BLANKETS

One of the first things to learn is that blankets, no matter how

good, are not "warm," they don't generate heat. Wrap a jar of water

in the warmest, thickest, softest woolen blanket you can find and

place it out of doors over night in a zero temperature and see what

you have in the morning. No, there is no warmth coming from the

blankets, but the warmth comes from the human body and the purpose of

the blanket is to retain this warmth, to prevent its escape. It must

therefore be a non-conductor of heat. And remember that there is no

such thing as cold, for what we call cold is merely an absence of

heat, and we call it cold for convenience.

Suppose you are sleeping, or attempting to sleep out of doors on a

night so cold that the trees pop like pistols. You are wrapped in a

pair of woolen blankets and it is only this wrapping that is between

you and the frosty, chilling air. But inside of those blankets your

body is giving out heat waves, the air on the inside becomes warm,

and you are comfortable. Suppose again that the blankets are not the

right kind, they will not retain heat, and as a consequence you

become cold. You sit up, replenish the fire and swear to yourself,

but you don't know why you can't keep warm. You say the cold gets

through your blankets and you firmly believe this. As a matter of

fact it is the heat that gets through, not the cold.

Outside of fur the best heat-retaining material used for blankets is

pure wool. A little cotton may do no noticeable harm, if properly

used in conjunction with the wool, but it certainly does no good, and

it really decreases the warmth of the blanket in direct proportion to

the quantity used, therefore I say the best blankets are made of pure

wool. And there is a difference in wool, too. Scotch wool is

generally admitted to be the finest produced.

It has always been my belief that wool loosely woven, so that it

forms a soft, thick cloth, is a better heat retainer than the same

quantity of wool tightly woven, so that it makes a thinner, tighter

and harder material. Anyway, I think the surface should be as woolly

as it is possible to make it.

Now it is not difficult to get together a quantity of blankets that

will keep a man warm on the coldest night, but the trouble will come

when he wants to transport them. I have slept out on nights when it

would have required a half-dozen or more of the heaviest woolen

blankets made to keep me near-comfortable, but a bed of this kind

would have made a pack that would discourage a bush Indian. No, you

can't carry with you enough woolen blankets to keep you comfortably

warm when traveling the northern trails in midwinter. Now think it

over and it will become obvious that either a man cannot be

comfortable in the woods during zero weather unless he has a way of

transporting his camp duffle other than by back-packing, or he must

find a lighter, warmer blanket than can be made of wool. The latter

is the solution.

Woolen blankets are good, in fact the best thing made, for camping in

spring, summer and fall. As long as the spirits do not go lower than

10 or 20 degrees above zero and a fire may be kept burning all night

a pair of Hudson Bay blankets are hard to beat. But when the

temperature falls lower the shivering spells preceding each

"fire-fixing" become too frequent and the cat-naps too short.

The blankets we buy for use on the bed are double, but for camp use

single blankets are preferable. They should be of generous size, for

a white man cannot sleep comfortably if he must draw his knees up

against his chin. What is more, the blankets should cover his head as

well as his feet, so they should be a foot and a half longer than the

user's height. They should also be wide--six feet will do, but

nothing less. With such blankets a man can lie on one-half and pull

the other half over him, and by suddenly elevating his pedal

extremities he can drop the lower edge of the blankets under them,

while the upper part can be drawn tightly around his head and

shoulders. Thus he can sleep in real comfort while the fire burns.

Never use a cotton blanket in the woods. Blankets made of cotton are

cold to the touch, and do not retain the heat of the body as well as

those made of wool. In addition to this they have the bad fault of

not being as nearly impervious to sparks as woolen blankets. Now a

man of the trail does not sleep with his feet towards the fire like

the pioneer scout of border fiction, but he lies by the side of the

fire, where he will get the benefit of its heat, and sometimes he

rolls closer than he should for safety.

This I learned from actual experience about the first time I ever

tried camping out. I believed firmly that I couldn't afford to buy

woolen blankets, so I used a pair made of cotton. I was sleeping by

the side of a fire and as it was quite cold I snuggled close. I awoke

to find a decidedly warm feeling about my knee, and on hasty

examination found a large section of one trouser leg burned away and

a hole in the blanket over a foot in diameter. I then decided that I

could afford woolen blankets and have stood by that decision ever

since.

One of the best blankets for camping purposes that I ever owned was a

square horse blanket, from which I removed the trimmings. Its thick

all-wool body and generous size made it ideal for camp use. The

Hudson's Bay blankets are excellent, being heavy and of large size.

