Читать книгу Scouting for Boys - Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell - Страница 15

To become a Boy Scout you join a patrol belonging to your Cadet Corps, or Boys' Brigade or club.

If you are not a member of one of these, or if it does not as yet possess a patrol of scouts, you can raise a patrol yourself by getting five other boys to join. They should, if possible, be all about the same age. One boy is then chosen as Patrol Leader to command the patrol, and he selects another boy to be the Corporal or second in command. Several patrols together can form a "Troop" under an officer called a "Scoutmaster."

You all take the scout's oath, that is you promise, on your honour, three things, namely:

1. To be loyal to God and the King.

2. To help other people at all times.

3. To obey the scout law.

You learn the scout sign of the scouts (see page 40), and also the call of your patrol (see page 45).

Every patrol is named after some animal, and each scout in it has to be able to make the cry of that animal in order to communicate with his pals, especially at night. Thus you may be "the Wolves," "the Curlews," "the Eagles," or "the Rats" if you like. No scout may ever use the call of another patrol. The second law binds you to be loyal, kind, obedient, and cheerful. Most of your work then consists in playing scouting games and practices by which you gain experience as scouts. When you have learned sufficient to pass the test you can win the badge of either a first class or second class scout.

That of the first class scout consists of a brass arrow head with the motto on it "Be Prepared."

That of the second class scout is merely the motto without the arrow head.

The meaning of the motto is that a scout must prepare himself by previous thinking out and practising how to act on any accident or emergency so that he is never taken by surprise; he knows exactly what to do when anything unexpected happens.

The following subjects are what you have to know about to pass the test as a scout:—

Woodcraft means knowing all about animals, which is gained by following up their foot-tracks and creeping up to them so that you can watch them in their natural state, and learn the different kinds of animals and their various habits. You only shoot them if in want of food; but no scout wilfully kills an animal for the mere sake of killing, unless it is a harmful creature.

A good story is told of a soldier in the South African War who killed a harmless animal, namely a sheep, when the order had been given out that nobody was to kill any animal except a "savage wild beast."

But the soldier wanted some mutton, and he found a sheep round at the back of a house; so he started to make it into mutton with his bayonet. Just as he was doing so an officer happened to come round the corner. The soldier saw the danger that he was in for disobeying the order, but he did not lose his head. Pretending not to see the officer, he again plunged his bayonet into the wretched sheep, shouting at the same time, "Ah, you would bite me, would you? You 'savage wild beast'!"

By continually watching animals in their natural state one gets to like them too well to shoot them.

The whole sport of hunting animals lies in the woodcraft of stalking them, not in the killing.

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, roots, etc., for his own food, or which are favourite food for animals, and, therefore, likely to attract them.

In the same way in scouting in civilised countries you read the tracks of men, horses, bicycles, etc., and find out from these what has been going on; noticing by small signs, such as birds suddenly starting up, that someone is moving near, though you cannot see them.

By noticing little things on the ground you will often find lost articles, which you can then restore to their owners.

By noticing details of harness, and so on, you can often save a horse from the pain of an ill-fitting strap or bit.

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, and can thus prevent a crime, or you can often 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 that you can.

Remember that it is a disgrace to a scout if, when he is with other people, they see anything big or little, near or far, high or low, that he has not already seen for himself.

Kim, when learning to be scout, was taught to notice small things quickly and to remember them, by being shown a tray full of small articles for a few moments and then having to state what he had seen.

[Play Kim's game. See page 54.]

Campaigning.—Scouts must, of course, be accustomed to living in the open; they have to know how to put up tents or huts for themselves; how to lay and light a fire; how to kill, cut up, and cook their food; how to tie logs together to make bridges and rafts; how to find their way by night, as well as by day, in a strange country, and so on.

But very few fellows learn or practise these things when they are living in civilised places because they get comfortable houses and beds to sleep in, their food is prepared and cooked for them, and when they want to know the way "they ask a policeman."

Well, when those fellows go out to a colony, or try to go scouting, they find themselves helpless duffers.

Take even the captain of your cricket eleven and put him down on the South African veldt alongside the young Colonial, and see which can look after himself. High averages and clean flannels are not much good to him there. He is only a "tenderfoot," and would be the object of continual chaff until he got some scoutcraft into him.

