Part 19

Robert Louis Stevenson From "Travels With a Donkey."

Woodcraft in the beginning was the first science of man. As applied to camping we most frequently think of it as anything which pertains to the woods or forests and as a turning away from the more artificial side of camping, and as in pioneer times learning to do everything ourselves, which is after all the keynote of real joy in camping.

To acquaint ourselves with the woods we can begin with our immediate surroundings. Short walks to search for flowers or ferns and to know the different varieties of trees, or early morning trips to a bit of swamp land where we can study the coloring and habits of birds or sit quietly while patiently listening to distinguish them by their songs.

We can lie out on the grass when the stars have come out, and study the heavens or take trips at night with an experienced woodsman, who perhaps shows us that Nature by night is very often different from Nature by day, or of how we can find a trail through a dense wood by the light of a star--the North Star.

Woodcraft includes what we may merely for convenience classify as campcraft, which is to know all there is to know about camping in the open.

For most purposes a good knowledge of how to make out-door fires; (both from the standpoint of heat and the kind of food to be cooked) cooking; trailing; and how to make and break a camp, are sufficient.

Beginners in this lore would do well to get a thorough knowledge of campcraft by going about it one step at a time. For instance, it is advisable to confine oneself to short trips at first and learn about the sensing of directions, trail cutting and blazing, cooking, pitching tents or building lean-tos; thus taking the various branches which are preparatory to the actual experience and real adventure of a camping-out party, and it is then and there that our real knowledge is tested.

The topics to be considered either when learning about campcraft or when actually doing it, are briefly:

1. Trip Planning Use of maps Provisions Clothing Railroad connections

2. Trail Making Survey for trail Blazing trail Cutting a trail

3. Selection of Camp Site Location as to supply of fuel, water and fairly high, well-drained land. Shelters, tents or lean-tos Bed-making

4. Camp Discipline Working squad Toilet facilities Exploration parties

The basis for quite a comprehensive knowledge of woodcraft in all its branches, camping and Nature Study, is to be found in the Girl Scout Handbook, "Scouting for Girls."

3. ENTERTAINMENTS AND DIVERSIONS

Entertainments or shows of which there are an overwhelming variety are a great aid in keeping everyone in a cheerful frame of mind.

In the dramatic line we have the play, pantomime, vaudeville, minstrel, "take offs," charades, the circus and dramatization of stories.

With musical talent in a camp it adds much zest to form an orchestra and then there is the possibility of musical evenings and concerts. Added to these are the Stunt Parties, Dances and Masquerades, Marshmallow and Corn Roasts, and if it is a seashore camp, the clam bake.

The play requires an amount of preparation and time not always to be spared in a camp unless the season is long. The most enjoyable shows are bound to be the more spontaneous expressions in the form of impromptu affairs.

There are celebrations which take place on particular days such as the Fourth of July or any other event which you wish to commemorate, just as the pageant can be presented to display your camping or community activities.

One of the finest things to cultivate if you are in close proximity to other camps is an inter-camp relationship, either in the forms of inter-camp contests or frolics, or any demonstration which you think betokens friendship. This may even go so far as the building of inter-camp shacks and the making of inter-camp trails.

It is not only illuminating to come into contact with another camp besides your own--it is a source of great diversion and enjoyment, if there is plenty of fun and friendship, and an absence of group jealousy.

4. CAMP SINGS

Singing is a great and important part of camp life, for it reflects every phase and meets all the situations of that life.

Songs are generally composed by the individual or by groups, being the expression of their feelings, or results of their experience in camp. The songs are quickly adopted by the camp as a whole because people like to sing their own songs, especially songs about fresh, actual happenings.

Some of the songs which reflect universal experience live on through the years and become traditional, while others drop out and are never heard of again. The following are Girl Scout Songs that have weathered more or less satisfactorily.

THE VICTORY GIRLS

(Tune: "K-K-Katy")

G-G-G-Girl Scouts! You Victory Girl Scouts! You're the only Victory Girls that get our votes. And when you march by, Under your troop flags, We'll be cheering for your K-K-K-Khaki coats!