By the "Lost Children" Jim Bridger meant the Pleiades. These stars, forming a cluster or nebula, sink below the western horizon in the spring and do not appear in the sky again until autumn; and the following is the reason why. They were once six children in a Blackfeet camp. The Blackfeet hunters had killed many buffalo, and among them some buffalo calves. The little yellow hides of the buffalo calves were given to the children of the camp to play with, but six of the children were poor and did not get any. The other children made much fun of the six, and plagued them so that they drove them out of the camp. After wandering ashamed and afraid on the prairie, the six finally were taken up into the sky. So they are not seen in the spring and summer, when the buffalo calves are yellow; but in the autumn and winter, when the buffalo calves are black, they come out.

Nearly everybody can see the six stars of the Pleiades, and good eyesight can make out seven. By turning the head and gazing sideways the seven are made plainer. An English girl has eyesight so remarkable that she has counted twelve.

The Western Indians have had names for many of the stars and the planets and the constellations, and the night sky has been of much company and use to them and to the old plainsmen and mountaineers, just as it was to Jim Bridger at this time.

Mars is "Big-Fire-Star"; Jupiter is "Morning Star," or when evening star is "The Lance"; Venus is "Day Star," because sometimes it is so bright that it can be seen in the day. Scouts should know by the almanac what is the morning star, and then when it rises over the camp or the trail they are told that morning is at hand.

Note 43, page 110: Sunday comes to the trail, to the mountains and plains and field and forest, just as often as to the town and the farm. The Scout will feel much better, mentally and physically, when he observes Sunday. This one day in the seven can be made different by a change from the ordinary routine: by a good cleaning up; by only a short march, just enough for exercise; by a whole day in camp, if possible; by an avoidance of harm to bird or beast; by some especial arrangement, which will say, "This is Sunday." The real Jedediah Smith, fur-hunter and explorer, found as much profit in his Bible as in his rifle, amidst the wilderness; and the Scout of to-day should include the Bible in the outfit. It reads well out in the great open, it is full of nature lore of sky and water and earth, and it is a great comforter and sweetener of trail and camp.

CHAPTER X

Note 44, page 112: The smoke signal has been in use for many, many years. The Indians of the West used it much, and whenever an army detachment or other strangers traversed the plains and the hills their course was marked by the smoke signals of Indian scouts. To make smoke signals, first a moderate blaze is started; then damp or green stuff is piled on, for a smudge; and the column of smoke is cut into puffs by a blanket or coat held over like a cup and suddenly jerked off. A high place should be selected for the smoke signal, so as to distinguish it from the ordinary camp-fire, which is not as a rule made on a high place,—that is, in hostile country. A still day is necessary for accurate smoke signaling. This signaling is being recommended for the United States Forestry Service, so that Rangers and Guards can telegraph warnings and news by the Morse or the Army and Navy alphabet. A short puff would be the dot, a long puff the dash; or one short puff would be "1," two short puffs close together "2," and a long puff "3." This Army and Navy code is explained under Note 48.

The Indians had secret codes, for the smoke signals; and used dense smokes and thin smokes, both. Green pine and spruce and fire boughs raise a thick black smoke.

In army scouting on the plains the following signals were customary:

"Wish to communicate." Three smokes side by side.

"Enemy discovered." Two puffs, repeated at fifteen-minute intervals. Boy Scouts need not have the intervals so long. One minute is enough, for a standard.

"Many enemy discovered." Three puffs, at intervals.

"Come to council," or "Join forces." Four puffs, repeated.

"March to the north." Two smokes, of two puffs each.

"March to the south." Two smokes, of three puffs each.

"March to the east." Three smokes, of two puffs each.

"March to the west." Three smokes, of three puffs each.

Plainsmen and woodsmen understand the following signals also:

"Camp is here." One smoke, one puff at intervals.

"Help. I am lost." Two fires, occasional single puffs.

"Good news." Three steady smokes.