And scoutcraft, mind you, comes in useful in any line of life that you like to take up. Cricket doesn't matter a hang—though it is a jolly good game to play, and comes in useful to a certain extent in training a fellow's eye, nerve, and temper. But, as the American would say, "it isn't a circumstance" to scouting which teaches a fellow to be a man.

[Make each boy lay a fire in his own way and light it. After failures, show them the right way (i.e., delicate use of dry chips and shavings, and sticks in a pyramid), and make them do it again. Also teach them how to tie knots. See Part III.]

Chivalry.—In the old days the knights were the scouts of Britain, and their rules were very much the same as the scout law which we have now. And very much like what the Japs have, too. We are their descendants, and we ought to keep up their good name and follow in their steps.

They considered that their honour was the most sacred thing to uphold; they would not do a dishonourable thing, such as telling a lie or stealing: they would really 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. Thousands of them went out to Palestine (the Holy Land) to maintain the Christian religion against the Mahommedan Turks.

Each knight had a small following of a squire and some men-at-arms, just as our patrol leader has his corporal and four or five scouts.

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.

They were loyal to God, and their king, and to their country.

They were particularly courteous and polite to all women and children and infirm people.

They were helpful to everybody.

They gave money and food where it was wanted and saved up their money in order to do so.

They taught themselves the use of arms in order to protect their religion and their country against enemies.

They kept themselves strong and healthy and active in order to be able to do these things well.

You scouts cannot do better than follow the example of your forefathers, the knights, who made the tiny British nation into one of the best and greatest that the world has ever known.

One great point about them was that every day they had to do a good turn to somebody, and that is one of our rules. When you get up in the morning remember that you have got to do a good turn to someone during the day; tie a knot in your handkerchief or necktie, and leave the tail of your necktie outside your waistcoat to remind yourself of it; and when you go to bed at night think who you did the good turn to.

If you should ever find that you had forgotten to do it, you must do two good turns the next day instead. Remember that by your scout's oath you are on your honour to do it.

A good turn need only be a very small one; if it is only to put a halfpenny into a poor box, or to help an old woman to cross the street, or to make room on a seat for someone, or to give water to a thirsty horse, or to remove a bit of banana skin off the pavement where it is likely to throw people down, it is a good turn. But one must be done every day, and it only counts as a good when you do not accept any reward in return.

[Make each scout tie knot in his necktie to remind him to do a good turn next day.]

A Boy Scout's Necktie.

Saving Life.—You have all heard of the Victoria Cross—the little bronze cross given by Queen Victoria to soldiers who specially distinguish themselves in action under the fire of the enemy.

But there is the companion medal to it, and that is the Albert Medal for those who are not soldiers, and who distinguish themselves in saving life in peace time.

And I think the man who wins this medal, as he does in the sudden appalling accidents which occur in big cities, mines, and factories, in everyday life, is no less a hero than the soldier who rushes into the thick of the fight to rescue a comrade amid all the excitement and glamour of the battle.

My great hope is that many of you scouts will in time to come win for yourselves the high honour of receiving the Albert Medal.

It is certain that very many of you will at one time or another get the chance of it if you are prepared to seize the opportunity. That is, you must be prepared for it; you should know what to do the moment an accident occurs—and do it then and there.

It is not enough to read about it in a book and think that you know how to do it—but you must actually practise, and practise pretty often, the actual things to be done; such as how to cover your mouth and nose with a wet handkerchief to enable you to breath in smoke, how to tear a sheet into strips and make a rope for escaping from fire, how to open a manhole to let air into a gassy sewer, how to lift and carry an insensible person, how to collar, save, and revive apparently drowned people, and so on.

When you have learnt all these things you will have confidence in yourself, so that when an accident happens and everybody is in a state of fluster, not knowing what to do, you will quietly step out and do the right thing.

Remember the case at the Hampstead Ponds last year when a woman drowned herself in shallow water before a whole lot of men, who were too frightened to do anything but shout to her. It was a disgrace to our nation that there was not a real man amongst them. It would have been a grand opportunity for a Boy Scout, had there been one there, to go in and fetch her out. As it was, these cowards stood there clamouring and chattering on the bank—not one of them daring to go in because the others did not. And she was drowned before their eyes.

[Teach the scouts how to lift and carry an insensible man. Also how to drag an insensible man through smoke, gas, etc. Also how to cover nose and mouth with wet handkerchief. Divide them off into pairs, and let each in turn act as insensible patient to be rescued by his comrade.]

