The native boys of the Zulu and Swazi tribes learn to be Scouts before
they are allowed to be considered men, and they do it in this way:
When a boy is about fifteen or sixteen, he is taken by the men of his
village, stripped of all clothes, and painted white from head to foot,
and he is given a shield and one assegai or small spear, and he is
turned out of the village and told that he will be killed if anyone
catches him while he is still painted white.
So the boy has to go off into the jungle and mountains and hide
himself from other men until the white paint wears off, and this
generally takes about a month; so that all this time he has to look
after himself and stalk game with his one assegai, and kill it and cut
it up; he has to light his fire by means of rubbing sticks together in
order to cook his meat; he has to make the skin of the animal into a
covering for himself; and he has to know what kinds of wild roots,
berries, and leaves are good for food as vegetables.
If he is not able to do these things he dies of starvation, or is
killed by wild animals.
If he succeeds in keeping himself alive, and is able to find his way
back to his village, he returns when the white paint has worn off, and
is then received with great rejoicings by his friends and relatives,
and is allowed to become a soldier of the tribe, since he has shown
that he is able to look after himself.
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