Scouts' patrols can invent their own code of smokes, by number of smokes, by puffs, and by intervals between puffs. Of course, the single fire is much more easily managed by one person.

Note 45, page 116: The Red Fox Scouts probably carried with them a liquid carbolic and antiseptic soap, which comes put up in small bottles with patent shaker stoppers. A few drops of this in some water makes a splendid wash for wounds, and is harmless. Druggists and surgical supply stores can furnish Scouts with this soap. Being non-poisonous, good for a gargle as well as for external use, it is superior to many other antiseptic washes. A spool of surgeons' adhesive tape, say three-quarter inch wide, a roll of sterilized absorbent cotton, and a roll of sterilized gauze will of course be included in the Scouts' first-aid kit.

CHAPTER XI

Note 46, page 124: Bichloride of mercury is a strong antiseptic, and much favored for disinfecting dishes and other vessels used by sick people. It is convenient to carry, in a form known as Bernay's tablets. They come white or blue, and one is dissolved in water to make a solution. They are very poisonous, internally, and Scouts must look out that none of the solution enters the stomach. Of course, there are many antiseptic substances for washing wounds: potash and borax are good, especially in the form of potassium permanganate and boric acid. Anything in a tablet or a powdery form is easier to pack than anything in a liquid form. Wounds must be kept surgically clean, which means "aseptic" or perfectly free of poisoning microbes, or else there may be blood-poisoning. So Scouts should be careful that their fingers and whatever else touches a wound also are surgically clean, by being washed well in some antiseptic. Cloths and knife blades, etc., can be made clean by being boiled for ten minutes.

CHAPTER XII

Note 47, page 133: When a Scout would climb a tree which looks hard, particularly a large-trunk tree, he can work a scheme by connecting his ankles with a soft rope or a handkerchief, or the like, measuring about two thirds around the trunk. Then when he hitches up along the trunk he gets a splendid purchase. Several strands of rope are better than one, so that they will not slip. And if the rope or cloth is wet, it will stick better.

Note 48, page 140: All Scouts should know how to wigwag messages. There are three alphabets which may be used in telegraphing by wigwagging with a flag or with the cap: the American Morse, such as is used in this country by the regular telegraph, the Continental Morse, and the Army and Navy. The American Morse is dots and dashes and spaces; but the Continental Morse is different, because it does not have any spaces. It is employed in Europe and in submarine cable work. The United States Army and Navy have their own wigwag alphabet, which is named the Myer alphabet, in compliment to Brevet Brigadier-General Albert J. Myer, the first chief signal officer of the Army, appointed in 1860. Commonly the system is known as the Army and Navy.

Scouts will find that knowing the American Morse or dot-and-dash telegraph signs will be of much value because these can be used both in wigwag and in electric-wire work; but Scouts to be of assistance to their country in military time must know the Army and Navy alphabet, which is easier to learn.

Instead of the dot and the dash and the space, the figures 1, 2, and 3 are used. The figure 1, like the wigwag dot, is a quick sweep of the flag to the right, from the perpendicular to the level of the waist, or one quarter of a circle. The figure 2 is a similar sweep to the left. The figure 3 is a "front," or sweeping the flag straight down, before, and instantly returning it to the upright again. The perpendicular or upright is the beginning of every motion. The "front" ends things: words, sentences, messages, etc.

Here is the Army and Navy alphabet: "A," you see, would be dip to left, and return; to left, and return. "B," a left, a right, a right, and a left.

A 22 B 2112 C 121 D 222 E 12 F 2221 G 2211 H 122 I 1 J 1122 K 2121 L 221 M 1221 N 11 O 21 P 1212 Q 1211 R 211 S 212 T 2 U 112 V 1222 W 1121 X 2122 Y 111 Z 2222

FIGS.

