The triangular end-pieces of canvas are attached to the frame with

copper or tinned tacks, so that they will not rust, and the roof and

both sides are of one piece made by sewing together lengths of canvas or

twilled sheeting. At the front and back it is drawn over the edges of

the end rails, forming the roof, and tacked to hold it in place.

At the front, on either side of the doorway, the canvas may be arranged

to roll up in clear weather. The rolls are held to the upper frame-bar

with cord or straps as shown in Fig. 12.

The front door is thirty inches wide and is made from boards and

battens, and provided with a knob lock by means of which it can be

opened from either side.

The side that lets down to form the piazza is battened on the outside,

as may be seen in Fig. 11 where the house is closed. When the side is

down the battens drop in between the extended floor joist or beams.

Folding-cots can be used in this house, or bunks may be built in against

the side and end—two at the side and one at the end under the window.

When the drop-side is up and fastened for the night, another cot can be

placed at that side, while from corner to corner a hammock may be swung.

When camp is broken up in the fall the canvas is to be removed from the

framework and kept for next season, but the frame may be left standing.

It would be better to remove the door and sashes and slide them under

the floor, for they would offer too much resistance to the wind if left

standing in place, and might break or cause the framework of the house

to rack and become rickety during the winter storms and high winds.

A coat or two of paint on the wood-work will improve its appearance

greatly and preserve the wood, if the house is to be used for a number

of seasons.

The New Tent

One great drawback to the pitched or army tent is that in wet weather,

when one has to stay in-doors, it is not a comfortable abode unless you

sit down or keep close to the ground, for there is little or no head

room.

In the illustration of the new tent with French roof (Fig. 14) you can

readily see the great advantage of this new method of construction, for

it affords a great deal of head room.

Two uprights, three ridge-poles, and four angle-bars will be required

for the frame, and some long, slim poles with crotched ends can be cut

to prop the guy-ropes out from the tent as shown in the illustration.

For a party of three or four boys this tent should measure seven feet

and six inches high, six feet and six inches broad at the top, eight

feet at the bottom, and ten or twelve feet deep. The sides and top are

in one piece, twenty-one feet long and ten or twelve feet wide. The rear

end is made in one piece and sewed fast to the edges of the sides and

top.

At the front two flaps are sewed to the top and sides. They each measure

seven feet and six inches long at the inner edge, four feet across the

bottom, three feet and five inches at the top, and seven feet long at

the outer edge. They are cut as shown in Fig. 15 A, and when the tent is

set up the canvas will appear as shown in Fig. 15 B.

The frame is composed of two uprights two inches square and nine feet

long, eighteen inches of which is set into the ground. There are three

ridge-poles two inches in diameter and ten feet long; and four

brace-bars two inches square, four feet and three inches long, bevelled

at the lower ends to fit against the upright post as shown at Fig. 16 A.

An iron pin (Fig. 16 D) is driven in the top of each upright and at the

outer ends of the brace-bars over which the ridge-poles fit, they having

been provided with holes for the purpose. Angle-irons are screwed fast

to the bevelled ends of the brace-bars, and a collar of iron is made and

screwed to the uprights so that the tongue end of the angle-irons will

fit in them as shown at Fig. 16 B. Stout screw-eyes and wire hold the

braces in position at the top, as shown at Fig. 16 C, and so prevent the

outer ridge-poles from straining the canvas.

[Illustration:

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

THE NEW TENT

]

One of the best anchorages for the guy-ropes of a tent is made with the

lock-stake and deadeye cleat shown at Fig. 17 A. A stake with a notch to

hold the rope is driven into the ground, and another notched stake is

driven in close to the head, so that when in far enough the notch in the

latter will hold the head of the former as shown at Fig. 17 B. The

deadeye cleat is cut from hard-wood seven-eighths of an inch thick, and

is two inches wide, six inches long, and provided with two holes three

inches apart. At one end a jaw is cut, so that a rope may be caught in

it as shown in Fig. 17 A. Steel wire nails are passed through the holes

indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 17 C, and riveted at the point

ends to strengthen the deadeyes.

The manner in which it is used is shown at Fig. 17 A, and if the holes

are made the same size as the diameter of the rope, the harder you pull

on the tent end of the rope, the more securely the deadeye cleat holds,

and the loose end of the rope caught first in the jaw can be given a

turn or two around the cleat to make it fast.

The double-peg anchorage is better than a single one, and with this new

rope-fastener it will be an easy matter to stay a tent to withstand any

wind-storm.

Canvas Cots and Hammocks

Cots are very necessary parts of the camping outfit, and may be made

either of canvas and poles or of boughs and leaves. The canvas cot is,

of course, much more comfortable than the one of boughs, but sometimes

it is not possible to transport them, and then the bough bed must be

resorted to.

A simple canvas cot is easily made from two pine or spruce sticks seven

feet long, two inches in diameter, and free from knots or sappy places.

A piece of light canvas or twilled cotton duck fifty-four inches wide

and seventy-two inches long is sewed together so as to form a

cylindrical case thirty-six inches wide and seventy-two inches long. Lay

it flat and crease it along the edges, then run two or three lines of

stitching along both sides four inches in from the edges. This forms the

sleeve through which the poles are to be passed.

Crotched sticks are to be embedded in the ground to support the ends of

the poles as shown in Fig. 18. These are to extend a foot or eighteen

inches above the ground, and should be three inches in diameter and

quite strong, so as to avoid breakage and a possible fall.

If a folding-cot with portable ends is desired, it can be made to appear

as shown in Fig. 19 by constructing two folding ends, a middle pole, and

four iron brace-hooks.

[Illustration:

Fig. 18

Fig. 19

Fig. 20

Fig. 21

Fig. 22

]

To make the cot twenty-six inches wide, procure the canvas and poles as

directed for the first cot. Bind the ends of the poles with wire or have

a blacksmith band them with iron ferrules, then bore the ends and drive

threaded pins in, having nuts at the ends as shown at Fig. 20 A. From

maple or oak two inches wide and an inch thick cut four legs thirty-two

inches long, and bore holes at one end and midway between ends, as shown

in Fig. 20 B, to receive the bolt ends in the poles. Bevel off the lower

ends of the sticks and place them in opposite directions, so that when

opened, in the form of an X, the ends will lie flat on the ground as

shown in Fig. 19. From pine or spruce cut a stick two inches square, and

provide the ends with bolts and nuts as shown in Fig. 20 C. This is for

the under brace, and extends from end to end where the bolt passes

through both legs, and is attached with a nut and washer.

From iron an inch wide and less than a quarter of an inch in thickness

have a blacksmith cut four hook-braces eighteen inches long with a hole

at one end and a notch at the other. With round-headed screws attach two

of the braces near each end of the pole, as shown in Fig. 20 C, so that

when the cot is set up the notches will hook over screws driven in the

upper edge of each leg near the bottom as shown in Fig. 19. These will

steady the cot, and prevent it from rocking from end to end as it would

do if not braced.

A hammock that can be swung between the uprights of a tent is made of

canvas thirty inches wide and seventy-two inches long. It is lapped over

at the ends and sewed with several lines of stitching, so as to receive

a two-inch bar to which the three ropes are made fast as shown in Fig.

21. The end ropes should be twenty-four inches long and the middle one

eighteen. From the bars at each end they are brought together and bound

to rings which slip over hooks made fast to the tent uprights, or they

can be lashed fast to the uprights. Any number of these hammocks may be

made and easily carried, as they roll up snugly and occupy very little

room in a bedding-kit. They are much easier to handle than a woven or

braided hammock, the strands of which are forever catching in everything

and anything with which they come into contact.

When making a cot of boughs the most satisfactory and comfortable affair

is the basket-woven or lattice mattress of small, pliable saplings

trimmed and interwoven as shown in Fig. 22. The long pieces should be

alternated so that the large end of one stick will be next the small end

of another, and thus distribute the strain evenly over the lattice. This

arrangement applies also to the shorter or cross-pieces, and when

finished the mattress is laid on a pair of poles supported with crotched

sticks, as shown in Fig. 18, but without the canvas.

Over this lattice short twigs with clusters of leaves are spread, to

make a soft mattress, and on these in turn a blanket or two can be

spread and tied down at the corners, so that the leaves may not become

dislodged.

Tables and Benches

Every boy should know how to make a table from some fence boards, a rail

or two, and stakes for the legs. The table shown in Fig. 23 is made from

three boards about eight inches wide and five feet long battened

together at the ends and across the under side of the middle.

A rail is nailed across two tree-trunks thirty-two inches from the

ground, to which one end of the boards are attached. Two stakes three

inches thick are driven in the ground four feet from the trees, and

across the upper ends of them a rail is nailed fast to support the other

ends of the boards.

A larger table is shown in Fig. 24, and like the smaller one it is built

against two trees. The boards, three or four in number, should be from

six to eight feet long. They are nailed fast to four or five inch rails

attached to the tree-trunks and to stout posts embedded in the ground.

The middle of the table is supported by a batten, or rail, which is

nailed fast to the top of a post embedded under the centre of the table.

Chairs made for camp life from rustic wood and pieces of board need not

be so well constructed that any great amount of time should be expended

on them, but they should be strong and serviceable.

A simple chair that any boy can make from branches or small tree-trunks,

two or three inches in diameter, is shown in Fig. 25. The seat is

eighteen inches high, sixteen inches square, and the back posts are

thirty-six inches high. Two pieces of wood, eighteen inches long, are

cut as shown at Fig. 26 A, and two more, thirty-six inches long, are cut

as shown at B. The laps are cut out with saw and chisel so as to receive

the seat-rails, the braces, and the back board, which are made fast with

steel-wire nails as shown at C. The seat is made of ordinary boards

nailed to the top edges of the rails all around, and if the edge is

smoothed off there will be less liability to tear one’s garments.

[Illustration:

Fig. 23

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

Fig. 26

Fig. 27

]

In the illustration of a canopy (Fig. 10, page 301), a table and benches

are shown. The table is thirty inches wide and five feet long, and it

can be built either detached or fast to the ground. If the corner-posts

are embedded a foot or eighteen inches in the ground it will make the

table firmer and less liable to rack than if built loose or detached.

Two benches running the length of the tables are made in a similar

manner to the chairs, but if the corner-posts or legs are to be embedded

in the ground the side braces will not be necessary. The seat should be

eighteen inches high, sixteen inches wide, and from five to eight feet

long, as occasion requires, and with a middle brace it will appear as

shown in Fig. 27.

Camping Equipment

In fitting out for a camping expedition it is always best to make a

memorandum of the things you will need some time before you start, for

so surely as you do not do this there will be some important things

forgotten. The stuff that will fill an ordinary clothes-basket should be

enough for a company of four boys, but for a greater number the supply

must be increased accordingly.

In this list there must be included a kettle, two pans, tin or enamelled

dishes, a frying-pan or two, a broiler, a wooden pail for water, and

smaller tin pails; a lantern, candles, matches in tin boxes, hatchet or

axe, blankets, knives and forks, spoons, and a few other culinary

accessories. The dry groceries will have to be taken from home, unless

they can be purchased near the camp or from some farm-house. From the

latter it is generally possible to obtain butter, milk, eggs, a chicken

or two, and other food that you may stand in need of if hunting or

fishing fail you.

In Fig. 28, showing a corner of the tent, a portable table is supporting

some of the things it would be well to have in camp, and while a boy may

think that he knows what is wanted, it would be well for him to take his

mother’s or older sister’s advice on the subject.

