Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). Through the Brazilian Wilderness. 1914.
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| a good hatchet with hammer head and nail-puller should be in the tool kit. In addition, each man should be provided with a belt knife and a machete with sheath. Collins makes the best machetes. His axes, too, are excellent. The bill-hook, called foice in Brazil, is a most valuable tool for clearing away small trees, vines, and undergrowths. It is marvellous how quickly an experienced hand can clear the ground in a forest with one of these instruments. All of these tools should have handles of second-growth American hickory of first quality; and several extra handles should be taken along. The list of tools should be completed with a small outfit of pliers, tweezers, files, etc.—the character, of course, depending upon the mechanical ability of the traveller and the scientific instruments he has with him that might need repairs. |
| SURVEY INSTRUMENTS.—The choice of instruments will depend largely upon the character of the work intended. If a compass survey will suffice, there is nothing better than the cavalry sketching board used in the United States Army for reconnoissance. With a careful hand it approaches the high degree of perfection attained by the plane-table method. It is particularly adapted for river survey and, after one gets accustomed to its use, it is very simple. If the prismatic compass is preferred, nothing smaller than two and one half inches in diameter should be used. In the smaller sizes the magnet is not powerful enough to move the dial quickly or accurately. |
| Several good pocket compasses must be provided. They should all have good-sized needles with the north end well marked and degrees engraved in metal. If the |