, in order that +they might have a chance of swimming ashore. + +When this had all been done, it was found that there were not enough +boats to take everybody, and so the men were ordered to remain in +their ranks on the deck, while the women and children, with a few men +to row them, moved off from the sinking ship. + +The boats had not gone far when the ship broke into half and began to +go down. The captain shouted to the men to jump overboard and save +themselves, but the Colonel, Colonel Seaton, interrupting the captain +ordered the men to stand where they were, and to keep their ranks, for +he saw that if they swam to the boats and tried to get in they would +probably sink them too. + +So the men kept their ranks, and as the ship rolled over and sank, +they gave a cheer and went down with her. + +Out of the whole 760 on board only 192 were saved, but even these +would probably have been lost had it not been for the discipline and +self-sacrifice of the others in obeying the order to keep their ranks +and not to try to get into the boats. + +So you see the value of discipline in a difficult crisis or moment of +danger. + +The great Duke of Wellington, who was Commander-in-Chief of the +British Army, when describing this heroic act on the _Birkenhead_, +praised very highly the discipline of the men--he did not praise their +bravery. It was brave of them, but he considered that all Britons are +naturally brave--he expected bravery of them. But discipline is another +thing; it has to be learnt. + +In battle or in a big danger a brave man may be very useful, but if he +does pretty much as he pleases he is not half so valuable as the man +who, besides being brave, has also learnt, to obey every order at +once. + +Watch firemen at work. They are all brave enough; they would all like +to be at the top of the ladder fighting the flames, but their +discipline makes them work at their different jobs, each playing in +his place, obeying orders, and doing his share in order that the fire +may be put out, not that he should win special glory or excitement for +himself. + +Even in the streets there is discipline. The policeman regulates the +traffic so that all vehicles moving in one direction keep to one side +of the road, and thus allow the traffic in the opposite direction to +keep moving along the other side. But if one 'bus-driver did not feel +inclined to obey orders, but dashed about in his own way, not caring +to which side of the road he went so long as he went ahead, there +would be accidents and delay in no time, and the whole traffic would +be upset. If you are in business with a large number of others, it is +useful for the good of the whole that you obey the orders which you +receive from those who are in authority over you. If the seniors can +be sure that their assistants will carry out their orders, they can +carry on the business properly. Discipline is necessary everywhere, +but the thing is to learn while you are young to carry it out in small +things, so that you would be able to do so when it comes to your turn +to do it in a great difficulty or danger. In order to do this you have +to be able to command yourself in the first place. + +The soldier does not go into a battle because he likes it. It is a +dangerous place, and he feels inclined to run away; but he commands +himself, and says "I must go whether I like it or not, because it is +my duty." + +When he gets his orders from his officers to attack the enemy, he +would probably be more anxious still to go in the opposite direction, +but he commands himself and says: "I must obey the orders of my +officers." + +And the officers obey the orders of the general, and so the whole +force moves everywhere to the attack simply from a spirit of +discipline, each man making himself do his proper share, so that +although he may lose his life, yet his side may win the battle. + +So it will be with you every day. You will have your duty to do, when +often you would much rather do your pleasure, or play some games; but +you have to command yourself and order yourself to do your duty in the +first place, and amuse yourself afterwards. + +When you succeed in doing this, and in always obeying the orders of +your officer readily and cheerily, in small things as well as in great +things, you will soon find that it becomes a habit with you and not a +trouble, so that when the time comes for you to carry out some +difficult and dangerous order you will be able to do it at once, +without any hesitation and with complete success for the good of your +side--that is, for the good of your business, your employer, or of +your Country, without thinking of the difficulty or danger to +yourself. + +With a Scout, your "_Duty_" is to do a good turn to somebody +every day. Your "_Discipline_" makes you command yourself to +carry this out, even though it may be irksome or dangerous, and though +nobody is there to see you do it. You do it because it is your duty +and you are trusted, on your honour, to do it. + + * * * * * + +A DISOBEDIENT SCOUT. + +I once had a brave scout in my force in the South African War. He was +a brave man and an active scout, but he was not good at obeying +orders, and in the end this cost him his life and did harm to our +plans. + +We had news of a force of the enemy which did not know of our presence +in that part of the country. So we hid ourselves, meaning to surprise +and capture them when they came along. + +The orders were that not a sound was to be made and not a man +_was_ to show himself, and these orders were faithfully carried +out--except by this one scout. He thought he knew better than others, +and he slipped away unseen to go and look out for the enemy's +approach. + +Presently he spied a hostile scout and fired at him; the enemy's scout +returned his fire, and after a short duel both of them fell mortally +wounded. + +But the noise of their shooting gave the alarm to the enemy's force; +more came upon the spot, and, finding a British scout there, they +naturally guessed that there must be more in the neighbourhood, so +they took all precautions, sent out scouts in all directions, and +then, coming on our tracks, at last discovered our hiding-place, and +gave warning to their own side, who were then able to make their +escape. + +If my scout had only learnt, when a boy, how to obey orders, it might +have made a great difference that day to him, to us--and to the enemy. + + * * * * * + +SCOUT TEXT. + +Here is a text which will help Scouts to discipline themselves: + +CHEW GUM IF YOUR JAWS WANT EXERCISE. + +That was the advice given by a "self-made merchant to his son." He +meant, don't exercise your jaws by talking if you have nothing +important to say don't talk for the mere sake of talking; and, above +all, don't argue when you get an order. + +Boys, you know, are rather fond of asking endless silly questions. +Before speaking you should think first whether what you are going to +say is really necessary or not, and then don't waste words or other +people's attention if it is not. If you _must_ keep your jaw +wagging, our American friend says "chew gum." + + * * * * * + +THE SILENT KING OF ASHANTI. + +In the expedition to Ashanti, on the Gold Coast, West Africa, when we +captured the King, Prempeh, he was carrying in his mouth a kind of nut +which looked like big, fat cigar. We found that he did this to prevent +himself talking too much. + +If he felt inclined to make some meaningless remark, or in the heat of +an argument to let out a hasty opinion, he could not do so without +first having to take this impediment out of his mouth, and that gave +him time to think twice about what he was going to say. + +I often think it would be a good thing if every nasty-tempered fellow +had to carry such a nut in his mouth, so that when he wanted suddenly +to let out a volley of abuse it would give him time to think and stop +it. + + * * * * * + +SHOUTING SCOUTS AT WIMBLEDON. + +I heard of a lady who, when riding on Wimbledon Common, came across a +party of Boy Scouts. She discovered their whereabouts by the immense +amount of jabbering that was going on; so, being the wife of an +officer, and knowing a good deal about scouting, she rode up to the +Scouts, and told them just what I should have told them, that unless +you practise keeping quiet at all times, you will forget to do so on +some important occasion, and so will give yourselves away. + +Scouts should always talk low and quietly, and also should always move +quietly and lightly. + +Remember on a still day or in the night a heavy, thumping footfall can +be heard a long way off, even in open country, and very much more so +in a street or in a house. So practise always treading lightly and +silently, and you will soon gain the Scouts' habit of moving unheard. + +I have heard from an officer at the Front, who regrets that two old +Scouts whom he had with him have been killed or wounded. He found that +ordinary soldiers would not move quietly at night, and so were useless +to him. He has now got an ex-burglar as the next best thing to an +ex-Boy Scout! + + +CHEERFULNESS + +Law 8. A SCOUT SMILES AND WHISTLES UNDER ALL DIFFICULTIES. + +_When he gets an order, he should obey it cheerily and readily, not +in a slow_, hang-dog _sort of way. + +Scouts never grouse at hardships nor whine at each other, nor_ +swear _when put out, but go on whistling and smiling. When you just +miss a train, or someone treads on your favourite corn--not that +Scouts should have such things as corns--or in any annoying +circumstances, you should force yourself to smile at once, and then +whistle a tune, and you will be all right. + +The punishment for swearing or using bad language is for each offence, +a_ mug of _cold water to be poured down the offender's _sleeve +by the other Scouts. It was the punishment invented by the old British +scout, Captain John Smith, three hundred years ago_. + +When I was encamped with my troop of Scouts at Humshaugh, +Northumberland, a gentleman living in the neighbourhood invited us to +come and visit the castle in which he lived. It was a beautiful old +tower left much in the state in which it was when it formed one of the +Border defences against Scotland. On the top was the fighting platform +from which the archers fired their bolts and arrows, and the gunners +fired their culverins. On the storey below were the rooms in which the +family lived, and below these again were the guardrooms of the +men-at-arms. On the ground-floor was the cattle stable into which the +herds were driven for security when the enemy were around. The +portcullis which closed the gateway was still in existence, hauled up +and down by means of ropes over pulleys of which the levers were +worked on the floor above. + +In later and more peaceful times, that is in the reign of James I, a +house was built on to the tower to give more room to the inhabitants. + +In the hall of this house was a noble fireplace above which there was +an elaborate overmantel of carved oak illustrating the seven Christian +virtues. There were little statues representing Fortitude, +Benevolence, Faith, etc., etc., all the qualities which a good +Christian should possess and carry into practice. But I felt, after +looking at them all, that there was still one virtue missing, and I +suggested to the boys that you might carry out all these seven good +qualities of a Christian without doing it to the best effect. You +might carry it out as an order to be kind, to be helpful, to be +chivalrous, and so on, but if you only did it because it was an order, +and therefore did it grumpily, half its value was lost. + +The important point is that when you know what is the right thing to +do, you should jump to it and do it cheerily with a smile. Therefore I +thought that we Scouts might add one more to these seven Christian +virtues--namely Cheerfulness, + +Then there is another good reason for being cheerful. + +Have you ever noticed as you walk along the street how very few people +look really happy? They are going along often with downcast eyes, and +nearly always with dejected, serious countenances; if one comes along +who looks at you smilingly it is a great relief, and makes you feel a +bit happier yourself. And _there_ is a reason why a Scout should +go about with a smile on, because it makes other people happy. You may +not always feel cheerful yourself, but you should not show this, as it +will make other people feel glum, too. If you make yourself look +cheerful, you will gradually find that you are becoming brighter. + +If you are troubled or anxious, or in pain, force yourself to smile. +It will be difficult at first; still, force yourself to do it, and you +will find to your surprise that your trouble is not so great as you +thought it was. + +I have known men in action getting very anxious when great danger +overshadowed them. But if one began to laugh and to talk cheerily, or +to whistle, the cloud passed by and everybody bucked up and was ready +to face the situation. + +That is what makes our men so formidable in the war just now. In spite +of heavy losses, in spite of overwhelming attacks against them, they +have always kept up their spirits and therefore their pluck. It has +often been the secret of their being able to hold their own, and it +will be the secret of their coming out victorious in the end. + +Remember this--and I have found it come true in hundreds of different +kinds of cases: + +"A difficulty ceases to be a difficulty directly you smile at it and +tackle it." + + * * * * * + +THE SCOUT'S SMILE. + +During one of my visits to Birmingham, I saw a Rally of the local +Scouts. One thing that struck me about them, besides their good work, +was their cheerfulness. The outside of their programme had printed +upon it portraits of eight of their smartest Scouts, and each one of +these has a big grin on. + +Well, that is what I like to see; fellows who can work, and work +cheerily. It is just what our men are doing at the Front. + +I saw a letter the other day from an officer describing how the men +lived a miserable existence crouching in the trenches, always wet and +cold and muddy, being shot at and shelled all the time, but they +welcomed the shells as if they were friends, giving them the nicknames +of Jack Johnsons, Black Marias, Woolly Bears, etc. He says of the men: + +"If I were asked what struck me most, I would say that it was the +marvellous cheerfulness of the men living in such awful circumstances. +Every one to a man seemed happy. They are always ready for a joke, and +they see fun in everything." + +And that is why we shall succeed in this war, because our men see the +bright side of it, and take things cheerfully and hopefully, even in +the worst circumstances. It is also the way to succeed in peace time +when doing work or suffering hardships or disappointments. + + * * * * * + +FIGHTING FROM A CHAIR. + +[Illustration: KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE DOG.] + +One bit of advice I gave to the Birmingham Scouts was that, if ever +you run a race with a dog, keep your eye on the dog, and don't look +about at other things. I myself was an example of "how not to do it," +for I had had a race with my dog--I was running in shorts--and he saw +me looking round and promptly ran between my legs and threw me over. +So I had to go to Birmingham on two sticks with a bandaged knee. + +But what is true of a dog race is true of any other competition in +life. When you start out to do a thing, keep your attention fixed on +what you are doing, and do not let it wander off to other things, +otherwise you may come a cropper. + +It is a bit of a handicap to go about inspecting Scouts with one leg +out of action, but still I was only carrying out the example of other +Scouts. + +There was Rob. Miller, a Scout at Whitby, who, when he lost a leg +through a German shell, was quite cheery, and wrote to me that he felt +it an honour to be the first Scout wounded whilst on duty, and that he +meant to go on scouting notwithstanding the loss of a leg. + +Another Scout who lost his eye through a Toby Tenderfoot fooling with +a gun wrote to say that he could go scouting just as well with one eye +as with two. That is the spirit of the scouts. + +In addition to these, I had a fine example in a namesake of mine, +Major H. G. Powell, out at the Front. He had left the Army some ten +years ago, but when the war broke out he went back to his old +regiment. In advancing to an attack he sprained his ankle badly. +However, he got a stick and a chair from a neighbouring cottage, and +continued to hobble along at the head of his men, sitting down +whenever there was a halt and directing their operations from the +chair. He went on doing this until he himself was hit and badly +wounded, and he was able to be carried safely back still sitting in +his chair. + +[Illustration: A CHEERY OLD SCOUT.] + + * * * * * + +HOW TO LIVE LONG. + +I suppose none of you Scouts who read this are cheerful, happy +fellows! [I don't think!] But if you should happen to want to live to +be 100 years old, here is the way to do it--written by one who has +done it: + +"_Be cheery, and work hard!_" + +That is what Mrs. Rebecca Clark, of High Road, Wood Green, said a few +days before she died, and she was 110 years old, so she ought to know. + +I think that most Scouts are doing exactly what she recommends--so in +A.D. 2010 there will be 200,000 old fellows of over 100 years of age, +skipping about in bare knees and worn-out hats, singing: "Boys, Be +Prepared!" + + * * * * * + +THE ONLY BAD THING. + +Mrs. Scoresby Routledge, a well-known lady explorer, wrote to me once +to say that while travelling in the Pacific she came across Scouts in +all sorts of unexpected places. + +After giving them a good character, she added that the only bad thing +about Scouts was that they whistled. + +She pointed out that a great many people already suffer from the +noises in the streets of our towns, especially people who are ill and +weak. Even small, harmless noises "get on their nerves," and keep them +from resting. And whistling is one of these dreaded noises. + +I hope Scouts, in going about the streets, will think of this, and +tone down their whistling, as a good turn to people who may possibly +be disturbed by it. + +At the same time, I need not remind you that it is good to whistle and +smile in a difficulty, when otherwise you might break out into curses, +or into a cry of pain or of panic, or take to your fists (or your +heels), according to what might be happening to you. + +I have known fellows whistle in very bad times in action, and their +whistling has not only kept them calm themselves, but has also made +those around them feel calm and cheery, too. + + * * * * * + +AN ANCIENT INSCRIPTION. + +At Timgad in Algeria there are some interesting ruins, among them +being those of the theatre and the baths. + +The theatre is a huge open-air one of horse-shoe shape with stone +seats rising like steps above each other, and with a row of private +boxes at the top. + +The stage is a handsome one built of stone with fine marble pillars, +and a back wall--for the Romans did not make use of painted scenery as +we do--and behind the stage are the dressing-rooms for the actors. + +The theatre itself was big enough to seat 3400 spectators, which is +more than most theatres in London could do, and as Timgad was merely a +country town of no very great size it shows that the Romans were as +fond of theatrical plays as the English are of cinematograph shows +to-day. + +They were equally fond of bathing, and in this one town alone there +were twelve public baths. They were what we call Turkish baths, that +is, there were bathrooms of several grades of heat to be gone +through--one tepid, the next warm, the next one very hot, and then +cooler and cold, and the Romans were fond of taking these baths every +day. + +This is too much of a good thing, as it is apt to weaken a man. The +Romans, as you know, were in the end driven out of their Empire, +because they allowed themselves to become weak in mind and in body by +too much laziness in theatre-going and continual hot baths. + +One inhabitant had inscribed on a stone in Timgad what he thought to +be the best form of happiness. He wrote: + +"_To hunt, to bathe, and to laugh--that's the way to live_." + +And there is a good deal in what he says, for in hunting you have to +use much woodcraft and hard exercise, and keeping clean and being +cheery is all part of the Scout's life. + +But he has forgotten to mention one very important thing towards +making your life a happy one, and I expect that any Scout could tell +me at once what that point is--couldn't you? + +He has left out the happiness which you get from doing a good turn. If +he had slightly altered his sentence, and had put it this way: + +"_To scout, to bathe, to do a good turn, and to smile--that is the +way to live and be happy_," he would have said the truth, and he +would have exactly described what every Boy Scout does. + + * * * * * + +DON'T STAND WITH YOUR BACK TO THE SUN. + +This is one of the Scout mottoes. + +Every Scout knows that when you examine footmarks on the ground, you +should generally do so facing the sun, have them between you and the +light, and you will see them all the better. + +But that is not the meaning of this text; it has a second and bigger +meaning. + +It means that when there is any sunshine or brightness possible, look +out for it when you are in trouble or misfortune, and make the most of +it. + +If you feel inclined to grumble at your lot because you have damaged +your leg and can't play in a game of football, think of other poor +cripples who never can play at all. + +However down on your luck you may be, remember there is a bright +lining to every cloud. There is some brightness somewhere, if only you +look out for it and don't turn your back on it. + +When things are looking their worst, and everybody is depressed, make +up your mind that you, at any rate, will be hopeful. + +Try to see where there is hope. + +Remember St. Paul said that God was the "God of Hope." Hope gives you +pluck and comfort at a bad time, and your hopefulness will comfort +others round you and nerve them to stick it out. + + * * * * * + +LORD ROBERTS. + +Lord Roberts died the best death that could have been hoped for him. +He died in the field, within the sound of the guns, doing his duty for +his Country even at the age eighty-two. + +It was very many years ago that I first got to know him. It was at +Simla, in India. I had just joined the Army, and was enjoying myself +in all the glory of my new uniform at a ball. I had gone to the +refreshment-room to get something for my partner, but I could not make +the native waiter understand what I wanted, as I had not at that time +learnt any Hindustani. + +A very small but very polite officer alongside me kindly explained to +the servant what I wanted. Then he said to me that if I wanted to +enjoy India I ought to learn the language as soon as possible. I +should get much more fun out of the country if I could talk to the +natives. And he asked me my name and where I was staying. + +After thanking him, I thought no more about the matter till next day, +when there arrived at my house a native teacher of Languages, who said +that Sir Frederick Roberts had sent him to give me some lessons! + +Thus, like everybody else, I began my acquaintance with him by +heartily liking him. He had gone out of his way to do a kindness to a +young officer of whom he knew nothing. But that was just like him--it +was his way. + +I need not tell you about his early career in the Army. Probably every +Scout knows how, in the Mutiny in India in 1858, Lieutenant Roberts +won the Victoria Cross. He had charged with the cavalry, and had +followed the flying mutineers, when he saw one of them attacking a +loyal native cavalryman. + +Roberts at once dashed to his rescue and cut down the Sepoy. As he did +so, he saw two more Sepoys making off with a regimental flag; so he +pushed on after them, although single-handed and alone. He seized the +Standard and cut down the man who held it. The other man aimed his +rifle at him, close against him, and pulled the trigger but the gun +failed to go off, and the man turned and fled for his life. + +In 1880 Lord Roberts made his famous march in Afghanistan, from Kabul +to relieve Kandahar, which was besieged by the Afghans. He took ten +thousand men and marched the 320 miles in twenty-two days, which was a +splendid performance in that difficult, mountainous desert. He arrived +in time to relieve Kandahar and to inflict a very heavy defeat on the +Afghans. For his splendid victory here he received the title of Lord +Roberts "of Kandahar." + +In 1900 he was Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in the Boer +war in South Africa. Here again he displayed his self-sacrifice and +determination. + +His winning of the Victoria Cross had showed that, though a very small +man--he was very nearly rejected from the Army because he was so +small--he had great pluck. And he also had a great heart. + +His pluck and self-control were perhaps better proved by his bracing +himself up to send men to their death in battle when he loved them and +would gladly have saved them if duty and the good of the Country were +not at stake. And it was in South Africa that he met with the sorrow +of his life, when his only son was killed in trying to save the guns +at the battle of Colenso. + +For his gallantry on this occasion young Roberts was awarded the +Victoria Cross, although he was dead. It is seldom that the Victoria +Cross has been won by both father and son. + +In South Africa Lord Roberts again did me a kind act by riding out +many miles to meet me on my coming into Pretoria after the siege of +Mafeking. + +On his return to England after that war, Lord Roberts became +Commander-in-Chief of the British Army. + +When the Boy Scout movement began, he took the greatest interest in +it, because he was always fond, of boys and knew how useful to the +Country they might be if only they were trained to it. + +So he came on the Council of the Scouts' Headquarters, and he reviewed +the Scouts at a big Empire Day parade in Hyde Park. + +When I went to stay with him, he talked of little else but the Scouts; +and the Scouts at Ascot, who were raised and organised by his +daughter, Lady Aileen Roberts, miss their great friend. + +The Ascot Scouts formed part of the Guard of Honour which escorted his +body through that place on its way to burial in London. At St. Paul's +Cathedral I was glad to see also a Guard of Honour of Scouts, who had +come to pay their last respects to our national hero. + +Lord Roberts was a splendid example for any boy to follow, because he +rose from small beginnings to the highest position in the Army and, +what is more, to the highest position in the admiration and affection +of all his fellow-subjects of the King, whether they were white or +coloured. And he did it all by his own merit, though he was not +extraordinarily brilliant or clever as a lad. + +How did he manage it? + +I think it was largely because he was a true Scout in every sense of +the word. The things which brought him success were: + +His pluck in facing every kind of difficulty or danger with cheery +hopefulness. + +His eagerness to work hard and to do his duty regardless of whether it +was what he liked or wanted to do. His honesty and straightforwardness, +which made everybody trust and believe in him. + +His humility, by which he put himself on equal terms with everybody; +he had no kind of "swank" or pride, in spite of his brilliant +successes. + +His kind-heartedness and thoughtfulness for others, especially those +at the bottom of the ladder. And that was one of the secrets of his +success--those working under his orders worked like slaves for him +because they loved him. + +His simple faith in God, which led him true and straight through every +difficulty. + +Well, when you come to look into it, you will see that by doing these +things in his daily life Lord Roberts was exactly carrying out the +Scout Law. It is what you as a Scout are already aiming to do. + +So, now that you have his great example before you, all you have to do +is to go ahead and stick to it, with all the greater determination +that you will make yourself, like Lord Roberts, a cheery, brave fellow +and a valuable man for your Country. + + +THRIFT + +Law 9. A SCOUT IS THRIFTY. + +_It is expected that a Scout will save every penny he can, and put +it in the bank, so that he may have money to keep himself when out of +work, and thus not make himself a burden to others; or that he may +have money to give away to others when they need it_. + +There are many Boy Scouts to-day who will in a few years' time become +very rich men although they have not much to begin with. That is a +certainty, because a good many are determined to make their fortunes, +and if a lad begins by being thrifty he generally succeeds in the end. + +A fellow who begins making money as a boy will go on making it as a +man. Some fellows, of course, want to do it by easy means, and that as +a rule does not pay. + +Some fellows see a fortune in betting on a horse race or football +match; you may win a few shillings now and then but you are absolutely +certain to lose half the time, and it is a fool's way of trying to +make money, because the bookies who make a living by it trust to there +being a sufficient number of fools to keep on betting and supplying +them with money. + +Such money is not earned, it is only gained by chance and therefore is +not worth having--to a fellow with manly ideas. + +Any number of poor boys have become rich men, but it was because they +meant to from the first. They WORKED for it and put by every penny +that they earned in the bank to begin with. + +Lots of boys are already at work doing this, and I hope that very many +of the Boy Scouts are also at it. Two good rules are given for making +your fortune. The first is "_Spend_ less _than you earn_." +The second is "_Pay ready money, and don't run into debt_." + +Many of you probably have heard of the Nasmyth steam hammer which is +used in all the great iron works? + +Well, Nasmyth, as a boy, worked in his father's workshop, and used to +spend a great deal of his spare time in a neighbouring iron foundry, +and he took to using tools and making all sorts of models of engines, +etc., just as you Boy Scouts who are working up for your Engineer's +Badge might do. + +He made one model steam-engine so large that a man bought it for the +purpose of driving a machine tool in his factory, and so he began to +make money by selling his own home-made engines. And finally he went +to work at a big engineering shop because he felt that he was one of a +large family and that his father could not afford to keep them all and +he was resolved to make his own living. + +He could not afford to have his food cooked for him on the small pay +that he got as a boy at the works, but he manufactured his own +cooking-stove and found that with its help he was able to live on ten +shillings a week. + +He worked so well in the shop that the manager raised his wages to +fifteen shillings a week. But as he had found that he could live on +ten shillings, he put by the extra five shillings each week in the +bank, and all the time he kept making tools for himself in his spare +hours, and eventually started himself in business on his own account +with his own money and his own tools, and finally invented his +celebrated steam hammer. + +By the time he was forty-eight, he had made a big income and quite a +fortune. Many men would not have been content with this, but would +have gone on until they became millionaires. But Nasmyth did not, he +was content to retire from hard work with sufficient money to buy a +happy home, where he went in for making telescopes and studying +astronomy and also in doing good turns to people not so well off as +himself. + +And he gave some good advice to young fellows wanting to make a +success of their lives in the following words: + +"If I were to try to compress into one sentence the whole of the +experience I have had, and offer it to a young man as a certain means +of bringing success in whatever position he holds, it would be +this:'_Duty first, pleasure second_,'" + +"I am certain from what I have seen that what so many call 'bad luck' +comes in nine cases out of ten from putting that maxim the other way +round and satisfying your pleasure first and attending to work and +duty afterwards." + +One poor man, a farm labourer, made himself rich by writing poetry. +His name was Stephen Duck, the thresher poet. But unfortunately +numbers of other working men, seeing his good fortune, also thought it +would be an easier way of making money to write poetry rather than by +doing hard work, and Horace Walpole, when writing of Duck, said., +"that he succeeded as a poet, but he also succeeded in ruining at +least twenty good workmen." + +There are very few young men who have not at one time or another in +their lives thought themselves splendid poets. I hope this will be a +warning to them, and that they will take to hard work as a means of +making their way in the world. + + * * * * * + +THE MAN WHO "STUCK TO IT." + +Lord Strathcona began life as a poor boy in Scotland and he ended up +by being one of the richest men in Britain, and, not only the richest +in