8 SPORTING ADVENTURES 



when not in use, should fit into a compact kit made of tin 

 or wood. 



If an open fire is used for cooking-, it should always be built to 

 the leeward of the tent, to avoid accidents; and if the wind is 

 ba filing and blows the smoke and sparks in every direction, it 

 ought to be made in a hole dug in the ground. Two pieces of 

 wood having a crotch at one end, and placed at opposite ends of 

 the fire, with a cross stick connecting them, make an excellent 

 crane on which to suspend a pot for boiling; and if one is 

 hungry and wishes to satisfy the craving of the appetite at 

 once, he may do it by thrusting a sharp-pointed bit of wood 

 through a piece of meat and holding it in the blaze for a few 

 moments. A slice of venison cooked in this manner, and 

 sprinkled over with pepper and salt, makes a delicious tid- 

 bit, as the juices are retained in it. 



In camping out one should carry four heavy blankets for bed- 

 ding, as the nights in the region adjoining the Pacific Ocean are 

 always cool, owing to the rapid radiation of heat after sunset, 

 the result of the absence of clouds. Some people prefer to sleep 

 on the ground rolled up in their blankets, and with their feet 

 towards the five, to the softest couch ; but I have found that a 

 bed or a hammock is the most comfortable, and the safest also, 

 as its height prevents snakes and other crawling things 

 from becoming 1 unwelcome bedfellows. An excellent, con- 

 venient, and exceedingly portable bed, which can be rolled up 

 into a very small compass, is now made in New York specially 

 for cam]) purposes, and this I found to fully supply all the 

 requirements of such an article, as it has a gentle slope from 

 head to foot, so that one does not need a pillow, and it may 

 be set up in less than a minute. 



I have also found an air-bed made of rubber verv convenient 

 when 1 coulo" not pitch a tent and was compelled to sleep on 

 wet ground, but 1 thought it too heavy for transportation, 

 unless I was travelling by canoe, and my cheeks often ached 

 in trying to fill it. It has its advantages, however, and if a 

 person had the means at command for carrying it, he would 

 find it a matter of difficulty to get any bed to equal it in com- 

 fort, it being both M>ft and waterproof. If one must sleep on 

 the ground, a rubber blanket should be placed upon it to keep 



