The Art of Travel Part 28

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 a.s.sailants.

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 mult.i.tudes 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 circ.u.mstances 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 circ.u.mstances happened to permit their use, are worth bearing in mind, as they tell well on the bodies of naked a.s.sailants. 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.

Rockets.--Of all European inventions, nothing so impresses and terrifies savages as fireworks, especially rockets. I cannot account for the remarkable effect they produce, but in every land, it appears to be the same. A rocket, judiciously sent up, is very likely to frighten off an intended attack and save bloodshed. If a traveller is supplied with any of these, he should never make playthings of them, but keep them for great emergencies.

Natives forbidden to throng the Camp.--Have a standing rule that many natives should never be allowed to go inside your camp at the same time: for it is everywhere a common practice among them, to collect quietly in a friendly way, and at a signal to rise en ma.s.se and overpower their hosts. Even when they profess to have left their arms behind, do not be too confident: they are often deposited close at hand. Captain Sturt says, that he has known Australian savages to trail their spears between their toes, as they lounged towards him through the gra.s.s, professedly unarmed.

Keeping Watch.--Head near the ground.--When you think you hear anything astir, lie down and lay your ear on the ground. To see to the best advantage, take the same position; you thus bring low objects in bold relief against the sky. Besides this, in a wooded country, it is often easy to see far between the bare stems of the trees, while their spreading tops shut out all objects more than a few yards off. Thus, a dog or other small animal usually sees a man's legs long before he sees his face.

Opera-gla.s.s.--An opera-gla.s.s is an excellent night gla.s.s, and at least doubles the clearness of vision in the dark (0p. 284).

Ear-trunpet.--I should be glad to hear that a fair trial had been also given by a traveller to an ear-trumpet.

Watchfulness of Cattle.--Cattle keep guard very well: a stranger can hardly approach a herd of oxen, without their finding him out; for several of them are always sure to be awake and watchful. The habits of bush life make a traveller, though otherwise sound asleep, start up directly at a very slight rustle of alarm among his cattle.

Of Wild Birds and Beasts.--Scared birds and beasts often give useful warning.

Smell of Negro.--A skulking negro may sometimes be smelt out like a fox.

Dahoman Night-watch.--The Dahomans, the famous military nation of N.W.

Africa, have an odd method of dividing their watches by night, but "which is generally managed very correctly. At each gate of a stockaded town, is posted a sentry, who is provided with a pile of stones, the exact number of which has been previously ascertained. The night is divided into four watches; during each watch the sentry removes the pile of stones, one by one, at a measured pace, from one gate to another, calling out at each tenth removal: when all are removed, the watch is relieved."--Forbes.

Setting a common Gun as an Alarm-gun.--The gun may be loaded with bullet, or simply with powder, or only with a cap: even the click of the hammer may suffice to awaken attention. For the ways of setting it, see p. 257.

Prairie set on Fire.--This is often done as a means of offence. But when the gra.s.s is short (lower than the knee), the strip of it on fire, at the same moment, does not exceed 12 feet in width; therefore if a belt of gra.s.s of 12 feet in width be destroyed in advance of the line of fire, the conflagration will be arrested as soon as it reaches that belt. The fire will be incapable of traversing the interval narrow though it be, where there is a total absence of fuel to feed it. Travellers avail themselves of this fact in a very happy manner, when a fire in the prairie is advancing towards them, by burning a strip of gra.s.s, to the windward of their camp, of 12 feet in breadth; beating down the blaze with their blankets wherever it would otherwise extend too widely. Behind this easily constructed line of defence, the camp rests in security, and the adjacent gra.s.s remains uninjured for the use of the cattle. If, however, the wind is high and sparks are drifted for some distance beyond the belt of fire, this method is insufficient: two lines of defence should then be constructed.

Tricks upon Robbers.--It is perhaps just worth while to mention a trick that has been practised in most countries, from England to Peru. A traveller is threatened by a robber with a gun, and ordered to throw himself on the ground, or he will be fired at. The traveller taking a pistol from his belt, shouts out, "If this were loaded you should not treat me thus!" and throws himself on the ground as the robber bids him.

There he lies till the robber, in his triumph, comes up for his booty; when the intended victim takes a quick aim and shoots him dead--the pistol being really loaded all the time. I have also heard of an incident in the days of Shooter's Hill, in England, where a ruffian waylaid and sprang upon a traveller, and holding a pistol to his breast, summoned him for the contents of his pocket. The traveller dived his hand into one of them, and, silently c.o.c.king a small pistol that lay in it, shot the robber dead, firing out through the side of the pocket.

