By Sir Robert Baden-Powell
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Siberian Man Hunt: A man has escaped through the snow and a patrol follows his tracks, but, when they think they are nearing his hiding place, they advance with great caution because for them one hit from a snowball means death. The escaped person has to be hit three times before he is killed. If he has taken refuge up in a tree or any such place, it will be very difficult to hit him without being bit first. The hunted man has to remain at large for a certain time, perhaps two or three hours, and then get safely home without being caught. |
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Arctic Expedition: Each patrol takes a sleigh or toboggan with harness to fit two Scouts who are to pull it (or dogs, if they have them, and can train them to the work). Two Scouts go a mile or so ahead. The remainder with the sleigh follow, finding the way by means of the trail, and by such signs as the leading Scouts may draw in the snow. All other drawings seen on the way are to be examined, noted, and their meaning read. The sleigh carries rations, cooking utensils, etc. Build snow huts. These must be made narrow, according to the length of sticks available for forming the roof, which may -be made of brushwood, and covered with snow. |
| Snow Fort: The snow fort may be built by one patrol according to their own ideas of fortification, with loop holes, and so on, for looking out. When finished it will be attacked by hostile patrols, using snowballs as ammunition. Every Scout struck by a snowball is counted dead. The attackers should, as a rule, number at least twice the strength of the defenders. See Also: Snow Fort Building |
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Fox-Hunting: This game is to be played where there is plenty of fresh snow around. Two Scouts representing foxes start from the middle of a field or piece of open ground, and five minutes afterwards the rest are put on their trail. The two foxes are not allowed to follow any human tracks. If they approach a pathway where other people have been, they must turn off in another direction; but they can walk along the top of walls and use any other ruse they like, such as treading in each other's tracks, and then one vaulting aside with a staff. Both of them have to be caught by the pursuers for it to count a win. The foxes have to avoid capture for one hour and then get back to the starting point. |
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The Dash For the Pole: Two rival parties of Arctic explorers are nearing the Pole. Each has sent out one Scout in advance, but neither has returned. They know the directions each started in because their tracks can still be seen in the snow. What has really happened is that each has reached the Pole, and each is determined to maintain his claim to it and so dare not leave the spot. They both purposely left good tracks and signs, so that they could be easily followed up, if anything happened. These two, one from each patrol, should start from headquarters together, and then determine upon the spot to be the Pole, each approaching it from a different direction. |
The two parties of explorers start off together, about fifteen minutes after the forerunners, and each follows up the tracks of its own Scout. The first patrol to reach the spot where the two are waiting for them takes possession; the leader sets up his flag and the rest prepare snowballs, after laying down their staves in a circle round the flag at a distance of six paces. When the other party arrives, they try to capture the staves. The defenders are not allowed to touch their staves, but two hits with a snowball on either side puts a man out of action. Each defender killed and each staff taken counts one points, and if the rival party gain more than half the possible points, they claim the discovery of the Pole. Before the defenders can claim undisputed rights, they must kill all their rivals, by pursuing them; even if only one or two are left. The two forerunners do not take part, but act as umpires.
Clear The Line: This game requires a light rope, five to eight yards long, to one end of which is attached a small bag of canvas or leather filled with sand and weighing about 1 lb. The Scoutmaster stands in the center of a ring of Scouts and swings the bag round, gradually paying out the rope until it becomes necessary for the players to jump to avoid it. The direction in which the bag is swung should be varied. The rate of swinging as well as the height of the bag from the ground should be gradually increased. The object of the players is to avoid being caught by the rope or bag and brought to the ground.
Skin the Snake: The scouts stand in single file. Each scout puts his right hand between his legs, which is grasped by the one behind. Then the first scout walks backwards, straddling No. 2. No. 2 repeats the movement, straddling No. 3, and so on, until the scout that was first is in the last position. It is a clever gymnastic stunt, and done quickly represents a snake shedding its skin.
Soccer Relay: This is a relay game, where the first scout of each side starts kicking the ball from his goal to a turning-point several yards away, then kicks the ball back through the goal that he started from. When he has kicked a goal the second scout repeats the performance of the first, and each scout repeats the performance. The side that finishes first wins the race.
See Also:
B-P's Lion Hunting
Pathfinders' Handbook
