26 SPORTING ADVENTURES IN THE FAR WEST. 



being set on fire. This will not only keep the tent heated 

 in the coldest weather, but will minimize the danger of a 

 conflagration from vagrant sparks, and will enable a person 

 to cook several dishes at the same time. Those who have 

 used it would scarcely do without it, as it makes camp 

 pleasant on the rawest and dreariest days and nights, and 

 it is almost a necessity to the culinary department. All 

 hunting-parties should carry one at least, and they would 

 soon learn to prize it at its full value. It need not neces- 

 sarily do away with the open-air fires, as the latter are of- 

 ten useful in keeping skunks, wolves, bears, flies, snakes, and 

 other prowling creatures away from the camp ; and persons 

 may, as of yore, seat or stretch themselves on the ground 

 beside it, and relate tales of dangers passed, and adventures 

 by flood and field. 



To make a good fire of this character, a back-log, or per- 

 haps three or four of them piled one on the other, and re- 

 tained in their position by stakes driven into the ground, is 

 needed ; and two or three large stones should be placed un- 

 der the fuel in front, in order to give it the draught necessary 

 to cause it to burn freely. The Flat-head Indians make one 

 by placing the butts of the logs in the centre and resting 

 them on one another, thus giving them a pyramidal form ; 

 and under these they place moss, bark, and twigs, which 

 burn rapidly as soon as they are set on fire ; and as they 

 communicate their heat at once to all the wood above them, 

 the result is a splendid fire in a very short time. Not hav- 

 ing any matches with which to ignite the fuel, the red men 

 frequently do it by firing powder into dry moss, punk, or 

 grass, and waving it back and forth in the wind until it 

 burns freely, or by revolving rapidly between their hands a 

 piece of hard wood inserted in a small aperture cut in dry, 

 soft wood. They can obtain a fire by the latter means in 

 less than a minute sometimes; but in many cases it takes 

 much longer, especially if the material is damp. As wood 

 is always wanted, every camp should have an axe ; and a 

 hammer, saw, auger, nails, rope, twine, and needles will be 

 found useful. A lantern is also a necessity; and a me- 



