The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-16
BOYS SCOUT CAMP
WILL END TODAY
Have Spent Enjoyable Time
in Woods
A TALK ON SCOUTS
scout Master Ballard Tells Bows
Some Scout History and
What Being Scout
Means
A TALK ON SCOUTS

ihis afternoon, after 10 days of hunting
and fishing and a good time in general,
the Boy Scouts will break camp at Noun
tam lake and hike 1t back to Birming-
ham
A week ago last Friday IS boys, under
the command of their various leaders,
iert the headquarters of the Boys club
with their tents and camp equipment. The
company of scouts en- route to Mountain
iake' the place chosen for the summer
camp, was composed of nine patrols each
patrol under the charge of its respective
scout master
ABOUT the campfire In the evening"
scout Master Elwin Ballard gave the
boys a lecture or heart to heart talk
one OF these was on boy Scout Work" :"
and he said in part as follows:
Always Were Scouts
In all ages there have been scouts,
the place of the scout being on the dam
ger line of the army or at the outposts
protecting those of his company who con-
fide in his care.
The army scout was the soldier who
was chosen out of all the soldiers to go
on the slSrmish line
THE pioneer, who was out on the edge
of the wilderness, guarding the men,
women and children in the stockade, was
also a scout. Should he fall asleep or
lose control of his faculties or fail on his
watch, then the lives of the men, women
and children paid the forfeit and the scout
lost his honor
But there has been other kinds OF
scouts besides war scouts and frontier
scouts. They have been the men of all
ages who have gone out on new and
strange adventures, and through their
work have benefited the people of the
earth. Thus, Columbus discovered Amer
lea; the Pilgrim fathers founded New
England; the early English settlers col
onized jamestown, and the Dutch built
up New York. In the same way the
hardy Scotch-1rish pushed west and made
a new home for the American people be-
yond the Alleghanies and the Rockies.
These peace scouts had to be as well
prepared as any army scout. They had
how to live in the woods, and be able to
find their way anywhere without any
chart or compass other than the sun and
stars, besides being able to interpret the
slightest signs of the forest and the foot
tracks of animals and men. They had
to know how to live so as to keep healthy
and strong, to face any danger that came
their way, and to help one another.
Not Afraid of Death
'"These scouts of old were accustomed
to take chances with death, and they did
not hesitate to give up their lives in help
ing their comrades or country. In fact,
they left everything behind them, comfort
and peace, in order to push forward into
the wilderness beyond; and they did ii
because they felt it to be their duty.
'These little known scouts could be
multiplied indefinitely by going back
into the past ages and reading the his
tories and stories of the Knights of King
Arthur; of the Crusades, and OF the great
explorers and navigators of the world.
Wherever there have been heroes there
have been scouts and to be a scout means
to be prepared to do the right thing at
the right moment, no matter what the
consequences may be.
.'rhe way for achievements in big
things is the preparing of ones self for
doing the big things-by going into train
ing and doing the little things we'll 1t
was this characteristic of Livingstone.
the great explorer, that made him what
he was, and that has marked the career
of all good scouts. To be a good scout
one must know something about the
woods and the animals that inhabit them,
and how to care for ones self when
camping.
'Then, too. a good scout must be chiv-
alrous. That is, he should be as manly
as the knights or pioneers of old. He
should be obedient to his parents and
show respect to those who are his su-
periors. He should be very courteous to
women. One of his obligations is to do
a good turn every day to some one. He
should be cheerful and seek self improve
ment, and should make a career for him
self
Honor Was Sacred
"All these things were characteristic
of the old time American scouts and of
the King Arthur knights. Their honor
was sacred They were courteous and
polite to women and children, especially
to the aged, protected the weak, and
helped others to live better. They taught
themselves to be strong, SO as to be able
to protect their country against enc
mics. They kept themselves strong and
healthy, so that they might be prepared
to do all these things at moments S
notice. and do them well.
80 the boy scout of today must be
chivalrous manly, and gentlemanly. I'm
der no circumstances must he foster q
military air of any kind for you are
scouts and not soldiers"
The camp at Mountain lake consisted
of scout examinations, a large field meet
in which every one participated, and a
swimming and a wood craft contest.
After the examination it was found that
almost every boy was promoted, some
to first class scout, and the others from
tenderfoot to second class scouts. Will
liam Bromberg carried Of the honors in
the swimming contest.
This is the first large camp ever con-
Quoted by the Boy Scouts of Birming
ham, and it further proved to be the most
pleasant occasion ever had by them. The
cold plunge in the lake every morning
and the hikes after dinner joyfully ac-
cepted but the most pleasant instance
of the day was when the boys gathered
about the camp fire in the evening and
were told interesting stories by the
scout masters.