friends.
But you need not have a war in order to be useful as a scout. As a peace scout there is lots for you to do—any day, wherever you may be.
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 2
WHAT SCOUTS DO
Living in the Open - Woodcraft
Chivalry Saving Life - Endurance
- Love of Country
The following things are what you have to know about to become a good scout:
Living in the Open
Camping is the joyous part of a Scout’s life. Living out in God’s open air, among the hills and the trees, and the birds and the beasts, and the sea and the rivers—that is, living with nature, having your own little canvas home, doing your own cooking and exploration—all this brings health and happiness such as you can never get among the bricks and smoke of the town.
Hiking, too, where you go farther afield, exploring new places every day, is a glorious adventure. It strengthens you and hardens you so that you won’t mind wind and rain, heat and cold. You take them all as they come, feeling that sense of fitness that enables you to face any old trouble with a smile, knowing that you will conquer in the end.
But, of course, to enjoy camping and hiking, you must know how to do it properly.
You have to know how to put up a tent or a hut for yourself; how to lay and light a fire; how to cook your food; how to tie logs together to make a bridge or a raft; how to find your way by night, as well as by day, in a strange country, and many other things.
Very few fellows learn these things when they are living in civilized places, because they have comfortable houses, and soft beds to sleep in. Their food is prepared for them, and when they want to know the way, they just ask a policeman.
Well, when those fellows try to go scouting or exploring, they find themselves quite helpless.
Take even your sports “hero” and put him down in the wilderness, alongside a fellow trained in camping, and see which can look after himself. High batting averages are not much good to him there. He is only a “tenderfoot”.
Woodcraft
Woodcraft is the knowledge of animals and nature.
You learn about different kinds of animals by following their tracks and creeping up to them so that you can watch them in their natural state and study their habits.
The whole sport of hunting animals lies in the woodcraft of stalking them, not in killing them. No Scout willfully kills an animal for the mere sake of killing but only when in want of food—unless it is harmful. By continually watching animals in the open, one gets to like them too well to shoot them.
Woodcraft includes, besides being able to see the tracks and other small signs, the power to read their meaning, such as at what pace the animal was going, whether he was frightened or unsuspicious, and so on. It enables the hunter also to find his way in the jungle or desert. It teaches him which are the best wild fruits and roots for his own food, or which are favourite food for animals, and, therefore, likely to attract them.
In the same way in inhabited places you read the tracks of men, horses, bicycles, automobiles, and find out from these what has been going on. You learn to notice, by small signs, such as birds suddenly starting up, that someone is moving near, though you cannot see him.
By noticing the behaviour or dress of people, and putting this and that together, you can sometimes see that they are up to no good. Or you can tell when they are in distress and need help or sympathy—and you can then do what is one of the chief duties of a Scout, namely, help those in distress in any possible way you can.
Remember that it is a disgrace to a Scout, when he is with other people, if they see anything big or little, near or far, high or low, that he has not already seen for himself.
Chivalry
Just like Saint George of old, the Boy Scouts of today fight against everything evil and unclean
In the old days the Knights were the real Scouts and their rules were very much like the Scout Law which we have now.
The Knights considered their honour their most sacred possession.
They would not do a dishonourable thing, such as telling a lie or stealing. They would rather die than do it. They were always ready to fight and to be killed in upholding their king, or their religion, or their honour.
Each Knight had a small following of a squire and some men-at-arms, just as our Patrol Leader has his Second (or Assistant) and four or five Scouts.
The Code of the Knights
The Knight’s patrol used to stick to him through thick and thin, and all carried out the same idea as their leader —namely:
Their honour was sacred.
