CAMPING

CHAPTER I
CAMP OUTFITS

A camping outfit should be light and compact with all unnecessary articles eliminated and all needful ones included. That reads a little funny, but it is the gist of the whole question and the biggest question that was ever presented to a man. That is, you will think so when you are trying to get a 100-pound outfit over a swampy carry on a rainy day and while laying up over a spell of wet weather afterward. In the first place, you wonder why you brought so much truck, and in the second place, why you did not bring many other things. So it seems needless to say that the composition of an outfit depends, to some extent, on the individual taste of the camper, and more upon the character of the trip.

No sane man would carry the same amount of “duffle” on a walking trip that he would if he went with a team, or if he was to be in a permanent camp during the whole of his trip. Hence, I propose to classify them into two sorts—walking trips and permanent camps. But before I set down the list of impedimenta I want to moralize a little.

I confess that I enjoy the comforts of life, and as many of the luxuries as my purse or circumstances will allow; and while I have enjoyed many tramps with nothing but what I could easily carry in my knapsack, I enjoy one much better if I have more conveniences, and very few vacationists care to “rough it” too much in the short time they have for their annual trips, and there is no need to do so.

One of the finest woodsmen and grandest of men, “Nessmuk,” has written a book which is a criterion for the man who can stand that kind of trip; but what sort of a vacation do you suppose a city clerk would have if he patterned his trip after this model? The question was not needed; he simply would not try it; for the average city clerk is not so big a fool as he appears to the average country dweller. So let it go at that. To get back on our trail again. A party would not need the same outfit in July that he would require in October—and while there is no sense in sleeping cold at night because of a lack of blankets, there is also no use for a sleeping-bag for a July camping trip, and in this judgment of the actual necessities is where the average camper fails.

The majority of camping parties occur in the warm season when game birds and animals are protected by law, and there is no need for a gun, but most men will confess to a feeling of greater security when there is a firearm in camp. A light revolver will serve all purposes to drive away marauding animals or to while away a dull hour at target practice, and a little practice will render it thus available.

In the fall of the year the fishrod will be replaced by the shotgun and rifle, but it is always well to have a line and a few hooks in the ditty bag. A few fish will make an acceptable change in the diet, even if a deer hangs at the tent door.

The following lists have been compiled from the experience of many years in fitting out parties for the woods and are intended to cover everything that is needed and with the idea that the man who reads them knows but little about the subject and wants to know all about it; and as parties will vary in number of persons composing it, I have individualized the items.

OUTFIT FOR A TRIP OF TEN DAYS ON FOOT—SUMMER OR FALL.

For the Party.

Clothes, bedding, etc., for each man.

Food for Each Man.

OUTFIT FOR TEN DAYS IN PERMANENT CAMP—SUMMER OR FALL.

For the Party.

To the previous list add:

For Each Man.

To the list of clothes, etc., add:

Food per Man.

In regard to the cooking apparatus much can be said. There is a golden mean between bare necessity and absolute convenience, that must be estimated by the character of the trip. When walking, with the lightest possible amount of “duffle,” a tin plate may be used to cook everything that cannot be spitted or baked in the ashes. For a camp kettle on a walking trip I use a common tin pail with riveted ears to hold the bail. Do not let the water boil out of it while on the fire. Throw it away when you get to the end of the trip. In permanent camp this is replaced by a “graniteware” kettle, which forms the vehicle for many a savory stew and chowder, besides the more plebeian potato and onion. I prefer this form of kettle, even if it be a little cumbersome, for if the water boils away, as it sometimes will in spite of all precautions, you will not be left with a bottomless dish.

The coffee can may also be a tin pail, but in whatsoever form it may be, see that it is so made that it can be hung over the fire. Eschew all patent contrivances for making coffee; they are a delusion and a snare for the feet of the unwary, and utterly unnecessary. The tight can for condensed milk is a necessary thing when moving about; to prevent waste a screw top is best.

The fry pan is an important part of the outfit, but not the most important. In it may be cooked the entire food for the party—meat, fish, bread and even the coffee. But look out that it is of a convenient pattern for transportation. Get a ten-inch thin iron pan, with a socket on one side for a temporary handle, or have the handle entirely removed, and fit it with a portable handle to screw to the side. This detachable handle may be used to lift any dish from the fire.

