,transcriber's note3 ,italics rendered as3 italics4 ,,woodcraft ,,and ,,camping by ,nessmuk ,illustration ,,dover ,,publications1 ,,inc4 ,,new ,,york ,this ,dover edition1 first published in #aifc1 is a slightly abridged and edited republication of the work published by ,forest and ,stream ,publishing ,company1 ,new ,york1 in #aibj under the title ,woodcraft4 ,international ,standard ,book ,number3 #j-dhf-baade-b ,library of ,congress ,catalog ,card ,number3 #fc-bafhj ,manufactured in the ,united ,states of ,america ,dover ,publications1 ,inc4 #ca ,east #bnd ,street1 ,mineola1 ,n4,y4 #aaeja ,preface ,woodcraft is dedicated to the ,grand ,army of ,outers1 as a pocket volume of reference on--woodcraft4 ,for brick and mortar breed filth and crime1 ,with a pulse of evil that throbs and beats2 ,and men are withered before their prime ,by the curse paved in with the lanes and streets4 ,and lungs are poisoned and shoulders bowed1 ,in the smothering reek of mill and mine2 ,and death stalks in on the struggling crowd-- ,but he shuns the shadow of oak and pine4 ,,nessmuk4 ,contents ,,chapter ,i #a ,overwork and ,recreation--,outing and ,outers--,how to ,do ,it1 and ,why ,they ,miss ,it ,,chapter ,,ii #f ,knapsack1 ,hatchet1 ,knives1 ,tinware1 ,rods1 ,fishing ,tackle1 ,ditty-,bag ,,chapter ,,iii #ac ,getting ,lost--,camping ,out--,roughing ,it or ,smoothing ,it--,insects--,camps1 and ,how to ,make ,them ,,chapter ,,iv #bh ,camp-,fires and ,their ,importance--,the ,wasteful1 ,wrong ,way ,they ,are ,usually ,made1 and the ,right ,way to ,make ,them ,,chapter ,v #ce ,fishing1 ,with and ,without ,flies--,some ,tackle and ,lures--,discursive ,remarks on the ,gentle ,art--,the ,headlight--,frogging ,,chapter ,,vi #di ,camp ,cooking--,how ,it ,is ,usually ,done1 with a ,few ,simple ,hints on ,plain ,cooking--,cooking ,fire and ,out-,door ,range ,,chapter ,,vii #fb ,more ,hints on ,cooking1 with ,some ,simple ,receipts--,bread1 ,coffee1 ,potatoes1 ,soup1 ,stews1 ,beans1 ,fish1 ,meat1 ,venison ,,chapter ,,viii #gg ,a ,ten ,days' ,trip in the ,wilderness--,going ,it ,alone ,,chapter ,,ix--,,canoeing #hg ,the ,light ,canoe and ,double ,blade--,various ,canoes for ,various ,canoeists--,reasons for ,preferring the ,clinker-,built ,cedar ,,chapter ,x #ie ,odds and ,ends--,where to go for an ,outing--,why a ,clinker8--,boughs and ,browse ,,index #ajc ,illustrations ,page ,nessmuk ,frontispiece ,knapsack and ,ditty-,bag #g ,hatchet and ,knives #h ,indian ,camp #ai ,shanty-,tent and ,camp-,fire #bd ,shanty-,tent ,spread ,out #bf ,camp-,fire as it ,should ,be ,made #cc ,frog ,bait #da ,three-,hook ,gang #da ,g4 ,w4 ,hatchet #ef ,out-,door ,cooking-,range #eh ,chapter ,i ,,overwork ,,and ,,recreation--,,outing ,,and ,,outers ,,how ,,to ,,do ,,it1 ,,and ,,why ,,they ,,miss ,,it ,it does not need that ,herbert ,spencer should cross the ocean to tell us that we are an overworked nation2 that our hair turns gray ten years earlier than the ,englishman's2 or1 that we have had somewhat too much of the gospel of work1 and1 it is time to preach the gospel of relaxation4 ,it is all true4 ,but we work harder1 accomplish more in a given time1 and last quite as long as slower races4 ,as to the gray hair--perhaps gray hair is better than none2 and it is a fact that the average ,briton becomes bald as early as the ,american turns gray4 ,there is1 however1 a sad significance in his words when he says3 ,in every circle ,i have met men who had themselves suffered from nervous collapse due to stress of business1 or named friends who had either killed themselves by overwork1 or had been permanently incapacitated1 or had wasted long periods in endeavors to recover health4 ,too true4 ,and it is the constant strain1 without let-up or relaxation1 that1 in nine cases out of ten1 snaps the cord and ends in what the doctors call nervous prostration--something akin to paralysis--from which the sufferer seldom wholly recovers4 ,mr4 ,spencer quotes that quaint old chronicler1 ,froissart1 as saying1 ,the ,english take their pleasures sadly1 after their fashion2 and thinks if he lived now1 he would say of ,americans1 they take their pleasures hurriedly1 after their fashion4 ,perhaps4 ,it is an age of hurry and worry4 ,anything slower than steam is apt to get left4 ,fortunes are quickly made and freely spent4 ,nearly all busy1 hard-worked ,americans have an intuitive sense of the need that exists for at least one period of rest and relaxation during each year1 and all--or nearly all--are willing to pay liberally1 too liberally in fact1 for anything that conduces to rest1 recreation and sport4 ,i am sorry to say that we mostly get swindled4 ,as an average1 the summer outer who goes to forest1 lake or stream for health and sport1 gets about ten cents' worth for a dollar of outlay4 ,a majority will admit--to themselves at least--that after a month's vacation1 they return to work with an inward consciousness of being somewhat disappointed--and beaten4 ,we are free with our money when we have it4 ,we are known throughout the civilized world for our lavishness in paying for our pleasures2 but it humiliates us to know we have been beaten1 and this is what the most of us know at the end of a summer vacation4 ,to the man of millions it makes little difference4 ,he is able to pay liberally for boats1 buckboards and body service1 if he chooses to spend a summer in the ,north ,woods4 ,he has no need to study the questions of lightness and economy in a forest and stream outing4 ,let his guides take care of him2 and unto them and the landlords he will give freely of his substance4 ,i do not write for him1 and can do him little good4 ,but there are hundreds of thousands of practical1 useful men1 many of them far from being rich2 mechanics1 artists1 writers1 merchants1 clerks1 business men--workers1 so to speak--who sorely need and well deserve a season of rest and relaxation at least once a year4 ,to these1 and for these1 ,i write4 ,perhaps more than fifty years of devotion to woodcraft may enable me to give a few useful hints and suggestions to those whose dreams1 during the close season of work1 are of camp-life by flood1 field and forest4 ,i have found that nearly all who have a real love of nature and out-of-door camp-life1 spend a good deal of time and talk in planning future trips1 or discussing the trips and pleasures gone by1 but still dear to memory4 ,when the mountain streams are frozen and the ,nor'land winds are out2 when the winter winds are drifting the bitter sleet and snow2 when winter rains are making out-of-door life unendurable2 when season1 weather and law combine to make it close time for beast1 bird and man1 it is well that a few congenial spirits should1 at some favorite trysting place1 gather around the glowing stove and exchange yarns1 opinions and experiences4 ,perhaps no two will exactly agree on the best ground for an outing1 on the flies1 rods1 reels1 guns1 etc41 or half a dozen other points that may be discussed4 ,but one thing all admit4 ,each and every one has gone to his chosen ground with too much impedimenta1 too much duffle2 and nearly all have used boats at least twice as heavy as they need to have been4 ,the temptation to buy this or that bit of indispensable camp-kit has been too strong1 and we have gone to the blessed woods1 handicapped with a load fit for a pack-mule4 ,this is not how to do it4 ,go light2 the lighter the better1 so that you have the simplest material for health1 comfort and enjoyment4 ,of course1 if you intend to have a permanent camp1 and can reach it by boat or wagon1 lightness is not so important1 though even in that case it is well to guard against taking a lot of stuff that is likely to prove of more weight than worth--only to leave it behind when you come out4 ,sidenote3 ,clothing ,as to clothing for the woods1 a good deal of nonsense has been written about strong1 coarse woolen clothes4 ,you do not want coarse woolen clothes4 ,fine woolen cassimere of medium thickness for coat1 vest and pantaloons1 with no cotton lining4 ,color1 slate gray or dead-leaf 7either is good74 ,two soft1 thick woolen shirts2 two pairs of fine1 but substantial1 woolen drawers2 two pairs of strong woolen socks or stockings2 these are what you need1 and all you need in the way of clothing for the woods1 excepting hat and boots1 or gaiters4 ,boots are best--providing you do not let yourself be inveigled into wearing a pair of long-legged heavy boots with thick soles1 as has been often advised by writers who knew no better4 ,heavy1 long-legged boots are a weary1 tiresome incumbrance on a hard tramp through rough woods4 ,even moccasins are better4 ,gaiters1 all sorts of high shoes1 in fact1 are too bothersome about fastening and unfastening4 ,light boots are best4 ,not thin1 unserviceable affairs1 but light as to actual weight4 ,the following hints will give an idea for the best foot-gear for the woods2 let them be single soled1 single backs and single fronts1 except light1 short foot-linings4 ,back of solid country kip2 fronts of substantial ,french calf2 heel one inch high1 with steel nails2 countered outside2 straps narrow1 of fine ,french calf put on astraddle1 and set down to the top of the back4 ,the out-sole stout1 ,spanish oak1 and pegged rather than sewed1 although either is good4 ,they will weigh considerably less than half as much as the clumsy1 costly boots usually recommended for the woods2 and the added comfort must be tested to be understood4 ,the hat should be fine1 soft felt with moderately low crown and wide brim2 color to match the clothing4 ,the proper covering for head and feet is no slight affair1 and will be found worth some attention4 ,be careful that the boots are not too tight1 or the hat too loose4 ,the above rig will give the tourist one shirt1 one pair of drawers and a pair of socks to carry as extra clothing4 ,a soft1 warm blanket-bag1 open at the ends1 and just long enough to cover the sleeper1 with an oblong square of water-proofed cotton cloth #fx#h feet1 will give warmth and shelter by night and will weigh together five or six pounds4 ,this1 with the extra clothing1 will make about eight pounds of dry goods to pack over carries1 which is enough4 ,probably1 also1 it will be found little enough for comfort4 ,during a canoe cruise across the ,northern ,wilderness in the late summer1 ,i met many parties at different points in the woods1 and the amount of unnecessary duffle with which they encumbered themselves was simply appalling4 ,why a shrewd business man1 who goes through with a guide and makes a forest hotel his camping ground nearly every night1 should handicap himself with a five-peck pack basket full of gray woolen and gum blankets1 extra clothing1 pots1 pans1 and kettles1 with a #i-pound #aj-;bore1 and two rods--yes1 and an extra pair of heavy boots hanging astride of the gun--well1 it is one of the things ,i shall never understand4 ,my own load1 including canoe1 extra clothing1 blanket-bag1 two days' rations1 pocket-axe1 rod and knapsack1 never exceeded #bf pounds2 and ,i went prepared to camp out any and every night4 ,sidenote3 ,preparations ,people who contemplate an outing in the woods are pretty apt to commence preparations a long way ahead1 and to pick up many trifling articles that suggest themselves as useful and handy in camp2 all well enough in their way1 but making at least a too heavy load4 ,it is better to commence by studying to ascertain just how light one can go through without especial discomfort4 ,a good plan is to think over the trip during leisure hours1 and make out a list of indispensable articles1 securing them beforehand1 and have them stowed in handy fashion1 so that nothing needful may be missing just when and where it cannot be procured4 ,the list will be longer than one would think1 but need not be cumbersome or heavy4 ,as ,i am usually credited with making a cruise or a long woods tramp with exceptionally light duffle1 ,i will give a list of the articles ,i take along--going on foot over carries or through the woods4 ,chapter ,,ii ,,knapsack1 ,,hatchet1 ,,knives1 ,,tinware1 ,,rods1 ,,fishing ,,tackle1 ,,ditty-,,bag ,the clothing1 blanket-bag and shelter-cloth are all that need be described in that line4 ,the next articles that ,i look after are knapsack 7or pack basket71 rod with reel1 lines1 flies1 hooks1 and all my fishing gear1 pocket-axe1 knives and tinware4 ,firstly1 the knapsack2 as you are apt to carry it a great many miles1 it is well to have it right1 and easy-fitting at the start4 ,don't be induced to carry a pack basket4 ,i am aware that it is in high favor all through the ,northern ,wilderness1 and is also much used in other localities where guides and sportsmen most do congregate4 ,but ,i do not like it4 ,i admit that it will carry a loaf of bread1 with tea1 sugar1 etc41 without jamming2 that bottles1 crockery1 and other fragile duffle is safer from breakage than in an oil-cloth knapsack4 ,but it is by no means water-proof in a rain or a splashing head sea1 is more than twice as heavy--always growing heavier as it gets wetter--and ,i had rather have bread1 tea1 sugar1 etc41 a little jammed than water-soaked4 ,also1 it may be remarked that man is a vertebrate animal and ought to respect his backbone4 ,the loaded pack basket on a heavy carry never fails to get in on the most vulnerable knob of the human vertebrae4 ,the knapsack sits easy1 and does not chafe4 ,the one shown in the engraving is of good form2 and the original--which ,i have carried for years--is satisfactory in every respect4 ,it holds over half a bushel1 carries blanket-bag1 shelter tent1 hatchet1 ditty-bag1 tinware1 fishing tackle1 clothes and two days' rations4 ,it weighs1 empty1 just twelve ounces4 ,sidenote3 ,hatchet and ,knives ,illustration3 ,,knapsack ,,and ,,ditty-,,bag ,the hatchet and knives shown in the engraving will be found to fill the bill satisfactorily so far as cutlery may be required4 ,each is good and useful of its kind1 the hatchet especially1 being the best model ,i have ever found for a double-barreled pocket-axe4 ,and just here let me digress for a little chat on the indispensable hatchet2 for it is the most difficult piece of camp kit to obtain in perfection of which ,i have any knowledge4 ,before ,i was a dozen years old ,i came to realize that a light hatchet was a sine qua non in woodcraft1 and ,i also found it a most difficult thing to get4 ,i tried shingling hatchets1 lathing hatchets1 and the small hatchets to be found in country hardware stores1 but none of them were satisfactory4 ,i had quite a number made by blacksmiths who professed skill in making edge tools1 and these were the worst of all1 being like nothing on the earth or under it--murderous-looking1 clumsy1 and all too heavy1 with no balance or proportion4 ,i had hunted twelve years before ,i caught up with the pocket-axe ,i was looking for4 ,it was made in ,rochester1 by a surgical instrument maker named ,bushnell4 ,it cost time and money to get it4 ,i worked one rainy ,saturday fashioning the pattern in wood4 ,spoiled a day going to ,rochester1 waited a day for the blade1 paid #c4jj for it1 and lost a day coming home4 ,boat fare #a4jj1 and expenses #b4jj1 besides three days lost time1 with another rainy ,sunday for making leather sheath and hickory handle4 ,illustration3 ,,hatchet ,,and ,,knives ,my witty friends1 always willing to help me out in figuring the cost of my hunting and fishing gear1 made the following business-like estimate1 which they placed where ,i would be certain to see it the first thing in the morning4 ,premising that of the five who assisted in that little joke1 all stronger1 bigger fellows than myself1 four have gone where they never see the sun1 ,i will copy the statement as it stands today1 on paper yellow with age4 ,for ,i have kept it over forty years4 ,a ,,woodsman1 ,to getting up one limber-go-shiftless pocket-axe3 ,,dr4 ,cost of blade #c4jj ,fare on boat #a4jj ,expenses for #c days #c4jj ,three days lost time at #a4be per day #c4ge ,two days making model1 handle and sheath1 say #b4jj -------- ,total #ab4ge ,per contra1 by actual value of axe #b4jj -------- ,balance #aj4ge ,then they raised a horse laugh1 and the cost of that hatchet became a standing joke and a slur on my business ability4 ,what aggravated me most was1 that the rascals were not so far out in their calculation4 ,and was ,i so far wrong8 ,that hatchet was my favorite for nearly thirty years4 ,it has been upset twice by skilled workmen2 and1 if my friend ,bero has not lost it1 is still in service4 ,would ,i have gone without it any year for one or two dollars8 ,but ,i prefer the double blade4 ,i want one thick1 stunt edge for knots1 deers' bones1 etc41 and a fine1 keen edge for cutting clear timber4 ,a word as to knife1 or knives4 ,these are of prime necessity1 and should be of the best1 both as to shape and temper4 ,the bowies and hunting knives usually kept on sale1 are thick1 clumsy affairs1 with a sort of ridge along the middle of the blade1 murderous-looking1 but of little use2 rather fitted to adorn a dime novel or the belt of ,billy the ,kid1 than the outfit of the hunter4 ,the one shown in the cut is thin in the blade1 and handy for skinning1 cutting meat1 or eating with4 ,the strong double-bladed pocket knife is the best model ,i have yet found1 and1 in connection with the sheath knife1 is all sufficient for camp use4 ,it is not necessary to take table cutlery into the woods4 ,a good fork may be improvised from a beech or birch stick2 and the half of a fresh-water mussel shell1 with a split stick by way of handle1 makes an excellent spoon4 ,sidenote3 ,cooking ,utensils ,my entire outfit for cooking and eating dishes comprises five pieces of tinware4 ,this is when stopping in a permanent camp4 ,when cruising and tramping1 ,i take just two pieces in the knapsack4 ,i get a skillful tinsmith to make one dish as follows3 ,six inches on bottom1 #f-c_/d inches on top1 side #b inches high4 ,the bottom is of the heaviest tin procurable1 the sides of lighter tin1 and seamed to be water-tight without solder4 ,the top simply turned1 without wire4 ,the second dish to be made the same1 but small enough to nest in the first1 and also to fit into it when inverted as a cover4 ,two other dishes made from common pressed tinware1 with the tops cut off and turned1 also without wire4 ,they are fitted so that they all nest1 taking no more room than the largest dish alone1 and each of the three smaller dishes makes a perfect cover for the next larger4 ,the other piece is a tin camp-kettle1 also of the heaviest tin1 and seamed water-tight4 ,it holds two quarts1 and the other dishes nest in it perfectly1 so that when packed the whole takes just as much room as the kettle alone4 ,i should mention that the strong ears are set below the rim of the kettle1 and the bale falls outside1 so1 as none of the dishes have any handle1 there are no aggravating stickouts to wear and abrade4 ,the snug affair weighs1 all told1 two pounds4 ,i have met parties in the ,north ,woods whose one frying pan weighed more--with its handle three feet long4 ,how ever did they get through the brush with such a culinary terror8 ,it is only when ,i go into a very accessible camp that ,i take so much as five pieces of tinware along4 ,i once made a ten days' tramp through an unbroken wilderness on foot1 and all the dish ,i took was a ten-cent tin2 it was enough4 ,i believe ,i will tell the story of that tramp before ,i get through4 ,for ,i saw more game in the ten days than ,i ever saw before or since in a season2 and ,i am told that the whole region is now a thrifty farming country1 with the deer nearly all gone4 ,they were plenty enough thirty-nine years ago this very month4 ,sidenote3 ,rods ,i feel more diffidence in speaking of rods than of any other matter connected with out-door sports4 ,the number and variety of rods and makers2 the enthusiasm of trout and fly cranks2 the fact that angling does not take precedence of all other sports with me1 with the humiliating confession that ,i am not above bucktail spinners1 worms and sinkers1 minnow tails and white grubs--this and these constrain me to be brief4 ,but1 as ,i have been a fisher all my life1 from my pinhook days to the present time2 as ,i have run the list pretty well up1 from brook minnows to #ajj-pound albacores1 ,i may be pardoned for a few remarks on the rod and the use thereof4 ,a rod may be a very high-toned1 high-priced aesthetic plaything1 costing #ej to #ge1 or it may be--a rod4 ,a serviceable and splendidly balanced rod can be obtained from first class makers for less money4 ,by all means let the man of money indulge his fancy for the most costly rod that can be procured4 ,he might do worse4 ,a practical every day sportsman whose income is limited will find that a more modest product will drop his flies on the water quite as attractively to ,salmo fontinalis4 ,my little #h-a_/b-;foot1 #d-c_/d-ounce split bamboo which the editor of ,forest and ,stream had made for me cost #aj4jj4 ,i have given it hard usage and at times large trout have tested it severely1 but it has never failed me4 ,the dimensions of my second rod are #i-a_/b feet long and #e-c_/d ounces in weight4 ,this rod will handle the bucktail spinners which ,i use for trout and bass1 when other things have failed4 ,i used a rod of this description for several summers both in ,adirondack and western waters4 ,it had a hand-made reel seat1 agate first guide1 was satisfactory in every respect1 and ,i could see in balance1 action1 and appearance no superiority in a rod costing #be4jj1 which one of my friends sported4 ,charles ,dudley ,warner1 who writes charmingly of woods life1 has the following in regard to trout fishing1 which is so neatly humorous that it will bear repeating3 ,it is well known that no person who regards his reputation will ever kill a trout with anything but a fly4 ,it requires some training on the part of the trout to take to this method4 ,the uncultivated trout in unfrequented waters prefers the bait2 and the rural people1 whose sole object in going a-fishing appears to be to catch fish1 indulge them in their primitive state for the worm4 ,no sportsman1 however1 will use anything but a fly--except he happens to be alone4 ,speaking of rods1 he says3 ,the rod is a bamboo weighing seven ounces1 which has to be spliced with a winding of silk thread every time it is used4 ,this is a tedious process2 but1 by fastening the joints in this way1 a uniform spring is secured in the rod4 ,no one devoted to high art would think of using a socket joint4 ,one summer during a seven weeks' tour in the ,northern ,wilderness1 my only rod was a #g-a_/b foot ,henshall4 ,it came to hand with two bait-tips only2 but ,i added a fly-tip1 and it made an excellent general fishing rod4 ,with it ,i could handle a large bass or pickerel2 it was a capital bait-rod for brook trout2 as fly rod it has pleased me well enough4 ,it is likely to go with me again4 ,for reel casting1 the #e-a_/b foot rod is handier4 ,but it is not yet decided which is best1 and ,i leave every man his own opinion4 ,only1 ,i think one rod enough1 but have always had more4 ,and don't neglect to take what sailors call a ditty-bag4 ,this may be a little sack of chamois leather about #d inches wide by #f inches in length4 ,mine is before me as ,i write4 ,emptying the contents1 ,i find it inventories as follows3 ,a dozen hooks1 running in size from small minnow hooks to large ,limericks2 four lines of six yards each1 varying from the finest to a size sufficient for a ten-pound fish2 three darning needles and a few common sewing needles2 a dozen buttons2 sewing silk2 thread1 and a small ball of strong yarn for darning socks2 sticking salve2 a bit of shoemaker's wax2 beeswax2 sinkers1 and a very fine file for sharpening hooks4 ,the ditty-bag weighs1 with contents1 #b-a_/b ounces2 and it goes in a small buckskin bullet pouch1 which ,i wear almost as constantly as my hat4 ,the pouch has a sheath strongly sewed on the back side of it1 where the light hunting knife is always at hand1 and it also carries a two-ounce vial of fly medicine1 a vial of pain killer1 and two or three gangs of hooks on brass wire snells--of which1 more in another place4 ,i can always go down into that pouch for a water-proof match safe1 strings1 compass1 bits of linen and scarlet flannel 7for frogging71 copper tacks1 and other light duffle4 ,it is about as handy a piece of woods-kit as ,i carry4 ,i hope no aesthetic devotee of the fly-rod will lay down the book in disgust when ,i confess to a weakness for frogging4 ,i admit that it is not high-toned sport2 and yet ,i have got a good deal of amusement out of it4 ,the persistence with which a large batrachian will snap at a bit of red flannel after being several times hooked on the same lure1 and the comical way in which he will scuttle off with a quick succession of short jumps after each release2 the cheerful manner in which1 after each bout1 he will tune up his deep1 bass pipe--ready for another greedy snap at an ibis fly or red rag--is rather funny4 ,and his hind legs1 rolled in meal and nicely browned1 are preferable to trout or venison4 ,chapter ,,iii ,,getting ,,lost--,,camping ,,out--,,roughing ,,it ,,or ,,smoothing ,,it--,,insects--,,camps1 ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,make ,,them ,with a large majority of prospective tourists and outers1 camping out is a leading factor in the summer vacation4 ,and during the long winter months they are prone to collect in little knots and talk much of camps1 fishing1 hunting1 and roughing it4 ,the last phrase is very popular and always cropping out in the talks on matters pertaining to a vacation in the woods4 ,i dislike the phrase4 ,we do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it1 we go to smooth it4 ,we get it rough enough at home2 in towns and cities2 in shops1 offices1 stores1 banks--anywhere that we may be placed--with the necessity always present of being on time and up to our work2 of providing for the dependent ones2 of keeping up1 catching up1 or getting left4 ,alas for the life-long battle1 whose bravest slogan is bread4 ,as for the few fortunate ones who have no call to take a hand in any strife or struggle1 who not only have all the time there is1 but a great deal that they cannot dispose of with any satisfaction to themselves or anybody else--,i am not writing for them2 but only to those of the world's workers who go1 or would like to go1 every summer to the woods4 ,and to these ,i would say1 don't rough it2 make it as smooth1 as restful and pleasurable as you can4 ,to this end you need pleasant days and peaceful nights4 ,you cannot afford to be tormented and poisoned by insects1 nor kept awake at night by cold and damp1 nor to exhaust your strength by hard tramps and heavy loads4 ,take it easy1 and always keep cool4 ,nine men out of ten1 on finding themselves lost in the woods1 fly into a panic1 and quarrel with the