By Graham Thomson
Can you see in the dark, like a cat ?
As a matter of fact, it is doubtful if a cat can see any more clearly in the dark than
any other animal, though it is quite likely that it can, because its eyes have such large
pupils. These collect every faintest ray of light reflected by objects round about, and so
enable it to see objects that reflect so little light that many other creatures cannot see
them at all. I Anyway, whatever cats and owls and bats, and other nocturnal (or
night-active) creatures can do, we humans are not naturally very clever at seeing in the
dark ; but we can improve ourselves in this respect by training and practice.
First of all you should make yourself really expert at Kim's Game, which is fine
training in observation and the use of the eyes. Practice Kim's Game until you are a
hundred percent accurate every time, using the variations of the ordinary game that you
can think of, and you will find the benefit when you need, to use your eyes at night. You
will be better able to concentrate on looking, for one thing.
When you go hiking in the dark, with a pal or two, in open moorland or across country,
or through the woods, you find that loss of sight brings with it loss of the sense of
direction, and uncertainty about the line you are taking. In the daytime, if you are
blindfolded and told to walk forward across a big field, you will not be able to keep
going in a straight line ; you will walk in a circle--or rather, a sort of spiral course.
This is why people often get lost in a mist or fog, or in a jungle ; if you cannot see,
you almost always fail to walk in a straight line.
Be Prepared!
The remedy for you on your night hike is to take particular precautions when you start.
A compass, a map, and an electric torch [flashlight] with which to read them, will be
useful guides, and it is up to you to learn how to use them. Or if it is a clear night,
the stars will be your guides. We have already learned how to find the Pole Star, and how
to steer a course by it, so a knowledge of the stars will be useful. But if the
stars are hidden from you by clouds or rain your difficulties will be considerably
greater.
You may be able to discern a slightly stronger light in the west, during the earlier
hours of night, due to the sunset's afterglow; or in the east towards dawn. Such light
will give you a rough idea of direction.
The wind, if any, may help, provided it blows all night from the same direction, and
provided you noted that direction when you started out. But a change of wind, which often
occurs just before dawn, may not be discerned by you, and of course it will throw you out
altogether as regards your direction.
Really the only thing to do is to try to note landmarks as you go, and memorize them.
Look to the skyline on each side, ahead and behind, note objects that stand up against it,
such as church spires, prominent trees, factory chimneys, or hills, and try to fix each in
your memory. Look back at the landmarks, too, in case you have to retrace your steps; each
one looks quite different when viewed from its other side.
But, of course, when you know that you are going into such strange country on a dark
night it is best to Be Prepared, by equipping yourself with compass, map and flashlight.
Creeping Up
A good stalking game will help you to get used to seeing in the dark, and also to
moving quietly at night. Let one fellow stand in the center of a field, on a hillock, or
where there is a natural skyline if possible. Send the rest off a hundred yards away, in
any direction they like, away from the solitary spotter on the hillock. The umpire blows
his whistle for the game to start, and squats down at the spotter's feet, out of his way.
The stalkers then start creeping as near the spotter as they can. When he sees what he
thinks is a stalker, he points in that direction, and the umpire walks out in a straight
line to the spot indicated. If a stalker is there, he must come in and squat down; or he
may forfeit a "life" and go back and start again, which is the best way to get
plenty of practice.
If no one is at the spot indicated to the umpire by the spotter, the spotter loses a
point. The umpire should count his paces each time, and points can afterwards be given to
the stalkers who crept up nearest to the spotter before being spotted.
As an addition to the game, when most of the stalkers have been spotted and hauled out
of the game, or have lost three " lives " and cannot start stalking again, the
umpire may order the spotter to shut his eyes while all the surviving stalkers move
forward two yards. Then they lie low, and the spotter tries again to spot them.
Shades and Shadows
You will all, stalkers and spotter, find that the power to distinguish objects
increases with practice, though after a long spell of the game the eyes begin to play you
tricks and you think you can see objects where there are none.
You will find that black things show up more than lighter things, if the night is not
absolutely pitch black, or if the background is grass or light-colored trees or walls or
hedges. A boy with black hair, wearing a khaki shirt and shorts, will look like a small
black balloon floating through the air, especially if he covers his face and knees with
grass. A dark blue shirt or jersey is visible against grass at as much as thirty-five
yards, and a boy's head uncovered at twenty to twenty-five yards.
You should be able to see a moving figure at a distance of about twenty-five yards,
though I have known stalkers get as near as twelve yards from the spotter on a pretty dark
night, and with a light grass background without much cover. By way of judging distance,
the red end of a lighted cigarette can. be seen 560 or 600 yards away, according to the
degree of darkness of the night.