But because you have a pet fry pan, with automatic accessories, do not become a slave to it. Use the broiler on all possible occasions. The stomach of the camper will stand many severe strains, but it will finally rebel if treated to too much grease. Use as little of this lubricant as possible, and you will be surprised at the small quantity needed.

Fry pan

The remainder of the kit, with the exception of the baker, needs no special comment; and of that piece of apparatus, I have long been in doubt whether it was a desirable article for the camping outfit.

Personally, I never use the baker, as I prefer to bake my bread in the fry pan, and my fish I roll in wet paper or leaves and bake in the ashes. With a desire to advise those who disagree with me, I wish to say that I was with a party who used an oven which accompanied a cooking outfit, and it worked nicely. In fact, the whole apparatus was without reproach, and was evidently the result of practical experience. If I could afford it, and had the room for its transportation, I should use one just like it, when I had a large party to provide for, as it saved time and some trouble; but it was no better than the more primitive method of the “bean hole,” which will be discussed later.

A rubber blanket of some description is very necessary, and I prefer the poncho with a slit in the middle to enable it to be put over the shoulders in case of rain as well as to lay beneath the blankets while sleeping, to keep off the dampness of the earth. If this pattern cannot be obtained have two eyeletted holes made in one edge of a rubber sheet, far enough apart so that it may be looped around the neck. The ordinary blanket may be of any character that is desired. I use a light wool blanket together with a light cotton blanket, both double and uncut, for summer use, and a regulation sleeping bag for cooler weather. The latter may be made of oiled duck lined with the summer blankets, or with one or more quilted puffs made of calico and cotton batting.

The cloth bag—size of a pillow case—is a very convenient article to be filled with leaves or fir spills; this, however, is not indispensable, for a good pillow may be extemporized of a pair of shoes with a person’s outer clothing laid over them. The small cloth bags will be found convenient in packing remnants of food, sugar, coffee, etc., which is so easily scattered by the ordinary paper packages becoming broken.

Now a word in regard to clothes. Eschew caps, helmets and straw hats, and wear a soft felt hat, the softer the better; it will stand rain, will not get broken, will keep the sun out of the eyes and can be used for a multitude of purposes from acting as holder for a hot pan or kettle to stopping a hole in a stoven boat. Canvas clothes are a delusion; they make a lot of noise in the brush and are uncomfortable when wet. Wear a suit of old woolen clothes with a light flannel shirt; no vest is needed. These garments are comfortable and warm, even when damp, and are easily dried. Look out for your feet; wear good, solid leather boots, and change your socks every night, washing out and drying each night the pair worn during the day. This little attention to the comfort will prevent sore feet on a long tramp. The remainder of the articles seem to explain themselves. Never wear new boots.

FOOD.

There now remains the question of food, and it is the most difficult of all to handle, since there is such a diversity of taste. I have endeavored to apportion the ration to a healthy man’s appetite and have considered that there will be more or less fish, game, berries, etc., gathered by the party. If there is no one who can cook, of course food must be procured already prepared. But it seems very improbable that some of the party will not take sufficient interest in this most important requisite of camping to secure information from his feminine relatives or friends, and practice sufficient to enable him to make a good cup of coffee, a respectable flapjack and to fry a pan of fish. With the materials set down in the list, with what fish, etc., will be brought in, an ordinary camp cook will, in a permanent camp, supply a different menu nearly every day in the week. For instance, a party of three would be provided with 18 pounds of meat for ten days; this would include 3 pounds ham, 4 pounds bacon, 5 pounds salt pork and 6 pounds corned beef. The pork would be used in baking beans and frying fish, and the others for broiling and hashes, while flapjacks, johnny-cakes, pan-cakes, rice and fruit puddings could be concocted from the list.

CHAPTER II
CAMP SHELTER

One of the foremost considerations which confronts the camper is shelter; for upon it depends, to a large extent, his health and comfort. Of course, the character of this shelter depends upon many things: individual preference, location of the camp and facilities for transportation. But the first consideration is a tight roof and protection from cold winds.