compass4 ,never do that4 ,the compass is always right1 or nearly so4 ,it is not many years since an able-bodied man--sportsman of course--lost his way in the ,north ,woods1 and took fright1 as might be expected4 ,he was well armed and well found for a week in the woods4 ,what ought to have been only an interesting adventure1 became a tragedy4 ,he tore through thickets and swamps in his senseless panic1 until he dropped and died through fright1 hunger and exhaustion4 ,a well authenticated story is told of a guide in the ,oswegatchie region1 who perished in the same way4 ,guides are not infallible2 ,i have known more than one to get lost4 ,wherefore1 should you be tramping through a pathless forest on a cloudy day1 and should the sun suddenly break from under a cloud in the northwest about noon1 don't be scared4 ,the last day is not at hand1 and the planets have not become mixed2 only1 you are turned4 ,you have gradually swung around1 until you are facing northwest when you meant to travel south4 ,it has a muddling effect on the mind--this getting lost in the woods4 ,but1 if you can collect and arrange your gray brain matter1 and suppress all panicky feeling1 it is easily got along with4 ,for instance2 it is morally certain that you commenced swinging to southwest1 then west1 to northwest4 ,had you kept on until you were heading directly north1 you could rectify your course simply by following a true south course4 ,but1 as you have varied three-eighths of the circle1 set your compass and travel by it to the southeast1 until1 in your judgment1 you have about made up the deviation2 then go straight south1 and you will not be far wrong4 ,carry the compass in your hand and look at it every few minutes2 for the tendency to swerve from a straight course when a man is once lost--and nearly always to the right--is a thing past understanding4 ,sidenote3 ,insect ,pests ,as regards poisonous insects1 it may be said that1 to the man with clean1 bleached1 tender skin1 they are1 at the start1 an unendurable torment4 ,no one can enjoy life with a smarting1 burning1 swollen face1 while the attacks on every exposed inch of skin are persistent and constant4 ,i have seen a young man after two days' exposure to these pests come out of the woods with one eye entirely closed and the brow hanging over it like a clam shell1 while face and hands were almost hideous from inflammation and puffiness4 ,the ,st4 ,regis and ,st4 ,francis ,indians1 although born and reared in the woods1 by no means make light of the black fly4 ,it took the man who could shoot ,phantom ,falls to find out1 ,its bite is not severe1 nor is it ordinarily poisonous4 ,there may be an occasional exception to this rule2 but beside the bite of the mosquito1 it is comparatively mild and harmless4 ,and again3 ,gnats 444 in my way of thinking1 are much worse than the black fly or mosquito4 ,so says ,murray4 ,our observations differ4 ,a thousand mosquitoes and as many gnats can bite me without leaving a mark1 or having any effect save the pain of the bite while they are at work4 ,but each bite of the black fly makes a separate and distinct boil1 that will not heal and be well in two months4 ,while fishing for brook trout in ,july last1 ,i ran into a swarm of them on ,moose ,river1 and got badly bitten4 ,i had carelessly left my medicine behind4 ,on the first of ,october the bites had not ceased to be painful1 and it was three months before they disappeared entirely4 ,frank ,forester says1 in his ,fish and ,fishing1 page #cga1 that he has never fished for the red-fleshed trout of ,hamilton county1 being deterred therefrom by dread of that curse of the summer angler1 the black fly1 which is to me especially venomous4 ,adirondack ,murray gives extended directions for beating these little pests by the use of buckskin gloves with chamois gauntlets1 ,swiss mull1 fine muslin1 etc4 ,then he advises a mixture of sweet oil and tar1 which is to be applied to face and hands2 and he adds that it is easily washed off1 leaving the skin soft and smooth as an infant's2 all of which is true4 ,but1 more than forty years' experience in the woods has taught me that the following recipe is infallible anywhere that sancudos1 moquims1 or our own poisonous insects do most abound4 ,it was published in ,forest and ,stream in the summer of #ahhj1 and again in '#hc4 ,it has been pretty widely quoted and adopted1 and ,i have never known it to fail3 ,three ounces pine tar1 two ounces castor oil1 one ounce pennyroyal oil4 ,simmer all together over a slow fire1 and bottle for use4 ,you will hardly need more than a two-ounce vial full in a season4 ,one ounce has lasted me six weeks in the woods4 ,rub it in thoroughly and liberally at first1 and after you have established a good glaze1 a little replenishing from day to day will be sufficient4 ,and don't fool with soap and towels where insects are plenty4 ,a good safe coat of this varnish grows better the longer it is kept on--and it is cleanly and wholesome4 ,if you get your face and hands crocky or smutty about the camp-fire1 wet the corner of your handkerchief and rub it off1 not forgetting to apply the varnish at once1 wherever you have cleaned it off4 ,last summer ,i carried a cake of soap and a towel in my knapsack through the ,north ,woods for a seven weeks' tour1 and never used either a single time4 ,when ,i had established a good glaze on the skin1 it was too valuable to be sacrificed for any weak whim connected with soap and water4 ,when ,i struck a woodland hotel1 ,i found soap and towels plenty enough4 ,i found the mixture gave one's face the ruddy tanned look supposed to be indicative of health and hard muscle4 ,a thorough ablution in the public wash basin reduced the color1 but left the skin very soft and smooth2 in fact1 as a lotion for the skin it is excellent4 ,it is a soothing and healing application for poisonous bites already received4 ,i have given some space to the insect question1 but no more than it deserves or requires4 ,the venomous little wretches are quite important enough to spoil many a well planned trip to the woods1 and it is best to beat them from the start4 ,you will find that immunity from insects and a comfortable camp are the two first and most indispensable requisites of an outing in the woods4 ,and just here ,i will briefly tell how a young friend of mine went to the woods1 some twenty-five years ago4 ,he was a bank clerk1 and a good fellow withal1 with a leaning toward camp-life4 ,for months1 whenever we met1 he would introduce his favorite topics1 fishing1 camping out1 etc4 ,at last in the hottest of the hot months1 the time came4 ,he put in an appearance with a fighting cut on his hair1 a little stiff straw hat1 and a soft skin1 bleached by long confinement in a close office4 ,i thought he looked a little tender2 but he was sanguine4 ,he could rough it1 could sleep on the bare ground with the root of a tree for a pillow2 as for mosquitoes and punkies1 he never minded them4 ,sidenote3 ,beware the ,black ,fly ,we went in a party of five--two old hunters and three youngsters1 the latter all enthusiasm and pluck--at first4 ,toward the last end of a heavy eight-mile tramp1 they grew silent1 and slapped and scratched nervously4 ,arriving at the camping spot1 they worked fairly well1 but were evidently weakening a little4 ,by the time we were ready to turn in they were reduced pretty well to silence and suffering--especially the bank clerk1 ,jean ,l4 ,the punkies were eager for his tender skin1 and they were rank poison to him4 ,he muffled his head in a blanket and tried to sleep1 but it was only a partial success4 ,when1 by suffocating himself1 he obtained a little relief from insect bites1 there were stubs and knotty roots continually poking themselves among his ribs1 or digging into his backbone4 ,i have often had occasion to observe that stubs1 roots and small stones1 etc41 have a perverse tendency to abrade the anatomy of people unused to the woods4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,d4 ,warner has noticed the same thing1 ,i believe4 ,on the whole1 ,jean and the other youngsters behaved very well4 ,although they turned out in the morning with red1 swollen faces and half closed eyes1 they all went trouting and caught about #aej small trout between them4 ,they did their level bravest to make a jolly thing of it2 but ,jean's attempt to watch a deerlick1 resulted in a wetting through the sudden advent of a shower2 and the shower drove about all the punkies and mosquitoes in the neighborhood under our roof for shelter4 ,i never saw them more plentiful or worse4 ,jean gave in and varnished his pelt thoroughly with my punkie dope1 as he called it2 but1 too late2 the mischief was done4 ,and the second trial was worse to those youngsters than the first4 ,more insects4 ,more stubs and knots4 ,owing to these little annoyances1 they arrived at home several days before their friends expected them--leaving enough rations in camp to last ,old ,sile and the writer a full week4 ,and the moral of it is1 if they had fitted themselves for the the woods before going there1 the trip would have been a pleasure instead of a misery4 ,one other little annoyance ,i will mention1 as a common occurrence among those who camp out2 this is the lack of a pillow4 ,i suppose ,i have camped fifty times with people1 who1 on turning in1 were squirming around for a long time1 trying to get a rest for the head4 ,boots are the most common resort4 ,but1 when you place a boot-leg--or two of them--under your head1 they collapse1 and make a head-rest less than half an inch thick4 ,just why it never occurs to people that a stuffing of moss1 leaves1 or hemlock browse1 would fill out the bed-leg and make a passable pillow1 is another conundrum ,i cannot answer4 ,but there is another and better way of making a pillow for camp use1 which ,i will describe further on4 ,and now ,i wish to devote some space to one of the most important adjuncts of woodcraft1 i4e41 camps2 how to make them1 and how to make them comfortable4 ,there are camps1 and camps4 ,there are camps in the ,north ,woods that are really fine villas1 costing thousands of dollars1 and there are log-houses1 and shanties1 and bark camps1 and ,a tents1 and walled tents1 shelter tents and shanty tents4 ,but1 ,i assume that the camp best fitted to the wants of the average outer is the one that combines the essentials of dryness1 lightness1 portability1 cheapness1 and is easily and quickly put up4 ,another essential is1 that it must admit of a bright fire in front by night or day4 ,i will give short descriptions of the forest shelters 7camps7 ,i have found handiest and most useful4 ,firstly1 ,i will mention a sort of camp that was described in a sportsman's paper1 and has since been largely quoted and used4 ,it is made by fastening a horizontal pole to a couple of contiguous trees1 and then putting on a heavy covering of hemlock boughs1 shingling them with the tips downward1 of course4 ,a fire is to be made at the roots of one of the trees4 ,this1 with plenty of boughs1 may be made to stand a pretty stiff rain2 but it is only a damp arbor1 and no camp1 properly speaking4 ,a forest camp should always admit of a bright fire in front1 with a lean-to or shed roof overhead1 to reflect the fire heat on the bedding below4 ,any camp that falls short of this1 lacks the requirements of warmth1 brightness and healthfulness4 ,this is why ,i discard all close1 canvas tents4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,indian ,camp ,illustration3 ,,indian ,,camp ,the simplest and most primitive of all camps is the ,indian camp4 ,it is easily and quickly made1 is warm and comfortable1 and stands a pretty heavy rain when properly put up4 ,this is how it is made3 ,let us say you are out and have slightly missed your way4 ,the coming gloom warns you that night is shutting down4 ,you are no tenderfoot4 ,you know that a place of rest is essential to health and comfort through the long1 cold ,november night4 ,you dive down the first little hollow until you strike a rill of water1 for water is a prime necessity4 ,as you draw your hatchet you take in the whole situation at a glance4 ,the little stream is gurgling downward in a half choked frozen way4 ,there is a huge sodden hemlock lying across it4 ,one clip of the hatchet shows it will peel4 ,there is plenty of smaller timber standing around2 long1 slim poles1 with a tuft of foliage on top4 ,five minutes suffice to drop one of these1 cut a twelve-foot pole from it1 sharpen the pole at each end1 jam one end into the ground and the other into the rough back of a scraggy hemlock1 and there is your ridge pole4 ,now go--with your hatchet--for the bushiest and most promising young hemlocks within reach4 ,drop them and draw them to camp rapidly4 ,next1 you need a fire4 ,there are fifty hard1 resinous limbs sticking up from the prone hemlock2 lop off a few of these1 and split the largest into match timber2 reduce the splinters to shavings1 scrape the wet leaves from your prospective fireplace1 and strike a match on the balloon part of your trousers4 ,if you are a woodsman you will strike but one4 ,feed the fire slowly at first2 it will gain fast4 ,when you have a blaze ten feet high1 look at your watch4 ,it is #f ,p4,m4 ,you don't want to turn in before #aj o'clock1 and you have four hours to kill before bed-time4 ,now1 tackle the old hemlock2 take off every dry limb1 and then peel the bark and bring it to camp4 ,you will find this takes an hour or more4 ,next1 strip every limb from your young hemlocks1 and shingle them onto your ridge pole4 ,this will make a sort of bear den1 very well calculated to give you a comfortable night's rest4 ,the bright fire will soon dry the ground that is to be your bed1 and you will have plenty of time to drop another small hemlock and make a bed of browse a foot thick4 ,you do it4 ,then you make your pillow4 ,now1 this pillow is essential to comfort and very simple4 ,it is half a yard of muslin1 sewed up as a bag1 and filled with moss or hemlock browse4 ,you can empty it and put it in your pocket1 where it takes up about as much room as a handkerchief4 ,you have other little muslin bags--an' you be wise4 ,one holds a couple of ounces of good tea2 another1 sugar2 another is kept to put your loose duffle in3 money1 match safe1 pocket-knife4 ,you have a pat of butter and a bit of pork1 with a liberal slice of brown bread2 and before turning in you make a cup of tea1 broil a slice of pork1 and indulge in a lunch4 ,ten o'clock comes4 ,the time has not passed tediously4 ,you are warm1 dry and well-fed4 ,your old friends1 the owls1 come near the fire-light and salute you with their strange wild notes2 a distant fox sets up for himself with his odd1 barking cry and you turn in4 ,not ready to sleep just yet4 ,but you drop off2 and it is two bells in the morning watch when you waken with a sense of chill and darkness4 ,the fire has burned low1 and snow is falling4 ,the owls have left1 and a deep silence broods over the cold1 still forest4 ,you rouse the fire1 and1 as the bright light shines to the furthest recesses of your forest den1 get out the little pipe1 and reduce a bit of navy plug to its lowest denomination4 ,the smoke curls lazily upward2 the fire makes you warm and drowsy1 and again you lie down--to again awaken with a sense of chilliness--to find the fire burned low1 and daylight breaking4 ,you have slept better than you would in your own room at home4 ,you have slept in an ,indian camp4 ,you have also learned the difference between such a simple shelter and an open air bivouac under a tree or beside an old log4 ,another easily made and very comfortable camp is the brush shanty1 as it is usually called in ,northern ,pennsylvania4 ,the frame for such a shanty is a cross-pole resting on two crotches about six feet high1 and enough straight poles to make a foundation for the thatch4 ,the poles are laid about six inches apart1 one end of the ground1 the other on the cross-pole1 and at a pretty sharp angle4 ,the thatch is made of the fan-like boughs cut from the thrifty young hemlock1 and are to be laid bottom upward and feather end down4 ,commence to lay them from the ground1 and work up to the cross-pole1 shingling them carefully as you go4 ,if the thatch be laid a foot in thickness1 and well done1 the shanty will stand a pretty heavy rain--better than the average bark roof1 which is only rain-proof in dry weather4 ,a bark camp1 however1 may be a very neat sylvan affair1 provided you are camping where spruce or balsam fir may be easily reached1 and in the hot months when bark will peel2 and you have a day in which to work at a camp4 ,the best bark camps ,i have ever seen are in the ,adirondacks4 ,some of them are rather elaborate in construction1 requiring two or more days' hard labor by a couple of guides4 ,when the stay is to be a long one1 and the camp permanent1 perhaps it will pay4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,shanty-,tent ,as good a camp as ,i have ever tried--perhaps the best--is the shanty-tent1 shown in the illustration4 ,it is easily put up1 is comfortable1 neat1 and absolutely rain-proof4 ,of course1 it may be of any required size2 but1 for a party of two1 the following dimensions and directions will be found all sufficient3 ,firstly1 the roof4 ,this is merely a sheet of strong cotton cloth #i feet long by #d or #d-a_/b feet in width4 ,the sides1 of the same material1 to be #d-a_/b feet deep at front1 and #b feet deep at the back4 ,this gives #g feet along the edge of the roof1 leaving #b feet for turning down at the back end of the shanty4 ,it will be seen that the sides must be cut bias1 to compensate for the angle of the roof1 otherwise the shanty will not be square and shipshape when put up4 ,allowing for waste in cutting1 it takes nearly #c yards of cloth for each side4 ,the only labor required in making1 is to cut the sides to the proper shape1 and stitch them to the roof4 ,no buttons1 strings1 or loops4 ,the cloth does not even require hemming4 ,it does1 however1 need a little water-proofing2 for which the following receipt will answer very well1 and add little or nothing to the weight3 ,to #aj quarts of water add #aj ounces of lime1 and #d ounces of alum2 let it stand until clear2 fold the cloth snugly and put it in another vessel1 pour the solution on it1 let it soak for #ab hours2 then rinse in luke-warm rain water1 stretch and dry in the sun1 and the shanty-tent is ready for use4 ,sidenote3 ,construction ,to put it up properly1 make a neat frame as follows3 ,two strong stakes or posts for the front1 driven firmly in the ground #d-a_/b feet apart2 at a distance of #f feet #aj inches from these1 drive two other posts--these to be #d feet apart--for back end of shanty4 ,the front posts to be #d-a_/b feet high1 the back rests only two feet4 ,the former also to incline a little toward each other above1 so as to measure from outside of posts1 just #d feet at top4 ,this gives a little more width at front end of shanty1 adding space and warmth4 ,no crotches are used in putting up the shanty-tent4 ,each of the four posts is fitted on the top to receive a flat-ended cross-pole1 and admit of nailing4 ,when the posts are squarely ranged and driven1 select two straight1 hard-wood rods1 #b inches in diameter1 and #g feet in length--or a little more4 ,flatten the ends carefully and truly1 lay them alongside on top from post to post1 and fasten them with a light nail at each end4 ,now1 select two more straight rods of the same size1 but a little over #d feet in length2 flatten the ends of these as you did the others1 lay them crosswise from side to side1 and lapping the ends of the other rods2 fasten them solidly by driving a six-penny nail through the ends and into the posts1 and you have a square frame #gx#d feet4 ,but it is not yet complete4 ,three light rods are needed for rafters4 ,these are to be placed lengthwise of the roof at equal distances apart1 and nailed or tied to keep them in place4 ,then take two straight poles a little over #g feet long1 and some #c inches in diameter4 ,these are to be accurately flattened at the ends1 and nailed to the bottom of the posts1 snug to the ground1 on outside of posts4 ,a foot-log and head-log are indispensable4 ,these should be about #e inches in diameter1 and of a length to just reach from outside to outside of posts4 ,they should be squared at ends1 and the foot-log placed against the front post1 outside1 and held firmly in place by two wooden pins4 ,the head-log is fastened the same way1 except that it goes against the inside of the back posts2 and the frame is complete4 ,round off all sharp angles or corners with knife and hatchet1 and proceed to spread and fasten the cloth4 ,lay the roof on evenly1 and tack it truly to the front cross-rod1 using about a dozen six-ounce tacks4 ,stretch the cloth to its bearings1 and tack it at the back end in the same manner4 ,stretch it sidewise and tack the sides to the side poles1 fore and aft4 ,tack front and back ends of sides to the front and back posts4 ,bring down the #b-;foot flap of roof at back end of shanty2 stretch1 and tack it snugly to the back posts--and your sylvan house is done4 ,it is rain-proof1 wind-proof1 warm and comfortable4 ,the foot and head logs define the limits of your forest dwelling2 within which you may pile fragrant hemlock browse as thick as you please1 and renew it from day to day4 ,it is the perfect camp4 ,you may put it up with less care and labor1 and make it do very well4 ,but ,i have tried to explain how to do it in the best manner2 to make it all sufficient for an entire season4 ,and it takes longer to tell it on paper than to do it4 ,when ,i go to the woods with a partner1 and we arrive at our camping ground1 ,i like him to get his fishing rig together1 and start out for a half day's exercise with his favorite flies1 leaving me to make the camp according to my own notions of woodcraft4 ,if he will come back about dusk with a few pounds of trout1 ,i will have a pleasant camp and a bright fire for him4 ,and if he has enjoyed wading an icy stream more than ,i have making the camp--he has had a good day4 ,perhaps it may not be out of place to say that the camp1 made as above1 calls for fifteen bits of timber1 posts1 rods1 etc41 a few shingle nails1 and some six-penny wrought nails1 with a paper of six-ounce tacks4 ,nails and tacks will weigh about five ounces1 and are always useful4 ,in tacking the cloth1 turn the raw edge in until you have four thicknesses1 as a single thickness is apt to tear4 ,if you desire to strike camp1 it takes about ten minutes to draw and save all the nails and tacks1 fold the cloth smoothly1 and deposit the whole in your knapsack4 ,if you wish to get up a shelter tent on fifteen minutes' notice1 cut and sharpen a twelve-foot pole as for the ,indian camp1 stick one end in the ground1 the other in the rough bark of a large tree--hemlock is best--hang the cloth on the pole1 fasten the sides to rods1 and the rods to the ground with inverted crotches1 and your shelter tent is ready for you to creep under4 ,illustration3 ,,shanty-,,tent ,,and ,,camp-,,fire ,the above description of the shanty-tent may seem a trifle elaborate1 but ,i hope it is plain4 ,the affair weighs just three pounds1 and it takes a skillful woodsman about three hours of easy work to put it in the shape described4 ,leaving out some of the work1 and only aiming to get it up in square shape as quickly as possible1 ,i can put it up in an hour4 ,the shanty as it should be1 is shown in the illustration very fairly4 ,and the shape of the cloth when spread out1 is shown in the diagram on page #bf4 ,on the whole1 it is the best form of close-side tent ,i have found4 ,it admits of a bright fire in front1 without which a forest camp is just no camp at all to me4 ,i have suffered enough in close1 dark1 cheerless1 damp tents4 ,more than thirty years ago ,i became disgusted with the clumsy1 awkward1 comfortless affairs that1 under many different forms1 went under the name of camps4 ,gradually ,i came to make a study of camping out4 ,it would take too much time and space1 should ,i undertake to describe all the different styles and forms ,i have tried4 ,but ,i will mention a few of the best and worst4 ,sidenote3 ,other ,camps ,the old ,down ,east coal cabin embodied the principle of the ,indian camp4 ,the frame was simply two strong crotches set firmly in the ground at a distance of eight feet apart1 and interlocking at top4 ,these supported a stiff ridge-pole fifteen feet long1 the small end sharpened and set in the ground4 ,refuse boards1 shooks1 stakes1 etc41 were placed thickly from the ridge-pole to the ground2 a thick layer of straw was laid over these1 and the whole was covered a foot thick with earth and sods1 well beaten down4 ,a stone wall five feet high at back and sides made a most excellent fireplace2 and these cabins were weather-proof and warm1 even in zero weather4 ,but they were too cumbersome1 and included too much labor for the ordinary hunter and angler4 ,also1 they were open to the objection1 that while wide enough in front1 they ran down to a dismal1 cold peak at the far end4 ,remembering1 however1 the many pleasant winter nights ,i had passed with the coal-burners1 ,i bought a supply of oil-cloth and rigged it on the same principle4 ,it was a partial success1 and ,i used it for one season4 ,but that cold1 peaked1 dark space was always back of my head1 and it seemed like an iceberg4 ,it was in vain that ,i tied a handkerchief about my head1 or drew a stocking leg over it4 ,that miserable1 icy angle was always there4 ,and it would only shelter one man anyhow4 ,when winter drove me out of the woods ,i gave it to an enthusiastic young friend1 bought some more oil-cloth1 and commenced a shanty-tent that was meant to be perfect4 ,a good many leisure hours were spent in cutting and sewing that shanty1 which proved rather a success4 ,it afforded a perfect shelter for a space #gx#d feet1 but was a trifle heavy to pack1 and the glazing began to crack and peel off in a short time4 ,i made another and larger one of stout drilling1 soaked in lime-water and alum2 and this was all that could be asked when put up properly on a frame4 ,but1 the sides and ends being sewed to the roof made it unhandy to use as a shelter1 when shelter was needed on short notice4 ,so ,i ripped the back ends of the sides loose from the flap1 leaving it1 when spread out1 as shown in the diagram4 ,this was better2 when it was necessary to make some sort of shelter in short order1 it could be done with a single pole as used in the ,indian camp1 laying the tent across the pole1 and using a few tacks to keep it in place at sides and center4 ,this can be done in ten minutes1 and makes a shelter-tent that will turn a heavy rain for hours4 ,illustration ,on the whole1 for all kinds of weather1 the shanty-tent is perhaps the best style of camp to be had at equal