Note 10 — Chapter III · Indian Reservations.—Lake Superior.—Beavers and their works.—The Forest.—Houghton.—Ancient Indian mining pits and trenches.—An Indian battle ground.—The Glacial Drift.—Note regarding the Dauphin.

When afterwards passing through the forests near Palenque, in Central America, I observed that whenever the Indians found it necessary to quit the track, they immediately broke off small branches from the trees, and placed them on the ground over which they had trodden. As an additional precaution, they also made marks on the trunks with their hatchets. It was thus easy for them to get back to the place from which they had started. It is however evident, that this plan is only useful in those cases where the path is intentionally left. When the path is accidentally missed, it is of the greatest importance not to lose touch with the spot where you happen to be when your error is discovered. This position will necessarily be within a short distance by a straight line from the place from which you wandered. It has been ascertained that it is the tendency of men who have lost their way to unconsciously move in a circle, and thus much time may be wasted in trusting to personal judgment. It is a good plan to make a series of short tentative marches in different directions, in straight lines from your starting point, which should be considered as a central position to which you can always return if necessary. Such straight lines of direction can be made by marking trees, and keeping them as much as possible in line with each other. In dense forests a watch is not serviceable, as the sun does not penetrate them, and its bearing cannot be seen. A compass is useful to a certain extent, but the constant deviations that have to be made to avoid obstacles, tend to make the line of progress a succession of broken curves, and it becomes unsafe to rely upon the accuracy of the direction. Explorers have found it desirable to send men occasionally to the tops of the tallest trees to observe the nature of the country that is being traversed. When Cortes made his celebrated expedition from Mexico to Honduras, he maintained a straight march by the use of a ship’s compass, but in that case there was no difficulty, for the direction was followed by cutting down the trees that were in the line of the advance.