CAMPING OUT. 73 



leaving stubs five or six inches long ; sharpen the big end 

 and drive it firmly in the ground, on the right side of the 

 fire-place, it will be handy to hang up the dish-cloths, 

 towels, etc.; it will also be a place to lean the poker, as 

 well as to hang a wooden hook, which will be convenient to 

 handle pots and kettles with. A camp broom can easily be 

 made by cutting a bunch of slim twigs and lashing them 

 around a stick of the proper size for a handle. A broom 

 made in this way is quite serviceable. Camp comforts de- 

 pend largely on neatness, ingenuity, and industry of the 

 party. Time spent in fixing up little conveniences about 

 camp will be well spent. Now comes the cooking outfit. 

 This may appear a little as though the cart was before the 

 horse. But inasmuch as this is not a literary production in 

 any sense, it makes but little difference. Detail and clear- 

 ness are the points aimed at. The chest for the mess kit 

 should be a light, strong box, with a hinged lid; dimen- 

 sions about 26 inches long, 18 to 20 inches wide, and 14 

 inches high; this is quite large enough for the mess kit, of 

 four men. The kit is composed of the following articles: 

 Four tin camp kettles; tin is much better than iron, and will 

 last quite as long. The largest one a straight up kettle 

 about 8 inches in diameter and 10 inches high, with a good 

 fitting lid; the next just small enough to go inside the large 

 one, lid and all, and the third and fourth fit within each 

 other, and in the same manner. All four will occupy the 

 space of the largest one; even two more could be fitted in 

 the same way, and would be found to be very useful. Two 

 common water buckets, two large dish pans, (one for wash- 

 ing dishes, the other for mixing bread,) one of the dish 

 pans should be about one inch larger than the other for the 

 purpose of converting the two pans into a baker, which will 

 be explained farther along. One large coffee-pot, three 

 small mess pans, such as will nest, (two quarts each is large 