Lockers and Mess-kits

Lock-boxes with handles, in which to store dry groceries and foods, and

mess-kits for the kitchen and dining ware, are among the most important

parts of the camping outfit. They may be made from ordinary

well-constructed boxes, and provided with hinged lids, a hasp and

padlock, and handles at either end by means of which they may be carried

easily.

The lock-box shown in Fig. 29 A is eighteen inches wide, twenty-four

inches long, and twelve inches deep, and with two thin boards four

compartments are made as shown in Fig. 29 A. A lid is made of three

boards and two battens, and securely attached to the box with strap

hinges.

A hasp and padlock as well as two handles can be purchased at a hardware

store and screwed fast to the chest.

A mess-kit may be made of a box with both lid and bottom nailed on

securely. It is then sawed around three inches from one side, dividing

it so that quite a little of the wood is fast to both sides. With hinges

these are fastened together like a Gladstone bag, and on the inside,

pockets and straps can be arranged to accommodate cooking-utensils and

food-stuffs. Fig. 29 B shows this kit, and with a trunk-strap and a rope

it can be easily carried from place to place.

For knives, forks, spoons, kettle-lids, and other small paraphernalia of

the camping outfit a nest of pockets may be made from denim or

unbleached muslin, like the one shown hanging on the wall in Fig. 28.

The pockets are commodious and will accommodate many little things, and

the nest can be folded over and tied at the corners with stout cord. A

nest of this description should be three feet long, thirty inches high,

and with three lines of pockets as shown in the illustration. The sewing

should be done by hand with heavy linen or carpet thread, so that the

stitching will not break.

[Illustration:

Fig. 28

Fig. 29

Fig. 30

Fig. 31

]

A carry-all (Fig. 30) is made of denim or light sail-cloth, and will be

found the most convenient sort of a catch-all, for it may be folded over

and rolled up, then bound with a shawl-strap to carry it easily.

A piece of denim a yard wide and forty-two inches long is folded at the

dotted lines A A as shown in the plan (Fig. 31). The edges will then

reach the lines B B. Sew the flaps at the two ends and divide the long

pockets into smaller ones as shown in Fig. 30. Knives, forks, spoons,

and a variety of small things can be kept in this nest of pockets, and

when in camp it may be hung from one end by rings, so that the pockets

occupy a horizontal position and the contents can be easily gotten at.

A Stone Stove and Camp-fires

The old-time tripod and kettle over an open fire of brush and logs is an

unhandy means of cooking, for a sudden gust of wind will blow the smoke

and sparks in all directions and dissipate the heat as well.

The up-to-date campers will make a stone stove similar to the one shown

in Fig. 32. This holds the fire within the stone enclosure, and retains

the greater part of the heat, which in the open fire is blowing to the

four winds and giving very little benefit to the pot.

Flat stones should be used in the construction of this stove, and if it

is possible to get some clay from the bed of a brook it can be used in

place of cement for sealing the joints. This of course will make the

fire burn better, as the only draught will then enter at the bottom, or

doorway, through which the sticks are fed to the fire.

These doorways or draught-holes should be made on two or three sides of

the stove, and when one is in use the others may be closed or left open,

according to the strength of the wind and the direction from which it is

blowing.

The pot should be hung on the ridge-pole so that it touches the top of

the stove and holds in the heat. Fish may be fried in a pan or broiled

much better than over an open fire, and water can be boiled quicker and

coffee made easier.

This stove can be made either round or square, and if bricks are

available for use they will be better than stones as the joints are

closer and they are not so ungainly to handle. Over the stove a

ridge-pole or bar should be supported on a yoked stick at one end and a

twin-stick tripod at the other. The yoked or crotched stick is embedded

in the ground, or it can be the sawed-off stump of a small tree. The

lower ends of the twin sticks should be let into the ground for a foot

or eighteen inches, so that the ridge-bar can be removed without its

supports falling over.

Always build a fire or a stove in the shade, for it will not burn so

well if the sun plays on it. In rainy weather a canopy over this stone

stove will keep it dry and cause it to burn better than if exposed to

the elements.

Here are some other ideas for camp-fires proper. Let us suppose that the

party is provided with the necessary utensils for camp-cooking—a

camp-kettle, coffee-pot, frying-pan, saucepan, and some sort of

baking-pan. These should prove sufficient, unless the party intends

having quite elaborate menus. If it is intended to remain at the camp

only while cooking one or two meals, make your fire in this manner: Cut

two green poles about five or six inches thick and about two feet long.

In these cut notches about a foot apart. Level the ground where you

intend to build your fire, and lay these poles down with the notches up

and about three feet apart. Now cut two or three poles about four feet

long and lay them in these notches. Gather a good supply of dry wood,

grass, bark, or chips, and make your fire on the ground between the

poles. The air will circulate under and through the fire, and the poles

will prove just right to set your cooking-utensils on. Do not pile on

wood by the armful. Add a little at a time, and you will find you can

cook rapidly and well, and not burn your face and hands while attending

to your cooking.

[Illustration:

Fig. 32

Fig. 33

Fig. 34

Fig. 35

]

If it is intended to remain several meals at the camp it will pay to put

up a crane. This is built in this manner: Cut two green posts two or

more inches thick and three feet long, having forks at one end. Drive

these into the ground at each end of your fire. Cut another green pole

the same diameter and long enough to reach between the forks. Flatten

the ends so that they will set snug in the forks.

The poles should be driven into the ground so that when the bail of the

kettle is slipped on the crane the bottom of the kettle will just clear

the fire.

If the camp is to be of a permanent nature, or it is expected to remain

there for some days or weeks, it will be well to arrange for a better

kitchen that will not be affected by the winds, the _bête noire_ of

camp-cooking. Dig a trench (cutting the sides square) as long as the

distance between your uprights, and about eighteen inches wide and a

foot deep. Make your fire in this hole, on the ground, and you will find

that the wind will not worry you one-half as much as before (Fig. 33).

If you wish to take the trouble, and the material is handy, the plan in

Fig. 35 is a most excellent one to follow. Wall up the sides of the

trench with brick, add a little chimney at one end, and get several iron

“S” hooks from which to suspend your kettles. This will save the lifting

of the crane every time you wish to handle the kettles suspended over

the fire. By this method you will economize on fuel and save heat.

The plan used in the army for camp-cooking and described below is the

best for all-around work. To make this kitchen takes more time and a

little more labor, but in the end the laborers will be well paid for

their work. It is particularly adapted for clayey soil. Dig a hole about

three feet square and two feet in depth, generally in the slope of a

hill. On one side run a shaft laterally, about one foot square and six

feet in length, and one foot from the surface of the ground. At the

extreme end sink a shaft vertically and form a chimney, and at

equidistances pierce holes of sufficient diameter to prevent the kettles

from slipping through. By this mode the kettles can be placed over the

fire to boil, or on the side to simmer, with less difficulty than by any

other means. Fig. 36 A and B.

I want to tell the young camper how to bake his own bread in camp, so if

he camps far from a store or house where he can buy his bread he will

not have to eat crackers, or those indigestion-producers, flapjacks,

that the youthful camper knows how to make, or thinks he does. I have

eaten many a one in my young days before putting on the “army blue,” but

their weight in gold would not induce me to eat some that I swallowed as

a boy and thought “fine.” We will assume that before going into camp

your dear mother has taught you how to mix a batch of dough or a pan of

biscuit. We will now make an oven in which to bake the bread or biscuit.

A bank from four to six feet is the best for the purpose. Dig down the

bank to a vertical face, and at the base excavate a hole, say three to

four feet horizontally, care being taken to keep the entrance as small

as possible. Hollow out the sides of the excavation and arch the roof,

till the floor of the oven is about two feet wide and the arch about

sixteen inches at the centre. Fig. 37 A and B.

[Illustration:

Fig. 36

Fig. 37

]

Now carefully “tap” the back end for the chimney, and insert a piece of

stove-pipe if handy. A hole from four to six inches will give a good

draught. Wet the inside of the oven, and smooth over the walls so that

the mud presents a hard finish, and leave to dry for a day. When you are

ready to bake, build a good fire in the oven, and when it is well heated

remove the fire, scrape out all ashes, and place the pans of dough

inside. Close up the entrance with a board, and cover with mud so as to

keep in all the heat. With proper care this oven will last several

weeks.

A bank may not be handy in which to build an oven of the kind described

above; if such proves the case, it is not a difficult matter to

construct a good oven on the level ground by following the method below.

If a flour-barrel is handy, use it; if not, make use of willow twigs

stuck in the ground and bent over so as to form a mould. Over the barrel

or willow mould plaster a stiff mortar made of mud, commencing at the

base. Lay it on about six inches thick. Allow it to dry for a day or

two, and when nearly dry cut out a door at one end and the flue at the

other. A small mud chimney will increase the draught if a piece of

stove-pipe is not at hand. If a barrel has been used as the mould it may

be burned out without danger to the oven. Carefully remove all dirt, and

keep up a fire for half a day before attempting to bake. Fig. 34. (See

page 321.)

Camp-cooking

Even the finest of camps is a dreary place unless the commissary

department is well organized. “Uncle Harry,” who is an old and

experienced camper-out, gives some useful suggestions to his nephews,

and other boys will doubtless appreciate his lectures on things

culinary.

“Let us suppose,” begins Uncle Harry, “that you have gotten the camp

into ship-shape order, and after your hard day’s work are ravenously

hungry and very impatient for supper, or rather dinner, for the last

meal of the day in camp is always the most important one. We will

appoint Aleck as cook, and while he is busy over the fire neither of the

others shall interfere with him or his duties, for no axiom is more true

than that ‘too many cooks spoil the broth.’

“Ben and Bob must see that the cook is well supplied with water and has

plenty of small-split firewood close at hand. Then Bob will set the

table, while Ben goes a-fishing and catches half a dozen trout or other

small fry from the lake. In the mean time Aleck has pared and washed a

dozen potatoes. These are placed in a kettle nearly full of water, and

hung over the fire half an hour before supper-time. He will keep them

boiling furiously until he can run a sliver of wood easily through the

largest one. Then the water must be drained from them, and, still in the

kettle, they must be set aside, but near enough to the fire to keep hot

until wanted.

“Ben’s fish all weigh less than a pound, and so are too small to do

anything with but fry. After they are cleaned, Aleck rolls them in

corn-meal and lays them carefully in the frying-pan, which is already on

the stove, and in which a small quantity of cotton-seed oil is sizzling

merrily. If you should have no oil, pork fat will do nearly as well,

only have it boiling hot before placing the fish in it.

“Aleck has heard of half a dozen methods of making coffee, and hesitates

before deciding which to try. He has been told to put his coffee in cold

water and let it come to a boil, and that the coffee must not see the

water until it is boiling; he has heard that coffee must never be

boiled, and that the only way to extract its strength is to boil it; and

so in thinking it all over he is much perplexed. Finally he remembers a

method which his old uncle who is in the army has mentioned to him, and

decides to try it.”

“Oh, Uncle Harry, you are not a bit old,” interrupts Aleck.

“In preparing coffee by his old uncle’s method,” continues Captain

Archer, only noticing the interruption with a smile, “Aleck fills the

coffee-pot with water, and sets it on the broiler wires, which he has

laid across from one log to the other of the stove. While it is coming

to a boil he measures out his coffee at the rate of a heaping

table-spoonful for each cup to be made, puts it into his tin cup, pours

in all the hot water it will hold, and sets it in a warm place on the

stove. As soon as the water in the coffee-pot boils, he pours off some,

so as to leave the pot about three-quarters full, and empties in his

cupful of soaked coffee. Setting the pot back, he allows its contents to

again come to a boil, and then lifts it from the fire. He pours out a

tin cupful of the coffee, and pours it slowly back into the pot,

throwing away the residue of grounds that remain in the cup. For about a

minute, or while the rest of the dinner is being served, the coffee-pot

stands in a warm place near the fire, and then its contents are ready

for drinking.