Then there are many camp blankets of less note, most of which are

good. Really good, heavy, all-wool blankets of a size 72x84 inches

will cost from $5.00 to $10.00 each for single blankets, and twice

that much for the double kind, if you can get them. These single

blankets should weigh from four and a half to five pounds each. Color

is immaterial--if you fancy the bright scarlet kind buy it, for it

will give as good service as a gray one. But a white blanket is

almost sure to contain all good wool, for it is harder to conceal

shoddy stuff that is not dyed. White is not a good color for camping

purposes, but it is not a difficult task to dye a white blanket.

A woolen blanket is neither heavy, bulky, nor stiff. It is easily

folded to fit the pack, and when properly arranged it forms a pad

which protects the back of the packer from the corners of the cooking

utensils and the ever-gouging steel traps and other hardware. If the

packer has no pack cloth he can use the blanket for this purpose,

although it is none too good for the blanket. If it gets wet it is

easily dried without danger of burning, and if it does not get

thoroughly dry it is warmer still than a cotton blanket.

But when zero weather is to be contended with woolen blankets must

take a back seat for the Indian's kind, woven from strips of rabbit

fur. Nothing that I have ever found will equal or even approach in

warmth a rabbit skin blanket. One such blanket, weighing eight or ten

pounds, is all that a man requires for sleeping out of doors in a

temperature of 40 below zero. Yes, I know that it sounds far-fetched;

but a trial will convince the most skeptical. Many a morning I have

found my nose almost frozen when I awoke, but otherwise I was

perfectly comfortable; the reason being that my nose was the only

part of my anatomy not enveloped in the rabbit skin blanket. I

couldn't believe that it was so cold until I emerged from the folds

of the covering to kindle a fire. With one of these fur blankets I

have slept comfortably off and on during an entire winter north of

Lake Superior, in a cabin which had the cracks chinked on two sides

only, the other two sides having openings between the logs through

which I could put my hand, and I never had a fire at night.

These blankets are made by all northern Indian tribes. They are woven

from the skins of the snowshoe rabbit, or varying hare, cut into

strips for the purpose. The animals producing these skins are found

in almost incredible numbers in most of the wilder parts of Canada,

as well as in parts of the northern States. The blankets can be made

only in winter, when the fur is white and in good condition. The

rabbits are taken in snares, case skinned, and the skins are cut into

strips while green. This work is done by the squaws. The method is to

trim the open end of the skin, then starting at this end with a sharp

knife the entire skin is cut into a single strip about an inch wide

by holding it on the knee and cutting around and around. Each skin

will make a strip 10 or 12 feet long. As soon as it is cut the skin

rolls up like a cord, fur on all sides. These strips of green fur are

wound into a ball and placed out of doors, where they will freeze and

remain frozen, each day's accumulation being added to the ball until

a sufficient number have been secured to make a blanket. I cannot say

how many skins are required, but believe about 50 or 60, perhaps

more. Of course the number needed would depend partly on the size of

blanket desired.

[Illustration: HOW THE RABBIT SKIN BLANKET IS MADE.]

Now when Mrs. Indian has secured enough skins to form the desired

blanket she makes a square frame of poles, about the size the

finished blanket is to be, and fastens around the inside a piece of

heavy twine. Then sewing the end of a fur strip to the cord at one of

the upper corners she weaves this strip across the end of the frame

by looping it around the cord in a succession of simple loops, using

her finger as a gauge to make the mesh a uniform size. When a gauge

reaches the end of the strip she sews on another and weaves it as

before. When she has made such a row of little loops all across the

top of the frame she passes the fur strip around the side cord a few

times and then starts another row backward, looping the strip into

the row of loops already formed. Thus she weaves the strips of fur

back and forth across the frame until the robe is finished. These

simple loops will not slip after the fur has become dry. The entire

blanket must be perfectly dry before it is removed from the frame,

and it must never be allowed to become wet. The skins are not tanned,

simply dried.

These blankets are usually wider at one end than at the other, so

that there will be sufficient width to wrap around the shoulders of

the user and yet no more material, bulk and weight than necessary. I

find it most satisfactory to double the blanket lengthwise and loop a

cord through the edges across the foot and a third of the way up the

side, thus fastening the edges firmly together and making it somewhat

like a sleeping bag. So made I do not get my feet uncovered at night,

and yet it is easy to get into and out of it. These blankets, or

robes as they are sometimes called, are so loosely woven that a man

can put his fingers through anywhere, yet for their weight they are

the warmest bedding I know of.