It is easy to mistake a bush for a crouching Scout, and a Scout for a bush. If you are
uncertain whether, a group of somewhat indistinct distant objects are Scouts or bushes,
watch carefully to see whether they move, and count them ; also, fix their position
relative to some recognizable stationary object, such as a prominent tree, or a break in
the skyline, or the edge of a wood. If there is no movement for some time, and if the
number of visible objects remains constant, and if their position in relation to the fixed
object is unaltered, most probably the group of objects is a clump of bushes, or something
that is not alive.
The objects may, of course, be sheep or cows ; you will have to judge of this by your
hearing, your knowledge of whether the field is pasture or not, and whether there were
sheep or beasts in it in daytime, and perhaps your sense of smell if you are to windward
of them.
Lights Show Up
Lights can be seen a long way at night. A cigarette end has been mentioned. Another
thing that can be seen a long way off is the dial of a luminous, wrist watch. Many a
soldier was shot in trench raids or scouting expeditions in No Man's Land during the Great
War, because he forgot to remove his wrist watch, or cover the dial, or turn the watch
round to the inner side of his arm.
The flash of a torch [flashlight] can be seen afar off, too, if the watcher has quick
eyes.
If you must use a torch to study your compass, map or watch, or to look for something
you have dropped, hold the light low and shine it downwards. Cover as much of the bulb as
you can with your fingers and use only a thin pencil of light for the job. If you are with
your Patrol, get the other fellows to stand round you in a close ring to shield the light.
When you are night hiking, or going on your First Class Journey, you may need to light
a fire to cook your supper. It adds to the fun, both of hiking and of the journey, if an
" enemy " Patrol, or pair of Scouts comes out to stalk you; and the thing they
will look out for, and will most easily spot you by, is your fire.
A good Scout does not make a huge roaring fire to boil a can of water on, or even to
sit by to keep warm. He chooses wood that gives a good heat but little smoke, makes a
small fire, and cooks on the red embers, adding only small sticks to keep it going.
What gives away the position of a fire is the reflection of it from leaves of trees
overhead. So if you are camping in a clearing in a wood, try to keep your fire right away
from overhanging branches-even high ones-if you wish not to be observed.
If you are watching for an enemy at night, you have to trust much more to your ears
than to your eyes.
That sentence in Scouting for Boys has already been quoted in this book, but the
Chief's words need to be kept in mind, and the hints he gives are always well worth
taking.
He also gives us a game to play, called " Night Patrolling," which is good
practice for ears and eyes, too.
Night Patrolling
In a clearing in your wood-or near the end of your field-post some sentries in a line,
each equipped with a whistle. The rest of the Patrol or Troop go out a given distance from
the line of sentries, and when the umpire blows his whistle for the game to begin, they
start to stalk the sentries, trying to get as near as possible to them unseen and unheard.
If a sentry hears or sees a stalker, he blows his whistle and points, and the umpire
goes in the direction indicated until he finds a stalker, or until he reaches the spot
pointed at by the sentry and finds no one there.
When a sentry's whistle is heard, every stalker must stay until the umpire has done his
stuff and returned behind the sentry line. If the sentry was right, he scores a point ; if
wrong, he loses one. If a stalker can creep up to within fifteen yards of a sentry without
being detected, he puts his scarf or some such article on the ground and creeps away
again, to make an attack on one of the other sentries.
He counts five points for each sentry he thus "kills," proving his claim to a
kill at the end of the game by taking the umpire to the place where he deposited his
" bomb " on the ground. If this is more than fifteen yards from the sentry line,
however, the stalker does not get his points.
This game may be played in daylight, the sentries being blindfolded, but this does not
give either the practice or the thrill that the game provides when played at night. Still,
daylight practice is always helpful, and good fun ; and it helps to get the younger or
more timid boys used to Night Scouting.
Here is another popular night game:
Hares and Hounds
Everybody first pairs off with a pal ; though preferably an older fellow should pair
with a youngster-PL with Tenderfoot Tim, and so forth. Then choose one pair to be "
hares," the rest being hounds. Arm the " hares " with a watch, a whistle,
and an electric flashlight, and give them one minute to get clear of the camp or base.
After one minute, they must blow the whistle and flash the lamp, and must go on doing this
every half-minute till caught, or until the end of the game.
The pairs of " hounds " set off in pursuit, going quietly and listening for
the whistle, and also keeping their eyes open for the quick flash of the lamp (which, by
the way, must be shone upwards, not down on to the ground). " Hounds " must try
to spot and stalk the " hares " until the moment comes for a rush to capture
them. They are caught if a pair of "hounds " (not a lone hound parted from his
partner) gets within five yards of them.
