THE ARCTIC 
133 
shortest time. If you have been forced down from an airplane 
in the interior, stay by the plane unless you have definite knowl- 
edge of the location of a camp or settlement and know that you 
can reach it in a short time. If you start off at random you will 
be in much greater danger than if you stay where you are. 
Searching planes will not be able to see you and almost certainly 
you will become hopelessly lost. On the other hand, the grounded 
plane will be easily visible from the air and if you establish a 
camp nearby and build a fire as a signal, your chances of rescue 
are good. If there is not too much wind, the smoke from a good 
fire will be visible for ten miles or more. As an additional means 
of attracting tbe attention of planes, spruce branches should be 
arranged on the snow to form letters a hundred feet across or 
more. Fire your signal pistol only when planes are heard 
approaching. 
In the north, native villages and camps as well as white settle- 
ments are generally found along the coasts. Therefore, if you are 
stranded on a beach your chances of rescue are good. However, 
if there are rivers that cannot be crossed or if for any other 
reason it is not practicable to set out on foot along the coast, the 
best procedure will be to select a suitable camping place, build 
a smudge fire and await rescue. Wood for the fire- — driftwood or 
growing timber-will almost certainly be available, and the 
chances are that food also can be obtained with little difficulty. 
For winter travel back from the coast, snowshoes of some 
sort are usually essential. These can be improvised after a 
fashion from flat airplane or boat parts. The natives, in a 
pinch, use fiat spruce boughs lashed onto their feet. Stick to the 
ridges or streams where the wind-blown snow is thin, wherever 
