Baden-Powell of MafekingFletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
History
Baden-Powell of Mafeking
Fletcher, J. S. (Joseph Smith)
Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, Baron, 1857-1941; Generals -- Great Britain -- Biography
Of the many wonderful things done by Baden-Powell nothing seems to
me so wonderful as the way in which the man who has had so many and
such varied occupations has perfected himself in scouting. He seems
to be all eyes and ears, to never lose cognizance of anything that
happens, and to give an attention to little points of detail which less
extraordinary men would feel tempted to ignore. "It should be a point
of honour with a scout," he remarks, "that nobody sees any object that
he has not already seen for himself. For this your eyes must be never
resting, continually glancing round in every direction, and trained to
see objects in the far distance. A scout must have eyes in the back of
his head. Riding with a really trained scout, such as Buffalo Bill or
Burnham, you will notice that while he talks with you his eyes scarcely
look you in the face for a moment, they keep glancing from point to
point of the country round from sheer force of habit." Then he quotes a
slight incident from his own experience to show how a little reflection
and common-sense will suggest the most likely point for which to look
for the presence of an enemy. He and a Shikari in Kashmir were having
a match as to which of them could see furthest. The Shikari, pointing
out a hillside rising at some distance, inquired if his opponent could
say how many cattle were grazing along its slopes. Baden-Powell could
only see the cattle with great difficulty, but he presently astonished
the Shikari by asking him if he could see the man who was herding the
cattle. He could not see the man himself, but he had argued the thing
out and knew where the man was. First of all, where there were cattle
there would be a herd in charge of them. Secondly, it was most likely
that he would be up-hill, above them. Thirdly, up-hill above them stood
a solitary tree. Fourthly, the day was very hot, and the tree was the
only means of affording shade. Because of these reasons the man must
be under the tree--and when Baden-Powell and the Shikari brought their
glasses into operation there the man was.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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