“If either of you had wanted tea, Aleck would have put in the pot a

teaspoonful of tea leaves for each cup to be made, poured boiling water

over it, let it stand in a warm place two or three minutes, and it would

have been ready for you.

“Here you have a plain, easily cooked dinner of fried fish, boiled

potatoes, and coffee, to which you can add from your supplies bread and

butter, or crackers, pickles, condensed milk, salt, pepper, and sugar. I

think you will find it enough for a first experiment.

“For breakfast next morning you will have coffee, fried potatoes and

breakfast bacon, and griddle-cakes.”

“Oh, Uncle Harry, I can’t make griddle-cakes,” exclaimed Aleck.

“I think you can, if I tell you how, and you try hard. At any rate, you

had better try, for they enter largely into the composition of camp

meals. To make the simplest flour griddle-cakes, put into a pan a quart

of your prepared flour, a teaspoonful of salt, a handful of corn-meal, a

table-spoonful of brown sugar, two eggs, if you have them, and mix with

cold water into a batter. Stir thoroughly until no lumps are left, and

then fry on a hot griddle. In frying use as little grease as possible.

More griddle-cakes are spoiled by the use of too much grease in frying

than in any other way. A bit of pork rind or an oiled rag rubbed over

the griddle is sufficient. Take turns in frying the cakes, so that two

of you can be eating them as fast as they are done. They are only fit to

eat when hot from the griddle.

“The cold boiled potatoes left from dinner the night before may be cut

up and fried with half a dozen slices of breakfast bacon, and when all

is ready you will have a breakfast to which I think three hungry boys

will do ample justice.

“When you become tired of fish, catch frogs. They are considered

delicacies on first-class tables, and add a pleasant variety to a

woodman’s fare. Catch them with a light rod, short line, and small hook

baited with a bit of scarlet flannel, or at night by use of a

jack-light. Stupefied by its glare, they will let you pick them up. Kill

your frog by a tap on the head, cut off his thighs and hind-legs, skin

them, roll them in Indian-meal, and fry brown in hot oil or pork fat.

“You will also probably have an opportunity of adding squirrels to your

bill of fare. When you have got your squirrel, chop off his head, feet,

and tail, cut the skin crosswise of the back, and strip it off in two

parts, fore and aft; also cut the body crosswise into two parts. Throw

them into a kettle, and let the hind-quarters parboil until tender. Then

fry them, until of a rich brown, in oil or pork fat, hissing hot. Use

the fore-quarters for a stew.

“To make a stew use almost any kind of flesh or fowl. The chief thing to

be remembered in making a stew is to stew it enough. An old camp jingle

runs thus:

“‘A stew that’s too little stewed

Is understood to be no good.’

“Let your meat boil for more than an hour, or until it begins to fall

from the bones. Add potatoes, pared and quartered, an onion sliced,

salt, pepper, and a thickening made of flour and melted butter, to be

stirred in gradually.

“In making a meat soup provide plenty of meat, and do not be afraid to

let it boil. It is hard to boil it too much, and three hours is not too

long. When nearly done, scrape a potato into the soup for thickening,

and season with salt and pepper.

“To cook rice, let a cupful soak overnight. In the morning pour off the

water in which it has soaked, place it in a kettle of cold water, and

boil it slowly, without stirring, until the kernels are soft. Remember

to salt it. Rice is good with condensed milk, sugar, butter, or syrup.

It is good to add to your soups and stews, and it is particularly good

when added to the batter from which you make your griddle-cakes.

“To make mush stir corn-meal into boiling water; season with salt. Eat

hot with syrup. Save what is left over, and fry it next morning. The

same rule applies to hominy.

“These are the rudiments of camp-cookery. Not an extended bill of fare,

but I think you will find it appetizing and nourishing.”

And the boys agreed with him.

The Care of a Gun

Aside from the pride and satisfaction which every sportsman should take

in keeping his favorite weapon bright and free from spots, inside and

out, it pays to keep a gun clean. The residue left in the barrel after

firing contains acids, which will soon eat “pits” or spots in the metal,

and when once started, it is almost impossible to prevent them

increasing in size and number. When badly pitted, the recoil is

increased by the roughness in the barrel. A gun can be cleaned by the

following directions: The cleaning-rod should have at least three

tools—a wool swab, a wire scratch-brush, and a wiper to run rags

through. Have plenty of water at hand—warm if you have it, if not cold

will do nicely. Put a swab on the rod, and some water in a tin basin or

wooden pail. By placing one end of the barrel in the water, you can pump

it up and down the barrel with the swab. When it is discolored take

fresh water, squeeze out the swab in it, and repeat the operation, until

the water comes from the barrel as clean as it went in. If the gun has

stood overnight, or longer, since using, it is best to put on the

scratch-brush after the first swabbing, and a few passes with this will

remove any hardened powder or leading. The next step is to fill the

wiper with woollen or cotton rags, and dry the barrel thoroughly. When

one set becomes wet take another, until they come from the barrel

perfectly dry. Then stand the barrel on end on a heated stove, changing

it from end to end, taking care that it does not become overheated. By

the time it is well warmed up, the hot air from the stove will have

dried out every particle of moisture left in the barrel. If no stove is

at hand, the last set of drying rags used must be plied vigorously up

and down the barrel until it becomes quite warm from the friction.

Drying is the most important part of cleaning, and if the least particle

of moisture is left in the barrel it will be a rust spot the next time

the gun is taken from its case. The gun may now be oiled, inside and

out, with sewing-machine oil or gun-grease, which can be had in any gun

store. The woollen rags used for greasing soak up a great deal of oil,

and should be dropped into the gun-cover for future use.

In regard to the safe handling of guns, almost all rules centre in that

of always carrying the gun in such a way that if it should be

accidentally discharged it would do no harm. If this rule is borne in

mind, and strictly obeyed in the beginning, it becomes a habit and is

followed intuitively. The gun may be carried safely on either shoulder,

or in the hollow of either arm, with a sharp upward slant. When

momentarily expecting a bird to rise, and obliged to have the gun

cocked, it should be carried across the breast with a sharp upward slope

to the left. This is the only way the gun should be carried cocked. A

breech-loader is so easily unloaded that there is no excuse for getting

into a wagon or boat, or going around a house, without unloading. Never

hand a loaded gun to any one who asks to look at it. Whenever you pick

up any kind of a gun to examine it, always open it to see if it is

loaded, and the habit will grow so that you will do this almost without

knowing it. It seems needless to say never pull a gun towards you by the

muzzle through a fence or out of a boat or wagon, yet the violation of

this rule is the cause of more accidents than anything else. Never climb

a fence with your gun cocked.

In learning the art of shooting on the wing—and this is the only way in

which a shot-gun should be used—the following suggestions may be of some

help, but no amount of printed directions can teach you to shoot.

Practice is the best teacher. Nine out of ten young sportsmen shoot too

quickly. A game bird rises with a startling whir of the wing (and

sometimes when least expected), which gives the idea that he is making

much greater speed than he really is. Beginners are apt to become

excited, and throw up the gun anywhere in that direction, and blaze away

with no definite aim. For this reason it is best to begin with

blackbirds, rice-birds, and rails.

In almost every shot it is necessary to hold ahead of the bird, to allow

for the time it takes to explode the cartridge and throw the shot to the

bird. Even in this short space of time a cross-flying bird would be

safely out of the shot circle if you aimed right at him. If a bird flies

straight away from you, neither rising nor dropping, you should aim

right at it. If flying straight across, you should hold well ahead of

it. If quartering, still hold ahead, but less.

Many will ask how far to hold ahead, and this is a difficult question to

answer accurately, as we have no means of knowing just how far ahead we

do hold. One might say six feet and another six inches. What might

appear to be an inch at the muzzle of the gun might really be a foot in

front of a bird forty yards away. It must be learned by experience, and

when accustomed to it the aim will be taken almost instantly, governed

by the direction of flight, the speed of the bird, and the distance from

the shooter.

It is best to ask permission of the owner to shoot over his land. You

will seldom be refused, and will frequently be given permission to shoot

over land which is posted “No Shooting.” The land-owners know that it is

the lawless hoodlums who do them damage.

Every true sportsman strictly obeys the game laws, and it is to his

advantage to do so, although in many States the laws are practically a

dead letter. Shooting out of season has nearly killed the game in many

localities, when it would still be abundant if the game laws had been

observed.

Chapter XIX

TRAPS AND TRAPPING

Snares and Deadfalls

The ways of trapping are as various as the ingenuity of savage or

civilized man can devise. I like best the traps that one can make. They

seem to give the animal a fairer show; they develop our own constructive

faculties; and the nearer we can get to the savage way the more fun it

always is. Steel traps have a place that wooden traps can never fill;

but give me something that I can make with my own hands, with the

simplest tools, out of whatever materials the spot affords where the

animal lives.

Of all the animals in this country there is none that affords less

harmful sport than the rabbit—more properly hare—of which there are

several species. Its wonderful powers of increase enable it to hold its

own, as far too many of our best and most valuable animals do not.

Furthermore, rabbits are very easily trapped.

Every one knows its little trail, as broad as one’s hand, through the

bushes or broom-hedge, or its footprints as it hops over the clear snow.

Here, where the path goes under a fence-rail, it has stopped to gnaw.

The rabbit follows this path in season and out, though in the far North,

where the snows keep piling and piling up, its little road may change

with each successive snowfall. Trappers there put out a large number of

snares, setting them right in the middle of these paths. In Fig. 1, No.

20 soft brass or copper wire is used—a piece say twenty inches long

being bent into an oval or round noose some four inches through, the end

being twisted around a convenient limb or root, or stick thrust into the

snow over the path, and the space on each side bushed in with evergreen

twigs, so that the rabbit will be sure to pass through the noose. Snares

are easily taken up and set somewhere else after each snowfall. The best

way is to rig the noose to a spring-pole (Fig. 2). The spring-pole that

I have seen the Indian trappers make is simply a pole lashed to the side

of a convenient sapling, the heavy end being high in the air, while the

short end is caught under a stake with a crotch or little limb sticking

out, driven into the ground at the side of the path. A “twitch-up” is a

sapling bent down, but this generally needs to be held down in another

way. On each side of the path a stake is firmly driven into the ground.

About seven inches from the ground, and on the sides which face, a deep

notch is cut into each stake, and a stick flattened at each end is

placed across, like the letter H. The sapling is bent down, a strong

cord fastened to the end, and tied around the middle of the cross-piece.

The noose dangles below, clearing the ground by two inches (Fig. 3). If

the pole is strong enough it lifts the game into the air out of reach of

predatory animals. All stakes bearing strain of pulling must be firmly

driven into the ground, or in wet weather they will pull out.

[Illustration:

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

]

Rabbits, as gardeners know, are fond of carrots and other vegetables, as

well as apples. There are many ways of rigging a snare with bait. The

trap is arranged so the rabbit puts its head through a noose, and

springs the trap as it touches the bait. One of the best traps I know of

this kind is called, in northern Vermont, a “French twitch-up” (Fig. 4).