1 1111 2 2222 3 1112 4 2221 5 1122 6 2211 7 1222 8 2111 9 1221 0 2112

ABBREVIATIONS

a is for after b before c can h have n not r are t the u you ur your w word wi with y yes 1112 tion

SIGNS

End of word 3 End of sentence 33 End of message 333 Numerals follow (or end) X X 3 Signature follows Sig 3 Error E E 3 I understand (O. K.) A A 3 Cease signaling A A A 333 Cipher follows (or ends) X C 3 Wait a moment 1111 3 Repeat after (word) C C 3 A 3 (give word) Repeat last word C C 33 Repeat last message C C C 333 Move little to right R R 3 Move little to left L L 3 Signal faster 2212 3 Permission granted P G 3 Permission not granted N G 3

The address in full of a message is considered as one sentence, ended by 3 or a "front," and return to perpendicular.

This Army and Navy alphabet is easier to read, because it does away with the pausing or lengthening of the motions, to make the spaces which help to form some of the Morse letters. Every letter is reeled straight off without a break.

Two flags are used in wigwagging. A white flag with a red square in the center is used against a dark background; a red flag with a white square in the center is used against the sky or against a mixed background. But of course in emergency anything must be tried, and for a short distance the Scout can use his hat or cap, or handkerchief, or even his arm alone. The motions should be sharp and quick and distinct, with a perpendicular between each motion and a "front" between words. The Army rate with the large service flag is five or six words a minute.

The beam of a searchlight is used just as a flag is used, to sweep upward for "perpendicular," downward for "front," and to right and to left. Another system of night signaling is by lantern or torch; but it should be swung from the knees up and out, for right or 1, up and out in opposite direction for left, or 2, and raised straight up for "front" or 3. Four electric lamps in a row, which flash red and white in various combinations, colored fires, bombs and rockets, also make night signals.

For daytime signaling the United States Army favors the mirror or heliograph (sun-writing) system. The 1 is a short flash, the 2 is two short flashes, the 3 is a long, steady flash. This system can be read through 100 and 150 miles.

The United States Navy employs a two-arm or a two-flag system, which by different slants and angles of the arms or flags signals by the Army and Navy code. It is called the Semaphore system—like the semaphore block signals of railroads. It is more convenient for windy weather, because the flags are shorter and smaller than the flags of the three-motion wigwag.

Scouts should have in their library a copy of the United States Signal Corps booklet, "Manual of Visual Signaling," which can be had at a small price from the Government Printing Office at Washington. This tells all about the different systems of day and night signaling, and shows alphabets, signal flags, codes, ciphers, and so forth.

The Indians of the plains and mountains have had systems of signaling as perfect as those of the Army and Navy. In early days of the Army on the plains, the Indians passed news along among themselves over long distances faster than it was passed by the military telegraph. They used a smoke code; and they used also mirror-flashes, blanket-waving, pony-running, foot-running, and hand gestures.

Their secret signals were never told; no threats or bribes could make an Indian divulge his tribal or his band code. Not even the white men who lived with the Indians could learn it. Once some Army officers watched a Sioux chief, posted on a little knoll, drill his red cavalry for an hour, without a word or a gesture; all he used was a little looking-glass held in the palm of his hand.

However, some of the signs were general. A tremulous motion or flash meant game or enemy. Several quick flashes, close together, meant "Come on." A beam to the left meant "By the left"; to the right meant "By the right."

When looking for buffalo, the number of flashes would tell how many bands of buffalo were sighted, and a quivering motion would bid the hunters to "Come on."

Scouts will find some blanket signs handy. If the blanket is too large to manage, fold it once.

"Who are you?" Hold the blanket by the two upper corners, in front, and bend with it far to the right and to the left.

"We want peace." Hold the blanket by the two upper corners, in front, and bending forward lay it flat upon the ground.

"Keep away," or "No." Hold up the blanket, grasping the two upper corners. Cross the arms, still with hands grasping the corners. Bring right arm back to front and right, almost opening the blanket again. Repeat.

