The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1911-01-05
Points on "Getting There" Over
Rough Territory by Man Who
Knows the Game in All Its
Stages.
BY @. l.. Gilman

The ability to find his way about
is one of the chief qualifications
of a scout in both peace and war.
You fellows have already had
lessons in two important elements
of this art-finding directions with
or without a compass and in meas
uring and estimating distance.
l think | can assum e that you
fellows have learned in school to
know the conventional markings
by which lakes, rivers and roads,
are set down on maps. You also
know that north is at the top of
the map. Swamps are indicated
by line defining teir boundaries
and enclosing a number of figures
suggesting tuft of grass growing |
out of a puddle of water, You Will
find plenty of such marks on the
accompanying map.
Local maps are laid out IN
squares, representing the sec
tions" into which the government!
surveys the land. A township is
six miles on each side. A section
Is mile each way. So there are
SO sections in a township. These
sections are numbered, beginning
with the one in the northeast or
upper right-hand orrer of the may
and counting west (lef) on the
top row, east (right) on the sec
ond row, and SO on. 1t is very
convenient to understand this
system, for then 1t will Eiean SOME
thing when a place is described to
you as being on a certain section. |
The may shown here is made up
of the corners of four township
maps, as they appeared when l.
pasted them together for use as a
hunting map. To make such map
1t is best to paste your paper
township maps on piece of cloth,
leaving a space between them for
folding.
The cross with a ring around it'll
on section "a in the upper left-I
hand quarter of the map indicates
the cabin of a .crackerjack woods
man-his real name is Callahan,
but they call him Paddy-the-Bird
because of his great skill in jump
ing from one log to another when
he used to work on the great
drives of logS-who let's me GOMEZ
up and bother him during the
hunting season.
The first time we went out to-
gether this fall, Paddy decided
that 1t would be a wise thing forI
me to hunt straight across FROM
| his cabin to where Bass creek
flows into Elbow river, while hel
went east along the road and theI
north shore of Paddy's lake andI
then north to join ne. w. It'll
had maps, only he carried his in
his head, while l carried mine in
my pocket.
You will see that all had to do
was to run northeast until l got
there. The going was hard, the
country a tangle of hard granite
hills and dense balsam thickets,
and the day was dark, so | had tol
rely constantly upon my compass.
At noon we met at the appointed
place and went down the Elbow
rover a piece to get dinner at the
shack of homseteader who lived
on the north bank of the river
close to the west line of thel
southeast quarter of section "a.
See IL you can find the place.
When it comes to finding your
way out when lost, your knowledgeI
of direction will help you little
unless you have a map, either in
your head or in your pocket, tol
show you which way "out" is.
For instance, all the country
shown in this map lies east of a
railroad which runs north andl
south. So IL 1 wer lost anywhere
in it would know at once thatl
If ! started west and kept going l II
would finally reach the track.
IL you had crossed to the north |
side of Elbow river in the morn
ing and had not recroesed it dur
ing the day, how would you steer
to find the river SO that you could H
follow it down to the road and 30
home?
II you were camped on Morn
ings lake and wanted to interceptll
a party of hostile scouts on thelI
portage-a trail ovor which boatsIl
are carried from one body OIL
water to another Indicated by all
dotted line) -between FriendlI
lake and Paddy's lake, what course
would you take to GOT there withIl
he least wallowing throughiI
,wamps?
Work out these problems and
hen set a few more for your-lI
'elves on this map. This the only
way to learn to use man and com- !!