Part 28
To find your Store again, you should have ascertained the distance and bearing, by compass, of the hole from some marked place--as a tree--about which you are sure not to be mistaken; or from the centre of the place where your fire was made, which is a mark that years will not entirely efface. If there be anything in the ground itself to indicate the position of the hole, you have made a clumsy cache. It is not a bad plan, after the things are buried, and before the tent is removed, to scratch a furrow a couple of inches deep, and three or four feet long, and picking up any bits of stick, reeds, or straw, that may be found at hand lying upon the ground, to place them end to end in it. These will be easy enough to find again by making a cross furrow, and when found will lead you straight above the depot. They would never excite suspicion, even if a native got hold of them; for they would appear to have been dropped or blown on the ground by chance, not seen and trampled in. Mr. Atkinson mentions an ingenious way by which the boundaries of valuable mining property are marked in the Ural, a modification of which might serve for indicating caches. A trench is dug and filled with charcoal beat small, and then covered over. The charcoal lasts for ever, and cannot be tampered with without leaving an unmistakable mark.
Secreting Jewels.--Before going to a rich but imperfectly civilised country, travellers sometimes buy jewels and bury them in their flesh. They make a gash, put the jewels in, and allow the flesh to grow over them as it would over a bullet. The operation is more sure to succeed if the jewels are put into a silver tube with rounded ends, for silver does not irritate. If the jewels are buried without the tube, they must have no sharp edges. The best place for burying them is in the left arm, at the spot chosen for vaccination. A traveller who was thus provided would always have a small capital to fall back upon, though robbed of everything he wore.
A Chain of gold is sometimes carried by Arabs, who sew it in dirty leather under their belt. They cut off and sell a link at a time. (Burton)
The gun-stock is a good receptacle for small valuables. Unscrew the heel-plate and bore recesses; insert what you desire, after wrapping it tightly in cloth and plugging it in; then replace the heel-plate. (Peal.)
Depositing Letters.--To direct Attention to the Place of Deposit.--When you make a cache in an inhabited land, for the use of a travelling party who are ignorant of your purpose, there is of course some difficulty in ensuring that their attention should be directed to the place, but that the natives should have no clue to it. If you have means of gashing, painting or burning characters, something of this sort (see fig.), they will explain themselves.
[Sketch of direction plate].
Savages, however, take such pains to efface any mark they may find left by white men, entertaining thoughts like those of Morgiana in the 'Arabian Nights' tale of the Forty Thieves, that it would be most imprudent to trust to a single mark. A relief party should therefore be provided with a branding-iron and moveable letters, and with paints, and they should mark the tree in many places. A couple of hours spent in doing this would leave more marks than the desultory efforts of roving savages would be likely to efface. A good sign to show that Europeans have visited a spot is a saw mark (no savages use saws): it catches the eye directly.
A system occasionally employed by Arctic expeditions, of making a cache 10 feet true north (and not magnetic north) from the cairn or mark, deserves to be generally employed, at least with modifications. Let me therefore suggest, that persons who find a cairn built of a tree marked, so as to attract notice, and who are searching blindly in all directions for further clue, should invariably dig out and examine that particular spot. The notice deposited there may consist of no more than a single sentence, to indicate some distant point as the place where the longer letter is buried. I hope it will be understood, that the precaution of always burying a notice 10 feet true north of the cairn mark is proposed as additional to and not in the place of other contrivances for giving information. There will often arise some doubt as to the exact point in the circumference of the cairn or mark whence the 10 feet measurement should be made. This is due to the irregularity of the bases of all such marks. Therefore, when searching for letters, a short trench, running to the north, will frequently have to be dug, and not a mere hole. I should propose that the short notice be punched or pricked on a thin sheet of lead, made by pouring two or three melted bullets on a flat stone, and that the plate so made and inscribed should be rolled up and pushed into a hole bored or burnt through the head of a large tent peg. The peg could be driven deeply in the ground, quite out of sight, without disturbing the surrounding earth. It might even suffice to pick up a common stone and to scratch or paint upon it what you had to say, and to leave it on the ground, with its written face downwards, at the place in question.
