ght to know how to save life. He ought to be able to
make a stretcher; to throw a rope to a drowning person; to drag an
unconscious person from a burning building, and to resuscitate a
person overcome by gas fumes. He ought also to know the method of
stopping runaway horses, and he should have the presence of mind and
the skill to calm a panic and deal with street and other accidents.

This means also that a boy scout must always be in the pink of
condition. A boy cannot do things like these unless he is healthy and
strong. Therefore, he must be systematically taking exercise, playing
games, running, and walking. It means that he must sleep enough hours
to give him the necessary strength, and if possible to sleep very much
in the open, or at least {8} with the windows of his bedroom open both
summer and winter.

It means also that he should take a cold bath often, rubbing dry with
a rough towel. He should breathe through the nose and not through the
mouth. He should at all times train himself to endure hardships.

In addition to these the scout should be a lover of his country. He
should know his country. How many states there are in it, what are its
natural resources, scope, and boundaries. He ought to know something
of its history, its early settlers, and of the great deeds that won
his land. How they settled along the banks of the James River. How
Philadelphia, New York, and other great cities were founded. How the
Pilgrim Fathers established New England and laid the foundation for
our national life. How the scouts of the Middle West saved all that
great section of the country for the Republic. He ought to know how
Texas became part of the United States, and how our national heroes
stretched out their hands, north and south, east and west, to make one
great united country.

He ought to know the history of the important wars. He ought to know
about our army and navy flags and the insignia of rank of our
officers. He ought to know the kind of government he lives under, and
what it means to live in a republic. He ought to know what is expected
of him as a citizen of his state and nation, and what to do to help
the people among whom he lives.

In short, to be a good scout is to be a well-developed, well-informed
boy.

Scout Virtues

There are other things which a scout ought to know and which should be
characteristic of him, if he is going to be the kind of scout for
which the Boy Scouts of America stand. One