276 
FOREST 
AND 
•* 
STREAM 
Camps, Camping and Cooking 
A Practical Article Written for the Ordinary Man who Loves the Woods, but Can’t get too far from Home 
N the first place, in considering 
a camping trip the means of 
transportation must be consid¬ 
ered. The easier the means 
of conveyance the more read¬ 
ily is one moved into camp and 
more conveniently things can be 
be brought along. Near to 
civilization camping is one thing; camping in 
the wilderness regions is quite another, as all 
will admit, and understand. Camping to the 
man who owns a motor boat is a matter of 
great convenience, to say the least. He can 
easily pack up and move from place to place, 
if he desires, along the innumerable waterways 
of the country. The motorboat camper has by 
far the easier means and method of transporta¬ 
tion. Different indeed a horse and wagon 
proposition, and wholly different yet the more 
primitive means. Where transportation is a 
matter of comparative ease, many things can be 
brought along as a rule, though one should not 
overstock. Be simple, yet thorough; and 
thoughtfulness counts for a great deal indeed 
in this world. 
For a couple the ordinary twelve by fourteen 
tent is quite big enough and will certainly 
amply suffice. I am considering now the family 
problem. It is all well and good to talk from 
the “go light,” single-man point of view, but 
rarely is the larger tent problem considered. I 
shall speak in this chapter for the man who 
wishes to take his wife along with him, also his 
child, if he is so fortunate. The twelve by four¬ 
teen tent is commodious enough for a couple. 
Now in consideration of the weight to go 
into the tent, as a matter of ounces, we have 
eight, ten and twelve ounces to logically choose 
from. It all depends on the make and quality 
of the tent. In good material a ce'rtain ounce 
is good, in another a poor make, it is practically 
worthless. One tent I know of would not go 
twelve ounces (the army regulation weight, to 
to square yard) and good ten ounce will weigh 
more to the square yard. Personally I had a 
twelve ounce tent for years, but I do not real¬ 
ly know if the weight of twelve ounces to the 
square yard could be attached to it. I do not 
believe, however, in a tent too lightly woven 
for summer use. Heavy woven tents may be 
all right in the winter, but for summer use, give 
me a tent in rather light weight material. But 
I have always wanted one thing to go with this 
twelve-ounce tent and that is a heavier canvas 
fly, for the tent should be protected, and the 
heavier fly will satisfactorily do this. And I 
will tell you how the tent can be best protected. 
In the ordinary tent the fly rests right on the 
ridge of the tent, and directly on the canvas. 
The fly and the tent ridge get wet and there 
is always dampness along that vulnerable point. 
To remedy this run a second ridge pole some 
By Robert Page Lincoln 
six inches over the real tent ridge pole and put 
the fly on this. This is beneficial in two re¬ 
spects, namely: the tent is safeguarded and pro¬ 
tected along the ridge from wear, and fraying, 
and the bringing of the fly up higher throws 
off the penetrating heat of the sun, making for 
more coolness in the tent itself. 
Ordinarily, in roping out the tent by means of 
the guy-ropes, one would do well to drive down 
four stakes a distance of three feet from the 
tent corner on each end, and on these fasten 
a pole, one on each side on which to tighten 
the guy-ropes. This will properly lift the 
canvas off of the ground along the bottom and 
will serve to assure of its long and healthy life. 
The tent should be guyed up till the edges 
do not lie on the ground. The small ropes at 
the bottom along the tent edges can then eas¬ 
ily be fastened to suit one’s taste. In rainy 
weather one should loosen up the guy-ropes, 
for a tent will shrink; if not loosened the tent 
will tear at the rings. These little things should 
be amply investigated, for they sometimes mean 
a great deal in the long run. 