To secure Buried Letters from Damp.--They may be wrapped in waxed cloth or paper, if there be no fear of the ravages of insects. Lead plate is far more safe: it can be made easily enough by a traveller out of his bullets. (See "Lead.") A glass bottle (with something that insects cannot eat, such as lead-plate, sealing-wax or clay, put carefully over the cork) or an earthen jar may be used. The quill of a large feather will hold a long letter, if it is written in very small handwriting and on thin paper, and it will preserve it from the wet. After the letter has been rolled up and inserted in the quill, the open end of the latter may be squeezed flat between two stones, heated sufficiently to soften the quill (see "Horn") but not so hot as to burn it, and then, for greater security against wet, the end of the quill should be twisted tight. 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. It is evident a process of this description might be frequently repeated; that a large party of porters might start, and by a system of successive subdivisions, they could enable the traveller to reach a position many days' journey distant from his camp, with his own load of provisions and with other food placed in a succession of caches, for the supply of his wants all the way home again. The principle by which this may be effected without waste, is to send back at each successive step the smallest detachment competent to travel alone, and to do this as soon as one half of their load of food has been consumed by the whole party. Then, the other half is to be divided into two portions; one consisting of rations to supply the detachment back to the previous cache, whence their journey home has been provided for, the other portion to be buried, to supply rations for the remainder of the party, when they shall have returned (either all together or else in separate and successive detachments) back to the previous cache, whence their journey home has also been provided for. An inspection of the Table which I annex (p. 307) makes details unnecessary. The dotted lines show how the porters who first return may be dispatched afresh as relief
## parties. I give, in the table, a schedule of the three most important
cases. In these the regular supply of two meals per diem, and a morning and an afternoon journey, are supposed. I wrote a paper on this subject, which is published in the 'Royal Geographical Society's Proceedings,' vol. ii., to which I refer those who care to inquire further into the matter. Cases where each man or horse carries a number of rations intermediate to those specified in the Table, are, perhaps, too complicated for use without much previous practice. It would be easy for a leader to satisfy himself that he was making no mistake, and to drill his men to any one of the tabulated cases, by painting a row of sticks, 50 yards apart, to represent the successive halting-places of his intended journey, and by making his men go through a sham rehearsal of what they would severally have to do. Then each man's duties could be written down in a schedule and all possibility of mistake be avoided.
The Table represents the proceedings of four men (or horses and men), who leave camp. Two turn back at P1, one more turns back at P2, and the remaining man pushes on to P3. Food has been cached for him both at P2 and P1; but to make matters doubly sure, a relief party, as shown by the dotted line, can be sent to meet him at P2.
In Case A, each man carries 1 1/2 day's rations. " B. " (or horse) " 3 1/2 days' rations for himself (and drivers). " C. each man (or horse) carries 5 1/2 days' rations for himself (and drivers).
We will take the case C as an example. The figures that refer to it are in the lines adjacent to the letter C in the Table. They are those in the uppermost line, and also those in the line up the left-hand side of the diagram, and they stand for days' journey and for days respectively. P1 is reached after 1 1/2 day's travel, P2 after 3 days, P3 after 6 days from camp. The entire party might consist of 5 men, 2 carts (one a very light one), and four horses, together with one saddle and bridle. The heavier cart and 2 men and 2 horses would turn back at P1. One of the two horses of the second cart would be saddled and ridden back by a third man from P2; and, finally, the remaining cart, single horse, and 2 men, would turn back, after 6 days, from P3.--The relief party would originallyconsist of the first cart and 3 horses. On arriving at P1, a horse and man would be sent back. At P2 it would have more than enough spare rations to admit of its waiting two whole days for the exploring cart, if it were necessary to do so.
[Full page diagram as described above].
It will be seen from the Table that as 6 days' journey is the limit to which C can explore, so 4 days' journey is the limit for B, and 2 days for A. But where abundance of provision is secured at P2 by means of a relief party, the explorers might well make an effort and travel on half rations to a greater distance than the limits here assigned.