He is a poor woodsman, indeed, who in a forest cannot provide himself with protection from the weather. But every man who wishes to camp is not a woodsman, and is the man who is looking for advice. Woods frequenters sleep many nights with nothing but the blue canopy of heaven for a roof, and men have camped for weeks with only a square of canvas for a “dog tent.” But although I have tried both plans and thoroughly enjoyed myself, I must confess that I hanker for a good wall or shanty tent when the winds blow cold or the rain falls wet, and these things we must always expect.

THE WALL TENT.

Wall tent

If camp is located where transportation by team or water is available, when the temperature is above freezing, carry a wall tent, with a fly. It admits of better ventilation than an A tent, gives more head room for the sleeper and weighs but a trifle more. By all means do not omit the fly. Without this, in a driving rain, the water will beat through in a fine spray and dampen everything inside. Moreover, it is almost impossible to avoid hitting the canvas, sometimes, and the result is that whenever the wet cloth is touched from the inside it will start a leak unless the canvas is very thoroughly waterproofed.

In pitching a tent, select a suitable site, on top of a little knoll if possible, with the ground as level as may be. Do not under any circumstances pitch it in a hollow or gully where the water will run in. Clear off the brush, remove all bunches from the ground and carefully pitch the tent. See that all is clear before raising and that the guys hang evenly and run smoothly.

Next, dig a trench about six inches deep all around the outside, and about six inches from the canvas. Be sure not to neglect this precaution or you may awake in a puddle of water, which is not conducive to a happy frame of mind. Also remember that dampness will contract the cloth and ropes; so before you go to bed, slacken the guys a little or, if it rains in the night, you may awake with a tent pin flapping about your ears, the cloth torn or the tent blown down.

SHANTY TENT.

Shanty tent

If there are only one or two in the party, and especially if weight is a consideration, a “shanty tent” is desirable. One which I have just completed is 6 ft. high in front and 2 ft. high in back, 7 ft. long, 6 ft. wide, with fly. No poles are needed if there are trees, for the head rope which goes across the front at the top is stretched between two trees and the tent guyed from that. The front of the tent may be lifted for an awning, when not needed to close the tent, by supporting the canvas on poles. With this tent there is sufficient length for a tall man, width enough for two to sleep comfortably and room enough to stow the “duffle,” while there is sufficient head room at the rear to afford good ventilation for a small party. I prefer this pattern of tent to all others for the reason that there is less lost space in ratio to the weight, with more convenience, than in any other style known to me.

THE DOG TENT.

Dog tent

Now, so far as a substitute for a comfortable tent is concerned, there is a wide range for choice. When traveling rapidly on foot, with as little impedimenta as possible, a simple square canvas, furnished with loops at two sides and large enough to shelter a man, will amply suffice. When the time arrives to make camp a pole is lashed across two trees or supported on crotched sticks, the canvas is thrown across it and pinned down by the side loops and the camp is ready. If you wish to shut up one end cut some evergreen boughs and stick them thickly in the ground at that end; this will break the wind. Build your camp fire in front of the opened end and you will be comfortable.

THE LEAN-TO.

A Lean-to

If you desire to travel lighter still, or are caught in the woods without shelter, a few minutes’ work will suffice to build a “lean-to.” To erect this structure find two trees about four to six feet apart, or drive two poles into the ground. Lash another pole across them about five feet from the ground for a ridge pole. Cut five poles about eight feet long and lay across this, with one end resting on the ground to form the roof. Cover these poles with bark, laid shingle fashion, or with a thick layer of evergreen boughs. It is astonishing how heavy a rain a bough roof will shed if properly laid on. Now stick some poles at the two sides, with the tops lashed to the side roof poles, wattle in some brush and you have a camp that will keep you dry and with a good fire in front will be as warm as a log house, for the heat of the fire is all reflected down by the slanting roof.

Another Lean-to

If you have no time for so elaborate a construction, cut a pole, rest one end in the crotch of a tree, the other on the ground. With this for a ridge pole lean up poles and brush on each side till you have room for your shelter. If you have no axe to cut a pole, find a leaning tree or a fallen log, or even a boulder, and pile brush against it, having first thrown down a lot of boughs for a bed. This sort of a structure is capable of infinite variation.

THE LOG HUT.

