Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts

by Girl Scouts of the United States of America

SECTION XIV

CAMPING FOR GIRL SCOUTS[5]

SONG OF THE OPEN ROAD

Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune—I myself am good-fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road. . . .
. . . . . . .
Now I see the secret of the making of the best persons,
It is to grow in the open air, and to eat and sleep with the earth.

—Walt Whitman.

A Girl Scout likes to hike and camp. She learns to know the stars, and becomes acquainted with the plants and animals about her. She gains independence from her ability to help herself, and health and strength from exercise in the sunshine and fresh air.

These are the good things of camping. The bad things are catching cold from damp ground, or insufficient bedding, uncomfortable nights, and weary feet. But a wise Scout does not rough it. She knows how to make herself comfortable by a hundred little dodges. The aim of camping is to make things simpler for the Camper. She must make up her mind whether she is ready for an overnight hike, a week-end trip or a good vacation in the open air, and plan accordingly.

For a walking trip a Girl Scout must travel light and learn to do with a minimum amount of clothing, utensils and food. On the other hand, if she is going to spend the week out, why not be as comfortable as possible? This requires more of an outfit, but it is worth it. To know how to do this one must, of course, have first learned the simple rules of camping in Girl Scout training.

Hiking

Hikes are a good way to get this training. Extreme heat, or a downpour of rain is the only kind of weather which should interfere with a hike. Soft rains or snowstorms are very pleasant to hike in.

Skirts are dangerous for cross-country travel on account of brambles, rock work and climbing over brooks. Knickerbockers or bloomers should be worn.

In the city when starting off for a hike use squad or double file formation through the streets, railroad stations, ferries, etc. Silence is maintained in this formation.

Hiking Order—In the country, even along unused roads, hike in single file on the left side of the road. The advantage of this formation is that all danger from passing traffic in any direction is averted. It is not necessary to keep step, and talking, laughing, singing, etc., may be indulged in. Permission to break this order is only given when in woods, or fields, where there is no danger.

When returning home use Scout's Pace if weary. This helps to make the distance seem shorter.

Scout's pace is a walking and running device which serves to increase endurance when covering a long distance. It consists in taking a certain number of walking steps followed immediately by the same number of running steps, returning to the walking steps, and so forth. The number of steps may vary, according to the place, nature of the road and object of the walk. Fifty steps walking, fifty steps running and alternating steadily for twelve minutes will take one a mile, and this is one of the measures of distance that is useful to know. For ordinary use on hikes the use of twenty steps running and walking is preferable.

Feet

With a little knowledge as to the care of her feet the city girl can make a good showing at her first camp. Prepare feet by brushing vigorously with a dry flesh brush. Strengthen muscles by standing on toes in bare feet, raising body gradually fifty or seventy-five times. Frequent changes of stockings, bathing of tired feet in hot water at night and cold water in the morning, will overcome most of the hiker's troubles. The cold water hardens the skin. Boric acid powder is good for naturally damp feet. Blisters should be cleansed with iodine, then carefully pricked with a sterile needle to let out the water (hold the needle in the flame of a match), then washed with iodine and covered with a few layers of sterile gauze fastened with adhesive plaster.

It is desirable to change the stockings every day. Wash them at night and hang them out to dry and keep them well darned. Two pairs at least are necessary. Never risk your health by putting on stockings even slightly damp with dew. A hole will cause a blister. Woolen stockings are preferable. For very long hikes it helps to wear two or three pairs, and to lather the outside of the stocking with a cake of soap slightly moistened.

Shoes

Shoes should be the shape of the feet and have low, wide heels. It rests the feet to take the shoes off once or twice during a long tramp. Grease the shoes every few days with mutton fat or other grease. There is no such thing as waterproof leather, but it can be made so by being greased. After being wet, shoes should be well dried and greased, but should not be dried in a hot place, for this would ruin the leather. These may seem trifling details, but remember, "no army is stronger than its feet."

Things to Remember

Keep the feet straight when walking. If a Girl Scout notices the tracks of an Indian, the first hikers in this country, she will find them invariably straight forward. Scientists have agreed that the dancing school habit of turning out toes is one of the causes of flat feet, which disqualified so many men for army service.

Start the walk slowly. Keep the pace of the slowest of the party. "Slow and easy goes far in a day." Practice deep breathing. Inhale for five steps, hold your breath for five counts, and let it out, again counting five.

Take short steps when climbing. Do not run down hill. It causes stiffness, for which a hot bath and another walk the next day are the best cure.

When lunch is carried it should be divided among the troop. Each Scout should carry her knapsack on her back, to leave the hands free. It is a great mistake to start on a hike with one's arms laden.