"Go back" or "Hide." Hold up blanket by two corners opposite right shoulder, and swing it to right and down, several times.

"Alarm!" Toss the blanket several times, as high as possible.

"Something (or somebody) in sight." Hold up blanket by the two corners opposite right shoulder. Then swing the right corner around to left and to right. Repeat.

"Come on" or "Approach." Hold blanket up by two upper corners in front of the body. Swing the right arm and corner to the left. Repeat.

Pony-running signals are usually in a circle, or forward and backward, on the side of a hill or the crest. If the movements are fast, then the news is exciting and important. If they are made in full view of the surrounding country, then the danger is not close. If they are made under cover, then the danger is near. If they are made under cover and the rider suddenly stops and hides, then everybody must hide, or retreat, for the enemy is too strong. The bigger the movements, the more the enemy or the more the game. A dodging zigzag course shows that the scout is pursued or apt to be pursued. A furious riding back and forth along a crest means that a war party is returning successful. Boy Scouts can make the motions on foot, and by a code of circles and figure eights, etc., can signal many things.

Signals by the hand and arm alone are convenient to know.

"Who are you?" is made by waving the right hand to right and to left in quick succession.

"We are friends" is made by raising both hands and grasping the left with the right, as if shaking hands.

"We are enemies" is made by placing the right fist against the forehead, and turning it from side to side.

"Halt" or "Keep away" is made by raising the right hand, palm to the front, and moving it forward and back.

"Come" is made by raising right hand, back to front, and beckoning with a wide sweep forward and in again, repeating.

For distance two-arm signals are better than one-arm; and Scouts should have a short code in two-arms. Both arms stretched wide may mean "Go back" or "Halt"; both arms partly dropped may mean "No," partly raised may mean "Yes." And so on. These were plain signals.

Note 49, page 141: A sprain, such as a sprained wrist or ankle, for instance, is a serious injury, and must not be made light of or neglected. If not properly and promptly treated, it is likely to leave the cords or ligaments permanently weak. When treatment may begin at once, the injured joint should be laid bare, even if by cutting the shoe instead of unlacing it and pulling it off, and the coldest water should be applied lavishly. The joint may well be plunged into an icy spring or stream, or held under a running faucet. If the joint can be kept elevated, so that the blood will not flow into it so readily, so much the better.

If some distance has to be covered before the injured person arrives in reach of treatment, the shoe might as well remain on, to act as a bandage and a support—although it probably will have to be cut off later. If the joint is not the ankle joint, a tight, stout bandage should be fastened around. Nobody should try to step upon his sprained ankle or use his sprained wrist, or whatever joint it may be.

After swelling has set in very hot water is said to be superior to very cold water; the very hot and the very cold have much the same effect, anyway. But the water application should be kept up for at least twenty-four hours, and the wounded place must not be moved one particle for several days. When the time comes to move it, it should be wrapped with a supporting bandage.

General Ashley probably had a hard time with his neglected ankle.

CHAPTER XIII

Note 50, page 147: The cache (which is a French word and is pronounced "cash") or hiding-place is a genuine scout invention. Long ago the trappers and traders of the plains and mountains, when they had more pelts or more supplies than they could readily carry, would "cache" them. The favorite way was to dig a hole, and gradually enlarge it underground, like a jug. The dirt was laid upon a blanket and emptied into a stream, so that it would not be noticed. Then the hole was lined with dry sticks or with blankets, the pelts or supplies were packed inside, and covered with buffalo robe or tarpaulin; and the earth was tamped in solidly. Next a fire was built on top, that the ashes might deceive Indians and animals. Or the tent or lodge was erected over the spot for a few days. At any rate, all traces of the hiding-place were wiped out, and landmarks were noted well.

It was considered a serious offense for one white man to molest the cache of another white man, unless to save his own life. And to rob a cache of the furs was worse than stealing horses.

