Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

38 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFT—For instance: one time a big buck ran rightthrough camp while we were cooking dinner; in theflurry, everybody grabbed some other fellow's gun,somebody wounded the beast, and there was a longchase without the least preparation in the world.A-gain, we were all out picketing the mountain for abear drive; the bear avoided allthe likely crossingsand slipped by within fifty yards of camp. Nowsuppose you had been left there as camp-keeper forthe day. You snatch up a gun, fire, find blood onthe trail, follow it a couple of hours, and then"where are you at?"Aside from their value in emergencies, the compassand map are particularly useful to keep you out oftrouble. The best advice in the world is "Don't getlost." The only way to make reasonably sure ofthat is to mind your P's and Q's (or rather yourN and S) m advance. For example:Base Lines.—^You have camped in a pleasant bitof flat-woods, on the margin of a stream, at A (Fig.3 ) . In the morning you decide to go out by yourselffor a look-see, not hunting, of course, but just to geta good idea of the lay of the land.You know thatthe river runs north and south. Simplest thing inthe world, then, to tramp eastward a couple of hours,and return in time for dinner. You can't cross thatriver without knowing it, and camp is right on theriver bank, you know.The forest is fairly open for the first mile or soand you steer an approximately straight course.Then you strike bogs and thickets, not bad ones norbig ones, but just enough to make you average yourwindings by glancing at the compass now and then.Presently the going is better, and you continue nearlystraight east until you reach B, when it is time toreturn. You are sure that your course has beenalmost due east, and that you are about four milesfrom camp. You take compass bearings due westas far as you can see out, and back you .^o. Bu/