CAMPING OUT. 285 



stumbles over windfalls or painful collision of the shins 

 with sharp stumps are followed by suddenly sinking on 

 one leg up to the knee in a black mud hole, and the load, 

 slewing round, brings you over altogether into wet moss, 

 or still worse, when the unpractised hand nervously 

 attempts the often necessary passage of a deep brook or 

 still- water stream (the latter is a frequent feature in the 

 forest), and the uncertain foot glides from the slippery 

 bridge — a fallen tree — followed by a tremendous splash, 

 and one or two expletives as a matter of course ; but 

 depend upon it, the less you fret under such circum- 

 stances the better you will come in to camp by a deal. 

 The Indians generally carry 50 lb. to 70 lb. weight, 

 including gun (71b. or 8 lb.) ; yours would be 20 lb. to 

 30 lb., and this you ought to carry if you are fit to enter 

 the woods at all. To let you know, however, what is 

 often before you, here is a description of a very common 

 feature in the woods — an alder swamp : — 



Take a substratum of black mud, into which you will 

 sink at least up to your knees, perhaps up to your hips ; 

 cover this over with a treacherous crust of peat, turf, and 

 moss ; over this strew windfalls, i.e., dead, fallen trees, 

 with the branches broken off close to the trunks, leaving 

 sharp spikes ; form an interlaced network of these, 

 sprinkling in a few granite rocks ; and cover all this over 

 with a thick growth of alder bushes about five feet high, 

 so that you cannot possibly see where you are putting 

 your feet ; vary the ground with a few boggy streams 

 and " honey pots " or mud holes. Then walk across this 

 with a good load on your back, and your gun under your 

 arm, without losing your temper ! 



For either winter or summer work the common gray 



