FROM THE GAME FIELDS. 



The man who quits when he gets enough, with plenty of game still in sight, is a real sportsman. 



COOKING FOR HUNGRY CAMPERS. 

 Editor Recreation : Butte, Mont. 



About Christmas, my friends, M. and N., 

 and I began to plan a camping trip for the 

 following August, when the open season 

 for deer begins in the coast counties of 

 Northern California. First we agreed to 

 make notes of everything we' thought of 

 during the week, in the line of outfit. 

 Every week we met, compared, rejected 

 and accepted propositions and began to 

 manufacture such camping things as came 

 within our range of abilities. 



One of the first articles was a large 

 knife made from a broken bandsaw, 16 

 gauge, blade 12 inches long by i>4 inches 

 wide, rounding upward at the point, with 

 fine sawteeth and with good set on the 

 back. The handle was made of 2 slabs of 

 yew wood, riveted on each side. The nat- 

 ural saw temper was left in the blade, and 

 with a small file, which was part of the 

 outfit, ground smooth on one side for fin- 

 ishing the edge, the 'saw was kept in good 

 condition. 



A good ax was also to be carried along. 

 The next novelty was 3 boxes, 23 x 18 x 7 

 inches, made of light ^ - i ncn pine, with 

 4-inch wide canvas straps securely fas- 

 tened, knapsack fashion. On the front side 

 was a piece of oilcloth about 20 inches wide 

 and long enough to be brought over the top 

 of the box, which was open at the top. In 

 one of these boxes everything was carried 

 that might be needed at a moment's notice, 

 such as a hasty lunch, snakebite remedy, 

 etc. When en route it was comfortable to 

 carry the gun on top of the load, for 

 a change, so as to have both hands free, if 

 desired. 



Next, we arranged a hammock apiece, 

 made from 32-inch burlap, to be left in 

 the woods. We also carried a blanket, 

 rubber poncho, change of underclothing, 

 4 pairs of socks each, and a quantity of 

 matches in the 3 different loads, the to- 

 bacco question to be solved individually. 



The arsenal consisted of 2 38-56 Win- 

 chesters, one 22-caliber Winchester, a 12- 

 gauge shot gun and a Stevens pistol. A 

 suitable quantity of ammunition for each 

 gun was carried. 



The fishing tackle consisted of one Jap- 

 anese telescopic bamboo rod, length when 

 collapsed 30 inches. The other rods grew 

 in the woods, the streams being so brushy 

 that a 7-foot pole was long enough. 



Of dishes, we had 2 frying pans, a stew 

 pan, a coffee pot, a 3 x 8 x 12-inch sheet 

 iron pan, tin plates, cups and a knife, fork 

 and spoon apiece. 



In the line of provisions, we had 15 

 pounds of flour, a small quantity of corn 

 meal, a small ham, 5 pounds of lard, a roll 

 of butter, 2 pounds of split peas, 2 pounds 

 of salt, a can of black pepper, some dry 

 mustard, one dozen Chili peppers, 2 pounds 

 of dried apples, a can -of baking powder, 3 

 pounds good coffee, 5 pounds sugar, 2 cans 

 tomatoes, a few large potatoes and onions, 

 one dozen lemons, 2 cans condensed milk, 

 2 small bottles of vinegar and oil, and a bar 

 of soap. Total weight of pack, 175 pounds. 



The latter part of July we were ready 

 to leave. We had been working all night, 

 and at 6 a. m. caught a logging train and 

 rode some 20 miles into the woods. From 

 the last logging camp we followed the river 

 10 miles and forded it 46 times by actual 

 count; but the greatest depth was only a 

 little more than 2 feet. We arrived at our 

 chosen spot about 2 p. m. and proceeded 

 to build a brush hut, a serviceable bake 

 oven of flat stones and mud, and a hanging 

 cage to keep food out of the way of 

 coons and mountain lions in our absence 

 from camp. 



Our first supper in camp consisted of 

 newly caught trout and flapjacks. After a 

 smoke we had a sleep such as one can 

 only have in the woods after a 30 hours' 

 vigil and a hard tramp. 



Next morning we made the proposition 

 that the first man to bring in a deer was to 

 have the choice of camp duties. Cooking, 

 of course, was the most onerous, and — I 

 did the cooking in that camp. For our 

 next supper I served venison, a la chas- 

 seur, a fine, fat buck supplying the main 

 ingredients. After supper, I put 3 red pep- 

 pers to soak in lukewarm water and left 

 them overnight. In the morning I care- 

 fully scraped the fleshy part from the shell 

 and put it in a tin cup. Then I put 2 big 

 spoonfuls of lard in the frying pan. When 

 it was quite hot I put in about 3 pounds 

 of venison, cut in cubes, and browned.it a 

 little. Meanwhile I had half a can of to- 

 matoes heating in the stewpan, and leav- 

 ing the lard in the frying pan, I put the 

 meat into the hot tomatoes. Then I put 

 the Chili into the frying pan and let it heat 

 gently. After the lard had acquired a rich 

 golden color, I put the whole thing into 

 the stewpan and let it simmer gently about 

 20 minutes. At the end of that time it was 

 the real vinado con chili a la Mexicano, 

 and was pronounced fit for Nimrod him- 

 self. 



The next gastronomic surprise was wa- 

 tercress salad, the raw material growing in 

 abundance along the creek. Well cut up, 



363 



