CHAPTER XVI 



THE EVOLUTION OF NATURE GUIDING 



THE primeval guide led his followers along the 

 dim, wild-life trail marked by hoof and claw. 

 Primitive folk needed to find the way back 

 to camp and to lead their associates to a discovered 

 feast. Woodlore and the peculiar alertness which 

 commonly goes with it made every Indian a born 

 guide. The Indian took reckonings as he moved, 

 and once over a route he knew its landmarks and 

 its resources. Lewis and Clark in two emergen- 

 cies were guided by Sacajawea, a sixteen-year-old 

 Indian girl, who might be called a nature guide. 

 Her mastery of the outdoors enabled her to lead the 

 exploring party across the Rocky Mountains to 

 places where she had not been before. Kit Carson 

 and John Colter were excellent guides. Guides have 

 encouraged people to go into new fields, among 

 new scenes, to advance, to get somewhere. 



MacMillan, in "Four Years in the White 

 North," tells of a rare incident which illustrates 

 the mastership of man over the obstacles of nature 

 and the ability to use its resources. The ther- 

 mometer was thirty-six below, and a blizzard had 

 been roaring for hours when several sledge loads of 



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