By Sir Robert Baden-Powell
CHAPTER X
SEAMANSHIP GAMES.
The smugglers have got their contraband hidden among some rocks, and it is
entrusted to one smuggler to take to their hiding-place, a building or some
place marked by flags or trees, about half a mile inland.
One patrol act as
smugglers and the one chosen to carry the contraband wears tracking irons and
has to carry a small sack or parcel containing the contraband. The "border" is a certain tract of land, a road, or stretch of sand along the
shore between the smugglers and their hiding-place inland.
The coastguards (two
patrols) have to guard the border with sentries, and keep their main reserve bivouacked
some little way inland. As soon as a sentry sees the tracks of the
smuggler (wearing tracking irons) crossing the "border" he gives the
alarm, and the coastguards have to catch him before he can get his contraband to
the hiding-place.
It should be agreed that the smugglers cross the "border" between two boundaries. The length should depend upon the number of
sentries--one sentry should have a beat of about 200 yards.
The smugglers have to
bring their cargo up from the rocks within a certain time, because the tide is
coming in. They should assist the one chosen to carry the contraband by
distracting the coast-guards and leading them in the wrong direction, because they do not know at
first who is wearing the tracking irons.
A treasure is known to be bidden upon a certain island or bit of shore marked
off, and the man who hid it left a map with clues for finding it (compass
directions, tide marks, etc.).
This map is hidden somewhere near the
landing-place; the patrols come in turn to look for it--they have to row from a
certain distance, land, find the map, and finally discover the treasure. They
should be careful to leave no foot-tracks, etc., near the treasure, because then
the patrols that follow them will easily find it.
The map and treasure are to be
hidden afresh for the next patrol when they have been found. The patrol wins
which return to the starting-place with the treasure in the shortest time. (This
can be played on a river, the patrols having to row across the river to find the
treasure.)
(For Night or Day.)
One party of smugglers from the sea endeavor to land and conceal their goods
(a brick per man) in a base called the "Smugglers' Cave," and get
away in their, boat again. Another party of "preventive men" is
distributed to watch the coast a long distance with single Scouts. So soon as one preventive man sees the smugglers land he gives
the alarm, and collects the rest to attack, but the attack cannot be successful
unless there are at least as many preventive men on the spot as smugglers. The
preventive men must remain bivouacked at their station until the alarm is given
by the look-out men.
[This is the same game as that of "Spearing the
Sturgeon" in Mr. E. Thompson Seton's Birch
Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians.
The whale is made of a big log of wood with a roughly-shaped
head and tail to represent a whale. Two boats will usually carry out the whale
hunt, each boat manned by one patrol--the Patrol-leader acting as captain, the
corporal as bowman or harpooner, the remainder of the patrol as oarsmen. Each
boat belongs to a different harbor, the two harbors being about a mile apart.
The umpire takes the whale, and lets it loose about half-way between the two harbors, and on a given signal the two boats race out to see who can get to the
whale first. The harpooner who first arrives within range of the whale drives
his harpoon into it, and the boat promptly turns round and tows the whale to its
harbor.
The second boat pursues, and when it overtakes the other, also harpoons
the whale, turns round, and endeavors to tow the whale back to its harbor.
In this way the two boats have a tug-of-war, and eventually the better boat tows
the whale, and possibly the opposing boat, into its harbor.
It will be found
that discipline and strict silence and attention to the captain's orders are very strong points towards winning the
game. It shows, above all things, the value of discipline.
You are allowed to
dislodge your enemy's spear by throwing your own over it, but on no account must
you throw your spear over the other boat or over the heads of your crew, or a
serious accident may result.
The spearman must not resign the spear to any
other member of the boat. It is forbidden to lay hands on the fish or on the
other boat--unless this is done to avoid a collision.
There are several kinds of water sports, which, when practiced enough, make a
very interesting display.
I. WATER POLO: Stakes driven in to make goal posts,
and a large rubber ball, if a proper water polo ball cannot be obtained.
II.
GREASY POLE: fastened from the end of a pier or landing-stage, with some prize
fastened to the end of it. (N.B.-The pole should not stick straight out from the
end of the stage, but should incline to the right or left, so that it can be
seen better from the shore.)
III. JOUSTING: In small canoes or on logs, one boy
to paddle and one to joust, armed with a small wooden shield and a 6 foot pole
with something soft attached to the end.
IV. Swimming: races, diving competitions, and races to get into a lifebuoy.
See Also:
Baden-Powell's Scouting Games