expense and trouble4 ,for a summer camp1 however1 ,i have finally come to prefer the simple lean-to or shed roof4 ,it is the lightest1 simplest and cheapest of all cloth devices for camping out1 and ,i have found it sufficient for all weathers from ,june until the fall of the leaves4 ,it is only a sheet of strong cotton cloth #ix#g feet1 and soaked in lime and alum-water as the other4 ,the only labor in making it is sewing two breadths of sheeting together4 ,it needs no hemming1 binding1 loops or buttons1 but is to be stretched on a frame as described for the brush shanty1 and held in place with tacks4 ,the one ,i have used for two seasons cost sixty cents1 and weighs #b-a_/d pounds4 ,it makes a good shelter for a party of three2 and if it be found a little too breezy for cool nights1 a sufficient windbreak can be made by driving light stakes at the sides and weaving in a siding of hemlock boughs4 ,sidenote3 ,sparks ,lastly1 whatever cloth structure you may elect to use for a camp1 do not fail to cover the roof with a screen of green boughs before building your camp-fire4 ,because there will usually be one fellow in camp who has a penchant for feeding the fire with old mulchy deadwood and brush1 for the fun of watching the blaze1 and the sparks that are prone to fly upward2 forgetting that the blazing cinders are also prone to drop downward on the roof of the tent1 burning holes in it4 ,i have spoken of some of the best camps ,i know4 ,the worst ones are the ,a and wall tents1 with all closed camps in which one is required to seclude himself through the hours of sleep in damp and darkness1 utterly cut off from the cheerful1 healthful light and warmth of the camp-fire4 ,chapter ,,iv ,,camp-,,fires ,,and ,,their ,,importance--,,the ,,wasteful ,,wrong ,,way ,,they ,,are ,,usually ,,made1 ,,and ,,the ,,right ,,way ,,to ,,make ,,them ,hardly second in importance to a warm1 dry camp1 is the camp-fire4 ,in point of fact1 the warmth1 dryness1 and healthfulness of a forest camp are mainly dependent on the way the fire is managed and kept up4 ,no asthmatic or consumptive patient ever regained health by dwelling in a close1 damp tent4 ,i once camped for a week in a wall tent1 with a ,philadelphia party1 and in cold weather4 ,we had a little sheet iron fiend1 called a camp-stove4 ,when well fed with bark1 knots and chips1 it would get red hot1 and1 heaven knows1 give out heat enough4 ,by the time we were sound asleep1 it would subside2 and we would presently awake with chattering teeth to kindle her up again1 take a smoke and a nip1 turn in for another nap--to awaken again half frozen4 ,it was a poor substitute for the open camp and bright fire4 ,an experience of fifty years convinces me that a large percentage of the benefit obtained by invalids from camp life is attributable to the open camp and well-managed camp-fire4 ,and the latter is usually handled in a way that is too sad1 too wasteful2 in short1 badly botched4 ,for instance4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,guides' ,camp ,it happened in the summer of '#ha that ,i was making a canoe trip in the ,northern ,wilderness1 and as ,raquette ,lake is the largest and about the most interesting lake in the ,north ,woods1 ,i spent about a week paddling1 fishing1 etc4 ,i made my headquarters at ,ed4 ,bennett's woodland hostelry1 ,under the ,hemlocks4 ,as the hotel was filled with men1 women and crying children1 bitten to agony by punkies and mosquitoes1 ,i chose to spread my blanket in a well-made bark shanty1 which a sign-board in black and white said was the ,guides' ,camp4 ,and this camp was a very popular institution4 ,here it was that every evening1 when night had settled down on forest and lake1 the guests of the hotel would gather to lounge on the bed of fresh balsam browse1 chat1 sing and enjoy the huge camp-fire4 ,no woodland hotel will long remain popular that does not keep up a bright1 cheery1 out-o'-door fire4 ,and the fun of it--to an old woodsman--is in noting how like a lot of school children they all act about the fire4 ,ed4 ,bennett had a man1 a ,north ,woods trapper1 in his employ1 whose chief business was to furnish plenty of wood for the guides' camp1 and start a good fire every evening by sundown4 ,as it grew dark and the blaze shone high and bright1 the guests would begin to straggle in2 and every man1 woman and child seemed to view it as a religious duty to pause by the fire1 and add a stick or two1 before passing into camp4 ,the wood was thrown on endwise1 crosswise1 or any way1 so that it would burn1 precisely as a crowd of boys make a bonfire on the village green4 ,the object being1 apparently1 to get rid of the wood in the shortest possible time4 ,when the fire burnt low1 toward mid-night1 the guests would saunter off to the hotel2 and the guides1 who had been waiting impatiently1 would organize what was left of the fire1 roll themselves in their blankets1 and turn in4 ,i suggested to the trapper that he and ,i make one fire as it should be1 and maybe they would follow suit--which would save half the fuel1 with a better fire4 ,but he said1 ,no2 they like to build bonfires1 and ',ed4' can stand the wood1 because it is best to let them have their own way4 ,time seems to hang heavy on their hands--and they pay well4 ,summer boarders1 tourists and sportsmen1 are not the only men who know how to build a camp-fire all wrong4 ,when ,i first came to ,northern ,pennsylvania1 thirty-five years ago1 ,i found game fairly abundant2 and1 as ,i wanted to learn the country where deer most abounded1 ,i naturally cottoned to the local hunters4 ,good fellows enough1 and conceited1 as all local hunters and anglers are apt to be4 ,strong1 good hunters and axe-men1 to the manner born1 and prone to look on any outsider as a tenderfoot4 ,their mode of building camp-fires was a constant vexation to me4 ,they made it a point to always have a heavy sharp axe in camp1 and toward night some sturdy chopper would cut eight or ten logs as heavy as the whole party could lug to camp with hand-spikes4 ,the size of the logs was proportioned to the muscular force in camp4 ,if there was a party of six or eight1 the logs would be twice as heavy as when we were three or four4 ,just at dark1 there would be a log heap built in front of the camp1 well chinked with bark1 knots and small sticks2 and1 for the next two hours1 one could hardly get at the fire to light a pipe4 ,but the fire was sure though slow4 ,by #aj or #aa ,p4,m4 it would work its way to the front1 and the camp would be warm and light4 ,the party would turn in1 and deep sleep would fall on a lot of tired hunters--for two or three hours4 ,by which time some fellow near the middle was sure to throw his blanket off with a spiteful jerk1 and dash out of camp with1 ,holy ,moses6 ,i can't stand this2 it's an oven4 ,another ,snorer 7partially waking74--,n-r-r-rm1 gu-r-r1 ugh4 ,can't you--deaden--fire--a little8 ,first ,speaker4--,deaden h----4 ,if you want the fire deadened1 get up and help throw off some of these logs4 ,another 7in coldest corner of shanty7--,what's 'er matter--with a-you fellows8 ,better dig out--an' cool off in the snow4 ,shanty's comfor'ble enough4 ,his minority report goes unheeded4 ,the camp is roasted out4 ,strong hands and hand-spikes pry a couple of glowing logs from the front and replace them with two cold1 green logs2 the camp cools off1 and the party takes to blankets once more--to turn out again at #e ,a4,m41 and inaugurate breakfast4 ,the fire is not in favorable shape for culinary operations1 the heat is mainly on the back side1 just where it isn't wanted4 ,the few places level enough to set a pot or pan are too hot2 and1 in short1 where there is any fire1 there is too much4 ,one man sees1 with intense disgust1 the nozzle of his coffee-pot drop into the fire4 ,he makes a rash grab to save his coffee1 and gets away--with the handle1 which hangs on just enough to upset the pot4 ,old ,al41 who is frying a slice of pork over a bed of coals that would melt a gun barrel1 starts a horse laugh1 that is cut short by a blue flash and an explosion of pork fat1 which nearly blinds him4 ,and the writer1 taking in these mishaps in the very spirit of fun and frolic1 is suddenly sobered and silenced by seeing his venison steak drop from the end of the frizzling stick1 and disappear between two glowing logs4 ,the party manages1 however1 to get off on the hunt at daylight1 with full stomachs2 and perhaps the hearty fun and laughter more than compensate for these little mishaps4 ,this is a digression4 ,but ,i am led to it by the recollection of many nights spent in camps and around camp-fires1 pretty much as described above4 ,i can smile today at the remembrance of the calm1 superior way in which the old hunters of that day would look down on me1 as from the upper branches of a tall hemlock1 when ,i ventured to suggest that a better fire could be made with half the fuel and less than half the labor4 ,they would kindly remark1 ,oh1 you are a ,boston boy4 ,you are used to paying #h4jj a cord for wood4 ,we have no call to save wood here4 ,we can afford to burn it by the acre4 ,which was more true than logical4 ,most of these men had commenced life with a stern declaration of war against the forest2 and1 although the men usually won at last1 the battle was a long and hard one4 ,small wonder that they came to look upon a forest tree as a natural enemy4 ,the camp-fire question came to a crisis1 however1 with two or three of these old settlers4 ,and1 as the story well illustrates my point1 ,i will venture to tell it4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,winter ,camp ,it was in the dark days before ,christmas that a party of four started from ,w41 bound for a camp on ,second ,fork1 in the deepest part of the wilderness that lies between ,wellsboro and the ,block ,house4 ,the party consisted of ,sile ,j41 ,old ,al41 ,eli ,j4 and the writer4 ,the two first were gray-haired men1 the others past thirty2 all the same1 they called us the boys4 ,the weather was not inviting1 and there was small danger of our camp being invaded by summer outers or tenderfeet4 ,it cost twelve miles of hard travel to reach that camp2 and1 though we started at daylight1 it was past noon when we arrived4 ,the first seven miles could be made on wheels1 the balance by hard tramping4 ,the road was execrable2 no one cared to ride2 but it was necessary to have our loads carried as far as possible4 ,the clearings looked dreary enough1 and the woods forbidding to a degree1 but our old camp was the picture of desolation4 ,there was six inches of damp snow on the leafless brush roof1 the blackened brands of our last fire were sticking their charred ends out of the snow1 the hemlocks were bending sadly under their loads of wet snow1 and the entire surroundings had a cold1 cheerless1 slushy look1 very little like the ideal hunter's camp4 ,we placed our knapsacks in the shanty1 ,eli got out his nail hatchet1 ,i drew my little pocket-axe1 and we proceeded to start a fire1 while the two older men went up stream a few rods to unearth a full-grown axe and a bottle of old rye1 which they had cached under a log three months before4 ,they never fooled with pocket-axes4 ,they were gone so long that we sauntered up the band1 thinking it might be the rye that detained them4 ,we found them with their coats off1 working like beavers1 each with a stout1 sharpened stick4 ,there had been an ,october freshet1 and a flood-jam at the bend had sent the mad stream over its banks1 washing the log out of position and piling a gravel bar two feet deep over the spot where the axe and flask should have been4 ,about the only thing left to do was to cut a couple of stout sticks1 organize a mining company1 limited1 and go in2 which they did4 ,sile was drifting into the side of the sandbar savagely1 trying to strike the axe-helve1 and ,old ,al4 was sinking numberless miniature shafts from the surface in a vain attempt to strike whisky4 ,the company failed in about half an hour4 ,sile resumed his coat1 and sat down on a log--which was one of his best holds1 by the way4 ,he looked at ,al42 ,al4 looked at him2 then both looked at us1 and ,sile remarked that1 if one of the boys wanted to go out to the clearings and borry an axe1 and come back in the morning1 he thought the others could pick up wood enough to tough it out one night4 ,of course nobody could stay in an open winter camp without an axe4 ,it was my time to come to the front4 ,i said3 ,you two just go at the camp2 clean the snow off and slick up the inside4 ,put my shelter-cloth with ,eli's1 and cover the roof with them2 and if you don't have just as good a fire tonight as you ever had1 you can tie me to a beech and leave me here4 ,come on1 ,eli4 ,and ,eli did come on4 ,and this is how we did it3 ,we first felled a thrifty butternut tree ten inches in diameter1 cut off three lengths at five feet each1 and carried them to camp4 ,these were the back logs4 ,two stout stakes were driven at the back of the fire1 and the logs1 on top of each other1 were laid firmly against the stakes4 ,the latter were slanted a little back1 and the largest log placed at bottom1 the smallest on top1 to prevent tipping forward4 ,a couple of short1 thick sticks were laid with the ends against the bottom log by way of fire dogs2 a fore stick1 five feet long and five inches in diameter2 a well built pyramid of bark1 knots and small logs completed the camp-fire1 which sent a pleasant glow of warmth and heat to the furthest corner of the shanty4 ,for night-wood1 we cut a dozen birch and ash poles from four to six inches across1 trimmed them to the tips1 and dragged them to camp4 ,then we denuded a dry hemlock of its bark by the aid of ten-foot poles1 flattened at one end1 and packed the bark to camp4 ,we had a bright1 cheery fire from the early evening until morning1 and four tired hunters never slept more soundly4 ,illustration3 ,,camp-,,fire ,,as ,,it ,,should ,,be ,,made ,we stayed in that camp a week2 and1 though the weather was rough and cold1 the little pocket-axes kept us well in firewood4 ,we selected butternut for backlogs1 because1 when green1 it burns very slowly and lasts a long time4 ,and we dragged our smaller wood to camp in lengths of twenty to thirty feet1 because it was easier to lay them on the fire and burn them in two than to cut them shorter with light hatchets4 ,with a heavy axe1 we should have cut them to lengths of five or six feet4 ,sidenote3 ,our ,luck ,our luck1 ,i may mention1 was good--as good as we desired4 ,not that four smallish deer are anything to brag about for a week's hunt by four men and two dogs4 ,i have known a pot-hunter to kill nine in a single day4 ,but we had enough4 ,as it was1 we were obliged to double trip it in order to get our deer and duffle down to ,babb's4 ,and we gave away more than half our venison4 ,for the rest1 the illustrations show the camp-fire--all but the fire--as it should be made4 ,chapter ,v ,,fishing1 ,,with ,,and ,,without ,,flies--,,some ,,tackle ,,and ,,lures--,,discursive ,,remarks ,,on ,,the ,,gentle ,,art--,,the ,,headlight--,,frogging ,there is probably no subject connected with out-door sport so thoroughly and exhaustively written up as fly-fishing1 and all that pertains thereto4 ,fly-fishing for speckled trout always1 and deservedly1 takes the lead4 ,bass fishing usually comes next1 though some writers accord second place to the lake trout1 salmon trout or land-locked salmon4 ,the mascalonge1 as a game fish1 is scarcely behind the small-mouthed bass1 and is certainly more gamy than the lake trout4 ,the large-mouthed bass and pickerel are usually ranked about with the yellow perch4 ,i don't know why2 they are certainly gamy enough4 ,perhaps it is because they do not leap out of water when hooked4 ,both are good on the table4 ,a dozen able and interesting authors have written books wherein trout1 flies and fly-fishing are treated in a manner that leaves an old backwoodsman little to say4 ,rods1 reels1 casting lines1 flies and fish are described and descanted on in a way1 and in a language1 the reading whereof reduces me to temporary insanity4 ,and yet ,i seem to recollect some bygone incidents concerning fish and fishing4 ,i have a well-defined notion that ,i once stood on ,flat ,rock1 in ,big ,pine ,creek1 and caught over #cej fine trout in a short day's fishing4 ,also that many times ,i left home on a bright ,may or ,june morning1 walked eight miles1 caught a twelve-pound creel of trout1 and walked home before bed-time4 ,i remember that once1 in ,michigan1 on the advice of local fishermen1 ,i dragged a spoon around ,high ,bank ,lake two days1 with little result save half a dozen blisters on my hands2 and that on the next morning1 taking a long tamarack pole and my own way of fishing1 ,i caught1 before #aj ,a4 ,m41 fifty pounds of bass and pickerel1 weighing from two to ten pounds each4 ,gibson1 whose spoon1 line and skiff ,i had been using and who was the fishing oracle of that region1 could hardly believe his eyes4 ,i kept that country inn1 and the neighborhood as well1 supplied with fish for the next two weeks4 ,it is truth to say that ,i have never struck salt or fresh waters1 where edible fish were at all plentiful1 without being able to take1 in some way1 all that ,i needed4 ,notably and preferably with the fly if that might be4 ,if not1 then with worms1 grubs1 minnows1 grasshoppers1 crickets1 or any sort of doodle bug their highnesses might affect4 ,when a plump1 two-pound trout refuses to eat a tinseled1 feathered fraud1 ,i am not the man to refuse him something more edible4 ,that ,i may not be misunderstood1 let me say that ,i recognized the speckled brook trout as the very emperor of all game fish1 and angling for him with the fly as the neatest1 most fascinating sport attainable by the angler4 ,but there are thousands of outers who1 from choice or necessity1 take their summer vacations where ,salmo fontinalis is not to be had4 ,they would prefer him1 either on the leader or the table2 but he is not there2 ,and a man has got a stomach1 and we live by what we eat4 ,wherefore1 they go a-fishing for other fish4 ,so that they are successful and sufficiently fed1 the difference is not so material4 ,i have enjoyed myself hugely catching catties on a dark night from a skiff with a hand-line4 ,i can add nothing in a scientific way to the literature of fly-fishing2 but ,i can give a few hints that may be conducive to practical success1 as well with trout as with less noble fish4 ,in fly-fishing1 one serviceable four-ounce rod is enough2 and a plain click reel1 of small size1 is just as satisfactory as a more costly affair4 ,twenty yards of tapered1 water-proof line1 with a six-foot leader1 and a cost of two flies1 complete the rig1 and will be found sufficient4 ,in common with most fly-fishers1 ,i have mostly thrown a cast of three flies1 but have found two just as effective1 and handier4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,best ,flies ,we all carry too many flies4 ,some of my friends have more than sixty dozen1 and will never use a tenth of them4 ,in the summer of '#hh1 finding ,i had more than seemed needful1 ,i left all but four dozen behind me4 ,i wet only fifteen of them in a seven weeks' outing4 ,and they filled the bill4 ,i have no time or space for a dissertation on the hundreds of different flies made and sold at the present day4 ,abler pens have done that4 ,i will1 however1 name a few that ,i have found good in widely different localities1 i4e41 the ,northern ,wilderness of ,new ,york and the upper waters of ,northern ,pennsylvania4 ,for the ,northern ,wilderness3 ,scarlet ibis1 split ibis1 ,romeyn1 white-winged coachman1 royal coachman1 red hackle1 red-bodied ashy and gray-bodied ashy4 ,the ashies were good for black bass also4 ,for ,northern ,pennsylvania3 ,queen of the waters1 professor1 red fox1 coachman1 black may1 white-winged coachman1 wasp1 brown hackle1 ,seth ,green4 ,ibis flies are worthless here4 ,using the dark flies in bright water and clear weather1 and the brighter colors for evening1 the list was long enough4 ,at the commencement of the open season1 and until the young maple leaves are half grown1 bait will be found far more successful than the fly4 ,at this time the trout are pretty evenly distributed along lake shores and streams1 choosing to lie quietly in rather deep pools1 and avoiding swift water4 ,a few may rise to the fly in a logy1 indifferent way2 but the best way to take them is bait-fishing with well-cleansed angle-worms or white grubs1 the latter being the best bait ,i have ever tried4 ,they take the bait sluggishly at this season1 but1 on feeling the hook1 wake up to their normal activity and fight gamely to the last4 ,when young1 new-born insects begin to drop freely on the water about the #bjth of ,may1 trout leave the pools and take to the riffles4 ,and from this time until the latter part of ,june the fly-fisherman is in his glory4 ,it may be true that the skillful bait-fisherman will rather beat his creel4 ,he cares not for that4 ,he can take enough2 and he had rather take ten trout with the fly than a score with bait4 ,as for the man who goes a-fishing simply to catch fish1 the fly-fisher does not recognize him as an angler at all4 ,when the sun is hot and the weather grows warm1 trout leave the ripples and take to cold springs and spring-holes2 the largest fish1 of course1 monopolizing the deepest and coolest places1 while the smaller ones hover around1 or content themselves with shallower water4 ,as the weather gets hotter1 the fly-fishing falls off badly4 ,a few trout of four to eight ounces in weight may still be raised1 but the larger ones are lying on the bottom1 and are not to be fooled with feathers4 ,they will take a tempting bait when held before their noses--sometimes2 at other times1 not4 ,as to raising them with a fly--as well attempt to raise a sick ,indian with the temperance pledge4 ,and yet1 they may be taken in bright daylight by a ruse that ,i learned long ago1 of a youngster less than half my age1 a little1 freckled1 thin-visaged young man1 whose health was evidently affected by a daily struggle with a pair of tow-colored side whiskers and a light mustache4 ,there was hardly enough of the whole affair to make a door-mat for a bee hive4 ,but he seemed so proud of the plant1 that ,i forebore to rig him4 ,he was better than he looked--as often happens4 ,the landlord said1 ,he brings in large trout every day1 when our best fly-fishermen fail4 ,one night1 around an out-door fire1 we got acquainted1 and ,i found him a witty1 pleasant companion4 ,before turning in ,i ventured to ask him how he succeeded in taking large trout1 while the experts only caught small ones1 or failed altogether4 ,go with me tomorrow morning to a spring-hole three miles up the river1 and ,i'll show you1 he said4 ,sidenote3 ,at the ,spring-,hole ,of course1 we went4 ,he1 rowing a light skiff1 and ,i paddling a still lighter canoe4 ,the spring-hole was in a narrow bay that set back from the river1 and at the mouth of a cold1 clear brook2 it was ten to twelve feet deep1 and at the lower end a large balsam had fallen in with the top in just the right place for getting away with large fish1 or tangling lines and leaders4 ,we moored some twenty feet above the spring-hole1 and commenced fishing1 ,i with my favorite cast of flies1 my friend with the tail of a minnow4 ,he caught a #a-a_/b-pound trout almost at the outset1 but ,i got no rise2 did not expect it4 ,then ,i went above1 where the water was shallower1 and raised a couple of half-pounders1 but could get no more4 ,i thought he had better go to the hotel with what he had1 but my friend said wait2 he went ashore and picked up a long pole with a bushy tip2 it had evidently been used before4 ,dropping down to the spring-hole1 he thrust the tip to the bottom and slashed it around in a way to scare and scatter every trout within a hundred feet4 ,and what does all that mean8 ,i asked4 ,well1 he said1 every trout will be back in less than an hour2 and when they first come back1 they take the bait greedily4 ,better take off your leader and try bait4 ,which ,i did4 ,dropping our hooks to the bottom1 we waited some twenty minutes1 when he had a bite1 and1 having strong tackle1 soon took in a trout that turned the scale at #b-a_/d pounds4 ,then my turn came and ,i saved one weighing #a-a_/b pounds4 ,he caught another of #a-a_/d pounds1 and ,i took one of #a pound4 ,then they ceased biting altogether4 ,and now1 said my friend1 if you will work your canoe carefully around to that old balsam top and get the light where you can see the bottom1 you may see some large trout4 ,i did as directed1 and1 making a telescope of my hand1 looked intently for the bottom of the spring-hole4 ,at first ,i could see nothing but water2 then ,i made out some dead sticks1 and finally began to dimly trace the outlines of large fish4 ,there they were1 more than forty of them1 lying quietly on the bottom like suckers1 but genuine brook trout1 every one of them4 ,this1 said he1 makes the fifth time ,i have brushed them out of here1 and ,i have never missed taking from two to five large trout4 ,i have two other places where ,i always get one or two1 but this is the best4 ,at the hotel we found two fly-fishers who had been out all the morning4 ,they each had three or four small trout4 ,during the next week we worked the spring-holes daily in the same way1 and always with success4 ,i have also had good success by building a bright fire on the bank1 and fishing a spring-hole by the light--a mode of fishing especially successful with catties and perch4 ,a bright1 bull's-eye headlight1 strapped on a stiff hat1 so that the light can be thrown where it is wanted1 is an excellent device for night fishing4 ,and during the heated term1 when fish are slow and sluggish1 ,i have found the following plan works well3 ,bake a hard1 well salted1 water johnny-cake1 break it into pieces the size of a hen's egg1 and drop the pieces into a spring-hole4 ,this calls a host of minnows1 and the larger fish follow the minnows4 ,it will prove more successful on perch1 catties1 chubs1 etc41 than on trout1 however4 ,by this plan1 ,i have kept a camp of five men well supplied with fish when their best flies failed--as they mostly do in very hot weather4 ,fishing for mascalonge1 pickerel1 and bass1 is quite another thing1 though by many valued as a sport scarcely inferior to fly-fishing for trout4 ,i claim no especial skill with the fly-rod4 ,it is a good day when ,i get my tail fly more than fifteen yards beyond the reel1 with any degree of accuracy4 ,my success lies mainly with the tribes of ,esox and ,micropterus4 ,among these1 ,i have seldom or never failed during the last thirty-six years1 when the water was free of ice2 and ,i have had just as good luck when big-mouthed bass and pickerel were in the off season1 as at any time4 ,for in many waters there comes a