Now go to the opposite side of the tree and cut another notch here, only about three inches above the level of the lower mark of the first kerf.
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.
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
onwards, away from the butt.
Trimming and Logging
When the tree is down, it must be trimmed, that is, the boughs and branches must be cut off, leaving a clean trunk. This is done by working from the butt end of the trunk towards the top. Cut off each bough from below, as close to the trunk as possible.
The trunk is then cut into lengths. This is called “logging”. Cut from one side towards the middle, making the kerf half as wide as the tree is thick. Then turn the tree over and make a similar kerf from the other side, until the logs come apart.
In the Himalaya mountains, the natives make bridges of three ropes.
Bridge Building
As I told you before, my scouts in Ashanti, when also acting as pioneers, had to build nearly two hundred bridges. And they had to make them out of any kind of material that they could find on the spot. There are many ways of making bridges. Pioneer bridges are generally made by
lashing poles together.
In India, in the Himalaya mountains, the natives make bridges out of three ropes stretched across the river and connected together every few yards by V-shaped sticks, so that one rope forms the footpath and the other two make the handrail on either side. They are a jumpy kind of bridge to walk across. But they take you over and they are easily made.
The simplest way for bridging a narrow, deep stream is to fell a tree, or two trees side by side, on the bank, so that they fall across the stream. With an adze you then flatten the top side. Put up a handrail, and there you have a very good bridge.
A simple bridge may be made from two trestles. The diagram shows you the arrangement of the parts. All the lashings are square except the one of the central crossing, w hich is diagonal.
Rafts, too, can be used to cross a stream.
Build your raft alongside the bank—in the water, if the river is shallow; on the bank if it is deep. When the raft is finished, hold on to the down-stream end, push the other out from the bank, and let the stream carry it down into position.
Some of the “bridges” of Kashmir, in India, consist of a single rope.
HINTS TO INSTRUCTORS
Start a wood-working class, or instruction in electricity, or plumbing, elementary engineering, etc., with a view to teaching the boys handicrafts that may be of real use to them in their future life. If you do not know enough about it yourself, get a friend to come and demonstrate with models or instruments for a few evenings.
Get leave to take the Scouts over a factory to study the engines, etc. Teach the boys to chop firewood. Teach them to make wooden mechanical toys (from one or two cheap ones as models). Thereby teaching them elementary mechanics and handiness with tools.
Self Measures
Every pioneer should know his exact personal measurement in the following details, of which I
give the average man’s measure:
Nail joint of forefinger, or breadth of thumb ...................................1 inch
Span of thumb and forefinger ..........................................................8 inches
Span of thumb and little finger ........................................................9 inches
Wrist to elbow (this also gives you the length of your foot)..........10 inches
Elbow to tip of forefinger (called “cubit”).....................................17 inches
Middle of kneecap to ground .........................................................18 inches
Extended arms, from finger-tip to finger-tip, is called a “fathom” and nearly equals your height.
Pulse beats about 75 times a minute. Each beat is a little quicker than a second.
Step: A step is about 2½ feet; about 120 steps equal 100 yards. Fast walking steps are shorter than slow ones.
Fast walking you walk a mile in 16 minutes, or nearly four miles an hour.
Judging Distances
Every Scout should be able to judge distance from an inch up to a mile and more.
If you remember your self measures accurately, they are a great help to you in measuring things. Also it is useful to cut notches in your staff, showing such measurements as one inch, six inches, one foot, and one yard. These you can measure off with a tape measure before you use your staff.
Judging the distance of a journey is generally done by seeing how long you have been travelling, and at what rate.
Suppose you walk at the rate of four miles an hour. If you have been walking for an hour and a half you know that you have done about six miles.
Distance can also be judged by sound. If you see a gun fired in the distance, and you count the number of seconds between the flash and the sound of the explosion reaching you, you will be able to tell how far off you are from the gun. Sound travels at the rate of 365 yards in a second—
as many yards as there are days in the year.
Test the following from your own observations:
At 50 yards, mouth and eyes of a person can be clearly seen. At 100 yards, eyes appear as dots. At 200 yards, buttons and details of uniform can still be seen. At 300 yards, face can be seen. At 400 yards, the movement of the legs can be seen. At 500 yards the colour of the uniform can be seen.