Pa.s.sing through a Hostile Country.--How to encamp.--A small party has often occasion to try to steal through a belt of hostile country without being observed. At such times, it is a rule never to encamp until long after sun-down, in order that people on your track may be unable to pursue it with ease. If you are pursuing a beaten path, turn sharp out of it, when you intend to encamp, selecting a place for doing so where the ground is too hard to show footprints; then travel away for a quarter of an hour, at least. Lastly, look out for a hollow place, in the midst of an open flat. Never allow hammering of any kind in your camp, nor loud talking; but there is no danger in lighting a small fire, if reasonable precautions be taken, as a flame cannot be seen far through bushes. Keep a strict watch all night: the watchers should be 100 yards out from camp, and should relieve one another, every two hours at least. Enough animals for riding, one for each man, should always be tied up, in readiness for instant use.

When riding alone.--A person who is riding a journey for his life, sleeps most safely with his horse's head tied short up to his wrist. The horse, if he hears anything, tosses his head and jerks the rider's arm. The horse is a careful animal, and there appears to be little danger of his treading on his sleeping master.

[Sketch of horse tethered as above].

The Indians of South America habitually adopt this plan, when circ.u.mstances require extreme caution (see fig.)

To prevent your Horse from neighing.--If a troop of hors.e.m.e.n pa.s.s near your hiding-place, it may be necessary to clutch your steed's muzzle with both hands, to prevent his neighing.

Hurried retreat of a Party.--When a party, partly of hors.e.m.e.n and partly of footmen, are running away from danger as hard as they can, the footmen lay hold of the stirrup-leathers of the riders, to a.s.sist them. (See "Litters for the Wounded," p. 23.)

Securing Prisoners.--To take a strong man Prisoner singlehanded, threaten him with your gun, and compel him to throw all his arms away; then, marching him before you some little distance, make him lie flat on his face and put his hands behind him. Of course he will be in a dreadful fright, and require rea.s.suring. Next take your knife, put it between your teeth, and, standing over him, take the caps off your gun, and lay it down by your side. Then handcuff him, in whatever way you best can. The reason of setting to work in this way is, that a quick supple savage, while you are fumbling with your strings, and bothered with a loaded gun, might easily spring round, seize hold of it, and quite turn the tables against you. But if the gun had no caps on, it would be of little use in his hands, except as a club; and also, if you had a knife between your teeth, it would be impossible for him to free himself by struggling, without exposing himself to a thrust from it.

Cord to be well stretched.--It is an imperfect security to tie an ingenious active man, whose hands and feet are small, unless the cord or whatever else you may use, had been thoroughly well stretched. Many people have exhibited themselves for money, who allowed themselves to be tied hand and foot and then to be put into a sack, whence they emerged after a few minutes, with the cords in a neat coil in their hands. The brothers Davenport were notorious for possessing this skill. They did not show themselves for half-pence at country fairs; but, by implying that they were set free by supranatural agencies, they held fashionable seances in London and created an immense sensation a few years ago. Two of these exhibitors were tied, face to face in a cupboard, respectively by two persons selected by the audience. The latter inspected one another's knots as well as they could, and on their expressing themselves satisfied, the doors of the cupboard were closed, the lights of the room were kept low for 5 or 10 minutes, until a signal was made by the exhibitors from within the cupboard; then in a blaze of gas light the doors were opened from within and out walked the two men, leaving the ropes behind them. After this, they tied themselves in their own knots; and under those easy conditions a number of so-called spiritual manifestations took place, which I need not here describe; the real curiosity of the exhibition being that which I have just explained. These exhibitions continued for months; but at length two nautical gentlemen insisted on using their own cord, which they had previously well stretched, and this proceeding utterly baffled the Davenports.

Thenceforward wherever the Davenports showed themselves, the nautical gentlemen appeared also, appealing to the audience to elect them to tie the hands of the exhibitors. In this way, they fairly exposed the pretensions of the Davenports, and drove them from England. Once I was proposed by an audience to tie the hands. I did my best, and I also scrutinised my colleague's knot, as well as the confined place in which the exhibitors were tied, permitted. The cord we had to use was perhaps a little too thick, but it was supple and strong, and I was greatly surprised at the ease with which the Davenports disembarra.s.sed themselves. They were not more than 10 minutes in getting free. Of course if either of the exhibitors could struggle loose, he would a.s.sist his colleague. It therefore struck me as an exceedingly ingenious idea of the Davenports, to have two persons, and not one person, to tie them. I considered it was very improbable that a person taken at hap-hazard should be capable of tying his man securely; and it was evident that the improbability would be increased in a duplicate ratio, that both persons should be capable. Thus if it be 20 to 1 against any one person's having sufficient skill, it is (20 by 20 or) 400 to 1 against both the persons, who might be selected to tie the Davenports, being able to do so effectively. As I have already said, the opportunity that was afforded to each of scrutinising the work of the other, was worth very little, because of the dark and confined s.p.a.ce in which the exhibitors sat.