As a rule, the average camp, away from civ¬ 
ilization, must do without a comfortable board 
floor. If you do not have the board floor I 
certainly suggest that you have a sod cloth, or 
a floor canvas. This is really, at times, a bless¬ 
ing, as I can amply relate. The ground is first 
leveled of all protruding stubs, rocks, etc., and 
then the cloth is laid down and fastened all 
around at the edges. A very good job can 
be done, by taking a little care with your work. 
It is generally accepted by all campers that 
there should be ditches dug along the sides 
and back of the tent to admit the rainwater 
flowing down, or dripping from the edges. This 
is one of the first things you should look out 
for; it will save your floor, keeping it more dry. 
It should always be remembered to locate the 
camp on more or less high ground so as to 
escape water flowing in. Never place a camp in 
a low spot, among bushes and trees. Rather lo¬ 
cate where there is an open space with good 
drainage and you will find that it is better 
all around. And never place a camp near 
large trees; this is to protect you from the 
lightning, something that must be wisely taken 
into consideration. 
The good points about takedown cots on 
which to sleep is that they can be folded up and 
rolled up during the day .and set up at night, 
which takes little or no time. They are far 
from inconvenient, and are very good. Ordi¬ 
narily two cots for a couple is a better all- 
around system, and make very handy, additions 
to the camping paraphernalia. The camp cots 
accommodating two persons are not recommend- 
able for the reason that they will not comfort¬ 
ably hold two,—that’s the unconfined joke of it. 
It is an easy way of inviting misery. There¬ 
fore I would suggest camp cots, one to each 
person; and the cost is quite inferior when all 
things are taken into consideration. As far as 
lying on the ground is concerned I certainly 
deem it as far from commendable. This may 
be the true, and tried, and hardened woodsman 
manner of doing it, but I am not especially con¬ 
sidering that viewpoint in this article. 
In line with the tent I would like here to 
call attention to what is known as an extension 
canvas that can be sewed onto the tent fly to 
make a sort of porch in front of the tent. 
This extension has any number of good 
points to its credit. Let me number them. 
First : Mosquito netting may be sewn onto 
the front and sides to this extension, making 
it a comfortable place to sleep warm nights and 
as a place to eat. Second: If means of trans¬ 
portation are anywhere near conveniently rea¬ 
sonable, and one can include a light portable 
Baxter stove, this stove can be used under this 
shelter with every degree of efficiency and suc¬ 
cess. It will then be of a service to cook 
under in rainy weather. If this is not .a de¬ 
sirable addition to a permanent camp I would 
like to be shown one conclusively better. In 
adding this canvas to the other tentfly, sim¬ 
ply make the top tent fly ridge pole long enough 
to include the extension fly, and all will be well 
and right enough. 
I wish here to speak of those tents made in 
a light material and treated to a waterproof¬ 
ing preparation which makes them happily im¬ 
pervious to the entrance of water. These tents 
are very good, the prime satisfaction in them 
being that they are considerably lighter than 
canvas tents, therefore they are more readily 
movable. Some of these tents are made in 
very light material, resembling that of silk, 
in point of question the balloon silk that is so 
commonly used in some of the well-known 
shelter tents. These tents, by nature of their 
elaborate construction, cost more than ordinary 
tents. 
Just what are going to be your means for 
cooking must be decided upon, your method of 
transportation—and your purse. If you are go¬ 
ing to cook outside, in the good old-fashioned 
camping way, I certainly would suggest that you 
include in your outfit one of those triangular 
folding grates. Planked down over a fire this 
mighty handy thing will hold the coffee pot, fry¬ 
ing pan, and the kettle. One of these is pro¬ 
curable for the sum of two dollars. I have 
known times in the woods when I have lived 
under all the “hideous” rules and regulations of 
the “go-light” crank, when I have welcomed 
such a handy thing as the triangular grate. No 
matter what sort of a grate you get, get one with 
iron rod legs that you can insert over the fire, 
—it gives successful results all around. 
Now , for cooking and roasting, et cetera, you 
have open to your purchase either a so-called 
Dutch oven, or a baker. Both of these are well 