For distances over these, think out for yourself which point is half-way to the object. Estimate how far this may be from you, and then double it to obtain the distance. Another way is to estimate the farthest distance that the object can be away, and the very nearest it could be, and strike a mean between the
two.
Objects appear nearer than they really are when the light is bright and shining on the object; when looking across water or snow; when looking uphill or down. Objects appear farther off when in the shade; when across a valley; when the background is of the same colour; when the observer is lying down or kneeling; when there is a heat haze over the ground.
TOMMY THE TENDERFOOT No. 3 — TOMMY BUILDS A BRIDGE
Your knots give the strength to a bridge, as you know. But Tommy’s weak lashings just ruined the show.
Distance Across a River
The way to estimate the distance across a river is to notice an object X, such as a tree or rock, on the bank opposite to where you stand at A (see diagram). Start off at right angles to A X, and walk, say, ninety yards along your bank. On arriving at sixty yards, plant a stick or stone, B. On arriving at C, thirty yards beyond B and ninety yards from the start at A, turn at right angles and walk inland, counting your steps until you bring the stick and the distant tree in line. The number of steps you have taken from the bank, C D, will then give you the half distance across A X.
By laying out the triangles as shown i n the diagram, you can deter mi ne the width of a river with fair accuracy.
Estimating Heights
A Scout must also be able to estimate heights, from a few inches up to three thousand feet or more. He ought to be able to judge the height of a fence, the depth of a ditch, or the height of an embankment, of a house, tree, tower, hill, or mountain. It is easy to do when you have practiced
it a few times, but it is very difficult to teach it by book.
To find the height of an object, such as a tree or house, walk a distance of eleven feet or yards or any unit you like and set up a staff with
another Scout to hold it. Now walk one more unit of your chosen measurement, making twelve in all. Get your eye down to ground level at this spot and look up at the
tree. The second Scout then slides his hand up or down the staff until your eye, his hand, and the top of the tree are all in
line.
Measure the distance in inches along the staff from the ground to the Scout’s hand; call these inches feet, and that is the height of the object in feet. You can use any unit of measurement you find suitable as long as you make it eleven to one, and you call inches on the staff, feet.
You can deter mine the height of a tree with the aid
of a Scout staff, which you have marked in inches.
Weights and Numbers
You should also know how to estimate weights—a letter of an ounce, or a fish or a potato of one pound, or a sack of bran, and also the probable weight of a man from his appearance. These, again, are only learnt by practice.
Learn also to judge numbers—to tell at a glance approximately how many people are in a group, or on a bus, or in a big crowd.; how many sheep in a flock; how many marbles on a tray, and so on. You can practice for yourself at all times in the street or field.
PATROL PRACTICES IN PIONEERING
Practice knot tying against time, by having races between the Scouts in pairs. The losers pair off again for further races, until the slowest knot tier is found. In this way (which can be used for practice in other Scoutcrafts also), the worst performers get the most practice—and the competition is just as great to avoid being the worst as it would be in striving to be the best, and win a prize.
A parbuckle is an effective way for moving a heavy log—or some other kind of heavy object.
A Patrol hut may be made by placing slender trees together, and by covering the framework with sods.
Knot tying races in the dark are fun. The Patrol Leader turns out the lights for a few seconds after naming the knot to be tied. Instead of turning off the lights, the competitors may be blindfolded. Make models of bridges with Scout staffs, tying them together with cord or rope.
GAME
Scouting Race
The umpire stations three individuals or groups, each group differently clothed as far as possible, and carrying different articles (such as stick, bundle, paper, etc.), at distances from 300 to 1,200 yards from starting point. If there are other people about, these groups might be told to kneel on one knee, or take some such position to distinguish them from passers-by. The umpire makes out a circular course of three points for the competitors to run, say, about ¼ mile, with a few jumps if possible.
The competitors start and run to No. 1 point. Here the umpire tells them the compass-direction of the group they have to report on. Each competitor on seeing this group writes a report showing—
1. How many in the group.
2. How clothed or how distinguishable.
3. Position as regards any landmark near them.
4. Estimation of distance from his own position.
He then runs to the next point and repeats the same on another group, and so on; and finally he runs with his report to the winning post.
Marks—Full marks, 5 for each correct and complete description of a group—that is, an aggregate of 15 marks for the course. One mark deducted for every ten seconds later than the first boy handing in his report at the winning post. Marks or half marks deducted for mistakes or omissions in reports.
