Dec. 19, 1908.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
997 
a sharp and heavily-timbered slope of fully one 
and one-half miles breadth. At the front were 
several huge first-growth oak and chestnut 
trees. It was of fiat-iron shape, the point of 
which terminated in a rocky cliff. I say “in” 
the cliff, for the rocks overhung it in such a 
way as to form a cave, fifteen feet in depth, 
with a V-shaped roof, whose apex was some 
twelve feet above the floor. The rocks which 
formed this roof were as smooth as though cut 
by chisel and mallet and formed a perfect joint 
at the point of contact, to within perhaps fifteen 
inches of the rear perpendiclular, where there 
appeared a crevice about three inches in width. 
I lighted a handful of dry moss directly under 
this opening and was greatly pleased to see that 
the smoke passed immediately into it and out 
of the cave; a second test made by tossing up 
some bits of paper, which were at once drawn 
into the crevice, proved to us that we not only 
had a perfect ventilator, but a first-class chim¬ 
ney, should the need of an indoor fire exist. 
On Buster declaring that he felt like doing 
something to utilize his surplus energies, I 
suggested that he take one ot the axes and fell 
a tall, straight white-ash sapling, to be worked 
up into building timber. While he was divest¬ 
ing himself of coat and waistcoat, I fished out 
and assembled one of the guns, and, in response 
to his inquiry, assured him that I was not going 
hunting for fun, but simply to investigate a sug¬ 
gestive chattering that proceeded from the 
adjacent thicket, in the interests of dinner. By 
the time his sapling had measured its length 
on the sward and Buster was searching for the 
blisters with which he declared his hands to be 
filled, I was engaged in skinning a plump gray 
squirrel whose career I had just terminated. 
With water from a nearby spring, a trio of po¬ 
tatoes cut in chunks, a red onion sliced thin 
and the dissected carcass of the squirrel, aug¬ 
mented and reinforced by a package of biscuit, 
Buster and I enjoyed our initial vacation lunch, 
the cooking of which was effected by means of 
a galvanized iron tripod, suspended from a con¬ 
venient twig over a crackling fire of dry under¬ 
brush. With the disappearance of the final 
mouthful, Buster heaved a sigh of supreme 
content and declared that he never so relished 
a lunch in all his life before. 
We put in a very busy afternoon, and when 
the setting sun was filling all the west with an 
indescribable glory, we had our “house” ready 
for occupancy. The sapling was divided into 
six lengths, which were disposed in regular 
order at the front of the cave, one end of each 
on the ground and the other resting against the 
rocky face overhead, slanting at an angle suf¬ 
ficient to maintain their position. Over the 
poles we spread the great square of canvas, 
fastening it at the top with three stout ropes, 
anchored securely within the cave, while the 
lower flap was made fast to pegs. A scraggy 
balsam fir was then denuded of its branches 
which were spread over the floor of the cave. 
A stout pole was elevated by means of two 
crotched sticks along one of the walls; into 
this we drove, a row of wire nails, those at the 
back serving to hang our culinary utensils 
upon, and those at the other end performing a 
like service for our clothing. The big trunk, 
after such things as we required for immediate 
use were removed, was placed in the front for a 
table, while an extemporized settee completed 
the more important furnishings. After supper, 
which was made up of tinned chicken and 
biscuit, we spent a couple of hours in the soft 
light of an almost full moon smoking and plan¬ 
ning for the morrow. When nine o’clock 
arrived we inflated the blow-bed, which we 
spread in the center of the cave, covered it 
with a doubled cavalry blanket, spread a second 
blanket on top, removed our outer garments 
and turned in for a night of perfectly sound 
and dreamless sleep. 
Uncle Lisha's Outing* 
A sequel to “Dar.vis Folks.” By Rowland E. Robe¬ 
son. Cloth. Price, $1.25. 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO. 
A CLASSIC FOR SPORTSMEN. 
American Big Game in Its Haunts 
Boone and Crockett Club Series. 
Edited by GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL. 
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FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING CO., NEW YORK CITY 
1 
THE NARRATIVE OF A SPORTSMAN 
Inter-Ocean Hunting Tales 
■ EDGAR T. RANDOLPH - 
A series of hunting reminiscences of rare charm for the sportsman and for the 
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Cloth, 170 Pages. Richly Illustrated. Postpaid, $1.00 
FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY 
*0 <2 
WOODCRAFT. 
By Nessmuk. Cloth, 160 pages. Illustrated. Price, $ 1 . 00 . £ 
A book written for the instruction and guidance of those' who go for j# 
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into plain and intelligible English. g 
g FOREST AND STREAM PUBLISHING COMPANY, NEW YORK. 5 
h 