Do not plan to go too great a distance in the time at your disposal. Remember that aside from the time you need for going and coming you expect to enjoy yourselves cooking and eating, and you need time for both. For an over-night hike, when you carry your equipment select a spot not more than two miles distant.

Good things to carry in one's pocket are a drinking cup, a geological survey map (ten cents), a small pocket compass, a camper's knife, a small soapstone to sharpen it, a match box, and a note-book and pencil.

Plan a definite object for the hike. Note how many kinds of trees, wild flowers or birds one can find.

Practice building fires for cooking, or getting material for a bed such as balsam, etc. Inquire for points of historical interest and make them the goal of the hike. There is hardly a town that has not some place connected with the early history of the nation.

Personal Equipment

Spending the nights under the stars is one of the great fascinations of camping. Each person requires two waterproof ground cloths or ponchos, two pairs of light wool blankets, safety pins, heavy cord, sleeping garments, rain coat, and toilet articles, including such things as soap, toilet paper, sewing kit, electric flashlight, mirror, first aid kit, provision for mosquitoes or flies, five yards of bar netting, and oil of citronella.

In order to ensure protection from the rain spread one waterproof covering or poncho on the ground using half underneath so that the upper half may be folded over the head in case of rain. Put blankets under as well as over you, and a second waterproof covering over the blankets.

Clothing

When living out of doors, one may make shift for shelter, or even go hungry for a space, but there is no substitute for comfortable clothing that is safe to use if one would keep well. Horace Kephart, the master camper, devotes much space to this subject, and we can do no better than to follow his advice from Camping and Woodcraft.

"* * * One soon learns that the difference between comfort and misery, if not health and illness, may depend on whether he is properly clad. Proper, in this case does not mean modish, but suitable, serviceable, proven by the touchstone of experience to be best for the work or play that is in hand. When you seek a guide in the mountains, he looks first in your eyes and then at your shoes. If both are right, you are right.

"The chief uses of clothing are to help the body maintain its normal temperature and to protect it from sun, frost, wind, rain and injuries. To help, mind you—the body must be allowed to do its share.

"Perspiration is the heat-regulating mechanism of the body. Clothing should hinder its passage from the skin as little as possible. For this reason one's garments should be permeable to air. The body is cooled by rapid evaporation, on the familiar principle of a tropical water bag that is porous enough to let some of the water exude. So the best summer clothing is that which permits free evaporation—and this means all over, from head to heel. In winter it is just the same, there should be free passage for bodily moisture through the underclothes, but extra layers or thickness of outer clothing are needed to hold in the bodily heat and to protect one against wind; even so all the garments should be permeable to air. * * *"

"Underclothing, for any season, should be loosely woven, so as to hold air and take up moisture from the body. The air confined in the interspaces is a non-conductor, and so helps to prevent sudden chilling on the one hand, and over-heating on the other. A loose texture absorbs perspiration but does not hold it—the moisture is free to pass on to and through the outer garments. In town we may indure close woven underwear in summer, if thin enough, because we exercise little and can bathe and change frequently. In the woods we would have to change four times a day to keep * * * as dry.

"Wool versus Cotton—Permeability also depends upon material. Ordinary cotton and linen goods do not permit rapid evaporation. They absorb moisture from the skin, but hold it up to the limit of saturation. Then, when they can hold no more, they are clammy, and the sweat can only escape by running down one's skin.

"After hard exertion in such garments, if you sit down to rest, or meet a sudden keen wind, as in topping a ridge, you are likely to get a chill—and the next thing is a 'bad cold' or lumbago, rheumatism, or something worse.

"Wool, on the contrary is permeable. That is why (if of suitable weight and loose weave) it is both cooler in summer and warmer in winter than cloth made of vegetable fibre. 'One wraps himself in a woolen blanket to keep warm—to keep the heat in. He wraps ice in a blanket to keep it from melting—to keep the heat out.' In other words, wool is the best material to maintain an equable normal temperature."

Camp Site

"The essentials of a good camp site are these:

1. Pure water.

2. Wood that burns well. In cold weather there should be either an abundance of sound down wood, or some standing hard wood trees that are not too big for easy felling.

3. An open spot level enough for the tent and camp fire, but elevated above its surroundings so as to have good natural drainage. It must be well above any chance overflow from the sudden rise of a neighboring stream. Observe the previous flood marks....

7. Exposure to direct sunlight during a part of the day, especially during the early morning hours.

8. In summer, exposure to whatever breezes may blow; in cold weather, protection against the prevailing wind.

9. Privacy.

"Water, wood, and good drainage may be all you need for a 'one-night stand,' but the other points, too, should be considered when selecting a site for a fixed camp.