time--in late ,august and ,september--when neither bass nor pickerel will notice the spoon1 be it handled never so wisely4 ,even the mascalonge looks on the flashing cheat with indifference2 though a very hungry specimen may occasionally immolate himself4 ,it was at such a season that ,i fished ,high ,bank ,lake--as before mentioned--catching from forty to fifty pounds of fine fish every morning for nearly two weeks1 after the best local fishermen had assured me that not a decent sized fish could be taken at that season4 ,perhaps a brief description of the modes and means that have proved invariably successful for many years may afford a few useful hints1 even to old anglers4 ,sidenote3 ,frog-,bait and ,gangs ,to begin with1 ,i utterly discard all modern gangs and trains1 carrying from seven to thirteen hooks each4 ,they are all too small1 and all too many2 better calculated to scratch and tear1 than to catch and hold4 ,three hooks are enough at the end of any line1 and better than more4 ,these should be fined or honed to a perfect point1 and the abrupt part of the barb filed down one-half4 ,all hooks1 as usually made1 have twice as much barb as they should have2 and the sharp bend of the barb prevents the entering of the hook in hard bony structures1 wherefore the fish only stays hooked so long as there is a taut pull on the line4 ,a little loosening of the line and shake of the head sets him free4 ,but no fish can shake out a hook well sunken in mouth or gills1 though two-thirds of the barb be filed away4 ,illustration3 ,,frog-,,bait ,illustration3 ,,three-,,hook ,,gang ,for mascalonge or pickerel ,i invariably use wire snells made as follows3 ,lay off four or more strands of fine brass wire #ac inches long2 turn one end of the wires smoothly over a ,no4 #a iron wire1 and work the ends in between the strands below4 ,now1 with a pair of pincers hold the ends1 and1 using ,no4 #a as a handle1 twist the ends and body of the snell firmly together2 this gives the loop2 next1 twist the snell evenly and strongly from end to end4 ,wax the end of the snell thoroughly for two or three inches1 and wax the tapers of two strong ,sproat or ,o',shaughnessy hooks1 and wind the lower hook on with strong1 waxed silk1 to the end of the taper2 then lay the second hook at right angles with the first1 and one inch above it2 wind this as the other1 and then fasten a third and smaller hook above that for a lip hook4 ,this gives the snell about one foot in length1 with the two lower hooks standing at right angles1 one above the other1 and a third and smaller hook in line with the second4 ,the bait is the element of success2 it is made as follows3 ,slice off a clean1 white pork rind1 four or five inches long by an inch and a half wide2 lay it on a board1 and1 with a sharp knife cut it as nearly to the shape of a frog as your ingenuity permits4 ,prick a slight gash in the head to admit the lip hook1 which should be an inch and a half above the second one1 and see that the fork of the bait rests securely in the barb of the middle hook4 ,use a stout bait-rod and a strong line4 ,fish from a boat1 with a second man to handle the oars1 if convenient4 ,let the oarsman lay the boat ten feet inside the edge of the lily-pads1 and make your cast1 say1 with thirty feet of line2 land the bait neatly to the right1 at the edge of the lily-pads1 let it sink a few inches1 and then with the tip well lowered1 bring the bait around on a slight curve by a quick succession of draws1 with a momentary pause between each2 the object being to imitate as nearly as possible a swimming frog4 ,if this be neatly done1 and if the bait be made as it should be1 at every short halt the legs will spread naturally1 and the imitation is perfect enough to deceive the most experienced bass or pickerel4 ,when half a dozen casts to right and left have been made without success1 it is best to move on1 still keeping inside and casting outside the lily-pads4 ,a pickerel of three pounds or more will take in all three hooks at the first snap2 and1 as he closes his mouth tightly and starts for the bottom1 strike quickly1 but not too hard1 and let the boatman put you out into deep water at once1 where you are safe from the strong roots of the yellow lily4 ,it is logically certain your fish is well hooked4 ,you cannot pull two strong1 sharp hooks through that tightly closed mouth without fastening at least one of them where it will do most good4 ,oftener both will catch1 and it frequently happens that one hook will catch each lip1 holding the mouth nearly closed1 and shortening the struggles of a large fish very materially4 ,on taking off a fish1 and before casting again1 see that the two lower hooks stand at right angles4 ,if they have got turned in the struggle you can turn them at any angle you like2 the twisted wire is stiff enough to hold them in place4 ,every angler knows the bold1 determined manner in which the mascalonge strikes his prey4 ,he will take in bait and hooks at the first dash1 and if the rod be held stiffly usually hooks himself4 ,barring large trout1 he is the king of game fish4 ,the big-mouthed bass is less savage in his attacks1 but is a free biter4 ,he is apt to come up behind and seize the bait about two-thirds of its length1 turn1 and bore down for the bottom4 ,he will mostly take in the lower hooks1 however1 and is certain to get fastened4 ,his large mouth is excellent for retaining the hook4 ,as for the small-mouthed 7,micropterus dolomieu1 if you want to be scientific71 ,i have found him more capricious than any game fish on the list4 ,one day he will take only dobsons1 or crawfish2 the next1 he may prefer minnows1 and again1 he will rise to the fly or a bucktail spinner4 ,on the whole1 ,i have found the pork frog the most successful lure in his case2 but the hooks and bait must be arranged differently4 ,three strands of fine wire will make a snell strong enough1 and the hooks should be strong1 sharp and rather small1 the lower hooks placed only half an inch apart1 and a small lip hook two and a quarter inches above the middle one4 ,as the fork of the bait will not reach the bend of the middle hook1 it must be fastened to the snell by a few stitches taken with stout thread1 and the lower end of the bait should not reach more than a quarter of an inch beyond the bottom of the hook1 because the small-mouth has a villainous trick of giving his prey a stern chase1 nipping constantly and viciously at the tail1 and the above arrangement will be apt to hook him at the first snap4 ,owing to this trait1 some artificial minnows with one or two hooks at the caudal end1 are very killing--when he will take them4 ,sidenote3 ,lake ,trout ,lake1 or salmon trout1 may be trolled for successfully with the above lure2 but ,i do not much affect fishing for them4 ,excellent sport may be had with them1 however1 early in the season1 when they are working near the shore1 but they soon retire to water from fifty to seventy feet deep1 and can only be caught by deep trolling or buoy-fishing4 ,i have no fancy for sitting in a slow-moving boat for hours1 dragging three or four hundred feet of line in deep water1 a four-pound sinker tied by six feet of lighter line some twenty feet above the hooks4 ,the sinker is supposed to go bumping along the bottom1 while the bait follows three or four feet above it4 ,the drag of the line and the constant joggling of the sinker on rocks and snags1 make it difficult to tell when one has a strike--and it is always too long between bites4 ,sitting for hours at a baited buoy with a hand-line1 and without taking a fish1 is still worse1 as more than once ,i have been compelled to acknowledge in very weariness of soul4 ,there are enthusiastic anglers1 however1 whose specialty is trolling for lake trout4 ,a gentleman by the name of ,thatcher1 who has a fine residence on ,raquette ,lake--which he calls a camp--makes this his leading sport1 and keeps a log of his fishing1 putting nothing on record of less than ten pounds weight4 ,his largest fish was booked at twenty-eight pounds1 and he added that a well-conditioned salmon trout was superior to a brook trout on the table2 in which ,i quite agree with him4 ,but he seemed quite disgusted when ,i ventured to suggest that a well-conditioned cattie or bullhead1 caught in the same waters--was better than either4 ,do you call the cattie a game fish8 he asked4 ,yes2 ,i call any fish a game fish that is taken for sport with hook and line4 ,i can no more explain the common prejudice against the catfish and eel than ,i can tell why an experienced angler should drag a gang of thirteen hooks through the water--ten of them being worse than superfluous4 ,frank ,forester gives five hooks as the number for a trolling gang4 ,we mostly use hooks too small1 and do not look after points and barbs closely enough4 ,a pair of ,no4 #a ,o',shaughnessy1 or #a-a_/b ,sproat1 or five tapered blackfish hooks1 will make a killing rig for small-mouthed bass using ,no4 #d ,sproat for lip hook4 ,larger hooks are better for the big-mouthed1 a four-pound specimen of which will easily take in one's fist4 ,a pair of #e-j ,o',shaughnessy's1 or ,sproat's will be found none too large2 and as for the mascalonge and pickerel1 if ,i must err1 let it be on the side of large hooks and strong lines4 ,sidenote3 ,stout ,tackle ,it is idle to talk of playing the fish in water where the giving of a few yards insures a hopeless tangle among roots1 tree-tops1 etc4 ,i was once fishing in ,western waters where the pickerel ran very large1 and ,i used a pair of the largest salmon hooks with tackle strong enough to hold a fish of fifteen pounds1 without any playing2 notwithstanding which1 ,i had five trains of three hooks each taken off in as many days by monster pickerel4 ,an expert mascalonge fisherman--,davis by name--happened to take board at the farm house where ,i was staying1 and he had a notion that he could beat some of them big fellows2 and he did it2 with three large cod hooks1 a bit of fine1 strong chain1 twelve yards of cod-line1 an eighteen-foot tamarack pole1 and a twelve inch sucker for bait4 ,i thought it the most outlandish rig ,i had ever seen1 but went with him in the early gray of the morning to see it tried1 just where ,i had lost my hooks and fish4 ,raising the heavy bait in the air1 he would give it a whirl to gather headway1 and launch it forty feet away with a splash that might have been heard thirty rods4 ,it looked more likely to scare than catch1 but was a success4 ,at the third or fourth cast we plainly saw a huge pickerel rise1 shut his immense mouth over bait1 hooks1 and a few inches of chain1 turn lazily1 and head for the bottom1 where ,mr4 ,d4 let him rest a minute1 and then struck steadily but strongly4 ,the subsequent struggle depended largely on main strength1 though there was a good deal of skill and cool judgment shown in the handling and landing of the fish4 ,a pickerel of forty pounds or more is not to be snatched out of the water on his first mad rush2 something must be yielded--and with no reel there is little chance of giving line4 ,it struck me my friend managed his fish remarkably well1 towing him back and forth with a strong pull1 never giving him a rest and finally sliding him out on a low muddy bank1 as though he were a smooth log4 ,we took him up to the house and tested the size of his mouth by putting a quart cup in it1 which went in easily4 ,then we weighed him1 and he turned the scales at forty-four pounds4 ,it was some consolation to find three of my hooks sticking in his mouth4 ,lastly1 we had a large section of him stuffed and baked4 ,it was good2 but a ten-pound fish would have been better4 ,the moral of all this--if it has any moral--is1 use hooks according to the size of fish you expect to catch4 ,and1 when you are in a permanent camp1 and fishing is very poor1 try frogging4 ,it is not a sport of a high order1 though it may be called angling--and it can be made amusing1 with hook and line4 ,i have seen educated ladies in the wilderness1 fishing for frogs with an eagerness and enthusiasm not surpassed by the most devoted angler with his favorite cast of flies4 ,there are several modes of taking the festive batrachian4 ,he is speared with a frog-spear2 caught under the chin with snatch-hooks2 taken with hook and line1 or picked up from a canoe with the aid of a headlight1 or jack-lamp4 ,the two latter modes are best4 ,to take him with hook and line3 a light rod1 six to eight feet of line1 a snell of single gut with a #a-j ,sproat or ,o',shaughnessy hook1 and a bit of bright scarlet flannel for bait2 this is the rig4 ,to use it1 paddle up behind him silently1 and drop the rag just in front of his nose4 ,he is pretty certain to take it on the instant4 ,knock him on the head before cutting off his legs4 ,it is unpleasant to see him squirm1 and hear him cry like a child while you are sawing at his thigh joints4 ,by far the most effective manner of frogging is by the headlight on dark nights4 ,to do this most successfully1 one man in a light canoe1 a good headlight and a light1 one-handed paddle1 are the requirements4 ,the frog is easily located1 either by his croaking1 or by his peculiar shape4 ,paddle up to him silently and throw the light in his eyes2 you may then pick him up as you would a potato4 ,i have known a ,north ,woods guide to pick up a five-quart pail of frogs in an hour1 on a dark evening4 ,on the table1 frogs' legs are usually conceded first place for delicacy and flavor4 ,for an appetizing breakfast in camp1 they have no equal1 in my judgment4 ,the high price they bring at the best hotels1 and their growing scarcity1 attest the value placed on them by men who know how and what to eat4 ,and1 not many years ago1 an old pork-gobbling backwoodsman threw his frying-pan into the river because ,i had cooked frogs' legs in it4 ,while another1 equally intelligent1 refused to use my frying-pan1 because ,i had cooked eels in it2 remarking sententiously1 ,eels is snakes1 an' ,i know it4 ,it may be well1 just here and now1 to say a word on the importance of the headlight4 ,i know of no more pleasant and satisfactory adjunct of a camp than a good light that can be adjusted to the head1 used as a jack in floating1 carried in the hand1 or fastened up inside the shanty4 ,once fairly tried1 it will never be ignored or forgotten4 ,not that it will show a deer's head seventeen rods distant with sufficient clearness for a shot--or your sights with distinctness enough to make it4 7,see ,murray's ,adirondacks1 page #agd47 ,a headlight that will show a deer plainly at six rods1 while lighting the sights of a rifle with clearness1 is an exceptionally good light4 ,more deer are killed in floating under than over four rods4 ,there are various styles of headlights1 jack-lamps1 etc41 in use4 ,they are bright1 easily adjusted1 and will show rifle sights1 or a deer1 up to #ajj feet--which is enough4 ,they are also convenient in camp1 and better than a lantern on a dim forest path4 ,before leaving the subject of bait-fishing1 ,i have a point or two ,i wish to make4 ,i have attempted to explain the frog-bait1 and the manner of using it1 and ,i shall probably never have occasion to change my belief that it is1 on the whole1 the most killing lure for the entire tribes of bass and pickerel4 ,there is however1 another1 which1 if properly handled1 is almost as good4 ,it is as follows3 ,take a bass1 pickerel1 or yellow perch1 of one pound or less2 scrape the scales clean on the under side from the caudal fin to a point just forward of the vent4 ,sidenote3 ,swivels and ,snells ,next1 with a sharp knife1 cut up toward the backbone1 commencing just behind the vent with a slant toward the tail4 ,run the knife smoothly along just under the backbone1 and out through the caudal fin1 taking about one-third of the latter1 and making a clean1 white bait1 with the anal and part of the caudal by way of fins4 ,it looks very like a white minnow in the water2 but is better1 in that it is more showy1 and infinitely tougher4 ,a minnow soon drags to pieces4 ,to use it1 two strong hooks are tied on a wire snell at right angles1 the upper one an inch above the lower1 and the upper hook is passed through the bait1 leaving it to draw without turning or spinning4 ,the casting and handling is the same as with the frog-bait1 and is very killing for bass1 pickerel1 and mascalonge4 ,it is a good lure for salmon trout also2 but1 for him it was found better to fasten the bait with the lower hook in a way to give it a spinning motion2 and this necessitates the use of a swivel1 which ,i do not like2 because1 a rope is as strong as its weakest part2 and ,i have more than once found that weakest part the swivel4 ,if1 however1 a swivel has been tested by a dead lift of twenty to twenty-five pounds1 it will do to trust4 ,i have spoken only of brass or copper wire for snells1 and for pickerel or mascalonge of large size nothing else is to be depended on4 ,but for trout and bass1 strong gut or gimp is safe enough4 ,the possibilities as to size of the mascalonge and ,northern pickerel no man knows4 ,frank ,forester thinks it probable that the former attains to the weight of sixty to eighty pounds1 while he only accords the pickerel a weight of seventeen to eighteen pounds4 ,i have seen several pickerel of over forty pounds1 and one that turned the scale at fifty-three4 ,and ,i saw a mascalonge on ,georgian ,bay that was longer than the ,canuck guide who was toting the fish over his shoulder by a stick thrust in the mouth and gills4 ,the snout reached to the top of the guide's head1 while the caudal fin dragged on the ground4 ,there was no chance for weighing the fish1 but ,i hefted him several times1 carefully1 and am certain he weighed more than a bushel of wheat4 ,just what tackle would be proper for such a powerful fellow ,i am not prepared to say1 having lost the largest specimens ,i ever hooked4 ,my best mascalonge weighed less than twenty pounds4 ,my largest pickerel still less4 ,i will close this discursive chapter by offering a bit of advice4 ,do not go into the woods on a fishing tour without a stock of well cleansed angle-worms4 ,keep them in a tin can partly filled with damp moss1 and in a cool moist place4 ,there is no one variety of bait that the angler finds so constantly useful as the worm4 ,izaak ,walton by no means despised worm or bait-fishing4 ,chapter ,,vi ,,camp ,,cookery--,,how ,,it ,,is ,,usually ,,done1 ,,with ,a ,,few ,,simple ,,hints ,,on ,,plain ,,cooking--,,cooking ,,fire ,,and ,,out-,,door ,,range ,the way in which an average party of summer outers will contrive to manage--or mis-manage--the camp and camp-fire so as to get the greatest amount of smoke and discontent at the least outlay of time and force1 is something past all understanding1 and somewhat aggravating to an old woodsman who knows some better4 ,but it is just as good fun as the cynical ,o4 ,w4 can ask1 to see a party of three or four enthusiastic youngsters organize the camp on the first day in1 and proceed to cook the first meal4 ,of course1 every man is boss1 and every one is bound to build the fire1 which every one proceeds to do4 ,there are no back logs1 no fore sticks1 and no arrangement for level solid bases on which to place frying-pans1 coffee pots1 etc4 ,but1 there is a sufficiency of knots1 dry sticks1 bark and chunks1 with some kindling at the bottom1 and a heavy volume of smoke working its way through the awkward-looking pile4 ,presently thin tongues of blue flame begin to shoot up through the interstices1 and four brand new coffee pots are wriggled into level positions at as many different points on the bonfire4 ,four hungry youngsters commence slicing ham and pork1 four frying-pans are brought out from as many hinged and lidded soap boxes--when one man yells out hurriedly1 ,look out1 ,joe1 there's your coffee pot handle coming off4 ,and he drops his frying-pan to save his coffee pot1 which he does1 minus the spout and handle4 ,then it is seen that the flames have increased rapidly1 and all the pots are in danger4 ,a short1 sharp skirmish rescues them1 at the expense of some burned fingers1 and culinary operations are the order of the hour4 ,coffee and tea are brewed with the loss of a handle or two1 and the frying-pans succeed in scorching the pork and ham to an unwholesome black mess4 ,the potato kettle does better4 ,it is not easy to spoil potatoes by cooking them in plenty of boiling water2 and1 as there is plenty of bread with fresh butter1 not to mention canned goods1 the hungry party feed sufficiently1 but not satisfactorily4 ,everything seems pervaded with smoke4 ,the meat is scorched bitter1 and the tea is of the sort described by ,charles ,dudley ,warner1 in his humorous description of ,camping ,out3 ,the sort of tea that takes hold1 lifts the hair1 and disposes the drinker to hilariousness4 ,there is no deception about it1 it tastes of tannin1 and spruce1 and creosote4 ,of the cooking he says3 ,everything has been cooked in a tin pail and a skillet--potatoes1 tea1 pork1 mutton1 slapjacks4 ,you wonder how everything would have been prepared in so few utensils4 ,when you eat1 the wonder ceases1 everything might have been cooked in one pail4 ,it is a noble meal4444 ,the slapjacks are a solid job of work1 made to last1 and not go to pieces in a person's stomach like a trivial bun4 ,i have before me a copy of ,forest and ,stream1 in which the canoe editor1 under the heading of ,the ,galley ,fire1 has some remarks well worth quoting4 ,he says3 ,the question of camp cookery is one of the greatest importance to all readers of ,forest and ,stream1 but most of all to the canoeists4 ,from ignorance of what to carry the canoeist falls back on canned goods1 never healthy as a steady diet1 ,brunswick soup and eggs4444 ,the misery of that first camp-fire1 who has forgotten it8 ,tired1 hungry1 perhaps cold and wet1 the smoke everywhere1 the coffee pot melted down1 the can of soup upset in the fire1 the fiendish conduct of frying-pan and kettle1 the final surrender of the exhausted victim1 sliding off to sleep with a piece of hard-tack in one hand and a slice of canned beef in the other1 only to dream of mother's hot biscuits1 juicy steaks1 etc41 etc4 ,it is very well put1 and so true to the life4 ,and again3 ,frying1 baking1 making coffee1 stews1 plain biscuits1 the neat and speedy preparation of a healthy 'square meal' can be easily learned4 ,aye1 and should be learned by every man who goes to the woods with or without a canoe4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,first ,day ,out ,but ,i was describing a first day's camping out1 the party being four young men and one old woodsman1 the latter going along in a double character of invited guest and amateur guide4 ,when the boys are through with their late dinner1 they hustle the greasy frying-pans and demoralized tinware into a corner of the shanty1 and get out their rods for an evening's fishing4 ,they do it hurriedly1 almost feverishly1 as youngsters are apt to do at the start4 ,the ,o4 ,w4 has taken no part in the dinner1 and has said nothing save in response to direct questions1 nor has he done anything to keep up his reputation as a woodsman1 except to see that the shelter roof is properly put up and fastened4 ,having seen to this1 he reverts to his favorite pastime1 sitting on a log and smoking navy plug4 ,long experience has taught him that it is best to let the boys effervesce a little4 ,they will slop over a trifle at first1 but twenty-four hours will settle them4 ,when they are fairly out of hearing1 he takes the old knapsack from the clipped limb where it has been hung1 cuts a slice of ham1 butters a slice of bread1 spreads the live coals and embers1 makes a pot of strong green tea1 broils the ham on a three-pronged birch fork1 and has a clean1 well-cooked plain dinner4 ,then he takes the sharp three-pound camp axe1 and fells a dozen small birch and ash trees1 cutting them into proper lengths and leaving them for the boys to tote into camp4 ,next1 a bushy1 heavy-topped hemlock is felled1 and the ,o4 ,w4 proceeds leisurely to pick a heap of fine hemlock browse4 ,a few handfuls suffice to stuff the muslin pillow bag1 and the rest is carefully spread on the port side of the shanty for a bed4 ,the pillow is placed at the head1 and the old ,mackinac blanket-bag is spread neatly over all1 as a token of ownership and possession4 ,if the youngsters want beds of fine1 elastic browse1 let 'em make their own beds4 ,no camp-fire should be without poker and tongs4 ,the poker is a beech stick four feet long by two inches thick1 flattened at one end1 with a notch cut in it for lifting kettles1 etc4 ,to make the tongs1 take a tough beech or hickory stick1 one inch thick by two feet in length1 shave it down nearly one-half for a foot in the center1 thrust this part into hot embers until it bends freely1 bring the ends together and whittle them smoothly to a fit on the inside1 cross-checking them also to give them a grip2 finish off by chamfering the ends neatly from the outside4 ,they will be found exceedingly handy in rescuing a bit of tinware1 a slice of steak or ham1 or any small article that happens to get dropped in a hot fire4 ,and don't neglect the camp broom4 ,it is made by laying bushy hemlock twigs around a light handle1 winding them firmly with strong twine or moose wood bark1 and chopping off the ends of the twigs evenly4 ,it can be made in ten minutes4 ,use it to brush any leaves1 sticks1 and any litter from about the camp or fire4 ,neatness is quite as pleasant and wholesome around the forest camp as in the home kitchen4 ,these little details may seem trivial to the reader4 ,but remember1 if there is a spot on earth where trifles make up the sum of human enjoyment1 it is to be found in a woodland camp4 ,all of which the ,o4 ,w4 fully appreciates1 as he finishes the above little jobs2 after which he proceeds to spread the fire to a broad level bed of glowing embers1 nearly covering the same with small pieces of hemlock bark1 that the boys may have a decent cooking fire on their return4 ,about sundown they come straggling in1 not jubilant and hilarious1 footsore rather and a little cross4 ,the effervescence is subsiding1 and the noise is pretty well knocked out of them4 ,they have caught and dressed some three score of small brook trout1 which they deposit beside the shanty1 and proceed at once to move on the fire1 with evident intent of raising a conflagration1 but are checked by the ,o4 ,w41 who calls their attention to the fact that for all culinary purposes1 the fire is about as near the right thing as they are likely to get it4 ,better defer the bonfire until after supper4 ,listening to the voice of enlightened woodcraft1 they manage to fry trout and make tea without scorch or creosote1 and the supper is a decided improvement on the dinner4 ,but the dishes are piled away as before1 without washing4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,first ,night ,then follows an hour of busy work1 bringing wood to camp and packing browse4 ,the wood is sufficient2 but the browse is picked1 or cut1 all too coarse1 and there is only enough of it to make the camp look green and pleasant--not enough to rest weary shoulders and backs4 ,but1 they are sound on the bonfire4 ,they pile on the wood in the usual way1 criss-cross and haphazard4 ,it makes a grand fire1 and lights up the forest for fifty yards around1 and the tired youngsters turn in4 ,having the advantage of driving a team to the camping ground1 they are well supplied with blankets and robes4 ,they ought to sleep soundly1 but they don't4 ,the usual drawbacks of a first night in camp are soon manifested in uneasy twistings and turnings1 grumbling at stubs1 knots1 and sticks1 that utterly ignore conformity with the angles of the human frame4 ,but at last1 tired nature asserts her supremacy1 and they sleep4 ,sleep soundly1 for a couple of hours2 when the bonfire1 having reached the point of disintegration1 suddenly collapses with a sputtering and crackling that brings them to their head's antipodes1 and four dazed1 sleepy faces look out with a bewildered air1 to see what has caused the rumpus4 ,all take a hand in putting the brands together and re-arranging the fire1 which burns better than at first2 some sleepy talk1 one or two feeble attempts at a smoke1 and they turn in again4 ,but1 there is not an hour during the remainder of the night in which some one is not pottering about the fire4 ,the ,o4,w41 who has abided by his blanket-bag all night--quietly taking in the fun--rouses out the party at #d ,a4 ,m4 ,for two of them are to fish ,asaph ,run with bait1 and the other two are to try the riffles of ,marsh ,creek with the fly4 ,as the wood is all burned to cinders and glowing coals1 there is no chance for a smoky fire2 and1 substituting coffee for tea1 the breakfast is a repetition of the supper4 ,by sunrise the boys are off1 and the ,o4 ,w4 has the camp to himself4 ,he takes it leisurely1 gets up a neat breakfast of trout1 bread1 butter1 and coffee1 cleans and puts away his dishes1 has a smoke1 and picks up the camp axe4 ,selecting a bushy hemlock fifteen inches across1 he lets it down in as many minutes1 trims it to the very tip1 piles the limbs in a heap1 and cuts three lengths of six feet each from the butt4 ,this insures browse and back logs for some time ahead4 ,two strong stakes are cut and sharpened4 ,four small logs1 two of eight and two of nine feet in length1 are prepared1 plenty of night wood is made ready1 a supply of bright1 dry hemlock bark is carried to camp1 and the ,o4 ,w4 rests from his labors1 resuming his favorite pastime of sitting on a log and smoking navy plug4 ,finally it occurs to him that he is there partly as guide and mentor to the younger men1 and that they need a lesson on cleanliness4 ,he brings out the frying-pans and finds a filthy-looking mess of grease in each one1 wherein ants1 flies1 and other insects have contrived to get mixed4 ,does he heat some water1 and clean and scour the pans8 ,not if he knows himself4 ,if he did it once he might keep on doing it4 ,he is cautious about establishing precedents1 and he has a taste for entomology4 ,he places the pans in the sun where the grease will soften and goes skirmishing for ants and doodle bugs4 ,they are not far to seek1 and he soon has a score of large black ants1 with a few bugs and spiders1 pretty equally distributed among the frying-pans4 ,to give the thing a plausible look a few flies are added1 and the two largest pans are finished off1 one with a large earwig1 the other with a thousand-legged worm4 ,the pans are replaced in the shanty1 the embers are leveled and nearly covered with bits of dry hemlock bark1 and the ,o4 ,w4 resumes his pipe and log ,with such a face of ,christian satisfaction1 ,as good men wear1 who have done a virtuous action4 ,before noon the boys are all in1 and as the catch is twice as numerous and twice as large as on the previous evening1 and as the weather is all that could be asked of the longest days in ,june1 they are in excellent spirits4 ,the boxes are brought out1 pork is sliced1 a can of ,indian meal comes to the front1 and they go for the frying-pans4 ,holy ,moses6 ,look here4 ,just see the ants and bugs4 ,second ,man4--,well1 ,i should say6 ,i can see your ants and bugs1 and go you an earwig better4 ,third ,man 7inverting his pan spitefully over the fire74--,d--n 'em1 ,i'll roast the beggars4 ,bush ,d4 7who is something of a cook and woodsman7 ,boys1 ,i'll take the pot4 ,i've got a thousand-legged worm at the head of a pismire flush1 and it serves us right1 for a lot of slovens4 ,dishes should be cleaned as often as they are used4 ,now let's scour our pans and commence right4 ,sidenote3 ,their ,lesson ,hot water1 ashes1 and soap soon restore the pans to pristine brightness2 three frying-pans are filled with trout well rolled in meal2 a fourth is used for cooking a can of tomatoes2 the coffee is strong1 and everything comes out without being smoked or scorched4 ,the trout are browned to a turn1 and even the ,o4 ,w4 admits that the dinner is a success4 ,when it is over and the dishes are cleaned and put away1 and the camp slicked up1 there comes the usual two hours of lounging1 smoking1 and story telling1 so dear to the hearts of those who love to go a-fishing and camping4 ,at length there is a lull in the conversation1 and ,bush ,d4 turns to the old woodsman with1 ,i thought1 ',uncle ,mart1' you were going to show us fellows such a lot of kinks about camping out1 camp-fires1 cooking1 and all that sort of thing1 isn't it about time to begin8 ,strikes me you have spent most of the last twenty-four hours holding down that log4 ,except cutting some night wood and tending the fire1 adds number two4 ,the old woodsman1 who has been rather silent up to this time1 knocks the ashes leisurely from his pipe1 and gets on his feet for a few remarks4 ,he says1 ,boys1 a bumblebee is biggest when it's first born4 ,you've learned more than you think in the last twenty-four hours4 ,well1 as how8 ,explain yourself1 says ,bush ,d4 ,o4 ,w4--,in the first place1 you have learned better than to stick your cooking-kit into a tumbled down heap of knots1 mulch and wet bark1 only to upset and melt down the pots1 and scorch or smoke everything in the pans1 until a starving hound wouldn't eat the mess4 ,and you have found that it doesn't take a log heap to boil a pot of coffee or fry a pan of trout4 ,also1 that a level bed of live coals makes an excellent cooking fire1 though ,i will show you a better4 ,yesterday you cooked the worst meal ,i ever saw in the woods4 ,today you get up a really good1 plain dinner2 you have learned that much in one day4 ,oh1 you improve some4 ,and ,i think you have taken a lesson in cleanliness today4 ,yes2 but we learned that of the ant--and bug1 says number two4 ,o4 ,w4--,just so4 ,and did you think all the ants and doodlebugs blundered into that grease in one morning8 ,i put 'em in myself--to give you a 'kink4' ,bush ,d4 7disgusted74--,you blasted1 dirty old sinner4 ,second ,man4--,oh1 you miserable old swamp savage2 ,i shan't get over that earwig in a month4 ,third ,man 7plaintively74--,this life in the woods isn't what it's cracked up to be2 ,i don't relish bugs and spiders4 ,i wish ,i were home4 ,i'm all bitten up with punkies1 and---- ,fourth ,man 7savagely74--,dashed old woods-loafer2 let's tie his hands and fire him in the creek4 ,o4 ,w4 7placidly74--,exactly1 boys4 ,your remarks are terse1 and to the point4 ,only1 as ,i am going to show you a trick or two on woodcraft this afternoon1 you can afford to wait a little4 ,now1 quit smoking1 and get out your hatchets2 we'll go to work4 ,three hatchets are brought to light2 one of them a two-pound clumsy hand-axe1 the others of an old time1 ,mt4 ,vernon1 ,g4 ,w4 pattern4 ,and now1 says good-natured ,bush1 you give directions and we'll do the work4 ,illustration3 ,g4 ,w4 ,,hatchet ,under directions1 the coarse browse of the previous night is placed outside the shanty2 three active youngsters1 on hands and knees1 feel out and cut off every offending stub and root inside the shanty1 until it is smooth as a floor4 ,the four small logs are brought to camp2 the two longest are laid at the sides and staked in place2 the others are placed1 one at the head1 the other at the foot1 also staked2 and the camp has acquired definite outlines1 and a measurable size of eight by nine feet4 ,three hemlock logs and two sharpened stakes are toted to camp2 the stakes driven firmly1 and the logs laid against them1 one above the other4 ,fire-dogs1 fore-stick1 etc41 complete the arrangement1 and the camp-fire is in shape for the coming night1 precisely as shown in the engraving on page #cc4 ,and now1 says the ,o4 ,w41 if three of you will go down to the flat and pick the browse clean from the two hemlock tops1 ,bush and ,i will fix a cooking-range4 ,a--what8 asks one4 ,going to start a boarding-house8 says another4 ,notion of going into the hardware business8 suggests a third4 ,never mind1 sonny2 just 'tend to that browse1 and when you see a smoke raising on the flat by the spring1 come over and see the range4 ,and the boys1 taking a couple of blankets in which to carry the browse1 saunter away to the flat below4 ,a very leisurely aesthetic1 fragrant occupation is this picking browse4 ,it should never be cut1 but pulled1 stripped or broken4 ,i have seen a ,senator1 ex-,governor1 and a wealthy banker enjoying themselves hugely at it1 varying the occupation by hacking small timber with their ,g4 ,w4 hatchets1 like so many boys let loose from school4 ,it may have looked a trifle undignified1 but ,i dare say they found their account in it4 ,newport or ,long ,branch would have been more expensive1 and much less healthful4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,cooking-,range ,for an hour and a half tongues and fingers are busy around the hemlock tops2 then a thin1 long volume of blue smoke rises near the spring1 and the boys walk over to inspect the range4 ,they find it made as follows3 ,two logs six feet long and eight inches thick are laid parallel1 but seven inches apart at one end and only four at the other4 ,they are bedded firmly and flattened a little on the inside4 ,on the upper sides the logs are carefully hewed and leveled until pots1 pans and kettles will sit firmly and evenly on them4 ,a strong forked stake is driven at each end of the space1 and a cross-pole1 two or three inches thick1 laid on1 for hanging kettles4 ,this completes the range2 simple1 but effective4 7,see illustration47 ,the broad end of the space is for frying-pans1 and the potato kettle4 ,the narrow end1 for coffee-pots and utensils of lesser diameter4 ,from six to eight dishes can be cooked at the same time4 ,soups1 stews1 and beans are to be cooked in closely covered kettles hung from the cross-pole1 the bottoms of the kettles reaching within some two inches of the logs4 ,with a moderate fire they may be left to simmer for hours without care or attention4 ,the fire is of the first importance4 ,start it with fine kindling and clean1 dry1 hemlock bark4 ,when you have a bright1 even fire from end to end of the space1 keep it up with small fagots of the sweetest and most wholesome woods in the forest4 ,these are1 in the order named1 black birch1 hickory1 sugar maple1 yellow birch1 and red beech4 ,the sticks should be short1 and not over two inches across4 ,split wood is better than round4 ,the out-door range can be made by one man in little more than an hour1 and the camper-out1 who once tries it1 will never wish to see a portable camp-stove again4 ,when the sun leaves the valley in the shade of ,asaph ,mountain1 the boys have a fragrant bed of elastic browse a foot deep in the shanty1 with pillows improvised from stuffed boot legs1 cotton handkerchiefs1 etc4 ,they cook their suppers on the range1 and vote it perfect1 no melting or heating handles too hot for use1 and no smoking of dishes1 or faces4 ,illustration3 ,,out-,,door ,,cooking-,,range ,just at dark--which means #i ,p4,m4 in the last week of ,june--the fire is carefully made and chinked4 ,an hour later it is throwing its grateful warmth and light directly into camp1 and nowhere else4 ,the camp turns in4 ,not to wriggle and quarrel with obdurate stubs1 but to sleep4 ,and sleep they do4 ,the sound1 deep1 restful sleep of healthy young manhood1 inhaling pure mountain air on the healthiest bed yet known to man4 ,when it is past mid-night1 and the fire burns low1 and the chill night breeze drifts into camp1 they still do not rouse up1 but only spoon closer1 and sleep right on4 ,only the ,o4 ,w4 turns out sleepily1 at two bells in the middle watch1 after the manner of hunters1 trappers1 and sailors1 the world over4 ,he quietly rebuilds the fire1 reduces a bit of navy plug to its lowest denomination1 and takes a solitary smoke--still holding down his favorite log4 ,quizzically and quietly he regards the sleeping youngsters1 and wonders if among them all there is one who will do as he has done1 i4e41 relinquish all of what the world reckons as success1 for the love of nature and a free forest life4 ,he hopes not4 ,and yet1 as he glances at the calm yellow moon overhead1 and listens to the low murmur of the little waterfall below the spring1 he has a faint notion that it is not all loss and dross4 ,knocking the ashes from his pipe he prepares to turn in1 murmuring to himself1 half sadly1 half humorously1 ,i have been young1 and now ,i am old2 yet have ,i never seen the true woodsman forsaken1 or his seed begging bread--or anything else1 so to speak--unless it might be a little tobacco or a nip of whisky4 ,and he creeps into his blanket-bag1 backs softly out to the outside man1 and joins the snorers4 ,sidenote3 ,getting ,breakfast ,it is broad daylight when he again turns out1 leaving the rest still sleeping soundly4 ,he starts a lively fire in the range1 treats two coffee pots to a double handful of coffee and three pints of water each1 sets on the potato kettle1 washes the potatoes1 then sticks his head into the camp1 and rouses the party with a regular second mate's hail4 ,star-a-ar-bo'lin's aho-o-o-y4 ,turn out1 you beggars4 ,come on deck and see it rain4 ,and the boys do turn out4 ,not with wakeful alacrity1 but in a dazed1 dreamy1 sleepy way4 ,they open wide eyes1 when they see that the sun is turning the sombre tops of pines and hemlocks to a soft orange yellow4 ,i'd have sworn1 says one1 that ,i hadn't slept over fifteen minutes by the watch4 ,and ,i1 says another1 was just watching the fire1 when ,i dropped off in a doze4 ,in about five minutes ,i opened my eyes1 and ,i'll be shot if it wasn't sunrise4 ,as for me1 says a third1 ,i don't know as ,i've slept at all4 ,i remember seeing somebody poking the fire last night4 ,next thing ,i knew1 some lunatic was yelling around camp about 'starbolin's1' and 'turning out4' ,guess ,i'll lay down and have my nap out4 ,yes1 says the ,o4 ,w41 ,i would4 ,if ,i was a healthy youngster1 and couldn't get along with seven hours and a half of solid sleep1 ,i'd take the next forenoon for it4 ,just at present1 ,i want to remark that ,i've got the coffee and potato business underway1 and ,i'll attend to them4 ,if you want anything else for breakfast1 you'll have to cook it4 ,and the boys1 rising to the occasion1 go about the breakfast with willing hands4 ,it is noticeable1 however1 that only one pan of trout is cooked1 two of the youngsters preferring to fall back on broiled ham1 remarking that brook trout is too rich and cloying for a steady diet4 ,which is true4 ,the appetite for trout has very sensibly subsided1 and the boyish eagerness for trout fishing has fallen off immensely4 ,only two of the party show any interest in the riffles4 ,they stroll down stream leisurely1 to try their flies for an hour or two4 ,the others elect to amuse themselves about the camp1 cutting small timber with their little hatchets1 picking fresh browse1 or skirmishing the mountain side for wintergreen berries and sassafras4 ,the fishermen return in a couple of hours1 with a score of fair-sized trout4 ,they remark apologetically that it is blazing hot--and there are plenty of trout ahead4 ,then they lean their rods against the shanty1 and lounge on the blankets1 and smoke and dose4 ,it is less than forty-eight hours since the cross-pole was laid2 and1 using a little common sense woodcraft1 the camp has already attained to a systematic no-system of rest1 freedom and idleness4 ,every man is free to loaf1 and invite his soul4 ,there is good trouting within an hour's walk for those who choose1 and there is some interest1 with a little exercise1 in cooking and cutting night wood1 slicking up1 etc4 ,but the whole party is stricken with camp-fever1 ,indian laziness1 the dolce far niente4 ,it is over and around every man1 enveloping him as with a roseate blanket from the ,castle of ,indolence4 ,it is the perfect summer camp4 ,and it is no myth2 but a literal resume of a five days' outing at ,poplar ,spring1 on ,marsh ,creek1 in ,pennsylvania4 ,alas1 for the beautiful valley1 that once afforded the finest camping grounds ,i have ever known4 ,never any more ,can it be ,unto me 7or anybody else7 ,as before4 ,a huge tannery1 six miles above ,poplar ,spring1 poisons and blackens the stream with chemicals1 bark and ooze4 ,the land has been brought into market1 and every acre eagerly bought up by actual settlers4 ,the once fine covers and thickets are converted into fields thickly dotted with blackened stumps4 ,and1 to crown the desolation1 heavy laden trains of ,the ,pine ,creek and ,jersey ,shore ,r4 ,r4 go thundering almost hourly over the very spot where stood our camp by ,poplar ,spring4 ,sidenote3 ,progress8 ,of course1 this is progress2 but1 whether backward or forward1 had better be decided sixty years hence4 ,and1 just what has happened to the obscure valley of ,marsh ,creek1 is happening today1 on a larger scale1 all over the land4 ,it is the same old story of grab and greed4 ,let us go on the make today1 and whack up tomorrow2 cheating each other as villainously as we may1 and posterity be d--d4 ,what's all the w-u-u-rld to a man when his wife is a widdy8 ,this is the moral3 ,from ,maine to ,montana2 from the ,adirondacks to ,alaska2 from the ,yosemite to the ,yellowstone1 the trout-hog1 the deer-wolf1 the netter1 the skin-hunter1 each and all have it their own way2 and the law is a farce--only to be enforced where the game has vanished forever4 ,perhaps the man-child is born who will live to write the moral of all this--when it is too late4 ,chapter ,,vii ,,more ,,hints ,,on ,,cooking1 ,,with ,,some ,,simple ,,receipts--,,bread1 ,,coffee1 ,,potatoes1 ,,soups1 ,,stews1 ,,beans1 ,,fish1 ,,meat1 ,,venison ,we may live without friends1 we may live without books1 ,but civilized man cannot live without cooks4 ,it is probably true that nothing connected with out-door life in camp is so badly botched as the cooking4 ,it is not through any lack of the raw material1 which may be had of excellent quality in any country village4 ,it is not from lack of intelligence or education1 for the men you meet in the woods1 as outers or sportsmen1 are rather over than under the average in these respects4 ,perhaps it is because it has been dinned into our ears from early childhood1 that an appetite1 a healthy longing for something good to eat1 a tickling of the palate with wholesome1 appetizing food1 is beneath the attention of an aesthetic1 intellectual man4 ,forgetting that the entire man1 mental and physical1 depends on proper aliment and the healthy assimilation thereof2 and that a thin1 dyspeptic man can no more keep up in the struggle of life1 than the lightning express can make connections1 drawn by a worn out locomotive4 ,i have never been able to get much help from cook-books1 or the scores of recipes published in various works on out-door sport4 ,take1 for example1 ,frank ,forester's ,fish and ,fishing4 ,he has more than seventy recipes for cooking fish1 over forty of which contain terms or names in ,french4 ,i dare say they are good--for a first-class hotel4 ,i neither cook nor converse in ,french1 and ,i have come to know that the plainest cooking is the best1 so that it be well done and wholesome4 ,in making up the rations for camping out1 the first thing usually attended to is bread4 ,and if this be light1 well-made bread1 enough may be taken along to last four or five days1 and this may be eked out with ,boston crackers1 or the best hard-tack1 for a couple or three days more1 without the least hardship4 ,also1 there are few camps in which some one is not going out to the clearings every few days for mail1 small stores1 etc41 and a supply of bread can be arranged for1 with less trouble than it can be made4 ,there are times1 however1 when this is not feasible1 and there are men who prefer warm bread all the time4 ,in this case the usual resort1 from ,maine to ,alaska1 is the universal flapjack4 ,i do not like it2 ,i seldom make it2 it is not good4 ,but it may be eaten1 with maple syrup or sugar and butter4 ,i prefer a plain water ,johnnycake1 made as follows 7supposing your tins are something like those described in ,chapter ,,ii73 ,put a little more than a pint of water in your kettle and bring it to a sharp boil1 adding a small teaspoonful of salt1 and two of sugar4 ,stir in slowly enough good corn meal to make a rather stiff mush1 let it cook a few minutes1 and set it off the fire2 then grease your largest tin dish and put the mush in it1 smoothing it on top4 ,set the dish on the out-door range described in the previous chapter1 with a lively bed of coal beneath--but no blaze4 ,invert the second sized tin over the cake1 and cover the dish with bright live coals1 that bottom and top may bake evenly1 and give it from thirty-five to forty minutes for baking4 ,it makes wholesome1 palatable bread1 which gains on the taste with use4 ,those who prefer wheat bread can make a passable article by using the best wheat flour with baking powders1 mixing three tablespoonfuls of the powders to a quart of flour4 ,mix and knead thoroughly with warm water to a rather thin dough1 and bake as above4 ,use the same proportions for pancake batter4 ,when stopping in a permanent camp with plenty of time to cook1 excellent light bread may be made by using dry yeast cakes1 though it is not necessary to set the sponge as directed on the papers4 ,scrape and dissolve half a cake of the yeast in a gill of warm water1 and mix it with the flour4 ,add warm water enough to make it pliable1 and not too stiff2 set in a warm place until it rises sufficiently1 and bake as directed above4 ,it takes several hours to rise4 ,i am afraid ,i shall discount my credit on camp cooking when ,i admit that--if ,i must use fine flour--,i prefer unleavened bread2 what my friends irreverently call club bread4 ,not that it was ever made or endorsed by any club of men that ,i know of1 but because it is baked on a veritable club1 sassafras or black birch4 ,this is how to make it3 ,cut a club two feet long and three inches thick at the broadest end2 peel or shave off the bark smoothly1 and sharpen the smaller end neatly4 ,then stick the sharpened end in the ground near the fire1 leaning the broad end toward a bed of live coals1 where it will get screeching hot4 ,while it is heating1 mix rather more than a half pint of best ,minnesota flour with enough warm water to make a dough4 ,add a half teaspoonful of salt1 and a teaspoonful of sugar1 and mould and pull the dough until it becomes lively4 ,now1 work it into a ribbon two inches wide and half an inch thick1 wind the ribbon spirally around the broad end of the club1 stick the latter in front of the fire so that the bread will bake evenly and quickly to a light brown1 and turn frequently until done1 which will be in about thirty minutes4 ,when done take it from the fire1 stand the club firmly upright1 and pick the bread off in pieces as you want it to eat4 ,it will keep hot a long time1 and one soon becomes fond of it4 ,sidenote3 ,coffee ,to make perfect coffee1 just two ingredients are necessary1 and only two4 ,these are water and coffee4 ,it is owing to the bad management of the latter that we drink poor coffee4 ,mocha is generally considered to be the best type of coffee1 with ,java a close second4 ,it is the fashion at present to mix the two in proportions to suit1 some taking two parts ,java to one of ,mocha1 others reversing these proportions4 ,either way is good1 or the ,mocha is quite as good alone4 ,but there is a better berry than either for the genuine coffee toper4 ,this is the small1 dark green berry that comes to market under the generic name of ,rio1 that name covering half a dozen grades of coffee raised in different provinces of ,brazil1 throughout a country extending north and south for more than #a1bjj miles4 ,the berry alluded to is produced along the range of high hills to the westward of ,bahia1 and extending north toward the ,parnahiba4 ,it has never arrested attention as a distinct grade of the article1 but it contains more coffee or caffein to the pound than any berry known to commerce4 ,it is the smallest1 heaviest and darkest green of any coffee that comes to our market from ,brazil1 and may be known by these traits4 ,i have tested it in the land where it is grown1 and also at home1 for the past sixteen years1 and ,i place it at the head of the list1 with ,mocha next4 ,either will make perfect coffee1 if treated as follows3 ,of the berry1 browned and ground1 take six heaping tablespoonfuls1 and add three pints of cold water2 place the kettle over the fire and bring to a sharp boil2 set it a little aside where it will bubble and simmer until wanted1 and just before pouring1 drip in a half gill of cold water to settle it4 ,that is all there is to it4 ,the quantity of berry is about twice as much as usually given in recipes2 but if you want coffee1 you had better add two spoonfuls than cut off one4 ,in #ahfg1 and again in #ahgj1 ,i had occasion to visit the ,west ,india ,islands and ,brazil4 ,in common with most coffee topers1 ,i had heard much of the super-excellence ascribed to ,west ,india coffee and ,brazilian coffee4 ,i concluded to investigate4 ,i had rooms at the ,hotel d',europe1 ,para1 ,north ,brazil4 ,there were six of us1 ,english and ,american boarders4 ,every morning1 before we were out of our hammocks1 a barefooted1 half naked ,mina negress came around and served each of us with a small cup of strong1 black coffee1 and sugar ad libitum4 ,there was not enough of it for a drink2 it was rather in the nature of a medicine1 and so intended--,to kill the biscos1 they said4 ,the coffee was above criticism4 ,i went1 in the dark of a tropical morning1 with ,senhor ,joao1 to the coffee factory where they browned the berry1 and saw him buy a pound1 smoking hot1 for which he paid twenty-five cents1 or quite