(To relieve thirst, p. 223;
hunger, p. 197)
Theory.--When you discover you are lost, ask yourself the following three
questions: they comprise the ABC 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 sea-shore, 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 degrees, 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.
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