I believe an ordinary rabbit blanket will weigh about eight pounds.

It appears bulky, for with fur on both sides it is quite thick, but

it can be tied up into a fairly small package. I used to roll mine

into a package measuring about 10 inches in diameter by 20 inches in

length, and this could be placed in the bottom of a common packsack.

There it formed a soft pad for the back and the heavy articles were

thrown higher up in the pack, where the weight should be, if weight

is ever really needed in a pack.

I fancy I hear somebody asking how this species of bedding is to be

kept dry in rainy weather. If it is warm enough for rain a rabbit

robe is not needed--that is the time to use the woolen blanket. It

never rains during cold weather. In the north, where these fur

blankets are needed and used, the weather turns cold in November,

remaining so until March or April, and during this time it is

considered remarkable if it ever becomes warm enough to rain. I have

never had one of these blankets wet, except that nearly every morning

the fur on the outside will be more or less wet, presumably from the

moisture which it throws out to the surface. This is only on the

outside fur and will soon dry off if the blanket is hung where the

warmth from the fire can reach it.

The only fault I find with these fur blankets is that they are

continually shedding the hair, and rabbit hair is apt to appear in

the biscuits, and is certain to be sprinkled plentifully over the

clothing. This is not so objectionable to outdoor men, but it

prohibits the use of the article in the house.

Any trapper living in the northern forest should be able to make a

rabbit skin blanket for his own use. A few days setting and tending

snares will provide the necessary number of rabbits, and the weaving

of the blanket may be done on a cold day or in the evenings. I have

never made one, for I have been able to buy them from the Indians at

prices ranging from $6.00 to $10.00 each, and that is cheaper than I

could make one myself.

The camp bed that is generally unloaded on the unsuspecting tender

foot is some form of sleeping bag. There may be good sleeping bags

and it is possible that I am unduly prejudiced against this form of

camp bed, for I have given only two styles a real tryout, but I can

say emphatically that the kinds I used were no good. My first

sleeping bag was made of heavy canvas, inside of which was a separate

bag made of a blanket. It was very unsatisfactory, for in addition to

being exceedingly stiff and inconvenient for handling, getting into

and out of it, it was also a very poor protection against the cold.

The next investment along this line was one of the sheepskin-lined

bags advertised so much about 10 or 15 years ago. It was made of

heavy duck with a lining of sheepskin with the wool on. Inside of

this was a blanket bag and this was also fitted with a removable

drill sack, which could be washed. If weight and thickness were sure

indications of warmth this should have been all right for the polar

regions, for the complete outfit must have weighed 25 pounds. I found

it very little warmer than the bag with the blanket lining, and I was

not long in getting rid of it.

This is the extent of my experience with sleeping bags, but it is

sufficient to turn me against the entire family. As I said before

there may be good ones, but I am from Missouri. The plain, heavy,

all-wool blanket for me as long as the weather is not bitterly cold,

for when zero temperature comes I want a rabbit fur blanket if I am

to do much camping out. These are good enough for me until I find

something better, and I don't expect to find it. They have been with

me under the most trying conditions and have proved their worth.

What is needed by the trapper, or by anybody who finds occasion to

camp out, is something light with little bulk that will keep him as

warm and comfortable as he can hope to be under the circumstances.

This he finds in the articles recommended.

Other furs than that of the rabbit have been tried out for blankets,

but I am told that they are not as good. Lynx and wolf fur are

perhaps the best kinds, as they are long and dense, while the skin is

relatively light. But they are all heavier than rabbit fur, less warm

and much more costly.

A deer skin makes a nice spread for the top of the camp bed to sleep

on when the weather is cold, for it stops much of the cold air that

comes up through the bed from beneath and helps retain the heat

generated by the body of the occupant. The skin need not be tanned.

A man needs a night cap of some kind when sleeping out of doors. I

have slept quite comfortably when wearing a wool toque, and I have

also used the loose hood, which is worn by most northern bushmen to

keep the snow from getting inside of the clothing. Some men can get

along very well with an ordinary hat or cap.

In the bushman's outfit, as I see it, the blanket is second in

importance only to the ax. How can good, pure wool be used more

advantageously than in the form of a blanket, which will keep the

owner comfortable eight or nine hours out of each 24? The worth of a

blanket to the man of the woods can hardly be over-estimated. And

when its days of usefulness as a blanket are ended it will still

bring him much more comfort by being converted into mittens, hood,

and extra protection for the feet when the Frost King reigns.