The chance of his judgment being erroneous to a small extent
is the same on the right hand as on the left, consequently his errors
tend to compensate each other. I wish some scientific traveller would
rigidly test the powers of good bushmen and find their "probable" angular
deviation from the true course under different circumstances. Their line
should be given to them, and they should be told to make smokes at
intervals. The position of these smokes could be easily mapped out by the
traveller.
The art of walking in a straight line is possessed in an eminent degree
by good ploughmen. They always look ahead, and let the plough take care
of itself.
To find the way down a Hill-side.--If on arriving at the steep edge of a
ridge, you have to take the caravan down into the plain, and it appears
that a difficulty may arise in finding a good way for it; descend first
yourself, as well as you can, and seek for a road as you climb back
again. It is far more easy to succeed in doing this as you ascend, than
as you descend: because when at the bottom of a hill, its bold bluffs and
precipices face you, and you can at once see and avoid them: whereas at
the top, these are precisely the parts that you overlook and cannot see.
Blind Paths.--Faintly-marked paths over grass (blind paths) are best seen
from a distance.
Lost in a Fog.--Napoleon, when riding with his staff across a shallow arm
of the Gulf of Suez, was caught in a fog: he utterly lost his way, and
found himself in danger.
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