1895 Baden-Powell Ashanti Expedition: Difference between revisions
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'''Did you ever wonder how sir [[Robert Baden-Powell]] learned his scouting skills? Today's scouts in the [[Scouting and Guiding in Ghana|The Gold Coast]] may know the answer:''' | '''Did you ever wonder how sir [[Robert Baden-Powell]] learned his scouting skills? Today's scouts in the [[Scouting and Guiding in Ghana|The Gold Coast]] may know the answer:''' | ||
Revision as of 22:30, 3 April 2021
Did you ever wonder how sir Robert Baden-Powell learned his scouting skills? Today's scouts in the The Gold Coast may know the answer:
1895 Ashanti Expedition
In 1895, Baden Powell (the Founder of Scouting) was sent to the Gold Coast to lead an expedition against Nana Prempeh I (King of the Asante tribe). He was sent here to raise a native force to augment the effort of the main British force to oppose the powerful Ashanti tribe. His first job was to make a road from the Coastal areas to the Kumasi (Capital of Asante).[1]
Baden Powell here learned a lot of important scouting skills:
- Pioneering in the jungle: Making a road through the jungle meant clearing the thick growth, laying roads through marshes, and constructing bridges over rivers and streams.
- Scout Patrols: From the people of Gold Coast (Now Ghana), Baden-Powell learnt the phrase "softly softlycatchee monkey" - and he learnt that he could get the best work out of his force by dividing it into small groups, or patrols, and giving responsibility to the captain of each group.
- The Scout Staff: This was copied from one used in the Ashanti campaign, to test the depths of swamps, to feel the way at night while secretly scouting out the enemy positions, and also used to hang telegraph wires from the branches of the jungle.
- Left handshake: There are two stories about the origin of the left handshake in Scouting. The first is simply that the left hand is closest to the heart. But there is also a much more interesting story, which comes from the Ashanti tribe itself.
When B-P entered the Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti, he was greeted by a warrior chief who held out his left hand. He told B-P "the bravest of the brave shake with the left hand." So began the left handshake which is used by millions of Scouts all over the world. The explanation of the left handshake is that a warrior uses the left hand to hold the shield, while the right hand holds the spears. So to show your trust in someone, you put down the shield and greet them by holding out your left hand.[2]