Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

i6CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTnone will repeat the error unless he be possessed bythe notion that he has nothing new to learn.Woodcraft may be defined as the art of findingone's way In the wilderness and getting along wellby utilizing Nature's storehouse. When we saythat Daniel Boone, for example, was a masterwoodsman, we mean that he could confidently enteran unmapped wilderness, with no outfit but whatwas carried by his horse, his canoe, or on his ownback, and with the Intention of a protracted stay;that he could find his way through the dense forestwithout man-made marks to guide him; that heknew the habits and properties of trees and plants,and the ways of fish and game ; that he was a goodtrailer and a good shot; that he could dress gameand cure peltry, cook wholesome meals over an openfire, build adequate shelter against wind and rain,and keep himself warm through the bitter nights ofwinter—in short, that he knew how to utilize thegifts of Nature, and could bide comfortably In thewilderness without help from outside.When one travels with a guide, It is the guldenswoodcraft that pulls him through. When he goeson his own hook, he must play the woodsman himself.Woodcraft shows at its best when we "golight" through difficult and unknown country. Itssupreme test is In an emergency, when the equipment,or essential parts of It, have been lost ordestroyed through some disaster.As for book-learning in such an art, it is usefulonly to those who do not expect too much of it.No book can teach a man how to swing an axe orfollow a faint trail. Nor is it of much account toone who merely learns by rote, without using hisown wits and common sense as he follows the pages.Yet a good book is the best stepping-stone for abeginner. Without It he might bog and floundera long time without aim or method. It gives aclear idea of general principles. It can show, atleast, how not to do a thing—and there is a good