All caches were not alike. Some were holes, others were caves into banks. When Scouts of to-day make a cache, they must record the location exceedingly well and close, or they are apt to lose the spot. It seems very easy to remember trees and rocks and all; but anybody who has laid a rabbit down, while he chased another, and then has thought to go straight and pick it up again—or anybody who has searched for a golf-ball when he knew exactly where it lit—will realize that a cache may be very tricky.

Note 51, page 152: The homeopathic preparation of aconite is highly recommended by many woodsmen and other travelers as a good thing to have in the trail medicine kit. A few drops will kill a fever or a cold. Dover's Powder (in small doses, by causing perspiration and thus checking a fever or throwing off a cold), quinine, calomel (for biliousness and to clean out the intestines when they are clogged with waste and mucus), Epsom salts or castor oil (to clean out the bowels also), an emetic, like sirup of ipecac (to empty the stomach quickly in case of emergency), some mustard for making a plaster for the chest (in croupiness or cold inside the chest), or for mixing with warm water to make an emetic, extract of ginger or sirup of ginger (for summer complaint and griping looseness of the bowels if long continued), perhaps some soda mint tablets (for sour stomach caused by overeating), are other simple remedies. Of course the Scout should learn to read the little clinical thermometer, and one should be carried in the trail kit.

It is much better to know exactly how to use a few simple standard remedies, than to experiment with a lot of powerful drugs and very likely make terrible mistakes. To give a medicine without being certain just why and just what it will do is as bad as pointing a gun at somebody without knowing whether or not it is loaded. Doctors study hard for years, before they begin to practice; and Scouts cannot expect to make doctors of themselves in a few months. Head cool, feet warm, bowels open, moderate eating—these are United States Army rules, and Scouts' rules too. "An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure"! Scouts who take care of their bodies properly will rarely need medicine, and should be proud of the fact.

Note 52, page 153: In 1909, in California alone, out of 388 forest fires 243, or almost two thirds, were caused by human beings' carelessness; and 119, or almost one third, were caused by camp-fires! The money loss to the state was $1,000,000; but this was not all the damage. A forest, or a single tree, is not replaced in a year, or in ten years; and the stately evergreen trees grow slowest of all.

California claims that if a few plain rules were observed, in that state alone 500 out of 575 forest fires would not occur. Some of these rules are:

1. Never throw aside matches, or lighted or smoldering stuff, where anything can possibly catch from it.

2. Camp-fires should be as small as will serve. (Most campers build fires too large, and against trees or logs whence they will be sure to spread.)

3. Don't build fires in leaves, rotten wood or sawdust, or pine needles.

4. Don't build fires against large or hollow logs where it is hard to see that they are not put out. They eat in.

5. Don't build fires under low evergreens, or where a flame may leap to a branch, or sparks light upon a branch.

6. In windy weather and in dangerous places camp-fires should be confined in trenches, or an open spot be chosen and the ground first cleared of all vegetable matter.

7. Never leave a fire, even for a short time, until you are certain that it is out. Wet it thoroughly, to the bottom, or else stamp it out and pile on sand or dirt.

8. Never pass by a fire in grass, brush, or timber, which is unguarded and which you can see is likely to spread. Extinguish it; or if it is beyond your control, notify the nearest ranch, town, or forest official.

These regulations are for Boy Scouts to remember and to observe, no matter where the trail leads.

CHAPTER XIV

Note 53, page 161: A fire line is a cleared strip, sometimes only ten, sometimes, where the brush is thick, as much as sixty feet wide, running through the timber and the bushes, as a check to the blaze. An old wood-road, or a regular wagon-road, or a logging-trail, or a pack-trail is used as a fire line, when possible; but when a fire line must be cleared especially, it is laid from bare spot to bare spot and along the tops of ridges. A fire travels very fast up-hill, but works slowly in getting across. Scouts should remember this important fact: The steeper the hill, the swifter the fire will climb it.