as much as it would cost in ,new ,york4 ,in ten minutes the coffee was at the hotel1 and ground4 ,this is the way they brewed it3 ,a round-bottomed kettle was sitting on the brick range1 with a half gallon of boiling water in it4 ,over the kettle a square piece of white flannel was suspended1 caught up at the corners like a dip net4 ,in this the coffee was placed1 and a small darky put in his time steadily with a soup ladle1 dipping the boiling water from the kettle and pouring it on the coffee4 ,there was a constant stream percolating through coffee and cloth1 which1 in the course of half an hour1 became almost black1 and clear as brandy4 ,this was ,brazilian coffee4 ,as the cups used were very small1 and as none but the ,northerners drank more than one cup1 ,i found that the hotel did not use over two quarts of coffee each morning4 ,it struck me that a pound of fresh ,rio coffee berry ought to make a half gallon of rather powerful coffee4 ,on my arrival home--not having any small darky or any convenient arrangement for the dip net--,i had a sack made of light1 white flannel1 holding about one pint4 ,in this ,i put one-quarter pound of freshly ground berry1 with water enough for five large cups4 ,it was boiled thoroughly1 and proved just as good as the ,brazilian article1 but too strong for any of the family except the writer4 ,those who have a fancy for clear1 strong ,brazilian coffee1 will see how easily and simply it can be made4 ,but1 on a heavy knapsack-and-rifle tramp among the mountains1 or a lone canoe cruise in a strange wilderness1 ,i do not carry coffee4 ,i prefer tea4 ,often1 when too utterly tired and beaten for further travel1 ,i have tried coffee1 whisky or brandy1 and a long experience convinces me that there is nothing so restful and refreshing to an exhausted man as a dish of strong1 green tea4 ,to make it as it should be made1 bring the water to a high boil1 and let it continue to boil for a full minute4 ,set it off the fire and it will cease boiling2 put in a handful of tea1 and it will instantly boil up again2 then set it near the fire1 where it will simmer for a few minutes1 when it will be ready for use4 ,buy the best green tea you can find1 and use it freely on a hard tramp4 ,black1 or ,oolong tea1 is excellent in camp4 ,it should be put in the pot with cold water and brought to the boiling point4 ,sidenote3 ,potatoes ,almost any man can cook potatoes1 but few cook them well4 ,most people think them best boiled in their jackets1 and to cook them perfectly in this manner is so simple and easy1 that the wonder is how any one can fail4 ,a kettle of screeching hot water with a small handful of salt in it1 good potatoes of nearly equal size1 washed clean and clipped at the ends1 these are the requisites4 ,put the potatoes in the boiling water1 cover closely1 and keep the water at high boiling pitch until you can thrust a sharp sliver through the largest potato4 ,then drain off the water1 and set the kettle in a hot place with the lid partly off4 ,take them out only as they are wanted2 luke-warm potatoes are not good4 ,they will be found about as good as potatoes can be1 when cooked in their jackets4 ,but there is a better way1 as thus3 ,select enough for a mess1 of smooth1 sound tubers2 pare them carefully1 taking off as little as possible1 because the best of the potato lies nearest the skin1 and cook as above4 ,when done1 pour the water off to the last drop2 sprinkle a spoonful of salt and fine cracker crumbs over them2 then shake1 roll1 and rattle them in the kettle until the outsides are white and floury4 ,keep them piping hot until wanted4 ,it is the way to have perfect boiled potatoes4 ,many outers are fond of roast potatoes in camp2 and they mostly spoil them in the roasting1 although there is no better place than the camp-fire in which to do it4 ,to cook them aright1 scoop out a basinlike depression under the fore-stick1 three or four inches deep1 and large enough to hold the tubers when laid side by side2 fill it with bright1 hard-wood coals1 and keep up a strong heat for half an hour or more4 ,next1 clean out the hollow1 place the potatoes in it1 and cover them with hot sand or ashes1 topped with a heap of glowing coals1 and keep up all the heat you like4 ,in about forty minutes commence to try them with a sharpened hard-wood sliver2 when this will pass through them they are done1 and should be raked out at once4 ,run the sliver through them from end to end1 to let the steam escape1 and use immediately1 as a roast potato quickly becomes soggy and bitter4 ,i will add that1 in selecting a supply of potatoes for camp1 only the finest and smoothest should be taken4 ,a man may be a trout-crank1 he may have been looking forward for ten weary months to the time when he is to strike the much dreamed of mountain stream1 where trout may be taken and eaten without stint4 ,occasionally--not often--his dream is realized4 ,for two or three days he revels in fly-fishing1 and eating brook trout4 ,then his enthusiasm begins to subside4 ,he talks less of his favorite flies1 and hints that wading hour after hour in ice-water gives him cramps in the calves of his legs4 ,also1 he finds that brook trout1 eaten for days in succession1 pall on the appetite4 ,he hankers for the flesh-pots of the restaurant1 and his soul yearns for the bean-pot of home4 ,luckily1 some one has brought a sack of white beans1 and the expert--there is always an expert in camp--is deputed to cook them4 ,he accepts the trust1 and proceeds to do it4 ,he puts a quart of dry beans and a liberal chunk of pork in a two-quart kettle1 covers the mess with water1 and brings it to a rapid boil4 ,presently the beans begin to swell and lift the lid of the kettle2 their conduct is simply demoniacal4 ,they lift up the lid of the kettle1 they tumble out over the rim in a way to provoke a saint1 and they have scarcely begun to cook4 ,the expert is not to be beaten4 ,as they rise1 he spoons them out and throws them away1 until half of the best beans being wasted1 the rest settle to business4 ,he fills the kettle with water and watches it for an hour4 ,when bean-skins and scum arise he uses the spoon2 and when a ring of greasy salt forms around the rim of the kettle1 he carefully scrapes it off1 but most of it drops back into the pot4 ,when the beans seem cooked to the point of disintegration1 he lifts off the kettle1 and announces dinner4 ,it is not a success4 ,the largest beans are granulated rather than cooked1 while the mealy portion of them has fallen to the bottom of the kettle1 and become scorched thereon1 and the smaller beans are too hard to be eatable4 ,the liquid1 that should be palatable bean soup1 is greasy salt water1 and the pork is half raw4 ,the party falls back1 hungry and disgusted4 ,even if the mess were well cooked1 it is too salt for eating4 ,and why should this be so8 ,why should any sensible man spend years in acquiring an education that shall fit him for the struggle of life1 yet refuse to spend a single day in learning how to cook the food that must sustain the life8 ,it is one of the conundrums no one will ever find out4 ,sidenote3 ,beans ,there is no article of food more easily carried1 and none that contains more nourishment to the pound1 than the bean4 ,limas are usually preferred1 but the large white marrow is just as good4 ,it will pay to select them carefully4 ,keep an eye on grocery stocks1 and when you strike a lot of extra large1 clean beans1 buy twice as many as you need for camp use4 ,spread them on a table1 a quart at a time1 and separate the largest and best from the others4 ,fully one-half will go to the side of the largest and finest1 and these may be put in a muslin bag1 and kept till wanted4 ,select the expeditionary pork with equal care1 buying nothing but thick1 solid1 clear1 with a pink tinge4 ,reject that which is white and lardy4 ,with such material1 if you cannot lay over ,boston baked beans1 you had better sweep the cook out of camp4 ,this is how to cook them3 ,put a pound or a little more of clean pork in the kettle1 with water enough to cover it4 ,let it boil slowly half an hour4 ,in the meantime1 wash and parboil one pint of beans4 ,drain the water from the pork and place the beans around it2 add two quarts of water and hang the kettle where it will boil steadily1 but not rapidly1 for two hours4 ,pare neatly and thinly five or six medium sized potatoes1 and allow them from thirty to forty minutes 7according to size and variety71 in which to cook4 ,they must be pressed down among the beans so as to be entirely covered4 ,if the beans be fresh and fine they will probably fall to pieces before time is up4 ,this1 if they are not allowed to scorch1 makes them all the better4 ,if a portion of pork be left over1 it is excellent sliced very thin when cold1 and eaten with bread4 ,the above is a dinner for three or four hungry men4 ,it is usually the case that some of the party prefer baked beans4 ,to have these in perfection1 add one gill of raw beans and a piece of pork three inches square to the foregoing proportions4 ,boil as above1 until the beans begin to crack open2 then fork out the smaller piece of pork1 place it in the center of your largest cooking tin1 take beans enough from the kettle to nearly fill the tin1 set it over a bright fire on the range1 invert the second sized tin for a cover1 place live1 hard-wood coals on top1 and bake precisely as directed for bread--only1 when the coals on top become dull and black1 brush them off1 raise the cover1 and take a look4 ,if the beans are getting too dry1 add three or four spoonfuls of liquor from the kettle1 replace cover and coals1 and let them bake until they are of a rich light brown on top4 ,then serve4 ,it is a good dish4 ,if ,boston can beat it1 ,i don't want to lay up anything for old age4 ,brown bread and baked beans have a natural connection in the average ,american mind1 and rightly4 ,they supplement each other1 even as spring lamb and green peas with our transatlantic cousins4 ,but there is a better recipe for brown bread than is known to the dwellers of the ,hub--one that has captured first prizes at country fairs1 and won the approval of epicures from ,maine to ,minnesota2 the one that brought honest old ,greeley down1 on his strictures anent country bread4 ,and here is the recipe2 take it for what it is worth1 and try it fairly before condemning it4 ,it is for home use3 ,one quart of sweet milk1 one quart of sour1 two quarts of ,indian meal and one quart of flour1 and a cupful of dark1 thin ,porto ,rico molasses4 ,use one teaspoonful of soda only4 ,bake in a steady1 moderate oven1 for four hours4 ,knead thoroughly before baking4 ,soup is1 or should be1 a leading food element in every woodland camp4 ,i am sorry to say that nothing is1 as a rule1 more badly botched1 while nothing is more easily or simply cooked as it should be4 ,soup requires time1 and a solid basis of the right material4 ,venison is the basis1 and the best material is the bloody part of the deer1 where the bullet went through4 ,we used to throw this away2 we have learned better4 ,cut about four pounds of the bloody meat into convenient pieces1 and wipe them as clean as possible with leaves or a damp cloth1 but don't wash them4 ,put the meat into a five-quart kettle nearly filled with water1 and raise it to a lively boiling pitch4 ,let it boil for two hours4 ,have ready a three-tined fork made from a branch of birch or beech1 and with this test the meat from time to time2 when it parts readily from the bones1 slice in a large onion4 ,pare six large1 smooth potatoes1 cut five of them into quarters1 and drop them into the kettle2 scrape the sixth one into the soup for thickening4 ,season with salt and white pepper to taste4 ,when1 by skirmishing with the wooden fork1 you can fish up bones with no meat on them1 the soup is cooked1 and the kettle may be set aside to cool4 ,any hungry sportsman can order the next motion4 ,squirrels--red1 black1 gray or fox--make nearly as good a soup as venison1 and better stew4 ,hares1 rabbits1 grouse1 quail1 or any of the smaller game birds1 may be used in making soup2 but all small game is better in a stew4 ,sidenote3 ,stews and ,fries ,to make a stew1 proceed for the first two hours precisely as directed for soup2 then slice in a couple of good-sized onions and six medium potatoes4 ,when the meat begins to fall from the bones1 make a thickening by rubbing three tablespoonfuls of flour and two spoonfuls of melted butter together2 thin to the consistency of cream with liquor from the kettle1 and drip slowly into the stew1 stirring briskly meanwhile4 ,allow all soups and stews to boil two hours before seasoning1 and use only the best table salt and white 7or black7 pepper4 ,season sparingly2 it is easier to put salt in than to get it out4 ,cayenne pepper adds zest to a soup or stew1 but1 as some dislike it1 let each man season his plate to his own cheek4 ,fried squirrels are excellent for a change1 but are mostly spoiled by poor cooks1 who put tough old he's and tender young squirrels together1 treating all alike4 ,to dress and cook them properly1 chop off heads1 tails and feet with the hatchet2 cut the skin on the back crosswise1 and1 inserting the two middle fingers1 pull the skin off in two parts1 7head and tail74 ,clean and cut them in halves1 leaving two ribs on the hindquarters4 ,put hind and fore quarters into the kettle1 and parboil until tender4 ,this will take about twenty minutes for young ones1 and twice as long for the old4 ,when a sharpened sliver will pass easily through the flesh1 take the hindquarters from the kettle1 drain1 and place them in the frying-pan with pork fat hissing hot4 ,fry to a light1 rich brown4 ,it is the only proper way to cook squirrels4 ,the forequarters are to be left in the kettle for a stew4 ,it sometimes happens that pigeons are very plentiful1 and the camp is tempted into over-shooting and over-cooking1 until every one is thoroughly sick of pigeons4 ,this is all wrong4 ,no party is1 or can be1 justified in wanton slaughter1 just because birds happen to be plentiful2 they will soon be scarce enough4 ,pigeons are hardly game1 and they are not a first-class bird2 but a good deal may be got out of them by the following method3 ,dress them1 at the rate of two birds to one man2 save the giblets2 place in the kettle1 and boil until the sliver will easily pierce the breast2 fork them out1 cut the thick meat from each side of the breast bone1 roll slightly in flour1 and put the pieces in the pan1 frying them in the same way as directed for squirrels4 ,put the remainder of the birds in the kettle for a stew4 ,quail are good cooked in the same manner1 but are better roasted or broiled4 ,to roast them1 parboil for fifteen minutes1 and in the meantime cut a thin hard-wood stick1 eighteen inches long for each bird4 ,sharpen the sticks neatly at both ends2 impale the birds on one end and thrust the sticks into the ground near the fire1 leaning them so that the heat will strike strongly and evenly4 ,hang a strip of pork between the legs of each bird1 and turn frequently until they are a rich brown4 ,when the sharpened sliver will pass easily through the breast they are done4 ,woodcock are to be plucked1 but not drawn4 ,suspend the bird in a bright1 clear heat1 hang a ribbon of fat pork between the legs1 and roast until well done2 do not parboil him4 ,ruffed grouse are excellent roasted in the same manner1 but should first be parboiled4 ,mallards1 teal1 butterballs1 all edible ducks1 are to be treated the same as grouse4 ,if you are ever lucky enough to feast on a canvas-back roasted as above1 you will be apt to borrow a leaf from ,oliver ,twist4 ,venison steak should be pounded to tenderness1 pressed and worked into shape with the hunting-knife1 and broiled over a bed of clean hard-wood coals4 ,a three-pronged birch fork makes the best broiler4 ,for roast venison1 the best portion is the forward part of the saddle4 ,trim off the flanky parts and ends of the ribs2 split the backbone lengthwise1 that the inner surface may be well exposed2 hang it by a strong cord or bark string in a powerful1 even heat2 lay thin strips of pork along the upper edge1 and turn from time to time until done4 ,it had better be left a little rare than overdone4 ,next to the saddle for roasting1 comes the shoulder4 ,peel this smoothly from the side1 using the hunting knife2 trim neatly1 and cut off the leg at the knee2 gash the thickest part of the flesh1 and press shreds of pork into the gashes1 with two or three thin slices skewered to the upper part4 ,treat it in the roasting as described above4 ,it is not equal to the saddle when warm1 but sliced and eaten cold1 is quite as good4 ,and do not despise the fretful porcupine2 he is better than he looks4 ,if you happen on a healthy young specimen when you are needing meat1 give him a show before condemning him4 ,shoot him humanely in the head1 and dress him4 ,it is easily done2 there are no quills on the belly1 and the skin peels as freely as a rabbit's4 ,take him to camp1 parboil him for thirty minutes1 and roast or broil him to a rich brown over a bed of glowing coals4 ,he will need no pork to make him juicy1 and you will find him very like spring lamb1 only better4 ,i do not accept the decision that ranks the little gray rabbit as a hare1 simply because he has a slit in his lip2 at all events ,i shall call him a rabbit for convenience1 to distinguish him from his long-legged cousin1 who turns white in winter1 never takes to a hole1 and can keep ahead of hounds nearly all day1 affording a game1 musical chase that is seldom out of hearing4 ,he never by any chance has an ounce of fat on him1 and is not very good eating4 ,he can1 however1 be worked into a good stew or a passable soup--provided he has not been feeding on laurel4 ,the rabbit is an animal of different habits1 and different attributes4 ,when jumped from his form1 he is apt to dig out for a hole or the nearest stone heap4 ,sometimes an old one will potter around a thicket1 ahead of a slow dog1 but his tendency is always to hole4 ,but he affords some sport1 and as an article of food1 beats the long-legged hare out of sight4 ,he is excellent in stews or soups1 while the after half of him1 flattened down with the hatchet1 parboiled and fried brown in butter or pork fat1 is equal to spring chicken4 ,sidenote3 ,fish ,in the cooking of fish1 as of flesh and fowl1 the plainest and simplest methods are best2 and for anything under two pounds1 it is not necessary to go beyond the frying-pan4 ,trout of over a pound should be split down the back1 that they may lie well in the pan1 and cook evenly4 ,roll well in meal1 or a mixture of meal and flour1 and fry to a rich brown in pork fat1 piping hot4 ,larger fish may just as well be fried1 but are also adapted to other methods1 and there are people who like fish broiled and buttered1 or boiled4 ,to broil a fish1 split him on the back and broil him four minutes1 flesh side down1 turn and broil the other side an equal time4 ,butter and season to taste4 ,to boil1 the fish should weigh three pounds or more4 ,clean1 and crimp him by gashing the sides deeply with a sharp knife4 ,put him in a kettle of boiling water strongly salted1 and boil twenty-five minutes4 ,for each additional pound above three1 add five minutes4 ,for gravy1 rub together two tablespoonfuls of flour and one of melted butter1 add one heaping teaspoonful of evaporated milk1 and thin with liquor from the kettle4 ,when done1 it should have the consistency of cream4 ,take the fish from the kettle1 drain1 pour the gravy over it1 and eat only with wheat bread or hard-tack1 with butter4 ,the simplest is best1 healthiest1 and most appetizing4 ,as a rule1 on a mountain tramp or a canoe cruise1 ,i do not tote canned goods4 ,i carry my duffle in a light1 pliable knapsack1 and there is an aggravating antagonism between the uncompromising rims of a fruit-can1 and the knobs of my vertebrae1 that twenty years of practice have utterly failed to reconcile4 ,and yet1 ,i have found my account in a can of condensed milk1 not for tea or coffee1 but on bread as a substitute for butter4 ,and ,i have found a small can of ,boston baked beans a most helpful lunch1 with a nine-mile carry ahead4 ,it was not epicurean1 but had staying qualities4 ,i often have a call to pilot some muscular young friend into the deep forest1 and he usually carries a large pack-basket1 with a full supply of quart cans of salmon1 tomatoes1 peaches1 etc4 ,as in duty bound1 ,i admonish him kindly1 but firmly1 on the folly of loading his young shoulders with such effeminate luxuries2 often1 ,i fear1 hurting his young feelings by brusque advice4 ,but at night1 when the camp-fire burns brightly1 and he begins to fish out his tins1 the heart of the ,old ,woodsman relents1 and ,i make amends by allowing him to divide the groceries4 ,there is a method of cooking usually called mudding up1 which ,i have found to preserve the flavor and juiciness of ducks1 grouse1 etc41 better than any other method4 ,i described the method in ,forest and ,stream more than a year ago1 but a brief repetition may not be out of place here4 ,suppose the bird to be cooked is a mallard1 or better still1 a canvas-back4 ,cut off the head and most part of the neck2 cut off the pinions and pull out the tail feathers1 make a plastic cake of clay or tenacious earth an inch thick1 and large enough to envelop the bird1 and cover him with it snugly4 ,dig an oval pit under the fore-stick1 large enough to hold him1 and fill it with hot coals1 keeping up a strong heat4 ,just before turning in for the night1 clean out the pit1 put in the bird1 cover with hot embers and coals1 keeping up a brisk fire over it all night4 ,when taken out in the morning you will have an oval1 oblong mass of baked clay1 with a well roasted bird inside4 ,let the mass cool until it can be handled1 break off the clay1 and feathers and skin will come with it1 leaving the bird clean and skinless4 ,season it as you eat1 with salt1 pepper1 and a squeeze of lemon if you like1 nothing else4 ,sidenote3 ,condiments ,in selecting salt1 choose that which has a gritty feel when rubbed between the thumb and finger1 and use white pepper rather than black1 grinding the berry yourself4 ,procure a common tin pepper-box1 and fill it with a mixture of fine salt and ,cayenne pepper--ten spoonsfuls of the former and one of the latter4 ,have it always where you can lay your hand on it2 you will come to use it daily in camp1 and if you ever get lost1 you will find it of value4 ,fish and game have a flat1 flashy taste eaten without salt1 and are also unwholesome4 ,do not carry any of the one hundred and one condiments1 sauces1 garnishes1 etc41 laid down in the books4 ,salt1 pepper1 and lemons fill the bill in that line4 ,lobster-sauce1 shrimp-sauce1 marjoram1 celery1 parsley1 thyme1 anchovies1 etc41 may be left at the hotels4 ,it may be expected that a pocket volume on woodcraft should contain a liberal chapter of instruction on hunting4 ,it would be quite useless4 ,hunters1 like poets1 are born1 not made4 ,the art cannot be taught on paper4 ,a few simple hints1 however1 may not be misplaced4 ,to start aright1 have your clothes fitted for hunting4 ,select good cassimere of a sort of dull1 no-colored1 neutral tint1 like a decayed stump1 and have coat1 pants1 and cap made of it4 ,for foot-gear1 two pairs of heavy yarn socks1 with rubber shoes or buckskin moccasins4 ,in hunting1 silence is gold4 ,go quietly1 slowly1 and silently4 ,remember that the bright-eyed1 sharp-eared woodfolk can see1 hear and smell1 with a keenness that throws your dull faculties quite in the shade4 ,as you go lumbering and stick-breaking through the woods1 you will never know how many of these quietly leave your path to right and left1 allowing you to pass1 while they glide away1 unseen1 unknown4 ,it is easily seen that a sharp-sensed1 light-bodied denizen of the woods can detect the approach of a heavy1 bifurcated1 booted animal1 a long way ahead1 and avoid him accordingly4 ,but there is an art1 little known and practiced1 that invariably succeeds in outflanking most wild animals2 an art1 simple in conception and execution1 but requiring patience2 a species1 so to speak1 of high art in forestry--the art of sitting on a log4 ,i could enlarge on this4 ,i might say that the only writer of any note who has mentioned this phase of woodcraft is ,mr4 ,charles ,d4 ,warner2 and he only speaks of it in painting the character of that lazy old guide1 ,old ,phelps4 ,sitting on a log includes a deal of patience1 with oftentimes cold feet and chattering teeth2 but1 attended to faithfully and patiently1 is quite as successful as chasing a deer all day on tracking snow1 while it can be practiced when the leaves are dry1 and no other mode of still-hunting offers the ghost of a chance4 ,when a man is moving through the woods1 wary1 watchful animals are pretty certain to catch sight of him4 ,but let him keep perfectly quiet and the conditions are reversed4 ,i have had my best luck1 and killed my best deer1 by practically waiting hour after hour on runways4 ,but the time when a hunter could get four or five fair shots in a day by watching a runway has passed away forever4 ,never any more will buffalo be seen in solid masses covering square miles in one pack4 ,the immense bands of elk and droves of deer are things of the past1 and ,the game must go4 ,chapter ,,viii ,a ,,ten ,,days' ,,trip ,,in ,,the ,,wilderness--,,going ,,it ,,alone ,about the only inducements ,i can think of for making a ten days' journey through a strong wilderness1 solitary and alone1 were a liking for adventure1 intense love of nature in her wildest dress1 and a strange fondness for being in deep forests by myself4 ,the choice of route was determined by the fact that two old friends and schoolmates had chosen to cast their lots in ,michigan1 one near ,saginaw ,bay1 the other among the pines of the ,muskegon4 ,and both were a little homesick1 and both wrote frequent letters1 in which1 knowing my weak point1 they exhausted their adjectives and adverbs in describing the abundance of game and the marvelous fishing4 ,now1 the ,muskegon friend--,davis--was pretty well out of reach4 ,but ,pete ,williams1 only a few miles out of ,saginaw1 was easily accessible4 ,and so it happened1 on a bright ,october morning1 when there came a frost that cut from ,maine to ,missouri1 that a sudden fancy took me to use my new ,billinghurst on something larger than squirrels4 ,it took about one minute to decide1 and an hour to pack such duffle as ,i needed for a few weeks in the woods4 ,remembering ,pete's two brown-eyed kids1 and knowing that they were ague-stricken and homesick1 ,i made place for a few apples and peaches1 with a ripe melon4 ,for ,pete and ,i had been chums in ,rochester1 and ,i had bunked in his attic on ,galusha ,street1 for two years4 ,also1 his babies thought as much of me as of their