money, but in having also the admiration and affection of a vast +number of his fellow-countrymen. + +When he was eighteen, as plain Donald Smith, he went out to Canada and +joined the Hudson Bay Trading Company there. This Company used to buy +fur skins from the trappers and Indians, and their trading stations +were built in far-off, out-of-the-way places in order to be near to +the hunting-grounds of these people. + +Also, as you never could trust the Red Indians, they were all +fortified posts, ready for defence against attack. + +Young Smith was sent up to a place called Mingan, right away up in the +north-east of Canada, in Labrador, a cold, bleak, dreary country. + +After he had been there some time, his eyes began to give him great +trouble, and he feared he was going blind. There was no doctor nor +anyone else to consult, so he started off to make his way down to +Montreal to see a doctor. He took with him as guides two half-breed +Indians. + +For weeks he toiled through the awful wilderness, among snow and +blizzard, but at length he reached Montreal. + +Do you think they made a hero of him? + +Not a bit of it. His employers rounded on him for quitting his post +without leave, and told him to go back at once. + +At first he felt--like many of us would have done--so angry that he +was on the point of throwing up the whole thing and leaving the +service of the Hudson Bay Company. + +But on second thoughts he felt that, after all, the managers were +right. They had put him there to have charge of valuable stores and +important work, and that it was his duty to stick there, and not to +come in to civilised parts for his own sake. + +So he accepted the wigging, and started back on the long, dreary +journey to his gloomy post in Labrador. + +He had luckily been able to see a doctor, and had got his eyes put +right. + +It was an awful journey: so bad that the two guides gave way under +their hardships and died. But again Donald Smith _stuck to it_, +and struggled on, and in the end he just managed to get to his post, +worn out and exhausted. + +But that sticking to it was exactly what was the secret of his +success. + +For thirteen _years_ he stuck to his job in that awful country +and then his employers saw that he was so strong on doing his duty +that they promoted him to higher and more important work, till in the +end he became Chief Factor or Head Manager of the Company. + +Then came the idea of making the Canadian Pacific Railway right across +Canada. + +People said it was a mad scheme; that it could never pay to make a +railway into that vast wilderness which in those days had not been +properly explored. + +But Donald Smith looked far ahead, and saw the time when Britain would +be overcrowded with people, and corn-growing, cattle-raising land +would be needed for colonists. + +So he put his savings into the railway and worked hard to make it a +success. + +Everything seemed to go against it. But he _stuck to it_, and +fought against all difficulties, until in the end he _came_ out +successful. And to-day the Canadian Pacific is one of the greatest +railways in the world, and has opened up Canada to be a great country, +peopled by thousands of British colonists. + +And so he made his fortune, and later on, in return for his splendid +work for the Empire, he was made Lord Strathcona. + +Most men leave off work when they are between sixty and seventy, but +Lord Strathcona did not. He still continued to _stick to it_ for +twenty or thirty years longer than most men. Only a few days before +his death he was at work in his office (and he died at the age of +ninety-four). + +And in his office every day he _stuck to it_, for he went there +about eleven in the morning, but seldom left before seven--often he +was there till nine. + +When all the neighbouring offices in Victoria Street had turned off +their lights and closed their doors for the night, Lord Strathcona's +window was to be seen still brilliantly lit up, so much so that the +policemen and others about there called it "The Lighthouse." + +Now, why should a man go on working overtime like that? He was not +making money; he had enough of that and to spare. It was simply +because he considered it was his duty, and he _stuck to it_. + +Besides his adventures in Canada, and besides his power of sticking to +his duty, Lord Strathcona was also a good scout, because he was kind +and helpful to others. + + * * * * * + +MONEY IS NOT EVERYTHING. + +For the South African War he paid the expenses of raising a regiment +to fight for the King--and a fine regiment it was, too--of mounted +men, which was called after him "Strathcona's Horse." + +Also the Boy Scouts owe him a debt of gratitude, because in the early +days of the movement, when we were struggling to get along, he gave +500 Pounds to me to help to start our brotherhood. + +So Boy Scouts owe much to Lord Strathcona for that, and for setting a +real living example of how a man should _stick to it_ in doing +his duty, and in being kind and helpful to others. + +From these stories of poor boys who have made successes of their lives +and become rich men I do not want you to think that I look upon money +as the aim of your life. You should only wish to gain sufficient money +to put you in a position where you can live happily into old age if +necessary, and bring up a family without calling on other people to +support you. + +And I would tell you just one more story of a poor man who yet made a +fortune other than that which money produced. + +This man was John Pounds, and he kept a little cobbler's shop in +Portsmouth, where he worked hard and well, so that people began to +bring their boots to him for repair in preference to any other +cobbler, because they knew that he did honest work and they got a +better return for their money. + +Soon he began to gather in much more cash than was necessary for his +modest wants. But he did not buy a big house and set himself up in +comfort. He did a better thing than that. + +When he was at his work, idle boys used to come and hang around his +shop watching him busily employed, and while he stitched and cobbled +he chatted with the boys and took an interest in them. + +Boys are good fellows, and when they found somebody thought about +them, although they were dirty, ragged urchins, they took an interest +in him, until gradually they came at their own desire to hear him +talk, and began to imitate him in doing steady work. Then he made use +of his savings in a way that was better than feeding himself on good +things, for he fed these boys who badly wanted a good meal. + +As time went on, he started a sort of club or school for his ragged +friends, and in the end had a sort of Scout troop of boys who learnt +handicrafts under him and became strong with their good feeding, +became good workmen under his instruction, and saved up money under +his example. + +Thus he was able to send out into the world a number of good, strong, +prosperous workmen who would otherwise have drifted into being +wasters. + +And from his little effort in Portsmouth sprang up similar ragged +schools and boys' clubs in different parts of the Kingdom. + +So he did as much by his thrift as many have done by saving their +millions. + + * * * * * + +HOW A POOR BOY BECAME RICH. + +"How can I ever succeed in becoming great and rich? It is impossible. +I am only a poor boy!" + +That is what a lad said to me. I was able to restore him to greater +hopefulness by saying: + +"Nothing is impossible if you make up your mind to do it. Many a great +man who is alive to-day began as a poor boy like yourself, with no +help besides his own wits and pluck." + +Then I told him about Sir William Arrol. At nine years of age he went +to work as a "piecer" in a cotton factory. A few years later he became +apprenticed to a blacksmith. He worked hard and well, and was very +steady, so that at the age of twenty-three he found himself foreman in +Messrs. Laidlaw's boiler works in Glasgow. Like a Scout, he was +thrifty, and in five years of this employment he saved up 85 Pounds of his +wages, and with this sum he started a business of his own. + +At first he made boilers and girders, and then, as his business grew +bigger, he took up bridge-building. + +Steadily he worked at this, being at all times anxious to show good +solid work, without any scamping. + +To start with he had met with disappointments and failures, but he +would not give in to then; when things looked their worst he kept a +smiling face and _stuck to it_. + +And in the end he came out successful, as every man does who is +patient and sticks it out. He got a name for steady, persevering work, +and for giving full value for any money paid to him. + +For these reasons he obtained good contracts for building bridges, and +soon enlarged his business into a very big one. + +Among others, the great Tay bridge and the bridge over the Forth in +Scotland are his work. + +He died a rich and highly respected man, but in the height of his +power he never forgot that he began as a poor boy, and he always did +what he could to help other poor boys to win their way to success. + +He used, however, to say that success depended mainly on the boy +himself. If a boy were determined to get on, and knew a handicraft or +two, he would probably succeed, but if he merely dabbled in one thing +and then another, and wasted his time in amusements, and could not +stick it out when luck seemed against, him, that boy would be a +failure, and would probably go on being a failure all his life. + + * * * * * + +THRIFT IS MANLINESS. + +So you see if, as a Scout, you pick up and really practise what +Scouting teaches you, it gives you every chance of being a success in +life, since it teaches you to be active and enduring, to be +trustworthy, to be obedient to your duty, to be thrifty, and to learn +handicrafts. + +In fact, it teaches you to Be Prepared to make a successful career for +yourself if you stick to it. + +The knights in the old days were ordered by their code of rules to be +thrifty, that is, to save money as much as possible in order to keep +themselves and not to be a burden to others, and that they might have +more to give away in charity. + +If they were poor, they were not to beg for money, but had to make it +by their own work. + +Thus, Thrift is part of manliness because it means hard work and +self-denial, and boys are never too young to work for pay, which they +should put in the Post Office Savings Bank or some other Government +security. + + +CLEANLINESS + +Law 10. A SCOUT IS CLEAN IN THOUGHT, WORD AND DEED. + +_Decent Scouts look down upon silly youths who talk dirt, and they +do not let themselves give way to temptation, either to talk it or to +do anything dirty. A Scout is pure, and clean-minded, and manly._ + +When boys are getting big, they generally want to show off and to +impress other boys with their "manliness"--or at least what they think +is manliness. + +It generally begins with smoking. They think it fine to smoke, so they +suck and puff at cigarettes, partly because these are cheap, and +partly because a pipe would make them sick. + +The reason why half of them do it is because they are arrant cowards, +and are afraid of being laughed at by the other boys if they don't do +it. They think themselves tremendous heroes, while in reality they are +little asses. Then they like to use swear words because they think +this makes them appear tremendously ferocious and big. Also they think +it the height of manliness to tell smutty stories and to talk dirt. + +But these things don't say much for the boy who does them. He +generally curls up and hides them directly a man is present. He only +produces them for swanking in the presence of other boys, This shows +that he is not really very proud of his accomplishments, and the boy +who has a sense of honour in him knows at once that such things are +against his conscience-law and he will have nothing to do with them. + +This often puts him in a difficult position when among boys who are +showing off, as they will be ready to jeer at him; but if he has +honour and pluck--in a word, if he is a true Scout--he will brave it +out and, as a result, he will come out the only real man of the party. + +The probability will be that though they do not show it at the moment, +some of the others will see that he is right and that they are wrong, +and will pluck up courage themselves and follow his example in being +clean and straight. + +If, by his conduct, a Scout can in this way save one fellow, he will +at any rate have done something in the world. + +You may think there is no harm in a little joking of a risky kind, or +in the occasional secret smoking of a cigarette, although you allow it +may be silly; but if you look into it, and especially when you have, +later on, seen results such as I have seen that come of it, you will +at once understand there is great harm--great danger in it. It is the +beginning; and the beginning of anything is very often the important +point. + +If you talk or listen to what is wrong, you get to think about what is +wrong and very soon you get to doing what is wrong. + +By doing things which you would not care to do before your father or +mother, you are becoming a bit of a sneak. You do these things +secretly, you are not straight. + +A fellow who is not straight at starting is pretty sure to go on being +crooked for the rest of his career. He knows all the time in his +inmost heart that he is a sneak, and he can therefore never take a +pride in himself and others are bound to find it out sooner or later, +so he never gets a real friend nor a good employer. + +Then these things are likely to do him bodily harm. + +Smoking is poison to a growing lad. It may not do you much harm if you +take to it when you are grown up; but while you are still forming your +muscles as a lad it is almost certain to do damage to your heart, your +wind, your digestion, and very likely your eyesight and teeth. + +I take it that most boys want to be good healthy runners and able to +play at all the games, and I am certain that every Scout wants to Be +Prepared to be a good healthy man for his Country. + +Well, you can't do it if you begin by smoking as a boy. + +Drinking begins, like everything else, in a small way; but it very +soon grows on a fellow unless he is on the look out to stop it. More +than half the crime in Great Britain is due to drink, and so is most +of the poverty, and three-quarters of the insanity. And it is much the +same with thoughts about women; they soon grow into wrong action, and +if these are kept up they grow into habits which lead in an awful +number of cases to misery, disease, and madness. + +Brace up! + +Be a man! Keep off these dangers. + +If fellows around you are swanking in dirt, leave them and go +elsewhere. + +Don't let yourself BEGIN loafing about, taking drinks, talking smut, +or doing what you know is wrong; give yourself bettor things to +do--games, handicrafts, good turns, work, and you will grow up a +clean, straight, and happy fellow, and, what is more--a _man_. + + * * * * * + +MANLINESS IS NOT DIRTINESS. + +Not long ago there was a lot of argument about certain music-halls in +London. Many people were disgusted at the low and dirty talk or hints +made by some of the performers. Most of these rotten ideas of +half-dressed women, dancing about trying to look pretty, come from +abroad, and do not really please the ordinary British man. + +Harry Lauder is delightfully funny, but he is funny without being +dirty, and so is Chevalier, the coster singer. Dan Leno made you +laugh, but he was never dirty--and that was why he and these other +singers have been so popular. + +I saw a performance not long ago, where a half-dressed woman came and +danced about on the stage, but, though she was tremendously advertised +as the great attraction of the place, she got very little applause. +Soon after her there came a bright-looking girl in ordinary clothes, +who merely sang an English ballad, but she was cheered and applauded +till she had to come on again and sing a second, and even a third +time. + +I believe that the proper, manly Britisher likes a good clean show on +the stage; he likes to have a good hearty laugh, or to hear good +music, but I believe it is only a very few (and those nearly all +slackers and wasters) who care to go and see the nasty, half-indecent +shows which come sometimes from other countries. + + * * * * * + +THE ORDER OF THE BATH. + +In the old days when being made Knights, members of the Order of the +Bath used to go and take a bath as part of the ceremony. I was very +glad to see in Hull during a visit there that at the Boys' Club every +boy on coming into the club has a bath. + +In the first room he comes into on entering the club he takes off all +his clothes and puts them in a rack made for the purpose. Then he goes +into a big warm plunge bath, from which he goes into a drying-room, +and beyond this is a dressing-room, where he gets a club shirt and +pair of shorts to wear for the evening, till it is time to get into +his own clothes to go home again. + +[Illustration: BRITISH SOLDIERS SURPRISED THE FRENCH NATIVES BY THEIR +EAGERNESS TO HAVE A WASH, EVEN ON ICY COLD MORNINGS.] + +This daily bath is an excellent thing for keeping a fellow healthy and +strong--and the most important part of it is the rubbing with the +towel. + +Well, it is often difficult for a Scout to get a bath. Sometimes in +his home there are no means for doing it, and often out on the veldt +or desert there is very little water, but if he has a towel, +especially a damp one, he can always give himself a good rub down with +it--he should scrub himself well all over! and that is what I should +like every Scout to do every morning when he gets up. It will not only +keep him clean, but will make him grow far more healthy and happy and +strong, because it cleans the skin and wakes up the blood so that it +rushes through his veins and brings him health. + +So get yourself a towel, every Scout; and carry out your rubbing every +day when you get up. + +In the same way see that you clean your teeth regularly night and +morning--not because it will help you to pass the time away, but +because it will prevent your teeth from getting rotten, thus saving +you from toothache. + + * * * * * + +SPITTING. + +"Gentlemen _do_ not spit; men _must_ not spit" is a notice +which may be seen in an American city; also there is a similar one +which says: "If you _expect to rate_ as a gentleman, don't +_expectorate_." + +On the steamships to South America the English passengers were often +disgusted by the amount of spitting about the decks done by some of +the foreigners on board. + +One of the captains thought of a good idea; he ordered a sailor, +carrying a mop, to follow each of these foreigners where-ever he went; +whenever the foreigner spat, the sailor used the mop, and in a short +time _all_ the foreigners learnt that if they behaved like other +gentlemen and did not spit, they were spared having an attendant with +a mop, so they soon gave up the dirty habit. + +When I was in charge of a public building in Malta, which was guarded +at night by Maltese watchmen, I soon found that I need not be always +going round to see that they were alert, because their habit of +constantly spitting showed me next morning whether they had been awake +and where they had stood or walked during the night. + +One day I found the pavement of one man's beat quite clean and dry, so +I had him up and accused him of having been absent without leave. He +did not know how I found it out, so confessed that he had been away to +see a friend, thinking there was no harm in it, since the place was +all locked up and secure. + +Englishmen are fortunately not so dirty in their habits as to be +always spitting, but, still; there is a little of it going on in our +streets; and even a little is a bad thing. + +It is not only a habit that is nasty to other people, but it is +dangerous as well, for the following reason; + +So many men are suffering from consumption or disease of the lungs +even without knowing it. When they spit they throw out a number of +tiny "germs," which, although too small to be seen, get into the air +and are very easily breathed in again by other passers-by; and these +germs contain the seeds of the disease, which are thus sown in healthy +people, and make them "consumptives" also. + +Unhappily people are rather fond of spitting in railway carriages. A +man doing this was fined ten shillings and two guineas costs not long +since. + +His excuse was that he had a bad cough. + +Any Scout could have told him, apart from the dirty, disgusting part +of the habit, how very dangerous to other passengers it is for a +person with a bad cough to indulge in this habit. + +Little living seeds of disease are in this way let loose to get into +other people's throats and lungs, and possibly to bring them illness +and death. + + * * * * * + +THE WAR AGAINST CONSUMPTION. + +Sixty thousand people die every year of consumption in Great Britain. + +One death in every eight is from consumption. + +Two hundred and fifty thousand people, or one in every two hundred, +have the disease in them. + +Consumption is caught through carelessness or ignorance, by breathing +the germs, or in drinking them in milk. + +The following are a few simple rules which, if followed, should help +to prevent you from getting it: + + 1. Live much in the open air. + 2. Sleep with the window open. + 3. Breathe through the nose. + 4. If you drink milk, be sure that it is pure. + 5. Keep your blood healthy with exercise, good and plain food. + 6. Keep your home clean and well ventilated. + 7. Never neglect a cold. + + +Here are some pictures showing how people get the germs of consumption +into them unless they are very careful. + +A large number of cows have the germs or seeds of consumption in them, +and they give out these germs in their milk. So milk ought to be +"sterilised," that is to say, it should be made so hot that the germs +are killed before it is drunk. + +[Illustration: DO NOT DRINK MILK STRAIGHT FROM THE COW, AS A GREAT +NUMBER OF THESE ANIMALS HAVE THE GERMS OF CONSUMPTION IN THEM.] + +Then a large number of people have the consumption germs in them, +although they may not yet be ill with it. They will get ill sooner or +later, and they give out germs whenever they cough or spit. + +[Illustration: HOW CONSUMPTION IS SPREAD. + +A man spits and the germs rise. They try a boy who breathes through +the nose, but get thrown out again. Then they try another boy who +breathes through his open mouth, and so they get into his lungs.] + +These germs get blown about in the air with the dust, and get into +other people's mouths, and so into their lungs--that is, if the other +people go about with their mouths partly open. If they breathe through +their nose only, as I hope all Scouts do, there is less chance of the +germs getting into the lungs, as they get caught in the sticky liquid +in the nostrils, and get driven out again when you blow your nose. + +It is the same with other diseases besides consumption. + +The Missioner Scout can safely go about among people who are ill with +colds, measles, and other sicknesses, if he breathes only through his +nose. All illnesses that are "catching" are spread by germs flying +from one person to another. + +The consumptive germs get into you and go for your lungs, which are +big sponges inside you, through which your blood gets the air, which +is necessary to keep it healthy. Consumption germs "consume" your +lungs. + +The nasty little germ of disease thrives in dirt, and dark and muggy +_air_, and so he grips even the healthiest people in rooms that +are dark and dirty, and where the windows are not kept open. + +Fresh air, sunlight, and cleanliness kill the germs. + +Now that you know what consumption is, you will be doing a good turn +to get other people to understand it. + +I _want_ every _Scout who reads this to show the pictures to at +least five other people, AND EXPLAIN them. He may thus save lives._ + + + + +TRAVELS ABROAD + +CAMPING IN NORWAY + +After a delightful little voyage in one of the smart Wilson Line +steamers, I arrived one morning early in Christiania, the capital of +Norway. + +The town is an ordinary Continental town, but stands on the shores of +an arm of the sea which is so shut in by wooded hills for some twenty +miles that it is more like an inland lake than a gulf of the ocean. + +What a place for Sea Scouts! + +One of the first Norwegian boys to attract my attention was a Boy +Scout--so like an English Scout that he may have been one for all I +know, but I was not able to speak to him, I was catching a train, and +he was going off in a hurry in another direction, evidently in +trouble, as he was whistling and smiling! And it is difficult to tell +a Norwegian boy from an English boy by his appearance, for they are +very much alike. + +And so are the girls and young women very like their British sisters. +But then, as we all came of the same blood in bygone times, it is not +altogether surprising. + +Then their Royal Family is related to ours, for Queen Maud, the wife +of King Haakon, is sister of our own King. + +So Norwegians have much in common with the English, and since my visit +Scouts of the two countries have become good friends and camped with +each other. + +There could be no better country than this for camping out. As you +come through it in the train, you keep passing among wooded hills and +then alongside rivers and lakes; a great deal of wild country with +occasional cultivated parts where there are neat little wooden +farmsteads and villages. + +The houses are painted bright colours, and are roofed with tiles or +shingles, that is, wooden slates, as in Canada. In fact, with its +forests, lakes, and rivers, and their floating timber, and the +sawmills, the country generally is not unlike Canada. + +As wood is so abundant here, farm Scouts will be interested to see +from the picture how they make their fences in place of hedges or +ordinary post-and-rails. It is a kind of fence that you can make +easily with almost any kind of slats or with brushwood or branches. + +[Illustration: A NORWEGIAN FENCE.] + +A way which the Norwegian woodmen have of piling their small timber in +the woods in order to dry it is one which might also be useful to +Scouts when making a bivouac-hut, where there are plenty of saplings. +You pile them as shown in the picture, all with their butts or thick +ends together to windward, and thin ends splayed outwards. + +When you have got this frame together you can cover it with a +waterproof sheet, or straw mat, or brushwood, to keep out the weather, +and light your fire opposite the opening. + +In my camp I had one friend, George. + +[Illustration: AN EASILY-MADE BIVOUAC HUT] + +We found a good site on the bank of a rushing roaring river between +high hills covered with forest. We were thirty-five miles from the +nearest railway station, and about four miles from a farm, where we +got our butter and our milk. The river supplied our fish, and we shot +our own game. + +We carried just enough kit to make a load for a pack-pony--a bundle of +about 50lb. weight on each side of him. There were no roads, and a +pack-pony is the only means of carrying heavy luggage, such as tents, +etc. + +We each had our bivouac tent, bedding, change of clothes, cooking +pots, and fishing rods, etc. + +Of course, we did our own cooking, woodcutting, and cleaning up. And +cleaning up is a very important part of camp work. + +Our camp was small and never likely to be seen by anybody besides +ourselves, but it was always kept very neat and tidy, and we could +shift camp at any moment, and leave scarcely a sign that we had been +there. That is how Scouts should always have their camp--everything in +its place, so that you can find anything you want at a moment's notice +in the event of a sudden turn out in the dark, or for shutting up for +a sudden rain squall. + +All scraps of food should be burnt or buried, and not thrown about +round the camp. On service these scraps would be good "sign" to an +enemy's scouts as to who had occupied the camp, and how long ago, and +how well off they were for provisions, and so on. + +Another reason against letting your camp ground get dirty is that it +quickly becomes the camping place also of thousands of flies. If you +have flies in camp it is a sign that the camp is not kept clean. + + * * * * * + +A CAMP BEDROOM. + +I have made a sketch of my tent, which, as you will see, is a kind of +hammock with a roof to it, slung between two trees. This form of tent +keeps you dry in wet weather or on swampy ground; you never have to +lie on the ground, you can get snakes and other nice visitors crawling +into your bed. The cot is long enough to hold your kit as well as +yourself. + +It is kept stretched out by two side poles and a ridge pole. These can +be cut in the wood where you camp, and the cot itself, with bedding +and kit inside, can be rolled up in the waterproof, and this forms a +neat roll for half of the pack-pony's load. + +The cot is springy and most comfortable to sleep in. + +When you are ill or wounded it makes a very good stretcher, the side +poles forming the carrying handles. In the same way, when you are dead +it makes an excellent coffin, as the sides and ends fold in, and can +be laced over the body. I have not tried it myself in that way. + +Another advantage which I have twice found the cot-tent to have was, +when a tornado visited camp, and all the tents were blown down into +the mud, my little cot was swaying quietly in the wind--it cannot blow +down. + +In the drawing you see also, besides my bedroom (in the cot), my +dressing-room, my drawing-room, and my bathroom--in fact, my whole +residence. + +The dressing-room was where my fishing waders are hanging up to dry, +together with my shaving-glass, hat, and holdalls. + +Over the cot are hanging my overcoat and moccasins and towel. My +drawing-room was the rug on which I sit, my writing-case lying there +ready for use. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP RESIDENCE IN NORWAY. My cot-tent will be seen +in the centre of the picture.] + +My bath was down below, through the trees, in the river! + +My whole house was carpeted with a beautiful soft springy moss, so dry +that a match dropped on to it would soon set the whole forest in a +blaze. + +So we had to be very careful about our camp fire. + + * * * * * + +THE CAMP FIRE. + +We made our kitchen near the river, where this dry moss did not grow. + +A camp fire for cooking is not a bonfire. A tenderfoot never remembers +this; but an old campaigner can be recognised by the smallness of his +fire; he does not waste fuel. In the woods there may be plenty of +timber, but he is not going to waste time, energy, and axes in cutting +down piles of firewood when he can make a few handfuls do equally +well; and if he is out on the plains where firewood is almost unknown, +he has to do with a few roots of grass, or bits of cow-dung, etc. + +Then a big roaring fire, though it looks very cheery, sends off +sparks, and in dry camping weather these are very dangerous, whether +in the woods, or on the heather, or among the grass. