These plans start from Boy Scouts Handbook, the 1911 first edition, now in the public domain and free at Project Gutenberg. We call them 1911 scouting skills; this site has no link to any scouting organization. Where 1911 advice is out of date or unsafe, such as old first aid, each plan says what changed and follows today's guidance from the Red Cross, CDC, Forest Service or Park Service.
Tie a clove hitch and two half hitches
Two classic 1911 scouting knots for tying a rope to a pole or post, then a dish towel clothesline to show off the work.
Join two ropes with a sheet bend
The figure-eight and the sheet bend from the 1911 scouting handbook: a stopper knot, and a way to join two ropes into one.
Send secret words with the wig-wag code
A three-motion flag code from 1911. Send a secret word across the room with a dish towel, and learn the signal for help today.
Spell your name in semaphore flags
Learn how semaphore letters are grouped in the 1911 scouting handbook, then spell names across the room with two paper flags.
Make a family whistle and hand-signal code
Hand signals and whistle calls from 1911, a family code of your own, and the three-blast signal for real help.
Play Kim's game: remember the tray
Study a tray of 15 small things for one minute, cover it, and write down what you remember. A 1911 scouting game.
Find the North Star with the Big Dipper
Follow the Big Dipper's two pointer stars to Polaris. Find north without a compass, as the 1911 woodsmen did.
Find south with an analog watch
Point the hour hand at the sun and find south halfway to 12. A 1911 trick, checked against a real compass.
Measure a tree with its shadow
Measure a tree with a stick, a tape and arithmetic. The 1911 shadow method works on any sunny day.
Build and put out a small campfire
Tinder, kindling, fuel, a bucket of water and a shovel. Build a small fire in layers, then put it fully out.
Read tracks in mud, sand or snow
Make a trail in soft ground, read its direction and speed, then look for real tracks. Stop well before you reach any animal.
First aid: press, cover, call
Practice stopping bleeding on a stuffed animal: press, cover, call 911 when it's serious. Today's advice, not 1911's.
Worth knowing
- Build fires only where they're allowed, away from overhanging branches and dry grass, never leave one alone, and put it out with water until it's cold to the touch. Source: National Park Service, Grand Teton fire safety, checked Oct 15, 2026.
- To judge how far away lightning is, count the seconds from flash to thunder and divide by 5 for miles. If thunder follows within 30 seconds, get to shelter. Source: National Weather Service, lightning facts, checked Oct 15, 2026.
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