"Water—Be particularly careful about the purity of your water supply. You come, let us say, to a mountain brook, that issues from thick forest. It ripples over clean rocks, it bubbles with air, it is clear as crystal and cool to your thirsty throat. 'Surely that is good water.' But do you know where it comes from? Every mountain cabin is built close to a spring-branch. Somewhere up that branch there may be a clearing; in that clearing, a house; in that house, a case of dysentery or typhoid fever. I have known several cases of infection from just such a source. It is not true that running water purifies itself.

"When one must use well-water let him note the surrounding drainage. If the well is near a stable or out house, or if dish water is thrown near it, let it alone. A well in sandy soil is more or less filtered by nature, but rocky or clayey earth may conduct disease germs a considerable distance under ground. Never drink from the well of an abandoned farm: there is no telling what may have fallen into it.

"A spring issuing from the living rock is worthy of confidence. Even if it be but a trickle you can scoop out a basin to receive it that soon will clear itself.

"Sometimes a subaqueous spring may be found near the margin of a lake or river by paddling close in shore and trailing your hand in the water. When a cold spot is noted, go ashore and dig a few feet back from the water's edge. I have found such spring exit in the Mississippi some distance from the bank, and by weighting a canteen, tying a string to it and another to the stopper, have brought up cool water from the river bed.

"Disease germs are of animal, not vegetable origin. Still waters are not necessarily unwholesome, even though there is rotten vegetation in them. The water of cedar and cypress swamps is good to drink wherever there is a deep pool of it, unless polluted from some outside source. Lake water is safe if no settlements are on its border; but even so large a body as Lake Champlain has been condemned by state boards of health because of the sewage that runs into it.

"When a stream is in flood it is likely to be contaminated by decayed animal matter.

"Alkaline Water—When traveling in an alkali country carry some vinegar or limes or lemons, or (better) a glass stoppered bottle of hydrochloric acid. One teaspoonful of hydrochloric (muriatic) neutralizes about a gallon of water, and if there should be a little excess it will do no harm but rather assist digestion. In default of acid you may add a little Jamaica ginger and sugar to the water, making a weak ginger tea.

"Muddy Water—I used to clarify Mississippi water by stirring corn meal in it and letting it settle, or by stirring a lump of alum in it until the mud began to precipitate, and then decanting the clear water. Lacking these, one can take a good handful of grass, tie it roughly in the form of a cone six or eight inches high, invert it, pour water slowly into the grass and a runnel of comparatively clear water will trickle down through the small end.

"Stagnant Water—A traveler may be reduced to the extremity of using stagnant or even putrid water; but this should never be done without first boiling it. Some charred wood from the camp fire should be boiled with the water; then skim off the scum, strain, and set in water aside to cool. Boiling sterilizes, and charcoal deodorizes. * * *"

COOKING THE FIRST MEAL

Arriving at Camp

As soon as the camp site is decided upon locate the tent. (This should be done in advance when the party is of any size). Each tent should be about twenty-five feet from the next, on a dry place and easy to drain in case of rain, and so placed as to have the sun in the morning and the shade in the afternoon. Each tent should be trenched and placed some distance from the water supply and from the latrine.

Tents

"For fixed camps, situated where there are wagon roads or other adequate means of transportation, the best cloth shelter is a wall tent, rectangular or square, of strong and rather heavy material. * * * The best all-round size of wall tent for two people, if weight and bulk and cost are of any consequence, is the so-called 9 × 9 or a 9 × 12, built with 3-1/2-foot walls, instead of 3-foot, and 8-foot center, instead of 7-1/2-foot. For four persons a 12 × 14 is commonly used; but a 14 × 14 with 4-foot walls and a 9-foot center has double the head-room of the standard 12 × 14, and 2-1/2 feet more space between cots, if these are set lengthwise of the tent, two on a side.

"Before selecting a tent, consider the number of people to occupy it and their dunnage, and the furniture. Then draw diagrams of floor and elevation of various sizes, putting in the cots, etc., according to scale; so you can get just what you want, no more, no less.

Camp Sanitation

"Nothing is cleaner, sweeter, wholesomer, than a wildwood unspoiled by man, and few spots are more disgusting than a "piggy" camp, with slops thrown everywhere, empty cans and broken bottles littering the ground, and organic refuse left festering in the sun, breeding disease germs, to be spread abroad by the swarms of flies. I have seen one of nature's gardens, an ideal health resort, changed in a few months by a logging crew into an abomination and a pest hole where typhoid and dysentery wrought deadly vengeance.

"Destroy at once all refuse that would attract flies. Or bury it where they cannot get at it.