Sometimes in cold weather it becomes necessary to have some shelter more substantial than a tent or even a bark shanty, especially when a prolonged stay is to be made at some central place. A log hut will provide for this, and when timber is plenty can be made with no other tools than a narrow axe. Do not be too extravagant in your idea of size. A small building is more easily kept warm than a large one and a house 8 × 10 feet will shelter four men.

Cut straight logs about 8 inches in diameter. Nine logs 11 feet long for the back; three logs 11 feet long, and sixteen logs 4 feet long for the front; eighteen logs 9 feet long for the ends.

Clear a level place free from brush and lay two 11-foot and two 9-foot logs on the ground in the form of a square, with the ends of the logs notched to hold them in place, with notches deep enough so that the next log when similarly fitted will lie snugly on top. Now proceed to pile the logs up like a cob-house, notching each log at the corners and using the long logs for the back and two of the short logs for the front to provide for a door in the center, where the ends of the logs should be held by a pole on each side. When the short logs are used up put on the long ones. The logs of the front and back should be laid with the butt and top alternated to keep them level, but the ends of the camp should have the butts all laid toward the front to form the pitch of the roof and those with the greatest taper should be selected for the ends.

For the roof, cut poles 13 feet long, lay them lengthwise and notch them into the top logs of the ends. Then cover with birch or hemlock bark. Lay poles across to prevent the high winds from displacing it and throw on evergreen boughs to break the force of the rain.

If it be desired to have a pitch roof cut short logs to fill in the gable ends and hew down the pitch to the desired angle. Fill all crevices with moss, grass or clay. A door may be made of slabs split from a cedar tree and hung on leather or rawhide hinges.

For fittings build two bunks of poles across the narrow end and fill them with fir browse. There will be room enough to stow personal belongings at the foot of the bunks and they will add to the warmth. If a camp stove is used place it at the back opposite the door and run the pipe through the roof. If no stove is used, make a fireplace of rocks laid up in clay and have a hole in the roof for the smoke to go out. If dry wood is used the smoke in the room is not offensive, for a very little fire will warm the place as much as is desirable. Do not use cedar wood for the fire, for the sparks will fly all over the place.

If desirable, many elaborations of this building can be made. If a chimney is desired build it of stones and clay and build the wall into it, so as to leave the chimney half inside and half outside.

CHAPTER III
GENERAL ADVICE

In preparing for camp, one of the most important questions to be settled is the choice of companions. Nowhere will human nature be developed as in the camp, where quarters are limited and when there is no opportunity to get out of the way and stamp down “that ugly feeling” that the best of us have at times. If there is a single bristle on a man’s back it will rise on an uncomfortable rainy day in camp. If a man is a gentleman he keeps his coat on and it bothers no one but his own conscience; but a surly grumbler, a gourmand who must have just what he wants to eat, irrespective of how much trouble it may make, or a selfish, lazy man, will disturb the feelings of all the rest.

And a word of advice here. Constitute one man, the best-posted and most equal-tempered man in the party, as captain; and when a man makes himself obnoxious and will not be reasoned with, let the captain call assistance, if necessary, and either cool him off in the nearest lake or quietly escort him to the nearest point of embarkation and bid him a long farewell; at all events, remember next year that he is not eligible for membership.

Make the party small (four is enough, three is better), for many reasons. There is less chance for argument, crowding is avoided, and transportation facilitated. If the party is necessarily larger, divide it up into squads, so that the man in charge of the party may not have all his own fun spoiled in attending to the needs of others. Make one man paymaster and do not ask him to shoulder the whole expense of the trip, but make an estimate of the cost and hand over your share in advance. Then when the trip is over, cheerfully settle up, and if you are not wholly satisfied, do not put up a kick, but swallow the dose and remember it the next time.

More than that, always remember that life is too short to grumble or fight, and if any campmate makes himself too obnoxious, get rid of him, or manage to get a letter calling you home on important business. You go to camp to get needed rest and escape the fights of a busy life, and no man has a right to interfere with another’s pleasure; always provided that the other party behaves like a man himself.

Now let us suppose that you have procured your outfits, selected your camp ground, and have arrived at the place. Set to work quickly to select a site for the tent, and get it ready for occupancy at once. All hands take hold under the direction of your captain, and the work will all be over in a short time. Pitch the tent and get your beds ready; make a fireplace and get wood for a fire, so the cook will be able to tend strictly to his cooking. If Joe or Tom grabs his rod the moment it is taken from the conveyance, unless he is so ordered by the captain, just insert your fingers under his coat collar and politely kick a little sense into him.

