That same sort of idea is to be found in other parts of the world. Even in our own country, not one hundred years ago, our sailors, before going into action with an enemy, always liked to wash and shave themselves, tie their pigtails nattily, and put on their best neckerchiefs. And even now in Canada the Cree Indians, when they are hunting a bear, put on their best clothes and decorate themselves before tackling the danger.
[Illustration: THE "SWASTIKA.">[
So you see we are all alike in some ways in different parts of the world. If you sneeze in Scotland people say: "God bless you." If you sneeze in Masailand (British East-Africa) a native will say: "Good health to you!"
There are hundreds of these little customs which are used by people in different corners of the earth who have never had anything to do with each other.
But perhaps the most wonderful of all is the sign of the "Swastika," which we Scouts use as our "Badge of Brotherhood."
Nobody knows the exact history of where it came from, or what it means; but it is found in almost every part of the world, and is very, very old.
Rudyard Kipling believes it was made by a man in ancient days, who put two twigs crossed on the ground and trod them down into the mud so as to leave a mark to act as a guide to others, like a Scout's ground-mark.
But another story is this:
Where the Atlantic Ocean now is, people in old days believed that there was a great land called Atlantis, which has since sunk under the sea.
This land was watered by four great rivers, which ran across the whole in different directions—north, south, east, and west. This cross is meant for the four rivers, and is the crest of the Continent of Atlantis.