FOREST AND STREAM 
471 
Value and Use of a Compass 
One of the Items That is Often Overlooked in Making Up the Duffel for 
a Hunting Trip 
Interesting Story by W. L. Marble. 
The average sporting goods store sells com¬ 
passes, but as a rule the line is not pushed, and 
unless some customer asks for one the line is 
seldom thought of. Not often is a compass 
shown in a sporting goods window, and perhaps 
they often are overlooked in making up recom¬ 
mendations for the duffel. In a recent issue of 
“The Messenger,” the house organ of the Marble 
Arms and Manufacturing Company, W. L. 
Marble, president of the company, an experienced 
woodsman, shows how important a compass is, 
especially to the novice. The article in part 
follows: 
In selecting a compass you want one that will 
tell the truth every time and then believe it and 
trust it, even if it does seem to point the wrong 
way. Don’t argue with your compass. It is 
always a waste of time, for the compass is 
bound to win out. The size of the compass is 
not very important- A size from three-quarters 
to one and one half inches in diameter is plenty 
large enough for a sportsman’s use. Timber es¬ 
timators who have to run accurate parallel lines 
generally use a compass with a needle from two 
and one-half to three inches long with raised 
and graduated dial and with folding sights. 
It is always best to select a compass with an 
arrow-shaped needle. Some are made with both 
ends of needle alike, except that the north end 
is colored blue and the south end polished. 
Some people have been known to forget which 
end was north. If you have a compass of this 
kind it would be a good idea to scratch on the 
bottom the inscription, “Blue end points north.” 
The needle or pointer should have an agate bear¬ 
ing or jewel firmly set in the base cap, and be 
accurately balanced on a finely tempered and 
pointed pivot. The needle should be thoroughly 
magnetized and should vibrate very sensitively 
at the least change in the position of the com¬ 
pass box. A needle that vibrates rapidly and 
easily always points right when it settles, whereas 
one that vibrates slowly and settles quickly is 
liable to be off a few degrees when it settles, 
consequently is inaccurate. 
Some people prefer a Stop on their pocket 
compass. This is a little lever which presses the 
needle against the crystal when the cover is put 
on, or can be set by hand when in an open face 
compass. I consider the stop not only unneces¬ 
sary but detrimental, as the stop mortise allows 
particles of dust and dirt to get inside the box. 
These eventually work their way into the pivot 
cavity of the needle mounting and interfere with 
the free working of the needle. The compass 
box should be waterproof, as the least bit of 
moisture under the glass will cause the needle 
to stick to the crystal, and until it has been 
thoroughly dried out is worse than no compass 
at all. I had to stop once in a driving snow¬ 
storm late in the afternoon, miles from camp, 
build a fire and dry out all three of my com¬ 
passes which ha'd collected moisture under the 
glass to the extent of being entirely useless. 
Most compasses are made so that they can¬ 
not be taken apart for adjustment without in¬ 
juring the crystal or the flange that holds it in 
place. This is a bad feature and should be 
avoided in the selection of a compass. It will 
often happen that the extreme point of the post 
will become dulled or broken or slightly bent 
over. If you can readily take the compass apart 
the point may be sharpened with a fine whet¬ 
stone and made as good as new. This is very 
important when you are not where you can step 
into a store and buy a new one. If you are 
going into the woods alone and where you must 
depend on a compass, always take along an extra 
one, or, better still, two extra ones, so that if 
one should become damaged your business or 
pleasure would not be interfered with. 
If you intend to hunt in an unfamiliar terri¬ 
tory where you are to depend upon your com¬ 
pass to get you out, a map showing the topog¬ 
raphy of the country is of great benefit and may 
be secured at the state land office, the county 
seat or at the United States land office. These 
maps are compiled from the field notes of the 
surveyors and indicate the location of streams, 
lakes, roads, mountain ranges, swamps, hills, 
etc. 
Locate your camp on the map. It will usually 
be on a stream, lake or road. If the general 
course of the road or stream is east and west 
and you are to hunt north of it you will only 
have to run south to get back to your base line 
or camp. If your course varies to the east or 
north it will be necessary to make the same dis¬ 
tance west or south to get back to your starting 
point. 
