Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts Part 51

OTHER CONSTELLATIONS

Orion (O-ri-on), with its striking array of brilliant stars, Betelgeuze, Rigel, the Three Kings, etc., is generally admitted to be the first constellation in the heavens.

Orion was the hunter giant who went to Heaven when he died, and now marches around the great dome, but is seen only in the winter, because during the summer, he pa.s.ses over during daytime. Thus he is still the hunter's constellation. The three stars of his belt are called the "Three Kings."

Sirius, the Great Dog-Star, is in the head of Orion's Hound, the constellation _Canis Major_, and following farther back is the Little Dog-Star, Procyon, the chief star of the constellation _Canis Minor_.

In old charts of the stars, Orion is shown with his hounds, hunting the bull, Taurus. This constellation is recognizable by this diagram; the red star, Aldebaran, being the angry right eye of the Bull. His face is covered with a cl.u.s.ter of little stars called the _Hyades_, and on his shoulder are the seven stars, called _Pleiades_.

Pleiades

_Pleiades_ (Ply-a-des) can be seen in winter as a cl.u.s.ter of small stars between Aldebaran and Angol, or, a line drawn from the back bottom, through the front rim of the Big Dipper, about two Dipper lengths, touches this little group. They are not far from Aldebaran, being in the right shoulder of the Bull. They may be considered the seven arrow wounds made by Orion.

Serviss tells us that the _Pleiades_ have a supposed connection with the Great Pyramid, because "about 2170 B.C., when the beginning of spring coincided with the culmination of the Pleiades at midnight, that wonderful group of stars was visible just at midnight, through the mysterious southward-pointing pa.s.sage of the Pyramid."

Ca.s.siopeia

On the opposite side of the Polar-star from the Big Dipper and nearly as far from it, is a W of five bright stars. This is called the _Ca.s.siopeia's Chair_. It is easily found and visible the year round on clear nights.

Thus we have described ten constellations from which the woodcrafter may select the number needed to qualify, namely, the Little Bear, or Little Dipper, the Big Dipper or Big Bear, Ca.s.siopeia's Chair, the Bull, Orion's Hound, Orion's Little Dog, the Pleiades and the Hyades; the Lyre (later).

The Moon

The moon is one-fourth the diameter of the earth, about one-fiftieth of the bulk, and is about a quarter of a million miles away. Its course, while very irregular, is nearly the same as the apparent course of the sun. It is a cold solid body, without any known atmosphere, and s.h.i.+nes by reflected sunlight.

The moon goes around the earth in twenty-seven and a quarter days. It loses about fifty-one minutes in twenty-fours hours; therefore it rises that much later each successive night on the average, but there are wide deviations from this average, as for example, the time of the Harvest and Hunter's moons in the fall, when the full moon rises at nearly the same time for several nights in succession.

According to most authorities, the moon is a piece of the earth that broke away some time ago; and it has followed its mother around ever since.

The Stars as Tests of Eyesight

In the sky are several tests of eyesight which have been there for some time and are likely to be. The first is the old test of Mizar and Alcor.

Mizar, the Horse, is the star at the bend of the handle of the Dipper.

Just above it is a very small star that astronomers call Alcor, or the rider.

The Indians call these two the "Old Squaw and the Papoose on Her Back."

In the old world, from very ancient times, these have been used as tests of eyesight. To be able to see Alcor with the naked eye means that one has excellent eyesight. So also on the plains, the old folks would ask the children at night, "Can you see the papoose on the old Squaw's back?" And when the youngster saw it and proved that he did by a right description, they rejoiced that he had the eyesight which is the first requisite of a good hunter.

One of the oldest of all eye tests is the Pleiades. Poor eyes see a mere haze, fairly good see five, good see six, excellent see seven. The rarest eyesight, under the best conditions, see up to ten; and, according to Flammarion, the record with unaided eyes is thirteen.

Vega of the Lyre

If one draw a line from through the back wall of the Dipper, that is, from the back bottom star, through the one next the handle, and continue it upward for twice the total length of the Dipper, it will reach Vega, the brightest star in the northern part of the sky, and believed to have been at one time the Pole-star--and likely to be again. Vega, with the two stars near it, form a small triangle. The one on the side next the North Star is called Epsillon. If you have remarkably good eyes, you will see that it is a double star.

