The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1915-04-14
THE
BOY SCOUTS
The Tenderfoot Scout.
of America


Local Boy Scout organizations are
composed of two units-the patrol,
and the troop The patrol consists
of eight members. and three patrols
make a troop. Usually the members
of each patrol select one Of their
number to act as patrol leader. Some
times, however the scout master ap-
points one of the members as leader
The troop is led by the scout master
and the assistant scout master.
To become a Scout a boy must be
at least twelve years Of age and must
pass test in the following;
l. Know the Scout law, sign, sa
lutte, and significance of the badge.
.. Know the composition and his
tory of the national flag and the
customary forms of respect due it.
g. Tie four out of the following
knots Square or reef, sheet-bend,
bowlne. fishermans, sheepshank,
halter. Glove hitch. timber hitch, or
two half-hitches.
He then takes the Scout oath is
enrolled as tenderfoot and is en-
titled to wear the tenderfoot badge.
AS soon as the boy has passed the
tests which entitle him to wear the
badge of the tenderfoot Scout, he
begins to prepare himself for quail
fcation as a second-c class Scout. The
requirements for this degree are
very much more severe than those
for the tendemoot degree, and give
the boy plenty of things to think
about for a number of weeks
Under the guidance of the patrol
leader each patrol takes short hikes
into the woods to study the things
in the branches of Scoutcraft on
which are based the second-class
tests. Frequently the scout master
| joins in these short hikes, teaching
the boys to use their eyes, and their
ears. Each boy learns many things,
and sees many things which he had
overlooked in his trips to the woods
| before he became Scout. He knows
the difference in the tracks made by
the ground bird" and the tree
| bird" he knows whether the rabbit
| was wild with fright and nunning to
escape an enemy, or merely travelling
| fast because he had the power to so
travel. If he has damp soil or sand
to study he learns to read the story
of the trail-he can tell much of the
| life that the animal ordinarily leads
| its method of searching for food, its
kind of food, the help or hndrance
it gets from friends or rivals. To
become a second-class Scout the boy
must be a good tracker, and be able
to follow a trail (either of some ami
NAL or one made by the scout mas
teri at the speed of half mile in
twenty-five minutes. A half mile in
twenty-five minutes Is slow travel,
you say? Straight-away travelling it
is: but with eyes intent on the trail.
taking in every detail, the brain ar
ranging these details in order so
that a clear account of "the story
of the trail" may be given, using care
to not obliterate the track with his
own footprints, the boy who covers
a half mile in twenty five minutes,
on either a natural or an artificial
trail, has reason to be proud of the
feat.
Often the question has been asked:
What good does this do. OF what
benefit is it to the present-day boy
to be able to follow a trail through
| the woods" OF course it is not
| likely that he will ever find it neces-
sary to follow the trail of band
Of marauding Sioux, or that his per-
sonal safety will depend upon his
ability to see and recognize the back
track of the panther that stalked the
Scout of the pioneer days. The bene-
fit lies in learning to see the things
of nature with the right kind of
eyes"
One not so trained may go into
the woods and see, underfoot, grass
and weeds; above the grass, brush;
then tree trunks; up high, leaves
and branches. Oh, yes, perhaps a
bird or two-what kind of a bird? =?