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Wigwag signaling was a simple but ingenious method of long-distance communication used by the U.S. military and adopted by generations of scouts, explorers, campers, and amateur signalers. By combining just three basic flag movements into coded sequences, a signaler could transmit letters, numbers, words, and complete messages without speaking. The following fascinating description of wigwag signals and flag signaling comes from A. Russell Bond's 1906 book, The Scientific American Boy, or The Camp at Willow Clump Island . In the story, the boys learn the U.S. Army signaling system and practice communicating between their camp and a distant island. Their experiments eventually lead them to more advanced forms of optical communication, including the heliograph. The excerpt also provides a remarkably clear historical glimpse into how visual signaling worked before modern radio communication became widespread. Learning the Wigwag Signaling System Our tramp adventure was really quite a ...

How to Build a Canoe - Wood and Canvas Canoe Plans - excerpt from the book "The Scientific American Boy" by A. Russell Bond A strip of spruce 1 inch thick, 3 inches wide and 12 feet long served as the keelson. At the stern a post 1-1/2 inches thick, 3 inches wide and 13 inches high was secured to the keelson with brass screws. This was braced as indicated in Fig. 104. At the bow a stem piece was attached to the keelson. This stem was cut to a somewhat semicircular form, as shown in Fig. 105. The outer edge was tapered with a draw-knife to a thickness of 1/4 inch and a brace was nailed to the inner edge. Our next work was to cut out three forms, one of the shape shown in Fig. 106 and two like that shown in Fig. 107. The first form was set up on the keelson midway between the stem and stern, and the other two were spaced about four feet each side of the center form. The center form was used only for shaping the frame of the boat, and was not intended to be permanent...