When you get your first meals do not give way to the abnormal appetite always generated by fresh air and exercise, but eat moderately until you get accustomed to the changed conditions, and thus avoid a multitude of ills. It is disgusting to a sensible man to see a campmate gorge himself and then wake everyone in the small hours of the night groaning with colic. A sick man in camp is a nuisance at the best, and if the sickness is caused by the sufferer’s own fault he will hardly get much sympathy.

Again, if you have any liquor in camp, put it in the hands of the most level-headed man in the party, and use it only moderately. I am not preaching a temperance lecture, but the use of liquor should be in moderation, if used at all. When drinking, hunting and fishing go together, the hunting and fishing get poor attention.

The first night that you are in camp will probably be destitute of many of the conveniences, for you seldom get well settled. About all that is really necessary is to get the beds well established and a light supper prepared.

The next day, get all the camp luxuries fixed up. Make some hooks on the trunks of the nearest trees to hang the odds and ends on. These may be nails, or they may be forked twigs pinned to the wood. Sort out the provisions and put them where they will keep sweet and dry. Do not lay the pork on the sugar bag, nor the salt against anything else.

The beds are of prime necessity. If you must economize on anything, let it not be on the bedding. If you are where you can get plenty of fir or spruce boughs, you have the finest bed in the world. Cut a large supply and spread them over the sleeping place. Start with the larger pieces and lay a row along the head of the bunking place. Then work toward the foot, lapping them like shingles till the bed is at least seven feet long. Next start again at the head and put on another layer, forcing the butts down into the first layer. Continue this process, using smaller branches with each layer, finishing off with the fine tips on top. Make this bed as thick as you can, for it will settle with use. When you have nothing else to do, put some more fir tips on the top. Lay the rubber blankets on this, and make up each man’s blanket separately, so that he can easily crawl into it and cover up, without disturbing the others.

If “fir browse” is scarce or absent, make a pole bed. Cut four sticks with a crotch at one end. They should be at least three inches in diameter. Force these into the ground so that the head and foot of the bed shall be about seven feet apart, and so placed that poles of about the same size shall lie across the head and foot. Across the poles lay other smaller ones close together till the frame is wide enough to accommodate the party. On this foundation lay the brush or dry leaves.

When nothing else is available, and I am in a camp that is to be permanent, I generally buy a bale of cheap hay, if I can get it. There is generally a farmer who can supply it, or it can be obtained at the point of disembarkation and brought in with the luggage. This may seem fussy, but I am supposed to be writing for the benefit of people who are accustomed to soft beds, and who come to camp to enjoy themselves. If you wish to “rough it,” spread your blanket for one night on the ground beneath the starry sky. The next night you will have a bed made.

A convenient bed is made of a strip of canvas, 6½ feet square, doubled and sewn together at the sides, with the ends open. When you put it up, drive four crotched sticks into the ground at the four corners and stretch on poles placed on these crotches.

The next important adjunct is the camp fire. It seems almost superfluous to tell a man how to build a fire, but it is an old saying, that “It takes a wise man or a fool to make a good fire.” I take it the reader classes himself as neither. The cooking fire will be the most important. If you have flat stones, lay up a fireplace, placing the stones close enough together so that the fire will play all around the kettle, and with a space long enough to hang two pots. It is a good idea to have a low place in front wide enough to set on the fry pan, and high enough so that you may haul the live coals between them. This will save you holding the pan in your hand all the time you are using it.

Matasiso Stove

If you are in a permanent camp where there are plenty of rocks, build a pier of stones about three feet high, leaving a hollow in the center for a fireplace, which may have a bottom of turf.

This device will save a good many back aches. Make the fireplace at the back a little narrower than the fry pan, and wider at the front. On this you may boil your potatoes, make your coffee, and fry your fish at the same time. The rocks will hold the heat, and food may be kept warm while waiting, if care is taken to have the stones on the top flat and level; in fact, I have often stewed fruit, etc., with the dish on the edge of the fireplace.