There are three kinds of forest fires: Surface fires, which burn just the upper layer of dry leaves and dry grass, brush, and small trees; ground fires, which burn deep amidst sawdust or pine needles or peat; and crown fires, which travel through the tops of the trees. Fires start as surface fires, and then can be beaten out with coats and sacks and shovels, and stopped by hoe and spade and plow. The ground fire does not look dangerous, but it is, and it is hard to get at. Crown fires are surface fires which have climbed into the trees and are borne along in prodigious leaps by the wind. They are the most vicious and the worst to fight.

The duty of Scouts is to jump upon a surface fire and kill it before it becomes a sly ground fire or a raving crown fire.

Note 54, page 171: Even the best surgeons nowadays "fuss" with deep wounds as little as possible. They clean the deep wound, by washing it as well as they can, to remove dirt and other loose foreign particles; then they cover gently with a sterilized pad, and bandage, to keep microbes away, and Nature does the rest. In the days when our fathers were boys, salves and arnica and all kinds of messy stuff were used; but the world has found that all Nature asks is a chance to go ahead, herself, without interference.

Unless a bullet, even, is lodged where it irritates a nerve or a muscle or disturbs the workings of some organ of the body, the surgeon is apt to let it stay, until Nature has tried to throw a wall about it and enclose it out of the way.

So the less a Scout pokes at a deep wound, the better. He can wash it out with hot water, and maybe can pick out particles of visible dirt or splinters with forceps which have been boiled for ten minutes. Then he can bandage it loosely, and wait for Nature or a surgeon.

CHAPTER XVI

Note 55, page 186: The Elks by this time had lost their pack-saddles and panniers, which had been cached with other stuff after the two burros were stolen by the renegades. They had lost also their lash ropes with the cinchas; so that it was necessary to throw some pack-hitch that did not require a cincha and hook. One of the easiest of such hitches is the squaw-hitch. The tarps were spread out and the camp stuff was folded in so that the result was a large, soft pad, with nothing to hurt Apache's back. Then the hitch was thrown with one of the ropes, as follows:



Figure I is a double bight, which is laid over the top of the pack, so that the two loops hang, well down, half on each side. "X"-"Y" is the animal's back. Take the end of the rope, "c," and pass it under the animal's belly, and through loop "a" on the other side; pass rope end "d" under and through loop "b," the same way. Next bring them back to the first side again, and through the middle place "e," as shown by dotted lines of Figure II. Keep all the ropes well separated, where they bite into the pack and into the animal's stomach, and draw taut, and fasten with a hitch at "e." The result will look like Figure III.

The diamond hitch can be tied by using a loop instead of the cincha hook.

Note 56, page 193: Pack animals and saddle-horses do much better on the trail if they can be permitted to graze free, or only hobbled. They like to forage about for themselves, and usually will eat more and better grass than when tied by a picket rope. During the first three or four days out, horse or mule is apt to wander back to the home pasture. Hobbles can be bought or made. When bought, they are broad, flexible strips of leather about eighteen inches long, with cuffs which buckle around each fore leg above the hoof. Hobbles can be made on the spot by twisting soft rope from fore leg to fore leg and tying the ends by lapping in the middle.

It is safer to picket a horse by a rope upon the neck rather than upon the leg. He is not so apt to injure himself by pulling or running. A picket rope is forty feet long. To loop it securely about the neck, measure with the end about the neck, and at the proper place along the rope tie a single knot; knot the end of the rope, and passing it about the neck thrust the knotted end through the single knot. Here is a loop that cannot slip and choke the horse, and can easily be untied.

Sometimes the loose end of the picket rope may be fastened to a tree, or to a bush. A horse should be picketed out from trees, or in the center of an open space, so that he cannot wind the rope about a tree and hold himself too short to graze. Sometimes the free end is fastened to a stake or picket-pin driven into the ground. But if there is no pin, and no tree or bush is handy, then a "dead-man" may be used. This is an old scout scheme. The rope is tied to a stick eighteen inches long, or to a bunch of sticks, or to a bunch of brush, or to a stone; and this buried a foot and a half or two feet, and the earth or sand tamped upon it. Thus it is wedged fast against any ordinary pull. By this scheme a horse may be picketed out on the bare desert.

