Scouting for Boys

by Robert Baden-Powell

  Compass work means extreme care to take an accurate reading

  Finding the North without a Compass

  Besides the “Magnetic North” which you find with your compass, there is the other north of the North Pole at the top of the earth. This

  is the real north and for that reason is named “True North”.

  North by the Sun

  If you have no compass to show you “Magnetic North”, the sun will tell you by day where “True North” is, and from that you can figure out the other directions.

  At six o’clock in the morning (standard time) the sun is east. At nine he is south-east. At noon he is south. At three o’clock in the afternoon he is south-west, and at six o’clock he is west. In winter he will have set before six o’clock, but he will not have reached west when he is set. This

  applies roughly in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the Southern Hemisphere, at six o’clock the sun is east, at nine north-east, at noon north, at three north-west, at six west.)

  The Phoenicians who sailed round Africa in ancient times noticed that when they started the sun rose on their left-hand side—they were going south. Then they reported they came to a strange country where the sun rose in the wrong quarter, namely on their right hand. The truth was that

  they had gone round the Cape of Good Hope, and were headed north again, up the east side of

  Africa.

  When the sun is out, a watch will help you find your direction

  To find the south at any time of day by the sun, hold your watch flat, face upwards, so that the sun shines on it. Turn it round till the hour hand points at the sun. Without moving the watch, lay a pencil or stick across the face of the watch so that it rests on the centre of the dial and points out half-way between the figure XII and the hour hand. The direction in which it points is south. This applies only in the Northern Hemisphere. (In the Southern Hemisphere turn the XII, instead of the hand, to the sun, and south will then lie between the two as before.)

  North by the Stars

  Various groups of stars have been given names because they seemed to make some kind of picture outline of men and animals.

  Two stars of the Plough or Big Dipper point towards the Pole Star

  The Big Dipper or Plough is an easy one to find. It is shaped something like a dipper or a plough. It is the most useful star group for a Scout to know, because in the northern part of the world it shows him where north is. The Plough is part of the Great Bear. The stars in the curve make its tail. It is the only bear I know that wears a long tail.

  Pole Star—The two stars in the Plough called the Pointers tell you where the North or Pole Star is. It is the last star in the tail of the Little Bear. All stars and constellations move round the sky during the night, but the Pole Star remains fixed in the north.

  Orion—Another group of stars, or constellations, represents a man wearing a sword and belt, and is named Orion. It is easily recognized by three stars in a line, the “belt”, and three smaller stars in another line, close by, the “sword”. Two stars to right and left below the sword are Orion’s feet, two more above the belt are his shoulders, and a group of three small stars between them make his head.

  The Zulus call Orion’s belt and sword the “Ingolubu”, or three pigs pursued by three dogs. The Masai tribe in East Africa say that the three stars in Orion’s belt are three bachelors being followed by three old maids. You see, scouts all know Orion, though under different names.

  The great point about Orion is that by him you can always tell which way the North or Pole Star lies, and you can see him whether you are in the south or the north part of the world.

  If you draw a line, by holding up your staff against the sky, from the centre star of Orion’s belt through the centre of his head,

  and carry that line on through two big stars till it comes to a third, that third star is the North or Pole Star.

  A line through Orion will eventually

  reach the Pole or North Star

  In the Southern Hemisphere,

  the Southern Cross tells the directions.

  Southern Cross—On the south side of the world, in South Africa, South America, New Zealand and Australia, the Plough is not visible. Here the Southern Cross points toward south (see diagram). If you carry your eye along the same direction, A, as the long stem of the Cross for a distance of about three times its length, the point you hit will be about due south. Or if you imagine a line between the two Pointers and another imaginary line, B, standing upright on this first line and continued until it cuts the line A in continuation of the stem of the Cross, the point where A and B cut each other will be the south.

  Weather Wisdom

  Every Scout ought to be able to read signs of the weather, especially when going camping, and to read a barometer.

  He should remember the following points:

  Red at night, shepherd’s delight (i.e. fine day coming).

  Red in morning, shepherd’s warning (i.e. rain).

  Yellow sunset means wind.

  Pale yellow sunset means rain.

  Dew and fog in early morning mean fine weather.

  Low dawn means fine weather.

  High dawn means wind (high dawn is when the sun rises over a bank of clouds, high above the horizon).

  Soft clouds, fine weather. Hard-edged clouds, wind.

  Rolled or jagged clouds, strong wind.

  “When the ‘wind’s before the rain,

  Soon you may make sail again;

  When the rain’s before the ‘wind

  Then your sheets and halyards mind.”

  PATROL PRACTICES IN FINDING WAY

  Use compass directions whenever possible, such as “N.W. corner of room”, “E. side of camp site”, etc.

