The art of travel

Preparatory Enquiries Organising an Expedition Outfit Medicine Surveying Instruments Memoranda and Log-Books Measurements Climbing and Mountaineering Cattle Harness Carriages Sw...

It is impossible to include lists of outfit, in any reasonable space, that shall suit the various requirements of men engaged in expeditions of different magnitudes, who adopt d...

Vermin on the Person.--I quote the following extract from Huc's 'Travels in Tartary':--"We had now been travelling for nearly six weeks, and still wore the same clothing we had...

These things being premised, it will be readily understood that outline forms sufficient for an entire series of lunars will extend over many pages--they will, in fact, require...

In descending a cliff, two ropes are used; one a supply well-made, many-stranded, inch rope (see "Ropes"), to which the climber is attached, and by which he is let down; the oth...

The dispositions of the animals that compose a caravan affect, in no small degree, the pleasure of travelling with it. Now, it is to be noticed that men attach themselves to hor...

Chaff, to cut.--Tie a sickle against a tree, with its blade projecting; then, standing in front of the blade, hold a handful of reeds across it with both hands, one hand on eith...

Breaks and Drags.--Breaks.--Every cart and wagon in Switzerland, and, indeed, in most parts of the Continent, has a break attached to it: the simplest kind of break is shown in...

Two large open gourds are nicely balanced, and fixed, bottom downwards, on a bar or yoke of light wood, 4 feet long, 4 1/2 inches wide, and 3/4 or 1 inch thick. The fisherman, o...

Securing Planks.--In default of nails, it is possible to drill or to burn holes in the planks and to sew them together with strips of hide, woodbine, or string made from the inn...

Braces.--Do not forget to take them, unless you have had abundant experience of belts; for belts do not suit every shape, neither are English trousers cut with the intention of...

Stuffy Bedding.--It must be understood that while recommending coverlets that resist the wind, I am very far from advocating extreme stuffiness, and for the following reason. Th...

On Snow.--I shall have to describe snow-houses and snow-walls covered with sail-cloth, under "Huts." Here I will speak of more simple arrangements. Dr. Kane says:--"We afterward...

Macintosh Sack.--Mr. Falconer writes to me as follows:--"I travelled in 1841 from Austin in Texas to Mexico through New Mexico. I left Austin in June, and reached Zacateras on C...

Furniture.--The luxuries and elegances practicable in tent-life, are only limited by the means of transport. Julius Cæsar, who was a great campaigner, carried parquets of wooden...

a Amacou, punk, or German tinder, is made from a kind of fungus or mushroom that grows on the trunks of old oaks, ashes, beeches, etc.; many other kinds of fungus, and, I believ...

Gross weight Real Nutriment. in ounces. C. N. Total. Bread ............20.0 - 10.3 ...2.1 ....... 12.4 or Biscuit - 16.0 .. 11.4 .. 2.6 ....... 14.0 Oatmeal ........ 1.5 .. 1.5...

Nettle and Fern.--There are two moderately nutritious plants--nettle and fern--that are found wild in very many countries: and, therefore, the following extract from Messrs. Hue...

The sandy Beds of Watercourses in arid countries frequently contain pools of stagnant water; but the places where these pools are to be found are not necessarily those where the...

On giving Water to Persons nearly dead from Thirst.--Give a little at a time, let them take it in spoonfuls; for the large draughts that their disordered instincts suggest, disa...

Rust, to prevent.--Paraffine and mercurial ointment are perhaps the two best things to keep rust off iron, in sea voyages or in boat-shooting. Before embarking for a voyage, it...

On Horseback.--Loading.--Empty the charge of powder from the flask into the left hand, and pour it down the gun; then take a bullet, wet out of your mouth, and drop it into the...

General Remarks.--A trapper will never succeed, unless he thoroughly enters into the habits of life and mind of wild animals. He must ever bear in mind how suspicious they are;...

Colomb and Bolton's flashing signals, adopted in our Army and Navy, and used in many other countries as well, are eminently suited to the wants of an expedition. Anything may be...

January S. 23 degrees to S. 17 degrees February S. 17 " S. 8 March S. 7 " N. 4 April N. 5 " N. 15 May N. 15 " N. 22 June N. 22 " N. 23 July N. 23 " N. 18 August N. 18 " N. 8 Sep...

The traveller who can only answer the questions A and B, but not C, must be prepared to travel from P to L, and back again through P to M, a distance equal to 3 P L. If, however...

A square is better than a round for the projecting enclosures, as it allows more men to use their guns at the same time on the same point; but it is so convenient to make the wa...

Expansive Power of Wetted Seeds.--Admiral Sir E. Belcher read a curious paper before the British Association in 1866, showing the remarkable power to be obtained by filling tube...

As much carpentry as a traveller is likely to want can be effected by means of a small axe with a hammer-head, a very small single-handed adze, a mortise-chisel, a strong gouge,...

Sinews for Thread.--Any sinews will do for making thread if the fibres admit of being twisted or plaited together into pieces of sufficient length. The sinews lying alongside th...

Dry, to keep, importance of; to dry clothes; to keep clothes dry; small packets, when swimming; tinder in wet weather; buried letters; dry fuel, to find; to dry meat,; fish; eggs.

Way, to find--Recollection of a path; to walk in a straight line through forest; to find the best way down a hill-side; blind paths; lost in a fog; mirage; lost path; theory.