When an animal is allowed to graze free, a good plan is to have a loose rope twenty or thirty feet in length trail from his neck as he grazes. This is another scout scheme, used by Indians, trappers, and cowboys. When the animal declines to be bridled or grasped by the mane, the trailing rope usually can be caught up. Indians and trappers when riding depended much upon this trailing rope, so that when thrown they could grab it instantly, and mount again.

CHAPTER XVII

Note 57, page 206: Flowers as well as animals have their place and their rights; and they as well as the animals help to make the great out-of-doors different from the in-doors. A Scout never destroys anything uselessly or "for fun."

Note 58, page 211: Scouts should learn how to repair dislocations of the jaw, the finger, and the shoulder, as these are the least difficult and the most frequent. A dislocation can be told from a fracture of the bone by a twisting of the hand or the foot, and by a shortening or a lengthening of the arm or leg, according to whether the head of the bone has slipped up from the socket, or down. And there is neither feeling nor sound of the broken bones grating against each other. But never go ahead blindly.

A Scout who dislocates his own hip, far from help, should try lashing his leg to a tree, and on his back, clasping another tree, should pull himself forward with all his strength. But a dislocation of the knee is much more delicate to manage, and with that or a dislocated elbow the Scout can contrive to get to a surgeon.

Note 59, page 214: Yes, Scouts can always manage. The quickest way to make a blanket stretcher is to double the blanket, tie each pair of corners with a non-slipping knot, and pass a pole through the fold on one edge and through the knotted corners of the other. The quickest way to make a coat stretcher is to take two coats, turn the sleeves of one or of both inside, lay the coats inside up, or sleeves up, with the tails touching at the edges. Thrust a pole through each line of sleeves, and button each coat over the poles.

Three or four belts or other straps such as camera straps slung between poles form an emergency litter or seat; and a man who can sit up can be carried in a chair made by a pole or rifle thrust through the sleeves of a coat, and the coat-tail tied fast to another pole or rifle.

When an injured person is too sore to be moved from blanket to litter, an old scout method is this: Three cross-pieces or short poles are lashed to connect the two long poles or side poles. One short piece forms each end and one crosses the middle, thus:



This frame is lowered over the patient, and the blanket that he is on is fastened to its edges. Then when the litter is ready, he is in it already! The middle cross-piece is handy for him to grasp, for steadying himself.

Small stones rolled in the corners of blankets make a purchase for the wrappings, and the knots will not slip.

Scouts may make chairs by clasping hands; but an easy way is to have the patient sit upon a short board or short pole resting in the hollow of the bearers' arms.

In smooth country, and when the sick or wounded person is not too badly off, the Indian and trapper "travois" or horse litter may be employed. Two elastic poles about fifteen feet long are united by cross-pieces, ladder style; and with two ends slung one upon either side of the horse, and the other two ends dragging, are trailed along behind the horse. The poles should be springy, so as to lessen the jar from rough places.

If there is another steady horse, the rear ends of the litter can be slung upon it, instead of resting on the ground. This is another old scout and Indian method.

CHAPTER XVIII

Note 60, page 216: "Jerked" meat is another genuinely scout institution, and has been well known to Indians and trappers and hunters in the West since early times. The air of the Western plains and mountains is very dry and pure. Venison or bear-meat or beef, when raw may be cut into strips two fingers wide, a half or three quarters of an inch thick, and six or seven inches long, and hung up in the sun. In about three days it is hard and leathery, and may be carried about until eaten. It may be eaten by chewing at it as it is, or it may be fried. Scouts will find that, while traveling, a couple of slices of this jerked meat, chewed and swallowed, keeps up the strength finely.

