Path-Pilot Compass ©

 

 

A Path-Pilot compass and the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage.  Photograph by the Author.

Recently I was doing some research on the World War Two Era, United States Air Force, Emergency Sustenance Vest, Type C-1, when I found this in the instruction manual.

 

An excerpt from the “Instructions For The Use Of Emergency Sustenance Vest, Type C-1”, pages 4 and 5.

I remember thinking, “Wow, how cool!  A direct-reading compass, and it is a waterproof matchbox, with a flint strip on the side to scrape sparks with!  I have to get one of those!”

 

Unfortunately, they don’t make them anymore.  Oh, sure there is something like it, the “5-in-1 Survival Whistle”, but it doesn’t have a direct-reading compass built into it, just a regular dial compass.  Ughh!  How frustrating.

 

A “5-in-1 Survival Whistle”, which can be found HERE.

“So”, you ask, “BandanaMan, why are you so excited about a direct-reading compass”?  Well first let’s talk a little bit about compasses.

 

 

An excerpt from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, page 11.

There are two types of compasses, the needle compass, where the magnetized needle swings above the dial, and the dial or card type of compass, where the needle is attached to the compass card and the entire dial swings and points towards north.  Often card compasses, and sometimes needle compasses, have a lubber line or “direction-of-travel-line” marked on them, and sometimes even sights.

 

An excerpt from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, page 7.

Needle compasses can be difficult to use, as the dial is fixed, and often the “lubber line”¹ is simply an imaginary line passing through the north and south points of the dial. 

 

Using a needle compass, from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, pages 12-13.

 

Another example of how to use a needle compass, from Better Ways Of Pathfinding, by Robert S. Owendoff, page 39.

A dial or card type of compass, like the Silva or lensatic style of compass, correctly shows the actual magnetic bearing under the front index, the point of the lubber line farthest away from the user’s eye, so that the traveler, as Robert S. Owendoff notes, “...avoids the confusion of taking a reading at another part of the dial as is necessary with all needle compasses”². 

 

How to use a card compass, from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, page 13.

So, what you really want in a path-finding compass, is a dial compass with a lubber line, and possibly with sights, which allow you to directly read the bearings from the front index of the lubber line.  Most users with these types of compasses can learn to take an azimuth reading, when the compass is held at eye-level, within one to two degrees of accuracy, and when “shooting from the hip”, by holding the compass at waist level, with only slightly less accuracy.

 

The DuPage Path-Pilot direct-reading compass, from Boy’s Life, October 1946, page 49

Well, I managed to find an original DuPage Path-Pilot, direct reading compass and the instructional manual, which came with it!  This compass appears to have been built to the same specifications as those of the “Compass, Match Box”, which was illustrated in the “Instructions For The Use Of Emergency Sustenance Vest, Type C-1”.  If this particular compass wasn’t manufactured during World War Two, it was manufactured shortly thereafter. 

 

A DuPage Path-Pilot.  On the left note the vertical lubber line in the “YOU ARE LOOKING” window.  On the right note the sighting notches, connected by a lubber line, and just below that the north pointing arrow.  Photograph by the Author.

But how is the DuPage Path-Pilot compass different from dial or card type of compasses?  The only real difference is that instead of reading your bearings from under the front index point, while looking down on the compass, you read them from under the vertical lubber line while looking at the side of the compass match box.

 

How to use a DuPage Path-Pilot compass, from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, page 13.

This compass was great to use, since I didn’t have to look back and forth from the landmark to the compass dial, as I would have with a Silva or lensatic compass, I simply held it up to my eye, sighted my landmark through the sight notches and read off or followed the bearing by walking towards my hand. 

 

How to use a DuPage Path-Pilot compass, and excerpt from the Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, by DuPage, pages 34 and 35.

However, while the compass in my DuPage Path-Pilot still works, I don’t feel comfortable putting a museum piece into my survival kit.

 

A DuPage Path-Pilot, direct reading compass match box, in use.  Photograph by the Author.

So, since the only direct-reading compass match boxes are now museum pieces, which were last manufactured around 1950, how would you find something or modify something so that it is similar?

