In
1910, newspapers featured Model T Fords chugging along rutted roads at 8
miles an hour; Detroit's center fielder, Ty Cobb, batting .385; and Tom
Swift hitting the book market with a bang. Buried deep in one
newspaper, it was reported: "William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher,
incorporated the Boy Scouts of America in Washington, D.C. on February
8." That was all it said.
We can't blame
reporters for missing the biggest story of the day, because who could
have guessed that from such a small beginning, Scouting would become the
giant it is today? From about 2,000 Boy Scouts and leaders in 1910,
Scouting in the United States has grown to nearly 6 million strong.
Although
changes have been made in Scouting over the years, the ideals and
principles have remained the same since its beginning--service to others
and duty to God and country.
Our Founder
Scouting's
history really goes way back to the turn of the century with a British
Army officer, Robert S. S. Baden-Powell. Baden-Powell, who was stationed
in India at the time, found that his men did not know basic first aid
or the elementary means of survival in the outdoors. They couldn't
follow a trail or tell directions, read danger signs, or find food or
water. Baden-Powell, who had earned a reputation as a courageous soldier
and able army scout, felt a need to teach his men resourcefulness,
adaptability, and the qualities of leadership demanded by frontier
conditions, so he wrote a small military handbook called Aids to
Scouting. While serving in South Africa in 1899, Baden-Powell became
world famous during the Boer War by holding, for 217 days, the small
town of Mafeking, which was being besieged by an enemy force 10 times
greater than his own. He returned to London as a national hero, was
promoted to major general, and was amused to find that his little
handbook had caught the interest of English boys.
They
were using it to play the game of scouting. Baden- Powell had the
vision to see some new possibilities and he decided to test his ideas on
boys. In August 1907, he gathered together 20 boys from all parts of
England. Some were from exclusive schools and others were from the
slums, the shops, and the farms. He took them to Brownsea Island, in a
sheltered bay off England's southern coast, and there along the shore
they set up a makeshift campsite which would be their home for the next
12 history making days. The boys had a great time! they divided into
patrols and played games, took hikes, learned stalking and pioneering.
They learned to cook outdoors without utensils. And in the evenings, in
the magic of the campfire, they were spellbound by Baden-Powell's
stories of his army adventures. The next year Baden-Powell published his
book Scouting for Boys which revealed a warm understanding of boys and
what they liked to do. He didn't dream that this book would set in
motion a movement that would affect the boyhood of the entire world.
That same year, more than 10,000 Boy Scouts attended a rally held at the
Crystal Palace. This was living proof of how quickly Scouting was
establishing itself. Two years later, the membership had tripled.
American Origins
In
1909, a Chicago businessman and publisher, William D. Boyce, was lost
in a London fog. As he groped his way through the fog, a boy appeared
and offered to take him to his destination. When they arrived, the
American reached in his pocket for a shilling tip. But the boy stopped
him by courteously explaining that he was a Scout and could not accept
payment for a Good Turn.
Intrigued, the
publisher questioned the boy and learned more about Scouting. The boy
took him to Baden-Powell's office, and once there, disappeared into the
fog. No one knows what happened to him.
He was
never heard from again, but he will never be forgotten. At the Scout
Training Center at Gilwell Park, England, a statue of a buffalo was
erected in honor of this "Unknown Scout." His good Turn is what brought
Scouting to our country. And so, on February 8, 1910, Boyce incorporated
the Boy Scouts of America.
How the Cub Scout Program Started
Back
in England, Boy Scout troops were being bombarded by younger boys who
were eager to become Boy Scouts. In 1914, Baden-Powell began
experimenting with a program for younger boys, based on Rudyard
Kipling's Jungle Book. In this story you will meet a little East Indian
boy named Mowgli.
While Shere Khan-the tiger
was terrifying his village, Mowgli wandered away from his home and was
saved by a family of wolves. Mowgli, the name the wolves gave him, means
"little frog", for the boy's skin was smooth and hairless. To keep this
man-cub, mother and father wolf had to get the approval of the wolf
pack, and Akela, the leader of the pack. In addition, two others had to
speak for Mowgli. The first to speak was Baloo, the serious old bear who
taught the young wolves the law of the pack, and the second was
Bagheera, the black panther who taught the skills of the pack. With
their good works. Mowgli was accepted over the angry snarls of Shere
Khan.
As Mowgli grew older, Baloo taught him
the law of the pack and the secret master words that enabled him to talk
to the other creatures of the jungle; all except the Bandar-log, the
monkey people who did not observe the law of the pack. They were going
to make their own law, but they would forget what it was they were doing
and never did. So, the other creatures of the jungle paid no attention
to them.
One day while Mowgli was sleeping, the
Bandar-log swept down from their tree tops and carried him away to a
deserted village where none of the jungle creatures lived except the
cobras. While he was being carried aloft a hawk swooped down low enough
for Mowgli to give the master word and ask for help.
The
hawk flew back to Baloo and Bagheera who raced to Kaa, the 30 foot
python and dreaded enemy of the Bandar-log. Kaa was as much at home in
the tree tops as the monkey people and often would be mistaken for a
limb or branch by an unlucky monkey.
These
three, the python, the panther, and the bear closed in on the village at
nightfall. Bagheera and Baloo moved in first. Now, the Bandar-log are
not brave, but fight only when the odds are 100 to one in their favor.
Swarms of the monkey people jumped biting and scratching on the backs of
Bagheera and Baloo. Meanwhile, Mowgli was carried away and dropped
through the roof of an enclosure that had no escape and only cobras for
company.
Then Kaa appeared. The Bandar-log
froze in terror. Bagheera and Baloo shook themselves free of the monkey
people. Kaa slithered toward the ancient building that held Mowgli
prisoner, and using his head as a battering ram, knocked a hole in the
lattice work large enough for Mowgli to climb through and join Baloo and
Bagheera.
In the dim moonlight, Kaa began his
hunger dance, fascinating all who watched, the Bandar-log, Baloo, and
Bagheera. Mowgli shook his friends who were falling under the spell of
Kaa and, just in time, the three made their escape back to their own
part of the jungle.
Today, each young boy is
like Mowgli. He needs a leader and a friend who can help him learn those
things that will protect him. Parents and leaders are the Akelas,
Bagheeras, and Baloos.
Everywhere today's youth
turns there are the monkey people who would lure him into trouble,
urging him or daring him to join them. Our Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts must
be armed against this danger, for when they join the Bandar-log they
are swallowed by the python Kaa whose real name is laziness, boredom,
and drugs.