(...)" Introduction " THE Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp," to which the present volume is in the nature of a sequel, was written to demonstrate what may be accomplished by the application of Boy Scout principles where boys are thrown in constant contact with one another, as in a large school or camp, and at the same time to stimulate in boy readers a desire to learn for themselves the great lessons of manliness and self-reliance, of true courage and of purity and clear thinking and living which Mother Nature is ever ready to teach those who seek her in her own great temples. In " The Boy Scouts on Swift River " I have endeavored to show the direct application of the lessons learned in Woodcraft Camp, and for this reason I have chosen four of Dr. Merriam's boys, three with whom you are already well acquainted if you have read the first book, and one who is a " tenderfoot," to face the test of self-dependence in a canoe cruise on unfamiliar waters. I am well aware that certain old hunters and perhaps some naturalists may accuse me of " stretching the truth" in regard to the boldness of the bull moose in inflicting his society upon the young cruisers. For this reason I want to say here that the incident is literally true in the main points, as I myself was one of the victims of his undesired attentions, and prize to-day as among the choicest of all my photographs those made of his royal highness on that memorable occasion. One of the great charms of the wilderness is the continual encounter with the unexpected. The true Scout is " prepared " to meet such situations and to do the right thing instinctively, but to be thus prepared he must have learned the value and blessing of self-dependence. The boy who has never been forced to stand squarely on his own feet, who has never met an emergency for himself, alone and with the full knowledge that he has none to whom to turn, will seldom become a leader either in boyhood or manhood.(...)"