MANAGEMENT OF SAVAGES.
General Remarks.--A frank, joking, but determined manner, joined with an air of showing more confidence in the good faith of the natives than you really feel, is the best. It is observed, that a sea-captain generally succeeds in making an excellent impression on savages: they thoroughly appreciate common sense, truth, and uprightness; and are not half such fools as strangers usually account them. If a savage does mischief, look on him as you would on a kicking mule, or a wild animal, whose nature is to be unruly and vicious, and keep your temper quite unruffled. Evade the mischief, if you can: if you cannot, endure it; and do not trouble yourself overmuch about your dignity, or about retaliating on the man, except it be on the grounds of expediency. There are even times when any assumption of dignity becomes ludicrous, and the traveller must, as Mungo Park had once to do, "lay it down as a rule to make himself as useless and as insignificant as possible, as the only means of recovering his liberty."
Bush Law.--It is impossible but that a traveller must often take the law into his own hands. Some countries, no doubt, are governed with a strong arm by a savage despot; to whom or to whose subordinates appeals must of course be made; but, for the most part, the system of life among savages is--
"The simple rule, the good old plan-- That they should take, who have the power; And they should keep, who can."
Where there is no civil law, or any kind of substitute for it, each man is, as it were, a nation in himself; and then the traveller ought to be guided in his actions by the motives that influence nations, whether to make war or to abstain from it, rather than by the criminal code of civilised countries. The traveller must settle in his own mind what his scale of punishments should be; and it will be found a convenient principle that a culprit should be punished in proportion to the quantity of harm that he has done, rather than according to the presumed wickedness of the offence. Thus, if two men were caught, one of whom had stolen an ox, and the other a sheep, it would be best to flog the first much more heavily than the second; it is a measure of punishment more intelligible to savages than ours. The principle of double or treble restitution, to which they are well used, is of the same nature. If all theft be punished, your administration will be a reign of terror; for every savage, even your best friends, will pilfer little things from you, whenever they have a good opportunity. Be very severe if any of your own party steal trifles from natives: order double or treble restitution, if the man does not know better; and, if he does, a flogging besides, and not in place of it.
Seizing Food.--On arriving at an encampment, the natives commonly run away in fright. If you are hungry, or in serious need of anything that they have, go boldly into their huts, take just what you want, and leave fully adequate payment. It is absurd to be over-scrupulous in these cases.
Feast-Days.--Interrupt the monotony of travel, by marked days, on which you give extra tobacco and sugar to the servants. Avoid constant good feeding, but rather have frequent slight fasts to ensure occasional good feasts; and let those occasions when marked stages of your journey have been reached, be great gala-days. Recollect that a savage cannot endure the steady labour that we Anglo-Saxons have been bred to support. His nature is adapted to alternations of laziness and of severe exertion. Promote merriment, singing, fiddling, and so forth, with all your power. Autolycus says, in 'A Winter's Tale'--
"Jog on, jog on, the foot-path way, Merrily bent the stils-a: A merry heart goes all the day, Your sad tires in a mile-a."
Flogging.--Different tribes have very different customs in the matter of corporal punishment: there are some who fancy it a disgrace and a serious insult. A young traveller must therefore be discriminating and cautious in the licence he allows to his stick, or he may fall into sad trouble.
Kindliness of Women--Wherever you go, you will find kindheartedness amongst women. Mungo Park is fond of recording his experiences of this; but I must add that he seems to have been an especial favourite with the sex. The gentler of the two sexes is a "teterrima causa belli."
When you wish a Savage to keep count, give him a string of beads. The boxes and parcels that are sent by the overland route are, or were, counted in this way by an Arab overseer. He was described as having a cord with great beads strung on it, and the end of the cord was thrown over his shoulder. As each box passed him, he jerked a bead from the fore part of the cord to the back part of it, over his shoulder.
