pear wasteful of time, labor and weight 
of equipment. The summer, however, 
proved it to be highly efficient. It 
eliminated one of the commonest causes 
of friction—the menu. To get seven 
men to agree in a camp where all are 
cooks, each with equal authority and 
different appetites, is sometimes im- 
possible. And where men are together 
in the bush for two months little points 
of friction sometimes become fighting 
issues. 
ACH baking outfit consisted of a 
frying pan, 12 inches across and 
2 inches deep, of 1/16 inch iron. This 
thickness of iron is necessary for an 
even spread of the heat from the bed 
of hot coals. For the top we had 
bought a milk pan, one of the large 
flat type used in letting the cream rise. 
_We cut the pan down until it was 
about two and a half inches deep. To 
keep the edges from cutting we had 
made a rolled edge with the two axes, 
the big axe as an anvil and the small 
axe as the hammer. Slipped over the 
top of the pan with one-half an inch 
hanging outside the rim, it raised the 
top of the ‘‘oven” two inches above the 
rim of the pan and four inches above 
the bottom. 
We made a special baking fire at 
the edge of camp. It was really a small 
bonfire for the single purpose of form- 
ing a bed of coals. To try to use the 
cooking fire for baking is disastrous 
to the progress of the rest of the meal. 
Pike steak for supper 
Page 201 


When the batter is ready, the bonfire 
is pushed away a few feet and started 
on a new bed of coals adjacent to the 
one in immediate use. 
HE batter was mixed—one-half cup 
of corn meal to a cup of flour. The 
quantity of baking powder was deter- 
mined by trial—first using the stand- 
ard one tablespoon to a cup of mixture. 
The pan greased and heated—the mix- 
ture poured in and the oven placed on 
the flat bed of coals which have been 
open to the air for a minute or two. 
Flaming coals will burn the bottom 
crust before the rest of the loaf is 
cooked through. A.handful of bright 
coals placed on the cover helps to 
raise the loaf and then browns the 
top. 
The cover fitted over the rim of the 
frying pan and where the handle 
came in at the side the cover had to 
be cut to fit down snugly. The prongs 
thus formed were bent down, making 
a crude hinge so that the front of 
the cover could be lifted for examina- 
tion without spilling the top coals. 
The results were surprising—be- 
ginning with a moderately hot bed of 
coals produced a light yellow under- 
crust and the over-coals painted an 
autumn brown topcrust. It was a 
beauty, light texture and thoroughly 
done. Later such productions were 
expected and any reduction of quality 
was met with disapproval. But the 
first specimen removed our fears 
that we might have to live on flap- 
jacks. 
IFTEEN minutes on the coals is 
the average time for a loaf two 
to three inches high. As soon as the 
bread is finished it is removed and 
Ready to make camp for the night 
the cake batter—chocolate, raisin, or 
spice is ready and sizzles into its “in- 
cubator.” A new baking fire is un- 
covered by moving the “baking fire” 
back to its first bed. 
The cake was badly burned on the 
side towards the fire, showing us the 
necessity of an _ occasional circular 
shifting of the pan. The question of 
who should get the burnt piece was 
quickly settled by one man stacking 
the three pieces (speaking of the three- 
man camp) and the other two men 
making a blind choice of 1, 2 or 3. 
This method was used by both camps 
throughout the summer and _ settled 
many potential disputes quickly and 
fairly. 
HE sun was still an hour high when 
we finished supper and Schmidty 
had “licked the pots.” I felt much as 
the well known blacksmith is supposed 
to feel after a hard day’s work and 
I leaned back against a huge fallen 
log, lighted my pipe and drank in the 
peace of the scene—the mirror-like 
surface of the lake broken here and 
there by the swirl as a fish broke 
water in search of an evening meal— 
some jumping clear of the water. and 
others coming to the surface and wal- 
lowing lazily. 
Then Cleve showed his hunting in- 
stinct or was it the promptings of his 
appetite? 
“Want some partridges?” he whis- 
pered to Schmidty. 
“Sure—and don’t forget the gravy,” 
laughed Schmidty. 
“Come on—there’s oodles of them 
back on the trail where we came 
through the blue berries—” 
“Go get ’em, boy—I wouldn’t move 
(Continued on page 242) 

