Most schools and colleges have their “Ra-ra-ra” choruses, of which “Zing-a-zing: bom, bom” is a type.
FOR WINTER IN NORTHERN COUNTRIES
Arctic Expedition
Each Patrol makes a toboggan with ropes and harness, for two of their number to pull (or for dogs if they have them, and can train them to the work). Two Scouts go a mile or so ahead; the remainder with the toboggan follow, finding the way by means of the spoor, and by such signs as
the leading Scout may draw in the snow. All other signs seen on the way are to be examined, noted, and their meaning read. The toboggan carries rations and cooking pots, and other supplies.
Build snow huts. These must be made narrow, according to the length of branches available for forming the roof, which can be made with brushwood, and covered with snow.
Snow Fort
The snow fort may be built by one Patrol according to the boys’ own ideas of fortification, with loopholes for looking out. When finished it will be attacked by hostile Patrols, using snowballs
as ammunition. Every Scout struck by a snow ball is counted dead. The attackers should, as a rule, number at least twice the strength of the defenders.
Siberian Man Hunt
One Scout as fugitive runs away across the snow in any direction he may please until he finds a good hiding-place, and there conceals himself. The remainder, after giving him twenty minutes’ start or more, proceed to follow him by his tracks. As they approach his hiding-place, he shoots
at them with snowballs, and everyone who is struck must fall out dead. The fugitive must be struck three times before he is counted dead.
In Towns
Scouts can be very useful in snowy weather by working as a Patrol under their leader in clearing away the snow from pavements, houses, etc. And in fog by acting as guides. This they may either do as a Good Turn, or accept money to be devoted to their funds.
CHAPTER II
CAMPAIGNING
CAMP FIRE YARN NO. 5
LIFE IN THE OPEN
Exploration - Mountaineering - Patrolling - Night Work
Finding the Way - Finding the North - Weather Wisdom
IN SOUTH AFRICA the finest of the tribes were the Zulus. Every man was a good warrior and a good scout, because he had learned scouting as a boy.
When a boy was old enough to become a warrior, he was stripped of his clothing and painted white all over. He was given a shield with which to protect himself and an assegai or small spear for killing animals or enemies. He was then turned loose in the “bush”.
If anyone saw him while he was still white he would hunt him and kill him. And that white paint took about a month to wear off—it would not wash off.
So for a month the boy had to hide away in the jungle, and live the best he could.
He had to follow up the tracks of deer and creep up near enough to spear the animal in order to get food and clothing for himself. He had to make fire to cook his food, by rubbing two sticks together. He had to be careful not to let his fire smoke too much, or it would catch the eye of scouts on the lookout to hunt him.
He had to be able to run long distances, to climb trees, and to swim rivers in order to escape from his pursuers. He had to be brave, and stand up to a lion or any other wild animal that attacked him.
He had to know which plants were good to eat and which were poisonous. He had to build himself a hut to live in, well hidden.
From boy to man among the Zul us we have the Urn- Fan (mat boy), the young warrior, and the Ring-Kop veteran.
He had to take care that wherever he went he left no foot tracks by which he could be followed up.
For a month he had to live this life, sometimes in burning heat, sometimes in cold and rain.
When at last the white stain had worn off, he was permitted to return to his village. He was then received with great joy, and was allowed to take his place among the young warriors of the tribe. He had proved that he was able to look after himself.
In South America the boys of the Yaghan tribe—down in the cold, rainy regions of Patagonia—also undergo a test of pluck before they are allowed to consider themselves men. For this test the boy must drive a spear deep into his thigh and smile all the time in spite of the pain.
It is a cruel test, but it shows that these savages understand how necessary it is that boys should be trained to manliness and not be allowed to drift into being poor-spirited wasters who can only look on at men’s work.
The ancient British boys received similar training before they were considered men.
If every boy works hard at Scouting he will, at the end of it, have some claim to call himself a Scout and a man, and will find that he will have no difficulty in looking after himself.
Training for the Backwoods
An old Canadian scout and trapper, over eighty years of age, Bill Hamilton, once wrote a book called My Sixty Years in the Plains describing the
dangers of the adventurous life of the early pioneer:
“I have often been asked,” Hamilton wrote, “why we exposed ourselves to such dangers? My answer has always been that there was a charm in the open-air life of a scout from which one cannot free himself after he has once come under its spell. Give me the man who has been raised among the great things of nature. He cultivates truth, independence, and self-reliance. He has generous impulses. He is true to his friends, and true to the flag of his country.”
The Cub looks up to the Boy Scout, and the Boy
Scout looks up to the Old Scout or pioneer.
I can fully endorse what this old scout has said, and, what is more, I find that those men who come from the farthest frontiers—from what we should call a rude and savage life—are among the most generous and chivalrous of their race, especially toward women and weaker folk. They become “gentle men” by their contact with nature.
“Play Hard—Work Hard”
Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America (1901-1909), also believed in outdoor life. When returning from his hunting trip in East Africa he inspected some Boy Scouts in London, and expressed great admiration for them. He wrote:— “I believe in outdoor games,
and I do not mind in the least that they are rough games, or that those who take part in them are occasionally injured. I have no sympathy with the overwrought sentiment which would keep a young man in cotton-wool. The out-of-doors man must always prove the better in life’s contest. When you play, play hard; and when you work, work hard. But do not let your play and your sport interfere with your study.”