Nov 19 2008
Getting the Lay of the Land - Preparing for Night
Many of Louis Lamour’s novels take a moment to describe the importance of understanding the lay of the land before nightfall. After the sun goes down the different lighting changes the way the land looks. Jubal Sackett and Hanging Woman Creek are two simple examples where the main character spends time studying the land in preparation for potential violence at night.
I’ve never been in a gun fight, much less in a wild strange land, but I have spent considerable time camping, hiking and hunting. I enjoy walking under the light of the moon and stars but I haven’t ever paid a lot of attention to memorizing the landscape. These descriptive moments remind of the violence that many in the old west faced on a daily basis.
My ancestors crossed the plains in covered wagons as pioneers. How many of them faced dangers at night that required them to study the land often? How many of them spent their time each evening when making camp scouting the area so that they would be prepared if an emergency came in the dark?
I always try to keep an eye out when I am in the woods, but truthfully I think most of the skills that Louis L’amour describes are essentially a thing of the past.