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296   Art of Travel.

exert a strong control over himself, for if he gives way to terror, and wanders wildly about hither and thither, he will do no good and exhaust his vital powers much sooner. He should erect some signal-as conspicuous a one as he canwith something fluttering upon it, sit down in the shade, and, listening keenly for any sound of succour, bear his fate like a man. His ultimate safety is merely a question of time, for he is sure to be searched for ; and, if he can keep alive for two or three days, he will, in all probability, be found and saved. (To relieve thirst, p. 223; hunger, p. 197, 17.)


Theory.-When you discover you are lost, ask yourself the following three questions : they comprise the A B C of the art of pathfinding, and I will therefore distinguish them by the letters A, B, and C respectively :

A. What is the least distance that I can with certainty specify, within which the caravan-path, the river, or the seashore, that I wish to regain, lies ?

B. What is the direction, in a vague general way, towards which the path or river runs, or the sea-coast tends ?

C. When I last left the path, did I turn to the left or to the right.

As regards A, calculate coolly how long you have been riding or walking, and at what pace, since you left your party ; subtract for stoppages and well-recollected zigzags ; allow a mile and a half per hour for the pace when you have been loitering on foot, and three and a half when you have been walking fast. Bear in mind that occasional running makes an almost inappreciable difference ; and that a man is always much nearer to the lost path, than he is inclined to fear.

As regards B, if the man knows the course of the path to within eight points of the compass (or one-fourth of the whole horizon), it is a great gain ; or even if he knows B to within twelve points, say 120°, or one-third of the whole horizon, his knowledge is available. For instance, let us suppose a man's general idea of the run of the path to be, that it goes in a northerly and southerly direction : then if he is also positive that the path does not deviate more than to the N.E. on the one side of that direction, or to the N.W. on the other, he

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