LIFE IN THE WOODS. 89 



and two inches in diameter, and run them through the bag, 

 resting the ends in notches on two logs placed parallel to each 

 other at the proper distance apart. The notches should be 

 so far apart that the poles will tightly stretch the bag. Four 

 forked stakes, if more convenient, may be substituted for the 

 logs and driven into the ground so as to receive the ends of 

 the poles and stretch the sacking. The space in the bag be- 

 tween the poles should be filled with dry grass, leaves, ever- 

 green boughs, or moss^ which will give it the warmth and 

 softness of a straw bed. By this arrangement you have an 

 extempore bedstead, raising you above the cold, damp ground, 

 and a bed as good as the best. For bed-clothes, the best con- 

 trivance is a bag made of wide, firm Canton flannel, six and 

 a half feet long, open at one end. Let the tired hunter insert 

 himself in this bag feet foremost, and he will need no " tuck- 

 ing up " to keep him comfortable even on the ground or in 

 the snow ; and if he is fortunate enough to be perched on 

 such a bed as is above described, in a tent well buttoned up, 

 with a friendly stove at his feet, the cry of the loon, the howl 

 of the wolf, or the scream of the panther, will hardly disturb 

 his slumbers.* 



CAMP-CHEST. 



A chest made of light materials, two feet nine inches in 

 length, eighteen inches in width, and fourteen inches in depth 



not larger than an ordinary trunk will hold in trans- 

 portation the stove with its pipe and all its furniture, the bed 

 and bedding, the tent and all its rigging, and in fact nearly 

 the whole outfit that has been described. The cover of the 

 chest should be made of two thicknesses of boards, five eighths 

 of an inch thick, with double hinges, so that the upper lid can 

 be turned back separately, and form with the other lid a good 

 table. 



COOKING. 



It will not be expected that the trapper's larder will be sup- 

 plied with all the varieties and luxuries that can be found at 

 the St. Nicholas, or at a Saratoga hotel. But it will always 



* For a winter campaign, we would recommend the addition of a woolen blanket. 



EDITORS. 