 

A “5-in-1 Survival Whistle”

Well, first buy a “5-in-1-Survival Whistle”, these can be found at just about any store selling outdoor gear, or HERE, or HERE.  Next with a hacksaw or razor blade, carefully etch or scratch a vertical lubber line on the side of compass container and saw twin sighting notches, directly in line with each other, on the top edge of the compass.  Next using luminescent paint, such as Glow-ON Green Color, Super Phosphorescent Gun Night Sights Paint, HERE, paint the sighting notches and the vertical lubber line, like in the picture below. 

 

A diagram of how to modify a 5-in-1 Survival Whistle, with sighting notches and a vertical lubber line etched into the plastic, and then painted with luminescent paint, showing a bearing of 60^o under the front index point.

You now have a compass match box that shows the actual magnetic bearing under the front index, the notch farthest away from the vertical lubber line and the user’s eye.  It isn’t exactly a DuPage Path-Pilot, but it is pretty close! 

 

And remember, when it comes to survival equipment, and in particular compasses, cheap doesn’t always equal good.  The DuPage Path-Pilot cost $1.95 in 1946, and as a comparison, in 2022 dollars, it would today cost about $29.68.  So, keep that in mind as you shop for your “5-in-1 Survival Whistle”.

 

For more on using compasses, read “There and Back Again...Finding Your Way©”, HERE.

 

And don’t forget to come back next week and read “Building a WWII Emergency Sustenance Vest, Type C-1, Part One©”, where we will talk about how to build an emergency survival vest, like the one that American pilots, wore during World War Two.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ A “lubber line” is a drawn or imaginary line on your compass, that points along the line of the bearing to the point that you plan on traveling to.

 

² From Better Ways Of Pathfinding, Robert S. Owendoff

 

Sources

 

Owendoff, Robert S.; Better Ways Of Pathfinding, [The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 1964], page 39

 

DuPage Plastics Company; Compass Handbook and Map Encyclopedia, Second Revised Edition, [1945, Chicago, IL]

 

 

The Ignis-Fatuus or Will-O’-The-Wisp ©

 

 

“In marshy and boggy places, a light is sometimes seen to hover over the ground by night, appearing from a distance like a taper gleaming from some cottage window. The light is caused by the lighting up of an inflammable gas produced by decaying animal and vegetable matter in bogs, marshes and stagnant pools. It is found that when damp soils are drained, the Will-o'-the-Wisp disappears.” 

Plate 25. 'The Ignis Fatuus' from the collection of the Science Museum Group, HERE.  

“Ignis Fatuus”, “foolish fire”, “Jack-o’-Lantern”, “Will-o’-the-wisp”, or “corpse candle”, “the hinkypunk”, “elf-fire”, “feu follet”, “irrlicht”¹, call it what you will, but all are names used to describe the same phenomenon; a glowing orb of spectral light shining, always just out of your grasp, luring you on, floating above the farthest reaches of a bog, swamp or fetid pool.  If you try to touch it, you just might sink into the muddy depths, never to be heard from, or seen again!

 

An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 47.

Ooooh…Spooky!  But is it a real, natural phenomenon, or something supernatural?

 

Ignis fatuus is a phenomenon whose cause has perplexed scientists for centuries, and even today scientists still don’t agree on exactly what causes it.  Will-o’-the wisp, or ignis fatuus, has been discussed scientifically since at least 1596, when Ludvig Lavater, wrote of Ghostes and Spirites, in the chapter titled "That many naturall things are taken to be ghoasts"

 

An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 47.

Ignis fatuus was often encountered at night in burial grounds or churchyards, in swampy, boggy marshes, particularly those that had been recently disturbed or dug into, or when it is raining. 

 

A challenge with understanding the phenomenon that causes ignis fatuus is that early reports and research were inconsistent, with some stating that the flames were cold and produced no heat, and others reporting that ignes fatui could light slips of paper on fire and even explode!  While most early observers spoke of ignis fatuus as being a flame, some very prominent researchers did not.  As a matter of  fact, Sir Isaac Newton, in the third book of his “Opticks”, thought that “Ignis Fatuus is a Vapour shining without heat, and is there not the same difference between this Vapour and a Flame, as between rotten Wood shining without heat and burning Coals of Fire?” 