This trap can be made at home, and carried and set wherever needed. It

is made as follows: Take a board about twenty inches long and ten inches

wide. Measure off eight inches from one end, and with a pair of dividers

describe a circle five inches in diameter. Around this circle bore holes

three-eighths of an inch in diameter an inch apart, through the board,

and drive in pegs five inches high. Five inches from the other end bore

a larger hole, and set up a square peg (or a round one with flat side)

seven inches high. Procure a half-inch stick long enough to reach from

the centre of the circle of pegs to the upright and three inches beyond

it. Screw this stick fast to the upright at a point two inches from the

board—loosely, so it will work up and down, sharpening the end inside

the pen, and cutting a notch on the upper side at the other end as shown

in Fig. 4. Cut another notch near the top of the upright post, and fit

into the two notches a half-inch stick with chisel-shaped ends. This

arrangement resembles very closely the figure 4. A strong cord from the

middle of this short stick leads to the spring-pole at a point about a

foot from the end.

A noose of fine, soft wire or plaited horse-hair is fastened to the end

of the spring-pole, and laid evenly around on the tops of the circle of

pegs, which must be of an equal height. An apple or a carrot is speared

upon the sharp end of the bait-stick. The rabbit smells the bait, puts

its head over the fence and through the noose to take a nibble. When it

touches the bait-stick, up goes the noose, and it is caught. But the

snare on top of the little fence is likely to fall or be rubbed off, so

a deep, sharp notch must be made into the top of every peg into which

the noose fits. This is undoubtedly a Yankee improvement on a very old

device. Formerly there was no pen and the noose was laid on the ground.

One of the very best traps for rabbits is a kind used in the South (Fig.

5). How often on a frosty morning would one’s heart thump as one came

into view and looked to see if the trigger was up and the door was down!

It is made of rough boards twenty to twenty-four inches long, one being

an inch shorter, and all at least six inches wide, nailed into a long

box. The rear being closed up with a board, and the top being an inch

shorter, there is room for a door which slides up and down. Two thin

strips are nailed upright to the front of the side-pieces, to keep the

door from falling outward; small cleats inside complete a channel, in

which the door slides easily up and down. Then with an auger or bit two

holes are bored into the top five-eighths to one inch in diameter, one

hole being nine inches from the front, the other nine inches to the rear

of the first. Into the one next the door a stake is set up about ten

inches high, with a crotch at the top. Then a stick eight inches long

and as thick as a lead-pencil is cut; five inches from one end a cut is

made half-way through, and a deep notch taken out the short end. This is

dropped, notch upward, into the other hole. A stiff stick eighteen

inches long is then cut, a string tied to each end, and then balanced in

the crotch. The door is raised five inches, and one string tied to a

nail in the top. The other string is tied to the upper end of the

trigger, the notch of which is caught on the under side of the top

board. The trap thus set is placed at right angles to the path, not

directly in it. Foolish Bunny comes along. A good hole is something a

rabbit is ever on the lookout for. Here is a new one; he will look into

it and see what it is like. It is not necessary to put even a carrot or

an apple inside. He crowds in, butts his head against the trigger at the

end, up it goes, down drops the door behind, and he is fast. The trigger

must be set under the front edge of the hole, otherwise the rabbit will

not be able to push it from him.

[Illustration:

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

]

Instead of a box, a section of a hollow log, called in the South a

“gum,” may be used, two stakes being driven in front to hold the door.

Fig. 6.

The muskrat is an abundant animal about ponds, ditches, and the banks of

sluggish streams. It is easily trapped. They remind one of little

beavers, and if their fur was not so very common it would be more highly

prized, for it is really soft and fine. If one can find their runway (a

path eight or nine inches wide along which they travel from place to

place) one can always capture them by the same kind of trap that an

Indian sets for beaver and otter, as well as for musquash. He calls it

the “_kilheg’n_.” Fig. 7.

Drive two stakes two feet or more high and at least an inch thick into

the ground three inches apart at one side of the path. Opposite these

two sticks drive in two more, and lay a stick across between them,

pushing it down nearly level with the path for a bed-piece. Then get a

pole of any length whatever, lay the butt end across the path on top of

the bed, hewing the sides flat, if necessary. See that it rests evenly

on the bed, and keep the other end in place with a stake driven on each

side. This pole is called the “fall.”

Lash each pair of stakes together at their tops with rope or tough bark

or withe, to prevent spreading, and lay a stiff stick across. Cut a

half-inch straight stick and lay it on top of the bed, lashing one end

loosely to the stake, leaving the other end free to rise and fall. This

is the trigger. Now for the “crooked stick.” It is a stick as long as

from the bed to the cross-piece, and has a sudden bend at the upper end.

Often one can find a small sapling an inch through with just the right

bend at the end. Notch it as shown in Fig. 8. Tie a stout cord or withe

around the fall, raise the same nine or ten inches, lay the crooked

stick over the cross-piece, and tie the withe fast. Then bend the other

end of the crooked stick towards the ground, and catch the top of it

behind the trigger, which is raised just enough (two inches) for the

purpose. When the rat comes along it steps on the trigger, freeing the

crooked stick, whereupon the fall drops and pins the creature there.

Heavy weights should be piled upon the fall alongside the path, and the

sides should be brushed in to keep the animal from going around. No bait

is required for this trap.

[Illustration:

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

SOME USEFUL TRAPS

]

Alongside of their pond on a level spot contrive another trap (Fig. 9)

in the following manner:

Take a flat stick, about two inches wide, lay it on the ground, and

close to one end drive an upright stake on each side. Let them stand

some six inches high. Then, beginning close to the two stakes, lay a

two-foot stick at right angles, its end resting on the first one.

Alongside of this lay another stick a little shorter, continuing thus,

and making each successive stick shorter, until the end of the sticks is

reached, thus forming a three-cornered platform, which is then weighted

with heavy stones. Construct a figure 4 (Fig. 9 A) out of sticks as

thick as one’s finger, making the bait-stick eighteen or twenty inches

long. Set the figure 4 under the platform at the very end of the stick,

the bait-stick passing between the upright stakes. Bait with a carrot, a

parsnip, apple, etc., and a rat should be there in the morning.

If the trap does not lie flat on the ground place sticks under it. This

same trap, baited with a fowl’s head or a bird or meat, is also useful

as a skunk-trap, being placed in the woods near their burrows.

The mink is another common animal, and it is found by almost every

brook-side. It is a great traveller, following the stream, feeding upon

fish, and picking up a bird or mouse whenever opportunity affords. For a

trap I take two round poles six to eight feet long, and about three

inches thick at the butt. On a level spot, never more than a few feet

away from the water, I drive a stake firmly into the ground, and lay the

two poles, butts together, one on top of the other, against the stake,

and drive two more stakes on the other side about six inches apart.

Sometimes when the ground is soft two stakes (Fig. 10) should be driven

in front instead of one. A stick a foot long will serve equally well for

the bed-piece. Then a pen or house is built of stakes, or long chips, or

stones, or pieces of board in the form of a V or Π, about nine inches

tall, eight inches deep, and six inches wide. Then two sticks are

prepared—one three inches long and half an inch thick, called the

“standard” (Fig. 12), the other eight inches long, and of the same

thickness, called the bait-stick, one end being sharpened, the other

flattened. The bait, the head of a fowl or fish, is tied to the sharp

point of the bait-stick. The fall is raised, the standard set sideways

on the flat end on the bait-stick, and the fall lowered, until it rests

on top of the standard, the bait-stick being inside the house. As the

sticks are arranged, the mink, entering over the bed and under the fall,

will have to give quite a pull before dislodging the standard on which

the fall rests. So take a peg, cut a notch into it near the top deep

enough to secure the bait-stick, and drive it into the ground inside the

pen and close to one side. Now the standard can be set much nearer the

outer end of the bait-stick, and the moment the bait is tugged at, the

bait-stick flies from under the notched peg, and down comes the fall.

The bed may be hewn to an edge on top, and the parts of the trap should

work without a hitch. A stone, or board, or sheet of bark, or a handful

of evergreen boughs should be laid over the house, not only to keep the

animal out, but also the rain and snow from the triggers which may

freeze up and stick fast. Two pegs driven into the ground at the end of

the fall will hold it in place, and, like every deadfall, it should be

heavily weighted with logs as shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

There are many different ways of building traps with this simple

bait-stick and standard—a combination in general use in the fur

countries. Some are made large for fishers, and set on logs and high

stumps for sable or marten. In Canada, where the snow is very deep, I

have seen long lines of sable-traps on stumps seven feet from the

ground, the other end of the fall resting on another stump of the same

height. In such cases a tree is cut for the purpose, and by a skilful

way of chopping, the stake in front of the trap is left standing as part

of the stump, and the chips are sharpened and driven into the top of the

stump for the house.

Again, a hollow is chopped into a tree, a stake driven in front, and the

bait-stick thrust inside.

[Illustration:

Fig. 11

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

DEADFALLS

]

There are many other deadfalls in use. Among the most deadly is what may

be called the “wigwam.” It is thus constructed: With a hatchet or an axe

break some small sticks, and driving them into the ground in the shape

of a crescent build the bait-pen or house. Bring them together at the

top as in Fig. 13. Next cut a green stick about four inches in diameter

and about eight feet long. Lay in front of the pen, directly up against

it. Peg it firmly there by driving wooden pins against it at the ends.

So much done. Now get another stick of the same length and lay it on top

of the first pole. Fix it in position by driving pins against it as in

Fig. 14. When this is finished take two small, round sticks or twigs,

cut one about five inches in length, and the other near ten inches, or

the depth of the bait-pen. Raise the top log and lay the longer of the

little round twigs on it, with the end on which the bait is to be placed

on the inside. The ends of the little twig must be round. Set it on end,

with the upper end resting on the upper log and the lower end resting on

the first little stick as in Fig. 15.

When an animal comes to get the bait he has to put his fore-legs into

the pen, and the minute he touches the bait the upper log falls,

catching him in the centre of the back. Skunks can be easily caught this

way without the least smell. Spikes may be driven through the upper log

for large game. Fig. 16 is a variation of the same idea.

Woodchucks or ground-hogs will be attracted to a trap by baiting with

their favorite food; but they soon go into winter quarters, from which

they do not emerge until spring. There are special traps for other

animals and birds. Good judgment, knowledge of the appearance and the

food and habits of the bird or animal are necessary to success in

trapping, as well as an eye quick to recognize the signs of the game,

particularly their runways.

[Illustration: Fig. 17]

Traps in cold countries need not be visited oftener than once a week,

but if they are near home most boys like to go to them every day.

Skinning can best be done at home. The curing of skins is a matter of

great importance if the fur is to be sold, for dealers will only pay for

good fur properly prepared. It must be “prime”—that is, from November to

the middle of April (water fur a fortnight later) the inside of the skin

will be white and the fur thick and glossy; at other times it becomes

dark and thin and the fur poor. Muskrats, mink, sable, foxes, weasel,

opossum, and skunk require to be _cased_—that is, without any cut down

the middle. Wolf, badger, raccoon, bear, beaver must be _open_. The

manner of preparing _cased_ fur is to make a cut around the ankles, then

a slit down the back of the leg to the tail, the skin to be peeled off

the legs and the root of the tail to be put into the end of a split

stick and the core pulled right out. Then the skin is pulled off over

the head. In the case of certain animals, like the mink and muskrat,

there is a scent-bag near the tail which is liable to get cut, with

unpleasant consequences, so the best trappers prefer to remove the hide

by commencing at the lips and peeling it off through the opening of the

mouth, making no other cut in the skin save at the legs, when the skin

is opened by a cut from leg to tail as at the start. The muskrat may be

stretched on a pliant stick three feet long, bent into a bow, and the

skin, fur inward, pulled over it. The legs are slitted and caught over

notches in the side, and one end of the stick is bent squarely across

and fastened either into the split top of the other or into a notch, and

the loose middles of the skin tied up to the cross-piece. Fig. 17 _b_.

