At all event, do not make the matter
doubly perplexing by wandering further. Mark the place very distinctly
where you discover yourself at fault, that it may be the centre of your
search. Be careful to ride in such places as will preserve your tracks.
Break twigs if you are lost in a woodland: if in the open country, drag a
stick to make a clear trail. Marks scratched on the ground to tell the
hour and day that you passed by, will guide a relieving party. A great
smoke is useful for the same purpose and is visible for a long distance.
(See "Signals.")
A man who loses himself, especially in a desert, is sadly apt to find his
presence of mind forsake him, the sense of desolation is so strange and
overpowering; but he may console himself with the statistics of his
chance of safety--viz., that travellers, though constantly losing their
party, have hardly ever been known to perish unrelieved.
When the lost traveller is dead beat with fatigue, let him 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
can--with 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.
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