Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

PATHFINDING 45in a countr}'^ so rough that your comrades may haveto pack you out, by each, in turn, carrying you onhis own back and crawling w^ith you.Where there is no foot-log, a narrow stream maybe crossed by using a jumping-pole, or^ if it is toodeep for that, by a rope or vine swung from an overhangingtree and doubled back.Before fording, if the weather is cold, take offtrousers and drawers and tie them to your pack, butkeep your shoes on, lest you slip on smooth rocks.If the stream is swift, cut a stout pole, longer thanyourself, with which to sound ahead of j^ou and tobrace yourself against the current by planting itdownstream at each step.In flat country the shallowest part of a streamis usually where the near bank makes the longest,sharpest point, and it runs diagonally toward aprojection of the opposite bank, either up or downstream.The widest part of a river generally isthe shallowest. The inside of a sharp bend is deep.In swift-flowing streams look for fords above therifl^es.Fording swift water iseasiest with a heavy packto help hold one down ; but sling it so it will slipoff if you stumble—otherwise it may drown you.Several men in company can cross a stream too swiftfor one at a time, if they cut a long pole and crossabreast, holding the pole horizontally in front ofthem with each man grasping it.The heaviest manshould be on the downstream side.To avoid mud and quicksand, look for pebbles onthe bottom.Use of Divides.—Rivers are often spoken of a?having been man's natural highways in the daysbefore roads. This was true only to a limited extent.A few great rivers such as the Hudson, theOhio, the Mississippi, and the Missouri, were highwaysfor down-stream travel, and smaller waterwayswere, and still are, used in summer in the muskegcountry of the North, where land travel is imprac-