On being caught, the " hare " with the whistle blows one long blast,
whereupon all hounds stand still. The captured " hares " then hand over the
watch, whistle and lamp to their captors (who become " hares " in their stead,
and clear off, starting to blow the whistle and flash the lamp a minute after they start,
and continuing to do so every half minute).
No " hounds " may move until the first blast of the whistle by the new pair
of " hares " is heard, or until two minutes after the long blast blown by the
captured " hares." (This is in case the first blast by the new pair is not heard
all over the field.)
The umpire blows a rally on his whistle after fifteen or twenty minutes, and everyone
can then come in and compare notes. It is essential that pairs remain united all the time.
It is against the rules for one " hare " to be caught separately while his pal
remains at large ; if that is allowed, the result is chaos.
This explanation is rather long, but the game is really quite simple, and fast.
Another good eye-training game is played with three good-sized lamps, either those
large square electric ones with a handle on the top, or the old-fashioned but very useful
hurricane type.
Snatching the Lamps
Place the lamps in a straight line, and post a sentry five yards behind each lamp. The
rest go off to an agreed distance, and on the umpire's whistle signal for the game to
begin, they start to creep up towards the lamps. Their object is to crawl up and grab a
lamp, and get fifteen yards away with it, without being named out loud by the sentry
behind that lamp.
No stalker may go behind the line of lamps, but he may go anywhere he likes in front of
that line, naturally avoiding the direct beams of the lamps as much as he can. There
should be at least five yards between the lamps. The stalkers must not mask or cover their
faces, though they may bend their heads down, turn up their overcoat collars, or walk
backwards towards the lamps. The umpire returns each captured lamp to its place
immediately. You will find that this game is not as easy for the sentries as you might
think.
Spotting Your Foes
Going back to the subject of spotting enemies at night, here are a few hints which you
will find useful. First, when looking out for an " enemy," try to face away from
the moon. It is much easier to see anyone if you have the moon behind you.
Secondly, always remember the skyline. Anything may form a skyline : the brow of a
hill, a wall, the line of tree-tops of a wood. Human or animal figures always show up
against a skyline, unless the night is really dark; even then the moonlight or the stars
make a skyline against which a figure may be discerned.
If it is absolutely necessary that you cross a skyline, lie down and crawl over very
slowly. If you are watching a skyline in the hope or expectation of seeing an " enemy
" cross it, select a place to watch where movements are most likely to show-against a
distant light or row of lights (such as a railway station shows), or against a light patch
in the sky, towards the moon, or the sky-glow of a town.
In strange country you may see the skyline of a dark mass of something or other, and
want to know what it is. The skyline of a hill is generally smooth and regular; that of a
wood is jagged, and also the shadows vary in intensity.
Hollows or bushes on a hillside will be darker than the rest of the surface of the
hill. A level, straight skyline will be a railway embankment, probably with signal lights
somewhere along it; or a canal embankment, with no signal lights.
Tell-tale Glimpses
Use your eyes to spot tell-tale things like railway signals, motor headlights on a
road, a lighthouse on the coast, moonlight reflected from ripples in water caused by a
silently passing boat, the blur of an "enemy" slipping over a skyline, the flash
of moonlight reflected from a field-glass, the luminous dial of a wrist-watch, or the
unnatural bulge of an enemy hiding up a tree, seen against the stars.
Use your ears for the sound of trains shunting in goods yards or thundering over a
bridge, motor-cars slowing down to turn at a cross-roads, the clink of a boot heel on a
loose stone, the alarm call of birds disturbed by a passer-by, the lowing of beasts in a
farm building, the bleeting of sheep in a field, frightened by an intruder, or the barking
of a dog when a stranger approaches.
In conclusion, here are a few more tips about using your ears when Scouting at night.
Remember that sound travels upwards best, so that you will hear better at the top of a
hill than at the bottom; or near the top of a wall than the bottom, if you are listening
to what is going on on the other side of it.
Sound also travels well along water; if you lie on the bank of a stream or river with
your ear as close as possible to the surface, you will be able to hear noises made quite a
long way up-stream, the sounds being carried down to you by the flow of the water.
You can hear a human voice talking ordinarily, or the hoof-beats of a horse, about 150
yards away, on a fair night ; a group of people talking, or walking along a hard road,
about 600 yards away. Sound travels at the rate of about 380 yards a second or about 250
yards for every beat of your pulse if normal.
You can check distances by sound if you can see anything that becomes visible at the
same moment as the sound is made, such as (on a moonlight night) the puff of steam from a
locomotive's whistle and the sound of the whistle, or the flash of a rocket bursting in
the air and the sound of the bang.
Chapter VII: Your Nose at Night
Night Scouting
