Collecting Cotton
Translation details
Model:mistral-large-2512.Translated text
Section titled “Translated text”Prepare pieces of cotton or yarn, each 1 foot (30 cm) in length. The type may be the cheapest available, as long as the color is not bright (khaki is best). Using these pieces, mark a path as the instructor, through pastures, forests, rocky areas, or generally less frequented places. Avoid cultivated fields unless they are your own property or you have permission from the owners. Do not simply throw the cotton on the ground; instead, attach it to trees, fences, bushes, or low-hanging branches, spaced 20 paces apart. Then, send out 1 or 2 patrols to collect all the pieces and reach the end of the marked path as quickly as possible.
When a scout participating in the game spots a piece of yarn, they must announce it by calling their patrol so that both patrols can more easily orient themselves in the search. Apart from the case of finding a trail, no other shouts are allowed.
Each patrol collects the found yarn into the hands of their patrol leader. The patrol whose leader has the greater number of cotton pieces at the end of the game wins. This game gives the instructor an opportunity to identify the most skilled trackers. If the trails are skillfully laid out, the winning patrol’s scouts deserve an additional mark for their cleverness. This method of tracking has the advantage over tracker’s irons in that it teaches scouts to pay close attention not only to the ground but to all directions.
The same exercise can also be conducted with a single patrol, in which case the goal is simply to see which scout collects the most pieces of cotton. Instead of cotton, long strips of paper or so-called wood wool may be used—though these are inferior as they are too visible and litter the area more if the scouts do not collect them carefully.
Tracker’s irons are used to leave traces that distinguish them from the tracks of ordinary passersby.
Source scan: Śląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa, marked as “public domain”. View PDF — page 94.
Metadata
Section titled “Metadata”- Type: game
- Traits: Not stated in the source
- Source: Stanisław Sedlaczek, Szkoła harcerza (1921)
- Printed pages: 93 / PDF 94
- Digital edition: Digital edition · Source record
- Open the edition at the relevant page: p. 93
- Read the source text: shc-022