For mink, etc., never use a single board—it may tear the skin—but make a

double stretcher (Fig. 17 _a_). Take a half-inch board of pine or cedar,

two feet long and three inches wide, and taper it to two inches at one

end and shave the outside almost to an edge. The board is then split in

half with a saw; where no saw is at hand the two pieces are whittled out

separately. The stretchers are now put into the skin, and the legs

pulled out as far as they will go and tacked in place, or a slit made in

each and the leg hooked over a notch in the edge of the stretcher. Then

a wedge two feet long, an inch wide, and tapering to a point is inserted

between the stretcher, and driven down until the skin is as tight as a

drum-head. The middles are then tacked fast, and a square-pointed stick

inserted into the tail. If the boards threaten to collapse, two short

sticks with ends lashed together pushed over them will keep them flat.

The tail-piece (Fig. 18) shows a mink-skin properly stretched. A

fox-stretcher will be exactly twice the dimensions of the

mink-stretcher; others in proportion. The raccoon, bear, etc., is

skinned by a cut from chin to tail, cuts being made up the legs at right

angles to the cut, and stretched upon a square frame (Fig. 17 _d_) by

means of a lacing of cord or tough bark. Formerly all open skins were

stretched on the hoop-stretcher (Fig. 17 _c_), but now only the beaver

is treated that way.

Skins must never be dried in the sun nor by a hot fire. Nor should any

preservatives whatever be applied, not even salt, until ready for

tanning. All fat should be removed, taking care for knife-cuts.

[Illustration: Fig. 18]

Chapter XX

TREE HUTS AND BRUSH-HOUSES

The most delightful season in the woods, throughout the northern and

middle parts of the United States, is during the summer months, and in

the South right up to Christmas; while in other parts of the country,

through southern Texas and California, the woods are attractive all

through the year.

Brush-houses, sylvan retreats, and tree huts of various kinds are made

by boys all over the country, and some very unique and original ones are

often constructed from simple and inexpensive materials. Everything from

the back-yard “lean-to” and the tent of sheets to the tree huts that are

inaccessible when the rope-ladder is drawn up may be made by boys who

are at all handy with tools, and a well-built tree hut is an ideal place

in which to spend one’s vacation days.

The following ideas and suggestions may be of service, and they have all

been tested in practical experience.

A Low Twin-tree Hut

A very serviceable twin-tree hut is shown in Fig. 1, and it can easily

be constructed, at a small cost, from ordinary boards and timbers. If it

is built high up in the trees it is doubly secure from invasion, for the

ladder can be drawn up when the owners are at home and it will be a

difficult matter for outsiders to enter.

To properly build this hut select a location between two trees six to

eight feet apart. The trees should have comparatively straight trunks at

least fifteen inches in diameter, and no cavities at the base nor

indications of decay.

With an axe clear off the brush and small branches for twenty feet up

from the ground at the inside of the trunks, or where the hut is to be

located. From a lumber-yard obtain four or five pieces of spruce or

other timber two inches thick, eight inches wide, and sixteen feet long.

Saw off and nail two of these pieces to the trunks of the trees eight

feet above the ground, first cutting away some of the bark and wood of

the trunk to afford a flat surface for the timbers to lie against on

each side. Six-inch steel-wire nails will be required for these

anchorages, and under the timbers and lying flat against the tree-trunks

bracket-blocks two-by-eight inches and fifteen inches long are securely

spiked to lend additional support to the cross-timbers.

Cut two timbers six feet long and two others the length of the distance

between tree-trunks. In the six-foot pieces cut notches at the under

side as shown in Fig. 2 C C. Into these the ends of bracket-timbers D D

will fit. Cut the ends of the timbers forming the square frame so that

they will dovetail as shown in Fig. 3. Spike the six-foot timbers to the

tree-trunks so that they will rest on the first two timbers that were

nailed to the trees, and from the two-by-eight-inch wood cut four

brackets D D, and spike them fast under each cross-timber so each tree

will appear as shown in Fig. 2. Place the remaining two timbers in

position so that the ends will fit into those fastened to the trees, and

nail them fast as shown in Fig. 4.

[Illustration:

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

]

In Fig. 5 the first timbers can be seen spiked to the tree-trunks, where

they are supported by the fifteen-inch blocks nailed fast below them.

The cross-timbers are shown at A A, and the last ones, forming the frame

that are let into dove-tailed joints at the ends, are shown at B B. Cut

two more timbers E E, and lay them across the supporting timbers, nailed

to the tree, so they will fit inside the front and back timbers B B,

where they are to be well secured with long nails. The floor frame will

then be complete.

From two-by-three-inch spruce construct a frame seven feet high at the

front, six feet at the back, and spike the side timbers F F, forming the

top, to the inside of the tree-trunks as shown in Fig. 5. The bottom of

the uprights are to be mounted on the corners of the floor frame as

shown in Fig. 4, where four long nails will hold them securely in place.

Cut two timbers and arrange them in an upright position at the front

thirty inches apart, where the door will come, then half-way between the

floor and top of the framework run a timber all around except between

the door timbers. This will add a strengthening rib to which the

sheathing boards can be nailed, and will also make one more anchorage to

the tree-trunks. The side-rails should be spiked to the tree-trunks in a

corresponding manner to that of the top or roof-strips. From a

lumber-yard obtain some four, six, or ten inch matched boards, planed on

both sides, and use them for the floor and sheathing.

The roof may be made from the same kind of boards, and over them a

thickness or two of tarred paper is to be laid and fastened down at the

edges and seams with small metal washers and nails that can be had where

the paper is purchased. This will make the roof water-tight, for a

season at least; and if it is given one or two coats of paint it will

preserve the paper so that it may last for several years.

Two or three windows twenty-four inches square may be placed in the back

and sides of the hut above the middle rib; and a door of boards held

together with battens, as shown in the illustration, is to be made and

hung with long, stout strap-hinges. A knob lock or a hasp and padlock

will keep the door closed when the hut is unoccupied. When in use a

wooden button will hold the door shut from the inside.

A ladder of hickory poles and cross-sticks should be made twenty inches

wide and provided with loops at the top that will fit over large nails

driven in the door-sill, so as to keep it from slipping when it bends

under the weight of a boy.

Where the rungs join the side-rails of the ladder the union is made by

lashing the cross-sticks fast with tarred rigging or stout cotton line.

If a flexible ladder is preferred ropes may be used in place of the

side-rails to which the rungs are lashed fast. When the owners are at

home the ladder can be drawn up and hung on nails driven in the front

edge of the roof. If a rope-ladder is used it can be drawn in and rolled

up.

Inside of the hut, at either end, a seat eighteen inches wide should be

built in about sixteen inches up from the floor. These seats can be used

as bunks if desired. Some narrow shelving should be arranged over the

windows and fastened there with brackets, on which small things may be

kept.

A small table may be made from some ends of the sheathing boards and

two-by-three-inch spruce sticks; and boxes may be used for seats, or

small benches can easily be knocked together as shown in Fig. 6 A. Under

the table a ledge twelve inches wide is to be attached to the lower

cross-rails that connect the legs as shown at Fig. 6 B.

[Illustration:

Fig. 7

A HIGH TWIN-TREE HUT

]

A wall-nest may be made from a shoe-case in which four or five shelves

are arranged as shown in Fig. 6 C. A door made from the box-cover is

attached with hinges, and a catch or hasp will keep it closed.

A High Twin-tree Hut

Twelve or fifteen feet above the ground, and built in between the trunks

of two stout trees, a high tree hut is shown in Fig. 7. Larger and more

substantial trees must be selected to build this hut in than the ones

for the low hut, and as a rope-ladder will probably be used a

landing-deck or piazza should be built at the front of the hut.

While this hut is built between two trees it is also built against them,

as the trunk of each tree can be partially enclosed in the hut. The

under cross-timbers that support the floor frame are to be attached to

the trees the same as described for the low tree hut, and on these the

other timbers are laid and fastened as shown in Fig. 8. The main timbers

extend beyond the outside of the trunks, and the supporting and floor

timbers enclose each trunk. At the front the frame is carried forward

two feet more than at the back, allowing this much for the width of the

deck. The uprights are arranged somewhat differently also, as they are

bound at the top to scantlings that butt into the trunks. Fig. 8 A A.

Instead of a flat roof like the low hut, this one is to have a pitched

roof, the supporting timbers of which are attached to the ridge-poles

B B, which are fastened to the tree-trunks in the same manner as the

under cross-timbers. This construction is clearly shown in Fig. 8, where

the location of each upright and cross-piece is indicated.

A rail is run along the front and one end of the deck, and is fastened

at the top of four uprights of two-by-three-inch spruce, the lower ends

of which are securely nailed to the front stringers as the illustration

shows.

In place of the supporting brackets D D that are let into the timber C

at Fig. 2, longer brackets or props are caught under the floor timbers

and braced at the lower end against the trunks, where an additional

anchorage or support is made by a stout block which is securely spiked

to the trunk underneath each bracket end as shown in Fig. 8 C C. The

frame is then enclosed as described for the low hut, and windows and a

door are mounted as shown.

A long, stiff ladder may be used to climb up, but a more interesting

ladder can be made of rope and hickory rungs. By means of a thin rope

attached to the bottom rung the ladder can be hauled up to the deck so

that it is out of the reach of other boys; and being fastened at the

top, no one can remove it or pull it away as they could a stiff ladder.

A rope-ladder is made of stout clothes-line and hickory rungs lashed

together securely with strong line as shown in Fig. 9. The rungs are of

straight hickory with or without the bark on, one inch and a quarter

thick and twenty-four inches long. Near the end of each rung a notch is

cut on both sides for the rope to lie in, as shown at the upper end of

Fig. 9, and each union is to be very securely bound with the line so as

to prevent slipping.

The ladder is hung on stout wooden pegs driven into the deck through

holes one inch and a half in diameter. An extra rope is to be carried

from the top rung up over the pegs and down again, where a wrap is taken

over one or two rungs; then it is lashed fast to the other ropes with

the stout line as shown in Fig. 10.

[Illustration:

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 12

]

Bunks and furniture can be made for the interior, and any other

convenient accessories to the comfort and pleasure of the boy owners may

be added as need arises.

A Single-tree Hut

In the spreading branches of a large oak-tree a very snug roost can be

made high above the ground as shown in Fig. 11 (frontispiece).

This single-tree hut is twenty-five feet above the ground, and below it

is a landing from which the rope-ladder is dropped. From this landing to

the piazza or deck of the hut a stiff ladder is made fast both at top

and bottom, and an opening in the floor of the deck will allow room to

climb up on the deck.

As very few trees are alike it would be difficult to give a plan for the

floor timbers among the out-spreading branches; but from the plans shown

for the twin-tree hut some idea of the construction can be had for

single-tree huts.

The main tree-trunk will, of course, have to project up through the hut,

and the location in the tree should be selected so that out-spreading

branches will form a support to the lower edges of the floor frame as

may be seen in Fig. 12, the plan of a low tree hut.

