Boy Scouts Handbook Part 66

Pair of Scouts Pair of Scouts Pair of Scouts

Patrol Leader

P. P. P.

Flags

Any scout coming within fifty yards of a stronger party will be put out of action if seen by the enemy; if he can creep by without being seen it is all right.

Scouts posted to watch as outposts cannot move from their ground, but their strength counts as double, and they may send single messages to their neighbors or to their own scouting party.

An umpire should be with each outpost and with each scouting patrol.

At a given hour operations will cease, and all will a.s.semble at the given spot to hand in their reports. The following points might be awarded:

For each flag or lamp captured and brought in--5

For each report or sketch of the position of the enemy's outposts up to five--5

For each report of movement of enemy's scouting patrols--2

The side which makes the biggest total wins.

The same game may be played to test the scouts in stepping lightly--the umpire being blindfolded. The practice should preferably be carried out where there are dry twigs lying about, and gravel, etc.

The scout may start to stalk the blind enemy at one hundred yards'

distance, and he must do it fairly fast--say, in one minute and a half--to touch the blind man before he hears him.

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Stalking and Reporting

The umpire places himself out in the open and sends each scout or pair of scouts away in different directions about half a mile off. When he waves a flag, which is the signal to begin, they all hide, and then proceed to stalk him, creeping up and watching all he does. When he waves the flag again, they rise, come in, and report each in turn all that he did, either by handing in a written report or verbally, as may be ordered. The umpire meantime has kept a lookout in each direction, and, every time he sees a scout he takes two points off that scout's score. He, on his part, performs small actions, such as sitting down, kneeling, looking through gla.s.ses, using handkerchief, taking hat off for a bit, walking round in a circle a few times, to give scouts something to note and report about him. Scouts are given three points for each act reported correctly. It saves time if the umpire makes out a scoring card beforehand, giving the name of each scout, and a number of columns showing each act of his, and what mark that scout wins, also a column of deducted marks for exposing themselves.

Spider and Fly

A bit of country or section of the town about a mile square is selected as the web, and its boundaries described, and an hour fixed at which operations are to cease.

One patrol (or half-patrol) is the "spider," which goes out and selects a place to hide itself.

The other patrol (or half-patrol) go a quarter of an hour later as the "fly" to look for the "spider." They can spread themselves about as they like, but must tell their leader anything that they discover.

An umpire goes with each party.

If within the given time (say, about two hours) the fly has not discovered the spider, the spider wins. The spiders write down the names of any of the fly patrol that they may see.

Stalking

Instructor acts as a deer--not hiding, but standing, moving a little now and then if he likes.

Scouts go out to find, and each in his own way tries to get up to him unseen.

Directly the instructor sees a scout, he directs him to stand up as having failed. After a certain time the instructor calls {308} "time,"

all stand up at the spot which they have reached, and the nearest wins.

_Demonstrate the value of adapting color of clothes to background by sending out one boy about five hundred yards to stand against different backgrounds in turn, till he gets one similar in color to his own clothes._

_The rest of the patrol to watch and to notice how invisible he becomes when he gets a suitable background. E. g., a boy in a gray suit standing in front of dark bushes, etc., is quite visible but becomes less so if he stands in front of a gray rock or house; a boy in a dark suit is very visible in a green field, but not when lie stands in an open door-way against dark interior shadow_.

Scout Hunting

One scout is given time to go out and hide himself, the remainder then start to find him; he wins if he is not found, or if he can get back to the starting point within a given time without being touched.

Relay Race

One patrol pitted against another to see who can get a message sent a long distance in shortest time by means of relays of runners (or cyclists). The patrol is ordered out to send in three successive notes or tokens (such as sprigs of certain plants), from a point, say, two miles distant or more. The leader in taking his patrol out to the spot drops scouts at convenient distances, who will then act as runners from one post to the next and back. If relays are posted in pairs, messages can be pa.s.sed both ways.

Track Memory

Make a patrol sit with their feet up, so that other scouts can study them. Give the scouts, say, three minutes to study the boots. Then leaving the scouts in a room or out of sight, let one of the patrol make some footmarks in a good bit of ground. Call up the scouts one by one and let them see the track and say who made it.

Spot the Thief

Get a stranger to make a track unseen by the scouts. The scouts study his track so as to know it again.

Then put the stranger among eight or ten others and let them all make their tracks for the boys to see, going by in rotation. Each scout then in turn whispers to the umpire which man, {309} made the original track--describing him by his number in filing past. The scout who answers correctly wins; if more than one answers correctly, the one who then draws the best diagram, from memory, of the footprint wins.

Smugglers Over the Border

The "border" is a certain line of country about four hundred yards long, preferably a road or wide path or bit of sand, on which foot tracks can easily be seen. One patrol watches the border with sentries posted along this road, with a reserve posted farther inland. This latter about half-way between the "border" and the "town"; the "town"

would be a base marked by a tree, building, or flags, etc., about half a mile distant from the border. A hostile patrol of smugglers a.s.semble about half a mile on the other side of the border. They will all cross the border, in any formation they please, either singly or together or scattered, and make for the town, either walking or running, or at scouts' pace. Only one among them is supposed to be smuggling, and he wears tracking irons, so that the sentries walk up and down their beat (they may not run till after the "alarm"), waiting for the tracks of the smuggler. Directly a sentry sees the track, he gives the alarm signal to the reserve and starts himself to follow up the track as fast as he can. The reserves thereupon cooperate with him and try to catch the smuggler before he can reach the town. Once within the boundary of the town he is safe and wins the game.

Shop Window Out-doors 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 In-doors

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 notices. The boy who notices most wins.