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP KITCHEN.] + +We began our fire by, first of all, collecting a heap of firewood, +chiefly dead branches from trees; then by laying a few shreds of +birch-bark between two good flat stones of equal height (about six +inches), and on these we laid a few bits and splinters of dry wood +taken from the inside of a dead tree, and on that just two or three +small dry sticks, and then set it alight. As it burnt we gradually +added more small sticks till it was a good strong little fire, then we +added more and more sticks, the object being to get the space between +the stones gradually full of glowing red-hot bits of wood to give heat +to the cooking pots, which we then stood on the two stones so as to +bridge over the fire. + +The great art is to begin with a very _small_ fire and a +_very_ dry one. You can then add to its size as you please later +on, and when it is going strong you can add damper wood if dry wood is +scarce. Birch-bark cannot be found everywhere, but it is the best of +lighting tinder when you have it. + +The channel between the stones is much better if laid so as to face +the breeze. The fire can then be kept going at the mouth of it, and +the heat will blow through; a bigger kind of log can be put in from +the other end to catch fire and add to the heat in the channel. + +Of course, there are plenty of other ways of making fires, which you +can read about in _Scouting for Boys_, but this is the particular +kind of cooking fire that we used in my Norwegian camp. + +At night, when we had cooked our supper and the night was getting +chilly, of course, we put on big logs laid across each other, and so +got a big, star-shaped fire to make a blaze to warm us, + +But we kept a good watch on any sparks to see that they didn't touch +the moss or heather, and when we turned in, we trod out the fire and +poured water over the whole of the ashes, so as to prevent any chance +of embers blowing out into flame again during the night and setting +light to the grass. + +Scouts cannot be too careful in this matter, especially in England, +where landowners are very good at lending their ground to troops for +camping, but are naturally very nervous all the time lest by some +carelessness a grass fire may get started, and thousands of pounds' +worth of timber or property get burnt. + +Early in the morning we were to leave our rest-house near the railway +in order to drive (and partly to walk) to the place where we were +going to make our headquarters. This was forty-nine kilometres +distant. How many miles is that? + +As kilometres are generally used abroad for telling distances, a Scout +ought to know how to compare the two and here is a simple way of doing +it: Multiply your number of kilometres by five and divide the result +by eight, and you will have the number of miles. Thus: + +We want to know how many miles our forty-nine kilometres are. + + 49 + 5 + --- + 8)245 + --- + 30 5/8 or about 30 1/2 miles. + +As I have said, we were to leave early, but we found that the +Norwegian idea of early is not so very early as with us in England. +They thought eight o'clock breakfast very early, and the cart, which +was supposed to start at nine, did not get away till 10:30. + +It was a little ramshackle sort of dogcart with a very high seat, +which just gave standing room for us among our baggage, while the boy +in charge of the pony hung on as best he could behind. + +The pony was fine and strong and fat, but awfully sedate; in fact, it +was only after a lot of persuasion that we got him to move at a trot, +and then it was a marvellously slow trot. + +However, I found that if one showed him the spare end of the rope +reins, and offered to strike him with it, he mended his pace +considerably. He kept his eye on me all the time-- + +The Norwegians seem to be very kind to their animals. They don't use +whips or blinkers or bearing-reins on their horses and before we had +gone very far the boy in charge considered it time to unharness and +feed his horse for a few minutes. We walked on while he did so, and as +it wasn't for an hour and a half that he overtook us again, we guessed +he had given the horse a very fine feed indeed. + +[Illustration: THE HORSE KEPT HIS EYE ON ME ALL THE WAY.] + +We didn't do ourselves badly, either, because all along the road, +which ran through beautiful woods along the hillside, we found lots of +excellent raspberries growing wild. + +We changed ponies half-way: but when we had got nearly to our +journey's end, the boy said he must stop and feed the horse. We said: +"No; it is only four or five miles more, and the pony will be home." +But the boy began to cry at our cruelty, so we had to stop and let the +horse graze. It was very pleasing to see that they are so kind to +their animals. + +I have said that I was not one day in Norway before I saw a Boy Scout. +Well, I was not two days in the country before I saw a Girl Guide. +Correctly dressed in the same kits those in England, with her patrol +ribbons on, she was taking lunch at the rest-house where we stopped +for ours. Unfortunately, she could not talk English, so we could not +have a chat, as I should have liked. + +It is a grand thing for Scouts who care to travel that Boy Scouts are +now to be found in most foreign countries, because you have only to +make the secret sign a few times in any town, and you will get an +answer, and find a brother Scout ready to help you. + +In Norway, especially, they seem likely to be very useful to British +Scouts, because they are very like British boys, except that they have +much more practice in woodcraft. + +A large proportion of them live in wildish country, among the forests +and lakes, and so they know how to look after themselves; they are +nice, cheery fellows. They are very clean, and they speak the truth. +Well, that means a great deal, because you can trust a fellow who +speaks the truth, and, what is more, you can trust him to behave well +in danger or trouble. + +I find that men who tell lies in peace time are not among the bravest +in war; and telling a lie is, after all, a bit of cowardice--the +fellow who tells it is afraid to speak the truth, or he hopes to get +something in return for what he says, if he can only get the other +fellow to see the question as he wants him to. + +Well, that's a sneaking way of doing it. A manly fellow will speak +out, and always say exactly what he wants or what is the real state of +the case; he will be believed and will generally get his way. In any +case, show me a liar, and I can show you a "funk-stick." + + * * * * * + +HOOKS AND POT-HOOKS. + +You may be interested in a picture of our camp on the Allalaer River +in Norway. The shelter was rigged up with a waterproof sheet and a few +poles cut in the forest. + +Inside this shelter you see our store-cupboard; in other words, a box +turned on end, with a bit of the lid made into a shelf. In this we +stored our bread, coffee, sugar, and such things. + +Then down on the left of the sketch is a small log bridge over a +stream. Under this bridge we kept our milk, butter, and fish; it made +an excellent ice-cold larder. + +Next we come to the chopping block, an old log on which we chopped +firewood into the right size. If you chop wood on the ground you will +very soon blunt your axe, so always use a chopping-block. + +And when you have finished chopping, leave your axe sticking in the +block; this preserves its edge from getting rusty or knocked by +stones, etc. It also preserves your toes from getting cut by stumbling +over an axe in the dark. + +[Illustration: MY CAMP ON THE ALLALAER RIVER IN NORWAY.] + +Next we come to the important part of the camp--the fire. You see we +made the fire between two big flat stones. These were useful for +standing the frying-pan on, and cooking billies, etc. The fire is made +at the windward end of the channel, between the stones, so that the +heat blows into the channel, while the fire forms a pile of red-hot +embers outside, at which toast can be made. + +Notice our automatic toast-makers, made of a forked stick and a small +supporting fork. + +[Illustration: MY TOASTING-FORK.] + +Then over the fire we had a crossbar of green wood (if you use old +wood it will catch fire and drop your pot into the fire just as the +stew is ready); it was supported on two stout, firmly-driven forked +stakes, not the wobbly, rickety things which tenderfoots like to put +up. + +On the crossbar our kettle was hung by a pot-hook--just a hooked stick +with a good notch cut in it to take the handle of the kettle. + +Also on the crossbar in the sketch you see our tongs. These are most +useful things for a camp-fire for lifting hot embers into the spot +where you want them for giving extra heat. + +[Illustration: MY AUTOMATIC KETTLE-HOLDER.] + +The tongs are made from a green stick of hazel, or alder, or birch. +The stick should be about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long. At the middle you cut +away a good bit of the wood from one side for about 4 inches. Then cut +a number of small notches across the grain of the wood to make it +still more bendable at the centre. Here's the side view of the centre +part of your stick. + +[Illustration: THE TONGS BEFORE AND AFTER BEING BENT.] + +Then flatten the inner sides of your stick towards both ends, so that +they get a better hold on things; bend the two ends together and there +you have your tongs: + +Next to the tongs, in the sketch, you see a small branch of dwarf fir. +This makes a hearth-brush, which is very useful for keeping the fire +neat and clean. + +The ordinary-looking stick leaning against the crossbar is an ordinary +sort of stick, but a very useful one. He is the poker and pot-lifter. +He should be a stout green stick not easily burnt. Poplar is a +difficult wood to burn, but then many old hands won't use it, because +it is said to bring bad luck on the camp-fire where it is used; but +that is an old wife's story, and I always use it when I get the +chance. + +If the soup gets upset, I look on it as my fault, not the fault of the +poplar poker. In fact, whatever wood the poker is made of, one always +seems to get a kind of affection for him. He is only an ordinary ugly, +old half-burnt stick, but he is jolly useful and helpful. + +On this side of the fire you see the pile of wood that has been +collected for fuel. It is generally the right thing when in camp for +each camper, when coming in, whether from bathing, or fishing, or +anywhere else, to bring with him some contribution to the wood-pile. + +Different kinds of wood are needed for it. + +First you want "punk" and "kindling"--that is, strips of birch-bark +(which are better than paper for starting a fire), dry fibre from the +inside of old dead trees, dry lichen or moss, anything that will start +a fire. And also small, dry splinters, chips, and twigs to give the +flame for lighting the bigger wood. + +Secondly, you want lots of sticks, about 1/2 to 1 inch in thickness, +for making your cooking-fire of hot embers, or you can get bigger +logs, from which you can afterwards knock off, with our friend the +poker, red-hot embers for the cooking. + +Remember, you don't want a great blazing fire for cooking, but one +that is all made of red-hot lumps. + +For warming you up and giving a cheerful appearance to the camp at +night you can have any amount of big, dry branches and logs--the drier +the better for a good blaze. + +Beyond the fire, in the sketch, you see our dining-table and seat. +This is a plank set across a hole in the ground, and the table is +another plank beyond it. That is one way of making a dining-table. + +Another way to make seats and tables in camp, especially in a country +like this, where the forest is full of fallen timber, is to go and +look out for a suitable pine tree with branches so placed that by a +little lopping with an axe you can make a trestle like this: + +[Illustration: HOME-MADE SEAT.] + +Two such trestles can be made to support a few split saplings, or a +number of stout straight rods, which can then be nailed, spiked, or +lashed down with cross-battens to form a table; and more such trestles +can form the seats. + +On the right of the sketch you see three forked uprights. These formed +our rack for holding fishing-rods and landing-nets. + +The little tufts hanging on this rack are bunches of heather. + +Did you ever hear the yarn of the Boy Scout who, at his school +examination in natural history, was asked, "What is heather?" He +replied, "Well, sir, it is what we clean the cooking-pots with in +camp." + +He was quite right, though perhaps the examiner did not think so. + +A few bunches of heather are most useful as dishcloths for cleaning +dishes and pots. The reason why they are hanging on the rod rack is +that they are handy for use in the scullery, which is that part of the +river close by the rack. + +In using a river you always have certain spots told off to the +different uses. First and highest up-stream you get your drinking +water. Next is your handwashing place (not bathing place) and scullery +for washing plates and cooking-pots. + +Below that is the refuse place, where you throw away scraps off the +plates and from cooking-pots, and gut your fish. This should be where +the stream will carry away the scraps and not slack water, where they +will collect. + +Of course, this throwing of refuse into the river only does in a wild +country or where the river is big. In most English camps, all refuse +should be buried in a pit or burnt. + +I think that describes the whole of our camp. + +Oh, no, there is still one article--and one of great importance +Alongside the tent you see our camp besom or broom. It is made of a +few birch twigs bound together. (The long thin roots of the fir-tree +make very good cord.) This we used for sweeping the camp-ground every +morning when we tidied up. + +When we left our camp, the last thing we did after everything was +packed ready for moving was to go round and tidy up the whole ground, +and burn all the scraps, chips, and twigs that were left on the +ground. So when we left it would have been difficult for a stranger to +say that anybody had been camped there except for the place where the +fire had been. But we left the cross-bars, pot-hooks, and wood-pile +there, so that anyone coming after us would find them ready for his +use. + +[Illustration: A FISH CARRIER] + +But I expect they will all have rotted away before any one else comes +that way to camp, for it is in an out-of-the-way corner where very few +travellers come. + +Another hook I might, mention is one used for carrying your fish when +you have caught them. It is merely a twig cut from the nearest bush. + + * * * * * + +A BOAT VOYAGE + +I had heard of a wonderful gorge in the mountains to the west of us, +through which no man had ever passed, and George wanted to go "reeper" +shooting on the mountain slopes in that direction. (A "reeper" is a +Norwegian grouse.) So one fine morning found us starting in a boat to +row down the great lake, which would bring us to the foot of the +mountains. + +This lake is about eight miles long, and one mile wide. Steep, +forest-clad hillsides run down to the lake on both sides, and there +are not half a dozen farms in sight of it, so we felt that we were +getting into wilder parts as soon as we had started on our voyage. + +The boats here are only made for one pair of sculls to be used at a +time, so it came heavy on each of us in turn to have to row our +well-loaded ship with its cargo of two men, two dogs (Bruce and +Gordon), and all our luggage, guns, and ammunition. + +[Illustration: "I Rigged up my oilskin coat as a sail, with George to +act as mast and rigging."] + +Luckily for me, before it came to my turn to row, a good breeze sprang +up from behind us, so in a very short time I had rigged up my oilskin +coat as a sail, with George to act as mast and rigging, and I took an +oar to steer with. + +In a very short time we found ourselves running along at double the +pace that we could have got by rowing. + +On these lakes, though there are plenty of boats, you never see one +fitted with mast and sails for sailing. It is too dangerous; sudden +squalls come down from the hills and catch the sails the wrong way or +too violently, and so capsize the boat before the crew can do anything +to save her. + +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. + +By using an oar as a rudder--which is also understood by Sea +Scouts--we found we could sail to some extent across the wind as well +as before it, and so we were able to get round headlands which came in +our way without having to lower sail and take to rowing. + +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 oars of Norwegian boats are worked not in rowlocks, or crutches, +or between thole pins, as at home, but on a single thole pin, to which +they are attached by a "strop" or loop. + +This is a useful dodge to know of in case one of your thole pins +breaks, as sometimes happens. + +[Illustration: How the oars in Norwegian boats are worked.] + +In Norway, the strop is made of a stick of birchwood (hazel does +equally well), which is first twisted and twisted round to such an +extent that it is as flexible and as strong as a length of rope, and +is tied by twisting its ends round itself, as shown in _Scouting for +Boys_. + +A Scout should be able at any time to twist a stick into rope, but to +do it successfully he must know which kind of wood to pick out for it. +That is one reason for knowing the different kinds of trees by sight. + +While we sailed along we trailed a line astern of us with some +tempting-looking flies on it in the hope that we might get a trout for +dinner. + +Suddenly, just when we were in the middle of a busy time over a squall +of wind, there came a tug, tug, and a pull at our line. All was at +once excitement. + +"Down mast and sail!" "Reel in the line!" "Hold the boat with the +oars!" "Don't let him break away!" + +Steadily he is hauled, kicking and rolling over in the water, and at +last he is safely lifted into the boat--a fine, silvery, speckled +trout. + +"What a dinner he will make!" + +"How would you like him, grilled, fried, or boiled?" + +Alas! we thought a good deal about what sort of dinner he would make. +And he did make a dinner, too--but not for us! + +We presently heard Bruce crunching and munching something. He had not +waited for the fish to be fried, or grilled, or boiled. He just ate +him as he was. We only had bread and butter and coffee for dinner that +day--without any trout. We didn't even mention trout during the meal. +We didn't seem to want any, or we pretended we didn't. + +Still, we had a very jolly dinner at a beautiful spot where we landed +on the shore of the lake. Then after a further bit of sailing and +rowing we reached the end of the lake. + +Here we hauled up our boat high and dry, leaving all her gear in her, +for nobody steals things in Norway. We "humped our packs" on to our +backs, and, with rod and gun in hand and the dogs trotting alongside, +we started up the hills through the forest, bogs, and rocks, to get to +the farm three miles away, where we were to spend the night at the +foot of the mountains. + + * * * * * + +THE JASJVOLD SAETER. + +That means the name of the farm where we stopped, and we made it our +headquarters for several days. + +"Saeter" means "summer farm." The Norwegian farmers are mostly dairy +and cattle farmers, and in the summer they take their herds up on to +the high ground for the grazing, and bring them back into the lower +and warmer valleys in winter. + +Our farmer at Jasjvold was named Slackman; and he was a slack man to +look at--very wild and unkempt, with a tousled head of hair, and a +rough beard; clothed in a blue jumper, and breeches and rough +stockings, and carrying a big knife in his belt, he looked as if he +could and would willingly slit your throat while you were asleep; but +on Sundays he was a very different character. + +[Illustration: THE JASJVOLD SAETER.] + +Even away up here in the mountains, far away from any neighbours, he +did not forget to keep the Sabbath, and he appeared very clean and +smart, neatly dressed, with white collar and tie, hair and beard +trimmed, and altogether so different that at first glance I did not +recognise him on Sunday morning. + +But, in spite of his wild week-day appearance, he was a most cheery, +kind-hearted man, always anxious to do good turns for us, and to help +us in every way. In the evenings he would come and sit with us, eager +to teach us Norwegian, and equally anxious himself to learn English. +So we got along splendidly together. + +The saeter is a group of farm buildings; each one is a separate +single-storied log house. There is the farmer's house, the house for +guests (in which we lived), the men's house, the dairy, the bakehouse, +and the "staboor," which is a kind of hayloft, stable, and manure shed +all in one. Being built on the side of a hill, it has three storeys on +one side, and only one or two on the uphill side. + +The hay is put into the top storey, and can be dropped down through a +trapdoor into the stable, which is on the second floor. Then the +stable is cleaned out through trapdoors, which let all the dirt fall +into the lower storey, from which it can be carted away to manure the +fields. + +A curious thing about most of the Norwegian farms is that there are no +muddy cart tracks to be seen, the grass is green right up to the +doors. Then there are no chickens about the place, as a rule; nor are +there beehives, nor any garden. The carts are very small and low, +sometimes on wheels, sometimes on runners, as sledges. The harness is +very light, and yet strong; the driver walks behind the cart and +drives the horse with a long pair of rope reins. + +[Illustration: THE CARTS ARE SMALL AND LOW.] + +Our house in the saeter was, like all the others, a single-storied log +house, with a roof of planks covered with birchbark, over which is +spread a thick layer of earth, which soon becomes grass-grown, so that +it looks as if the roof were made of turf. + +There were three or four rooms in the house, nice, clean rooms, with +comfortable beds, and a great big open fire hearth in the corner, in +which you light up your log fire whenever you like to have it--and we +liked it pretty nearly always, for at this height, nearly 4000 feet, +close to snow-clad mountains, the evenings and early mornings were +very cold. + +On our door was a big lock, and a lock in this country is not boxed up +inside iron casing but is left open to view, so that you can see how +it works, and get your fingers pinched in it if you like to be +careless. + +The farmer's wife, a kind, cheery, clean, motherly woman, was always +cooking up good things for us, and feeding us to such an extent that +if we had stopped there much longer we should have grown too fat to +carry out our expedition. + +She didn't understand a word of English, but she used to stop her work +every now and then to come and hear us having our Norwegian lessons, +and she used simply to howl with laughing at our attempts to pronounce +the words the right way. + +The food she used to give us is much the same as you get everywhere in +Norway. For breakfast, which is generally about nine or ten o'clock +(we persuaded her to give it to us much earlier), you have a cup of +coffee and two or three glasses of milk, home-made bread, and a kind +of thin oatmeal cake, butter, and goats'-milk cheese. + +[Illustration: THE LOCK ON OUR DOOR.] + +Dinner is usually about three in the afternoon, but we never had any, +as we were out all day, and took bread and coffee with us. Supper, at +nine o'clock, was much the same as breakfast, with the addition of +trout, or soup, and stewed fruit and cream, again with milk to drink. + +There was one girl, who waited on us and did all the work of the +house. I never saw any servant do half as much as she did, and yet she +was always neat and clean and smiling. + +She chopped our firewood, made our beds, greased our boots, waited at +table, scrubbed the floors, tables, and chairs every day. You never +saw a place so clean, If I were sitting at a table writing when she +was on the scrub, I was politely requested to lift my feet up while +she did the floor beneath them! + +Then there was a boy at the saeter, who, though he could not speak a +word of English, was a very nice English-looking lad. + +He was in charge of the pony and cart, and his two ponies were the +cheekiest, tamest things I have seen. They would follow you about like +dogs, and seemed to understand what you said to them. That was all due +to kind treatment by their young master. + +This boy used to be sent off on long journeys over very rough country +in charge of the cart. Then sometimes he would milk the cows and +goats. Whenever he had any spare time he would take down his great +18-foot rod, and go fishing for trout, and generally he brought back +some good ones, too. Then he was a handy carpenter, and understood +mending a boat and sharpening tools on a grindstone. All these are +things which a Scout should be able to do, but I wonder how many of +them an ordinary boy in England can do. + +Then, sharpening your tools is a very useful thing to practise for +putting an edge on to your axe or knife. + +There is a saying among Sikh soldiers in India, when speaking of any +bad act, that it is "as disgraceful as having a blunt sword." A Sikh +always keeps his as sharp as a razor. It is a disgrace to him if it is +blunt. + +So, too, a woodman would never be seen with a blunt axe or knife in +camp. He would never get through his work if he had them. Yet I often +see Boy Scouts go into camp with axes so blunt that they will cut +nothing, and their knives very little better. You don't know the +pleasure of handling an axe till you have used a really sharp one. + +And then every Scout ought to know how to sharpen his own axe on a +grindstone. You must wet the stone first, and then get someone to turn +it, running the wheel away from you, while you lay the blade with its +back towards you, and its edge in the same direction as the wheel is +moving, and pass it gently on to the stone, doing each side of the +blade in turn a little at a time until the whole blade becomes bright, +especially at the cutting edge. + + * * * * * + +EXPLORING THE GORGE. + +You remember that George and I went to Jasjvold Saeter in order to get +some "reeper," and also to explore the gorge of which we had heard. + +As you get higher up above the level of the sea, the nature of the +country and of the plants changes. In the lower level you get trees +and bushes and flowers very much like those in England, but as you +rise higher nothing but fir trees, pines, and birch trees seem to +grow. Then as you get up a bit the fir trees come to an end, and you +find only small birch trees, after which there are no trees. + +You come out on the open moorland where there is heather, like that in +Scotland, and other small shrubs, one of which would interest boys +because it grows a very nice little fruit called "blue-berries." Above +the heather, that is, at a height of over 4000 feet, you get what is +called moss. This is really a kind of lichen like you see growing on +trees at home, a pale, yellowish-white, spongy kind of plant, which +seems to thrive on barren, rocky mountain sides, and forms feed for +the reindeer which run wild in these parts. + +Well, George and I used to go out from the Saeter directly after +breakfast each day, carrying our ruksacks on our backs, and one of us +a gun and the other a fishing rod in his hand. And the dogs went with +us. In our ruksacks we carried a kettle, some bread, butter, and +coffee, and a change of shoes and stockings, for what with wading +through streams and stepping into bogs we were pretty wet about the +feet before the day was ended. + +On the first day we went and discovered the head of the gorge, high up +on the mountain side, and each day after that we explored a new bit of +it till we had followed it down to where it opened on to the valley at +its foot. + +The gorge was a deep cleft in the mountain-side of dark, frowning +cliffs, with a bright, clear mountain stream running along among the +rocks and stones at its bottom. + + * * * * * + +THE TROUT STREAM. + +The farmer had told us there were no fish in this stream, and nobody +ever fished there. However, I thought I might as well use my rod, +having brought it all the way there, so, pretending to myself that +there was a fish in a swirling little pool behind a great rock, I +crept and crawled to a spot from which I could, unseen by the fish, +throw my fly so that it could float quietly in the current and be +carried round the corner. + +The first attempt from my crouching position was not a good one; the +line did not go out far enough, and merely got into a backwater and +drifted in close to me so I shortened it up by pulling in a handful or +two, and then shot it out again over the water. + +This time it fell well out, the thin gut cast falling lightly as a +cobweb on the surface, and then sliding off with the current close +round the edge of the rock; and just as it went out of sight there was +a sudden tug and a steady hold on it! A rock 1 No. The next moment +there was a rush and a strain, the rod bending over and showing that a +really nice fish was on. + +[Illustration: OUR DAILY EXCURSION.] + +I won't tell you all the joy that followed in playing the fish till he +was exhausted, and then leading him to a smooth shallow, where, having +no landing-net, I could draw him steadily and quickly from the water +and up the shelving rock without breaking the delicate line. But I got +him! And after him we got many more, enough for all our meals. It was +a delightful trout stream, and I could only wish that every Scout in +the world were there to enjoy it, too. + +One particular run of water pleased me particularly. The stream rushed +through an opening between some rocks, and then gradually opened over +a gravelly bed in a long, rippling current. The "tail of the run," as +they call it, is the place to expect fish, so I fished quickly over +the rapid part of the run, and went more gingerly when I got nearer to +the "tail," making my fly visit every inch of the water, and I was +quickly rewarded. + +A sudden ting like an electric shock on my rod, and a heavy rushing +and jerking hither and thither, till gradually the fish exhausted +himself, and I was able to hold him and gradually tow him up on the +shelving beach. Out of that one pool we got no fewer than fourteen +trout that day! Of course, we only kept those we wanted for food, and +slid the others back into the water, alarmed, but not hurt. + + * * * * * + +STALKING. + +After a few miles the gorge got deeper and deeper and more and more +narrow, until it ran between high cliffs which could not be climbed, +and the stream became a torrent running between the high rocks, so +that progress was impossible along the bottom. + +We were, therefore, obliged to keep up on the mountainside above the +cliffs and make our way along in the same direction as the gorge, +occasionally looking down into it to see its wonderful scenery. + +On steep parts of the mountain we had to clamber along as best we +could, and sometimes it was jumpy work, where, if you kicked aside a +loose stone, you could see it go bounding away down into the gloomy +gorge below. At other times we were walking on beautifully soft moss, +into which our feet sank for several inches; in fact, after a time, +with a good load on our backs we began to wish it was not quite so +soft! But it made our going very quiet and silent, and we kept a sharp +look-out for game. + +At one time George was leading the way when we came to a slight rise +in front. Like a good scout, he never came to a rise without checking +his pace and peeping very carefully over it before going on. This he +did more from habit than from any expectation of seeing anything the +other side, but it is a most valuable habit, and one which every good +scout has. On this occasion it proved its value. + +George dropped flat on the ground, and, taking the warning from him, +I, too, "squatted" at once, and made the dogs lie down. I did not know +whether we had an elk or rabbit in front of us, but presently George +crept back to me and reported that there were some duck on a pool a +short distance ahead. + +He, being the gun-bearer, then started to stalk these duck by going a +long way round, keeping behind hillocks and rocks until he could get +near enough to be within shot of them. It took him a long time. + +[Illustration: "George dropped flat on the ground, and, taking the +warning from Him, I, too, squatted at once, and made the dogs lie +down."] + +He had a good look at the ground first from our hiding-place, and he +noted any peculiar rocks or bushes which would serve as guides to him +while he was carrying out his stalk, and off he went, creeping and +crawling from one landmark to the next, until at last he wriggled up +to the bush which he had guessed would bring him within shot of the +birds. + +When he got there, he peeped through the stems of the bush, and found +that it was not so close as he had hoped--it was scarcely within +gunshot; but the duck had already some suspicion that all was not +well. They are the cleverest birds alive; they had all stopped +feeding, were looking anxiously about, and were beginning to swim +away. + +George saw that his only chance was to risk a long shot if we were +going to have any dinner that day, so, pushing his gun through the +bush, he fired at the nearest duck, and, immediately jumping to his +feet, he fired again at another, which by this time was on the +wing--and he killed both. + +Of course the dogs and I both hurried down to him in great jubilation. +There were two good fat ducks floating on the little lake. But how +were we to get them? Neither of the dogs was a water dog, and the lake +was really a wet bog, in which a man could neither swim nor wade. + +Luckily, there was a breeze blowing, so we went round to the lee side +and sat down to wait for the birds to drift to us. Slowly they came +nearer and nearer, but it was very slow work. It became slower and +slower as the breeze dropped and at last died away when they were not +twenty yards away. + +[Illustration: "FISHING" FOR DUCK.] + +Then George--again as a good scout would--invented a plan. He took my +rod and began to fly-fish for the ducks! That is, he threw the line +over a duck, and then gently drew it in so that the hook caught in the +bird's feathers. In this way he "caught" both of them in turn and +dragged them ashore. + +From the open high ground we gradually descended to lower heights. +First we came among scattered birch trees, and below these we entered +pine and fir woods, and through them we came steadily down to the +level of the valley in which lay the great lake. + +Just before getting to the valley we dipped once more into our gorge +where it finally left the mountains, and it was a grand sight. The +cliffs rose sheer up a hundred feet on either side, even overhanging +in some places, and the opening between the cliffs was quite narrow, +where the stream in a dense body of water rushed its way through in a +roaring cascade. It was a magnificent scene. + +Just below the cascade the gorge opened out, and the stream spread +itself over a shallow, stony bed, in many courses, till it joined the +main river in the valley. + +George and I clambered down the last cliff, and close to the cascade I +made the fire while he went and caught a couple of trout for lunch (we +were going to keep those duck for supper at the saeter), and we were +very glad of the lunch and a rest. + +Then we turned for home by a new road, walking round the foot of the +mountain over whose back we had come. But we turned for home in +another sense, for that was the turning point of my trip in Norway; I +had to go back home to England from there. + +On our way back we passed great swamps where there were duck, but we +had had enough of them to last us for the present. + +In one part of the swamp we came upon the spoor of elk. The elk, you +know, is a great big stag--the same as a moose in Canada; a very lanky +animal, as big as a horse, with a very blobby nose, and heavy, +flat-spread antlers. + +It was, of course, very good to learn that there really were elk in +the neighbourhood, but it only made me the more unhappy at having to +leave the country. George, who had no Boy Scouts demanding his +presence, was going to stay on there, so everything that made me more +sad made him all the happier--the unfeeling brute! + +Still, I can't complain. I think in the few weeks that I was in Norway +I had had as good a time as anyone could possibly have. There is no +better fun on earth than living in the open and catching and cooking +your own grub, in doing mutual good turns with a good comrade in camp, +and in recognising God's handiwork in the mountains and forests around +you. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO FISH. + +George and I would have gone pretty hungry in our camp and on our +tramps while in Norway had we not both been able to catch fish, for +there was little else in the woods to eat besides blue-berries (we +were now too high up for the wild raspberries which are so good in the +valleys). + +Every Scout must know how to fish, otherwise he would feel so silly if +he died of starvation alongside a stream full of trout. And +fishing--like shooting, or cooking, or swimming, or anything else--is +not a thing that you can do straight off without having practised it +beforehand; so my advice to Tenderfoots is to take every chance of +learning how to fish, so that they may be able to do it when they may +be in need of fish for food. + +Sea fishing, as you know, is generally done with a long line from a +boat, with a good lump of lead on the end of the line, and a number of +hooks every foot or so up it, baited with strips of fish with the +silvery skin left on them. + +Then in rivers and lakes you fish with rod and line, with a float to +hold the bait at the right distance above the bottom. The hook is on a +yard or so of gut line, which is invisible to the fish; this is +weighted with split shot or small bits of lead, and the bait is +usually a worm, or a grub, or a little bit of bread paste. This kind +of fishing is called bottom fishing. + +By the way, here is a good dodge for catching worms which every Scout +ought to know. + +Mix a little mustard powder in a can of water, and then sprinkle the +water over a grass plot, and very _soon you_ will see worms +coming up out of the ground in a tremendous hurry. + +It would be rather a fine conjuring trick to play when people are not +up to it--to take an ordinary watering-pot and apparently pour +ordinary water on the grass, and then play a mouth-organ or whistle a +tune to call up the worms. Someone else will be sure to try it, too, +and if you have taken care to empty your can of mustard and water they +will put in plain water and will get no result in the shape of worms. + + * * * * * + +FLY-FISHING. + +Then there is a third kind of fishing, and that is fly-fishing. It is +the most difficult, but at the same time the most useful, because it +is the only way that will do in the rapid rivers and streams with +which you meet in the wilds; and also it can be used on lakes and +slower rivers, and it is much the best fun. + +All the boys in Norway catch their fish by fly-fishing. You have to +have a whippy rod with a long line to it, and a long piece of gut +(called the "cast") on it, with from one to three hooks made to look +like flies on it, these are fixed at about two feet apart. + +By using the rod as a spring you can throw the line a long distance to +any point you wish, so that the flies will float past the nose of a +fish and tempt him to rush out and swallow one. + +The throwing of the fly--casting it is called--is at first the +difficulty for a beginner, but it comes all right with a little +practice. You can learn to do it perfectly well without going to a +river and without having any hooks on your line to begin with. + +Take a rod, and a line as long as a rod and a half, and try throwing +it in a field or road or anywhere--till you can get the line to go out +perfectly straight to its full extent on to the ground at the spot you +wish. The great points to remember which are the key to success arc +these: All the work is done by the tip of the rod, not the butt. Bring +your rod back with a little jerk at the end to throw the line back +behind you, but don't let the rod itself go back much beyond the +upright position. + +[Illustration: LEARNING TO THROW THE FLY.] + +Before throwing the line forward again, give a pause so that it has +time to straighten itself behind you--and that pause is the secret of +the whole thing. It must not be too short, or your line will still be +curled up when you shoot it forward and will not go out the distance +you want, and if the pause is too long it will fall and catch on the +ground behind you, and also will lose its spring. That is where +practice is so necessary, so that you know exactly how long to pause. + +Then an important point to remember is that the jerking of the rod, +whether forward or backward, is done from the wrist and only slightly +from the elbow, and not at all from the shoulder. A beginner would do +well to tie his elbow by a loose strap to his waist, so as to remind +him not to wave his whole arm as most beginners do. + +All this sounds a good deal to think of, but if you go and practise it +you very soon get into the way of it, and fly-fishing is the best +sport that I know. + +There are two kinds of fly-fishing, "wet" and "dry." Wet fly means +that you let your flies sink into the water and you then draw them +along under the surface. A dry fly is made in such a way that it +floats on the top of the water as many natural flies do, and the fish, +seeing it floating there, rises at it. This is the best sport of all +fishing, but is also the most difficult to do well. + +Of course, it is difficult for some boys to buy rods and fishing +tackle, but a Scout ought to be able to make his own as most of these +Norwegian boys do. + +[Illustration: USING A YOUNG TREE AS A FISHING-ROD.] + +Cut a straight, whippy rod of about ten feet, put on a line of strong, +thin twine, and a cast of horsehair out of a pony's tail if you cannot +get gut, A hook is difficult to manufacture for yourself, though it +can be done with a bit of wire and a file; but most Scouts going on an +expedition take a few hooks with them as part of their outfit. + +When I was out with George, I had to make myself a rod, as we only had +one rod between us and I got tired of waiting for my turn with it; but +we were high up in the mountains where the woods were thin, so I only +got a poor choice of sticks from which to make one. + +However, I cut down a likely looking birch sapling and trimmed him +down, and he did pretty well; but he was not very springy, so it +required more brute force on my part than skilful turning of the wrist +to get my line out, But I caught a lot of fish with him all the same. + + * * * * * + +REPAIRING A ROD. + +One day I broke the delicate top joint of my fly-fishing rod by +catching the fly in a bush during the back throw. + +Well, it's no use giving up fishing because your rod is broken; the +thing to do is to set to work and mend it. It is an accident which +often happens, especially to a beginner, and every Scout ought to know +how to mend his rod. + +My rod had snapped off a few inches from the tip, so I took the ring +off the broken tip, and, after trimming the broken end of the rod with +my knife, I put the ring on to this and thus made my rod workable; but +it was just a few inches shorter than it had been before. + +This is the way to bind your ring on to the new tip--at least, it's +the way I did it, and it served quite well for the rest of my trip. + +Having no beeswax, I took some "gum" from the bark of a fir tree and +rubbed a thin coating on the rod and on the black silk thread I had +with me; then, putting the ring on to the end of the rod, I bound it +there with a very careful and tight wrapping of the silk. This I had +previously wound on to a stick so as to get a good hold on it for +pulling each turn tight. + +To fasten the end of the silk, proceed as follows: + +[Illustration: HOW TO BIND THE RING OF A FISHING-ROD ON A NEW TIP.] + +After winding from A steadily up towards the point B (about an inch), +when you have still about half a dozen turns to do, make a big loop of +your silk C, and lay the loose end of it, B D, on the unbound bit of +rod, and go on binding over it until you have reached the point B with +your thread as in the sketch. You then pull D and the loop C gradually +closes in till there is nothing left of it. Then you cut off the loose +end D close to the rod. + +Put a coating of gum or varnish over the whole to make it fast and +watertight, and then you have your rod as strong and as sound as ever. + + * * * * * + +FISHERMEN'S KNOTS. + +In order to be able to fix your hook on to your line and to join up +the different bits of line, you want to know how to tie your knots; +but in addition to those which you have learnt as a Scout there are +several more which come in useful for a fisherman. + +I will only give you one or two here, but there are many others. These +are drawn half tied, just before pulling tight. + +Here is the overhand loop: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +To join a line to a loop do it this way: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +Much the same kind of knot is used to tie a hook to a line: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + +To join two lengths of line together, even when of different +thickness, follow out this method: + +[Illustration: KNOT] + + * * * * * + +KILLING FISH. + +The Scout Law says that you should not kill God's creatures without +good reason. It is allowable when you need them for food. In the case +of fishing you often catch them when practising, but you need not kill +every fish you catch; you can take them carefully off the hook and put +them back into the water. + +The hook as a rule catches them in the lip, which with them is not the +tender flesh that it is with us, but merely a lot of bones held +together by gristle, so they do not suffer pain as we should--and this +is shown by the way the same fish will come on again after having been +already caught. + +When you want to keep a fish that you have caught, you should kill him +at once and put him out of his misery, and this you can do either by +hitting him on the head with a stick, or by driving your knife into +his brain, or by putting your finger down his throat and then bending +his head backwards and breaking his neck. + + * * * * * + +CLEANING A FISH. + +Then when you have killed your fish you will want to cook him. + +First of all you must clean him--that is, take his insides out. The +stomach and guts of the fish are carried rather far forward in his +chest, so with your knife you cut across the narrow bit of skin which +joins his chest to his chin, and with the point of the knife +underneath the skin slit the skin of his chest and belly open as far +as the fin near his tail. Then cut through the gut in his throat and +the whole of his insides will be let loose to fall out. + +But before doing this, if you have slit the belly neatly it is +interesting to look at the wonderful insides which he carries--the +heart, and lungs, and liver, and intestines, all beautifully arranged +and kept in their place and protected by the delicate ribs. It is a +wonderful piece of God's work, and when you come to find that each +trout that you catch is made exactly in the same way, and just the +same as a trout that you may catch in New Zealand on the opposite side +of the world, you begin to understand what a wonderful Creator there +must be Who makes us all, and gives this wonderful kind of machinery +inside the body, which keeps life going for us. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO COOK YOUR FISH. + +There are many ways of cooking your fish. The usual way is to fry him +in a hot frying-pan. A slit should be cut in each side of the fish, as +otherwise the heat is likely to burst his skin. A little salt and a +pinch of mustard put in with the butter in the pan will add to his +flavour. + +But the simplest way, for you don't generally carry frying-pans with +you when you go fishing, is to cut a long stick that bends at an angle +of forty-five degrees. Cut one arm to about one-third the length of +the other. Trim the short arm with your knife till it is fine and +pointed; pass this through the fish's mouth and then through the flesh +near his tail, and toast him by the fire, back downwards, with a small +lump of butter and a pinch of salt and mustard powder in his inside. +You will find him very good eating! A clean, flat stone makes a good +plate. + + * * * * * + +THE FISHERMAN'S HAIL. + +There, now I've told you how to catch and kill and cook your fish, I +hope that you will soon be able to do it, and I wish you the old +salutation which every fisherman wishes to another when they start out +to fish, "A tight line to you," meaning that I hope you will get a big +one on. + + + + +FOREIGN BOY SCOUTS + +THE NORWEGIANS. + +When my holiday in Norway came to an end, I was very sorry to pack up +and come away. Even when I drove the last thirty miles in a cart to +the railway I carried my rod in my hand, and when I saw a good-looking +pool or run in a river--we were generally near a river--I stopped the +cart for a few minutes and tried for a trout, and, what was more, I +occasionally caught one! + +[Illustration: NORWEGIAN SCOUTS WERE VERY LIVELY.] + +At last I got back to Christiania and to proper clothes and clean +hands--and I didn't like it a bit. + +However, I was comforted by being told that the Boy Scouts wanted me +to Inspect them, and I did so. + +There was a parade of nearly eight hundred of them; fine, strapping, +big lads they were, too, just like a lot of British boys, and dressed +the same as us, and very lively and active. + +[Illustration: THE NORWEGIAN FLAG. As you will see, it is something +like the Union Jack.] + +I had to present Colours to some of their troops, and their national +flag is in some ways a little like our Union Jack. And I told them +that they were as like British boys as their flag was like ours, and +that their forefathers, the Norsemen, were mixed up with our +forefathers in the old days, and I hoped that we would all be mixed +together, in a friendly way, in these days--as brother Scouts. + + * * * * * + +THE SWEDES. + +In England we are apt to look upon Norway and Sweden as almost one +nation, but they are not so in reality. The Norwegians in the old, old +days formed one nation with the Danes, but the Swedes have always been +a separate nation which has never been under the rule of any other +people. And they are very proud of this. So when I got amongst the +Swedes, I found a totally different people, but they were equally kind +and friendly to me, and they had an equally British-looking lot of Boy +Scouts. + +A large number of these had collected the day before I was to review +them in Stockholm, and were camped there. So I went and saw them +overnight in camp, and found them round their camp-fires, cooking +their suppers, as jolly as sandboys. If they could do nothing else, +they could, at any rates cook their food very well. + +But they could do other things, too, as they proved next day at the +Rally. + +This took place on a big open sports ground. + +The Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden were there to see them (the +Crown Princess is the daughter of H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, our +President). Their Royal Highnesses are tremendously interested in the +Scouts, and watched all that they did most keenly. + +[Illustration: A SWEDISH BOY SCOUT AT THE RALLY.] + +I heard many reports of the good work done by Swedish Scouts. Here is +one: + +A poorly-paid working man in Gothenburg found himself in great +difficulties recently through his wife and two children being suddenly +taken ill with diphtheria and removed to the hospital. He himself had +to go to his work at the factory all day, but he had one of the +children left on his hands, as well as the home to look after. + +He got the wife of one of his neighbours to do this for one day; the +next he came back home during the dinner-hour to see how things were +going on, and he found his home all cleaned and tidied up, and a +strange boy sitting on the floor playing with his child, while another +was still finishing the cleaning-up work. + +When he asked who they were, they explained that they were Boy Scouts, +and, having heard that he was wanting help in his home, they had come +to give it. + +You can imagine how grateful he was, especially as the Scouts kept on +at the work for over two weeks until the mother had got well and +returned to take charge. + +One of those boys was the son of a rich man, while the other, his +comrade, was quite a poor lad. + + * * * * * + +THE DANES. + +In Denmark the Boy Scouts are strong in numbers and keen and good at +their work. Those of Copenhagen gave a Rally in my honour, and twenty +troops paraded and gave very good shows of scout work, each troop +doing its own in turn. They seemed very good, especially in their +cooking. + +There were two very smart troops of Girl Guides also present at the +parade, who cooked, too. + +[Illustration: AVENUE OF CROSSED STAVES. Formed by Boy Scouts and Girl +Guides at Copenhagen. I drove through it in a motor-car.] + +The consequence was that when I began tasting some of their good +dishes, I had to go and taste all, so that when the time came for the +official dinner I had to attend in the evening I was already so +"crowded" that I could not eat any of it! + +When I drove away from the parade-ground after it was over, the Scouts +and the Girl Guides made an avenue, crossing their staves overhead, +through which I drove in my motor-car. + +In Copenhagen, the Town Hall is the great "thing" to see. It is quite +modern, only lately built, and is a magnificent building. One of the +features about it is the lifts, which keep running slowly up and down. +They have no attendants in them. You simply have to jump in or out +fairly quickly. I saw one stout old lady come and look at the lift. +She did not seem to like trying to jump in, but there seemed no way +for getting it to stop for a minute; she looked helplessly around; +then she had another look at it. The more she looked the less she +liked it, and finally she gave up the idea of visiting the upper +floors of the building, and went sorrowfully away. + +[Illustration: The lift in the Town Hall at Copenhagen is a continuous +moving one--you have to jump in or out of it pretty smartly. Old Lady: +"Shall I venture?"] + +The Scouts in Copenhagen have been trained in first aid work by a +First Aid Corps which exists in that city. + +The Danish First Aid Corps is very much like our Fire Brigade. At the +first aid station are motor-cars fitted up with things needed for +almost every kind of accident, and they are ready to turn out at any +moment that their services may be required. Their office is on the +telephone with every police station, and when they get a call to an +accident, the motor, with all appliances, leaves the station within +thirty seconds of the alarm. + +When I was there the alarm came that a man had been run over by a +tramcar in Market Street. In a few moments a motor lorry ran out of +the station equipped with lifting jacks and levers to raise the +tramcar, while a second followed it immediately with stretcher and +first aid appliances for the injured man. + +In the station were kept all the things necessary for dealing with +railway accidents, for rescuing people overcome with gas, for saving +people in the water, and for pumping air into them when apparently +drowned; there were derricks for raising fallen horses, and fire +escapes of every kind. In fact, it was fitted up and manned by thirty +men, all trained and prepared to deal with every kind of accident that +could well happen. + +Well, that's just what I should like to see done by Boy Scouts in our +country towns and villages. They might make their club-room a first +aid station, with as many appliances they could get together in the +shape of bicycles, hand-carts, ladders, jumping-sheets, stretchers, +bandages, spare harness, and with every Scout trained to deal with +every kind of accident, or to form fence while others rendered first +aid, and so on. + +There might be some way of sending round or sounding the "alarm" when +an accident was reported, to bring together in a few minutes the +patrol whose turn it was for duty. + +In this way Scouts would do most valuable work. + + * * * * * + +THE DUTCH SCOUTS. + +Then I went to Holland, where I saw plenty more Scouts, both at +Amsterdam, Amersfoort, and The Hague; and fine, smart, clean-looking +fellows they were, too. + +[Illustration: Most of the Amsterdam Boy Scouts carry lassoes with +which they are very handy.] + +One thing which they did especially well was throwing the lasso. They +all carried light cord-lassoes on them. These came in useful for +hundreds of things, like making bridges, rope-ladders, rescuing people +from burning houses, and so on. But the Scouts also used them for +lassoing each other, and many of them were awfully good at it. + +The Dutch Scouts also had an excellent stretcher, which I think would +be very useful for some of our ambulance patrols. With its help, one +Scout alone could take an injured man to hospital. In the first place, +it was flat on the ground, without any feet to it, so the Scout could +roll or drag his patient on to it. + +[Illustration: THE DUTCH SCOUTS' STRETCHER.] + +Then it had two pairs of canvas flaps, which could lace across the +patient's chest and loins, with sort of pockets for his feet, so that +after the patient had been fastened on to it he could, if necessary, +be stood upright. This is sometimes useful in a narrow place like a +tunnel or a mine or a passage. Then, with a short chain and hook to +each corner, the stretcher was slung underneath a pair of wheels (a +Scout's hand-cart would do equally well), and the Scout was able to +wheel his patient away. + + * * * * * + +BELGIAN SCOUTS. + +Before my visit to Belgium the Scouts there did grand work in helping +the soldiers who had been sent to put out some forest fires. For +several days the Scouts were camped with the soldiers. + +They supplied a line of signalling posts, by which communication was +kept up with the nearest telegraph offices. + +They rendered first aid to a good number of soldiers who got slight +injuries from burning or other accidents in fighting the flames. And +also the Scouts did good work in keeping the soldiers supplied with +water when it was most difficult to get. + +When the campaign with the bush fires was over, the military +commanding officer published his very sincere thanks and praise for +the good work done by the Scouts. + +The Belgian Scouts made a very good kind of hut for themselves. In the +sketch below you see the framework of one hut, as well as the hut +completed by being covered with turf sods, and a wickerwork door. + +[Illustration: BELGIAN BOY SCOUTS' HUT. On the right is shown the +framework.] + +During the war, the Belgian Scouts have amply sustained the reputation +won for the Belgians by the men in the fighting line. Indeed, many of +the Scouts themselves, though boys, joined in the fighting. One boy, +Leysen, alone, was decorated by King Albert for having captured no +fewer than eleven spies, and for having accounted for one of the enemy +with his own hand. + +Two Belgian Scouts were captured by the Germans while observing their +lines and executed; while a large number have been employed in the +hospitals as orderlies, in addition to doing good work conveying +rations to troops in outlying trenches. + +On the occasion of one of my visits to the Front, I saw a smart troop +of Belgian Scouts. It was a cyclist troop and the boys had offered +their services at the outbreak of war for orderly duty to the military +authorities at Antwerp. They continued their work in the retreat from +that place to Dunkirk and to North France, afterwards being employed +on regular pay by their Army Headquarters as orderlies. + +I had the pleasure, too, of meeting the Chief Scout of Belgium, Dr. de +Page, the director of a splendid hospital for Belgian soldiers given +by the people of Great Britain. His three sons are Scouts, two of them +serving in the Army, and the youngest doing his bit in the workshop +attached to the hospital--where they make their own instruments, such +as scalpels, scissors, etc. + +Finally, I had an interview with King Albert of Belgium. He told me +that "he considered the Movement one of the best steps of modern times +for the education of the boy. His own son is an enthusiastic Scout, +and the Belgian boys who had taken it up were quite changed for the +better, and had done valuable service in the war. The war had been a +high test for it, but had proved that our training gave the very best +foundation for making good soldiers--by developing the right spirit +and intelligence as well as physical strength and activity." + +At the opening of the "Mercers' Arms" (the Hut for the use of our +troops which is manned by Scoutmasters) a Guard of Honour was formed +by a Calais Troop of French Boy Scouts under Scoutmaster Laut. These +boys have been doing helpful service in the military hospitals. It was +very pleasing indeed to see our international comradeship thus +exemplified. + + * * * * * + + +A TRIP TO ALGERIA + +One January morning my wife and I sailed from Southampton for Algeria, +on the north coast of Africa. + +As we came into the Bay of Biscay, after leaving the English Channel, +our ship got into a big swell, the seas rolling us heavily, and +occasionally rushing over our bows in frothing green and clouds of +spray. + +After about twenty-four hours of rough weather we sighted Cape +Finisterre--the first headland on the coast of Portugal, and not far +from that we passed Corunna, where, during the Peninsular War in 1810, +the British force under Sir John Moore successfully got away from a +superior force of French, though losing their gallant commander in +doing so. + +The next important town on the coast is Vigo, and it was in Vigo Bay +that Drake "singed the Spanish King's beard" by capturing and burning +his fleet. + +Also later, during the war of the Spanish Succession in 1702, an +Anglo-Dutch fleet under Admirals Rooke and Stanhope attacked the +Spanish "silver fleet" in Vigo Harbour, captured much treasure, and +sank many vessels. + +Past the Torres Vedras. where Wellington successfully held off +Napoleon's army till his own was fit to take the field. + +And near that is Oporto, where the port wine comes from, and which is +well known to Britons as being the place where the Duke of Wellington +defeated the French troops under Marshal Ney in the Peninsular War by +crossing the River Douro unexpectedly--the French thinking it quite +impassable by British troops, + +We got into calmer water near the mouth, of the River Tagus, and here +we saw the palace of our national guest, the young ex-King of +Portugal, standing high up on a mountain peak above Cintra. + + * * * * * + +ALGIERS. + +Continuing our voyage, we passed Trafalgar Bay and Gibraltar, where we +reviewed some Scouts. + +On arrival at Algiers, the chief seaport and capital of Algeria, the +first thing that struck us was the strange mixture of people we met in +the streets. + +There were Arabs, in their flowing white garments, brushing shoulders +with smartly dressed French officers and ladies, and picturesque +native soldiers and Turks and Italian peasants all busy at their +different pursuits. + +Algiers is now a modern French town, though formerly it was the +headquarters of the Algerian pirates. The native quarter of the city +is still a network of narrow streets and alleys, made quite dark by +the houses that almost meet overhead. + +Above the town stands the old fortress, called the Casbah. This was +the stronghold of the Turkish Corsairs and it was here that they kept +the prisoners which they captured from various vessels at sea. + +Those of the captives who were Christians they treated with unusual +severity, and a large number of British sailors suffered torture at +their hands. + +We saw here a massive doorway with chains hanging festooned upon the +upper part. This was called "the Gate of Pardon," because here the +prisoner was given a chance of release. + +He was made to run between two lines of soldiers armed with swords, +all of whom cut at him as he ran by, and if he were able at the end of +the course to spring up and catch hold of the chain he was allowed to +go free. If he failed he had to run the gauntlet back again, and very +few survived it. + +[Illustration: THE GATE OF PARDON, ALGIERS.] + +Another reminder of the Christian prisoners is to be seen in the chief +mosque of the city. This was designed and built by these captives +under the orders of their heathen masters. They naturally constructed +it like one of our churches in the form of a cross. This was +afterwards recognised by the Moors, and the church was used, but the +builders were put to death for their temerity. + +We can admire the bravery of these men, who, in spite of the danger of +being killed for it, did their best to maintain their religion to the +end. + + * * * * * + +CONSTANTINE. + +A day's journey by train from Algiers, through country closely +cultivated with vines and crops by the French colonists, and then +through a mountainous district inhabited by the Kabyle tribes, brought +us into Constantine. + +This is a wonderful city perched on a high rock, and surrounded on +three sides by a narrow gorge some 400 feet deep. It has been a +fortress since ancient times; and holds the record for being besieged, +having stood no fewer than eighty investments in its time. + +On the last occasion it was held by the Arabs against the French, +whose first attempt to take the place was defeated by the natives +after a desperate fight. It looks practically impossible to capture +the place, but for two years the French did not give up hope, +continuing their efforts until in the end they were successful. + +Like the Scouts they were not put off by very big difficulties, but +pluckily stuck to it, and gained their end. + +We visited here the French cavalry regiment, the 3rd Chasseurs +d'Afrique. This regiment distinguished itself in the Crimea by +supporting the charge of the British Light Brigade at Balaclava. + +It dashed bravely into the batteries of Russian artillery, who were +firing into the flanks of our force, and captured a number of their +guns, and thus enabled the survivors of the charge to make their way +back from the field. + +The records of this exploit are still preserved in the regimental +museum, or _salle d'Honneur_, as are also the trophies and +memorials of other fine deeds performed by the regiment on active +service. + +Among these was an interesting letter written by an officer after he +had been mortally wounded by a shot which shattered his jaw. It was +his last message to the men of his squadron urging them to do their +duty before all else, and saying he was proud to die in the cause of +his Country. + + * * * * * + +A ROMAN HOUSE. + +This portion of the Globe was once an important part of the Roman +Empire. + +As every Scout knows this great nation penetrated as far north as the +borders of Scotland, and ruled over England for nearly 400 years. They +also held Germany, France, and Spain, and the larger portion of North +Africa. + +In the course of our travels in Algeria, we came across remains of the +Roman occupation, the finest of these being the ruins of the city of +Timgad. + +These have been dug out of the sand, and preserved, so that it is now +possible to walk through the paved streets and visit what were once +the market place, theatre, bathing establishments, temples, public +libraries, and private houses of people who lived there over 1800 +years ago. + +The usual Roman house consisted of a front hall leading into a central +open-air courtyard, which was surrounded by a colonnade, and had a +fountain or tank full of fish in the centre. Then leading out of this +were the owner's study, sitting-room, bedrooms, dining-room, and a +series of three bathrooms, one warm, the second hot, and the third +cold. + +The floors of the rooms were made of cement, upon which ornamental +mosaic was inlaid, that is, a pattern made out of very small stones of +different colours. + + * * * * * + +AN ARAB MARKET. + +On arrival at Timgad my wife and I found the weekly Arab market in +full swing. