BOY SCOUTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 82

BOY SCOUTS.

A SUGGESTION.

By Lieut. -Gen. It. S. Badbh-Fowell,

(See Illustrations.)

The same causes which brought about the downfall of the great Roman Empire are ■working to-day in Great Britain.

The main cause of the downfall of Rome was the decline of good citizenship amony its subjects, due to the want of energehj patriotism, to the growth of luxury and ' idleness, and to the exaggerated importance of local party politics, etc. 1 Personally lam not pessimist enough tc j think with some people that •we - are j ' already so far on the downward grade as to be hopeless; on the contrary, 1 think , that we are only near to the parting of the ways where it becomes incumbent upon everyone of us who have the slightest | patriotism in him to earnestly help, in however small a way, to turn the rising generation on to the right road for good I citizenship. To this end the *ollrwing scheme is offered as a possible aid towards 1 putting on a positive footing the development, moral and physical, of boys of all creeds and classes, by a means which should appeal to them • while offending a» little as possible the susceptibilities ' of I their elders. It is intended to be applicable to — and : not in opposition to — any .existing organisation for boys, such as schoolboys' brigades, messengers, cricket clu-bs, iadefc corps, etc., 01 it can supply ! an organisation of its own where these do not exist — for there j are one and three-quarter million boys in I the country at present outside the range of these good influences, mostly drifting j towards hooliganism for want of a helping hand. I Under the term " Scouting," with its attributes of romance and adventure, I suggest instruction in the many ' valuable qualities which go to make a good citizen ] equally with a gocd scout. These include observation and deduction, chivalry, I patriotism, self-sacrifice, personal hygiene, saving life, self-reliance, etc., etc. It may be of interest to you to know , that an experimental trial has recently ! been made in working out the details— and with very satisfactory results. A troop of boys of all classes — public school boys and shop-boy6 — was brought together last August in camp near Poole, Dorset I put them through a week's course of i instruction in " Scouting," devoting ons^ j day to each subject (three or four days' ; each would be required in the real course) | In this way the boys got but a mere smat- | tering of the proposed teachim? ; its methods and scope were put to a gooi practical, test. The results were such al to encourage the highest hopes as to the ; possibilities ot the scheme when carried i out on 'the larger scale. I An ideal spot was secured in Brownse.i | Island. The island is nearly two mile* long by one wide — thickly wooded in parts open in others, undulating, and containing two lakes in the centre. Our camp wao on the southern shore, and was composed of officers' and mess tents, kitchen, and a tent to each patrol (group of five boys). We divided up the boys into "patrols" of five, with a senior boy in each a 6 "patrol leader." This organisation was the secret of our success. Each patrol leader was given full responsibility for the behaviour of his patrol at all times, in camp and in the field. The patrol was the unit lor work or play ; and each patrol was camped in a separate spot. The boys were put "on their honour" to carry .out orders. Responsibility, discipline, and competitiv-3 rivalry were thus at once, established, and a good standard of development was nnsured throughout the troop. SUBJECTS,, OF INSTRUCTION. The following were the subjects of our course of instruction for the week: — — First Day — Preliminary. — After settling into camp formation of patrols and/ distribution of duties, orders, etc., each 'subject of the course was explained with demonstrations. Patrol leaders received a special course of instruction in the field for them to impart to their patrols subsequently. — Second Day. — Campaigning. — Camp resourcefulness, hut and mat-mak-ing, knots, fire-lighting, cooking, health and sanitation, endurance, finding way in strange country, boat management, — Third Day. — Observation. — - Noticing and memorising details far and near, landmarks, etc. ; tracking, deducing meaning from tracks and signs, training eyesight, etc. — Fourth Day. — Woodcraft. — Study of animals and birds, plants, stars, etc. ; stalking animals, noticing people, reading their character and con dition, thereby gaining sympathy, etc. —Fifth Day.-^Chivalry.— Honour, code of knights, unselfishness, courage, charity and thrift, loyalty to King and to employers or officers, practical chivalry to women, obligation to do " a good turn" daily, and how to do it, etc. — Sixth Day. — Saving Life. — From fire, drowning, sewer gas, runaway horses, panic, street accidents, etc. ; improvised apparatus, first aid, Albert medal, etc. — Seventh Day.— Patriotism. — Colonial geography ; history, and deeds , that won the Empire-; our navy and army, flags' medals, duties of citizen, markmanship, helping police, etc. — Eighth Day. — Summary >t the Whole Course. — . Sports comprising games and competitive practices in all subjects of the course. NIGHT WORK. Each night one patrol went on duty as "night picquet" — i.e., drew rations of