father4 ,the trip to ,saginaw was easy and pleasant4 ,a ,redbird packet to ,buffalo1 the old propeller ,globe to ,lower ,saginaw1 and a ride of half a day on a buckboard1 brought me to ,pete ,williams' clearing4 ,were they glad to see me8 ,well1 ,i think so4 ,pete and his wife cried like children1 while the two little homesick kids laid their silken heads on my knees and sobbed for very joy4 ,when ,i brought out the apples and peaches1 assuring them that these came from the little garden of their old home--liar that ,i was--their delight was boundless4 ,and the fact that their favorite tree was a sour bough1 while these were sweet1 did not shake their faith in the least4 ,sidenote3 ,at ,pete ,williams' ,i stayed ten days or more with the ,williams family1 and the fishing and hunting were all that he had said--all that could be asked4 ,the woods swarmed with pigeons and squirrels2 grouse1 quail1 ducks and wild turkeys were too plentiful1 while a good hunter could scarcely fail of getting a standing shot at a deer in a morning's hunt4 ,but1 cui bono8 ,what use could be made of fish or game in such a place8 ,they were all half sick1 and had little appetite4 ,mrs4 ,williams could not endure the smell of fish2 they had been cloyed on small game1 and were surfeited on venison4 ,my sporting ardor sank to zero4 ,i had the decency not to slaughter game for the love of killing1 and leave it to rot1 or hook large fish that could not be used4 ,i soon grew restless1 and began to think often about the lumber camp on the ,muskegon4 ,by surveyors' lines it was hardly more than sixty miles from ,pete ,williams' clearing to the ,joe ,davis camp on the ,muskegon4 ,but practically1 said ,pete1 ,joe and ,i are a thousand miles apart4 ,white men1 as a rule1 don't undertake to cross this wilderness4 ,the only one ,i know who has tried it is old ,bill ,hance2 he can tell you all about it4 ,hance was the hunting and trapping genius of ,saginaw ,bay--a man who dwelt in the woods summer and winter1 and never trimmed his hair or wore any other covering on his head4 ,not a misanthrope1 or taciturn1 but friendly and talkative rather2 liking best to live alone1 but fond of tramping across the woods to gossip with neighbors2 a very tall man withal1 and so thin that1 as he went rapidly winding and turning among fallen logs1 you looked to see him tangle up and tumble in a loose coil1 like a wet rope1 but he was better than he looked4 ,he had a high reputation as trailer1 guide1 or trapper1 and was mentioned as a bad man in a racket4 ,i had met him several times1 and as he was decidedly a character1 had rather laid myself out to cultivate him4 ,and now that ,i began to have a strong notion of crossing the woods alone1 ,i took counsel of ,bill ,hance4 ,unlike ,williams1 he thought it perfectly feasible1 and rather a neat1 gamy thing for a youngster to do4 ,he had crossed the woods several times with surveying parties1 and once alone4 ,he knew an ,indian trail which led to an old camp within ten miles of the ,muskegon1 and thought the trail could be followed4 ,it took him a little less than three days to go through2 but1 he added1 ,i nat'rally travel a little faster in the woods than most men4 ,if you can follow the trail1 you ought to get through in a little more'n three days--if you keep moggin'4 ,one afternoon ,i carefully packed the knapsack and organized for a long woods tramp4 ,i took little stock in that trail1 or the three days' notion as to time4 ,i made calculations on losing the trail the first day1 and being out a full week4 ,the outfit consisted of rifle1 hatchet1 compass1 blanket-bag1 knapsack and knife4 ,for rations1 one loaf of bread1 two quarts of meal1 two pounds of pork1 one pound of sugar1 with tea1 salt1 etc41 and a supply of jerked venison4 ,one tin dish1 twelve rounds of ammunition1 and the bullet-molds1 filled the list1 and did not make a heavy load4 ,early on a crisp1 bright ,october morning ,i kissed the little fellows good-bye1 and started out with ,hance1 who was to put me on the trail4 ,i left the children with sorrow and pity at heart4 ,i am glad now that my visit was a golden hiatus in the sick monotony of their young lives1 and that ,i was able to brighten a few days of their dreary existence4 ,they had begged for the privilege of sleeping with me on a shake-down from the first2 and when1 as often happened1 a pair of little feverish lips would murmur timidly and pleadingly1 ,i'm so dry2 can ,i have er drink8 ,i am thankful that ,i did not put the pleader off with a sip of tepid water1 but always brought it from the spring1 sparkling and cold4 ,for1 a twelvemonth later1 there were two little graves in a corner of the stump-blackened garden1 and two sore hearts in ,pete ,williams' cabin4 ,hance found the trail easily1 but the ,indians had been gone a long time1 and it was filled with leaves1 dim1 and not easy to follow4 ,it ended as nearly all trails do2 it branched off to right and left1 grew dimmer and slimmer1 degenerated to a deer path1 petered out to a squirrel track1 ran up a tree1 and ended in a knot hole4 ,i was not sorry4 ,it left me free to follow my nose1 my inclination1 and--the compass4 ,there are men who1 on finding themselves alone in a pathless forest1 become appalled1 almost panic stricken4 ,the vastness of an unbroken wilderness subdues them1 and they quail before the relentless1 untamed forces of nature4 ,these are the men who grow enthusiastic--at home--about sylvan life1 out-door sports1 but always strike camp and come home rather sooner than they intended4 ,and there be some who plunge into an unbroken forest with a feeling of fresh1 free1 invigorating delight1 as they might dash into a crisp ocean surf on a hot day4 ,these know that nature is stern1 hard1 immovable and terrible in unrelenting cruelty4 ,when wintry winds are out and the mercury far below zero1 she will allow her most ardent lover to freeze on her snowy breast without waving a leaf in pity1 or offering him a match2 and scores of her devotees may starve to death in as many different languages before she will offer a loaf of bread4 ,she does not deal in matches and loaves2 rather in thunderbolts and granite mountains4 ,and the ashes of her camp-fires bury proud cities4 ,but1 like all tyrants1 she yields to force1 and gives the more1 the more she is beaten4 ,she may starve or freeze the poet1 the scholar1 the scientist2 all the same1 she has in store food1 fuel and shelter1 which the skillful1 self-reliant woodsman can wring from her savage hand with axe and rifle4 ,only to him whose coat of rags ,has pressed at night her regal feet1 ,shall come the secrets1 strange and sweet1 ,of century pines and beetling crags4 ,for him the goddess shall unlock ,the golden secrets which have lain ,ten thousand years1 through frost and rain1 ,deep in the bosom of the rock4 ,the trip was a long and tiresome one1 considering the distance4 ,there were no hairbreadth escapes2 ,i was not tackled by bears1 treed by wolves1 or nearly killed by a hand-to-claw racket with a panther2 and there were no ,indians to come sneak-hunting around after hair4 ,animal life was abundant1 exuberant1 even4 ,but the bright-eyed woodfolk seemed tame1 nay1 almost friendly1 and quite intent on minding their own business4 ,it was a pigeon year1 a squirrel year1 and also a marvelous year for shack1 or mast4 ,every nut-bearing tree was loaded with sweet well-filled nuts2 and this1 coupled with the fact that the ,indians had left1 and the whites had not yet got in1 probably accounted for the plentitude of game4 ,sidenote3 ,wood ,life ,i do not think there was an hour of daylight on the trip when squirrels were not too numerous to be counted1 while pigeons were a constant quantity from start to finish4 ,grouse in the thickets1 and quail in the high oak openings1 or small prairies1 with droves of wild turkeys among heavy timber1 were met with almost hourly1 and there was scarcely a day on which ,i could not have had a standing shot at a bear4 ,but the most interesting point about the game was--to me1 at least--the marvelous abundance of deer4 ,they were everywhere1 on all sorts of ground and among all varieties of timber2 very tame they were1 too1 often stopping to look at the stranger1 offering easy shots at short range1 and finally going off quite leisurely4 ,no ardent lover of forest life could be lonely in such company1 and in such weather4 ,the only drawback was the harassing and vexatious manner in which lakes1 streams1 swamps and marshes constantly persisted in getting across the way1 compelling long detours to the north or south1 when the true course was nearly due west4 ,i think there were days on which ten hours of pretty faithful tramping did not result in more than three or four miles of direct headway4 ,the headwaters of the ,salt and ,chippewa rivers were especially obstructive2 and1 when more than half the distance was covered1 ,i ran into a tangle of small lakes1 marshes and swamps1 not marked on the map1 which cost a hard day's work to leave behind4 ,while there were no startling adventures1 and no danger connected with the trip1 there was a constant succession of incidents1 that made the lonely tramp far from monotonous4 ,some of these occurrences were intensely interesting1 and a little exciting4 ,perhaps the brief recital of a few may not be uninteresting at the present day1 when game is so rapidly disappearing4 ,my rifle was a neat1 hair-triggered ,billinghurst1 carrying sixty round balls to the pound1 a muzzle-loader1 of course1 and a nail-driver4 ,i made just three shots in ten days1 and each shot stood for a plump young deer in the short blue4 ,it seemed wicked to murder such a bright1 graceful animal1 when no more than the loins and a couple of slices from the ham could be used1 leaving the balance to the wolves1 who never failed to take possession before ,i was out of ear shot4 ,but ,i condoned the excess1 if excess it were1 by the many chances ,i allowed to pass1 not only on deer but bear1 and once on a big brute of a wild hog1 the wickedest and most formidable looking animal ,i ever met in the woods4 ,the meeting happened in this wise4 ,i had been bothered and wearied for half a day by a bad piece of low1 marshy ground1 and had at length struck a dry1 rolling oak opening where ,i sat down at the foot of a small oak to rest4 ,i had scarcely been resting ten minutes1 when ,i caught sight of a large1 dirty-white animal1 slowly working its way in my direction through the low bushes1 evidently nosing around for acorns4 ,i was puzzled to say what it was4 ,it looked like a hog1 but stood too high on its legs2 and how would such a beast get there anyhow8 ,nearer and nearer he came1 and at last walked out into an open spot less than twenty yards distant4 ,it was a wild hog of the ugliest and largest description2 tall as a yearling1 with an unnaturally large head1 and dangerous looking tusks1 that curved above his savage snout like small horns4 ,there was promise of magnificent power in his immense shoulders1 while flanks and hams were disproportionately light4 ,he came out to the open leisurely munching his acorns1 or amusing himself by ploughing deep furrows with his nose1 and not until within ten yards did he appear to note the presence of a stranger4 ,suddenly he raised his head and became rigid as though frozen to stone2 he was taking an observation4 ,for a few seconds he remained immovable1 then his bristles became erect1 and with a deep guttural1 grunting noise1 he commenced hitching himself along in my direction1 sidewise4 ,my hair raised1 and in an instant ,i was on my feet with the cocked rifle to my shoulder--meaning to shoot before his charge1 and then make good time up the tree4 ,but there was no need4 ,as ,i sprang to my feet he sprang for the hazel bushes1 and went tearing through them with the speed of a deer1 keeping up a succession of snorts and grunts that could be heard long after he had passed out of sight4 ,i am not subject to buck fever1 and was disgusted to find myself so badly rattled that ,i could scarcely handle the rifle4 ,at first ,i was provoked at myself for not getting a good ready and shooting him in the head1 as he came out of the bushes2 but it was better to let him live4 ,he was not carnivorous1 or a beast of prey1 and ugly as he was1 certainly looked better alive than he would as a porcine corpse4 ,no doubt he relished his acorns as well as though he had been less ugly1 and he was a savage power in the forest4 ,bears love pork2 and the fact that the hog was picking up a comfortable living in that wilderness1 is presumptive evidence that he was a match for the largest bear1 or he would have been eaten long before4 ,sidenote3 ,incidents ,another little incident1 in which ,bruin played a leading part1 rises vividly to memory4 ,it was hardly an adventure2 only the meeting of man and bear1 and they parted on good terms1 with no hardness on either side4 ,the meeting occurred1 as usually was the case with large game1 on dry1 oak lands1 where the undergrowth was hazel1 sassafras1 and wild grapevine4 ,as before1 ,i had paused for a rest1 when ,i began to catch glimpses of a very black animal working its way among the hazel bushes1 under the scattering oaks1 and toward me4 ,with no definite intention of shooting1 but just to see how easy it might be to kill him1 ,i got a good ready1 and waited4 ,slowly and lazily he nuzzled his way among the trees1 sitting up occasionally to crunch acorns1 until he was within twenty-five yards of me1 with the bright bead neatly showing at the butt of his ear1 and he sitting on his haunches1 calmly chewing his acorns1 oblivious of danger4 ,he was the shortest-legged1 blackest1 and glossiest bear ,i had ever seen2 and such a fair shot4 ,but ,i could not use either skin or meat1 and he was a splendid picture just as he sat4 ,shot down and left to taint the blessed air1 he would not look as wholesome1 let alone that it would be unwarrantable murder4 ,and so1 when he came nosing under the very tree where ,i was sitting1 ,i suddenly jumped up1 threw my hat at him1 and gave a ,comanche yell4 ,he tumbled over in a limp heap1 grunting and whining for very terror1 gathered himself up1 got up headway1 and disappeared with wonderful speed--considering the length of his legs4 ,on another occasion--and this was in heavy timber--,i was resting on a log1 partially concealed by spice bushes1 when ,i noticed a large flock of turkeys coming in my direction4 ,as they rapidly advanced with their quick1 gliding walk1 the flock grew to a drove1 the drove became a swarm--an army4 ,to right and on the left1 as far as ,i could see in front1 a legion of turkeys were marching1 steadily marching to the eastward4 ,among them were some of the grandest gobblers ,i had ever seen1 and one magnificent fellow came straight toward me4 ,never before or since have ,i seen such a splendid wild bird4 ,his thick1 glossy black beard nearly reached the ground1 his bronze uniform was of the richest1 and he was decidedly the largest ,i have ever seen4 ,when within fifty feet of the spot where ,i was nearly hidden1 his wary eye caught something suspicious2 and he raised his superb head for an instant in an attitude of motionless attention4 ,then1 with lowered head and drooping tail1 he turned right about1 gave the note of alarm1 put the trunk of a large tree quickly between himself and the enemy1 and went away like the wind4 ,with the speed of thought the warning note was sounded along the whole line1 and in a moment the woods seemed alive with turkeys1 running for dear life4 ,in less time than it takes to tell it1 that gallinaceous army had passed out of sight1 forever4 ,and the like of it will never again be possible on this continent4 ,sidenote3 ,turkeys and ,deer ,and again1 on the morning of the sixth day out1 ,i blundered on to such an aggregation of deer as a man sees but once in a lifetime4 ,i had camped over night on low land1 among heavy timber1 but soon after striking camp1 came to a place where the timber was scattering1 and the land had a gentle rise to the westward4 ,scarcely had ,i left the low land behind1 when a few deer got out of their beds and commenced lazily bounding away4 ,they were soon joined by others2 on the right flank1 on the left1 and ahead1 they continued to rise and canter off leisurely1 stopping at a distance of one or two hundred yards to look back4 ,it struck me finally that ,i had started something rather unusual1 and ,i began counting the deer in sight4 ,it was useless to attempt it2 their white flags were flying in front and on both flanks1 as far as one could see1 and new ones seemed constantly joining the procession4 ,among them were several very large bucks with superb antlers1 and these seemed very little afraid of the small1 quiet biped in leaf-colored rig4 ,they often paused to gaze back with bold1 fearless front1 as though inclined to call a halt and face the music2 but when within a hundred yards1 would turn and canter leisurely away4 ,as the herd neared the summit of the low-lying ridge1 ,i tried to make a reasonable guess at their numbers1 by counting a part and estimating the rest1 but could come to no satisfactory conclusion4 ,as they passed the summit and loped down the gentle decline toward heavy timber1 they began to scatter1 and soon not a flag was in sight4 ,it was a magnificent cervine army with white banners1 and ,i shall never look upon its like again4 ,the largest drove of deer ,i have seen in twenty years consisted of seven only4 ,and with much of interest1 much of tramping1 and not a little vexatious delay1 ,i came at length to a stream that ,i knew must be the south branch of the ,muskegon4 ,the main river could scarcely be more than ten miles to the westward1 and might be easily reached in one day4 ,it was time4 ,the meal and pork were nearly gone1 sugar and tea were at low ebb1 and ,i was tired of venison2 tired anyhow2 ready for human speech and human companionship4 ,it was in the afternoon of the ninth day that ,i crossed the ,south ,muskegon and laid a course west by north4 ,the travelling was not bad2 and in less than an hour ,i ran on to the ruins of a camp that ,i knew to be the work of ,indians4 ,it had evidently been a permanent winter camp1 and was almost certainly the ,indian camp spoken of by ,bill ,hance4 ,pausing a short time to look over the ruins1 with the lonely feeling always induced by a decayed1 rotting camp1 ,i struck due west and made several miles before sundown4 ,i camped on a little rill1 near a huge dry stub that would peel1 made the last of the meal into a johnny-cake1 broiled the last slice of pork1 and lay down with the notion that a ten days' tramp1 where it took an average of fifteen miles to make six1 ought to end on the morrow4 ,at sunrise ,i was again on foot1 and after three hours of steady tramping1 saw a smoky opening ahead4 ,in five minutes ,i was standing on the left bank of the ,muskegon4 ,and the ,joe ,davis camp--was it up stream or down8 ,i decided on the latter1 and started slowly down stream1 keeping an eye out for signs4 ,in less than an hour ,i struck a dim log road which led to the river1 and there was a landing1 with the usual debris of skids1 loose bark1 chocks1 and some pieces of broken boards4 ,it did not take long to construct an efficient log raft from the dry skids1 and as ,i drifted placidly down the deep1 wild river1 munching the last bit of johnny-cake1 ,i inwardly swore that my next wilderness cruise should be by water4 ,it was in late afternoon that ,i heard--blessed sound--the eager clank1 clank1 clank of the old-fashioned sawmill4 ,it grew nearer and more distinct2 presently ,i could distinguish the rumble of machinery as the carriage gigged back2 then the raft rounded a gentle bend1 and a mill1 with its long1 log boarding-house1 came full in sight4 ,as the raft swung into the landing the mill became silent2 a brown-bearded1 red-shirted fellow came down to welcome me1 a pair of strong hands grasped both my own1 and the voice of ,joe ,davis said earnestly1 ,why1 ,george6 ,i never was so d--d glad to see a man in my life6 ,the ten days' tramp was ended4 ,it had been wearisome to a degree1 but interesting and instructive4 ,i had seen more game birds and animals in the time than ,i ever saw before or since in a whole season2 and1 though ,i came out with clothes pretty well worn and torn off my back and legs1 ,i was a little disposed to plume myself on the achievement4 ,even at this day ,i am a little proud of the fact that1 with so many temptations to slaughter1 ,i only fired three shots on the route4 ,nothing but the exceptionally fine1 dry weather rendered such a trip possible in a wilderness so cut up with swamps1 lakes1 marshes and streams4 ,a week of steady rain or a premature snow storm--either likely enough at that season--would have been most disastrous2 while a forest fire like that of '#ef1 and later ones1 would simply have proved fatal4 ,reader1 if ever you are tempted to make a similar thoughtless1 reckless trip--don't do it4 ,chapter ,,ix--,canoeing ,,the ,,light ,,canoe ,,and ,,double ,,blade--,,various ,,canoes ,,for ,,various ,,canoeists--,,reasons ,,for ,,preferring ,,the ,,clinker-,,built ,,cedar ,the canoe is coming to the front1 and canoeing is gaining rapidly in popular favor1 in spite of the disparaging remark that a canoe is a poor man's yacht4 ,the canoe editor of ,forest and ,stream pertinently says1 we may as properly call a bicycle 'the poor man's express train4' ,but1 suppose it is the poor man's yacht8 ,are we to be debarred from aquatic sports because we are not rich8 ,and are we such weak flunkies as to be ashamed of poverty8 ,or to attempt shams and subterfuges to hide it8 ,for myself1 ,i freely accept the imputation4 ,in common with nine-tenths of my fellow citizens ,i am poor--and the canoe is my yacht1 as it would be were ,i a millionaire4 ,we are a nation of many millions1 and comparatively few of us are rich enough to support a yacht1 let alone the fact that not one man in fifty lives near enough to yachting waters to make such an acquisition desirable--or feasible1 even4 ,it is different with the canoe4 ,a man like myself may live in the backwoods1 a hundred miles from a decent sized inland lake1 and much further from the sea coast1 and yet be an enthusiastic canoeist4 ,for instance4 ,last ,july ,i made my preparations for a canoe cruise1 and spun out with as little delay as possible4 ,i had pitched on the ,adirondacks as cruising ground1 and had more than #bej miles of railroads and buckboards to take1 before launching the canoe on ,moose ,river4 ,she was carried thirteen miles over the ,brown's ,tract road on the head of her skipper1 cruised from the western side of the ,wilderness to the ,lower ,st4 ,regis on the east side1 cruised back again by a somewhat different route1 was taken home to ,pennsylvania on the cars1 #bej miles1 sent back to her builder1 ,st4 ,lawrence ,county1 ,n4,y41 over #cjj miles1 thence by rail to ,new ,york ,city1 where1 the last ,i heard of her1 she was on exhibition at the ,forest and ,stream office4 ,she took her chances in the baggage car1 with no special care1 and is today1 so far as ,i know1 staunch and tight1 with not a check in her frail siding4 ,such cruising can only be made in a very light canoe1 and with a very light outfit4 ,it was sometimes necessary to make several carries in one day1 aggregating as much as ten miles1 besides from fifteen to twenty miles under paddle4 ,no heavy1 decked1 paddling or sailing canoe would have been available for such a trip with a man of ordinary muscle4 ,the difference between a lone1 independent cruise through an almost unbroken wilderness1 and cruising along civilized routes1 where the canoeist can interview farm houses and village groceries for supplies1 getting gratuitous stonings from the small boy1 and much reviling from ye ancient mariner of the towpath--,i say1 the difference is just immense4 ,whence it comes that ,i always prefer a very light1 open canoe2 one that ,i can carry almost as easily as my hat1 and yet that will float me easily1 buoyantly1 and safely4 ,and such a canoe was my last cruiser4 ,she only weighed ten and one-half pounds when first launched1 and after an all-summer rattling by land and water had only gained half a pound4 ,i do not therefore advise any one to buy a ten and a half pound canoe2 although she would prove competent for a skillful light-weight4 ,she was built to order1 as a test of lightness and was the third experiment in that line4 ,i have nothing to say against the really fine canoes that are in highest favor today4 ,were ,i fond of sailing1 and satisfied to cruise on routes where clearings are more plentiful than carries1 ,i dare say ,i should run a ,shadow1 or ,stella ,maris1 at a cost of considerably more than #ajj--though ,i should hardly call it a poor man's yacht4 ,much is being said and written at the present day as to the perfect canoe4 ,one writer decides in favor of a ,pearl #aex#ca-a_/b inches4 ,in the same column another says1 the perfect canoe does not exist4 ,i should rather say there are several types of the modern canoe1 each nearly perfect in its way and for the use to which it is best adapted4 ,the perfect paddling canoe is by no means perfect under canvas1 and vice versa4 ,the best cruiser is not a perfect racer1 while neither of them is at all perfect as a paddling cruiser where much carrying is to be done4 ,and the most perfect canoe for fishing and gunning around shallow1 marshy waters1 would be a very imperfect canoe for a rough and ready cruise of one hundred miles through a strange wilderness1 where a day's cruise will sometimes include a dozen miles of carrying4 ,sidenote3 ,a ,light ,canoe ,believing1 as ,i do1 that the light1 single canoe with double-bladed paddle is bound to soon become a leading--if not the leading--feature in summer recreation1 and having been a light canoeist for nearly fifty years1 during the last twenty of which ,i experimented much with the view of reducing weight1 perhaps ,i can give some hints that may help a younger man in the selection of a canoe which shall be safe1 pleasant to ride1 and not burdensome to carry4 ,let me promise that1 up to four years ago1 ,i was never able to get a canoe that entirely satisfied me as to weight and model4 ,i bought the smallest birches ,i could find2 procured a tiny ,chippewa dugout from ,north ,michigan1 and once owned a kayak4 ,they were all too heavy1 and they were cranky to a degree4 ,about twenty years ago ,i commenced making my own canoes4 ,the construction was of the simplest2 a #bb-;inch pine board for the bottom1 planed to #c_/d of an inch thickness2 two wide #a_/b-;inch boards for the sides1 and two light oak stems2 five pieces of wood in all4 ,i found that the bend of the siding gave too much shear2 for instance1 if the siding was #ab inches wide1 she would have a rise of #ab inches at stems and less than #e