Endurance.—To carry out all the duties and work of a scout properly a fellow has to be strong, healthy, and active. And he can make himself so if he takes a little care about it.

It means a lot of exercise, like playing games, running, walking, cycling, and so on.

A scout has to sleep very much in the open, and a boy who is accustomed to sleep with his window shut will probably suffer, like many a tenderfoot has done, by catching cold and rheumatism when he first tries sleeping out. The thing is always to sleep with your windows open, summer and winter, and you will never catch cold. Personally I cannot sleep with my window shut or with blinds down, and when living in the country I always sleep outside the house, summer and winter alike. A soft bed and too many blankets make a boy dream bad dreams, which weaken him.

A short go of Swedish or ju-jitsu exercises every morning and evening is a grand thing for keeping you fit—not so much for making showy muscle as to work all your internal organs [Explain], and to work up the circulation of the blood in every part of you.

A good rub down daily with a wet rough towel, even if you cannot get a bath, which of course is preferable, is of the utmost importance.

Scouts breathe through the nose, not through the mouth; in this way they don't get thirsty; they don't get out of breath so quickly; they don't suck into their insides all sorts of microbes or seeds of disease that are in the air; and they don't snore at night, and so give themselves away to an enemy.

"Deep breathing" exercises are of great value for developing the lungs, and for putting fresh air (oxygen) into the blood, provided that they are carried out in the open air, and are not overdone so as to injure the heart, etc. For deep breathing the breath must be taken in slowly and deeply through the nose, not through the mouth, till it opens out the ribs to the greatest extent, especially at the back; then, after a time it should be slowly and steadily, breathed out again without strain. But the best deep breathing after all is that which comes naturally from plenty of running exercise.

Alcohol is now shown to be quite useless as a health-giving drink, and it is mere poison when a man takes much of it. A man who is in the habit of drinking wine or spirits in strong doses every day is not the slightest use for scouting, and very little use for anything else.

Similarly a man who smokes much. The best war scouts don't smoke because it weakens their eyesight; it sometimes makes them shaky and nervous; it spoils their noses for smelling (which is of great importance at night), and the glow of their pipe, or even the scent of tobacco carried on them at night gives them away to watchful enemies. They are not such fools as to smoke. No boy ever began smoking because he liked it, but because he thought it made him look like a grown-up man. As a matter of fact it generally makes him look a little ass.

[Show ju-jitsu or Swedish extension motions—one or two exercises only to begin with. Also deep breathing.]

Patriotism.—You belong to the Great British Empire, one of the greatest empires that has ever existed in the world.

[Show on the map.]

From this little island of Great Britain have sprung colonies all over the world, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Canada.

Almost every race, every kind of man, black, white, or yellow, in the world furnishes subjects of King Edward VII.

This vast empire did not grow of itself out of nothing; it was made by your forefathers by dint of hard work and hard fighting, at the sacrifice of their lives—that is, by their hearty patriotism.

People say that we have no patriotism nowadays, and that therefore our empire will fall to pieces like the great Roman empire did, because its citizens became selfish and lazy, and only cared for amusements. I am not so sure about that. I am sure that if you boys will keep the good of your country in your eyes above everything else she will go on all right. But if you don't do this there is very great danger, because we have many enemies abroad, and they are growing daily stronger and stronger.

Therefore, in all that you do, remember to think of your country first; don't spend the whole of your time and money on games and tuck shops merely to amuse yourself, but think first how you can be of use in helping your empire, and when you have done that you can justly and honestly sit down and enjoy yourself in your own way.

"Country first, self second," should be your motto. Probably, if you ask yourself truly, you will find you have at present got them just the other way about.

I hope if it is so that you will from this moment put yourself right and remain so always, Patriot first, player second. Don't be content, like the Romans were, and some people now are, to pay other people to play your football or to fight your battles for you. Do something yourself to help in keeping the flag flying.

If you take up scouting in that spirit you will be doing something; take it up, not merely because it amuses you, but because by doing so you will be fitting yourself to help your country. Then you will have in you the true spirit of patriotism, which every British boy ought to have if he is worth his salt.

[Show the Union Jack. Explain its history and composition, and which is the right way for flying it. (See Part V.)]