flour, potatoes, meat, tea, etc., and we.;? out to some indicated spot to bivouac for the night. Each boy carried his, greatcoat and blankets, cooking pot ami matches. On arrival at the spot fires were lit and suppers cooked, alter -which. sentries -'were posted and bivouac formed. The picquet was scouted by patrol leaders of other patrols and mytfelf some time before 11 p.m. After which the sentries were withdrawn and the picquet settled down for the ni^ht, returning to camp next morning in time for breakfast. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION. W« found the best way of imparting theoretical instruction was to give it out in short instalments, with ample illustrative examples when sitting round the camp fire or otherwise resting, and with demonstrations in the practice hour before breakfast. A formal lecture is apt to bore the boys. The practice was then carried out in competitions and schemes. For example, take one detail of the subject "Observation" — viz., tracking. At the camp fire overnight we would tell the boys some interesting instances* of the value of being able to track. • Next morning we would teach them reading tracks by mat* ing footmarks of different boys at different paoes_and showing them how to read and deduce their meaning. . In the, afternoon we would have a game such as"deer-6tarlking," in which one boy went off with half a dozen, tennis balls as the deer. Twenty minutes after four hunters went off after him, following his tracks, eacJU hunter armed with a tennis ball. The deer, after going a mile or two, would hide and endeavour to ambush his hunters, and so to get them within range : eaoh hunter hit with his tennis ball was counted gored to death. If, on the other hand, he was -hit three time 6by their balls he was killed. DISCIPLINE. Discipline was very satisfactory indeed. A " Court of Honour" was constituted to try any offences against discipline, but ifc was never needed. OPINIONS ON THE COURSE OF INSTRUCTION. Since this experimental camp I am more than ever convinced of the possibilities .that underlie the scouts'- training as an educator of boys of all classes. Prepare-i as I was for enthusiastic endeavour on the part of the boys, I was surprised at the effect on their character, which became visible in the few days even we were at work. And Lhave not trusted merely to' my own observation, but have had reports from the parents bearing out this conclusion, and giving incidentally some very useful hints from the parents' point of view. , , ' That the boys enjoyed it is evident* from the letters I have had from them and from their eagerness for another camp next' year. And some of them at any rate have remembered what they learnt. CONCLUSION. I now hope to organise- the wider distribution of this scheme and to issue a handbook, or self-educator, such as will assist schoolmasters, officers of boys' an<> church lads* brigades, and cadet corps, and all others interested in boys, in the development of manliness and good citizenship among the— cising generation, by an adaptable and inexpensive means which is not only popular and attractive to the boys, but is also intensely interesting to the instructors themselves, . A competent critic, after perusal of the handbook, has written thus: — "This mixture of all that is best in Red Indianism, real - soldiering, Sherlock! Holmesism, and the feudal system is real genius. It is the soundest thing of a boy's education that I have met with. So stimulating and so wise." ' Although I could not myself claim all this for the book, still, such appreciation, backed as it is by confirmatory approval from several other authorities-, encourages one" to hope that the scheme may be Te- •* garded as something better than a mere fad, and is of practical promise for anyone who care 6to take it up as a means of instilling "character" and good citizenship into the rising generation. Of these it has been computed that there are on© and a-quarter million of boys (see Gorst's " Children of the Nation" and Dr MacNamara's report) at present drifting into hooliganism for want of a guiding hand to send them on the right road.