inches at center4 ,but the flat bottom made her very stiff1 and for river work she was better than anything ,i had yet tried4 ,she was too heavy1 however1 always weighing from #de to #ej pounds1 and awkward to carry4 ,my last canoe of this style went down the ,susquehanna with an ice jam in the spring of '#gi1 and in the meantime canoeing began to loom up4 ,the best paper in the country which makes out-door sport a specialty1 devoted liberal space to canoeing1 and skilled boatbuilders were advertising canoes of various models and widely different material4 ,i commenced interviewing the builders by letter1 and studying catalogues carefully4 ,there was a wide margin of choice4 ,you could have lapstreak1 smooth skin1 paper1 veneer1 or canvas4 ,what ,i wanted was light weight1 and good model4 ,i liked the ,peterboro canoes2 they were decidedly canoey4 ,also1 the veneered ,racines2 but neither of them talked of a #bj-pound canoe4 ,the ,osgood folding canvas did4 ,but ,i had some knowledge of canvas boats4 ,i knew they could make her down to #bj pounds4 ,how much would she weigh after being in the water a week1 and how would she behave when swamped in the middle of a lake1 were questions to be asked1 for ,i always get swamped4 ,one builder of cedar canoes thought he could make me the boat ,i wanted1 inside of #bj pounds1 clinker-built1 and at my own risk1 as he hardly believed in so light a boat4 ,i sent him the order1 and he turned out what is pretty well known in ,brown's ,tract as the ,nessmuk canoe4 ,she weighed just #ag pounds #ac-c_/d ounces1 and was thought to be the lightest working canoe in existence4 ,her builder gave me some advice about stiffening her with braces1 etc41 if ,i found her too frail1 and he never expected another like her4 ,he builded better than he knew4 ,she needed no bracing2 and she was1 and is1 a staunch1 seaworthy little model4 ,i fell in love with her from the start4 ,i had at last found the canoe that ,i could ride in rough water1 sleep in afloat1 and carry with ease for miles4 ,i paddled her early and late1 mainly on the ,fulton ,chain2 but ,i also cruised her on ,raquette ,lake1 ,eagle1 ,utowana1 ,blue ,mountain1 and ,forked ,lakes4 ,i paddled her until there were black and blue streaks along the muscles from wrist to elbow4 ,thank ,heaven1 ,i had found something that made me a boy again4 ,her log shows a cruise for #ahhj of over #eej miles4 ,as regards her capacity 7she is now on ,third ,lake1 ,brown's ,tract71 ,james ,p4 ,fifield1 a muscular young ,forge ,house guide of #f feet #b inches and #ahe pounds weight1 took her through the ,fulton ,chain to ,raquette ,lake last summer2 and1 happening on his camp1 ,seventh ,lake1 last ,july1 ,i asked him how she performed under his weight4 ,he said1 ,i never made the trip to ,raquette so lightly and easily in my life4 ,and as to the opinion of her builder1 he wrote me1 under date of ,nov4 #ah1 '#hc3 ,i thought when ,i built the ,nessmuk1 no one else would ever want one4 ,but ,i now build about a dozen of them a year4 ,great big men1 ladies1 and two1 aye1 three schoolboys ride in them4 ,it is wonderful how few pounds of cedar1 rightly modeled and properly put together1 it takes to float a man4 ,just so1 ,mr4 ,builder4 ,that's what ,i said when ,i ordered her4 ,but few seemed to see it then4 ,sidenote3 ,experiments ,the ,nessmuk was by no means the ultimatum of lightness1 and ,i ordered another six inches longer1 two inches wider1 and to weigh about #ae pounds4 ,when she came to hand she was a beauty1 finished in oil and shellac4 ,but she weighed #af pounds1 and would not only carry me and my duffle1 but ,i could easily carry a passenger of my weight4 ,i cruised her in the summer of '#ha over the ,fulton ,chain1 ,raquette ,lake1 ,forked ,lake1 down the ,raquette ,river1 and on ,long ,lake4 ,but her log only showed a record of #bjf miles4 ,the cruise that had been mapped for #fjj miles was cut short by sickness1 and ,i went into quarantine at the hostelry of ,mitchell ,sabattis4 ,slowly and feebly ,i crept back to the ,fulton ,chain1 hung up at the ,forge ,house1 and the cruise of the ,susan ,nipper was ended4 ,later in the season1 ,i sent for her1 and she was forwarded by express1 coming out over the fearful ,brown's ,tract road to ,boonville 7#be-a_/b miles7 by buckboard4 ,from ,boonville home1 she took her chances in the baggage car without protection1 and reached her destination without a check or scratch4 ,she hangs in her slings under the porch1 a thing of beauty--and1 like many beauties1 a trifle frail--but staunch as the day ,i took her4 ,her proper lading is about #bjj pounds4 ,she can float #cjj pounds4 ,of my last and lightest venture1 the ,sairy ,gamp1 little more need be said4 ,i will only add that a ,mr4 ,dutton1 of ,philadelphia1 got into her at the ,forge ,house1 and paddled her like an old canoeist1 though it was his first experience with the double blade4 ,he gave his age as sixty-four years1 and weight1 #adj pounds4 ,billy ,cornell1 a bright young guide1 cruised her on ,raquette ,lake quite as well as her owner could do it1 and ,i thought she trimmed better with him4 ,he paddled at #ada-a_/b pounds1 which is just about her right lading4 ,and she was only an experiment1 anyhow4 ,i wanted to find out how light a canoe it took to drown her skipper1 and ,i do not yet know4 ,i never shall4 ,but1 most of all1 ,i desired to settle the question--approximately at least1 of weight1 as regards canoe and canoeist4 ,many years ago1 ,i became convinced that we were all1 as canoeists1 carrying and paddling just twice as much wood as was at all needful1 and something more than a year since1 ,i advanced the opinion in ,forest and ,stream1 that ten pounds of well made cedar ought to carry one hundred pounds of man4 ,the past season has more than proved it2 but1 as ,i may be a little exceptional1 ,i leave myself out of the question1 and have ordered my next canoe on lines and dimensions that1 in my judgment1 will be found nearly perfect for the average canoeist of #aej to #afj pounds4 ,she will be much stronger than either of my other canoes1 because few men would like a canoe so frail and limber that she can be sprung inward by hand pressure on the gunwales1 as easily as a hat-box4 ,and many men are clumsy or careless with a boat1 while others are lubberly by nature4 ,her dimensions are3 ,length1 #aj-a_/b feet2 beam1 #bf inches2 rise at center1 #i inches2 at seams1 #ae inches2 oval red elm ribs1 #a inch apart2 an inch home tumble2 stems1 plumb and sharp2 oak keel and keelson2 clinker-built1 of white cedar4 ,such a canoe will weigh about #bb pounds1 and will do just as well for the man of #adj or #agj pounds1 while even a light weight of #aaj pounds ought to take her over a portage with a light1 elastic carrying frame1 without distress4 ,she will trim best1 however1 at about #afj pounds4 ,for a welter1 say of some #bjj pounds1 add #f inches to her length1 #b inches to her beam1 and #a inch rise at center4 ,the light weight canoeist will find that either of these two canoes will prove satisfactory1 that is #aj feet in length1 weight #af pounds1 or #aj-a_/b feet length1 weight #ah pounds4 ,either is capable of #afj pounds1 and they are very steady and buoyant1 as ,i happen to know4 ,i dare say any first class manufacturers will build canoes of these dimensions4 ,provide your canoe with a flooring of oil-cloth #c-a_/b feet long by #ae inches wide2 punch holes in it and tie it neatly to the ribbing1 just where it will best protect the bottom from wear and danger4 ,use only a cushion for a seat1 and do not buy a fancy one with permanent stuffing1 but get sixpence worth of good1 unbleached cotton cloth1 and have it sewed into bag shape4 ,stuff the bag with fine browse1 dry grass or leaves1 settle it well together1 and fasten the open end by turning it flatly back and using two or three pins4 ,you can empty it if you like when going over a carry1 and it makes a good pillow at night4 ,sidenote3 ,the ,proper ,craft ,select a canoe that fits you1 just as you would a coat or hat4 ,a #af-pound canoe may fit me exactly1 but would be a bad misfit for a man of #ahj pounds4 ,and don't neglect the auxiliary paddle1 or pudding stick1 as my friends call it4 ,the notion may be new to most canoeists1 but will be found exceedingly handy and useful4 ,it is simply a little one-handed paddle weighing #e to #g ounces1 #bj to #bb inches long1 with a blade #c-a_/b inches wide4 ,work it out of half-inch cherry or maple1 and fine the blade down thin4 ,tie it to a rib with a slip-knot1 having the handle in easy reach1 and when you come to a narrow1 tortuous channel1 where shrubs and weeds crowd you on both sides1 take the double-blade inboard1 use the pudding stick1 and you can go almost anywhere that a muskrat can4 ,in fishing for trout or floating deer1 remember you are dealing with the wary1 and that the broad blades are very showy in motion4 ,therefore1 on approaching a spring-hole1 lay the double-blade on the lily-pads where you can pick it up when wanted1 and handle your canoe with the auxiliary4 ,on hooking a large fish1 handle the rod with one hand and with the other lay the canoe out into deep water1 away from all entangling alliances4 ,you may be surprised to find how easily1 with a little practice1 you can make a two-pound trout or bass tow the canoe the way you want it to go4 ,in floating for deer1 use the double-blade only in making the passage to the ground2 then take it apart and lay it inboard1 using only the little paddle to float with1 tying it to a rib with a yard and a half of linen line4 ,on approaching a deer near enough to shoot1 let go the paddle1 leaving it to drift alongside while you attend to venison4 ,beneath a hemlock grim and dark1 ,where shrub and vine are intertwining1 ,our shanty stands1 well roofed with bark1 ,on which the cheerful blaze is shining4 ,the smoke ascends in spiral wreath1 ,with upward curve the sparks are trending2 ,the coffee kettle sings beneath ,where sparks and smoke with leaves are blending4 ,and on the stream a light canoe ,floats like a freshly fallen feather1 ,a fairy thing1 that will not do ,for broader seas and stormy weather4 ,her sides no thicker than the shell ,of ,ole ,bull's ,cremona fiddle1 ,the man who rides her will do well ,to part his scalp-lock in the middle4 --,forest ,runes--,nessmuk4 ,chapter ,x ,,odds ,,and ,,ends--,,where ,,to ,,go ,,for ,,an ,,outing--,,why ,a ,,clinker8--,,boughs ,,and ,,browse ,the oft-recurring question as to where to go for the outing1 can hardly be answered at all satisfactorily4 ,in a general way1 any place may1 and ought to be1 satisfactory1 where there are fresh green woods1 pleasant scenery1 and fish and game plenty enough to supply the camp abundantly1 with boating facilities and pure water4 ,it's more in the man than it is in the land1 and there are thousands of such places on the waters of the ,susquehanna1 the ,delaware1 the rivers and lakes of ,maine1 ,michigan1 ,wisconsin1 and ,canada4 ,among the lakes of ,central ,new ,york one may easily select a camping ground1 healthy1 pleasant1 easily reached1 and with the advantage of cheapness4 ,a little too much civilization1 perhaps2 but the farmers are friendly1 and kindly disposed to all summer outers who behave like gentlemen4 ,for fine forest scenery and unequaled canoeing facilities1 it must be admitted that the ,adirondack region stands at the head4 ,there is also fine fishing and good hunting1 for those who know the right places to go for deer and trout4 ,but it is a tedious1 expensive job getting into the heart of the ,wilderness1 and it is the most costly woodland resort ,i know of when you are there4 ,you can keep expenses down 7and also have a much better sport7 by avoiding the hotels and going into camp at once1 and staying there4 ,the best way is for two men to hire a guide1 live in camp altogether1 and divide the expense4 ,all along the ,allegheny range1 from ,maine to ,michigan1 and from ,pennsylvania to the ,provinces1 numberless resorts exist as pleasant1 as healthy1 as prolific of sport1 as the famed ,adirondacks1 and at half the cost4 ,but1 for an all-summer canoe cruise1 with more than #fjj accessible lakes and ponds1 the ,northern ,wilderness stands alone4 ,and1 as a wealthy cockney once remarked to me in ,brown's ,tract1 ,it's no place for a poor man4 ,and now ,i will give my reasons for preferring the clinker-built cedar boat1 or canoe1 to any other4 ,first1 as to material4 ,cedar is stronger1 more elastic1 more enduring1 and shrinks less than pine or any other light wood used as boat siding4 ,as one of the best builders in the country says1 ,it has been thoroughly demonstrated that a cedar canoe will stand more hard knocks than an oak one2 for where it only receives bruises1 the oak streaks will split4 ,and he might add1 the pine will break4 ,but ,i suppose it is settled beyond dispute that white cedar stands at the head for boat streaks4 ,i prefer it1 then1 because it is the best4 ,and ,i prefer the clinker1 because it is the strongest1 simplest1 most enduring1 and most easily repaired in case of accident4 ,to prove the strength theory1 take a cedar 7or pine7 strip eight feet long and six inches wide4 ,bend it to a certain point by an equal strain on each end1 and carefully note the result4 ,next strip it lengthwise with the rip saw1 lap the two halves an inch1 and nail the lap as in boat building4 ,test it again1 and you will find it has gained in strength about twenty per cent4 ,that is the clinker of it4 ,now work the laps down until the strip is of uniform thickness its entire length1 and test it once more2 you will find it much weaker than on first trial4 ,that is the smooth skin1 sometimes called lapstreak4 ,they1 the clinker canoes1 are easily tightened when they spring a leak through being rattled over stones in rapids4 ,it is only to hunt a smooth pebble for a clinch head1 and settle the nails that have started with the hatchet1 putting in a few new ones if needed4 ,and they are put together1 at least by the best builders1 without any cement or white lead1 naked wood to wood1 and depending only on close work for water-proofing4 ,and each pair of strips is cut to fit and lie in its proper place without strain1 no two pairs being alike1 but each pair1 from garboards to upper streak1 having easy1 natural form for its destined position4 ,sidenote3 ,various ,craft ,the veneered canoes are very fine1 for deep water2 but a few cuts on sharp stones will be found ruinous2 and if exposed much to weather they are liable to warp4 ,the builders understand this1 and plainly say that they prefer not to build fine boats for those who will neglect the proper care of them4 ,the paper boat1 also1 will not stand much cutting on sharp stones1 and it is not buoyant when swamped1 unless fitted with water-tight compartments1 which ,i abhor4 ,the canvas is rather a logy1 limp sort of craft1 to my thinking1 and liable to drown her crew if swamped4 ,but each and all have their admirers1 and purchasers as well1 while each is good in its way1 and ,i only mention a few reasons for my preference of the cedar4 ,when running an ugly rapid or crossing a stormy lake1 ,i like to feel that ,i have enough light1 seasoned wood under me to keep my mouth and nose above water all day1 besides saving the rifle and knapsack1 which1 when running into danger1 ,i always tie to the ribbing with strong linen line1 as ,i do the paddle also1 giving it about line enough to just allow free play4 ,sidenote3 ,overboard ,i am not--to use a little modern slang--going to give myself away on canoeing1 or talk of startling adventure4 ,but1 for the possible advantage of some future canoeist1 ,i will briefly relate what happened to me on a certain windy morning one summer4 ,it was on one of the larger lakes--no matter which--between ,paul ,smith's and the ,fulton ,chain4 ,i had camped over night in a spot that did not suit me in the least1 but it seemed the best ,i could do then and there4 ,the night was rough1 and the early morning threatening4 ,however1 ,i managed a cup of coffee1 tied in1 and made a slippery carry of two miles a little after sunrise4 ,arrived on the shore of the lake1 things did not look promising4 ,the whirling1 twirling clouds were black and dangerous looking1 the crisp1 dark waves were crested with spume1 and ,i had a notion of just making a comfortable camp and waiting for better weather4 ,but the commissary department was reduced to six ,boston crackers1 with a single slice of pork1 and it was twelve miles of wilderness to the nearest point of supplies1 four miles of it carries1 included4 ,such weather might last a week1 and ,i decided to go4 ,for half an hour ,i sat on the beach1 taking weather notes4 ,the wind was northeast2 my course was due west1 giving me four points free4 ,taking five feet of strong line1 ,i tied one end under a rib next the keelson1 and the other around the paddle4 ,stripping to shirt and drawers1 ,i stowed everything in the knapsack1 and tied that safely in the fore peak4 ,then ,i swung out4 ,before ,i was a half mile out1 ,i fervently wished myself back4 ,but it was too late4 ,how that little1 corky1 light canoe did bound and snap1 with a constant tendency to come up in the wind's eye1 that kept me on the qui vive every instant4 ,she shipped no water2 she was too buoyant for that4 ,but she was all the time in danger of pitching her crew overboard4 ,it soon came to a crisis4 ,about the middle of the lake1 on the north side1 there is a sharp1 low gulch that runs away back through the hills1 looking like a level cut through a railroad embankment4 ,and down this gulch came a fierce thunder gust that was like a small cyclone4 ,it knocked down trees1 swept over the lake1 and--caught the little canoe on the crest of a wave1 right under the garboard streak4 ,i went overboard like a shot2 but ,i kept my grip on the paddle4 ,that grip was worth a thousand dollars to the ,travelers' ,accidental2 and another thousand to the ,equitable ,company1 because the paddle1 with its line1 enabled me to keep the canoe in hand1 and prevent her from going away to leeward like a dry leaf4 ,when ,i once got my nose above water1 and my hand on her after stem1 ,i knew ,i had the whole business under control4 ,pressing the stem down1 ,i took a look inboard4 ,the little jilt6 ,she had not shipped a quart of water4 ,and there was the knapsack1 the rod1 the little auxiliary paddle1 all just as ,i had tied them in2 only the crew and the double-blade had gone overboard4 ,as ,i am elderly and out of practice in the swimming line1 and it was nearly half a mile to a lee shore1 and1 as ,i was out of breath and water-logged1 it is quite possible that a little forethought and four cents' worth of fishline saved--the insurance companies two thousand dollars4 ,how ,i slowly kicked that canoe ashore2 how the sun came out bright and hot2 how1 instead of making the remaining eleven miles1 ,i raised a conflagration and a comfortable camp1 dried out1 and had a pleasant night of it2 all this is neither here nor there4 ,the point ,i wish to make is1 keep your duffle safe to float1 and your paddle and canoe sufficiently in hand to always hold your breathing works above water level4 ,so shall your children look confidently for your safe return1 while the ,accidentals arise and call you a good investment4 ,there is only one objection to the clinker-built canoe that occurs to me as at all plausible4 ,this is1 that the ridge-like projections of her clinker laps offer resistance to the water1 and retard her speed4 ,theoretically1 this is correct4 ,practically1 it is not proven4 ,her streaks are so nearly on her water line that the resistance1 if any1 must be infinitesimal4 ,it is possible1 however1 that this element might lessen her speed one or two minutes in a mile race4 ,i am not racing1 but taking leisurely recreation4 ,i can wait two or three minutes as well as not4 ,three or four knots an hour will take me through to the last carry quite as soon as ,i care to make the landing4 ,a few words of explanation and advice may not be out of place4 ,i have used the words boughs and browse quite frequently4 ,i am sorry they are not more in use4 ,the first settlers in the unbroken forest knew how to diagnose a tree4 ,they came to the ,holland ,purchase from the ,eastern ,states1 with their families1 in a covered wagon1 drawn by a yoke of oxen1 and the favorite cow patiently leading behind4 ,they could not start until the ground was settled1 some time in ,may1 and nothing could be done in late summer1 save to erect a log cabin1 and clear a few acres for the next season4 ,to this end the oxen were indispensable1 and a cow was of first necessity1 where there were children4 ,and cows and oxen must have hay4 ,but there was not a ton of hay in the country4 ,a few hundred pounds of coarse wild grass was gleaned from the margins of streams and small marshes2 but the main reliance was browse4 ,through the warm months the cattle could take care of themselves2 but1 when winter settled down in earnest1 a large part of the settler's work consisted in providing browse for his cattle4 ,first and best was the basswood 7linden72 then came maple1 beech1 birch and hemlock4 ,some of the trees would be nearly three feet in diameter1 and1 when felled1 much of the browse would be twenty feet above the reach of cattle1 on the ends of huge limbs4 ,then the boughs were lopped off1 and the cattle could get at the browse4 ,the settlers divided the tree into log1 limbs1 boughs1 and browse4 ,anything small enough for a cow or deer to masticate was browse4 ,and that is just what you want for a camp in the forest4 ,not twigs1 that may come from a thorn1 or boughs1 that may be as thick as your wrist1 but browse1 which may be used for a mattress1 the healthiest in the world4 ,and now for a little useless advice4 ,in going into the woods1 don't take a medicine chest or a set of surgical instruments with you4 ,a bit of sticking salve1 a wooden vial of anti-pain tablets and another of rhubarb regulars1 your fly medicine1 and a pair of tweezers1 will be enough4 ,of course you have needles and thread4 ,if you go before the open season for shooting1 take no gun4 ,it will simply be a useless incumbrance and a nuisance4 ,if you go to hunt1 take a solemn oath never to point the shooting end of your gun toward yourself or any other human being4 ,in still-hunting1 swear yourself black in the face never to shoot at a dim1 moving object in the woods for a deer1 unless you have seen that it is a deer4 ,in these days there are quite as many hunters as deer in the woods2 and it is a heavy1 wearisome job to pack a dead or wounded man ten or twelve miles out to a clearing1 let alone that it spoils all the pleasure of the hunt1 and is apt to raise hard feelings among his relations4 ,in a word1 act coolly and rationally4 ,so shall your outing be a delight in conception and the fulfillment thereof2 while the memory of it shall come back to you in pleasant dreams1 when legs and shoulders are too stiff and old for knapsack and rifle4 ,that is me4 ,that is why ,i sit here tonight--with the north wind and sleet rattling the one window of my little den-writing what ,i hope younger and stronger men will like to take into the woods with them1 and read4 ,not that ,i am so very old4 ,the youngsters are still not anxious to buck against the muzzle-loader in off-hand shooting4 ,but1 in common with a thousand other old graybeards1 ,i feel that the fire1 the fervor1 the steel1 that once carried me over the trail from dawn until dark1 is dulled and deadened within me4 ,we had our day of youth and ,may2 ,we may have grown a trifle sober2 ,but life may reach a wintry way1 ,and we are only in ,october4 ,sidenote3 ,final ,advice ,wherefore1 let us be thankful that there are still thousands of cool1 green nooks beside crystal springs1 where the weary soul may hide for a time1 away from debts1 duns and deviltries1 and a while commune with nature in her undress4 ,and with kindness to all true woodsmen2 and with malice toward none1 save the trout-hog1 the netter1 the cruster1 and skin-butcher1 let us ,,prepare ,,to ,,turn ,,in4 ,index ,adirondacks #bh1 #ie angle-worms #cg1 #dh axe #f-i ,bait1 fish-belly #dg -fishing #cg grubs #cg pork frog #da1 #dc worms #dh barbs on hooks #dj baskets1 pack #f bear #hc beans #fg-fi beds #ea black bass bait #dc1 #dg black flies #ae blanket-bag #d boats #if ff4 boots #c1 #ge bread #fc1 #fd brook trout #cf broom for camp #eb browse #ii ,camp #ah ff4 brush shanty #ba coal cabin #be cookery #ej1 #fb ff4 fires #bh-cd1 #di1 #eg furniture #ea1 #eb ,indian #ah-ba shanty tent #ba-bd shed roof #bf stoves #bh1 #eg tents #ah1 #ba1 #bg canoes #hg-id1 #if-ii ,nessmuk #ij paddles #ic ,sairy ,gamp #ia seats #ic ,susan ,nipper #ia weight #ib canvas boats #ig water-proofing #bb cleanliness in camp #ec clinker-built cedar boats #if clothing #c1 #ge coal cabin #be coffee #fd-ff condiments #ge cooking #di ff41 #fb ff4 fires #di -range #ef utensils #i1 #aj ,see also recipes ,deer #hd ditty-bag #aa1 #ab duffle #c1 #d ,fire woods #eg ,see also camp1 cooking fish1 cooking of #gc large #dd1 #de1 #dg1 #dh fish-belly bait #dg fishing #ce-dh bait- #cg fly- #cf ff4 flapjacks #fc flies #cf ff4 fly pests #ae varnish #ae foot-gear #c1 #ge ,forester1 ,frank #ae1 #fb forests #ca1 #gg-hf forks #i frog-bait #da1 #dc frogging #ab1 #de1 #df ,froissart #a ,game fish #dd gang hooks #dj1 #da gnats #ae gut snells #dg ,hat #d hatchet #g-i headlight #ci1 #df hooks1 barbs on #dj kinds of #dj ff4 size of #dd hunting #ge1 #ajj ,indian camp #ah-ba insects #ad-ag ,johnnycake #fc ,knapsack #f knives #h1 #i ,lake trout #dc lapstreak boats #if lines #cf lost in woods #ad ,mascalonge #db1 #dg ,micropterus dolomieu #dc mosquitoes #ae ointment #ae1 #af mudding up #gd ,murray1 ,adirondack #ae1 #df ,night fishing #ci in camp #bj ,overwork #a ,pack baskets #f paddles #ic paper boats #ig pests #ad-ag pickerel #db1 #de1 #dg pillows #ah1 #bj1 #ic planning outings #b pocket-axe #g1 #h poker and tongs #ea preparations #d pudding sticks #ic punkies #af1 #ag ,recipes baked beans #fi bread #fc1 #fd brown bread #fi canned goods #gc1 #gd club bread #fd coffee #fd-ff ducks #gb fish #gc flapjacks #fc grouse #gb ,johnnycake #fc mudding up #gd pancake #fc pigeons #ga porcupine #gb pork and beans #fi potatoes #ff1 #fg quail #ga rabbit #gb1 #gc soups #gj squirrel #ga stews #gj tea #ff vegetables #fg1 #fh venison #gb woodcock #gb reels #cf rifle #hb rods #aj1 #aa roughing it #ac ,salmo fontinalis #aa1 #cf shanty tent #ba-bd shelter cloth #d snells #da1 #df1 #dg sparks #bg ,spencer1 ,herbert #a spoons #i spring-holes #ch1 #ci still-hunting #ge1 #gf1 #ajj stoves #bh1 #eg swivels #dg ,tents #ah1 #ba1 #bg tinware #i1 #aj tongs #ea trout #ce ff4 ,vacations #b vegetables #fg1 #fh venison #gb ,warner1 ,charles ,dudley #aa1 #ag1 #ej1 #ge water-proofing canvas #bb winter camps #ca ff4 wire snells #da wild hog #hb worms #dh