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB TAKING A SHEEP HOME FROM MARKET.] + +It is not in the least like an English market with its tidy pens of +sheep and cattle and orderly arrangement of stalls, for this is a +dense crowd of white-robed Arabs, in the midst of which camels and +donkeys for sale stand about amongst tents full of clothes and corn +and seed, and strips of hide for making shoes. + +And here and there in the dust are dark men cooking and selling +unappetising bits of meat and making black coffee, which is their only +drink. + +Towards evening the fair breaks up. Those who have bought corn load up +great sacks of it upon their camels' backs. + +The camel, as you know, squats down on the ground whilst its master +loads it, and during the process looks round and gives out +heartrending groans as if complaining at the excessive weight being +put upon its back, but when the load is adjusted, the animal gets up +and walks away quite contentedly. + +The camel can travel long distances for days together without drinking +fresh water, because his throat is fitted by Nature with bladders, +which he fills with water before starting. When he feels thirsty, he +ejects one of these out of his throat, and then drinks the water from +it. + +Others of the Arabs who have been attending the fair mount their mules +or donkeys--often two of them on one mule--carrying their purchases +with them, in some cases even carrying live sheep across their +saddles. Many of them crowd into coaches to go home. These are +rickety-looking boxes on wheels with roofs to them, drawn by six +horses, which travel three abreast. + +When they were all comfortably settled in one of these coaches ready +for their journey, my wife stepped forward with her kodak to +photograph them. In a moment they were tumbling out of their places, +hurrying to get out of the range of the "Evil Eye"--for that is what +they think the camera must be; they fear it may bring sickness or bad +luck upon them. + + * * * * * + +THE SPAHIS. + +While we were at Timgad a gaily coloured little band of mounted men +came trailing across the plain, and finally made their halt close to +us. They were a troop of "Spahis," or native cavalry of the French +army in Algeria. + +The men dress in Arab costume, with the white turban on their heads, a +short red jacket, and baggy blue Turkish breeches with boots of red +morocco leather. They also wear a huge red cloak in cold weather. + +[Illustration: ASPAHI, OR NATIVE CAVALRYMAN OF THE FRENCH ARMY IN +ALGERIA.] + +They are mounted on small grey Arab horses, and sit in a very +high-peaked saddle, and the horses all wear blinkers. Altogether they +make very picturesque soldiers, and at the same time are good riders +and brave fighters. + + * * * * * + +A TRAMPING CAMP. + +Prom Biskra on the Sahara we started' on a walking tour among the +mountains of the desert. + +We got a couple of tents, bedding, camp furniture, and food, and two +mules to carry it all. We also got two Arabs to guide us and be +generally useful. Their names were Rahmoun and Ibrahim. + +Our preparations did not take us long, and we were soon camped out on +the desert, far from other human habitations, in the glorious sunshine +of North Africa. + +At night, although the air was keen and cold, we had our beds put +outside the tent in the open, and we slept under the stars. + +The drawback to camping was the difficulty in getting fresh water and +firewood. We generally carried bottles of fresh water with us, as even +when we were able to find a trickle of water in a river-bed, it was +frequently brackish or half salt. + +[Illustration: "We were soon camped out on the desert, far from other +human habitations, in the glorious sunshine of North Africa."] + +Then there were no trees or bushes with which to light our fire, so we +had to collect the smallest sticks and straws to act as "punk" and +loaded up any parched plants that we could find, and these, together +with twigs and branches of little thorn tufts, enabled us to make a +fire. It was not a big one, but then a Scout does not need a bonfire +to cook his food. + + * * * * * + +A FORTIFIED FARM. + +We left the railway to face the open stony desert and arid rocky +mountains with the greatest keenness, in the bright sun and clear air +of Southern Algeria. + +The last bit of civilisation that we saw was a French. colonist's +farm, fortified with a strong loopholed tower, in which the farmer and +his family could take refuge and stand a siege if the Arabs should +rise in rebellion. + +These fortified farms are to be seen in many parts of Algeria, and are +a sign, of the farmers _Being Prepared_ for what is _possible_, +though it may not be _probable_. + +If our own people in South Africa had prepared their homesteads for +defence in the same way against the Kaffirs, the Zulus, the Basutos, +and the Matabele tribes, they would have saved themselves in very many +cases from death at the hands of these savage warriors when they rose +at different times in rebellion against the white men. + +Any Boy Scout who goes later on to farm in an Oversea Dominion where +there are fighting natives will do well to remember this, and to make +one of his farm buildings defensible, so that it cannot be attacked or +burnt by the enemy, and where he and his family can stand a siege of +some weeks, having food, water, and ammunition always ready inside it. + +This is _Being Prepared_, and not leaving things to chance. + + * * * * * + +CLIFF HOMES. + +Our way next led us through a mighty gorge between the mountains. +There were high, rocky cliffs on either side, and a stream running +among the stones at the bottom of it. + +This ravine we clambered through for five or six miles, passing on the +way an Arab village of flat-roofed mud huts perched on the side of the +cliffs like swallows' nests. + +And not far from them were holes and caves in the cliffs in which some +of the Arab tribes lived. Many of them were so difficult to get at +that the inhabitants got to them by means of ropes lowered down over +the edge of the cliff. + + * * * * * + +A MOUNTAIN OF SALT. + +The Romans in the old days had marched, fought, and colonised all over +Algeria, and their doings have been recorded by their history writers. + +One of these, Herodotus, has described how in one part of Algeria +there were many wonders, such as springs of water in which the water +came out boiling, donkeys which had horns like rams' horns on their +heads, and lastly that there was a great mountain made of solid salt. + +Of course, he got a good deal laughed at, and was entirely disbelieved +by the Romans who stayed at home, but all the same his yarns were not +far off the truth. + +We ourselves were camped near one of the numerous hot springs in +Algeria, Hammam Mousketine, it was called; clouds of steam used to +rise from it always. + +Also, we met many English sportsmen tramping and camping among the +mountains in search of the "moufflon," a kind of mountain wild sheep, +which, at a short distance, looks very like a donkey with big ram's +horns on its head. + +In the course of our tramp we paid a visit to the Salt Mountain, and +found that Herodotus had told nothing more than the truth. + +The mountain is about 900 feet high, and about three miles long, and +consists of a jumble of crags and fissures, chiefly of yellow +sandstone, in which are imbedded great blocks and sheets of salt. + +The natives for miles round come with picks and mattocks, and cut as +much of it as their donkeys can carry to market. + + * * * * * + +IN A GALE. + +Our next march took us across endless dry water-courses with steep +sides, which had to be clambered up and down under a hot sun. + +There was no regular road, because every downfall of rain alters the +course of the ravines. So we had to make the best of our way in the +general direction of the place we were making for. + +It is wonderful how easily you lose your direction when you get into a +mass of ravines unless you notice carefully your bearings beforehand, +and either make for some good landmark, such as a distant mountain +peak, or else keep your direction by noticing the position of the sun. + +In doing this, you must, of course, allow for the sun also changing +his position in the sky as the hours pass by. + +We used the sun to some extent this day, but after a time a cold +breeze sprang up, and clouds began to gather, so that in a very little +while the sky was overcast and the sun was no longer any guide. + +Then came on a cold, cold wind, which got more bitter as we struggled +against it. + +But, cold as it was, I did not find that Scouts' kit was so cool as +people try to make out; the wind certainly whistled about my knees, +but I did not feel so very cold then. + +We searched for some sort of sheltered place to pitch our tent, and +found plenty of such in the dry bed of the river under the cliffs, +which formed its banks, but we dared not use it, as rain clouds were +banking up, and if heavy rain were to come the dry river bed would in +a very short time be a raging torrent. + +So we struggled on, and at last found a ledge among some rocks above +the river bed, which just afforded room for our tent, and here we +pitched it. + +And only just in time, for before we had got it well up the rain began +to come down, and continued to rattle on our canvas roof for the rest +of the night. + +But the storm had come with so little warning, and the wind had come +before the rain, so we comforted ourselves with the Scouts' weather +mottoes:-- + + "Long foretold, long last; + Short notice, soon past." + +And + + "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." + +Sure enough, next morning the sky cleared, and a beautiful sunny day +enabled us to carry out our next march in comfort. + + * * * * * + +ARABS' CANDLES. + +Our next camp was a delightful one--in place of the open, dry, stormy +desert, we found ourselves in groves of young palm trees on the river +bank, with plenty of fresh water and plenty of firewood. So we were in +luxury, and stayed two days in this spot to enjoy it to the full. + +We had the additional fun here of catching fish in the river with a +hook and line attached to a stick cut from an oleander bush. We found +some worms in the irrigated garden, and thus we were able to fish and +to catch a good number of barbel. + +These made a great addition to our larder. + +A very useful tip to know in Africa is that when all other wood is +wet, dead palm branches will always light and burn well. They are most +useful as torches in camp, and are nicknamed "Arabs' Candles." + + * * * * * + +A DRAGON'S LAIR. + +We left our camp ground, with its palm trees down by the river, and +with our tent and belongings packed on to two mules, and our two Arabs +as guides, trekked across a wide, stony plain under a blazing hot sun. + +Not a particle of shade the whole way, nor a drop of water; every +footstep had to be picked among the loose, jagged stones, and our way +was continually barred by deep, dry water-courses, which had to be +carefully clambered into and scrambled out of. + +It was a very trying day's march, but yet we enjoyed it. + +The views of the mountains around us were splendid. + +[Illustration: EL KANTARA] + +We were marching parallel with the wonderful range which stands like a +turreted wall between Algeria and the Sahara. It is so regular in its +outline that it looks almost as if built by the hands of giants, and +in the centre is a narrow, broken gap, El Kantara, through which run +the road, the river, and the railway. + +[Illustration: "THE TOOTH," or THE RED CASTLE MOUNTAIN.] + +We passed on our way close under a solitary peak which stands out from +the rest of the neighbouring mountains exactly in the likeness of a +great red ruined castle, called by the Arabs "The Tooth." + +Then we got into a deep ravine with red sandy cliffs on either side, +and marching up its rocky bed we finally got in among the mountains, +and there made our camp. + +After getting our tent pitched, and while the men were finding +firewood, my wife and I started a bit of engineering work in order to +obtain a water supply. + +We cleared out the little trickle of water which we found in the river +bed, and digging a hollow in the sandy bed, we planted in it our india +rubber bath, and diverted the trickle so that it ran into this, and so +gave us a standing supply of clear water for our camp. + +It was quite a triumph of engineering, though we got pretty wet and +muddy in carrying it out. + +Then we went exploring among the hills, following up our gorge. We +soon found that it became a narrow fissure between the mountains, so +narrow that the overhanging rocks often nearly touched each other high +above our heads. It was a most weird place--exactly the sort of spot +where one might expect a dragon to dwell. + + * * * * * + +ARAB POLITENESS. + +A thing that strikes one about the Arabs is their politeness and +readiness to do good turns. + +Every Arab we met as we tramped across the plains greeted us with +"good morning" in Arabic or French, and, though it must be a strange +sight to them to see a white lady walking, and a man in shorts and +shirt-sleeves (for I always wear the Scout kit for camping), they +never showed undue curiosity, and never thought of jeering at us as I +fear would be the case in many places in England. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB TENT. The goatskin slung on a tripod is full of +water for the use of the family.] + +If they saw our mules in trouble, or found us pitching our camp, they +were always ready to lend a hand without any idea of getting a reward +or a tip for doing so. + +They have a good deal of the Scout in them, and many tribes of them do +not know what it is to live in a house-they are "nomads," that is, +they are wanderers, and live always in tents, moving with their flocks +and families from place to place where the grass gives the best +pasture for their sheep and goats. + +Their tents are large, low, widespread awnings of black or brown +goats'-hair cloth, supported on numerous short poles. + +The tent ropes stretch in various directions, and round the whole they +put up a hedge or "zareeba" of thorn bushes to keep out the jackals, +and to keep in their goats during the night. + +In front of the tent hangs a goatskin slung on a tripod, and full of +water for the use of the family. + +Many Arabs are well behaved and hospitable to strangers. But all are +not so polite: there are some tribes who are pretty cunning thieves. +Our two Arabs always patrolled round our camp at night with loaded +rifle and revolver to drive off any would-be robbers, and our mules +were shackled up at night with "handcuffs" on their fetlocks, and +these were locked to prevent them being stolen. + + * * * * * + +THE HOT SPRINGS OF HAMMAM MOUSKETINE. + +The first thing one notices about the hot springs of Hammam Mousketine +which I mentioned above, is clouds of steam coming up out of the +bushes at different points. Here you will find water bubbling up out +of the ground and through a small mound of hard white or yellow crust. + +The water is boiling hot, and the crust is formed from salts and +chemicals contained in the water drying on the surface. + +There are about a dozen of these springs and a large number of cones +or mounds which have been springs, and which have choked themselves up +or run dry. + +Half a dozen of these cones, of about ten feet high, stand together in +a group, and the Arabs have a curious story about them, which I will +tell you in the next paragraph. Also close by is a great waterfall +about a hundred yards wide by fifty feet high, but all turned to stone +by the same process. + + * * * * * + +THE ARAB MARRIAGE. + +A rich Arab named Ali Cassam had a beautiful sister named Ourida. + +Ali thought her the best woman in the world, and although she was his +sister he determined to marry her. + +Such a marriage is considered just as unholy by the Mohammedans as it +is with us, and so everybody was against it. But Ali was great and +powerful, and he thought that by making a magnificent show of it he +would get over the feelings of those who said it was wrong. + +[Illustration: The wedding party were all there in their places, but +all were turned into stone.] + +So a splendid feast was arranged, and the ceremony began on a very big +scale. + +The priest Abdallah undertook to carry out the religious part of it, +and had just taken the first step in the marriage service of placing +the bridegroom's hand on the bride's head when there was a tremendous +flash of lightning, fire rushed out of the earth, the day was suddenly +turned into night, and boiling water spouted up in all directions. + +When the sun came out again the wedding party were all there in their +places, but all were turned into stone, and the boiling water still +bubbles up out of the earth round about them. + +Personally I could not recognise exactly the actors in this drama; it +needed a lot of imagination to believe that one mound represented Ali +and another Ourida, while Abdallah was recognisable by his turban! + +This was all that I saw of them. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD TURN TO A DONKEY. + +Owing to the absence of roads in the country the Arabs do not use +carts. All the carrying is done by camels, mules, or donkeys. The +donkeys are the commonest, being the cheapest; and very patient, +hard-working little servants they are. + +On one of our tramps we came across an Arab standing very forlornly by +his donkey, which had fallen down. There was the little beast lying on +its side with its huge load of halfa grass partly across it, and the +owner quite at a loss to know what to do. This "halfa" or "esparto" +grass is collected by the Arabs on the mountain side, and brought down +and sold to merchants to go and make paper in England. It weighs very +heavy, which we soon found when we went to the assistance of the Arab, +and lifted the load off the donkey. The little animal seemed in no +hurry to rise from his comfortable position on the ground, and the +Arab was proceeding with a big stick to hint to him that it was time +to get up, when my wife intervened, and showed the Arab that this was +no way to treat the good little beast. + +[Illustration: 1. IN DISTRESS.] + +Having induced him at last to rise, the load of grass was up-ended, +the donkey put broadside on to it, and the burden was quickly hoisted +on to its back again. + +[Illustration: 2. ALL HANDS TO THE RESCUE.] + +So we had been able to do a little good turn to the man, though the +donkey did not probably appreciate it quite so much at first, but he +did in the end, for as soon as his load was securely on his back the +man started to whack him on along his road. + +But again my wife put in a remonstrance, and the Arab, grasping her +meaning, refrained from using his stick, and coming back to us he gave +us each a hearty handshake, as if to show his gratitude for our help +and his determination to treat his four-footed friend with greater +kindness in the future. + +[Illustration: 3. ALL PLEASED EXCEPT THE DONKEY.] + + * * * * * + +A CAMP INVENTION. + +We were awfully sorry to finish our tramping camp. It was over much +too soon, but in the short time that we were at it we picked up lots +of health and enjoyment, and also a good many useful camp hints. + +[Illustration: WHENEVER WE HAD A MOMENT TO SPARE SHE SET TO WORK TO +SCRUB THE SAUCEPAN.] + +One of these--like so many great discoveries--was found by accident. + +My wife, like a good Scout, kept everything very clean in camp, and +our joke was that whenever there was a moment to spare she would set +to work to scrub the saucepan. That seemed to be her favourite job, +using a handful of sand and a twist of coarse grass, and the result +was a bright, clean saucepan in which to cook our food. + +A good deal of sickness comes in camps when dirty saucepans are used. + +When she was not cleaning the saucepan her other spare minutes were +spent in cleaning up the camp ground, and burning all scraps. + +One morning when doing this she made the great discovery. It was +this--how to make toast without a good fire. She had wrapped some +unused slices of bread in some waste paper, and put the whole lot +among the ashes of our palm-leaf fire in order to burn them. + +The paper gradually charred and burnt itself away, and left the bread +behind it nicely roasted into crisp brown toast! + + * * * * * + +TRUFFLE HUNTING. + +Another tip which we learnt in camp was how to find truffles. These +are a kind of root akin to a mushroom, which grow entirely +underground. They are very nice to eat, and command a good price in +the market. + +In France the people find them with pigs; the pigs are able to scent +them, and proceed to root them up with their snouts, when the man +steps in and collars the truffle. + +The Arabs showed us how to find them on the desert, where they are +quite plentiful. + +We had to examine the ground pretty carefully as we went along, and +where we saw a few little cracks in the surface leading out from one +centre where the earth bulged up a little--there we dug down two or +three inches and found the truffle. + + * * * * * + +AN EX-BOY SCOUT. + +At one railway station in Algeria we found a motor-car waiting to take +us to our destination. The driver, unlike so many motor-car drivers, +set to work to carry our luggage himself, and worked for us most +willingly and well. He spoke English perfectly, with a South African +accent. + +We soon found that he came from the Transvaal, and had learnt his +energetic helpfulness and courtesy through having been a Boy Scout in +Johannesburg! + + * * * * * + +THE STORY OF THE SIWASH ROCK. + +The story of the "Arab Marriage" reminds me of another legend about +rocks, but this one was a Red Indian story about a rock in British +Columbia, Canada. + +The Arab story showed that the Arabs respect decent behaviour, and +this one, on the opposite side of the world, shows that the Red +Indians also give honour to manliness and purity. + +[Illustration: TUNISIAN ARAB BOY WEARING A "CHEKIA" OR FEZ.] + +[Illustration: TUNISIAN WOMAN OUT FOR A WALK--BLACK MASK AND ROOMY +"BAGS."] + +Just at the entrance to the harbour of Vancouver stands a solitary +pinnacle of rock, straight and upright. It is called the Siwash Rock. + +A young chief had made himself renowned for his wonderful courage in +war and for his sense of duty to his tribe and to his religion, and +for his courtesy to women. + +He had married a wife, and when she was about to give birth to a child +they did as laid down in the laws of the tribe, that is, they both +bathed in the sea to be so clean that no wild animal should be able to +scent them. This would ensure their child being clean in thought and +deed. + +The woman returned to their tent, but the young chief went on swimming +to make sure that he should be clean and pure for the birth of his +son. + +While he swam a canoe came along with four giants in it. These shouted +to him to get out of their way, but he only laughed back at them that +he was swimming on important business. + +But they shouted to him that he must cease swimming in the channel, as +they were messengers of the great God, and that if he did not they +would turn him into a fish, or a tree, or a stone. + +[Illustration: A SPAHI (NATIVE CAVALRY SOLDIER) ADMIRED BY AN ABAB BOY +SCOUT OF THE FUTURE.] + +But he only replied that he must be clean for the birth of his child, +and therefore he meant to go on swimming, no matter what the risk was +to him. + +This quite nonplussed the giants. + +They could not run him down, because if their canoe were to touch a +human being their power over men would be lost. + +Just then, when they were pausing, wondering what to do, they heard +the cry of a baby come from the woods on the shore. + +Then one of the giants stood up and chanted to the swimmer a message +from the great God that, because he had bravely held out against all +their threats in order that his child should be the son of a clean +father, he should never die, but should remain for ever as a reminder +to other warriors to do their duty, and to obey the law of the tribe. +And his wife and child, too, should be for ever near him. + +So the moment he touched the shore he became the great upright rock, +now called the Siwash Rock. And a short distance from him, in the +woods, are two more rocks, a big one and a little one beside it--his +wife and child. + +They are monuments to the Indian belief that those who do their duty +in spite of any difficulty or danger are the best men and the greatest +heroes. + + * * * * * + +TUNIS. + +The Souks. + +Perhaps you do not know what a "souk" is? + +Imagine yourself in a long, narrow tunnel lit with skylights here and +there, with small open shops along either side. That is what one of +the "souks" or bazaars in Tunis is like. + +There are miles of them, and they are generally crowded from end to +end with the white-cloaked Arabs and shrouded figures of women with +black masks over their faces, all busy shopping, buying or selling. + +Each trade has a souk to itself. Thus, in one souk you will find +nothing but shoemakers' shops one after another, in the next will be +all coppersmiths, in another the cloth merchants, and so on. + +There still stand the "Bardo" or Palace of the "Bey" or King of Tunis, +and the "kasbah" or castle in which the Tunisian pirates of old days +used to imprison the Christians whom they captured at sea; and there +is still the old slave market where they used to sell them. + +Many an English sailor has been lost for ever to his home and friends +in that dismal place. + +But on one occasion the prisoners got the better of their captors. As +many as ten thousand of them had been collected, and they made a plan +to escape, and, rising against their captors, they overwhelmed them by +force of numbers and got away. + +"Home, Sweet Home," + +An interesting spot in the city is the old Christian cemetery, in +which lies buried the man who wrote the well-known song, "Home, Sweet +Home." Most people think that it is an English song, but the composer +was in reality an American--a clerk in the Consulate--named John +Howard Payne. + + * * * * * + +CARTHAGE. + +Close to Tunis is the site of Carthage, the capital of the great +country of that name in North Africa. + +There is very little to be seen of it to-day, for the city was +destroyed by its enemies, and the stones were taken to build the +present town of Tunis. + +It was founded nearly 900 years before the time of Christ, and was for +hundreds of years a powerful and prosperous country till 146 years +before Christ, when it was conquered by the Romans, and the city was +given over to the flames. + +The city was at that time twelve miles round, and was defended by huge +walls sixty feet high and thirty-three feet thick with rooms inside +them. In the lower storey were stables for horses and elephants (of +which there were 300), and the upper storey served as barracks for +over 20,000 soldiers, who formed the garrison for defence of the city. + +But very few of these soldiers were Carthaginians. The Carthaginian +young men did not care about soldiering: they preferred to loaf about +and do nothing but watch public games, and foreigners or poor men were +hired to do the soldiering for the country. + +The country was large and rich, and had many colonies oversea and +plenty of ships. + +It looked as though no enemy could ever arise to come and attack her. +But what seemed so unlikely actually happened in the end. + +The Romans had no great fleet to speak of, but they had a fine army, +and they meant business. They put their soldiers into crowded +transports, and sailed across the short distance of ocean that lay +between the two countries--not much farther than Hamburg in Germany is +from Hull in Yorkshire. + +Thus the country which, like Germany, had a fine, well-trained army, +landed a force in Carthaginia, the country which, like Britain, had a +great fleet and great colonies, but only a small army, and it smashed +up the Carthaginians through their not Being Prepared for it. + +Boar Hunting. + +From Tunis one sees to the southward a mountain called Zaghouan. +Though forty miles away it was from here that the Carthaginians got +their water supply, and they conveyed it by a small canal, which they +built all the way to Carthage. + +[Illustration: You can imagine the fun of having a lot of wildly +excited Arabs firing from the opposite side of the circle straight in +your direction, with the animal in between you.] + +That canal still serves to bring the water into Tunis, though it is +now a good deal over two thousand years old! + +I went to Zaghouan once to hunt wild boars. We got on that occasion a +hyena. It was an exciting time when our Arab beaters, working in a big +circle, gradually closed in on him from all sides. + +It was exciting because every beater carried a gun, and every man +meant having a shot at that hyena. + +You can imagine the fun of having a lot of wildly excited Arabs firing +from the opposite side of the circle straight in your direction at the +animal in between you! + +Fortunately on this occasion the first few shots killed him, and there +were no other deaths to record. + +The Arabs themselves see no special danger in it, because, they say, +the guns are all pointing downwards at the animal, and if the bullet +misses him it will only bury itself in the ground. + +That is all very well, but it might as likely as not hit a stone and +glance up again and catch one in the eye or elsewhere that might be +unpleasant. + +Personally, I did not hold with that kind of shooting, but the Arabs +seemed to enjoy it so much and were so cheery and jolly over it that +I, too, had to smile and look as if I liked it. + +There is plenty of game near Tunis, and this day we saw two dead wild +boars being brought in. + + * * * * * + +ELEPHANTS USED IN WAR. + +In the old days, as I told you, Carthage was the London of that time, +being a city of 700,000 inhabitants, and the capital of a great +empire, which had overseas colonies in Spain, Corsica, and Sicily. + +For a very long time it was at war with the Romans, who were the great +military nation then, and at first the Carthaginians got the better of +their adversaries. + +One great help to them was their corps of elephants. These elephants +had scythes fixed on to their tusks, so that when they charged they +not only cut down the serried ranks of their enemies, but they also +trampled them underfoot. + +In their great fight outside Carthage, the army belonging to the +Carthaginians under a Greek officer, Xanthippus, carried the day with +a grand charge of elephants, and thus defeated and routed the Romans +under Regulus. + +Of the 20,000 men who formed the Roman force only 2000 escaped. +Regulus and a number of his best officers were captured and held as +prisoners of war for several years. + + * * * * * + +A BRAVE MAN FACES TORTURE. + +As time went on, the Carthaginians tried to make peace, and they sent +their prisoner, Regulus, over to Rome to persuade the Roman Government +to come to terms. They made him promise on his word of honour that if +he failed to bring about peace he would return again to Carthage, and +become a prisoner once more. + +When he got to Rome, instead of urging them to make peace, he told his +countrymen to go on with the war. + +The Roman Government were inclined to do this, but at the same time +they saw that if they did, Regulus would probably be put to death by +the Carthaginians for not having procured peace, so they did not know +what to do. + +Regulus, seeing their difficulty, told them that he was an old man and +his life did not matter, and he pretended that he had already taken +slow poison. So the Romans resolved to continue the war, and Regulus +went back to Carthage, according to his promise, and gave himself up +to the Carthaginians. + +[Illustration: AN ARAB BOY AND HIS "MOKE."] + +You might think that they would have admired him for his courage and +sense of honour, but the Carthaginians, as I told you, were a cowardly +lot; they hired soldiers to do their fighting for them, and, like all +cowards, they were cruel, too; so instead of respecting this plucky +old Roman, they punished him by shutting him into a box lined with +sharp spikes, so that he could get no rest nor sleep. + +Then they cut off his eyelids, and took him out of his dark cell into +the blazing sunlight, so that he was blinded, and finally they killed +him by crucifying him. + +Supposing that we were invaded by an enemy who had a strong army, and +we had nothing but paid soldiers to defend ourselves with because our +men were too cowardly or too unpatriotic to learn how to defend their +homes. If such an enemy were to defeat our weak army, and then order +us to destroy every house in London, how should we like it? + +Should not we feel, like the Carthaginians, enraged with our +Government who had not made the country strong, and also enraged with +ourselves because we had not trained ourselves to defend our homes +before it was too late? + +The Carthaginians in despair sent more messengers to the Roman general +at their gates, begging for thirty days' grace in which to make their +arrangements, but the conquerors sent these men back with the order +that the destruction of the city was to