THE WELCOME CAMPER 



345 



THE CAMP IS READY 



By pitching the tent at the rear of tfie roaoster and dropping 

 the side flaps a two-roomed apartment is formed and also affords 

 convenient use of the deck while dressing. 



house in Maine to inquire our way, we were presented by 

 the small son of the family with a basket of apples. We 

 ^Tered to pay for it, hut he insisted it was a gift. During 

 a four days' stay on the Maine coast we had good cause 

 for indebtedness to one of her old deep sea fishermen. He 

 had kept us generously supplied with sea food, but we 

 felt it just a little too much when he killed and dressed 

 a chicken from his small flock and presented it to us as 

 we were leaving. Milk, apples, carrots, cucumbers, 

 canned strawberries were given us without price, and 

 most generous were the measures when we did pay. 

 "What's the price of corn?" we asked on the road to 

 Plymouth. "Thirty-five cents a dozen, fitteen ears to 

 a dozen," was the answer. 



I repeat : Hospitality is universal if appreciation is 

 shown. Appreciation does not always mean a money re- 

 turn, but of that which stand,s' for the brotherhood of 

 man. We always kept our hosts posted as to our move- 

 ments, for apparently they seemed much interested in 

 our future, fearing sometimes, I felt, that our gray 

 hairs would come to grief. No matter how hurried we 

 were it was never too much trouble to show our equip- 

 ment, in which boys were always interested. We had 

 spent much time on making it compact, by nesting the 

 kitchen utensils and studying sport catalogues for fold- 

 ing stoves, chairs, cots and tables, and really were quite 

 proud of it. 



Speaking of boys, I wonder if we realize the passing 

 of much of our good old New England stock? We left 

 our machine on the bluffs in Maine, while we camped on 

 the shore, in the care of Mrs. Mary Easton, 83 years 

 old, living alone in a substantial farm house meant for 

 two large families. Across the road lived John Everett, 

 70 years of age, alone in the old house where he was 



born. Down the road the Easton girls had laid away 

 twenty cords of wood for the winter's warmth, for while 

 still "girls" they could not exercise much at the ages of 

 93 and 87. Still further away lived Will Giles, the lob- 

 ster-fisherman, wife and mother gone these many years 

 and no children to cheer him. The county provides a 

 teacher if there are twenty children in the district. There 

 was but one child there last summer. Newer but not 

 better stock from Europe will soon take its place. 



To camp away from the main travel is the way to find 

 this old stock. A few miles outside of New Haven our 

 good fortune made us acquainted with the eighth genera- 

 tion of the Frost family, whose forefathers received 

 their grant of land from the English crown. In the 

 early morning fine specimens of cattle passed our tent 

 on their way to pasture, descendants of a wedding pres- 

 ent to the present owner's grandmother at her marriage 

 a hundred years ago. Their natural taste for strange 

 food had not been lost in their descent, as I barely res- 

 cued our towels that were drying on a bush. A detour 

 of twenty miles over a narrow country road in New 



OUTFIT FOR COOKING AND SERVING MEALS 



Pail on the left contains all necessary utensils for two; folding 

 table when open is a yard square; kampkook stove and provi- 

 sion box at right. New Hampshire trout stream in the back- 

 ground, an excellent place for a week-end stay. 



Hampshire made us acquainted with the artist-fanner 

 who later sent me the sketch of W^oodbine, his 

 home on the Connecticut River. He is descended 

 from one of the Minute Men of Concord and he lived 