 

Compounding the problem of understanding the cause of this strange occurrence, apparently during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, will-o’-the-wisps, or ignes fatui were more commonly seen than they are today.  Interestingly, researchers of the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries thought that there was a direct correlation between the decrease in sightings of ignes fatui and the increase in the draining of swamplands to make more farmland; so, the fewer and smaller the wetlands, the fewer and less often are will-o’-the-wisps seen.

 

“Many times candles & small fires appeare in the night, and seeme to runne up and downe... Sometime these fires goe alone in the night season, and put such as see them, as they travel by night, in great feare. But these things, and many such lyke have their naturall causes... Natural Philosophers write, that thicke exhilations aryse out of the earth, and are kindled. Mynes full of sulphur and brimstone, if the aire enter unto it, as it lyeth in the holes and veines of the earth, will kindle on fier, and strive to get out.”

An excerpt from Of Ghostes and Spirites, by Ludwig Lavater, 1596.

So, what could it be?

 

An Ignis Fatuus, or Will-o'-The-Whisp. As seen in Lincolnshire, 1820, from the collection of the Science Museum Group, HERE.

So just what could it be?  Researchers and other observers of ignis fatuus have at various times suggested everything from marsh gas, bio or chemiluminescence, geologic or piezoelectric occurrences, ball lightning or even the supernatural to explain will-o’-the-wisps, or ignes fatui.  Let’s talk about a couple of them.

An excerpt from Knowledge, “The Ignis Fatuus”, page 48.

Take a walk in a bog, swamp or marsh and you will see bubbles, floating to the surface.  You might even see an oily, rainbow film floating on the surface of the water, like gasoline spilled on wet pavement, this is naturally occurring liquid hydrocarbons.  Marshes, bogs, and swamps contain large, thick deposits of rotting plants and other organic materials, and as underwater microorganisms decompose them, “marsh gas” is produced.  Marsh gas is made up of three flammable gases, methane (CH₄), diphosphane (P₂H₄) and phosphine (PH₃)². 

 

Methane is the primary component of marsh gas, and the “ignition theory” as the source for the will-o’-the-wisp.  But what ignites the methane?  Methane doesn’t spontaneously ignite below temperatures of 999^oF or 537ºC, so without an ignition source how does the ignis fatuus form?

 

It forms because as underwater microorganisms decompose phosphorus containing proteins, phosphine and diphosphane gases are formed and produce a lovely rotting fish smell.  Phosphine gas can self-ignite at temperatures above about 99^o F or 37^o C, but diphosphane gas, which is more unstable, ignites spontaneously in air, at room temperatures of only 68^o to 75^o F, or 20^o to 24^o C³.  So as these three hydrocarbon gases bubble to the surface and contact the air, due to oxidation, the phosphine and more importantly the diphosphane gas ignite spontaneously, creating the spark that ignites the flammable methane and voila, a naturally formed ignis fatuus!

 

An excerpt from “Ignis Fatuus”, by Fernando Sanford, page 365.

Cold flame, fox fire, glow sticks and fireflies are all example of either bio or chemiluminescence.  While most observations of ignis fatuus seem to be describing some form of combustion, apparently of marsh gas, others seem to be describing some type of bio or chemiluminescence.  But what is bio or chemiluminescence, you ask?  Simply put, it is the emission of light (luminescence) as the result of a chemical reaction, with or without any emission of heat.

 

There are many things that exhibit bio or chemiluminescence, and the phosphine(PH3) gas, in marsh gas, is one of them, and it might be able to explain the sightings of cold flame.  In 2008, researchers Luigi Garaschelli and Paolo Boschetti, of the University of Pavia’s organic chemistry department, writing in “On the track of the will-o'-the-wisp”, suggested that phosphine’s natural chemiluminescence might be an explanation for the strange sightings of ignis fatuus instead.  Phosphine according to these researchers could react with oxygen and nitrogen in the air and although this puts out only a dim light, in the dark of the night, in a dank, murky depths of a swamp it would be easily visible.

 

A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century, at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland, from Wikimedia, HERE.

But maybe, hidden in all of the glimmers of burning marsh gas, lies a supernatural origin for ignes fatui, or will-o’-the-wisps.  Maybe Stingy Jack O’ The Lantern, truly exists, lighting the way for, or leading astray travelers in the nighttime swamps, in a never-ending cycle of Halloween trick or treat!

