IN THE FOREST 93 



of damp hemlock with a waterproof sheet 

 spread over them was my bed. We each had 

 a tin plate, cup, knife, fork and spoon. We 

 all ate together, sitting on the damp ground 

 in front of the camp fire. Lastly, the comfort- 

 ing tot of whisky at or after dinner had to 

 be abandoned, for we had only two bottles 

 of rum in case of illness. 



At the first camp we fared quite luxuriously, 

 for we had the venison we had brought along 

 and the trout I had caught en route but later 

 on, the daily fare of bacon and beans became, 

 to say the least, monotonous. In one thing 

 we were lucky : Thomson baked the most 

 delicious bread; so we were certain of good 

 bread and tea. 



The morning of the 30th broke fine and we 

 got away about 8.30 a.m., but before long the 

 rain came down and we plodded along through 

 the forest for some seven hours, during which 

 we did not cover much more than three miles. 



The undergrowth was nearly everywhere 

 dense, consisting of wine-berries and that 

 curse of the forest, the thorny devil-club. 

 The trees rose from one to two hundred feet 

 in height over our heads. Windfalls of timber 

 were numerous, adding to the difficulty of 

 the march. 



Of animal life we could see nothing. Deer 