"Fire is the absolute disinfectant. Burn all solid kitchen refuse as fast as it accumulates. When a can of food is emptied toss it on the fire and burn it out, then drop it in a sink hole that you have dug for slops and unburnable trash, and cover it with earth or ashes so no mosquitoes can breed in it after a rainfall.

"The sink should be on the down hill side of camp, and where it cannot pollute the water supply. Sprinkle kerosene on it or burn it out frequently with a brush fire. * * *"

The Latrine

One of the first tasks of the camper is to dig a trench for a latrine and build a screen around it. The latrine should be on a lower level than the camp, away from the water supply and in the opposite direction from which the prevailing winds come toward the camp, two hundred feet from sleeping and mess tents. Bushes or a tent fly may be used as a screen and shelter. A small lean-to serves admirably. Dig trenches four feet long, one foot wide and two feet deep. Allow six inches (length) per day for a Scout. Cover after using with fresh dirt. It is imperative to fill and re-sod all trenches dug. Whether you camp only for lunch or for the summer leave no trace that you have been there. Remember the animals how they scratch the soil and cover up any waste that they leave, and be at least as clean as they.

Lime does not keep the flies away. Plenty of fresh dirt is better.

Team Work

Only as each and every member does her part will the camp be a complete success. The daily tasks should be assigned to individuals or groups, as in:

The Pine Tree Patrol System

The chief advantage of this system is that whenever the need for work of any description arises, there is always someone whose duty is to perform that particular task, thus avoiding the inevitable question of "Who will do it?" The Pine Tree Patrol system does not in the least interfere with regular schedule of Scout activities; on the contrary, it saves time since more than one hand on each spoke of the wheel keeps it in continual motion. When the system seems too complicated for a small camp, the captain can simplify it to suit the circumstances.

Each girl in the Patrol is assigned a number which requires of her:

1. Certain well defined duties to perform for her Patrol.

2. Certain specific knowledge expected of her in the exercise of her "specialty."

3. Proper care of her special "station gear."

4. Willingness to teach her understudy all she knows.

5. Willingness to learn the duties of the next higher numbers.

The front rank (Reds) is in touch with and under the Senior (Patrol Leader); the rear rank (Blues) is in touch with and under the Junior. The Senior receives her orders from the Captain and transmits them not only to 3, 5 and 7, but to Junior as well. The Senior and ranking Patrol officer keeps an eye on the Junior and her rear rank. The Captain, of course, is the general overseer, but the Senior has charge of all routine troop duties, superintends camp details and is virtually a first Lieutenant to the Captain. The Junior is a second Lieutenant and assists the Senior in the supervision of the camp.

The Senior (No. 1) looks after the flags, tentage, blankets, equipment and personal baggage, while the Junior (No. 2) has charge of food, fires, water, cooking, and kitchen work. They appease the demands of the outer and inner man.

The Scribe (No. 3)—She is secretary, bookkeeper, log writer, recorder, correspondent, tent pitcher and First-Aid Scout.

The Baker (No. 4) is the Junior's first aid. She is charged with the care and use of cereal foodstuffs all the way from corn on the cob to flap-jacks and "sinkers," and the cooking outfit and kitchen fire.

The Lighter (No. 5) has care of the lamps, lanterns, candles, matches, oils and all "leaky" stuff. She understands telegraphy and electricity and is chief signal Scout and assistant tent pitcher. She must keep the camp well illuminated.

The Water Scout (No. 6) locates water for all purposes and carries it to camp. She acts as Fire Chief and Fire Watchman. She provides and cooks meat, vegetables and "greens."

The Handy Scout (No. 7) is field engineer, carpenter, bridge builder, the general maker, mender, patcher, splicer and tinker; cares for tools and trek-cart, mends the tents and clothing, and makes the furniture.

The Wood Scout (Patrol Mascot) (No. 8) is usually the youngest girl. She keeps fires well fed, the rations dry and the garbage burned. She carries a spade, pick axe and cutting axe.

This system may be used in either a small or large camp; if the latter, corresponding numbers of each Patrol work together.

TEAM WORK AND DAILY ROUTINE

6:30 A. M. Junior, Baker, Water Scout and Wood Scout report half an hour before Mess.

8:00 A. M. Tent Inspection.

8:30 A. M. Senior, Scribe, Lighter and Handy Scout report.

8:30-9:30 A. M. Main work for day accomplished by both Senior and Junior groups.

Caution in Use of Knife and Axe

The Knife

1. Always whittle away from you.

2. Keep your fingers behind the blade.

3. Keep saying to yourself: "If this knife slips, can it cut my fingers?"

4. Learn how to sharpen your knife and keep it sharp.

The Chopping Block

"A chopping block is the first thing needed about a camp. The axe, when not in use, should always be stuck in that particular block, where one can find it when wanted, and where it will not injure men or dogs."

