Читать книгу Scouting for Boys - Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell - Страница 54

Thimble Finding (Indoors).

Send the patrol out of the room.

Take a thimble, ring, coin, bit of paper, or any small article, and place it where it is perfectly visible but in a spot where it is not likely to be noticed. Let the patrol come in and look for it. When one of them sees it he should go and quietly sit down without indicating to the others where it is.

After a fair time he should be told to point it out to those who have not succeeded in finding it.

[This ensures his having really seen it.]

Shop Window (Outdoors in town).

Umpire takes a patrol down a street past six shops. Gives them half a minute at each shop, then, after moving them off to some distance, he gives each boy a pencil and card, and tells him to write from memory, or himself takes down what they noticed in, say, the third and fifth shops. The one who sets down most articles correctly wins. It is useful practice to match one boy against another in heats—the loser competing again, till you arrive at the worst. This gives the worst scouts the most practice.

Similar Game (Indoors).

Send each scout in turn into a room for half a minute; when he comes out take down a list of furniture and articles which he noticed. The boy who noticed most wins.

The simplest way of scoring is to make a list of the articles in the room on your scoring paper with a column for marks for each scout against them, which can then easily be totalled up at foot.

Spotting the Spot (Indoors—town or country).

Show a series of photos or sketches of objects, in the neighbourhood such as would be known to all the scouts if they kept their eyes open—such, for instance, as cross-roads, curious window, gargoyle or weathercock, tree, reflection in the water (guess the building causing it), and so on.

A pair of scouts can play most of the above competitions off between themselves, if they like, as a matter of practice.

Patrol leaders can match one pair of their scouts against another pair in the game, and thus get them really practised at it, and when they become really good he can challenge other patrols to compete against his.

Follow the Trail.

Send out a "hare," either walking or cycling, with a pocketful of corn, nutshells, confetti paper or buttons, etc., and drop a few here and there to give a trail for the patrol to follow.

Or go out with a piece of chalk and draw the patrol sign on walls, gateposts, pavements, lamp-posts, trees, etc., every here and there, and let the patrol hunt you by these marks. Patrols should wipe out all these marks as they pass them for tidiness, and so as not to mislead them for another day's practice.

The other road signs should also be used, such as closing up certain roads as not used, and hiding a letter at some point, giving directions as to the next turn.

Scouts' Nose (Indoors).

Prepare a number of paper-bags, all alike, and put in each a different smelling article such as chopped onion in one, tan in another, roseleaves, leather, aniseed, violet powder, orange-peel, etc. Put these packets in a row a couple of feet apart and let each competitor walk down the line and have five seconds' sniff at each. At the end he has one minute in which to write down or to state to the umpire the names of the different objects smelled, from memory, in their correct order.

Far and Near. (For town or country.)

Umpire goes along a given road or line of country with a patrol in patrol formation. He carries a scoring card with the name of each scout on it.

Each scout looks out for the details required and directly he notices one he runs to the umpire and informs him or hands in the article if it is an article he finds. The umpire enters a mark accordingly against his name. The scout who gains most marks in the walk, wins.

Details like the following should be chosen, to develop the scout's observation and to encourage him to look far and near, up and down, etc.

The details should be varied every time the game is played; and about 8 or 10 should be given at a time.

Every match found 1 mark.

Every button found 1 mark.

Birds' foot tracks 2 marks.

Patch noticed on stranger's clothing or boots. 2 marks.

Grey horse seen 2 marks.

Pigeon flying 2 marks.

Sparrow sitting 1 mark.

Ash-tree 2 marks.

Broken chimney pot 2 marks.

Broken window 1 mark.