begin at once. + +Then a change came over the Carthaginians. From a mob of despairing, +panic-stricken wretches they organised themselves into a defence +force. They barred the city gates, and started to make weapons to +replace those which they had surrendered to their enemies. + +Night and day they worked--men, women, and children. They manufactured +daily 100 shields, 300 swords, 500 spears, and 1000 balls for their +catapults, and the women cut off their hair and plaited it into ropes +for the catapults. + + * * * * * + +A CATAPULT. + +[Illustration: A CARTHAGINIAN CATAPULT.] + +The catapult which the Carthaginians used was not the little implement +that a boy uses nowadays; it was a big kind of windlass, by which a +number of ropes were twisted up tightly till they acted as a spring to a +strong wooden arm at the end of which was a leather cup. This held a +stone about the size of a man's head. + +When the spring was let go, this arm was flung violently forward, and +the stone was thereby hurled into the air, and flew with great force +for 400 or 500 yards. + +The catapults served the purpose of artillery in those days when +gunpowder had not been invented. + +The Carthaginians, when a favourable wind blew, sent a lot of fire +boats filled with faggots and tar to drift among the Roman fleet and +burn their ships. + +They also got together the wrecks of their own ships which had been +smashed up by the enemy, and from them they built up others and +sallied out of port in order to astonish the Romans. + +But they did not make any bold attacks, consequently the Romans only +sat tight and got reinforcements over, and in the end they attacked +and forced their way into the city. There the fighting in the streets +was very close and bitter. + +For six days it went on, but the stern discipline and valour of the +Romans gradually told, and very soon the whole city was in their +hands. Fifty thousand inhabitants were allowed to escape, and the city +was given over to the flames. + +One lot of defenders the Romans refused to spare. Some 900 of them +took refuge, and made a last stand, in the Temple of AEsculapius, and +among them was the wife of Hasdrubal, the commander of the +Carthaginians, and her two sons. + +Hasdrubal himself saved his skin by surrendering to Scipio, the Roman +commander, but his wife stood up on the temple, which was now on fire, +and reviled him as a coward. Then she killed her two boys, and threw +herself into the fire rather than give in to the Latin enemy. + + * * * * * + +MALTA. + +A Home of Scouting. + +Malta was a home of Scouting, since the Knights of St. John, who +settled there after the Crusades, were typical Scouts. + +They knew how to Be Prepared + +I remember reading the diary of a traveller who visited Malta in their +time--some three hundred years ago. He said that one morning a pirate +ship was sighted off the island. The Grand Master at once ordered one +of the fighting ships to get ready, and called upon the knights to man +it. Any who desired to go were to parade in front of the Castile +Palace (now the Mess house of the Royal Artillery). Some fifty or +sixty would be sufficient, but instead of this over three hundred +turned up on parade with their retainers and men-at-arms ready to +start then and there. + +In the Armoury can be seen among many others the suit of armour worn +by the Grand Master Wignacourt. + +One cannot but admire the beautiful fitting of the different folds of +armour, made so that the arms and legs could be bent and yet +thoroughly protected against wounds; also the whole is beautifully +engraved with ornamental designs. Among these a quick-sighted Scout +will at once notice the fleur-de-lys, or Scout's badge, on the breast. + + * * * * * + +NEVER SAY DIE. + +The badge also occurs on another badge of the knights, that is, on the +Maltese Cross, which all of them wore. This cross was eight-pointed in +shape, and was originally derived from the skull and crossbones; it +came from the crossbones, and served to remind the knights that it was +their duty to fight to the death and never to give in. + +[Illustration: A notice on the walls of the fortifications of Malta, +where caper-plants grow plentifully, says: "No one is allowed to cut +capers here except the Commanding Royal Engineer." This is how I +picture him.] + +Their motto might well have been that which the Boy Scouts use to-day: +_Never say die till you are dead_--struggle on against any +difficulty or danger, don't give in to it, and you will probably come +out successful in the end. + + * * * * * + +THE MALTESE CROSS. + +Most of the Oversea Scouts wear, in addition to the Scout's badge of +the fleur-de-lys, the badge belonging to their country. For instance, +the Canadian Scouts wear the maple leaf, and the New Zealanders wear a +leaf of the tree fern. + +If the Maltese Scouts want a badge of their own they could not do +better than adopt the Maltese Cross of the knights, and then stick to, +and act up to the meaning of it. + + * * * * * + +HOW MALTA CAME TO BE BRITISH. + +When Napoleon was trying to conquer the whole of Europe a hundred +years ago, he proceeded to take Malta. + +But the Maltese people rose, and held the rest of the island against +him, and sent and asked the British under Lord Nelson to come to their +assistance. + +This was promptly done, and the British Fleet laid siege to the French +in Valetta, so that no supplies of food could be brought to the +French, and some British troops were landed to help the Maltese. + +Thus the French were defeated, and the Maltese handed themselves and +their island over to become a colony of the British Empire. + +One celebrated officer who largely helped to defeat the French in +Malta was Admiral Troubridge. + +Someone was condoling with Nelson once on his losing his right arm in +action. The gallant seaman replied cheerily: + +"My good sir, I have got three right arms. Here is one (raising his +left arm), and there are my other two (pointing to Capt. Ball and +Capt. Troubridge)." + +At the time of the British investment of the French in Malta, the +Maltese themselves were suffering from famine, and their state was so +deplorable, and the British authorities so slow to help them, that +Commodore Troubridge could bear it no longer, and to ease their +sufferings he caused some grain ships at Messina to be seized and +brought to Malta and their contents to be given out to feed the +starving people. + +Commodore Troubridge began life as a ship's boy at fifteen, and rose +from seaman to be an officer through his steady attention to his duty, +so in all ways he was a good example for a Scout to follow. + +Malta remains to-day a British colony, small in size--not much bigger +than the Isle of Wight--but having a numerous population of people +speaking their own language, and at the same time loyal to King George +and the British Empire. + +Malta is chiefly valuable as having a harbour, dockyard, and coal +stores for our Mediterranean Fleet, and is therefore strongly +fortified and garrisoned by British troops, both infantry and +artillery. + +The Maltese themselves supply some companies of Fortress Artillery and +two battalions of Infantry Militia. + + * * * * * + +MALTESE BOY SCOUTS. + +Now, also, they have their Boy Scouts, whom I saw during my visit. + +For Sea Scouts it is an ideal place, with its fine harbours, and its +coasts with their numerous creeks and landing places. + +The warm climate also induces much to bathing, and the Maltese are +naturally good swimmers and handy men in boats. Their boats are very +graceful in shape; they are called "daisas," which is spelt "dghaisa," +but I never could see the use of the letters "gh" in the word; it +sounds all right without them. + +[Illustration: A MALTESE "DGHAISA."] + + * * * * * + +MY DGHAISA. + +Long ago I was quartered in Malta for three years, and I greatly +enjoyed my life there, especially the boating and the bathing. + +After the South African War the people of Malta very kindly sent me a +beautiful present, and, I suppose on account of my known love of +boating, it took the form of a silver model of a sailing dghaisa. It +was so accurately and carefully made that not only did it include oars +and boat-hooks, etc., but even the thole-pins and the scoop for +bailing out water. + +I was, of course, delighted to see the place again after twenty years' +absence, and to see so many of my old friends. Nothing seemed very +much changed in all that time, except that the Boy Scouts had come +into existence there as in every other important part of the British +Empire. + + * * * * * + +SICILY. + +Any boy who has read Marryat's _Midshipman Easy_ will remember +how that cheeky young Naval officer and a friend of his went for a +spree in an Italian sailing boat from Malta to Sicily, which is eighty +miles away, and how their spree turned into a pretty desperate +adventure. + +The boys were attacked by their boat's crew during the night, and they +only saved themselves by using their pistols on the Italian +desperadoes. They eventually landed on the Sicilian coast not far from +Syracuse. + +Anyone who has read Count Erbach's diary of his visit to Malta in the +time of the Knights of St. John will remember his exciting experiences +when, on leaving the island, for Sicily, the vessel in which he sailed +had got within sight of Syracuse when a rakish-looking craft, which +proved to be an Algerian pirate, ran out from under the land, and +chased and captured his ship, and carried him off a prisoner to Tunis. + +Going farther back, every boy who has read his Greek and Roman history +knows how Syracuse was in ancient days one of the great war harbours +of the Mediterranean. + +It was the arsenal where fleets fitted out, and the depot where they +brought back their booties of valuables and slaves after their +victorious raids. + +You may imagine, then, that it was interesting to us to steam into the +beautiful bay on a calm, sunny morning, past the old fort which guards +the entrance, and into the back of the island on which the town now +stands. + +All was looking sweet and peaceful where for hundreds of years had +been the scene of strife and adventure. The Cathedral and Circus. + +The walls of the cathedral are supported by immense columns, which, +500 years before Christ was born, formed the walls of the Temple of +Jupiter. + +Many are the signs of the Greek and Roman occupation of the place. + +We visited the great open-air circus where gladiators used to fight +each other to the death, and where slaves were given to lions to +devour before the eager eyes of ten thousand spectators. The seats are +still there, and the dungeons of the slaves, and the dens of the wild +beasts. + + * * * * * + +THE EAR OF DIONYSIUS. + +In the neighbourhood are the great quarries in which the slaves not +only worked, but also lived. They were made to cut the walls so that +they inclined inwards, and therefore could not be climbed. + +The only entrance to the quarries was by ladder, so there was no +escape for a man once he got in there. + +There are huge caves cut in the walls of the quarries in which the +slaves lived, and one of these caves has been cut into a narrow cleft +exactly on the principle of the inside of your ear. So that anyone +sitting at the top of the cleft can hear every word that is being +spoken or even whispered in the cave below. + +It is said that Dionysius, the ruler of Syracuse, had this made so +that he could sit in the cleft (where there is a little chamber with +private door) unknown to the people in the cave, and there he could +overhear all that the prisoners talked about and plotted among +themselves. + +The whole cave is called "The Ear of Dionysius." + +I remember a similar kind of "ear" in a natural cave in Matabeleland. +It was here that one of the native sorcerers used to hide himself, and +when he whispered through a crack in the rocks it could be heard all +over the cave. + +The people believed that it was the voice of a god speaking to them, +so they used to come and pray to him for advice, and the old villain +told them that they must rise up and murder all the white people, and +their chief, Lobengula, who had long been dead, would come to life and +lead them against their enemies once more. + +He had nearly persuaded them to come out on the war-path, when +Burnham, the American scout, made his way into the secret part of the +cave and shot the supposed god while he was preaching murder. + + * * * * * + +CARTS IN SICILY. + +A curious thing that strikes you in Sicily is the kind of cart and +harness used by the country people. + +[Illustration: A SICILIAN PAINTED CART AND DECORATED HARNESS.] + +The cart is a light, two-wheeled affair of an ordinary kind, but every +inch of it inside and out as far as the ends of the shafts and down +the spokes of the wheels, is painted in gaudy colours, for the most +part yellow, blue, red, and green. + +Pictures of incidents in Bible history, of the war against the Turks +in Tripoli, of ballet dancers, etc., are to be seen on most of these +carts, while on others ornamental patterns only are painted. + +Then the harness of the horse is of a very gaudy kind when new, but +being largely made up of cheap gold braid and coloured cloth, it soon +fades and looks tawdry. + + * * * * * + +A MUSICAL SADDLE. + +In place of a bit there is a steel noseband on the horse's bridle by +which he is driven and guided, and instead of the ordinary pad on the +horse's back, a great ornamental brass affair is used. + +Years ago I bought one of these pads and brought it home as a +curiosity. A friend met me as I was bringing it along, and said: + +"Hullo! what on earth is this? Surely it must be some sort of musical +instrument. Look here! I am getting up a concert; you _must_ +bring your instrument and play it there. Will you?" + +Of course, I always like to oblige a friend, and I did not like to +disappoint this one, so I meekly promised. + +I chose a beautiful piece of high-class music, and got the orchestra +to practise it over as accompaniment to my instrument, the "sellura." +I tuned it by winding the brass flags which adorn it. + +I fingered the knobs up and down the front of it as if they were the +notes; the big projections on either side I pulled as if to alter the +tone. + +And the music? Well, I got that out of a comb and paper affixed to the +back, and into which I sang. + +But, mixed up with the other instruments, it sounded all right, and I +got lots of applause and lots of questions afterwards as to where you +could buy these wonderful organs, and how long did it take one to +learn to play them, and so on! + + * * * * * + +TAORMINA. + +Six hundred feet up on a mountain spur overhanging the sea stands the +little town of Taormina. + +Long ago it was chosen as a beauty spot by the Romans and Greeks, and +here they had their villas and baths and theatre. + +The theatre stands to this day, in ruins, it is true, but sufficiently +whole to show what an ancient theatre was like. + +One can sit in the upper circle and look down upon the "pit" and +"orchestra," and the marble pillars and wall which formed the back of +the stage in those days in place of scenery. + +But an earthquake has thrown down the greater part of the back wall, +and has thereby opened up a beautiful view of the coast of blue water +and white sand far below, and of the purple slopes and snowy crest of +Mount Etna above--a scene such as no scene painter could have +equalled. + +[Illustration: THE THEATRE AT TAORMINA.] + +Among the quaint and ancient buildings of the town stand the old +monastery and church of San Domenico. The monastery is now the chief +hotel, and with the splendid view from its windows and its pretty +gardens makes a charming place to stay at in this most charming spot. + + * * * * * + +NAPLES. - VESUVIUS. + +Naples is a city lying around a great bay on the Italian coast, and +behind it, about ten miles distant, rises the double-peaked mountain, +Vesuvius. Vesuvius is, as you know, a volcano and a thin cloud of +smoke is always coming out of it. + +When I visited Naples a few years ago, the mountain was shaped like +this: + +[Illustration: ] + +Now it is like this + +[Illustration: ] + +It lost its peak in one night, and I was there the night that it +happened. + +I was sleeping peacefully in my hotel, when I was awakened in the +middle of the night by heavy bangings, and it at once occurred to me +that the artillery were firing guns in the street below my window. + +I thought: "Hullo, here's a revolution or something going on," and I +rushed out on to my balcony. + +The street below was empty, but in other streets I could hear people +calling to each other and crying out. + +Then came more of the awful banging, like claps of thunder, all round. +Then there was suddenly a great blaze of red light up in the sky, and +I realised that Vesuvius was breaking out. + +It was just like a fountain of fire squirting up, with volumes of +smoke and steam above it all lit up with the glow, and round it +jagged, white lightning kept blazing and darting about. + +Soon the flames were dimmed, the whole outbreak became a dull glare, +even the houses round us grew indistinct, and what seemed to be a +regular London fog set in. + +But it was not a fog; it was a cloud of light dust--the ashes from the +volcano, which had begun to fall over Naples. + +When daylight came you could no longer see the mountain, although you +could hear it rumbling like thunder. + +You could scarcely see across the street, so thick was the ash fog. +The fine dust got into one's eyes and nose, and everything, indoors +and out, was covered with a thick coating of grit. + +At the foot of Vesuvius a great stream of red-hot lava mud slid down +the mountain side, straight across fields and roads, and over farms +and villages, slowly but steadily pushing its way, the country people +fleeing before it with such of their property as they were able to +bundle on to carts or carry away with them. + + * * * * * + +POMPEII. + +But on the whole the people were not so frightened after the first +outbreak as one might have expected. + +Yet they had every reason to be, because near the mountain stand the +ruins of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, which was overwhelmed, not +by lava, but by just such a fall of ashes from a great eruption of +Vesuvius about thirty years after the death of Christ. + +The ashes had fallen lightly at first, but so thickly that in a very +short space of time the whole city was buried under tons of it, and +the people were crushed or suffocated in their homes. + +You will find the whole story of it in the novel called _The Last +Days of Pompeii_, but if you ever go to Pompeii the ruins which +have been dug out tell their own story better than any book can do. + +You walk through silent streets of beautifully decorated houses, of +shops, theatres, and baths; the pavement is scored with the wheelmarks +of the chariots, and in some of the houses the skeletons of the +inhabitants are still to be seen. + + * * * * * + +BOY SCOUTS OF NAPLES. + +To-day the whole country around the foot of the mountain is thickly +populated, and towns and villages stand on the slopes of Vesuvius as +if there were no danger of his ever breaking out again. + +And Naples itself is a great, flourishing city with big factories, and +a busy seaport where ships of every nation congregate. + +And last, but not least, it has its Boy Scouts. + +They are Italian boys, but they dress and work just the same as their +British brothers. They have done a lot of camping out, and are all +very good at cooking their grub. And also they do a bit of sea +scouting in the splendid harbour and bay of Naples. + + + + +ON AN ORIENT STEAMSHIP + +OUR FLOATING HOME. + +Our ship of twelve thousand tons, R.M.S. _Orsova_, was more like +a floating hotel than a sea-going vessel, and the passengers living in +bright, comfortable cabins with a fine dining saloon and first-rate +food, could hardly imagine the work that was going on in other parts +of the ship to insure their travelling with such ease and speed and +safety. + +A tour round the ship, such as we made one day, is full of interest +and wonder. The second-class passengers are housed and fed just as +well as those in the first-class, and there is accommodation for 230 +of them. + +In the third-class, again, they are wonderfully comfortable in cabins +for two or for four people each, with nice dining and sitting-saloons, +and a roomy, roofed-in deck where they can enjoy the fresh air in all +weathers. There is room for 800 of these, and the cost of the journey +from England to Australia is only 17 Pounds, which means board and lodging +of the best description for six weeks while doing the journey out. + +The crew, of course, live forward, and, including seamen, stokers, +engineers, stewards, etc., they number about 300 men. On the +navigating staff of officers, quartermasters, and look-out men depends +much of our safety at sea. + +Then down in the depths of the ship are the engineers and stokers, who +make the ship go. Our chief engineer, like all chief engineers, is a +Scotsman, and he loves and takes a pride in his engines, and is glad +to show them. + +In Rudyard Kipling's song of the chief engineer, he describes him as +looking upon his engines as almost the work of God, in their wonderful +power and intricate working. + + * * * * * + +IN THE ENGINE ROOM. + +And it is indeed an impressive sight to stand below these great +monsters of steel and watch them faithfully and untiringly pounding at +their work, all in order, and exactly in agreement with each other, +taking no notice of night or day, of storm or calm, but slinging along +at all times, doing their duty with an energetic goodwill which makes +them seem almost human--almost like gigantic Boy Scouts! + +The great steel shaft which the four pistons keep driving round is +nearly 100 yards in length, and carries the big bronze screw propeller +at its end, which thrusts the ship along. There are two of these, one +on each side of the ship, which is therefore called a twin-screw +vessel. + +There are four cylinders to each shaft, and the same lot of steam is +used, passing from one cylinder to the other, beginning with the small +high-pressure cylinder, which it enters at its highest strength, +something like 250 lb. to the square inch, and ending with the big +low-pressure cylinder, where the pressure is only about 5 lb. + +Then there are numbers of other engines. One for condensing the salt +water from the sea and making it into fresh water for the boilers. +This is done by boiling up the salt water so that the watery part of +it becomes steam, while the salty part remains behind as salt; the +steam, when cooled, becomes fresh water, and is then fit to be used in +the boilers to make steam. + + * * * * * + +THE STOKEHOLD. + +Then we go into the stokehold among the mighty boilers. Here are +powerful, grimy men at work getting coal out of the coal bunkers, and +shovelling it into the furnaces. + +It sounds easy to shovel coal on to a fire, but it takes a lot of +practice to get the knack of stoking a fire properly, and a lot of +strength and skill to throw great shovelfuls quickly and well into the +right part of the furnace. + +The stokers work in gangs for four hours at a time, under "leading +stokers," whose duty it is to see that the proper pressure of steam is +kept up in the boilers by the heat of the fires. + +Anyone who has travelled on an ocean-going steamer will know the sound +which comes up from the interior of the ship every twenty minutes or +so, which sounds like a rataplan being hammered by someone for his own +amusement. + +This is in reality the signal which is given by striking iron with a +shovel, and can be heard by the men all over the stokehold, telling +them to stoke up their various fires. + +Besides the main engines there are pumping engines for supplying water +to the boilers and to the various parts of the ship. Then there are +ice-making machines for keeping the food-storage rooms cold, and +electric dynamos for supplying electric light all over the vessel, and +for use in the laundry. + + * * * * * + +THE LAUNDRY. + +This is an interesting department. Here all the bed sheets, towels, +tablecloths of the ship, and the linen of passengers are washed, +dried, and ironed by machinery. + +The linen is put into a circular "drum" full of soapy water and +whirled round and round till well washed. + +It is then partly dried by being put into another metal tub, which is +whirled round by electricity at such a pace that the water flies out +of the clothes. These are then put into a kind of mangle between hot +steel rollers, which squeeze out any water that remains, and at the +same time so heats the things that they come out quite dry and ironed +into the airing-room, where they receive a final drying in hot air. + +The ironing of small articles like shirts and blouses is done by a few +laundrymaids using flat-irons heated by electricity. + + * * * * * + +OUR BIRTHDAY CAKE. + +While on board we celebrated our birthday--that is, my wife's birthday +and my own (for by a curious chance we were both born on the same day, +though not in the same year!)--and at tea-time a beautiful birthday +cake appeared upon the scene, beautifully sugared and decorated with +our names and appropriate inscriptions, just as if it had been made +ashore. + +I do not know how the knowledge of the birthday got about, but I do +know that the cake was a most excellent one, and the kind thought of +the baker in making it was greatly appreciated by both of us. + + * * * * * + +FOOD AND FEEDING. + +After seeing the stokehold, the engines, and the laundry, we visited +the kitchens. The feeding of the passengers is an important point, for +on board are no fewer than 200 first-class, 230 second-class, 800 +third-class passengers, and over 300 officers and crew--more than 1500 +people altogether. + +The voyage to Australia takes nearly six weeks, so you can imagine +that a pretty large amount of food has to be carried on board to take +the ship out and home again. + +Tons of fresh meat and vegetables, butter, and eggs are stored in +ice-cold cellars. Each day a supply is brought up and put into iced +larders for that day's issue. + +Here are some of the amounts taken in the ship for one voyage: 5 tons +bacon, 50,000 eggs, 6 1/2 tons butter, 45,000 oranges, 9000 lb. jam. + +In the great kitchen are a dozen cooks at work preparing the meals for +all classes--the cooking is exactly the same for all. Also the quality +of food is the same, except that the first-class get more variety and +choice of different dishes. In the bakery is made the daily supply of +bread for the whole ship, and also baked puddings, cakes, and +sweetmeats. + + * * * * * + +POTATO PEELING. + +There were lots of interesting machines used in the kitchen to save +time and labour. + +For instance, there was a machine for peeling potatoes; a round metal +tub in which the potatoes were rushed round and round until their +skins were rubbed off, and they were ready for the cooking-pot. + +There were egg-boiling machines, which, working by clockwork, kept the +eggs in boiling water for whatever time was desired, and then took +them out without any attention on the part of the cook. + +There was a bread-slicing machine and a plate-washing machine, the +dirty plates being placed in iron racks and lowered into a tank where +boiling water is dashed on to them from both sides, so that they clean +themselves in no time. There was also a machine for kneading the dough +for making bread. + +In fact, the whole place was a marvel of work and organisation all +compressed into a very small space, and yet done most successfully and +cleanly. + + * * * * * + +A GOOD DINNER. + +Here is one day's bill of fare for the third-class passengers, which +shows that they do not fare badly. I had some of it myself, and it was +excellent. + +BREAKFAST + +Porridge with Milk +Yarmouth Bloaters +Hashed Meat +Cold Corned Pork +Bread +Butter +Jam +Marmalade Tea +Coffee +Cocoa + + +DINNER + +Mulligatawny Soup +Roast Mutton +Potatoes +Mashed Pumpkin +Suet Pudding with Syrup +Children--Milk Pudding Bread +Cheese +Biscuits + + +TEA + +Lancashire Hot-Pot +Cold Meat Salad +Pickles Bread +Butter Jam +Marmalade Currant Cake + + +SUPPER + +Bread +Butter +Cocoa +Biscuits and Cheese +Gruel for Infants if required +Cocoa or Coffee with Biscuits at 6.30 a.m. + + * * * * * + +AN ECHO OF THE ZULU WAR. + +Of two of the cooks with whom I talked, one had been twenty-three +years in the service of the Orient Company and the other twenty-six +years: and nearly all the ship's company had been in this ship four +years, though their engagement only lasts for one voyage. So it looks +as though the Orient were a satisfactory line to serve with. + +One of the cooks had been a soldier in the Wiltshire Regiment, and had +served in the Zulu War of 1879. He had been in the siege and defence +of Etshowe. + +This place was surrounded by the Zulus, and another British force +tried to get into signalling communication with it by means of the +heliograph, which at that time was quite a new invention. + +I reminded my cook friend of this, and he told me this little yarn +about it. He said: + +"I was walking out on the ridge there close to the camp with a +corporal in my company when we noticed a light flickering on a hill in +the distance. He had been through a course of signalling, and said it +looked as if somebody were trying to flash a signal to us, so we got a +bit of looking-glass and flashed it in their direction. + +"Suddenly he said to me: + +"'Write down what I tell you.' + +"I got out a piece of paper and a pencil, and he spelt out a message +which was meant for Colonel Pearson, our commanding officer. It was to +say that if we sent a signaller on to the church steeple in Etshowe +they could signal direct to him. + +"I took the message to the colonel, and soon after a sailor managed to +get up somehow or other, and we very quickly had messages going and +coming." + + + +SEA SCOUTING + + +In the days of Queen Elizabeth, nearly four hundred years ago, the +sailors of Spain, of England, of Holland, and of Portugal were all +making themselves famous for their daring voyages in small sailing +ships across unknown oceans, by which they kept discovering new lands +for their country in distant corners of the world. + +There was one small cabin-boy on a coasting brig in the English +Channel who used to long to become one of these discoverers but when +he looked at the practical side of the question it seemed hopeless for +a poor little chap like him ever to hope to rise in the world beyond +his present hard life in a wretched little coaster, living on bad food +and getting, as a rule, more kicks than halfpence--but it shows you +how the poorest boy can get on if he only puts his back to it. + + * * * * * + +SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, + +Young Drake--for that was his name--did get on in spite of his +difficulties; he worked hard at his duty until he became a captain of +two small ships, one of seventy, the other of thirty tons, and with +these he sailed to fight the Spaniards, who were at that time our +enemies, away across the ocean in Central America. + +He not only fought them, but was successful in taking some of their +ships and a great deal of valuable booty from their towns. + +On his return home he was promoted to command a large expedition of +five ships, the biggest of which, however, was only 100 tons, and the +smallest was 15 tons--no bigger than a fishing smack. + +With these he sailed down the West Coast of Africa, then across to +Brazil and down the South American coast till he rounded the end of it +through the dangerous and difficult Straits of Magellan into the +Pacific. He coasted up the western side of America as far as +California, and then struck across the ocean to India, and thence +_via_ the Cape of Good Hope to England; this voyage took him +nearly three years to complete. + +His good ship, the _Golden Hind_, though much battered and +wounded with war and weather, was received with great honour at +Deptford. The Queen herself went on board, and while there she showed +such pleasure at Drake's good work that she knighted him, using his +own well-worn sword to make him Sir Francis Drake. + +Soon after this King Philip of Spain began to prepare an enormous +fleet, and though he told Queen Elizabeth that it was not intended to +be used against England, Sir Francis Drake, who was now in command of +a small fleet of British ships, maintained that it could be for no +other purpose. + +[Illustration: DRAKE'S SHIP, THE "GOLDEN HIND."] + +And a secret letter was shortly afterwards intercepted which proved +that his suspicions were right. + +Drake went off with his fleet and sailed up and down the Spanish coast +destroying their ships and stores wherever he could find them, and +thus he hindered their preparations for war. In this way he sank or +burnt some 12,000 tons of shipping, which meant a great many ships in +those days. + +He merely described it in his report as, "singeing the Spanish King's +beard." + +At the end of 1588, the great Spanish fleet--the Armada--was ready, +and sailed against England. But there were a fine lot of British +admirals and men awaiting it, for besides Lord Charles Howard of +Effingham, the Lord High