In case the night must be spent where you are, go about making a shelter, prepare as comfortable a bed as possible, and do not be afraid. You will probably be found before morning, and you must be found in good physical condition.
If you can kindle a fire, do it; that will help to guide your friends and will ward off wild creatures that might startle you. Keep your fire going all night and take care that it does not spread.
It is better to remain quietly in one spot all night than to wander about in the dark and perhaps stumble upon dangerous places. If, when you find the points of the compass by the North Star, you mark them plainly on a stone or fallen log, they will be a ready guide for you as soon as daylight breaks.
The last word on this subject is: Do not be afraid.
To Find Your Way by the North Star
At night you will have the same reliable guide that has ever been the mariner's friend, and if you do not know this star guide, lose no time in finding it.
Polaris or pole-star is known generally as North Star, and this star is most important to the outdoor girl. At all times the North Star marks the north, its position never changes, and seeing that star and knowing it, you will always know the points of the compass. Face the North Star and you face the north. At your right hand is the east, at your left hand is the west, and at your back is the south.
The North Star.
The North Star does not look very important because it is not very bright or very large, and were it not for the help of the Big Dipper, which every one knows, the North Star would not be easy to find. The diagram given on page 37 shows the relative position of the stars and will help you to find the North Star. The two stars forming the front side of the bowl of the Great Dipper point almost in a direct line to the North Star, which is the last one in the handle of the Little Dipper, or the tail of the Little Bear, which means the same thing.