  Practice moving in the direction of a compass point. Take a direction, say N.E. Pick out some landmark—tree, mound, rock—in line with the direction given; this mark should not be too far away. Walk to that point, and repeat the operation by picking out another mark on which to

  move.

  Then continue further practice using degrees instead of points. Practice finding compass directions with watch and by the stars.

  Send out Patrols with compass directions to take them by separate routes to meeting place.

  When possible, point out constellations in night sky. Learn to recognize the Big Dipper and the

  Pole Star and Orion.

  Night movements can be practiced in daylight by covering the eyes with a bandage made of several thicknesses of black crepe or similar material. The staff should be used.

  Use local map for map reading and finding way by the map.

  GAMES IN PATHFINDING

  Follow the Map

  A Patrol is taken in patrolling formation into a strange town or into an intricate piece of strange country, with a map. Here sealed instructions are opened, telling where the Patrol is, and where it is to go to. Each Scout now in turn leads the Patrol, say, for seven minutes if cycling, fifteen minutes if walking. Each Scout is to find the way entirely by the map, and points are given for ability in reading.

  Mountain Scouting

  At daybreak three Scouts are sent out as “hares” to hide themselves in the mountains. After breakfast, a party of “hounds” set out to find the “hares” before a certain hour, say 4 P.M. If the hounds find them, even with field-glasses, it counts, provided that each finder can say definitely what “hare” he spotted. Certain limits of ground must be given, beyond which anyone would be out of, bounds, and therefore disqualified.

  Learn to pack your camp gear properly. In Africa and North America, they often use a tump-line on the head to help support the load.

  On Trek

  Make a “wilderness” trek, each Scout carrying his kit and food packed in a bundle on his head. Walk in single file, with a Scout 200 yards out in front to indicate the road to follow by Scout signs. Make bridge over stream or raft over lake; cross boggy ground on faggots.

  To teach your Scouts i
ndividually, ideas of direction and distance, send each out in a different direction on some such order as this: “Go two miles to North-north-east. Write a report to show exactly where you are, with sketch map to explain it. Bring in your report as quickly as possible”. Then test by ordnance maps or otherwise to see how far he was out of the distance and direction ordered.

  Send out Scouts in pairs, to compete each pair against the other. Each pair to be started by a different route to gain the same spot, finding the way by map, and to reach the goal without being seen by the others on the way. This develops map-reading, eye for country, concealment, look-out, etc.

  For judging time: Send out Scouts in different directions, each with a slip of paper that tells him how long he is to be away—say seven minutes for one, ten for another, and so on. Note down exact time of starting, and take it again on the return of the Scouts. They must be put on their

  honour not to consult watches or clocks.

  Find the North

  Scouts are posted thirty yards apart, and each lays his staff on the ground pointing to what he considers the exact north (or south), without using any instrument. He steps back three paces away from his staff. The umpire compares each stick with the compass. The one that is nearest,

  wins. This is a useful game to play at night, or on sunless days as well as sunny days.

  Night Patrolling

  Scouts can practise hearing and seeing at night by acting as “sentries”, who stand or walk about, while other Scouts try to stalk up to them. If a sentry hears a sound he calls or whistles. The stalking Scouts must at once halt and lie still. The umpire comes to the sentry and asks which

  direction the sound came from. If he is right, the sentry wins. If the stalker can creep up within fifteen yards of the sentry without being seen, he deposits some article, such as a handkerchief, on the ground at that point, and creeps away again. Then he makes a noise to cause the sentry to sound an alarm, and when the umpire comes up, he explains what he has done. This game can also be practiced by day, with the sentries blindfolded.

  The Red Indians used to transport their teepees and equipment on a carrier made by lashing sticks together. It was called a “travois”.

  Compass Points

  Eight staffs are arranged in star fashion on the ground, all radiating from the centre. One staff should point due north.

  One Scout takes up his position at the outer end of each staff, and represents one of the eight principal points of the compass.

  The Scoutmaster now calls out any two points, such as S.E. and N., and the two Scouts concerned must immediately change places. To change, Scouts must not cross the staffs, but must go outside the circle of players. Anyone moving out of place without his point being named, or moving to a wrong place or even hesitating, should lose a mark. When three marks have been lost the Scout should fall out.

  As the game goes on blank spaces will occur. These will make it slightly harder for the remaining boys.

  To make the game more difficult sixteen points may be used instead of eight.

  When played indoors the lines of the compass may be drawn in chalk on the floor.

