Wax
affords another easy means of closing the quill.
Picture-writing.--A very many excellent bushrangers are unable to read,
rude picture-writing is often used by them, especialy in America. The
figure of a man with a spear or bow, drawn as a child would draw, stands
for a savage; one with a hat or gun for a European; horses, oxen, and
sheep are equally to be drawn; lines represent numbers, and arrow-heads
direction. Even without more conventional symbols, a vast deal may be
expressed by rude picture-writing.
Reconnoitring Barren Countries by help of Porters and Caches.--The
distance to which an explorer can attain in barren countries depends on
the number of days' provisions that he can carry with him. Half of his
load supports him on his way out, the other half on his way home. But if
he start in company with a laden porter, he may reserve his own store and
supply both himself and the porter from the pack carried by the latter.
When half of this is consumed, the other half may be divided into two
equal portions. The one is retained by the porter who makes his way back
to camp, consuming it as he goes, and the other is cached (see "Caches")
for the sustenance of the traveller on his return journey. This being
arranged, the traveller can start from the cache with his own load of
provisions untouched, just as he would have started from the camp if he
had had no porter to assist him.
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