Admiral, there were Frobisher, and Davis, +Walter Raleigh, and Francis Drake. + +It is true they had only 67 ships with which to oppose the 130 of the +Spaniards, but they sallied out and tackled them at once before the +Spaniards were really ready for them, and drove them into Dunkirk. +Here the Spaniards felt secure and would not come out till one night +the English sent fire ships in among them which forced them to put to +sea. Then ensued a tremendous sea fight, in which Drake, in the +_Revenge_, took the lead. + +The battle lasted all day, with guns roaring and ships foundering or +exploding. + +At length the Spaniards drew off northward to the German Ocean, the +only line of escape open to them. Round the north of Scotland and +Ireland they went, damaged by shot and beset by a gale, so that in the +end, out of the magnificent fleet of 130 sail which had set out for +the conquest of England, only 53 got back, with only about 9000 out of +the original 30,000 men. + + * * * * * + +NELSON. + +Two hundred years after Drake came Nelson. He was the son of a +clergyman in Norfolk, a poor, sickly little fellow, and was for a time +in the merchant service. + +His first step to greatness was when the ship which he was in captured +an enemy's ship, and the first lieutenant was ordered to take a boat +and some men and go aboard the prize. But owing to the heavy sea which +was running the officer gave up the attempt as too dangerous, +whereupon Nelson, like a good Scout, stepped forward and offered to +go. + +He succeeded, and thence was marked as a good officer. + +Every boy knows how, after a splendid career of fighting for Britain, +he finally won the great sea battle of Trafalgar against the French +and Spanish fleets, and fell mortally wounded in the hour of victory. + +But his work, and that of other great sea-captains who served with +him, completed the supremacy of the British Navy begun by Drake and +the sea-dogs of his time. + +The navies of our enemies were entirely swept from off the seas, and +their merchant ships could only carry on their trade so long as their +countries remained at peace with Britain. + +And that supremacy has remained with us till to-day. + +In consequence of this we have been enabled to put a stop to the awful +slave trade which used to go on on the coasts of Africa; to discover +new lands for our Empire, and to bring civilisation to savages in the +farthest corners of the world. And the enterprise of our merchant +ships has made our trade successful all over the globe, and so +increased the prosperity of our people both at home and in our Oversea +Dominions. + +The sailor has a grand life of it. Continually visiting strange and +interesting lands, with a good ship manoeuvring through distant +oceans, with plenty of contests with tides and winds. A free, open, +and healthy life, which breeds cheery handiness and pluck such as make +a sailor so deservedly loved by all. And all the time he is doing +grand work for his country. + + * * * * * + +OUR LIFEBOATMEN. + +We are hearing a great deal of the heroes of everyday life, but there +are perhaps no greater heroes, no truer scouts than sailors of the +kind that man our lifeboats all round the coasts of Great Britain. +They have to Be Prepared to turn out at any minute, when the dangerous +storm is at its worst, to face danger in order to save others. + +Because they do it so often and so quietly we have come to look upon +it almost as an everyday affair to be expected, but it is none the +less splendid of them or worthy of our admiration. A large number of +Boy Scouts have, by taking up "sea scouting" and by learning boat +management and seamanship, been able to take their place in the +service of their Country as seamen on our battleships, and in the +merchant service, and as lifeboatmen upon our coasts. + + * * * * * + +SEAMANSHIP GAMES. + +During the summer months Scouts in many parts of the country practise +sea scouting as well as camping on shore. This involves living on +board ship and learning all the duties of sailors--going on watch, +going aloft, managing boats, saving life at sea, and swimming and +saving life from drowning--with plenty of interesting games and +practices. + + * * * * * + +SMUGGLERS. + +One game which can be played either by night or day is that of +"Smugglers." + +A patrol of smugglers endeavour to land from the seaward in a boat to +conceal their goods, which consist of nothing more valuable than "a +brick to each man," in a place called the "Smugglers' Cave," and then +to get away in their boat again. + +Other Scouts arc distributed as "preventive men" to watch the coast +for a considerable distance with sentries. So soon as one of these +preventive men sees a smuggler land he gives the alarm, and collects +the rest to attack them; but the attack cannot be successful unless +there are at least as many preventive men on the spot as smugglers, +and if the smugglers succeed in depositing their goods in the +Smugglers' Cave and then getting away again before they are attacked +by an equal number of preventive men, they win the game. + + * * * * * + +TREASURE ISLAND. + +Another exciting game which tests the Scoutcraft of a patrol is that +where they approach the shore in a boat and look out for marks which +have been told to them, and, on finding these, they land, find a map +hidden away, which gives further clues by means of landmarks, compass +directions, tidemarks, and so on, to where the hidden treasure is to +be found. Only a certain time will be allowed for finding it. + +This game can be made a competition for one patrol against another, +each patrol taking it in turn to carry out the same task. Naturally, +each patrol would be very careful to wipe out all footmarks and +tracks. + +Then there can be whale hunts, as given in the book _Scouting for +Boys_, and also "Shipwreck," when everybody on board ship will take +their places and carry out orders for getting the women and children +safely away, followed by the men of the ship. + +"Castaways on a Desert Island" may also be practised, when they have +to get ashore on rafts and otherwise, and rig up such shelters as they +can out of the materials available, and light their fires and cook +their food, and so on. + +The pursuit of slavers' dhows by pinnaces from men-of-war can be +practised, and "cutting-out" expeditions by boats full of armed Scouts +taking a hostile ship or place in the night. + +"Salvage" may also be practised by boats going out in parties, where +they are to save some derelict ship in distress, and to tow her into +safety. + + * * * * * + +WATER SPORTS. + +Water sports can also be indulged in, such as polo, jousting, pillow +fighting, greasy pole, hurdle races, into the lifebuoy race, and other +exciting incidents. But to take part in these practices and games it +is necessary that a Scout should be able to swim, and I hope that +every Scout will take the earliest opportunity of doing so. + +And not only should he learn swimming without delay, but also study +the means he ought to take for saving a drowning man and for reviving +him when he has got him ashore. No Scout is too young for this. + +I saw a case in the paper recently which is a fine example to other +boys, where Frederick Delvin, eleven years of age, rescued another boy +from drowning in the Surrey Canal, near the Old Kent Road bridge. + +A small boy named George Spear was fishing in the canal when he fell +into the water, and was on the point of drowning when Delvin, who had +learned to swim last summer, jumped into the water and brought him +safely ashore, and thus saved his life. + +Well, now, any Scout could do that, if he knew how and had the pluck, +and I should hope that every Scout has that at least. + + * * * * * + +JACK TARS' PRESENCE OF MIND. + +A serious disaster was narrowly averted at Dover in connection with a +treat given to six hundred schoolgirls on the battleship +_Albion_. + +The children were being taken out to the battleship in boats in a +rather heavy sea. A steam pinnace, towing two whaleboats, each +containing about eighty girls, was rounding the Prince of Wales Pier, +when the Government tug _Adder_ unexpectedly came round from the +opposite side of the pier, bearing right down on them. + +There was great excitement, as a disaster seemed certain; but the +Naval men in charge quickly cut the second boat adrift, and the tug +passed between the two crowded boatloads. 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. Here is +the story of it. + +In the old days, 250 years ago, Britain and Holland were both powerful +nations at sea and rivals in commerce, but as we had command of the +British Channel we made all foreign ships salute our men-of-war when +passing them. + +One day, May 19th, 1652, a Dutch fleet of forty-five ships; under +their great admiral Van Tromp, came sailing up the Channel, and passed +a British Fleet of twenty-three ships under Admiral Blake. Seeing how +strong he was, the Dutch admiral declined to salute us. So our +flagship fired a shot across his bows, as a signal to remind him of +his duty; but Van Tromp promptly replied with a broadside into the +stern of Admiral Blake's ship. + +"That's very rude of him to break my windows," remarked Blake, and +promptly ordered his small Fleet to attack the Dutch, although it was +twice as strong. + +The battle began at four o'clock in the afternoon, and went on hammer +and tongs till after dark. The firing then lulled, and the British +Fleet, having been badly mauled, spent the whole night repairing +damages. + +By dawn, although tired, they were all ready for a further go at the +enemy, but as daylight came on they found there was no enemy to go +for; he had cleared away in the night to less dangerous quarters. But +only for a time, in order to get more ships, and a few days later he +reappeared with something like eighty vessels. + +This and a contrary wind proved too much for Blake's small Fleet, and +though he made an obstinate fight of it, he was at last compelled to +take refuge in the Thames, pursued by the Dutchmen. + +Then it was that Van Tromp hoisted a broom at his masthead, as a sign +that he had swept the British from off the seas. But he was a little +bit "previous," as they say in America. The people in Britain rose to +the occasion, and, instead of being down-hearted, they at once started +to build a stronger Fleet, and trained men and boys--like sea +scouts--to man it. + +So soon as the ships were fitted out Blake put to sea with a Fleet of +sixty, and went to look for the Dutchmen, and he soon found them. + +Van Tromp, with seventy men-of-war, was coming up the Channel, +guarding a large fleet of richly-laden merchant ships making for +Holland. + +The British, of course, went for this convoy, and it was a pretty +tough fight, the Dutch merchantmen crowding on all sail to escape to +Holland, while their men-of-war kept behind them, fighting stubbornly +to hold off the pursuing British. It was a running fight, which was +kept up for three days and nights, and at the end the British came +home triumphant, having captured or sunk seventeen of the enemy's +men-of-war and thirty of his merchant ships. + +Van Tromp had to take down his broom. + + * * * * * + +HOW THE WHIP WAS HOISTED. + +It was in June, 1653, that the two fleets finally came together for +the deciding bout. Both countries had seen that a big naval fight must +come sooner or later, and both had gone on building ships as hard as +they could to meet the danger. + +When each fleet was about ninety ships strong, they met at sea. +Unfortunately Admiral Blake had been laid up in England with an old +wound, while the Dutch fleet was under three of their best admirals, +tough and plucky old sea-dogs all of them--Van Tromp, De Witt, and +Ruyter. For a whole day the two fleets were engaged, both sides +hammering away stubbornly and well, but by nightfall neither had +gained much. + +Next day they went at it again, and if anything the advantage was +beginning to rest with the Dutch, when suddenly, in the afternoon, a +fresh ship came banging its way through the rear of the Dutch fleet. + +It was Blake! + +His return seemed to put new life into the British. They went at it +again with all their might. They boarded Van Tromp's ship; he blew her +up and escaped to another; but in the end, with his fleet shattered +and broken, he had to make his retreat under cover of night as best he +could. + +The British thus remained masters of the Channel, with eleven good +Dutch men-of-war as prizes and eight more of them sent to the bottom. + +Then it was said that Blake's pennant was the whip that had driven +outsiders from off the seas. + + * * * * * + +THE LOSS OF THE "C 11." + +Whenever a British submarine goes down there is a tale of gallantry to +relieve the sorrow of it. + +"C 11," on her way to join the Fleet display in the Thames, was run +down by a steamer which came suddenly upon her in the night. + +A submarine, as you know, is a long, tube-like boat, shaped like a +hollow cigar, with one trap-door on the top leading to a small +look-out tower. She runs along with this tower above water until she +gets near to an enemy's ship; then the trapdoor is closed, and she +sinks herself down below water, and runs under the ship and fires a +torpedo into her in passing. + +I was on board a submarine not long ago, and when I was down in her +dark, narrow inside, surrounded with a tangle of pipes and engines of +every kind, I could quite picture to myself what the inside of the +whale's belly must have looked like to Jonah. Also I could picture the +hopeless feeling of dismay which must come over a crew of thirteen men +boxed up in this small vessel if an accident occurred to her. + + * * * * * + +A SAILOR HERO. + +The crew of "C 11" were all below, asleep, when the crash came; and +the boat rolled sideways, and then sank down under water almost +immediately. On the turret were Sub.-Lieut. Watkins and Able-Seaman +Stripes, who were navigating the vessel. + +Lieut. Brodie, the commander, was below at the time; but at the +collision he at once realised the danger, and first shook up some of +the sleeping men, and then sprang up the hatchway to see what was +wrong. Few were able to follow him before the vessel sank heavily +down. + +The next minute the survivors found themselves in the water swimming +for their lives. + +Sub.-Lieut. Watkins, being fully clothed and in his big sea-boots, had +great difficulty in keeping afloat, and was in immediate danger of +drowning, when Lieut. Brodie came to his assistance and held him up +until, fortunately, their plight was seen from neighbouring vessels, +and they were picked up just in time--both being completely exhausted. +But Lieut. Brodie never let go of his comrade in order to get a better +chance of saving himself. He had the true spirit of a Scout in him in +Being Prepared to give up his own life in the attempt to save another. + +If ever you find yourself in a position of difficulty or danger, keep +your head, think what is your duty, and do it: remember how it was +done in the case of "C 11." When sudden death and darkness were all +around, the officer kept cool and full of courage. + + * * * * * + +FISHERMEN HEROES. + +A terrific gale sprang up one winter in the Orkney Islands, away to +the north of Scotland. Three fishing smacks were out in it, and ran +for shelter into a narrow channel between two of the islands. + +Two of the smacks rode out the weather safely, but the third got +carried on to a small rocky islet and was wrecked, though her crew +managed to get ashore on to the rocks. + +Then it was that five brave fishermen on the island of Pharay, seeing +their plight, put off in a rough, home-made boat to try to rescue +them; but the wind and sea were so high, and a snowstorm was driving +against them to such an extent, that they could not get along, and +were beaten back, after two toughly fought attempts. + +But they would not be defeated, and at last, by sheer pluck and +determination, these hardy fellows got their boat across the channel +at the third attempt, and dragged the shipwrecked men one by one +through the water into their boat; and eventually, after going through +the greatest danger of being swamped, they got them all safely ashore +on Pharay. + +This was a true example of Scouts Being Prepared to risk their lives +to save fellow creatures. + +These five heroes arrived at Balmoral while I was there, as the guest +of King Edward, by whom they were received. He had the story of their +heroism read over, and he then congratulated them on their bravery, +and himself hung the medal for saving life at sea on the breast of +each and shook hands with him. That was his official reward to them, +but privately also he gave each man a personal friendly reminder in +the shape of a good pipe and some tobacco, which he chose himself for +them. + + * * * * * + +A BRAVE SEA SCOUT. + +The lads of the training ship _Mercury_ were manning one of the +boats to go ashore. There was a heavy wind blowing--it was still +dark--when one of the boys, named Newitt, fell into the water and was +swept away by the tide. + +Two of his messmates at once dived in to his rescue. One of these, +Yateman, was quickly picked up by the ship's boat in mistake for the +drowning lad. But the other boy, Driver, a Patrol Leader belonging to +the 8th Southampton (_Mercury_) Troop, succeeded in getting hold +of Newitt and swam towards the pier with him. + +But Driver was hampered with the suit of oilskins which he was +wearing, and in battling with tide and wind, he himself was nearly +drowned, although he was a good swimmer. + +A boat which put out from the pier got to him just in time to save +him, and he was pulled on board in an unconscious condition, from +which he did not recover for nearly two hours. The poor fellow, +Newitt, had slipped from his grasp and was drowned. + +Still, Driver had done all that he possibly could. He had not thought +of the danger to himself, but on the first alarm had, with the true +spirit of the Scout, at once sprung to the assistance of his comrade +in distress, and for this he was awarded the Bronze Cross, the Scouts' +highest award for gallantry. + + * * * * * + +SEA SCOUTS. + +I began my Scouting first of all as a Sea Scout, before I ever went +into the Army and before I ever saw the backwoods in Canada or India. +And I am very glad that I did, for as a Sea Scout, I learnt how to +swim, and I should have cut a poor figure as a soldier, or as a +hunter, or as a Scout, if I had not been able to do that. + +But besides swimming, there are so many things that one learns while a +Sea Scout which come in useful afterwards, whatever line of life you +may take up. + +For instance, I learnt how to tie knots, and unless a fellow can do +that he is a duffer; I learnt how to handle and manage a boat by +myself, how to right her when upset, and how to get in and out of her +when bathing. + +I learnt how to steer and manage a large sailing boat, taking my watch +alone at night; how to read the stars and charts; and how to take the +responsibility for navigating and not running her on to the rocks. + +As a Sea Scout you get mighty hungry, so in order to feed yourself +when on the water you have to be able to catch fish and to clean them, +and to cook them for yourself. All this means that you have to be what +a sailor is generally known as, a "handyman." + +Then the life is so jolly, free, and breezy; there is lots of hard +work at times, and difficulties and dangers to overcome, but also lots +of enjoyable sunny cruising into strange places with good comrades +around you. + +Fellows boxed up in a ship together naturally become the best of +friends and comrades if they are naturally good chaps with good +tempers; if they are not--well--then I would rather not be in that +ship, thank you! + +Sailors are always manly fellows, and know how to give and take, and +they manage to keep their tempers when small things go wrong. + + * * * * * + +GENERALS WHO WERE SAILORS. + +Two of our greatest generals to-day began their careers as sailors. + +Field-Marshal Sir Evelyn Wood won his Victoria Cross as a midshipman +in the Royal Navy while serving in the Crimea. Field-Marshal Viscount +French, late Commander-in-Chief of our Forces in France and Flanders, +was a sailor before he joined the Army, and so was Sir Hamilton +Goold-Adams, who commanded the Town Guard so well in Mafeking. + +I have always found that a Boy Scout who has been a Sea Scout as well +as a Backwoods Scout makes much the best all-round Scout in the end. +So I can well advise Scouts to have a taste of both. + +A patrol or troop can easily take up Sea Scouting for one season if +they like, just as a change. But, of course, it means that each one of +them must learn swimming first, if he is not already a swimmer, and +must know his knots really well, for actual use, and not merely for +passing test examinations. + +It is well worth the trouble, for Sea Scouting, with its adventures +and its games, is full of enjoyment and fun. + + * * * * * + +WHEN SEA SCOUTING HELPED ME. + +When I was last in Canada I had to do a lot of my travelling by canoe, +because the forests there are almost impassable with their thick +undergrowth and boggy soil. + +There are lakes and streams everywhere, so it is comparatively easy to +go by water. But there are plenty of adventures to be met with by the +way, in the shape of snags and rocks and rapids, and out on the lakes +gales spring up, with a heavy sea, in a very short time. So a fellow +has to know how to manage a boat and how to face risks if he is going +to get on at all, and it is just as well that he should be able to +swim, as otherwise he is not likely to arrive at the end of his trip +in the way he had intended! + +[Illustration: A SEA SCOUT] Well, Jim and Ben and I were paddling in +our birch bark canoe across a good-sized lake where there were a lot +of small islands, when suddenly we scrunched on to a submerged rock, +which brought us to a full stop and bulged in the bottom of our +vessel, so that the water began to run in and flood the floor. + +So the canoe was quickly turned, and away we paddled as hard as we +could for the nearest island, and just reached it in time to scramble +ashore before our boat began to sink. + +We quickly pulled her up on the rocks, got our baggage out, and rolled +her over, so that the water could run out and we could get at the hole +to repair it. This was done in quite a neat way. + +Ben and I scraped away with our knives some of the "gum" or natural +pitch with which the seams of the canoe were caulked. Jim meantime had +made a little fire with driftwood. Then Ben took a bit of rag, which +he had used as a bandage for a wounded hand, and stretched it over the +hole in the boat, and fixed it there with little bits of "gum," which +he melted down with a red-hot stick taken from the fire. + +In this way he made a watertight patch over the leak in a very few +minutes, and we soon had the canoe afloat again. We loaded her up, and +within ten minutes of the disaster we were on our way again as happily +as ever, but we kept a sharper look-out than we had done before for +snags and rocks just below the surface of the water. + + * * * * * + +THE SEA SCOUTS IN WAR. + +Thanks to so large a number of Scouts having taken up the training as +Sea Scouts we were able to supply about 1400 useful and efficient +fellows to act as Coastguards directly the war broke out. This enabled +a large number of the regular Coastguards to be sent to man the Fleet. + +Since then, the Admiralty have been so satisfied with the good work +done by the Sea Scouts, who have been guarding our coasts from the +extreme north of Scotland down to the Land's End in Cornwall, that +they have asked for more of them, and we now have about 2000 employed +on this duty and as signallers on board mine-sweepers, coaling and +supply ships. + +The Sea Scouts have won for themselves a very good name by Being +Prepared before war broke out. + + + + +HOW TO BECOME A BACKWOODSMAN + +Any fellow who means to be a backwoodsman, whether it is for pleasure +or for work, should first of all get some practice at it at home. + +For eight years of my life I hardly ever slept in a house and I +thoroughly enjoyed it. But to enjoy it you must know how to make +yourself comfortable in camp. + + * * * * * + +TENTS. + +The first thing to consider is what kind of substitute for a house you +are going to have to protect you from bad weather. This depends a good +deal on what kind of country you are in. In a forest you can, of +course, get plenty of timber out of which to build huts, but it is not +much use being able to build a log-hut and then to find yourself in +the open desert of the Sahara. + +The best all-round kind of camp-house is, of course, a tent. I had +what is called a "Cabul" tent--a small square erection, seven feet +long by seven feet wide, which can be opened or closed at either end, +and has a double roof. I lived in this through the winter in +Afghanistan, through snow and blizzard, in the greatest comfort. At +one end I built a brick fireplace and chimney; and I built a low wall, +two feet high, round the outside; this kept out all draughts and +prevented snow from melting into the tent. And I lived there as cosily +and comfortably as in a house. + +In that same tent I afterwards lived in the blazing heat of the plains +of India. Instead of the fireplace at the end to keep it hot, I had a +great mat of Khuskhu's fibre stretched on a frame and kept always wet +to keep it cool; the hot wind blowing through this was at once cooled, +and kept the tent delightfully cold and fresh inside, and the double +roof prevented the sun from baking it. And I had a punkah, or +swinging fan, slung from the ridge-pole, and worked by a native from +outside. + +It was a sturdy little tent, too, and no gale could ever manage to +blow it down. So you see it did equally well for every kind of climate +and weather. + +Another form of tent which I used in Mafeking and South Africa, and +still use for sleeping out in, in England, is one which you would +hardly call a tent. It is really a slungcot, with a movable canvas +roof to it. It is called the "Ashanti Hammock." + +[Illustration: A BIVOUAC SHELTER.] + +It packs up quite small, and is put up in a few minutes. Requires no +pegs. Keeps you off the wet ground. And when the gale comes and all +the tents in camp blow down, you lie there swinging gently in the +breeze, the envy of all the rest. It also forms an excellent stretcher +if you are ill and have to be carried; and if you die it also makes a +very satisfactory coffin, being laced over you as you lie in it. Very +complete, isn't it? + +[Illustration: THE ASHANTI HAMMOCK.] + +There are tents of every sort and kind to be got, from a single-man +tent up to a hospital tent for thirty beds. And there are also many +kinds of camps there is a "standing" camp, where you remain in the +same spot for weeks at a time, or a "tramping" camp, where you move on +every day to a new place, and "boating" camp, where also you move but +can carry your tent in your boat. But it is rather necessary to know +which kind of camp you are making before you can tell which kind of +tent you need. + +As I have said in _Scouting for Boys_: "For a standing camp +'bell' tents are useful, or huts can be made. Bell tents can be hired +in almost any town for a few shillings per week, or you can buy a +second-hand one in good condition for about 2 Pounds. + +"You could probably let it out on hire to other patrols when not using +it yourself, and so get back your money on it. A bell tent, just holds +a patrol nicely. + +"Scouts' 'patrol' tents also do very well for camp, but you need a +second set of staves or poles for rigging them if you want to leave +the camp standing while you are out scouting. + +"You can make your own tents during the winter months--and this, +perhaps; is the best way of all, as it comes cheapest in the end. And +if, while you are about it, you make one or two extra ones, you may be +able to sell them at a good profit." + +A "lean-to" tent is used by many backwoodsmen. It can be made with the +Scouts' patrol tent on the same principle as the lean-to shelter +described in _Scouting for Boys_. + +If pitched with its back to the wind, with a good fire in front, it +can be made a most luxurious bedroom on cold night. The roof catches +all the warmth and glow of the fire, and you lie there warm in your +blankets, yet breathing the fresh air of the forest or veldt and +gazing at the stars. There is nothing better on earth. + + * * * * * + +THE "TRAMP" TENT. + +We will begin with the simplest and cheapest. Here is a one-man +"tramp" tent, which is used by a certain class of gipsy in Scotland. + +[Illustration: CONSTRUCTION OF TRAMP-TENT.] You want six hazel sticks, +all exactly alike, about 3 ft. 6 in. long, just sufficiently pliant to +bend over near the top, but not so thin as to be wobbly. + +Each should be sharpened at the butt, and marked with a nick ten +inches from the point to show how far to drive it into the ground. The +points should be slightly charred in the fire to harden them. + +Then you want a sheet of light canvas, or waterproofed linen, to form +your tent, six feet square, with eyelets or loops along the sides. + +[Illustration: ONE-MAN TRAMP-TENT COMPLETE.] + +Plant your sticks firmly in the ground, in two rows, two feet apart +from each other. Bend the tops inwards to form an archway. Over these +arches spread your canvas to form a kind of tunnel tent, and peg down +the loops to the ground. + + * * * * * + +THE "BIVOUAC" TENT. + +This is, perhaps, an equally simple tent. The roof, or "fly," can be 6 +ft. by 6 ft. Two poles, 3 ft. 6 in., should be planted firmly-at least +six inches in the ground. + +A stout ridge-rope should be stretched tightly between them, and tied +at the top of each, and then securely fixed to a tent peg well driven +into the ground in front of each end of the tent. + +[Illustration: "BIVOUAC" TENT.] + +The edges of the "fly" all round should have large metal eyelets, by +which the sides of the tent can be pegged to the ground, and flaps can +be laced on at the ends to give protection against wind and rain, etc. + +Instead of using pegs at the sides, it is equally good to lace the +edge along a stout log, or to a rope stretched tight, or a pole, and +well anchored in the ground. + +Then you have the "patrol" tent of canvas, as described in _Scouting +for Boys_, which is carried in pieces, which lace together, and, +with the staves of the patrol as supports, form the tent for six or +eight boys. These are very easy to make in a couple of evenings. + + * * * * * + +THE "CABUL" TENT. + +The "Cabul" tent, mentioned previously, was the kind that we used in +the war in Afghanistan. + +Cabul is the chief town of that country. + +These tents are equally comfortable in snow and rain, or in the baking +heat of the plains of India. + +[Illustration: CABUL TENT COMPLETE] It has an extra roof to keep out +the sun or heavy rain. A tent like this, with two roofs, is called a +"double-fly" tent. It is, of course, heavier and more expensive than a +"single-fly," but it is also more comfortable. + + * * * * * + +"CABUL" TENT POLES. + +The horizontal "ridge-pole," 5 ft. 9 in. long, has an iron eyelet at +each end The outer fly rests on this. The loops of the inner fly also +hang from it to hold up the inner roof. + +[Illustration: INNER "FLY" OF "CABUL" TENT] + +[Illustration: OUTER "FLY" OF "CABUL" TENT] + +[Illustration: CABUL TENT-POLES.] + +The upright poles are six feet high; each of these is fitted with an +iron cap and spike at the top to fit the eyelets of the ridge-pole. +Each is also fitted with a circular wooden disc at one foot from the +top; this supports the inner fly, the upper part of each pole having +been passed through the hole at either end of the inner fly-roof. + + * * * * * + +TENT MAKING. + +Before starting to make your tent, you should, in the first place, +have a good look at ready-made tents, and see exactly how they are +made-especially at the edges. + +[Illustration: TREES INSTEAD OF TENT POLES.] + +You should always make a model of the tent you propose to construct, +first with paper, to scale, so as to get the proper dimensions, and +then with linen, with string and poles complete, to see how to cut it +out in the right sizes. Afterwards, you can proceed to make the real, +article. + +This, again, is best done by cutting it out in newspapers pasted +together and spread out on the floor. These paper cuttings then serve +as "patterns," on which you can cut your canvas without wasting any of +it. + + * * * * * + +THE MATERIAL. + +The kind of stuff to use for tent making depends a good deal on how +much you can afford for material, and what work you want the tent for. + +Thus, if you want a very light tent for carrying on your back or +bicycle, and have plenty of money, a silk tent at 4s. a yard is very +nice; but probably you would like one of cheaper material, and fairly +light and strong. + +Lawn, made of Egyptian cotton, calico sheeting, or brown calico makes +a very satisfactory tent at an outlay of 10s. or so for the whole +thing complete. + + * * * * * + +SEWING. + +After having purchased your stuff, and cut it out according to the +paper pattern, pin it, or tack it, all together, and see how it fits. + +Then stitch the seams