When a camp is in a hurry, the meat may be strung over a slow fire, to make it dry faster; and it may be cured faster yet by smoking, as the Elks cured it. Some persons use salt; and if they have time they sprinkle the pile of strips, when fresh, with salt, and fold them in the animal's green hide, to pickle and sweat for twenty-four hours. But salt is not needed; and of course the Indians and the old-time scout trappers never had salt. Trappers sometimes used a sprinkle of gunpowder for salt; and that is an army makeshift, too.

After a buffalo hunt the Indian villages were all festooned with jerked meat, strung on scaffolds and among the teepees. Traders and emigrants jerked the meat by stringing it along the outside of their wagons and drying it while on the move.

Note 61, page 217: This is the Indian and trapper method of dressing skins, and is easy for any Scout of to-day. The skin is stretched, hair side down, between pegs, or over a smooth bowlder or log, while it is fresh or green, and with a knife or bone, not too sharp, is scraped until the mucus-like thin inner coating is scraped away. This is called "graining." In the old-time scout's lodge or camp there always was a "graining block"—a smooth stump or log set up for the pelts to fit over while being scraped. Do not scrape so deep as to cut the roots of the hair. Next the pelt is dried. Then it is covered with a mixture of the brains and pure water, and soaked, and it is rubbed and worked with both hands until the brains have been rubbed in and until the skin is rubbed dry and soft. Next it is laid over a willow frame, or hung up, open, and smoked for twelve hours or so. Now it is soft and unchangeable, forever.

When white clay or gypsum was near, the Indians would mix that with water until the fluid was the color of milk and four times as thick. Before the skin was smoked it was smeared plentifully with this, and allowed to dry. Then it was rubbed a long time, until it was soft and flexible and the clay had all been rubbed away. This took out the stains and made the skin white.

Note 62, page 222: Aluminum is not dangerous to cook in. Tin sometimes unites with acids in foods, or in certain liquids, and gives off a poison. Tin also rusts, but aluminum does not. And aluminum is much the lighter in weight, and is a better heat conductor, therefore cooking quicker.

Note 63, page 223: "Levez!" is what the old-time scouts-trappers ought to have said. It is the French for "Rise! Get up!" But some trappers said "Leve! Leve!" and some called "Lave!" thinking that they were using the Spanish verb "Lavar," meaning to wash.

CHAPTER XIX

Note 64, page 236: Scouts should bear in mind that practically every illness demands a cleaning out of the bowels, by a prompt laxative or by a mild cathartic, in the very beginning. This carries off the poisons that feed the illness. And Scouts should bear in mind that for a pain which indicates appendicitis, an ice-cold pack and not a hot pack is the proper application. The ice-cold pack drives the blood away from the appendix, and keeps it more normal until the surgeon can arrive. A hot pack draws the blood to the region and congests or swells the appendix all the more. Irritated thus, the appendix is apt to burst. The prompt attention to the bowels is always necessary.

CHAPTER XX

Note 65, page 251: In the dark a horse or mule will smell out the trail where other horses and mules have passed. The mule has been supposed to have a better nose than the horse, for trails and for water—and for Indians. In the camps of emigrants and trappers and other overland travelers, of the old days, the mules would smell approaching Indians and give the alarm.

CHAPTER XXI

Note 66, page 260: Among the Western Indians their scouts were especially selected young men, and these were likened to wolves. They were instructed "to be wise as well as brave; to look not only to the front, but to the right and left, behind them, and at the ground; to watch carefully the movements of all wild animals, from buffalo to birds; to wind through ravines and the beds of streams; to walk on hard ground or where there is grass, so as to leave no trail; to move with great care so as not to disturb any wild animals; and to return with much speed should they discover anything to report." When the scout returned with news of a war-party, he howled like a wolf.

"To scout" was the wolf sign, with the hand turning to right and to left and downward, like wolf ears pricking in all directions.

THE END