Tying the Hands.--To tie a man's hands behind his back, take a handkerchief, it is the best thing; failing that, a thin cord. It is necessary that its length should not be less than 2 feet, but 2 feet 6 inches is the right length; for a double tie, it should be 3 feet 6 inches. Compel him to lay his hands as in the sketch, and, wrapping the cord once (or twice if it be long enough) round the arms, pretty tightly, pa.s.s the longest end in between the arms as shown in the figure, and tie quite tightly. If you are quick in tying the common "tom-fool's knot,"

well known to every sailor, it is still better for the purpose. Put the prisoner's hands one within each loop, then draw tightly the running ends, and knot them together.

[Sketch of hands tied as above].

Tying the Thumbs.--To secure a prisoner with the least amount of string, place his hands back to back, behind him, then tie the thumbs together, and also the little fingers. Two bits of thin string, each a foot long, will thoroughly do this. But if you have not any string at hand, cut a thong from his leathern ap.r.o.n, or tear a strip from you own linen.

[Sketch of person with bound hands].

Strait-Waistcoats.--A strait-waistcoat is the least inconvenient mode of confinement, as the joints of the prisoner are not cut by cords. A makeshift for one is soon st.i.tched together, by st.i.tching a piece of canvas into the shape of a sleeve, and sewing one end of this to one cuff of a strong jacket, and the other end to the other cuff; so that, instead of the jacket having two sleeves, it has but one long one. The jacket is then put on in the usual way, and b.u.t.toned and sewn in front. In a proper strait-waistcoat, the opening is behind and the sleeves in front; it laces up behind.

[Sketch of man in waistcoat].

Tying up a Prisoner for the night.--If a man has to be kept prisoner all night, it is not sufficient to tie his hands, as he will be sure to watch his time and run away. It is therefore necessary to tie them round a standing tree, or a heavy log of wood. A convenient plan is to fell a large forked bough, and to make the man's arms fast round one of the branches. It is thus impossible for him to slip away, as the fork on one side, and the bushy top of the branch on the other, prevent his doing so; and, notwithstanding his cramped position, it is quite possible for him to get sleep.

Files of Prisoners.--When several men have to be made fast and marched away, the usual method of securing them is to tie them, one behind another, to a long pole or rope.

In marching off a Culprit, make him walk between two of your men, while a third carrying a gun, walks behind him. If riding alone, tie the prisoner's hands together, and, taking your off-stirrup leather (for want of a cord), pa.s.s it round his left arm, and round your horse's girth, and buckle it. The off-stirrup leather is the least inconvenient one to part with, on account of mounting, and the prisoner is under your right hand.

Tying on Horseback.--In cases where a prisoner has to be secured and galloped off, there are but two ways: either putting him in the saddle and strapping his ankles together under the horse's belly--in which case, if he be mad with rage, and attempts to throw himself off, the saddle must turn with him; or else securing him Mazeppa-fashion--when four loops are pa.s.sed, one round each leg of the horse, and to each of these is tied one limb of the prisoner, as he lies with his back against that of the horse; a surcingle is also pa.s.sed round both horse and man.

It is, of course, a barbarous method, but circ.u.mstances might arise when it would be of use.

Proceedings in case of Death.--If a man of the party dies, write down a detailed account of the matter, and have it attested by the others, especially if accident be the cause of his death. If a man be lost, before you turn away and abandon him to his fate, call the party formally together, and ask them if they are satisfied that you have done all that was possible to save him, and record their answers. After death, it is well to follow the custom at sea--i.e. to sell by auction all the dead man's effects among his comrades, deducting the money they fetch from the pay of the buyers, to be handed over to his relatives on the return of the expedition. The things will probably be sold at a much higher price than they would elsewhere fetch, and the carriage of useless lumber is saved. Any trinkets he may have had, should of course be sealed up and put aside, and not included in the sale: they should be collected in presence of the whole party, a list made of them, and the articles at once packed up. In committing the body to the earth, choose a well-marked situation, dig a deep grave, bush it with thorns, and weight it well over with heavy stones, as a defence against animals of prey.

MECHANICAL APPLIANCES.