In temporary camp, cut three logs, about a foot in diameter; lay one for a back log, two for side logs, build your fire on top with small stuff, and when it falls in coals you have a convenient place to set your fry pan, coffee can, etc.

Remember that a small fire is better than a large one. With the latter you cook your face more than your food, and there is more liability of spoiling the cooking.

Hard wood is better than pine or spruce; the coals are what you want, and the longer they will remain hot the better for the cook. By no means use hemlock or cedar, as the sparks fly all over everything, burning the towels and the cook, soiling the food and setting fire to the surrounding dry leaves.

Although I prefer “frying pan bread,” I want an oven to bake beans, fish, etc., and construct it as follows: Dig a hole in the ground, preferably on the side of a knoll; line it with rocks, if possible; build a fire of hard wood within it and keep it up for a half hour at least, till the rocks or the surrounding earth is very hot; rake out the coals and ashes, leaving three to four inches of live coals and ash in the bottom. Put in whatever you have to bake, cover with the ashes. The length of this operation will depend upon so many conditions that it will be impossible to set a time, but a little experience will soon settle the question.

The evening camp fire is a great comfort, and is an altogether different proposition. Select a place in front of the tent, and some ways from it, and place a big log, or pile up several smaller ones with stakes to hold them in place, for a back log. Build the fire in front of it. Start the bottom with fine dry chips, branches, or shavings, place larger dry branches on these and top off with good sized pieces. After it is well alight, it will consume damp or even green wood. The back log will reflect the heat into the tent, and will hold the fire for a long time.

Supposing that you wake in the morning with a steady rain pouring down. Do not try to make a shift with “cold grub.” That is the time you need a warm meal. Put your rubber blanket over your shoulders, and go out. If you are wise, you will have prepared a store of dry soft wood, which will be stored in the tent, but if you have used it up or have neglected this precaution, hunt up a pine log or a dead pine tree, and chop off the outside; you will find plenty of dry wood inside. Rake open the ashes in the camp fire, where you will probably find plenty of live coals, put on your dry chips, cover with pine, fir or spruce boughs, blow up the fire and you will soon have heat enough to keep the tent dry, and coals enough to cook by. It will take a pretty hard rain to put out a good fire if once under headway.

If there are any mosquitoes, as when are there not, fasten the netting over the opening of the tent. Hard wood splinters will do the trick. Keep this netting in place as much as possible. It is much easier to keep these pests out, than to get them out afterwards. If these insects are too troublesome use the Insect Repellent freely. There are numerous preparations which can be purchased ready made. The most of them answer the purpose very well. But if you wish to make it yourself, the following recipe, furnished me by Dr. L. O. Howard, the U. S. Entomologist, is easily mixed and very good.

2 oz.Oil of Citronella
2 oz.Camphor
1 oz.Oil of Cedar

The recipe furnished by “Nessmuk,” one of the best old sportsmen that the country ever knew, is made as follows:

Pine Tar3 oz.
Castor Oil2 oz.
Oil Pennyroyal1 oz.

Simmer the tar and castor oil together; when well amalgamated add the oil of pennyroyal, and set to cool. It is well not to have the mixture too warm when the pennyroyal is added, because it may evaporate, and it is the real life of the mixture. Bottle and cork it tight. Use copiously and you will have no trouble with the pests of the woods. It is equally efficacious for black flies, mosquitoes or horse flies, and will do no injury to the skin. Please wash your hands, however, before you mix the bread.

CHAPTER IV
CLEANING FISH

The remarks that follow are intended for the novice in the Waltonian pursuit, rather than for the experienced angler or camper, the latter probably knowing from experience how to care for and dress his catch to his own satisfaction, and probably in a better manner than the writer; but for the benefit of the uninitiated I will attempt to describe what I consider, after several years’ experience in the sport of Uncle Izaak and the care of the results, the best methods of procedure.

One of the most important points to be considered is, What means shall we employ to insure our fish being in good condition on our arrival at camp or at the point where the catch is to be cleaned.

