AROUND THE CAMPFIRE.

Waikato Times, Volume 97, Issue 15185, 10 March 1923, Page 20 (Supplement)

AROUND THE CAMPFIRE.

BOY SCOUT NOTES. [By "Pathfinder") I was talking' the oilier n'ght to a business acquaintance, when tie suddenly asked, "Arc you not rather interested in the scouts?" 1 replied that I believed I had heard such creatures existed.

"Well," he said, "'I will tell you, how I became Interested in them. Some time ago I was motoring on a windy day along a countryy road. My hat ilew off. We were going very fast, and must have left the hat, flying the other way, half a mile before we stopped. Just as I was going to jump out a boy's voice said: 'All right, sir; I'll fetch it,' and I saw a small Scout on a cycle. lie was back in no time, carrying my hat. Knowing then nothing of the Scout Law, I offered him sixpence. He got rather red and drew himself up and saluted and said, 'Oh, no, thank you, sir. I'm a Scout.' And as wc drove on I thought to myself. 'That was a poor country boy; sixpence would be a week's pocket money or more to him. He was not on parade, no ofllcer was there. No one would have known if he had taken the money. A movement that can inspire a boy to remember his laws and feel he's a scout when he is oil parade is a very line thing. Since then 1 have always believed m the Scouts." One of the Scoutmasters recently told me, in a lit of confidence, how he sometimes felt disheartened and disappointed, and wondered if the work and worry attached to scouting was really worth while. He gave three or four evenings a week, Saturday afternoons and part of Sunday to his troop. This prevents his juining in the pursuits of other men. The boys often fail him, and he wonders sometimes if he is a failure and is tempted to give up. I used to feel like that often till I realised the meaning of George El.ot's words, "I'm proof against that word failure. No man's work is a failure unless the man himself is a failure." If the outsider looks on a Scoutmaster's work just as a method of playing about with a number of boys and' keeping them out of mischief, or as a mild form of "good works" in which rather foolish people indulge for want of something more vigorous to do, then it may certainly seem not worth while; but the real fact is very different. Here you, my Scoutmaster friend, have a little handful of boys. Each boy has within him a spark of the Divine. The boy is commencing a life which will go on for ever. God's purpose is that the. Divine spark in that boy shall be developed until one day in the far-off ages lie shall attain perfection. You are chosen to be a worker together with God. This scouting scheme for boys i). the best human method ever invented for helping the boy to develop in the r.ght direction. That sort of idea seems to me to ennoble the Scoutmaster's work, and to make all Hie labour, the worry and expense well worth while. If writing books and articles would abolish uu>eoutlike camps, all would be well; but it won't. »o what about it? With the help of books and experience we must set about getting some system of training. How would this do for a demonstration? We will say you want to prevent the loss of pegs and mallets. Take your leaders; let one stand in front of the rest, a mallet and peg in his hand. Let him explain in his own words that 'pegs are scarce and without them a tent falls down. Let him show the right way to drive in a peg, and then call one of his class to do the same. Then at the next troop parade each leader takes his patrol and instructs in the same way. Similarly washing-up w.th hot water, dixie, soap and dishcloth, preceded by a talk on poison and pains in little iusides.

Then the next portion of your dcmonstrat.ou should illustrate cooking badly done and no arrangements for issue. A smoky fire; chorus of Scouts shouting for cocoa; cook, flustered, makes it with tepid water and dirty dixie; shouts, "Come on, boys " A wild rush and scramble for places in queue. The sacred precincts of the cookhouse invaded. Biggest and greediest bovs get in front. No cocoa left for the "little fellows. A rowdy scene. An exasperated Scoutmaster, and slock pot "goes west" in a cloud of steam. Angry Scoutmaster hunts his young knights off to bed. Follow up with this scene. Cooking well done and good arrangements. Pairol leader on cook duty reports to Scoutmaster, "Cocoa ready." Patrols fall in under leaders well clear of the kitchen. Cooks make orderly arrangements and issue in quickest and Simplest way. (One of the famishing curlews forgets himself and jostles; he gels served last.) The patrol leader bosses the show in a good natured way. (They are not drilled like cadets.) Cooks and Scouts wash-up. A jolly day, and the "singsong" arc over. Seoul master wishes them all a cheery good-night. They are gone, and he sits over Lhe lire soliloquising.

TROOP TOPICS. Through a slight misprint last week I accused the Scouts of gambling, whereas the word should have read (.Tumbling. East or is not far distant, and I have not heard of many troop plans for the holiday. One troop hopes to visit the National Park, hut lias yet lo raise the necessary funds for the trip. However, they are making preparations fop holding a bazaar a week before Easter, and ! am sure they will achieve their object and raise enough lo cover the expenses of this trip, and also add something to their equipment. Oh, my dear Scoutmaster friends, don't bother about big troops! I know you are so kindhcarted you cannot refuse lo lake a boy who wants to join, but the best work you can do for the boys of this country, and the best method of spreading the Scout movement, is lo train a small troop well. There is an enormous difference between a small troop of real Scouts and a great herd of half-trained boys calling themselves Scouts.. The former do credit to, ami therefore spread, the Scout movement. Other men want lo form and run similar troops. Other hoys are im'i content unless they belons to a real troop. So we do good work, not only for uiir own particular boys, bill fur all the boys around, whereas a badly run Irnoj) dm s more harm than good. The Southern Dncs troop had a : very successful hike last week -i-IHV i i ,,,' |, cl \ u.i- .1 small one perhaps i ih ■ net Hi.,i all year li id lo I"' ear I ,|,.,j |M-r.-'>n,dl> kept the number- ; rlown. No lent- were taken, bill i ~;irii |ui\ ' irr I'd hi- "Wii blanket-. | potion- and enokini: i-' l '-I'' Tne total | ,;j-i., :,,•■• r..\e r e,| v. i- I:. nvles, ind I i|t- party -b-pl in i -e! >:- Vj „,, Ireke.irl o: i" e|e, w.*r<" n-'-'k ,! !' greater portion <-i the trek waj croa-

country work, and the experiment \v.i> in every way "sal is factory. More' week-ends of this nature are contemplated by lliis troop if suitable routes ami objectives can be found. A delightful feature of Ibis type of camping is I lie meals by the wayside, just stopping anil preparing a meal wherever Hie environment appeals and conditions are suitable.