The Axe

"Do not let the axe lie outdoors on a very cold night; the frost would make it brittle, so that the steel might shiver on the first knot you struck the next morning...."

The axe is a most dangerous tool, and a glancing blow may cripple one for life.

1. Do not put your foot on a stick you are chopping.

2. Always have in mind where a glancing blow may throw the axe, and keep your foot away from that danger.

3. In splitting short sticks for kindling hold them by one end flat on the chopping block and strike the blade into the other end.

4. Do not hold the stick on end in one hand while splitting it.

5. Cut or split small wood on a chopping block or log. Never let the axe strike into the ground, as a hidden stone may ruin the edge.

The Camp Fire

"The forest floor is always littered with old leaves, dead sticks and fallen trees. During a drought this rubbish is so tinder-dry that a spark falling in it may start a conflagration; but through a great part of the year the leaves and sticks that lie flat on the ground are too moist at least on their under side, to ignite readily. If we rake together a pile of leaves, cover it higgledy-piggledy with dead twigs and branches picked up at random, and set a match to it, the odds are that it will result in nothing but a quick blaze that soon dies down to a smudge. Yet that is the way most of us tried to make our first outdoor fires.

"One glance at a camper's fire tells what kind of a woodsman he is. It is quite impossible to prepare a good meal over a heap of smoking chunks, a fierce blaze, or a great bed of coals that will warp iron and melt everything else.

LUNCHEON FIRE

"If one would have good meals cooked out of doors, and would save much time and vexation; in other words, if he wants to be comfortable in the woods, he must learn how to produce at will either (1) a quick, hot little fire that will boil water in a jiffy, and will soon burn down to embers that are not too ardent for frying; or (2) a solid bed of long-lived coals that will keep up a steady, glowing, smokeless heat for baking, roasting or slow boiling; or (3) a big log fire that will throw its heat forward on the ground, and into a tent or lean-to, and will last several hours without replenishing.

"Luncheon Fire—For a noonday lunch, or any other quick meal, when you have only to boil coffee and fry something, a large fire is not wanted. Drive a forked stake into the ground, lay a green stick across it, slanting upward from the ground, and weight the lower end with a rock, so that you could easily regulate the height of a pot. The slanting stick should be notched, or have the stub of a twig left at its upper end, to hold the pot in place, and to be set at such an angle that the pot swings about a foot clear of the ground.

"Then gather a small armful of sound, dry twigs from the size of a lead pencil to that of your finger. Take no twig that lies flat on the ground, for such are generally damp or rotten. Choose hard wood, if there is any, for it lasts well.

"Select three of your best sticks for kindling. Shave each of them almost through, for half its length, leaving lower end of shavings attached to the stick, one under the other. Stand these in a tripod, under the hanging pot, with their curls down. Around them build a small conical wigwam of the other sticks, standing each on end and slanting to a common center. The whole affair is no bigger than your hat. Leave free air spaces between the sticks. Fire requires air, and plenty of it, and it burns best when it has something to climb up on; hence the wigwam construction. Now touch off the shaved sticks, and in a moment you will have a small blast furnace under the pot. This will get up steam in a hurry. Feed it with small sticks as needed.

"Meantime get two bed-sticks, four or five inches thick, or a pair of flat rocks, to support the frying pan. The firewood will all drop to embers soon after the pot boils. Toss out the smoking butts, leaving only clear, glowing coals. Put your bed-sticks on either side, parallel and level. Set the pan on them, and fry away. So, in twenty minutes from the time you drove your stake, the meal will be cooked.

"Dinner Fire—First get in plenty of wood and kindling. If you can find two large flat rocks, or several small ones of even height use them as andirons; otherwise lay down two short cuts off a five or six inch log, facing you and about three feet apart. On these rocks or billets lay two four foot logs parallel, and several inches apart, as rests for your utensils. Arrange the kindling between and under them, with small sticks laid across the top of the logs, a couple of long ones lengthwise, then more short ones across, another pair lengthwise, and thicker short ones across. Then light it. Many prefer to light the kindling at once and feed the fire gradually; but I do as above, so as to have an even glow under several pots at once, and then the sticks will all burn down to coals together.

CAMP CRANE

"This is the usual way to build a cooking fire when there is no time to do better. The objection is that the supporting logs must be close enough together to hold up the pots and pans, and, being round, this leaves too little space between them for the fire to heat the balance evenly; besides, a pot is liable to slip and topple over. A better way, if one has time, is to hew both the inside surfaces and the tops of the logs flat. Space these supports close enough together at one end for the narrowest pot and wide enough apart at the other for the frying pan.