Fish-bag

The angler who fishes the stream can, of course, only put his fish in the creel, but if the sun is bright, a layer of damp moss will prevent the fish from drying, which is of the utmost importance. But to the boat fisher the ensuing remarks are of salient value. It has been my experience that if the boat used has not a fish-well built in it, it is best to use an open-mouthed knit fish bag, made of extra heavy cotton cord with an inch mesh, which can be hung over the shady side of the boat, thereby keeping the fish in their native element, and generally alive for a long time, away from the sun. This is of the utmost importance, as the sun has a very detrimental effect on the fish, oftentimes softening them so that dressing them in a presentable or skillful manner is out of the question. The result of this is generally more bones in the frying pan than fish.

Fish-knife

We have now arrived at the point where the fish, after having furnished sport for the angler, are of no use until some of the party displays his skill with the knife, and the speed and results exhibited by one who will take pains to render himself thoroughly conversant with the following instructions will be a revelation to the man who spends an hour in cleaning a dozen fish for his supper.

After landing, the first question often asked is, “Who has a knife?” and everybody pulls one out, ranging from a penknife to an 8-inch hunting knife, neither of which, in my mind, is worth a last year’s bird’s nest, for reasons which we have not here space to explain. After trying all shapes, kinds and sizes, I for my own use prefer the shape shown in the cut.

This may be made out of a good pocket knife, by breaking its back and fitting a hardwood strip in slot for blade and winding the entire handle with strong twine.

The advantage in the blade being at an angle is in its tendency to always cut deeper into the flesh, instead of coming out of the cut, thereby enabling the user to make long, clean cuts down each side of the dorsal fin, which can then be removed entirely, leaving none of the annoying small bones to cause an inelegant flow of language on the part of the hungry sportsman and numerous cuts on thumb and forefinger.

After seeing that your knife has a keen edge, pick out a firm-fleshed yellow perch from the bag, grasp firmly in the left hand, belly down, the hand being closed firmly along the sides to prevent the sharp points of the gill covers entering the hand. Make a cut crosswise at the nape of the neck, insert point of knife in cut and run entire length of fish, each side of the dorsal fin, which can then be removed entire by catching the lower end between the thumb and knife blade and pulling quickly upward toward the head. Then grasp the flap of skin at the nape between the thumb and the point of the knife and pull outward and downward, tearing the skin from the side down nearly to the anal fin; repeat this on the other side; then grasp in the same manner the skin on the under side as near the vent as possible, so that both sides may be removed at the same time, and tear quickly down to the tail, the anal fin nearly always coming off with the skin; pull off the head and the entrails will come with it, the whole operation requiring five cuts with the knife and eight motions of the hand, and less time than it takes to tell it.

In dressing white perch, first scale them thoroughly, which operation consists in holding knife blade at an angle of about 100 degrees to the skin of the fish; press lightly and by a series of quick, short, scraping movements from the tail toward the head, remove all the scales thoroughly. The dorsal fin is best removed as in dressing yellow perch. Next, with fish in left hand, belly up, make a downward cut from directly back of the pectoral fins to a point just back of the gills; insert point of knife into this cut and run entire length of belly, continuing down one side of anal fin, make a cut on the opposite side and remove the fin entire; turn the fish over, sever the neck at the nape, and the head and entrails will be removed as in previous case.

Pickerel should be thoroughly scaled, and afterwards cleanly scraped with the knife until the slime is entirely removed, leaving the fish nice and white, which takes away all the disagreeable muddy flavor so common in this fish. Fins should be removed as in previous cases.

Of all fish that the novice may be called on to dress, the Hornpout, bullhead, or Eastern cat-fish, as it is variously called, will probably give him the most trouble. The best and quickest way is to remove fins by cutting down each side and tearing out; cut the entire length of the belly to a point a little beyond the vent; then sever the head from the body from the under side, without cutting the skin; grasp the body with the fingers of the left hand, take the head in the right and a quick pull will take off head, skin and entrails entire, if a little care is taken in starting the operation.

Of all fresh-water fish the trout is the easiest to dress, no knife being needed. Remove the gills and entrails with the thumb and forefinger, wash thoroughly, and the fish is ready for the pan.

In closing, a word to the camper. Never use fish that have lain in the sun or have begun to soften. They are not only less palatable than freshly caught fish, but at times positively dangerous to the health. Take all such fish, chop them up and take them, with the entrails and other refuse of the cleaned fish, out to the fishing ground and throw them overboard. If this is done daily at the same spot, especially if near some sunken ledge, you will be able to catch a dinner there at any time, as the fish will congregate there in large numbers. This is called ground-baiting.