Drawing Lots.--It is often necessary to distribute things by lot. Do it by what children call "soldiering:" One stands with his back to the rest' another, pointing to the portions in succession, calls out "Who is to have this?" To which the first one replies by naming somebody, who at once takes possession.
HOSTILITIES.
To Fortify a Camp.--Forts at opposite Corners.--Explorers have frequent occasion to form a depot: either a few men are left in charge of the heavy luggage, while the rest of the party ride on a distant reconnoitring expedition; or else the whole party may encamp for weeks, until the state of the season, or other cause, permits further travel. In either case, a little forethought and labour will vastly increase the security of the depot against hostile attempts. For instance, it should be placed at least 200 yards from any cover, or commanding heights; if the ground on which it stands have any features of strength about it, as being near the side of a stream, or being on a hill, so much the better; the neighbourhood of shingle prevents persons from stealing across unheard; and, finally, the camp should be fortified. Now the principle of fortification best suited to a small party, is to form the camp into a square, and to have two projecting enclosures at opposite corners, where all the men who have guns may place themselves to fire on the assailants. It will be seen by the sketch, how completely the guns in each enclosure can sweep the edges as well as the whole of the environs of the camp.
[Sketch of camp with fortifications].
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 walls of the enclosure serve as sidings for the tents, that it is perhaps best to allow the size and shape of the tent to determine those of the enclosures. A square of nine or ten feet, inside measurement, is amply sufficient for three guns or archers. The parapets can be built of large stones. A travelling party rarely carries spades, but when they have them, the parapet may be formed of the earth thrown up by digging a trench outside it; the common calculation is, that, with good tools, a labourer can dig one cubic yard of earth an hour, and can continue working for eight hours in the day. The parapet should be raised four feet above the ground, as that is the most convenient height to fire from when standing; and it is high enough to shield a person kneeling down to load. Upon this parapet, large stones should be laid, having loop-holes between them, and above the stones the tent may be pitched; its pole being lengthened by lashing apiece of wood to it, or by cutting a fresh pole altogether. It will make a high roof to the enclosure, and will complete a comfortable abode. We have thus a square enclosed camp for the cattle, the wagons, and the natives of the party; and, at opposite corners of it, two fortified houses: one of which would naturally be inhabited by the leaders of the party; and the other, either by the storekeeper, or by the white servants generally
Trous de Loup are holes, with sharp stake driven in the bottom of each of them (see "Pitfalls," p. 264) with the pointed end upwards. The South Sea Islanders use them in multitudes to prevent the possibility of an enemy's approach at night, otherwise than along the narrow paths that lead to their villages: if a man deviates from a path, he is sure to stumble into one of these contrivances, and to be lamed. The holes need not exceed one foot in diameter; and the stake may be a stick no thicker than the little finger, and yet it will suffice to maim an ill-shod man, if its point be baked hard. A traveller could only use these pitfalls where, from the circumstances of the case, there was no risk of his own men, cattle, or dogs falling into them.
Weapons, to resist an Attack.--Unless your ammunition is so kept as to be accessible in the confusion of an attack, the fortifications I have just described would be of little service. If the guns are all, or nearly all, of the same bore, it is simple enough to have small bags filled with cartridges, and also papers with a dozen caps in each. Buck-shot and slugs are better than bullets, for the purposes of which we are speaking. Bows and arrows might render good service. The Chinese, in their junks, when they expect a piratical attack, bring up baskets filled with stones from the ballast of the ship, and put them on deck ready at hand. They throw them with great force and precision: the idea is not a bad one. Boiling water and hot sand, if circumstances happened to permit their use, are worth bearing in mind, as they tell well on the bodies of naked assailants. In close quarters, thrust, do not strike; and recollect that it is not the slightest use to hit a negro on the head with a stick, as it is a fact that his skull endures a blow better than any other part of his person. In picking out the chiefs, do not select the men that are the most showily ornamented, for they are not the chiefs; but the biggest and the busiest. A good horseman will find a powerful weapon at hand by unhitching his stirrup leather and attached stirrup from the saddle. I know of a case where this idea saved the rider.