"If you carry fire-irons much bother is saved. Simply lay down two flat rocks or a pair of billets far enough apart for the purpose, place the flat irons on them, and space them to suit the utensils.

"If a camp grate is used, build a crisscross fire of short sticks under it.

"Split wood is better than round sticks for cooking; it catches easier and burns more easily.

"Camp Crane—Pots for hot water, stews, coffee, and so on, are more manageable when hung above the fire. The heat can easily be regulated, the pots hanging low at first to boil quickly, and then being elevated or shifted aside to simmer.

PINE TREE HORSE

"Set up two forked stakes about five feet apart and four feet to the crotches. Across them lay a green stick (lug-pole) somewhat thicker than a broomstick. Now cut three or four green crotches from branches, drive a nail in the small end of each, or cut a notch in it, invert the crotches, and hang them on the lug-pole to suspend kettles from. These pothooks are to be of different length so that the kettle can be adjusted to different heights above the fire, first for hard boiling, and then for simmering. If kettles were hung from the lug-pole itself, this adjustment could not be made, and you would have to dismount the whole business in order to get one kettle off.

"If forked stakes are not easily found in the neighborhood, drive straight ones, then split the tops, flatten the ends of the cross poles and insert them in the clefts of the stakes.

"You do not want a big fire to cook over. Many and many a time I have watched old and experienced woodsmen spoil their grub, and their tempers, too, by trying to cook in front of a roaring winter campfire, and have marveled at their lack of common sense. Off to one side of such a fire, lay your bed log as above; then shovel from the campfire enough hard coal to fill the space between the logs within three inches of the top. You now have a steady, even heat from end to end; it can easily be regulated; there is level support for every vessel; and you can wield a short-handled frying pan over such an outdoor range without scorching either the meat or yourself.

"Fire for Baking—For baking in a reflector, or roasting a joint, a high fire is best, with a backing to throw the heat forward. Sticks three feet long can be leaned against a big log or a sheer-faced rock, and the kindlings started under them.

"Often a good bed of coals is wanted. The campfire generally supplies these, but sometimes they are needed in a hurry, soon after camp is pitched. To get them, take sound hardwood, either green or dead, and split it into sticks of uniform thickness (say, 1-1/4-inch face). Lay down two bed-sticks, cross these near the end with two others, and so on up until you have a pen a foot high. Start a fire in this pen. Then cover it with a layer of parallel sticks laid an inch apart. Cross this with a similar layer at right angles, and so upward for another foot. The free draught will make a roaring fire, and all will burn down to coals together.

"The thick bark of hemlock, and the hard woods generally, will soon yield coals for ordinary cooking.

"To keep coals a long time, cover them with ashes, or with bark which will soon burn to ashes. In wet weather a bed of coals can be shielded by slanting broad strips of green bark over it and overlapping them at the edges.

"Fire in a Trench—In time of drought when everything is tinder-dry, or in windy weather, especially if the ground be strewn with dead leaves or pine needles, build your fire in a trench. This is the best way, too, if fuel is scarce and you must depend on brushwood, as a trench conserves heat.

"Dig the trench in line with the prevailing wind. The point is to get a good draught. Make the windward end somewhat wider than the rest, and deeper, sloping the trench upward to the far end. Line the sides with flat rocks if they are to be found, as they hold heat a long time and keep the sides from crumbling in. Lay other rocks, or a pair of green poles along the edges to support vessels. A little chimney of flat stones or sod, at the leeward end, will make the fire draw well. If there is some sheet-iron to cover the trench a quite practical stove is made, but an open trench will do very well if properly managed.

"The Indian's Fire—Best where fuel is scarce, or when one has only a small hatchet with which to cut night wood. Fell and trim a lot of hardwood saplings. Lay three or four of them on the ground, butts on top of each other, tips radiating from this center like the spokes of a wheel. On and around this build a small hot fire. Place butts of other saplings on this, radiating like the others. As the wood burns away, shove the sticks in toward the center, butts on top of each other as before. This saves much chopping, and economizes fuel. Build a little wind break behind you and lie close to the fire. Doubtless you have heard the Indian's dictum (southern Indians express it just as the northern ones do): 'White man heap fool; make um big fire—can't git near; Injun make um little fire—git close. Uh, good.'

Kindling

"The best kindling is fat pine or the bark of the paper birch. Fat pine is found in the stumps and butt cuts of pine trees, particularly those that died on the stump. The resin has collected there and dried. This wood is usually easy to split. Pine knots are the tough, heavy resinous stubs of limbs that are found on dead pine trees. They, as well as fat pine, are almost imperishable, and those sticking out of old rotten logs are as good as any. In collecting pine knots go to fallen trees that are almost rotted away. Hit the knot a lick with the pole of the axe and generally it will yield; if you must chop, cut deep to get it all and to save the axe edge. The knots of old dead balsams are similarly used. Usually a dead stump of pine, spruce, or balsam, all punky on the outside, has a core very rich in resin that makes excellent kindling.