A peaked, a mansard, or a flat roof can be placed on the hut, depending

on the main trunk to give it support; and if the space in the tree will

permit, a deck across the front and both sides will be found useful. The

floor timbers should be well braced to the main trunk of the tree with

long and short bracket-pieces or props. These will help greatly in

making the hut steady in the tree, and where the lower ends are attached

to the trunk large spikes should be well driven in. Cleats or blocks can

be nailed fast under the ends also, as they will help to support and

strengthen the anchorage.

Water and food can be kept cool by suspending them in a shady place.

Water in a porous jug or earthen pitcher will keep very cold if hung in

the tree branches where the air can freely circulate around it. Keep

fire away from the tree huts, and do not light any matches nor burn

candles, for if once a fire is started nothing will save your hut. It is

too high to reach with a bucket, and, located as it is, a perfect

draught will fan a small flame into a raging fire in no time.

A Low Single-tree Hut

It is not always best to build a hut in high trees, nor is it possible

to do so in every case, because there may not be any high, large trees

at hand strong enough to support a hut. For younger boys a low tree hut

is preferable, so that if a possible misstep should result in a fall it

would be less harmful than from a high tree. An apple or maple tree

often affords a good support for a low tree hut, and if the trunk is

substantially heavy a house similar to the one shown in Fig. 12 (page

358) can easily be constructed. The tree should be large enough to bear

the weight of the house without straining it, particularly in a storm or

high wind.

The general construction of the frame is shown in Fig. 12. The frame

should be of two-by-three-inch spruce and the flooring beams can be of

two-by-four-inch spruce or other timber. One or two windows and a door

may be arranged in the hut, and tar-paper tacked on the roof will make

it water-proof.

Access to the hut can be had by means of a ladder made from

two-by-three-inch spruce rails with hickory rungs, or two-by-one-inch

hard-wood sticks securely nailed to the rails.

A Brush-house

In nearly every part of the country where there is low ground one may

generally find a high growth of plant life having a long stalk, with the

greatest number of leaves at or near the top. Artichokes, cat-tail

reeds, wild sunflower, and the stronger species of flag have stalks and

reeds sufficiently strong from which to make the sides and roof of a hut

or small house such as Fig. 13 depicts.

This growth is often ten feet high, and will have a straight and uniform

reed at least seven or eight feet up from the ground before the thick

top foliage reduces it in size. This last should be cut away and the

smaller under branches and leaves trimmed off, leaving a comparatively

straight shaft from six to eight feet long. This will be limber enough

to be woven basket-fashion, and quite stiff enough to hold the thatching

of meadow-grass or cat-tail reeds.

To build a brush-house like the one shown in the illustration, four

sticks are to be set in the ground about six feet apart, forming a

square. These should be eight feet long and sunk two feet into the

ground, the upper ends being bound together with rails two inches wide

and an inch thick.

[Illustration:

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

A BRUSH-HOUSE

]

A pitch can be given to the roof by cutting off the rear posts six

inches and leaving six inches more of the front posts out of the ground,

thereby allowing a pitch of one foot to the six-toot length of roof.

This slant is not necessary, however, and the roof may be flat if it is

easier to make.

From the reeds a basket framework with eight-inch meshes is to be woven,

as the boys are doing in Fig. 14. Three of these frames are to be made

for the sides and rear of the hut, and at the front, above the doorway,

a smaller one is to be made to cover the space between the front posts.

[Illustration:

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

]

The ends of the cross-reeds are to be bent around the end upright reeds

as shown in Fig. 15, where they can be bound with string or tied with

grass. The window openings in the side frames are made by cutting out a

section of one or two uprights and turning the cross-reeds back and

tying them. At the doorway two upright sticks are driven into the ground

and a rail nailed across their upper ends.

To this wooden frame the front reeds may be attached, and the skeleton

hut or house is then ready to be thatched with long, dry grass or dried

cat-tail reeds. The thatching is done by interweaving long grasses or

reeds between the cross-reeds in a vertical position as shown in Fig.

16. The thatching material should be from eighteen to twenty-four inches

long so that it can be interwoven between three cross-reeds as shown in

Fig. 17, where a few strands of grasses are placed in position to give

an idea of how to weave the grass.

[Illustration: Fig. 18]

Timothy or straw can be used to good advantage for thatching material,

and if it is employed it should be woven with the heads up and not too

close together, as the air should get through the thatching to keep the

occupants of the hut cool. Of course a house may be made larger or

smaller than the one described, but the principle of good construction

is the same. Never depend on the four sides to hold together without the

corner-posts, as the first good wind that happened along would blow it

flat, and perhaps beyond the possibility of repair.

The edges of each side are lashed fast to the corner-posts with grass or

string, and when the roof is made it should be lashed fast to the top of

the sides and front with long reeds or grass.

The roof is woven the same as the sides but is thatched closer; and

about four inches of the roof should extend over the sides, front, and

rear.

A Brush “Lean-to”

The general lines of a miniature barn are shown in the illustration of a

brush “lean-to” (Fig. 18). This is constructed in nearly the same manner

as the brush-house, and thatched with grass or reeds as shown in Figs.

16 and 17.

[Illustration: Fig. 19]

The corner-posts are three feet high, the ridge-pole seven feet and six

inches above the ground, and the hut may be from five to eight feet

square or made oblong, as a matter of choice.

A frame of scantling should be made for this lean-to the same as if a

wooden structure were to be built, and it must be nailed together well

to stand the strain of the wind blowing hard against it. In general

construction the frame should appear like Fig. 19; and to the sticks the

edges of the thatched framework of reeds is to be lashed fast with

grass, either before or after the thatching is done.

A brush-house or any hut built on or near the ground is not so cool to

stay in as one in the trees, but it is, of course, much easier to

construct, as the boy builders do not have to move about so carefully

when at work, and their materials can be picked up quickly.

Brush huts and houses can be built on the plains where trees are scarce,

but in a country rich in woods and forests the boys prefer the tree

huts, not only for their cool location, but on account of the romance

involved in the climbing up to an inaccessible eyrie.

Chapter XXI

WALKING-STICKS

How to Grow Them for Pleasure and Profit

Here are some suggestions for an entirely new and fascinating

out-of-doors occupation.

It has become a habit with me when walking in the woods to keep a sharp

lookout for stocks for walking-sticks, so that in the course of many

years I have got together quite a unique collection. To these a number

have been added through exchanges with friends.

This hobby has borne other fruit than the mere gathering together of

curious sticks. For have I not learned the scientific and common names

of most of our trees and shrubs, their habits, and their values, their

uses in the arts and sciences, their medicinal qualities! So you see, my

young reader, what unthinking people would call a useless and eccentric

occupation (this gathering of old sticks) has in reality proved to be an

innocent and instructive pastime, and I propose to continue to ride this

walking-stick hobby just as diligently as I used to ride grandpa’s

walking-cane to “Banbury Cross” when a child.

My first interesting cane capture consisted of a very curiously shaped

natural stick as shown in Fig. 1. It was of a young hickory sapling at

whose roots grew a bitter-sweet vine, which, being of an ambitious turn

of mind, had taken many turns around the sapling in its eagerness to

climb up in the world. The sapling in the mean time extended its bark

well over the leader of the tough and clinging bitter-sweet till but

little of it was to be seen. At last the sapling, feeling unusually

vigorous, burst asunder the clinging bitter-sweet vine, the result being

a very unique walking-stick, and a good illustration of the “survival of

the fittest.”

The dead bitter-sweet vine was withdrawn from the hickory, and from its

root a handle was carved and bent. On many occasions I have twisted

vines of bitter-sweet and the fox-grape around saplings of oak, hickory,

and chestnut, and have obtained very satisfactory results.

Where a vine is situated some distance from the sapling selected for a

cane, the vine can be “piped” (laid under the ground) up to the sapling,

and then twisted around it and securely fastened at the top with wire,

from three to four feet above its root. If the sapling is so situated

that it obtains a bountiful supply of food and sunlight, a unique cane

of natural growth will be the result.

Having taken a hint from nature in the case of the bitter-sweet vine and

the hickory sapling, I extended my experiments in many directions.

Taking three cuttings (slips) of basket-willow, I planted them close

together as shown in Fig. 2. After they had taken root and begun to push

out branches, I reduced the number of branches to one for each cutting,

always retaining the most vigorous branch.

As the three willow-trees increased in height the side branches were

constantly cut off. This treatment forced the growth of the willows

upward, so that when they had attained a height of five feet I bound

them together with a living cat-brier vine, which was planted at their

base, and in course of time obtained a light walking-stick of novel

pattern as shown in Fig. 3. Another very interesting experiment was

grafting three willow stocks together so that they formed a union, and

became as it were one tree. This was done by carefully cutting away two

slices from three young willows so as to form an obtuse angle as shown

in Fig. 4.

The angles so formed were carefully and accurately fitted together as

shown in the section Fig. 5. To hold the willows closely together, and

to exclude all air, I wrapped them tightly with strips of unbleached

cotton-sheeting. As soon as they showed signs of life at their tops by

sending out young branches, I felt certain that a union of their barks

would form at the points indicated by the arrows in Fig. 5. But it was

not till several trials had been made that I was successful in this

novel experiment of combining three willow saplings.

It very often occurs that after a tree has been cut down a number of

canes or suckers will start up from the stump. These suckers make

excellent walking-sticks when properly cured and peeled. For a lady’s

riding-whip I know of nothing better than three willow withes plaited

together. This plaiting must be done when the willow withes are young,

and when attached to the parent tree, on which they are allowed to

remain for a year after having been plaited together. By this time they

will have grown firmly together in consequence of the bark conforming to

the bent strands of the plait.

[Illustration:

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

Fig. 8

Fig. 9

Fig. 10

Fig. 11

]

The following kinds of native woods are used for walking-sticks:

HOLLY.—Sticks of this wood are found growing out from the sides of older

growths, and shooting up in nearly a straight line. Occasionally they

may be cut with a crutch-piece across the growing end, or with a crook

or knob. These are the most valuable. They may be found on a well-grown

sapling in the deep woods. This should be pulled or dug up for the sake

of its roots. Saplings and hedge-sticks may often be found from three to

four feet long, and from three-eighths to a quarter of an inch in

diameter. These are not suitable for walking-sticks, but they make

excellent whip-handles. The holly makes tough, supple, and moderately

heavy walking-sticks, and its close-grained wood admits of much skill in

carving the knob formed by the root and its rootlets.

ASH.—Respectable sticks of this wood may sometimes be cut out of a hedge

or pulled from the side of an old stump. Ash sticks must also be roughly

trimmed and well seasoned before they are barked and polished. The root

knobs admit of excellent grotesque carving.

OAK.—This of all sticks is the most reliable, and stout oaken cudgels

are esteemed by most persons as affording the best props for failing

legs, as well as the best weapons of self-defence against quarrelsome

dogs, ruffians, and tramps. Straight sticks of sapling oak are not

always easily obtained, but copse-wood sticks pulled from the trunks of

trees form excellent substitutes. These should be selected for

walking-sticks that taper from one inch below the knob or crutch to one

inch at the ferrule end. Oak sticks split in drying when the bark has

been stripped off or the knobs and branches cut too close, or when the

sticks are dried too rapidly in a very dry place. They are then rendered

useless for walking-sticks and cudgels.

ELM.—From the roots of elm-trees saplings often shoot up to a height of

some ten feet; these furnish good walking-sticks of fancy styles, the

rough bark serving the purpose of ornamentation when the sticks are

dried, stained, varnished, and polished.

