600 
FOREST AND STREAM 
October, 1918 
A Way to Find North 
PORTSMEN generally do not appre¬ 
ciate that a little knowledge of geol¬ 
og}' is a valuable asset in the woods. 
The lost hunter or fisherman can orient 
himself even on a sunless day and with¬ 
out recourse to a compass by simply mak¬ 
ing a hasty examination of the ground 
around him. 
I must begin by relating one of the most 
recent events in the geological history of 
North America, namely, its invasion by the 
great glacier of the Pleistocene period, 
some 60,000 years ago. This vast ice sheet 
covered all Canada and extended as far 
south as a line through Washington and 
Montana, along the courses of the Mis¬ 
souri and Ohio rivers, through Pennsyl¬ 
vania and thence to the sea. The ice move¬ 
ment was generally north to south. (In 
Maine it was N.N.W. to S.S.E.) The ice 
covered the land completely, having a 
thickness of thousands of feet. Even high 
mountains such as’the White Mountains in 
New Hampshire were overridden by the 
glacier. As it slowly moved southward it 
abraded and scoured the land underneath 
with the rock debris frozen in its lower 
portions, rounding and polishing the un¬ 
derlying rock surfaces and giving rise to 
the familiar rounded mountains which we 
see in the topography of New England for 
example. In passing over ledges the ice 
left scratches, grooves and chatter marks 
which may still be clearly seen to-day on 
any exposed outcrop of rock such as the 
top of a hill. These “striations” are best 
preserved on the smooth, polished surfaces 
where the ice action was most intense, 
usually on the north side of a hilltop. They 
occur in sets, being oriented north-south, 
as a rule, and the deepest portion of any 
single scratch is the northern end. 
Another feature produced by glacial 
erosion is the “roche moutonnee” or mut¬ 
ton back. These are rocky knobs or hills 
which have been overridden by the glacier 
causing the shape shown in Figure I. They 
have a gentle, smooth slope on the north 
side, “A,” and a much steeper, uneven 
slope on the south or lee side, “B,” where 
there was no scour. The arrow in the 
diagram indicates the direction of ice 
movement. These hills are quite common 
in New England, an example being Nob- 
scot hill, near Sudbury, Mass. 
In contrast with these rock hills are the 
so-called “drumlins,” composed of uncon¬ 
solidated gravel and having a lenticular 
shape. They are very common in regions 
affected by the ice, especially near the 
margin of the ice sheet, for example Wis¬ 
consin or Massachusetts. Their symmetry 
makes them very striking features of the 
landscape and hence they are easy to rec¬ 
ognize. They have been overridden by the 
ice and often have a gentler slope on the 
north side. Their long axes normally 
trend north and south. (See Figure 2.) 
Examples are all the hills in Boston, Mass., 
such as Beacon Hill and the island in Bos¬ 
ton Harbor. 
Although the foregoing methods of find¬ 
ing north are not absolutely accurate I 
submit them with the conviction that they 
will be of service to the lost sportsman, 
as they have been to me. 
Rolf A. Schroeder, Brookline, Mass. 
A Hint for Chicken Hunters 
ERE is a hint for hunters of prairie 
chicken or ducks or grouse. Walk¬ 
ing through the wild grass of the plains is 
very hard on shoes which have soared so 
in price during the last few years that they 
are precious objects and need to be taken 
care of if one would get his money’s worth 
of wear out of them. Take a strip of 
leather about 4 inches long by inch wide 
and tack it around the sole of the shoe 
like the brass-bound boot of early boyhood 
days. There is a party of surveyors here 
in Nebraska now restaking the country 
and they all have their shoes fixed this way. 
The “skeeters” are thick out here about 
bedtime, so I get my relief this way. M- 
sent out to me a four foot square of mos¬ 
quito bar. This I suspend over my head 
by a cord sewed into the tent and tied to 
the middle of the netting so that it hangs 
about a foot above my head and drapes 
itself out on all sides. And to smoke out 
the tent I made a smudge-pot from a gal¬ 
lon tin bucket punched full of holes and 
a wire handle fixed in. When I get ready 
for smoking operations I fill the bucket 
full of hay, then turn it upside down and 
light it; if it blazes up instead of smok¬ 
ing it is a sign the hay is too dry, so I just 
dampen it a little. It is in big demand 
among the boys on some hot nights and 
can be carried front tent to tent. But I 
sleep sound under my skeeter-bar! 
Here is a trick to get a light from a 
friends cigarette that is used a great deal 
by the boys when riding. Let the friend 
hold his cigarette with his little finger ex¬ 
tended so it rests against the knuckle of 
the hand in which you are holding your 
cigarette, then puff away. This is handy 
when trying to get a light from a cigarette 
in some unsteady place, such as in the 
saddle or on a boat or train where there is 
unexpected motion. It holds the balance 
and the light is obtained quickly and with¬ 
out spoiling the friend’s cigarette. 
Some camping outfits contain aluminum 
bowls with no handles. These are handy 
to pack because they nest so easily but are 
very awkward to use, especially if full of 
hot soup or coffee. In the morning I al¬ 
ways like a big bowl of hot coffee with 
mouthful-size pieces of bread floating 
therein and it was a problem to manage it 
without scalding my fingers until I hit 
upon the trick of setting the bowl in a 
small handled tin cup. Then it was no 
more trouble. One cup will answer for 
several bowls as they are nearly the same 
diameter at the bottom. 
On a very hot day when you are over¬ 
heated and chance to strike a spring or a 
brook, instead of drinking at once, pour 
some water on your wrists, or, if you can, 
immerse the hands and wrists in the water. 
This tends to cool the body. Then take 
a drink or as many drinks as you please. 
I do not think drinking strange water will 
hurt anybody who perspires freely. Of 
course no one will drink from a brook that 
does not look clean or that flows through 
filthy surroundings. On some long day’s 
hike I have sampled no less than two 
dozen different kinds of water, from 
springs, brooks and pumps. 
Jim Ferguson, Spade Ranch, Neb. 