"Hemlock knots are worthless and hard as glass—keep your axe out of them.

"The thick bark of hemlock is good to make glowing coals in a hurry; so is that of hard woods generally. Good kindling sure to be dry underneath the bark in all weather, is procured by snapping off the small dead branches, or stubs of branches, that are left on the trunks of small or medium-sized trees, near the ground. Do not pick up twigs from the ground, but choose those among the downwood that are held up free from the ground. Where a tree is found that has been shivered by lightning, or one that has broken off without uprooting, good splinters of dry wood will be found. In every laurel thicket there is plenty of dead laurel, and, since it is of sprangling growth, most of the branches will be free from the ground and snap-dry. They ignite readily and give out intense heat.

"The bark of all species of birch, but of paper birch especially, is excellent for kindling and for torches. It is full of resinous oil, blazes up at once, will burn in any wind, and wet sticks can be ignited with it.

"Making Fire in the Wet—It is a good test of one's resourcefulness to make a fire out of doors in rainy weather. The best way to go about it depends upon local conditions. If fat pine can be found, the trick is easy; just split it up, and start your fire under a big fallen log. Dry fuel and a place to build a fire can often be found under big up-tilted logs, shelving rocks, and similar natural shelters, or in the core of an old stump. In default of these, look for a dead softwood tree that leans to the south. The wood and bark on the under side will be dry; chop some off, split it fine, and build your fire under the shelter of the trunk.

"Lighting a Match—When there is nothing dry to strike it on, jerk the tip of the match forward against your teeth.

"To light a match in the wind, face the wind. Cup your hands, with their backs toward the wind, and hold the match with its head pointing toward the rear of the cup; i. e., toward the wind. Remove the right hand just long enough to strike the match on something very close by; then instantly resume the former position. The flame will run up the match stick, instead of being blown away from it, and so will have something to feed on.

"Fire Regulations—On state lands and on national forest reserves it is forbidden to use any but fallen timber for firewood. Different states have various other restrictions, some, I believe, not permitting trampers to light a fire in the woods at all unless accompanied by a registered guide.

"In New York the regulations prescribe that fires will be permitted for the purposes of cooking, warmth and insect smudges; but before such fires are kindled sufficient space around the spot where the fire is to be lighted must be cleared from all combustible material; and before the place is abandoned fires so lighted must be thoroughly quenched.

"In Pennsylvania forest reserves no fire may be made except in a hole or pit one foot deep, the pit being encircled by the excavated earth. In those of California, no fire at all may be lighted without first procuring a permit from the authorities.

"Fire regulations are posted on all public lands, and if campers disregard them they are subject to arrest.

"These are wise and good laws. Every camper who loves the forest, and who has any regard for public interest, will do his part in obeying them to the letter. However, if he occupies private property where he may use his own judgment, or if he travels in the wilderness far from civilization, where there are no regulations, it will be useful for him to know something about the fuel value of all kinds of wood, green as well as dead, and for such people the following information is given:

"The arts of fire building are not so simple as they look. To practice them successfully in all sorts of wild regions we must know the different species of trees one from another, and their relative fuel values, which as we shall see, vary a great deal. We must know how well, or ill, each of them burns in a green state, as well as when seasoned. It is important to discriminate between wood that makes lasting coals and such as soon dies down to ashes. Some kinds of wood pop violently when burning and cast out embers that may burn holes in tents and bedding or set the neighborhood afire; others burn quietly, with clear, steady flame. Some are stubborn to split, others almost fall apart under the axe. In wet weather it takes a practiced woodsman to find tinder and dry wood, and to select a natural shelter where fire can be kept going during a storm or rain or snow, when a fire is most needed.

"There are several handy little manuals by which one who has no botanical knowledge can soon learn how to identify the different species of trees by merely examining their leaves, or, late in the season, by their bark, buds and habit of growth.

"But no book gives the other information that I have referred to; so I shall offer, in the present chapter, a little rudimentary instruction in this important branch of woodcraft.

"It is convenient for our purpose to divide the trees into two great groups, hard woods and soft woods, using these terms not so loosely as lumbermen do, but drawing the line between sycamore, yellow birch, yellow pine, and slippery elm, on the one side, and red cedar, sassafras, pitch pine and white birch, on the other.

"As a general rule, hard woods make good, slow-burning fuel that yields lasting coals, and soft woods make a quick, hot fire that is soon spent. But each species has peculiarities that deserve close attention.