Among fruit trees the cherry, apple, and pear furnish some very nice,

fancy walking-sticks, being supple and of moderate strength.

When sticks are half dried—that is, when the bark is shrunken, has lost

its sappy greenness, and refuses to peel freely—they may be trimmed,

straightened, or bent, as required. The wood and also the form of the

knobs and roots will admit of much taste being displayed in grotesque

and fancy carving.

I know of a young man in Florida, not yet twenty-one years of age, who

is paying his way through college by collecting and curing sticks of the

wild orange, on the handles of which he carves during his leisure time

and vacations full-length figures of alligators as shown in Fig. 6. I

have examined several of these sticks, and the entire work seems to be

done with small chisels and a parting or V-tool. These sticks are in

constant demand with visitors and tourists in Florida, and have become

known as “orange-wood ’gator canes.” This fact may be suggestive to some

of our ingenious farmer boys who are struggling to obtain a college

course.

Walking-sticks can be gathered at all seasons. The sticks should be laid

aside in a moderately dry and cool place, and should not be worked or

the bark taken off till they are half dry. They are then most supple,

and may be bent or straightened without injury. When laying by sticks to

dry, the knots and spurs should not be trimmed close; it is best to trim

them only roughly, leaving the spurs of branches and roots on the stick

fully an inch long.

To straighten or bend the sticks, they should be steamed until they are

supple, or buried in hot, wet sand until they become soft; they must

then, while still hot, be given the form they are intended to keep, and

kept in this form until they are cold. Straight sticks are tied firmly

together in small bundles, and wound with a coil of rope from end to

end; they are then suspended to a beam by their knob ends, and a heavy

weight is attached to the ferrule ends. Crooks may be turned by soaking

the end in boiling water for half an hour, then bending it to the

desired form, and retaining it in its position by means of a tourniquet

(as shown in Fig. 7) until the stick is cold.

The bark may then be taken off with a sharp knife, but care must be

taken not to split or chip the wood. Knots may be trimmed at the same

time, and the root knobs turned into grotesque shapes. There are no

rules that can be given to guide one when carving the roots into

handles, since their forms are governed by the outlines of the roots,

these often being very suggestive of themselves. The group of heads

shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11 will illustrate what I mean. Figs. 8 and

9 show the rough stick, Figs. 10 and 11 the finished heads.

One or two points should receive considerable attention when designing

the handles. If the stick is to be a fancy one to be carried and swung

in the hand, the roots can be carved into grotesque or fancy forms. But

if for use, the handle should be round and smooth, so as to fit

comfortably in the hand. The head of a dog, or a swan or goose, forms an

appropriate design for a stick that is to be held on the arm when

lighting a match, or when wishing to have both hands free. The crutch

and hook are also comfortable forms.

Wooden handles are given touches of rich brown by applying a red-hot

iron to the parts to be colored.

All sticks with the rough bark left on should be neatly trimmed naked

around the neck of the handle, and the whole lightly gone over with fine

sand or emery paper. The cane should then receive several dressings of

boiled linseed-oil and be left to dry. When dry, a coat of shellac

varnish is applied. Oak canes look best when carefully barked in hot

water, the loose bark being removed by rubbing with coarse canvas, and

the cane then dried, dressed with boiled linseed-oil, again dried, then

polished, and varnished with shellac or furniture varnish, and again

polished.

Dogwood and Osage orange sticks can be stained black by brushing them

over with a hot and strong decoction of logwood and nut gall. When this

is thoroughly dried, brush them over with vinegar in which a few rusty

nails have been steeped for two or three days. Some persons use ink for

a black stain, others introduce “drop black” in the varnish; a brown or

mahogany stain may be obtained by adding some “dragon’s-blood” to the

varnish. The lower ends of the sticks should be guarded from excessive

wear by a neat brass ferrule; these are cheaper to purchase at a

hardware store than to make, though I have often used brass thimbles and

tailors’ steel thimbles as a substitute. These can be fastened by means

of hot shellac, or with a brass pin driven into a hole in the thimble

and passing through the wood of the stick.

For fastening carved or rustic heads or handles on sticks hot glue or

thick shellac varnish is used. A good-sized hole is first bored into the

handle and a hole of similar size in the stick; a dowel is driven into

the hole in the stick (using plenty of glue), after which the handle is

driven on to the dowel-pin. Handles may be made of horn, which can be

softened for bending by boiling in oil (not kerosene) or hot fat.

Hard-woods that will take a polish, and vegetable ivory, which is very

easy and pleasant to carve, are good materials to use for handles. For

small sticks, bone will be found an easy material to shape into handles.

All the manufacturers of walking-sticks and umbrella and parasol handles

state that the demand for native woods suitable for canes and sticks is

constant all the year round, and that the sticks may be gathered at all

seasons of the year and sent to market, both straight and crooked sticks

being salable, also roots for handles.

* * * * *

With this we reach the end of our out-door handy book, which we trust

may become the daily and invaluable companion of all healthy, active

American boys. The in-door handy book, the book of electricity, and the

book of mechanics for boys, which are to follow, will form, we believe,

the distinctive American boy’s library of practical handy books.

INDEX

Aërial toys, 81-98;

elastic flying-machine, 81-86;

self-acting aerial car, 86-91;

aerial boat-sailing, 91-95;

a “high-flyer,” 95-98.

Air-ship kite, an, 126, 127, 128.

Anglers, aids for young, 160-165.

Aquarium, an, construction of, 14-18;

stocking, 19, 22, 23, 169, 171,172;

changing the water in, _ibid._;

rockeries for, 20;

how to manage, _ibid._;

plants for, 21;

aërating, 22.

Arrow weather-vane, the, 64, 65.

Artificial bait for fish, 168, 169.

Badger, curing the skin of, 347.

Bait, box for, 150;

bag for, _ibid._;

worms as, 151, 161, 166;

minnows as, 151, 161, 166, 167, 168;

seine for catching live, 161, 162, 163;

boat for, 162, 163;

for large fish, 166;

for chub, _ibid._;

for bass, 166, 167;

for perch, _ibid._;

for trout, _ibid._;

where to find, 166-169;

dobsons as, 167;

pails for, 168;

artificial, 168, 169;

darning-needles as, 169;

for eel-pots, 175.

Bait-rods, 151-153.

Basket-ball vane, a, 67, 68, 69.

Bat-wing kite, the, 128.

Bear, curing the skin of, 347, 349.

Beaver, curing the skin of, 347.

“Becket hitch,” the, 160.

Bends: the common, 288, 289;

the Carrick, _ibid._;

the fisherman’s, _ibid._;

the sheet, 289;

diagrams showing, _ibid._

_See also_ Hitches and Knots.

Bird shelters, 32-34;

martin-boxes, 30.

Blackwall hitch, the, 290, 291.

Boats: home-made, 211-238;

a punt, 212-214;

a scow, 214, 215;

a sharpy, 215-218;

a dory, 219-221;

a sailing sharpy, 221-225;

a centre-board sharpy, 225-228;

a proa, 228-230; a lark, 230-235;

a power-boat, 235-238;

a rowing catamaran, 239-241;

a sailing catamaran, 241-247;

a side-wheel catamaran, 247, 248;

a house-punt, 261-267;

a house-raft, 267-277.

_See also_ Ice-boats.

Bob-sled, a, 107, 108, 109.

Boughs, a cot of, 310, 313.

Bowline knot, the, 283, 285.

Box kites, 132, 133.

Brush-house, a, 361-364.

Brush lean-to, a, 364-366.

Cages, for squirrels, 45-47;

for chipmunks, 45, 46;

for white rats, _ibid._

Camp-cooking, 323, 325-330.

Camp-fires, how to make, 320, 321, 322, 323.

Camping equipment, 316, 317, 318.

Camps and camping, 295-333;

a tent of medium size, 295-300;

a large camping-tent, 300-303;

flies and canopies, 303, 304;

a house-tent, 304-307;

the new tent, 307-310;

canvas cots and hammocks, 310-313;

tables and benches, 301, 313-315;

camping equipment, 316, 317, 318;

lockers and mess-kits, 316-319;

a stone stove, 319, 320;

camp-fires, 320, 321, 322;

camp-cooking, 323, 325-330;

care of a gun, 330-333.

Canopy, a toadstool tree, 54, 55.

Canvas cot, a, 310, 311;

a folding, 311, 312.

Carriage, a hose, 195-198.

Carrick bend, the, 288, 289.

Carry-all, a, for campers, 318, 319.

Cased fur, manner of preparing, 347, 348.

Casting, fly, 153-156.

Catamaran, a rowing, 239-241;

a sailing, 241-247;

a side-wheel, 247, 248.

Catspaw hitch, the, 291, 292.

Chairs for camp life, 314, 315.

Chest-reel, a, 139, 140.

Chicken-coops, 41-43.

Chinese-junk kite, the, 122, 123, 124.

Clove hitch, the, 289, 290.

Coasters, skees, and snow-shoes, 101-114;

toboggans, 102-104;

a rocker-coaster, 103, 105;

a single-runner coaster, 106, 107, 108;

a bob-sled, 107-109;

skees, 110, 111;

snow-shoes, 111-114.

Common bend, the, 288, 289.

Coops for chickens, 41-43.

Cot, a canvas, 310, 311;

a folding, 311, 312;

of boughs, 310, 313.

Cotes, pigeon, 34-36.

Crowned wall knot, the, 284, 285, 286.

Crown-top kite, the, 128.

Curing of skins, the, 346-349.

Deadfalls, for muskrat, 340, 341, 342;

for skunk, 342, 346;

the “wigwam,” 344, 345, 346.

Diagrams, showing splices, 281;

showing knots, 285;

showing bends, 289;

showing hitches, 289, 291.

Diamond knot, the, 285, 286.

Dog-kennels, 36-39.

Dory, a, how to make, 219-221.

Double-plane kite, the, 136, 137, 138.

Double wall and double crown knot, the, 285, 286.

Eel-pot, a, how to make, 172, 173, 174;

baiting, 175.

Elastic flying-machine, 81-86.

Engine, a fire, 191-195.

Equipment for camping, 316, 317, 318.

Fires, camp, how to make, 320, 321, 322, 323.

Fire-engine, a, 191-195.

Fisherman’s bend, the, 288, 289.

Fish, for aquariums, 19, 20, 22, 23, 169;

cleaning, 145;

bait for, 151, 161, 166-169;

trap for small, 169-171.

Fishing, pleasure in, 144;

secret of success in, 146.

Fishing-tackle, 144-166;

testing, 147;

care of, _ibid._;

rods, 148, 149, 158;

lines, 149;

hooks, 149, 150, 158;

reels, 150;

floats, 150, 152, 164;

sinkers, _ibid._;

landing-nets, 151;

flies, _ibid._;

repairing, 156-160.

Float, a, 277-279.

Floats, fish, 150, 152, 164.

Flies for camping-tents, 303, 304.

Fly-casting, 153-156.

Fly-rods, 153-156.

Flying-wedge kite, the, 135, 136.

Fountain, a, how made, 9-14.

Fox, curing the skin of, 347;

stretcher, 349.

Ground-hogs, how to trap, 346.

Grubs for fish bait, 167.

Guinea-pig houses, 39-41.

Gun, the care of a, 330, 331;

the handling of a, 331-333.

Half hitches, two, 289, 290.

Hammock, a canvas, 312, 313.

Handles for walking-sticks, 374, 375.

“High-flyer,” a, 95-98.

