Sporting Innocents Abroad 



chance. Whatever he may volunteer in the nature of 

 advice does not cost you anything extra. No matter 

 how timidly or casually it is tendered, try to take it to 

 heart and remember it. If you are a drinking man, 

 do not insist upon your guide's partaking of your hos- 

 pitality to such an extent that it will incapacitate him 

 for attending to his job. 



The first night in the woods will be a brand-new 

 experience. If you wish to be comfortable, give your 

 guide at least two hours before dark to get camp and 

 supper ready. It is difficult to prepare a satisfactory 

 camp in less than two hours of daylight. The tent site 

 will be selected, not for its scenic value, but because 

 the ground is level and dry, near wood and spring water. 

 First, there is the tent to pitch; then there are two 

 large bundles of hemlock "feathers" to collect for a 

 mattress upon which to lay your blankets; then there 

 are fish to clean, a cook-fire to be built, supper to be 

 cooked, served and eaten, dishes to be washed, and food 

 to be placed out of reach of nocturnal four-legged 

 marauders. A large quantity of wood must be cut to 

 keep a good fire in front of the tent all night. If it 

 looks like rain, dry kindlings will be prepared and stored 

 in a corner of the tent for the breakfast fire. 



After a few nights in the woods you can be of con- 

 siderable assistance to your guide in preparing camp, 

 and the outdoor exercise and fresh air will make you so 

 sleepy that you can sleep like a top with your blankets 

 laid on the ground without the hemlock " feathers." 



You will find the food a little greasy but wholesome. 

 Be careful not to over-indulge the first few days of your 

 trip, and you will not suffer from indigestion. Being 

 physically overtired and ravenously hungry at the 

 same time is a combination which demands moral 

 courage and foresight. The digestive organs are not in 



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