THE GOOD CAMP BED AND OTHER 

 THINGS 



By D. Lange 



SLEEPING under the open sky is delightful, pro- 

 vided that there are no mosquitoes, that you have 

 plenty of blankets, and that it doesn't rain. But as 

 at least one of these conditions is generally wrong, I 

 prefer, as a rule, to sleep in a tent. 



The first step in making a camp bed is to select a 

 level and smooth piece of ground. Then stones, 

 stumps, roots and sticks must be removed and the 

 whole floor be made as smooth as possible. The ground 

 should be perfectly level. If it slopes strongly toward 

 the foot end, the sleepers will wake up again and again 

 to find that they have crawled, or slid down hill. 



Every man who has camped much has spent some 

 nights with his blankets spread on the bare ground. 

 Sometimes camp is made late in the evening; or one is 

 too tired, possibly too lazy, to cut a lot of bedding; or 

 no bedding is to be had and so the blankets are spread 

 on the bare ground. If the ground is naturally soft 

 and smooth and the camper is seasoned to the game, 

 he may enjoy a good rest, but he is more likely to 

 spend a good part of the night twisting himself this 

 way and that way in an effort to avoid hard lumps and 

 roots or to fit his hip into some depression. 



The only way to be sure of a good rest is to make a 

 good bed, and it generally pays to do so. 



Hay and straw both make good bedding. If these 

 are not obtainable, dry or green grass may be substi- 



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