Hitches: the “Becket,” 160;

two half, 289, 290;

the clove, _ibid._;

the slippery, 290, 291;

the Blackwall, _ibid._;

the timber, _ibid._;

the rolling, _ibid._;

the Magnus, 291;

the catspaw, 291, 292;

the sheepshank, _ibid._;

the marling, _ibid._

_See also_ Bends and Knots.

Hook-and-ladder truck, a, 198-200.

Hooks, fish, 149, 150;

putting, to gut, 158.

Hoop drop-net, a, how to make, 176.

Hoop-stretcher, a, 347, 349.

Hose-carriage, a, 195-198.

House-boats, 261-277;

a house-punt, 261-267;

a house-raft, 267-277.

Houses for guinea-pigs, 39-41.

How to grow walking-sticks, 367-369.

Hut, a low twin-tree, 350-356;

a high twin-tree, 350-356;

a single-tree, 359, 360;

a low single-tree, 360, 361.

Hutches for rabbits, 43-45.

Ice-boats, 249-260;

a sloop-rigged ice-yacht, 249-253;

a twin-mast ice-yacht, 253, 254;

scoots and scooters, 255-259;

a wind-runner, 259, 260.

Ice-sail, a square-rigged, 118.

Ice-yacht, a sloop-rigged, how to make, 249-253;

a twin-mast, 253, 254.

“Invisible,” or “whip-finish,” knot, the, 158, 160.

Kennels for dogs, 36-39.

Kites: the ship, 120-122;

the Chinese-junk, 122-124;

the schooner, 124, 125;

a balloon, 125, 126;

an air-ship, 126, 127;

bat-wing, 128;

crown-top, _ibid._;

Sandwich Island bird, 129-131;

box, 132, 133;

the “paralleloplane,” 134, 135;

the flying-wedge, 135-138;

the double-plane, _ibid._;

reels, 138-143.

Knots: the “invisible,” or “whip-finish,” 158, 160;

the reef, 282, 283, 285;

the bowline, 283, 285;

the bowline on a bight, 283, 284, 285;

the running bowline, 284, 285;

the wall, _ibid._;

the crown wall, 284, 285, 286;

diagrams showing, 285;

the double wall and double crown, 285, 286;

a stopper, _ibid._;

a man rope, _ibid._;

the Matthew Walker, _ibid._;

the diamond, _ibid._;

the Turk’s head, 285, 287;

the rope yarn, _ibid._;

the lark’s head, _ibid._

_See also_ Bends and Hitches.

Knotting of gut, 158, 159, 160.

Landing-net, a, for fish, 151.

Land-yacht, a, 177-182.

Lark, a, how to make, 230-235.

Lark’s head knot, the, 285, 287.

Lee-board, a, 225.

Lines, fish, 149.

Lizards, pens for, 47, 48, 50, 51.

Lock-boxes for camping outfit, 316, 317, 318.

Magnus hitch, the, 291.

Man rope knot, a, 285, 286.

Marling hitch, the, 291, 292.

Marten-trap, a, 344.

Merry-go-round, a, construction of, 24-28;

vane, 69, 70.

Mink, curing the skin of, 347, 348, 349;

stretcher, 349.

Mink-trap, a, 342, 343, 344.

Minnows for fish bait, 151, 161, 166, 167, 168.

Mortar, a snowball, 118, 119.

Muskrat-trap, a, 339, 340, 341, 342.

Nest of pockets, a, for camping outfit, 317, 318.

Oak walking-sticks, 371.

Opossum, curing the skin of, 347.

Ovens, camp, how to make, 323, 324, 325.

Paddle-wheels: different kinds, 201;

the modern turbine, 202;

a simple paddle-wheel, 202, 203;

a wagon wheel, 203, 204;

a barrel-wheel, 204, 205;

an undershot-wheel, 206;

a power-wheel, 206, 207, 208.

Pens for reptiles, 47-51.

Pet shelters, 29-51;

for martins, 30-32;

for birds, 32-34;

for pigeons, 34-36;

for dogs, 36-39;

for guinea-pigs, 39-41;

for chickens, 41-43;

for rabbits, 43-45;

for squirrels, 45-47;

for chipmunks, _ibid._;

for white rats, _ibid._;

for reptiles, 47-51.

Pergola, a back-yard, 53, 54;

a rustic, 55, 56, 57;

a circular, 57, 58.

Pigeon-cotes, 34-36.

Pinion-wheel, weather-vane, a, 60-62;

a barrel-hoop, 72.

Pockets, a nest of, for camping outfit, 317, 318.

Power-boat, a, how to make, 235-238.

Proa, a, how to make, 228-230.

Pumping windmill, a, 73, 77.

Punt, a, how to make, 212-214;

a house, 261.

Pushmobile, a, 185-190.

Putting the hook to gut, 157, 158, 159, 160.

Rabbit, hutches, 43-45;

snares, 335, 336, 337, 338;

traps, 338, 339.

Raccoon, curing the skin of, 347, 349.

Reef knot, the, 282, 283, 285.

Reel, a chest, 139, 140;

a box, 141, 142, 143.

Reels, kite, 138-143;

fish, 150.

Repairing fishing-tackle, 156-160.

Reptile pens, 47-51.

Rocker-coaster, a, 103, 105.

Rods, fishing, elasticity of, 148;

bait, 148, 151;

fly, 148, 149, 153-156;

split-bamboo, 149;

handling of, 151, 152, 153;

repairing, 157, 158, 159.

Rolling hitch, the, 290, 291.

Rope yarn knot, the, 285, 287.

Running bowline knot, the, 284, 285.

Sable, trap for, 344;

curing the skin of, 347.

Sail-skating and snowball artillery, 115-119;

a skating sail, 115-117;

a square-rigged ice-sail, 118;

a snowball mortar, 118, 119.

Sail-wagon, a, 182-185.

Sandwich Island bird kite, the, 129, 130, 131, 132.

Scap-net, how made, 19, 175, 176.

Scoots and scooters, “ice-water boats,” 255-259.

Scow, a, how to make, 214, 215.

Seine for catching live bait, 161, 162, 163.

Self-acting aërial-car, 86-91.

Sharpy, a, how to make, 215-218;

a sailing, 221-225;

a centre-board, 225-228.

Sheepshank hitch, the, 291, 292.

Sheet bend, the, 289.

Shelters for pets, 29-51;

for martins, 30-32;

for birds, 32-34;

for pigeons, 34-36;

for dogs, 36-39;

for guinea-pigs, 39-41;

for chickens, 41-43;

for rabbits, 43-45,

for squirrels, 45-47;

for chipmunks, _ibid._;

for white rats, _ibid._;

for reptiles, 47-51.

Ship kite, the, 120, 121, 122.

Single-runner coaster, a, 106, 107, 108.

Sinkers, fish, 150, 152, 164.

Skating-sail, a, 115-117.

Skees, Norway, 110, 111.

Skins, animal, how to cure, 346-349.

Skunks, trap for, 342, 346;

curing the skin of, 347.

Sled-toboggan, a, 103, 104.

Slippery hitch, the, 290, 291.

Snails, for aquariums, 20, 23.

Snakes, pens for, 47, 48, 49.

Snares, 334;

for rabbits, 335, 336, 337, 338.

Snowball mortar, a, 118, 119.

Snow-shoes, the Iroquois, 111, 112;

the Esquimaux, 112, 113;

oval, 114.

South Sea Island proa, a, how to make, 228-230.

Splices: how made, 159;

different kinds, 280;

the eye-splice, 280, 281;

diagrams showing, 281;

the short splice, 281, 282;

the long splice, 282.

Splicing a fishing-rod, 157, 158.

Square-rigged ice-sail, a, 118.

Squirrel cages, 45-47.

Stone stoves for campers, 319, 320, 321.

Stopper knot, a, 285, 286.

Stoves, stone, for campers, 319, 320, 321.

Stretchers for drying skins, 347, 348, 349.

Summer-house, a simple, 52-53, 58.

Tables for camp life, 301, 313, 314, 315.

Tadpoles for aquariums, 20.

Tent, for camping out, 295;

a medium-size, 295-300;

a large camping, 300-303;

a house, 304-307;

the new, 307-310.

Tepees, square, 6, 7;

ridge-pole, 7, 8, 9.

Timber hitch, the, 290, 291.

Toadstool tree canopy, a, 54, 55.

Toboggan, an eight-foot, 102, 103;

a sled, 103.

Trap, a, for small fish, 169-171;

for water-turtles, 171, 172.

Traps and trapping, 334-349;

rabbit-traps, 338, 339;

muskrat-traps, 339, 340, 341, 342;

mink-traps, 342, 343;

skunk-traps, 342, 346;

deadfalls, 342, 344, 345;

sable-traps, 344;

martin-traps, _ibid._;

woodchuck-traps, 346;

ground-hog-traps, _ibid._

_See also_ Snares.

Tree huts and brush-houses, 350-366;

a low twin-tree hut, 350-356;

a high twin-tree hut, 355-358;

a single-tree hut, 359, 360;

a low single-tree hut, 360, 361;

a brush-house, 361-364;

a brush “lean-to,” 364-366.

Truck, a hook-and-ladder, 198-200.

Turk’s head knot, the, 285, 287.

Turtles, water, a trap for, 171, 172.

“Twitch-up,” a, for rabbits, 335, 336;

a French, 336, 337, 338.

Two half hitches, 289, 290.

Wagon, a sail, 182-185.

Walker, Matthew, knot, the, 285, 286.

Walking-sticks, 367-375;

how to grow, 367-369;

holly, 370, 371;

ash, 371;

oak, _ibid._;

elm, _ibid._;

from fruit trees, 371, 372;

from wild orange, 372;

method of treatment, 372, 373, 374;

handles for, 374;

demand for, 375.

Wall knot, the, 284, 285.

Water in aquariums, to aërate, 22.

Water-turtles, a trap for, 171, 172.

Water-wheels: different kinds, 201;

the modern turbine, 202;

a simple paddle-wheel, 202, 203;

a wagon wheel, 203, 204;

a barrel-wheel, 204, 205;

an undershot-wheel, 206;

a power-wheel, 206, 207, 208.

Weasel, curing the skin of, 347.

Weather-vanes, 59-80;

a pinion-wheel, 60-62;

a wind-speeder, 62-64;

the arrow, 64, 65;

wooden, 65, 66;

a wind-pennant, 66, 67;

a basket-ball, 67-69;

a merry-go-round, 69-71.

Wheel-race, a, construction of, 208.

Wigwams, Indian, 3-6.

Windmills, 59-80;

wind turbine, 71-73;

pumping, 73-77;

tower, 78-80.

Wind-pennant, a, 66, 67.

Wind-runner, a, how to make, 259, 260.

Wind-sails, 115, 116, 117, 118.

Wind-speeder, a, 62, 63.

Wind turbine, a, 71-73.

Woodchucks, how to trap, 346.

Wooden weather-vanes, 63, 65, 66.

Wolf, curing the skin of, 347.

Worms for fish bait, 150, 151, 152, 161, 166.

Yacht, a land, 177-182.

THE END

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:

Silently corrected obvious punctuation errors.

Illustrations moved so as to not split paragraphs.

Unless noted below, spelling and hyphenation are retained as in the

original.

Other changes:

• Page IV: Removed page reference from caption

• Page 40: mi way → midway

• Page 53: to have the roof → to have to roof

• Page 68: The frame-work must be → The framework must be

• Page 70: pine or whitewood → pine or white-wood

• Page 128: Fig. 12, AA → Fig. 12, A A

End of Project Gutenberg's Harper's Outdoor Book for Boys, by Various