The Nebula in Orion's Sword

Just about the middle of Orion's Sword is a fuzzy light spot. This might do for blood, only it is the wrong color. It is the nebula of Orion. If you can see it with the naked eye, you are to be congratulated.

On the Moon

When the moon is full, there is a large, dark, oval spot on it to the left, as you face it, and close to the east rim, almost halfway up; this is the Plain of Grimaldi; it is about twice the size of the whole State of New Jersey; but it is proof of a pair of excellent eyes if you can see it at all.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SIGNS AND BLAZES]

Blazes

First among the trail signs that are used by Woodcrafters, Indians, and white hunters, and most likely to be of use to the traveler, are axe blazes on tree trunks. Among these some may vary greatly with locality, but there is one that I have found everywhere in use with scarcely any variation. That is the simple white spot meaning, "_Here is the trail._"

The Indian in making it may nick off an infinitesimal speck of bark with his knife, the trapper with his hatchet may make it as big as a dollar, or the settler with his heavy axe may stab off half the tree-side; but the sign is the same in principle and in meaning, on trunk, log, or branch from Atlantic to Pacific and from Hudson Strait to Rio Grande.

"This is your trail," it clearly says in the universal language of the woods.

There are two ways of employing it: one when it appears on back and front of the trunk, so that the trail can be run both ways; the other when it appears on but one side of each tree, making a _blind trail_, which can be run one way only, the blind trail is often used by trappers and prospectors, who do not wish anyone to follow their back track.

But there are treeless regions where the trail must be marked; regions of sage brush and sand, regions of rock, stretches of stone, and level wastes of gra.s.s or sedge. Here other methods must be employed.

A well-known Indian device, in the brush, is to break a twig and leave it hanging. (_Second line._)

Among stones and rocks the recognized sign is one stone set on top of another (_top line_) and in places where there is nothing but gra.s.s the custom is to twist a tussock into a knot (_third line_).

These signs are also used in the whole country from Maine to California.

In running a trail one naturally looks straight ahead for the next sign; if the trail turned sharply without notice one might easily be set wrong, but custom has provided against this. The tree blaze for turn "to the right" is shown in No. 2, fourth row; "to the left" in No. 3. The greater length of the turning blaze seems to be due to a desire for emphasis as the same mark set square on, is understood to mean "Look out, there is something of special importance here." Combined with a long side chip means "very important; here turn aside." This is often used to mean "camp is close by," and a third sign that is variously combined always with the general meaning of "warning" or "something of great importance" is a threefold blaze. (No. 4 on fourth line.) The combination (No. 1 on bottom row) would read "Look out now for something of great importance to the right." This blaze I have often seen used by trappers to mark the whereabouts of their trap or cache.

Surveyors often use a similar mark--that is, three simple spots and a stripe to mean, "There is a stake close at hand," while a similar blaze on another tree nearby means that the stake is on a line between.

Stone Signs

These signs done into stone-talk would be as in the top line of the cut.

These are much used in the Rockies where the trail goes over stony places or along stretches of slide rock.

Gra.s.s and Twig Signs

In gra.s.s or sedge the top of the tuft is made to show the direction to be followed; if it is a point of great importance three tufts are tied, their tops straight if the trail goes straight on; otherwise the tops are turned in the direction toward which the course turns.

The Ojibways and other woodland tribes use twigs for a great many of these signs. (_See second row._) The hanging broken twig like the simple blaze means "This is the trail." The twig clean broken off and laid on the ground across the line of march means, "Here break from your straight course and go in the line of the b.u.t.t end," and when an especial _warning_ is meant, the b.u.t.t is pointed toward the one following the trail and raised somewhat, in a forked twig. If the b.u.t.t of the twig were raised and pointing to the left, it would mean "Look out, camp, or ourselves, or the enemy, or the game we have killed is out that way." With some, the elevation of the b.u.t.t is made to show the distance of the object; if low the object is near, if raised very high the object is a long way off.

These are the princ.i.p.al signs of the trail used by Woodcrafters, Indians, and hunters in most parts of America. These are the standards--the ones sure to be seen by those who camp in the wilderness.