Debate, Kim’s Game, etc.
Patrols to continue practice in these throughout the week in their own time or under the Scoutmaster, with final games or exercises on the following Saturday afternoon.
If more evenings than one are available in the week one of the subjects might be taken in turn more fully each evening and rehearsals carried out of a display.
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 1
SCOUTS’ WORK
Peace Scouts - Kim - Boys of Mafeking
I suppose every boy wants to help his country in some way or other.
There is a way by which he can so do easily, and that is by becoming a Boy Scout.
A scout in the army, as you know, is generally a soldier who is chosen for his cleverness and pluck to go out in front to find out where the enemy is, and report to the commander all about him.
The colonists, hunters, and explorers all over the world are all scouts. They must know how to take care of themselves.
But, besides war scouts, there are also peace scouts—men who in peace time carry out work which requires the same kind of pluck and resourcefulness.
These are the frontiersmen of the world.
The pioneers and trappers of North America, the colonists of South America, the hunters of Central Africa, the explorers and missionaries over Asia and all wild parts of the world, the bushmen and drovers of Australia, the constabulary of NorthWest Canada and of South Africa — all these are peace scouts, real men in every sense of the word, and good at scoutcraft:
They understand how to live out in the jungle. They can find their way anywhere, and are able to read meanings from the smallest signs and
foot tracks. They know how to look after their health when far away from doctors. They are strong and plucky, ready to face danger, and always keen to help each other. They are accustomed to take their lives in their hands, and to risk them without hesitation if they can help their country by doing so.
They give up everything, their personal comforts and desires, in order to get their work done.
The life of a frontiersman is a grand life, but to live it, you must prepare yourself in advance for difficulties that may arise.
They do it because it is their duty.
The life of the frontiersmen is a grand life, but it cannot suddenly be taken up by any man who thinks he would like it, unless he has prepared himself for it. Those who succeed best are those who learned Scouting while they were boys.
Scouting is useful in any kind of life you like to take up. A famous scientist has said that it is valuable for a man who goes in for science. And a noted physician pointed out how necessary it is for a doctor or a surgeon to notice small signs as a Scout does, and know their meaning.
So I am going to show you how you can learn scoutcraft for yourself, and how you can put it into practice at home. It is very easy to learn and very interesting when you get into it.
You can best learn by joining the Boy Scouts.
The Adventures of Kim
A good example of what a Boy Scout can do is found in Rudyard Kipling’s story of Kim.
Kim, or, to give him his full name, Kimball O’Hara, was the son of a sergeant of an Irish regiment in India. His father and mother died while he was a child, and he was left to the care of an aunt.
His playmates were all native boys, so he learned to talk their language and to know their ways. He became great friends with an old wandering priest and travelled with him all over northern India.
One day he chanced to meet his father’s old regiment on the march, but in visiting the camp he was arrested on suspicion of being a thief. His birth certificate and other papers were found on him, and the regiment, seeing that he had belonged to them, took charge of him, and started to educate him. But whenever he could get away for holidays, Kim dressed himself in Indian clothes, and went among the natives as one of them.
After a time he became acquainted with a Mr. Lurgan, a dealer in old jewelry and curiosities, who, owing to his knowledge of natives, was also a member of the Government Intelligence Department.
This man, finding that Kim had such special knowledge of native habits and customs, saw that he could make a useful agent for Government Intelligence work. He therefore gave Kim lessons at noticing and remembering small details, which is an important point in the training of a Scout.
Kim’s Training
Lurgan began by showing Kim a tray full of precious stones of different kinds. He let him look at it for a minute, then covered it with a cloth, and asked him to state how many stones and what sorts were there. At first Kim could remember only a few, and could not describe them very
accurately, but with a little practice he soon was able to remember them all quite well. And so, also, with many other kinds of articles which were shown to him in the same way.
At last, after much other training, Kim was made a member of the Secret Service, and was given a secret sign— namely, a locket or badge to wear round his neck and a certain sentence, which, if said in a special way, meant he was one of the Service.
Kim in Secret Service
Once when Kim was travelling in the train he met a native, who was rather badly cut about the head and arms. He explained to the other passengers that he had fallen from a cart when driving to the station. But Kim, like a good Scout, noticed that the cuts were sharp, and not grazes such as you would get by falling from a cart, and so did not believe him.
