in 1896, during the second matabele war, baden-powell first met and became friends with the american-born british army chief of scouts frederick russell burnham. from burnham he learned the ways of cowboy and indian scouts of the western united states, he started to wear a scout hat like the one worn by burnham and he discussed with burnham a scout training programme for boys. three years later during the second boer war, baden-powell was besieged in the small town of mafeking by a much larger boer army (the siege of mafeking). the mafeking cadet corps was a group of youths that supported the troops. the cadets carried messages. this freed the men for military duties. it also kept the boys occupied during the long siege. the cadet corps performed well, helping in the defence of the town (1899–1900). this experience was one of the many factors that inspired baden-powell to form the scouting movement. each member received a badge that showed a combined compass point and spearhead. the badge's logo was similar to the fleur-de-lis that scouting later adopted as its international symbol.