If you should happen to be camping in a country destitute of balsam,
hemlock, or pine, you can make a good spring mattress by collecting small
green branches of any sort of tree which is springy and elastic. Build the
mattress as already described. On top of this put a thick layer of hay,
straw, or dry leaves or even green material, provided you have a rubber
blanket or poncho to cover the latter. In Kentucky I have made a mattress
of this description and covered the branches with a thick layer of the
purple blossoms of ironweed; over this I spread a rubber army blanket to
keep out the moisture from the green stuff and on top of this made my bed
with my other blankets. It was as comfortable a couch as I have ever slept
on; in fact, it was literally a bed of flowers.