CHAPTER V
WHAT TO DO IF LOST IN THE WOODS

Every man who goes camping in the woods, at a distance of more than five miles from civilization, and does what nearly every man does do, i. e., “take a walk to see the country,” is liable to miss his way and if he is not lost, the camp is. I have talked about this with a few people who have been in that unenviable position and the answer to the question is difficult and varied. “You just can’t tell what you would do.” You may theorize all you choose beforehand, but when the time comes and your brain is bewildered, you would take the most solemn oath that your compass is wrong. It is a most horrible sensation to find that you do not know how to get out of the woods, with perhaps miles of almost trackless forest before you; the one safe place, perhaps, is only a short distance away, but you do not know where that way is.

I have roamed the woods for thirty years, sometimes being in camp from May 1st to December 1st. I have hunted summer and winter in strange localities, as naturalist, sportsman and surveyor, and while I do not know as much woodcraft as I wish I did, I have had some experience in getting lost—and finding myself again; in fact, I have a faculty for getting lost. When I am following a rare or unknown bird I endeavor to keep my eye on it, irrespective of the direction in which it may take me, sometimes across country and often in circles, and when I get ready to resume my quiet path I know not where I am. So I have adopted a positive maxim: “Whatever you do, do not get rattled and lose your head.”

I often have had to caution a “novo” who looked to me for instruction in the woods, to remember the above every minute, and to add to it “Always carry a compass and never think that it lies.” Most people have heard of local attraction in the compass, and they always think they have found it. There is only about one per cent. of the country that will show anything of the kind and even then it would not deflect the needle enough to carry the traveler far astray. If it were deflected, the needle would keep you from wandering in circles in which lies the greatest danger of being lost.

Now supposing that you are camping on the shore of a lake in the woods, and you want to look over the neighborhood. Your first duty is to look at a map of the locality, if you have not already done so, so that you may have a general idea of the characteristics of the surrounding country; especially of the trend of the hills, the locations of streams or roads or the direction of the coast or lake shore, as compared with your camp. If you cannot do this do not go.

When you find that you do not know where you are, and you are positive that the sun is setting in the east or in some other impossible quarter, endeavor to make up your mind as to where you are within a radius of five miles, and think in which general direction lies some river, road or other landmark, and then set up a stick or blaze a tree in that direction. If it is not too late in the day, make up your mind in which direction you ought to go, set your compass, take a bearing on some prominent tree or other mark in that course, and go to it. If the woods are so thick that you cannot pick out a mark, set up a peeled stick or blaze a tree once in a while so you can look back and see your trail. When you have gone as far in any direction as you are certain of your course, lay it out again, always by compass, and you will come out somewhere at a place that you will recognize as leading to some known point.

If it is late in the day, do not wander around in the dark, but pick out a comfortable place, cut some boughs to lie upon and to build a lean-to; gather fire-wood enough to last through the night or as long as you want it to, and make yourself as comfortable as possible until morning. If you are fortunate enough to have some lunch with you, you will probably get a fair night’s sleep. You will not starve in one night, and you can usually find something to eat, even if it is not so nice. In very few places would there be the slightest danger of molestation from any source. Next morning you may follow the instructions for getting out, as shown in the preceding paragraphs.

Methinks I hear someone say, suppose you have no map, compass, matches, etc. I reason that you are a rational being and if you have not these things you will not be foolish enough to go out. If you do not know how to provide yourself with the necessary comforts, you have not read this book understandingly.

In the case of a hunting party in the deep woods, it is the custom among the parties with which I have been associated, to have a “lost call.” We generally separate in the morning to hunt in different sections, which are duly allotted beforehand, so that each member knows just where the other men ought to be. In case any one of them becomes so overcome with the ardor of the chase, or in the following of wounded game, that he does not know how to get back to camp, he gives the call, three shots of the rifle in succession. If not replied to, the lost one starts in the direction that he believes the camp to be situated, repeating the signal occasionally. Usually he is heard before much time has elapsed and is answered. If he does not show up by dark, a search party is formed, and he is trailed by the light of birch bark torches, or the lanterns. Seldom is a man compelled to stay out all night.