  Alarm: Catch the Thief

  A red rag is hung up in the camp or room in the morning. The umpire goes round to each Scout in turn, while they are at work or play, and whispers to him, “There is a thief in the camp”. But to one he whispers, “There is a thief in the camp, and you are he—Marble Arch!” or some other well-known spot about a mile away. That Scout then knows that he must steal the rag at any time within the next three hours, and bolt with it to the Marble Arch. Nobody else knows who is to be the thief, where he will run to, and when he will steal it. Directly anyone notices that the red rag is stolen, he gives the alarm, and all stop what they may be doing at the time, and dart off in pursuit of the thief. The Scout who gets the rag or a bit of it wins. If none succeeds in doing this, the thief wins. He must carry the rag tied round his neck, and not in his pocket or hidden away.

  (Like “Hostile Spy”, in The Book of Woodcraft, by E. Thompson Seton).

  Surveying the Country

  As soon as a camp has been pitched, the first thing to be done is to find out about the country around the camp site, and this makes an excellent subject for a Patrol competition.

  Each Patrol Leader is given a sheet of paper upon which to make a sketch map of the country for perhaps two miles around. He then sends out his Scouts in all directions to survey and bring back a report of every important feature—roads, railways, streams, etc.—choosing the best Scouts for the more difficult directions. Each Patrol Leader makes up his map entirely from the reports of his own Scouts.

  The Patrol whose leader brings to the Scouter the best map in the shortest time wins.

  Note—many of these games and practices can be carried out in town just as well as in the country.

  CAMP FIRE YARN No. 6

  SEA AND AIR SCOUTING

  Lifeboatmen – Swimming – Boat Cruising

  Air Scouting – Sea Games

  There are perhaps no greater heroes and no truer Scouts than the sailors who man the lifeboats around the coasts of the oceans of the world. During dangerous storms they must BE PREPARED to turn out at any minute, and risk their lives in order to save others. Because they do it often and so quietly we have come to look upon it almost as an everyday affair, but it is none the less splendid of them and worthy of our admiration.

  I am glad that so many Boy Scouts are taking up Sea Scouting, and by learning boat management and seamanship are also learning to take their place in the service of their country as seamen in the navy, or in the merchant service, or as lifeboatmen along the coasts.

  A ship can be either a heaven or a hell — it depends entirely on the fellows in her. If they are surly, inclined to grouse, and untidy, they will be an unhappy ship’s company. If they are, like Scouts, cheerily determined in make the best of things, to give and take, and to keep their place tidy and clean, they will he a happy family and enjoy their life at sea.

  Swimming

  Every boy should learn to swim. I’ve known lots of fellows pick it up the first time they try, others take longer. I did myself—I couldn’t at first get the hang of it. In my heart of hearts I think I really feared the water a bit, but one day, getting out of my depth, I found myself swimming quite easily. I had made too much of an effort and a stiff struggle of it before—but I found the way was to take it slowly and calmly. I got to like the water, and swimming became easy.

  All you have to do is at first to try to swim like a dog, as if crawling along in the water. Don’t try all at once to swim with the breast stroke. When paddling along like a dog, get a friend to support you at first with his hand under your belly.

  There is jolly good fun in bathing—but ever so much more if the bathing includes a swim. What a fool the fellow looks who has to paddle about in shallow water and can’t join his pals in their trips to sea or down the river.

  But there’s something more than fun in it.

  If you go boating or sailing it is not fair on the other chaps to do so if you can’t swim. If the boat capsizes and all are swimmers, it is rather a lark. But if there is a non-swimmer there, the others have to risk their lives to keep him afloat.

  TOMMY THE TENDERFOOT NO. I — TOMMY AT THE LAKE

  Tommy sees all of them happy but him.

  They are plunging and diving—but Tommy can’t swim.

  Then, too, there may come the awful time when you see someone drowning. If you are a swimmer, in you go, get hold of him the right way, and bring him ashore. And you have saved a fellow creature s life! But if you can’t swim? Then you have a horrible time. You know you ought to do something better than merely call for help while your fellow creature is fighting and struggling for his life and gradually becoming weaker before your eyes. I won’t describe it—it is a horrible nightmare, and will be all the rest of your life when you think that it was partly your fault that the poor fellow was drowned. Why your fault
? Because if you had been a true Scout you would have learnt swimming and would have been able to save him.

  Managing a Boat

  Also, if you live near water you should be able to manage a boat. You should know how to bring it properly alongside a ship or pier, either by rowing it or steering it in a wide circle so that it comes up alongside with its head pointing the same way as the bow of the ship or toward the current. You should be able to row one oar in time with the rest of a boat’s crew, or to use a pair of oars, or to scull a boat by “screwing” a single oar over the stern. In rowing, the Object of feathering or turning the blade of the oar flat when it is out of the water is to save it from catching the wind and thereby checking the pace of the boat.