You can make a simple raft from “sausages”—waterproof covers filled with straw or dry leaves. Lash them to a frame of Scout staves.
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 9
CAMPING
Comfort in Camp — Ground — Camp Equipment
Camp Pitching — Fire Building — Keeping Camp Clean
Some people talk of “roughing it” in camp. Well, a tenderfoot may find it rough and uncomfortable. But there is no “roughing it” for an old Scout; he knows how to look after himself and make himself comfortable. If he has no tent, he doesn’t sit down to shiver and grouse, but sets to work to rig up a shelter or hut for himself. He chooses a good spot for it where he is not likely to be flooded out if a storm of rain were to come on. Then he lights a camp fire, and makes himself a soft mattress of ferns or straw.
An old Scout is full of resource. He can find a way out of any difficulty or discomfort.
Ground
When you go camping, you must first decide where you will have your camp, and then what kind of camp it shall be.
The nearer it is to your homes, the less will be the expense of travelling.
To my mind, the best place for a camp is in or close by a wood where you have permission to cut firewood and to build huts. So if you know of an owner in your neighbourhood who may let you use a corner of his wood, there is your chance. Inside a wood the ground may be damp and the trees will continue dripping in wet weather. Be on the look-out for this. If you build good rain- proof huts, you need no tents.
The seaside also gives some good camp grounds if you find a place where boats are available and bathing possible. Sometimes you can get the use of a boathouse to live in. Don’t forget that you will want good water and some firewood.
Or you can go to mountains, moor, or river, and get permission to pitch your camp.
In choosing the camp site, always think what it would be if the weather became very rainy and windy. Choose the driest and most sheltered spot, not too far away from your water supply. Remember that a good water supply is of first importance. And make sure that your drinking water is pure.
Tramping Camps
Instead of a fixed or “standing camp”, many Scouts prefer a ‘‘tramping camp’’.
Of course, it is much better fun to go over new country. But to make a tramping camp enjoyable you want good weather.
In arranging your tramp, your first point will be to select the line of country you want to visit,
and mark out from the map where you will halt each night. You will find that about five miles a
day is as much as you will want to do.
You might want to make a trek-cart for carrying your tents, blankets, waterproof sheets, and so on.
At the end of each day’s march you would get permission from a farmer to pitch your camp in
his field, or get the use of his barn to sleep in—especially if the weather be wet.
Tents
Before you know which type of tent you will want, you must decide whether it will be wanted for a standing or moving camp.
For a standing camp, from which you don’t mean to move, I prefer the kind used by explorers called a ridge tent or wall tent. They are unequalled for comfort and for making the camp look neat. If they have fly-sheets, they will be quite waterproof, even if you touch the inside of the tent, and the fly-sheet will keep the tent cool in hot sunshine and warm in frosty weather.
Smaller Scout tents also do very well for camp if you can have two or more for each Patrol. You can make your own tent 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.
The “ridge tent” or “wall tent” is one of the favorite tent
models used by explorers in many parts of the world.
Where the expense of tents prohibits buying them, remember that used tents may often be hired for a week or more at small cost.
Camp Equipment
Your next point is to look to the equipment—that is to say, what you will need in the way of cooking gear, buckets, tools and so on. Here is a rough list of things that are useful in a standing camp, but they will not all be necessary in a bivouac or tramping camp:
For Tent—Bucket, lantern and candles, matches, mallet, basin, spade, axe, hank of cord, Patrol flag, and strap for hanging things on the tent pole.
For Kitchen—Saucepan or stewpot, fry-pan, kettle, gridiron, matches, bucket, butcher’s knife, ladle, cleaning rags, bags for potatoes, etc.
For Each Scout—Waterproof sheet, two blankets, cord or strap for tying them up, straw mattress (to be made in camp— twine and straw required),
ration bags. It is important that enough sleeping bags or blankets be provided to enable each Scout to make up a separate bed.
Personal Equipment— Each Scout will need:
Complete Scout Uniform, including hat
Pyjamas or change for night
Sweater Mending materials
Rain coat Plates, cup or mug
Spare shoes Knife, fork and spoon
Bathing suit Matches
Towel Haversack or pack
Handkerchiefs Soap, comb, brush, toothbrush, in toilet bag
Scouting for Boys Page 10