together, using cotton, not thick thread. + +[Illustration: STEEP SIDES TOO WIDE.] + +Seams should be double-stitched-that is, the edges of the two pieces +of canvas should overlap, and each be stitched to the other piece. At +all points where a strain is likely to come on the canvas-namely, at +the corners and at places where eyelets for ropes have to come, it is +best to have a strengthening patch of canvas sewn over the other +canvas. + +Then wide, stout tape should be sewn along the edge of the canvas +wherever there is to be any strain on it, such as eyelet holes for +ropes, or hooks and eyes, or strings for closing the ends of the tent, +etc. + +Often in woods you can find two trees standing, say, eight feet apart. +If you have a six-foot tent, you can use these for tent poles by tying +("lashing" is the word used by sailors and Scouts) each end of the +ridge of the tent to a tree. + +This can be more easily done if your ridge is strengthened with a tape +sewn inside it, and made into a loop at each end. It is always as well +to make these loops on your tents, as they come in useful in other +ways. + +A strip of canvas is often stitched on to the foot of the tent, as +shown in the picture, either to hold it down with pegs or stones, or +to be turned inwards underneath your ground sheet to prevent draughts +coming in under the wall. + +A tent should not be made wider than its height, because the roof will +not be steep enough to run the rain off quickly, and so will let it +through more easily. + + * * * * * + +TENT POLES. + +The poles should not be made of any weak wood liable to split or +break, but of tough elm, hickory, ash, or bamboo. + +For small tents of about five feet high they need be only one to +one-and-a-half inches thick. + +For heavy tents of over ten feet long and over six feet high, they +have to be at least two inches thick. Bamboos are generally tougher +than wood, so need not be quite so stout. + + * * * * * + +TENT PEGS. + +Tent pegs may be easily made of wood, but should be of a tough kind +that does not split easily. They are generally made in the shape shown +below, about ten inches long. + +You can also get them of iron, but these, though they do not break, do +not hold quite so well in the ground, and are heavy to carry. +Aluminium ones are lighter, expensive, and inclined to bend. + +Then you can use stones or logs instead of pegs, and what I like best +of all is half a dozen canvas bags filled with earth or stones and +buried in the ground as anchors. These can be used equally well in +sandy, muddy, or stony ground, where ordinary pegs would never hold. + +These bags are easily made during your winter evenings, and can be +used for carrying your kit from camp to camp. They also make useful +buckets and washing basins. They should be made of stout duck or +canvas. + +The top edge of this canvas should be folded over and stitched in +order to give strength. + +The handles are made of half-inch rope, passed through brass eyelets, +let into the canvas below the stitching? the ends of the rope being +knotted inside. + +In cutting out you must allow an extra inch for turning in at the +edges and joining to the other pieces. + +Supposing that you have not the time or means for getting tents and +that you are going into camp where there are plenty of trees, and you +have got the right to use them, then some of the following tips may be +of use to you. + +[Illustration: CORRECT TENT PEGS.] +[Illustration: A HANDY BAG.] + +A bivouac shelter, as described in _Scouting for Boys_, is the +simplest and best form of hut, and is easily made in an hour. Two +upright stakes are driven firmly into the ground, with a ridge pole +placed in position along the tops. Against this a number of poles +should be made to lean from the windward aide, with cross-bars to +support the branches, reeds, sods, or twigs, or whatever is to form +your roofing material. + +For a single man this shelter can be made quite small, _i.e._, +about 3 ft. high in front, and 3 ft. wide and 6 ft. long. + + * * * * * + +FRAMEWORK. + +You build your fire about 4 ft. in front of this, and lie in it +alongside your fire. + +If the "shack" is for more than one man, you build it 5 ft. or 6 ft. +high in front, and 5 ft. deep, so that several fellows can lie +alongside each other, feet to the fire. + +When you start to thatch your framework, begin at the bottom and lay +your roofing material on in layers, one above the other in the way +that slates are put on a roof. In this way you may make it watertight. + + * * * * * + +THATCHING. + +For thatching you can use thick spruce branches, or grass, reeds, +sods, slabs of wood or bark (called "shingles"), or small twigs of +heather closely woven in. + +It is generally advisable to lay a few branches and stout poles over +the thatch when finished in order to keep it on if a gale springs up. + +[Illustration: FRAMEWORK.] + +If you want to build a complete hut, you can make a lean-to from each +side on the same ridge-pole; but the single lean-to, with its fire in +front of it, is quite good enough for most people. + +Another way to build a shelter hut is to lean a ridge-pole or backbone +from the ground into the fork of a small tree about 5 ft. above the +ground, the butt of the pole being about 4 ft. to windward of the +tree. Then put up a few side poles leaning against this, and roof over +in the same way as for a lean-to. Build your fire just in front of +this, and you will have a very safe and cosy little house. + +[Illustration: THATCHING.] + +In country where there are no trees to make poles with, like parts of +South Africa, where there is only a lot of small thorn bush and long +grass, you can make "scherms," or loose thorn bushes piled in a heap +and made into a small horse-shoe, arched over, back to wind, and +covered or roughly thatched with grass. + +These, with a fire in front, make very good shelter against cold wind +or against sun, and, if covered with a canvas waggon-sail or +tarpaulin, make a good enough protection against rain and against very +hot sun. A "scherm" can be made with heather or gorse--only look out +for its catching fire! + +[Illustration: A SHELTER HUT.] + +Remember that to make a tent or hut cool in hot sun put on more +roof--put blankets over the top of your tent, and bank up the sides +near the ground. But if you want to make your tent or hut warm, take +care to thicken the walls at the foot to prevent draughts coming in +along the floor. + +Also never forget that your floor is on raised ground, not in a hollow +that will become a pool in wet weather. + + * * * * * + +CAMP FURNITURE. + +Having made your tent or hut, you will find it a good comfort in a +standing camp to have a table. + +This you can well make in winter evenings before the camping season, +and while you are at it making one for yourself; you may just as well +make two or three more to sell to other people, and so add money to +your camping fund. + +The table should be separate from its legs, so that it can be packed +easily in the cart. + +If stakes can be got at camp, you would drive four of these into the +ground with a "maul" (big mallet), making them exactly the same +height, and lay your table top on these. + +To make your table top, bits of board or old packing cases can be +planed smooth, and trimmed, and screwed together by cross-battens +underneath to form a tabletop of the size required; 34 in. by 40 in. +is a useful and portable size. + +[Illustration: TABLE WHEN FINISHED.] + +A pair of folding trestle legs can then be made for the table. These +are two frames, one just narrow enough to go inside the other, but +both of the same length. + +A CAMP STOOL can be made in much the same way, with a strip of canvas +or carpet or several strings of webbing nailed across, from the top of +one trestle to the other, the trestles, of course, being quite small. + +[Illustration: UNDER SIDE OF TABLE TOP.] + +CANDLESTICKS, Forks, Tongs, and other small articles of camp furniture +are shown in _Scouting for Boys_, and can easily be made in the +winter evenings. If neatly done they also command a good sale at +bazaars. + +CAMP BEDS are also described in _Scouting for Boys_, and straw +mats for making these may very well be woven in winter evenings, and, +with plenty of time for making them, can be really well made. When +finished, they can be rolled up and packed away until required for +camp. + +The fellow who owns one of these in camp can enjoy life under canvas +about four times as much as the fellow who tries to make himself +comfortable on a hard, stony bit of ground. I think you never find out +how full of corners you are till you try sleeping on a hard bit of +ground. + +Of course? every Scout knows that the worst corner in him is his +hip-bone, and if you have got to sleep on hard ground the secret of +comfort is to scoop out a little hole, about the size of a tea-cup, +where your hip-bone will rest. It makes all the difference to your +comfort at night. + +Your night's rest is an important thing a fellow who does not get a +good sleep at night soon knocks up, and cannot get through a day's +work like the one who sleeps in comfort. + +[Illustration: TRESTLE LEGS.] + +So my advice is, make a good thick straw-mattress for yourself during +the winter ready for camp. + +Another good way of giving yourself a comfortable bed is to make a big +bag of canvas or stout linen; 6 ft. long and 3 ft. wide. + +This will do to roll up your kit in for travelling; and when you are +in camp you can stuff it with straw, or leaves, or bracken, etc., and +use it as a nice soft mattress. + +A PILLOW is also a useful thing for giving you comfort in camp. For +this you only want a strong pillow-case (which also you can make for +yourself in the winter). This will serve as your clothes-bag by day +and your pillow by night, your clothes, if neatly rolled and packed in +it, serving as the stuffing. + +I have often used my boots as a pillow, rolled up in a coat so that +they don't slip apart, and for a long time I used a Zulu pillow, which +is a little wooden stand on which you rest your neck; it sounds +uncomfortable, but it is not so--when you're used to it! + +A Scout has to Be Prepared to turn out at any moment in the night. He +ought, therefore, to have his important clothes laid handy, so that he +can get into them at once in the dark. + +[Illustration: A ZULU PILLOW.] + +On service, of course, a Scout sleeps with shoes on, so that he can +turn out at any moment. + +I remember on one occasion some of my men gave up obeying this rule, +and thought it more comfortable to take their boots off. + +So one night I had the alarm given that the enemy were near, and +ordered the men to double out at once to a spot a short distance +outside the camp. + +The ground was covered with prickly grass and camel-thorn. How those +fellows hopped and skipped to get to the place. But they took care not +to go to bed barefooted again. + + * * * * * + +HUT BUILDING. + +In places where you can get the use of a wood for your camp, it saves +the cost of a tent if you can make yourself a hut. + +The important point in making a hut is to thatch it so closely and +well with heather, straw, or twigs of fir, etc., that it is +watertight. + +The double lean-to, already described, makes the simplest form of +hut--and if you like to make it more roomy, you can dig out the floor +a couple of feet. But this is always a messy proceeding, and +unhealthy, as upturned earth is very liable to give fever. + +In addition to the articles of camp equipment which are mentioned in +_Scouting for Boys_ as being easily made by the Scout himself, +there are several others which can be made during the long winter +evenings, and these will be of great use to you when you go into camp +in the summer, or they can be sold to other fellows wanting such +things, + +The following is taken, from Mr. H. Kephart's _Book of Camping:_ + + * * * * * + +HORN DRINKING CUPS. + +"Get a cow's horn from a friendly butcher, a little over a foot long. +Measure with a stick how far up it is hollow. Then, saw off the tip +just below where it becomes solid, except a strip of the solid part, +which should be left attached to the hollow part, about an inch wide +and five inches long, quarter of an inch thick; this strip will form +the handle of the cup." + +[Illustration: A HORN DRINKING CUP] + + * * * * * + +THE AXE. + +Of course a backwoodsman has to be pretty useful with his axe; and to +become a good axeman a fellow must know, firstly, how the thing ought +to be done, and, secondly, he must then have lots of practice in doing +it before he can be considered any good. + +Bad workmen complain of their tools, but before starting to work be +sure that your tool is a good one. + +Your axe should be a "felling" axe, of which the head will weigh +nearly three pounds. See that the handle or "helve" is perfectly +straight and true in line with the head and the edge. To do this look +along the helve with the edge of the head turned upwards. If the edge +is not true to the bevel, your cuts will go all astray. + +Then see that your axe is sharp--really sharp, not merely with a good +edge on it. A slightly blunt axe is no more good for cutting down a +tree than a very blunt knife is for cutting a pencil. You should know +how to sharpen it on a grindstone, learn this now, while you are in +civilisation, where grindstones can be found and there are men to show +you. + +When out in camp in India, for "pig sticking" (that is hunting wild +boar with spears) we found how very necessary it was to keep our +spears as sharp as a razor, and every time we killed a boar we would +sharpen up our spear-heads again ready for the next fight. + +We could not carry grindstones about with us, but we carried a small +fine file, with which we were able to touch up the edge; and that is +what many an old backwoodsman does for his axe, he carries a small +file with him. + +There is a saying with these men that "you may lend your last dollar +to a friend, but never lend him your axe--unless you know that he is a +good axeman and will not blunt it." + +The tenderfoot will go banging about with an axe, chopping at roots +and branches on the ground, and blunting the axe at every stroke on +earth and stones; and when his arms tire, if he has not meanwhile +chopped his own foot, he will throw the axe down, leaving it lying all +anyhow on the ground, probably where it will catch and cut the toe of +someone moving about after dark. + +When you want to leave your axe, strike straight down with it into a +tree stump, and leave it sticking there till required again, + + * * * * * + +USING THE AXE. + +In using an axe, the tenderfoot generally tries to cover his bad aim +by the extra strength of his blows. If an old hand is looking on he is +smiling to himself and thinking how blown and what a backache he got +himself the first time that he did it. + +Don't try to put force into the blow; merely be careful about aiming +it so that it falls exactly where you want it, the swing and weight of +the axe itself do the rest. + +A good axeman uses his axe equally well left-handed or right. It is +all a matter of practice, and most valuable. + + * * * * * + +FELLING A TREE. + +The way to cut down a tree is to cut first a big chunk out of the side +to which you want the tree to fall, and then to cut into the opposite +side to fell it. + +Begin your Notch 1, or the "kerf," as it is called, by chopping two +marks, the upper one, A, at a distance above the other, B, equal to +half the thickness of the tree. + +[Illustration: THE KERF.] + +Then cut alternately, first a horizontal cut at B, then a sideways, +downward cut at A, and jerk out the chunk between the two; go on doing +this till you get to the centre of the tree. The reason for making A +and B so far apart is that if you begin with too narrow a kerf your +axe gets wedged in the cut more easily. + + * * * * * + +CUTTING THE KERF. + +When you have cut your kerf half through the tree, you then fell the +tree by cutting in on the opposite side, only about three inches above +the level of B, + + * * * * * + +THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR. + +Before starting to fell your tree, first clear away all small branches +and bushes which might interfere with the swing of your axe, and +therefore spoil your aim. + +Also clear away any brambles or undergrowth that might trip you at the +critical moment. + +Cut out chunks when you are at it, not a lot of little chips, which +are signs to anyone coming there later that a tenderfoot has been at +work. It is all a matter of aiming your stroke well. + +Aim your kerf so that the tree will fall clear of other trees, and not +get hung up in their branches. + +[Illustration: THE TREE READY TO FALL] + +Then, when your tree falls, look out for the butt. This often jumps +back from the stump; never stand directly behind it; many a tenderfoot +has been killed that way. When the stem cracks and the tree begins to +topple over, move forward in the direction of the fall, and, at the +same time outwards, away from the butt. + + * * * * * + +FIRE-LIGHTING. + +As a backwoodsman you must, of course, be able to cook your own +food--you can't lug your mother about with you to do it! + +But you cannot cook food straight off without ever having learnt how; +and so I advise every Scout to set to work and learn this during the +winter months, before the camping season comes on. + +You can do a good deal by helping in the kitchen, and seeing how the +food is got ready. Also get a baker to show you how to mix dough and +to bake bread. + +But it is no use merely to be _shown_ how it should be done; the +thing is to do it yourself. You will make a few mistakes at first. +Your dough will come out like custard, and your porridge will be +burnt, and milk smoked, but after one or two trials you will soon find +yourself able to cook quite well. + +The first thing that is necessary for cooking, even if it is only to +boil a billy of tea, is to have a fire, and tenderfoot makes a pretty +hash of lighting a fire until he knows how. + +[Illustration: FIRE READY FOR LIGHTING.] + +Begin in _a_ small way by putting first some dry "kindling" or +small splinters and shavings, dry grass, or a _little_ paper, +anything that will easily take fire, and over that stack a lot of +small dry sticks, standing on end and leaning together, or leaning +against a log on the _windward_ side of it. + +Remember, dry _sticks_ are very different from _sticks_ when +it comes to lighting a fire. + +Dry sticks are seldom found on the ground, they are generally best got +from a tree. Find a tree with a dead branch or two, break these off, +and you will have dry sticks. For "kindling," a number of sticks +partly split or splintered with your knife are useful. + +Do you know what "punk" is? + +Well, "punk," or "tinder," is what _a_ good many backwoodsmen +carry about with them for lighting their fires. + +It can be a small bit of cotton waste soaked in petrol or spirits, or +very dry, baked fungus, or bark fibre, or anything that will catch +fire from the slightest spark. + +Then, if you have no matches, you can strike a spark with a flint and +steel (the back of your knife on a stone will do it), and so set light +to your punk. + +Or you can do it with a magnifying glass if there is a good sun +shining, by making the sunlight pass through the glass on to a small +amount of punk, and in a few seconds it will set it smouldering; and +you must then gently blow it up into a glow, and finally into a flame, +with which you can light the "kindling." + +Indians and savages, who have neither matches nor burning-glasses, get +fire by rubbing wood together. + +The easiest way is by putting a slat of dry wood on the ground and +boring a hole through it with a stick of dry wood, twirling the stick +by means of a bow string. + +The friction of the two woods causes the kind of sawdust which comes +from the hole to get red-hot, and if a little punk is then placed on +it and blown into, it brings a flame. + +So soon as you have got your small kindling fire alight, add bigger +dry sticks, upright and leaning together, until you can get a really +strong fire going, when logs can be added. + +But for a cooking fire, use plenty of sticks at first, as they make +the hot ashes and embers which are most necessary for cooking. + + * * * * * + +TIPS FOR THE CAMPING SEASON. + +If you make your own sleeping bag out of canvas or sacking, remember +two points: first, to have its flaps about a yard longer than +yourself, so that you can get well into it in case of rain, and +secondly: that to keep warm and dry you want more thickness underneath +than above you. + +[Illustration: A COMFORTABLE SLEEPING BAG.] + +The best way is to have a double sheet under you, or, in other words, +make your sleeping bag a double one; you can then fill the lower part +with straw, and sleep yourself in the upper compartment. + +The object of having long flaps is seen in the illustration. The lower +one can be rolled with your spare clothes inside it to form your +pillow, while the upper one can be supported by a crossbar to form a +little roof over your head. In a sleeping bag of this kind, if +waterproof, you can sleep out without a tent at all. + + * * * * * + +HOW TO MAKE A CAMP BED. + +A very simple and comfortable form of camp bed-and one which you can +easily rig up and use in your home, or at an inn, if a bedstead is not +available-is this: Make a "hasty stretcher" with two staves and a +sack, and lay the ends of the staves on a couple of logs, stones, or +boxes. + +[Illustration: READY FOR USE.] + +Keep the staves apart by crossbars, and you have a most comfortable +bed. But don't forget to put plenty of blankets, and some thick paper, +if you are short of blankets underneath you. + +This bed is the best possible one to use when you have to camp on damp +ground. + + * * * * * + +HOW A TENDERFOOT SITS DOWN. + +In camp you can generally tell a tenderfoot from an old scout from the +way in which he sits down. + +[Illustration: THE WRONG WAY.] + +A tenderfoot sits right down on the ground, but the old hand, knowing +that this is very likely to give you chill and bring on fever, +rheumatism, or other ailments, either squats on his heel, or on both +heels--which comes all the more easy if you put a stone under each +heel as a support, or if you have your back against a tree. + +[Illustration: THE RIGHT WAY.] + +When an old scout sits on the ground, he always takes care either to +sit on his hat, or on a bundle of dry heather, or something that will +keep him off the actual ground. + +[Illustration: HOW AN OLD HAND SITS DOWN.] + +Two ex-Boy Scouts, now officers in the Army, sent me a contribution to +our funds lately, as a thanks offering for all the campaigning dodges +which they had learnt as Scouts and which had been most helpful to +them on active service. + +So practise all you can of these tips which I have given: you never +know when they may not come in useful to you. + + + + +TRAINING AND TRACKING + +ZULU TRAINING. + +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 kinds of wild roots, +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 with great rejoicings by his friends and relatives, +and is allowed to become a soldier of the tribe, since he has shown +that he is able to look after himself. + + * * * * * + +TRACKING BY TOUCH. + +General Dodge, of the American Army, describes how he once had to +pursue a party of Red Indians who had been murdering some people. + +The murderers had nearly a week's start, and had gone away on +horseback. Rut General Dodge got a splendid tracking-scout named +Espinosa to help him. The Indians were all riding unshod horses except +one, and after Espinosa had been tracking them for many miles he +suddenly got off his horse and pulled four horseshoes out of a hidden +crevice in the rocks. The Indian had evidently pulled them off so that +they should not leave a track. + +For six days they pursued the band, and for a great part of the time +there was no sign visible to an ordinary eye, and after going for 150 +miles they eventually overtook and captured the whole party. But it +was all entirely due to Espinosa's good tracking. + +On another occasion some American troops were following up a number of +Indians, who had been raiding and murdering whites, and they had some +other Red Indian scouts to assist them in tracking. + +In order to make a successful attack, they marched by night, and the +trackers found the way in the darkness by feeling the tracks of the +enemy with their hands, and they went at a fairly good pace for many +miles, merely touching the track with their fingers; but suddenly they +halted and reported that the track they had been following had been +crossed by a fresh track, and on the commanding officer going up, he +found the Indians still holding the track with their hands, so that +there should be no mistake. + +A light was brought, and it was found that the new track was that of a +bear which had walked across the trail of the enemy! So the march +continued without further incident, and the enemy were surprised, and +caught in the early hours of the morning. + +I myself led a column through an intricate part of the Matopo +Mountains in Rhodesia by night to attack the enemy's stronghold, which +I had reconnoitred the previous day. I found the way by feeling my own +tracks, sometimes with my hands and sometimes through the soles of my +shoes, which had worn very thin; and I never had any difficulty in +finding the line. + +Tracking, or following up tracks, is called by different names in +different countries. Thus, in South Africa you would talk only of +"spooring," that is, following up the "spoor"; in India it would be +following the "pugs," or "pugging"; in America it is "trailing." + + * * * * * + +JACKAL CATCHING. + +In India I have seen a certain tribe of gipsies who eat jackals. Now, +a jackal is one of the most suspicious animals that lives, and is very +difficult to catch in a trap, but these gipsies catch them by calling +them in this way: Several men with dogs hide themselves in the grass +and bushes round a small field. In the middle of this open place one +gipsy imitates the call of the jackals calling to each other; he gets +louder and louder till they seem to come together; then they begin to +growl and finally tackle each other with violent snapping, snarling, +and yelling, and at the same time he shakes a bundle of dried leaves, +which sounds like the animals dashing about among grass and reeds. + +Then he flings himself down on the ground, and throws up dust in the +air, so that he is completely hidden in it, still growling and +fighting. + +If any jackal is within sound of this, he comes tearing out of the +jungle, and dashes into the dust to join in the fight. When he finds a +man there, he comes out again in a hurry, but meantime the dogs have +been loosed from all sides, and they quickly catch him and kill him. + +Mr. William Long, in his very interesting book called _Beasts of the +Field_, describes how he once called a moose. The moose is a very +huge kind of stag, with an ugly, bulging kind of nose. He lives in the +forests of North America and Canada, and is very hard to get near; and +is pretty dangerous when he is angry. + +Mr. Long was in a canoe fishing when he heard a moose bull calling in +the forest--so just for fun he went ashore and cut a strip of bark off +a birch tree and rolled it up so as to make a kind of megaphone, With +this he proceeded to imitate the roaring grunt of the bull moose. The +effect was tremendous; the old moose came tearing down, and even came +into the water and tried to get at him--and it was only by hard +paddling that in the end he got away. + + + + + +CONCLUSION + +Well, good-bye, my reader. I hope you will have got half the enjoyment +out of reading these yarns that I have had in spinning them to you. + +Will you try to remember some of the ideas which they bring to your +mind-most especially those ten "Scout Laws" with which I began the +book. + +I repeat them as a reminder for you. Learn them by heart-each one to a +finger. + + THE SCOUT LAW. + + 1. A Scout's Honour is to be Trusted. + 2. A Scout is Loyal. + 3. A Scout is Useful to Others. + 4. A Scout is a Friend to all. + 5. A Scout is Courteous. + 6. A Scout is a Friend to Animals + 7. A Scout Obeys Orders. + 8. A Scout Smiles and Whistles when in Trouble. + 9. A Scout is Thrifty. + 10. A Scout is Clean in Thought, Word, and Deed. + + +Will you try to remember these and carry them out in your daily life? +By doing so you will be a true Young Knight of the Empire. + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Algeria, A trip to-- + Algiers, Interesting things in + Arab market, An + Arab politeness + Arab's Candles + Boar-hunting + Camping among the mountains of the Desert + Carthage-Ancient and Modern + Cold winds + Constantine, Celebrated French regiment at + Good turn to a donkey, A + Historical memories of the place + History of Ancient Roman occupation + Hot springs of Hammam Mousketine, The + Mountain of salt in, A + Mountain range between Algeria and the Sahara + Spahis, The + Truffle-hunting + Tunis and its "souks" +Axe, Take care of your + +B + +Belgian Boy Scouts + +C + +Camp bed, To make a +Camping season tips +Cheerfulness-- + Ancient exhortation to + British Army's example at the Front + "Don't stand with your back to the sun" + Earl Roberts, example of + Under difficulties + Whistling good, but not if it causes annoyance +Chilian Boy Scouts +Cleanliness-- + Bodily + Consumption, Wage war against by + Drinking against the law of + In thought, word, and deed + Manliness demands + Smoking as a boy offends + Spitting offends the law of + +D + +Danish Boy Scouts +Dutch Boy Scouts + +F + +Fire-lighting +Friendliness-- + Arab hospitality + Buttonhole badge worn by all Scouts a token of + Chilian Scouts help British visitors + Shown to all + "Swastika" an emblem know in all lands + Treating natives for minor ill + +H + +Honour-- + Examples of the sense of + Your word is your bond +Horn drinking cups + + +K + +Kindness to animals-- + Bird migration + Bird-nesting, humanely + Good and brave men show + Instances of + Lord Nelson on a bull-fight + Nesting-box for birds, To make a + Studying wild beasts + +L + +Loyalty-- + Balaclava Charge an instance of + Conquests achieved through loyalty to leaders + Instance of, at the Front + To King and Country + To parents and friends + +M + +Malta-- + Home of Scouts, The + Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in. The. + Maltese placed themselves under Great Britain's Protectorate + Maltese Cross and its meaning, The + Maltese Boy Scouts + +N + +Naples-- + Scouts in + Vesuvius overshadows +Neapolitan Boy Scouts +Norway, Camping in-- + Automatic toasting-fork, An + Bivouac hut, Easily-made + Boat voyage, A + Camp bedroom, A + Camp fire and kitchen + Cleaning and cooking your fish + Driving + Fishermen's knots + Fly-fishing + Norwegian fences + Norwegians are kind to animals + Picturesque experiences + Repairing a rod + Rowing boats + Stalking + Trout-fishing +Norwegian Boy Scouts + +O + +Obedience-- + British discipline, Examples of + Silence as discipline + To parents and Scoutmasters +Orient Line Steamship, Our life on an + +P + +Politeness-- + Ancient Knights' Oath of Chivalry, The + Courtesy to ail, especially the old and ailing + Scouts of the Desert show courtesy + True gentleman, The test of a +Pompeii, History of Ancient + +R + +Roberts, K.G., V.C., Field-Marshal Earl, + Lessons from the life of + +S + +Sea Scouting-- + Brave Boy Sea Scout, A + Chief Scout tells when it helped him + Drake, Career of Sir Francis + Dutch and English Admirals of 250 years ago + Fishermen heroes + Generals who were sailors + Lifeboatmen + Nelson, Career of Lord + Sailor heroes + Seamanship, Games to teach, + Use of, in war, + Usefulness of, at all times, +Sicily-- + Carts in, + History of, + Taormina, + Whispering caves in, +Sitting, The art of, +Strathcona, Lord, Lessons from the life of, +Swedish Boy Scouts, + +T + +Tents, How to build-- + Ashanti shelter, The, + Bivouac shelter, A, + Bivouac tent, A, + Cabul tent, + Camp furniture for, + Making of, and materials to use, + One-man tramp tent, The, + Shelter hut, A, + Tramp tent, The, +Thrift-- + Examples of men who became great through, + John Pound's example of, + Manliness of, +Two rules for earning a fortune, + +Training and tracking-- + Jackal-catching, + Moose-hunting, + Red Indians track by touch, + Zulu-training, +Tree-felling, The art of, + +U + +Usefulness-- + Badges to be won by, + Good turns, + Helpfulness to others, + Helping the police, + Instances of, + Peace Scout in Labrador, A, + Tracking exercise, + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Young Knights of the Empire +by Sir Robert Baden-Powell + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK YOUNG KNIGHTS OF THE EMPIRE *** + +This file should be named ynkgt10.txt or ynkgt10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, ynkgt11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, ynkgt10a.txt + +Steve Schulze, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. +This file was produced from images generously made available by the CWRU +Preservation Department Digital Library + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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