A pedometer is of great value when hunting, 
as it shows one how far he has gone in the 
different directions. If you desire to lay a fairly 
accurate course and have both hands at liberty, 
hold your compass in both hands at half arm’s 
length from the body, with the elbows resting 
against your sides, so as to bring the compass 
in direct line with center of your body. To settle 
the needle quickly tip the compass until the end 
of the needle touches the glass, thus checking 
the vibration. Repeat this quickly two or three 
times as the needle is passing the center of the 
arc it is making. Then carefully level the box 
and as soon as the needle stops vibrating take a 
sight on some object in exact alignment with 
your course and as far ahead as you can see. 
Walk to it and repeat the operation. A little 
practice will enable you to run quite an accurate 
line. 
I desire to fully impress upon your mind the 
extreme importance of consulting your compass 
often, otherwise you may swing so far from your 
course in going only a short distance that you 
will be inclined to doubt its accuracy. One of 
the very best woodsmen I ever knew made three 
complete circuits one cloudy afternoon in terri¬ 
tory with which he was so familiar that he did 
not consult his compass—so sure 'was he that he 
could keep a direct course to his destination- 
His confidence in his ability as an expert woods¬ 
man received a severe shock and he never after¬ 
ward dared to rely on his sense of direction. 
Consult your compass often. Your confidence 
in the utility of the compass will increase rapidly 
as you become more familiar with it. It adds 
very much to the pleasure and success of an out¬ 
ing trip to feel that you are not altogether de¬ 
pendent on a more experienced fellow sportsman 
or a guide to enable you to get back to camp, 
and is a source of great satisfaction to know 
that you can strike out and explore new terri¬ 
tory alone and find your way back to camp with 
the aid of the most absolutely reliable guide 
you have—the compass. 
AMERICAN CANOE ASSOCIATION. 
Editor, Forest and Stream : 
Please publish in your earliest issue, in order 
to comply with the By-laws providing for two 
weeks’ publication in Forest and Stream prior 
to an Executive Meeting, the enclosed Proposed 
Amendment to the By-laws which was offered 
by the following Committee appointed at the 
last Executive Meeting, consisting of the fol¬ 
lowing : 
F. A. Saunders, No. 6187, Central Division; E. 
B. Ayres, No. 4555, Atlantic Division; D. S- 
Pratt, No. 3417, Eastern Division. 
Proposed Amendment to By-laws of the Amer¬ 
ican Canoe Association. Change Chapter I, Sec¬ 
tion 5, to read: 
Visitors over five years of age, when accom¬ 
panying members, may be admitted to the Gen¬ 
eral Camp at the discretion of the Commodore, 
and to the Ladies’ Camp on the invitation of 
an Associate Member and at the discretion of 
the Committee governing it, provided, that if 
they spend one night or more in camp, they or 
the member introducing them, shall pay three 
($3) dollars, the same dues and camp charges 
as regular members. But this shall not preclude 
the free admission of any of the immediate fam¬ 
ily of a member who is a minor when accom¬ 
panied by parents. Minors, not accompanied by 
their parents who are members, must be cared 
for by a member or an associate member, and 
they shall pay two ($2) dollars each. A minor 
in the foregoing is understood to mean a per¬ 
son under the age of eighteen and over five 
years. 
Following were proposed for Associate Mem¬ 
bership by E. B. Ayres, No. 4555: 
Mrs. Wm. J. Hunter, 6003 Lansdowne Ave., 
Philadelphia; Mrs. Edmund Vom Steeg, Roselle 
Park, N. J. 
My term of office as Purser expired Septem¬ 
ber 30th and my successor is Mr. Clemens 
Schroeder, 355 West 145th Street., New York 
City. W. H. LOGAN, Jr. 
AMERICAN DUCK SHOOTING—George Bird 
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of each species. Part two is devoted to shooting meth¬ 
ods, north, east, south and west, while part three deals 
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servations. Cloth, heavy laid paper, 58 portrait illus¬ 
trations, eight full-page plates, 650 pages. Postpaid, 
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