When the advance to an artillery position is in question, it is
especially desirable that scouts should examine all the ground in
the neighborhood of the position, so as to be able to lead officers
or batteries quickly to any part of it.
3. In reconnoitering a route, scouts must be especially careful
to note landmarks, to turn frequently and look at the country
which they have passed, and to take such other measures as
will enable them to surely retrace their steps either by day or
night. Practice in moving at night is particularly important
for scouts.
4. When sent to examine a place in which an enemy may be
concealed — for example, a wood, a defile, a village — scouts first
examine its approaches, its edges, and, if possible, its exits;
they endeavor to reach a position from which they can overlook
it; ordinarily, one scout or one party should observe, while
another passes through the suspected place.
If preceding the column by only a short distance, scouts must
act in such cases with great promptness.
5. When the information at hand as to the location and dis-
position of the enemy is insufficient, scouts may be pushed
forward to secure this information, both by personal reconnais-
sance and by communicating with our own advanced troops.
In such cases they should fix in their minds the lay of the
ground near the enemy's positions, noting such landmarks and
making such sketches as will enable them to give a clear de-
scription of his situation. Similar Information should at the
same time be secured with regard to our own troops.