To Raise and Move a Heavy Body.--On Land.--Lever up its ends alternately, and build underneath them when they are lifted up. After a sufficient height has been gained, build a sloping causeway down to the place to which the ma.s.s has to be moved, and along which it may be dragged, with the a.s.sistance of rollers and grease. If the ma.s.s be too awkwardly shaped to admit of this, burrow below it; pa.s.s poles underneath it, and raise the ends of the poles alternately. Mr. Williams, the well-known missionary of the South Sea Islands, relates how his schooner of from seventy to eighty tons had been driven by a violent hurricane and rising of the sea, on one of the islands near which she was anch.o.r.ed, and was lodged several hundred yards inland; and thus describes how he got her back:--"The method by which we contrived to raise the vessel was exceedingly simple, and by it we were enabled to accomplish the task with great ease. Long levers were pa.s.sed under her keel, with the fulcrum so fixed as to give them an elevation of about forty-five degrees. The ends of these were then fastened together with several cross-beams, upon which a quant.i.ty of stones were placed; the weight of which gradually elevated one end of the vessel, until the levers reached the ground. Propping up the bow thus raised, we shifted our levers to the stern, which was in like manner elevated; and, by repeating this process three or four times, we lifted her in one day entirely out of the hole (which she had worked for herself, and which was about four feet deep). The bog that lay between her and the sea was then filled up with stones, logs of wood were laid across it, rollers were placed under the vessel, the chain cable pa.s.sed round her; and, by the united strength of about 2000 people, she was compelled to take a short voyage upon the land, before she floated in her pride on the sea."

In some cases, the body of a cart may be taken down, and deep ruts having been dug on each side of the ma.s.s, the vehicle can be backed, till the axletree comes across it; then, after lashing and making fast, the sand can be shovelled from below the ma.s.s, which will hang suspended from the axletree, and may be carted away. Or a sledge may be built beneath the ma.s.s by burrowing below it and thrusting the poles beneath it. Then the remainder of the intervening sand can be shovelled away, and the ma.s.s, now resting directly upon the sledge, can be dragged away by a team of cattle.

A sarcophagus of immense weight was raised from out of a deep recess into which it had been fitted pretty closely, at the end of a long narrow gallery in an Egyptian tomb, where there was no room for the application of tackle or other machinery, by the simple expedient of slightly disturbing it in its place and sifting sand into the narrow interval between its sides and the recess. This process was repeated continually: the sand settled below the bottom of the sarcophagus, which gradually rose out of the hole in which it had lain. The principle of this piece of engineering was borrowed, I suppose, from observing that whenever a ma.s.s of sand and stones is shaken together, the stones invariably rise out of the sand, the biggest of them always forming the highest layer.

Expansive Power of Wetted Seeds.--Admiral Sir E. Belcher read a curious paper before the British a.s.sociation in 1866, showing the remarkable power to be obtained by filling tubes with peas or other seed, allowing the weight to rest upon the surface of the peas through the medium of a rude piston. When the peas were wetted they swelled upwards with considerable force. A pint of peas placed in a tube of a diameter that was not expressed in the newspaper report, from which I take this account, lifted 60 lbs. through a height of one inch in twenty-four hours. The Admiral proposed to fix a number of tubes side by side in a frame below the ma.s.s to be lifted, preferring to use zinc tubes of from two or three inches in diameter, and of about one foot high. Thus, in the small s.p.a.ce of a cubic foot, a large number of tubes (thirty-six in the one case, sixteen in the other) could be made to act simultaneously; the force of the stroke could be increased by arranging a number of frames side by side, or the length of the stroke could be increased by building the frames in a series one above the other. I have elsewhere described how wetted seeds may be used to restore the shape of a battered flask either for holding water or gunpowder (pp. 230).

Parbuckling.--A round log or a barrel should be rolled, not dragged; and many irregularly-shaped objects may have bundles of f.a.ggots lashed round them, by which they become barrel-shaped and fit to be rolled. In these cases, parbuckling doubles the ease of rolling them; one or more ropes have one of each of their ends made fast in the direction to which the log has to be rolled, while the other is carried underneath the log, round it, and back again. By pulling at these free ends, the log will be rolled on. An equivalent plan, and in some cases a more practicable one, is to make fast one end of the rope to the log itself; then, winding the rope two or three times round it, like cotton on a reel, to haul at the free end as before. Horses can be used, as well as men, for this work.

[Sketch of man pulling log].

Acc.u.mulation of Efforts.--South American Indians are said to avail themselves of their forest trees, and of the creepers which stretch from branch to branch, in moving very heavy weights, as in lifting a log of timber up on a stage to be sawn, in the following ingenious manner. The labourer gets hold of one of these creepers that runs from the top boughs of a tree in the direction in which he wants to move his log, and pulling this creeper home with all his force, bending down the bough, he attaches it to the log; then he goes to another creeper and does the same with that; and so on until he has acc.u.mulated strain of many bent boughs, urging the log forward and of sufficient power to move it.