Driving Tours 195 



a most unique experience either for a family or for 

 a party of friends. No better vehicle can be imag- 

 ined for the purpose than the caravans constructed by 

 American mechanics for the genuine gipsies. These 

 wagons, swinging upon their easy and elastic springs, 

 present the acme of roomy, practical usefulness for 

 such work. They are about tw^elve feet long by six 

 feet broad, and have a leather top, with windows in 

 the sides and curtain in front. The rear end covering 

 is a sheet of canvas some twenty feet long and tw-elve 

 wide, which, when camp is made, conveniently forms 

 a tent or annex to the wagon, two poles being erected 

 at its outer end, and guy ropes and pins holding it 

 in place. Some campers surround this with canvas 

 sides, forming with the wagon two rooms, six by 

 twelve, and twenty by twelve. Four bunks, or cot 

 beds, find room inside the wagon, or may be placed 

 on the ground under the overhang, folding up against 

 the sides of the caravan during the day, as in a 

 sleeping-car. A few rocking-chairs, hammocks, etc., 

 afiford seats in the van during its journeys; a port- 

 able camp-stove and the necessary dishes and cook- 