 

An excerpt from Irish Miscellany; “Jack O’ The Lantern”, November 27, 1858, page 247.

According to the law of parsimony (also known as Occam's razor), the simplest solution is often the best, and while marsh gas is less interesting than a supernatural origin, I believe that this is the simplest and best solution to the problem of what causes ignis fatuus.  But, while it seems that self-igniting marsh gases are behind the sightings, in the end, just like with the Mothman, the truth of will-o’-the-wisp, or ignis fatuus may never be known.  Anyways, Happy Halloween!

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read about “Path-Pilot Compass ©”, where we will talk about a really cool piece of gear that unfortunately they don’t make any longer.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ The plural of these are “ignes fatui”, “feux follets” and “irlichter”.

 

² Methane used to be known as light carbureted hydrogen or light carburetted hydrogen and also as “fire damp” and phosphine used to be known as phosphureted or phosphuretted hydrogen.

 

³ Room temperature scientific calculations, room temperature is taken to be roughly 68^o to 75^o F or 20° to 23.5°C, with an average of 73°F, or about 21°C.  From New World Encyclopedia, HERE.

 

Sources

 

Borrows, Peter; “Marsh gas, or hydrocarbons on the heath”, Education In Chemistry, December 31, 2007, [© Royal Society of Chemistry 2022], https://edu.rsc.org/opinion/marsh-gas-or-hydrocarbons-on-the-heath/2021054.article, accessed October 22, 2022

 

Chapman, Kit; “Phosphine”, April 12, 2017, Chemistry World, [© Royal Society of Chemistry 2022], https://www.chemistryworld.com/podcasts/phosphine/3007120.article, accessed October 22,2022

 

Irish Miscellany; “Jack O’ The Lantern”, Volume 2, Number 42, Boston, November 27, 1858, page 246 to 247, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Irish_Miscellany/YIcyAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22forsaken+craythur%22&pg=RA1-PA246&printsec=frontcover, accessed October 20, 2022

 

Jones, David; “Fire with no spark”, Chemistry World, April 23, 2014, [© Royal Society of Chemistry 2022], https://www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/fire-with-no-spark/7288.article, accessed October 22, 2022.

 

Sanford, Fernando; “Ignis Fatuus”, The Scientific Monthly, Volume 9, Number 4, October 1919, pages 358 to 365, https://www.jstor.org/stable/6287#metadata_info_tab_contents, accessed October 15, 2022

 

Science Museum Group Collection; Plate 25. 'The Ignis Fatuus', by Josiah Wood Whymper, Phenomena of Nature, Published for the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, London, 1849, [© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London], https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8033684/phenomena-of-nature-the-ignis-fatuus-book, accessed October 15, 2022

 

Science Museum Group Collection; An Ignis Fatuus, or Will-o'-The-Whisp. As seen in Lincolnshire, engraved by T. W. Cook after Pether. Published by R.N. Rose, London, 1820. [© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum, London], https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co64526/engraving-an-ignis-fatuus-print, accessed October 15, 2022

 

Tomlinson, Charles; “The Ignis Fatuus”, Knowledge, March 1, 183, London, page 46 to 48, https://archive.org/details/knowledgev140nov16londuoft, accessed October 19, 2022

 

Wikimedia; A traditional Irish turnip Jack-o'-lantern from the early 20th century, at the Museum of Country Life, Ireland, by Rannpháirtí anaithnid, July 21, 2009, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Traditional_Irish_halloween_Jack-o%27-lantern.jpg, accessed October 15, 2022

 

Situational Awareness, It Isn’t Just for Preppers! ©

 

 

Situational awareness, Code White to Code Orange, an excerpt from “Think Ahead”, U.S. Army Aviation Digest, HERE.

Situational awareness is often thought of only in regard to military situations, but it applies in your day-to-day world and in your travels through the wilderness.  Situational awareness is a skill, and it needs to be practiced and improved.  However, lately, it sometimes it seems to be an almost forgotten skill, and currently it seems to be at an all time low, both out there on the streets and out in the wilderness.  Nobody is paying any attention; they are lost in their technology!  I know plenty of people like that and I know that you know people like that too.  So what good is being prepared and learning and practicing survival skills if you aren’t going to pay attention?!

