THE ANGLER'S CAMP 265 



have all main tent-stakes strong and long enough 

 to hold when that big wind arrives in the dead of 

 some night. The poncho or whatnot is thrown over 

 the ridge-rope and that 's all there is to it. 



Remember then, when you are preparing your 

 woodland couch, to get clear of the ground. Next 

 to some such affair, the best thing to do is to scoop 

 out a full-length hole, at least six or eight inches 

 deep, fill this with browse level with the ground, and 

 then to top this with your damp-excluding poncho 

 within which is folded your blanket. 



If the personnel of your party is large enough 

 for two or more tents, a nice thing is to have a large 

 waterproof fly that you can use for the ridged roof 

 of a court around three sides of which the tents are 

 grouped, each facing the center. Such an arrange- 

 ment makes a very comfortable " fix." In pro- 

 tracted rainy weather you can build your small cook- 

 ing-fire under this large fly and sit around it and 

 eat in comfort; also you have the means of drying 

 out clothing, etc. Upon our trip mentioned above 

 we had a sixteen-foot-square fly for this purpose, 

 which, stretched over and between our tents, proved a 

 life saver; this also was treated with the alum and 

 lead, but it is of six-ounce drill. We had pitched 

 camp in the rain, most of the time continued to camp 

 in the rain, and all but broke camp in the rain. You 

 may keep dry during a prolonged rainy season and 

 yet find the confinement of close tent-life very irk- 