 

While being hyper-vigilant can make you crazy, a lack of vigilance can make you dead!  Somewhere there has to be a happy medium and personally I would rather err on the side of caution.  I mean being dead, kinda sucks!  So, let’s talk about situational awareness.

 

Situational Awareness?

 

So, what is situational awareness?  Situational awareness is more than just being unplugged from your technology and being aware of the world around you by observing or gathering information; it is also understanding or interpreting what you observe happening around you and anticipating how the current conditions will change and making plans to overcome any potential problems.  It can be on both a narrow, short-term, tactical level, which is close range and only covers minutes or hours, or on a more strategic level, that is broader and deeper in scope and time.

 

For the purpose of today’s article, I am going to be talking about situational awareness only in the narrow, closeup, short-term tactical sense.

 

There are different levels of situational awareness, starting with condition white and ending with condition black, to reflect your different levels of awareness and preparation.

 

Condition white, describes a person in an unaware, distracted or completely oblivious and unprepared state.  Unfortunately, it describes most of the people that you interact with on a daily basis.  They are busy chatting with someone, or on the phone, they are listening to music, or watching a video, or reading a book.  They are narrowly focused and are not using their peripheral vision.  People in this state of awareness are victims waiting for someone or something to victimize them.

 

The next state of awareness is condition yellow, which is a state of relaxed passive awareness.  This state describes a person who is noticing the world around them and who will notice something odd or out of place.  People usually cycle back and forth, in between condition white and condition yellow.  People who are situationally aware, often will do a quick check of their environment, going into condition yellow, before sliding back into condition white.

 

A wilderness example of condition yellow would be noticing a line of thunder clouds on the western horizon headed your way.

 

If circumstances in your environment require that you pay active attention, then you have moved into condition orange.  In condition orange, you have observed and understood that a situation exist that is a potential threat, and you have to anticipate how the current conditions might change and make plans to avoid the danger.

 

In condition orange, you have the time to prepare, plan and position yourself to meet the perceived threat.  In any situation of a perceived threat, don’t forget the rule of “waiting for the other shoe to drop” which is similar to the “plus one rule”, and recommends to always be prepared for the next threat, that is inevitably following the one that you have already noticed¹.  Don’t become focused only on the perceived threat that you see, continue to stay alert and look for additional threats.

 

A wilderness example of condition orange would be hearing thunder from the advancing clouds just to the west of you.  If you can hear thunder, then the lightning can hit you and you need get off the water, if you are traveling by boat, or move to a lower altitude, if hill or mountain walking, or find shelter away from open areas, cliffs, or tall trees.

 

In condition red you are in danger, and you must react.  This is where the fight and flight of “Fight, Flight or Freeze” response occurs.  Don’t forget to continue to stay alert and look for additional threats and be prepared for them as they happen.

 

A wilderness example of condition red would be if lightning is striking around you, you need to spread out if you are in a group, get small and try to insulate yourself from the ground.  Don’t forget to be conscious of the potential for hypothermia as the temperature drops due to the storm, aggravated by the wind and the wet.

 

Condition black is when you are overwhelmed and overloaded, and in the “Fight, Flight or Freeze” response you will only be able to freeze or panic.  In condition black you will not be able to respond to a threat in any successful or skilled manner.  If you are walking around in condition white and are suddenly surprised, condition black is usually what follows.

 

Improving Situational Awareness

 

Okay, situational awareness is important, so what can I do improve my awareness of the world around me?

 

It could happen to you

 

The movie poster for, It Could Happen To You, 1937, Republic Pictures.

It COULD happen to you, although most people choose to ignore this reality, preferring to believe that it can’t happen to them, that accidents, bad weather, attacks, becoming “misplaced”, or otherwise having an emergency, is something that only happens to the other guy. 

 

Unplug!

 

Unplug! From Wikimedia, “A set of North American AC power plugs”, by Evan-Amos, HERE.

Unplug, unplug, unplug!  Pull your head out of your technology long enough to observe the world around you.  A moment or two at condition yellow, to check your surroundings, before slipping back into condition white will make a vast improvement in your situational awareness.

 

Keep your head on a swivel…

 

Keep your head on a swivel, modified by the Author from “Think Ahead”, U.S. Army Aviation Digest.

Keep your head on a swivel!  Active scanning or keeping your head on a swivel is looking around you and observing what is on both sides of you and what is going on close up, at mid-range and long range. 

 

My first lesson in situational awareness came from my older cousin, who from 1975 to 1979 served in a recon platoon, in the U.S. Army’s 1^st Battalion, 26^th Infantry.  He told me that I should constantly scan ahead of me, from right to left and then back again, left to right, starting about 50 feet away from me and then proceeding outward.  I started doing that then, and I still do it today, all these years later, whenever I am out and about.

 

Check your six!

 

Check your six, graphic by the Author.

“Check your six!”  Check your six is an expression that means to look behind you, to the six o’clock position on a clock, since looking forward is 12 o’clock, for danger.  But it is not only danger you are looking for, look also for landmarks.  As you travel in the wilderness, look back along the trail, and “check your six”, so that you will know what your return path will look like.  As you can see in the pictures below, it always looks different. 

 

The same 30 feet, or 9 meters of trail.  Notice how different the trail looks, looking forward (the picture on the left was taken from “a” while looking towards “b”), compared to when you are looking backwards (the picture on the right was taken at “b” while looking towards “a”).  Graphics and photographs by the Author.

Be aware and pay attention to distinctive trees, rocks, and other terrain features that are along your path as you travel through the wilderness.  Pay close attention to the landmarks you pass by, on your way to “there”, wherever there is, since these landmarks will be important clues to look for, on your way back from “there”.  Memorize where distinctive landmarks are, relative to where your starting point or camp is, so that you can find your way back again.

 

Use your peripheral vision

 

Peripheral vision and field of view, modified by the Author from Wikimedia, by Zyxwv99, November 29, 2014, HERE and HERE.

Use your peripheral vision to look for movement or observe changes in your environment that are taking place on either side of you.  Many people become so focused on what is directly happening in front of them that they neglect to use their peripheral vision. 

 

So don’t be caught unawares in condition white.  Unplug and slip into condition yellow as needed and be aware of what is around you.  Remember by combining the use of your peripheral vision with active scanning and checking your six you will be able to develop a 360^o mental picture of what is going on around you.

 

For more on being aware in the wilderness read, “The Top Ten Wilderness Survival Skills...Number Two©”, HERE, and “There and Back Again...Finding Your Way©”, HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The Ignis-Fatuus or Will-O’-The-Wisp”, where we will talk about marsh lights, and whether or not there are scientific facts behind the story of the Will-O’-The Wisp or whether it is Stingy Jack and his hellfire lantern or supernatural phenomenon.

 

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE.  Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.  If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site.  I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

 

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ The “plus one rule.”  From the “Color Code of Awareness” by 88 Tactical, HERE.  “The plus one rule is as follows: If there is one bad guy, count on there being another. If the aggressor has one weapon, expect them to have another. If you face one attack, be prepared to face another attack”.

 

 

Sources

 

88 Tactical, “Color Code of Awareness”, [© 2022 88 Tactical], https://88tactical.com/color-codes-of-awareness/, October 13, 2022

 

Pursley, Charles C., Capt.; “Think Ahead”, U.S. Army Aviation Digest, Vol. 9, No. 11, November 1963, p. 13, https://books.google.com/books?id=mZXIHMp3gVIC&pg=RA5-PP4&dq=United+States+Army+Aviation+Digest+%22think+ahead%22+1963&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjXr8OMw9n6AhWEVjUKHRTcDBYQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=United%20States%20Army%20Aviation%20Digest%20%22think%20ahead%22%201963&f=false, accessed October 11, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “A set of North American AC power plugs”, by Evan-Amos, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NEMA-AC-Power-Plugs.jpg, accessed on October 15, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “Human field of view (FOV)”, by Zyxwv99, November 29, 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peripheral_vision.svg, accessed on October 15, 2022

 

Wikimedia, “Range of field of view (FOV)”, by Zyxwv99, November 29, 2014, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Field_of_view.svg, accessed on October 15, 2022