"Best Fuel—Best of all northern fire woods is hickory, green or dry. It makes a hot fire, but lasts a long time, burning down to a bed of hard coals that keep up an even, generous heat for hours. Hickory, by the way, is distinctly an American tree; no other region on earth produces it. The live oak of the south is most excellent fuel; so is holly. Following the hickory, in fuel value, are chestnut, oak, overcup, white, blackjack, post and basket oaks, pecan, the hornbeams (ironwoods), and dogwood. The latter burns finely to a beautiful white ash that is characteristic; apple wood does the same. Black birch also ranks here; it has the advantage of 'doing its own blowing,' as a Carolina mountaineer said to me, meaning that the oil in the birch assists its combustion so that the wood needs no coaxing. All of the birches are good fuel, ranking in about this order: Black, yellow, red, paper, and white. Sugar maple was the favorite fuel of our old-time hunters and surveyors because it ignites easily, burns with a clear, steady flame, and leaves good coals.

"Locust is a good, lasting fuel; it is easy to cut, and, when green, splits fairly well; the thick bark takes fire readily and the wood then burns slowly, with little flame, leaving pretty good coals; hence it is good for night wood. Mulberry has similar qualities. The scarlet and willow oaks are among the poorest of the hard woods for fuel. Cherry makes only fair fuel. White elm is poor stuff, but slippery elm is better. Yellow pine burns well, as its sap is resinous instead of watery like that of the soft pines.

"In some respects white ash is the best of green woods for campers fuel. It is easily cut and split, is lighter to tote than most other woods, and is of so dry a nature that even the green wood catches fire readily. It burns with clear flame, and lasts longer than any other free-burning wood of its weight. On a wager, I have built a bully fire from a green tree of white ash, one match, and no dry kindling. I split some of the wood very fine and 'frilled' a few of the little sticks with my knife.

"Soft Woods—Most of the soft woods are good only for kindling, or for quick cooking fires, and then only when seasoned. For these purposes, however, some of them are superior, as they split and shave readily and catch fire easily.

"Liquidambar, magnolia, tulip, catalpa, and willow are poor fuel. Seasoned chestnut and yellow poplar make a hot fire, but crackle and leave no coals. Balsam fir, basswood, and the white and loblolly pines make quick fires, but are soon spent. The grey (Labrador) or jack pine is considered good fuel in the far north, where hard woods are scarce. Seasoned tamarack is good. Spruce is poor fuel, although, being resinous, it kindles easily and makes a good blaze for 'branding up' a fire. Pitch pine, which is the most inflammable of all woods when dry and 'fat,' will scarcely burn at all in a green state. Sycamore and buckeye, when thoroughly seasoned, are good fuel, but will not split. Alder burns readily and gives out considerable heat, but is not lasting.

"The dry wood of the northern poplar (large-toothed aspen) is a favorite for cooking fires, because it gives an intense heat, with little or no smoke, lasts well, and does not blacken the utensils. Red cedar has similar qualities, but is rather hard to ignite and must be fed fine at the start.

"The best green soft woods for fuel are white birch, paper birch, soft maple, cottonwood, and quaking aspen.

"As a rule, the timber growing along the margins of large streams is softwood. Hence, driftwood is generally a poor mainstay unless there is plenty of it on the spot; but driftwood on the sea coast is good fuel.

"Precautions—I have already mentioned the necessity of clearing the camp ground of inflammable stuff before starting a fire on it, raking it toward a common center and burning all the dead leaves, pine needles and trash; otherwise it may catch and spread beyond your control as soon as your back is turned. Don't build your fire against a big old punky log; it may smoulder a day or two after you have left and then burst out into flame when the breeze fans it.

"Never leave a spark of fire when breaking camp, or when leaving it for the day. Make absolutely sure of this by drenching the campfire thoroughly, or by smothering it completely with earth or sand. Never drop a lighted match on the ground without stamping it out. Have you ever seen a forest fire? It is terrible. Thousands of acres are destroyed and many a time men and women and children have been cut off by a tornado of flame and burned alive. The person whose carelessness starts such a holocaust is worse than a fool—he is a criminal, and a disgrace to the good earth he treads."

HAVERSACK FOR CARRYING KITCHEN UTENSILS

Cooking Devices

When it is convenient carry a hatchet. Scouts should carry a small folding grate. The best form of grate is one with folding legs.

After laying the fire the legs of the grate are driven into the ground. As the fire burns down, the grate may be lowered by driving the legs in deeper. This is a very useful utensil for supporting hot water pails or frying pan.

When no forks can be found use the "Pine Tree Horse," as shown in cut.

In order to boil water hard it will only be necessary to slip the kettle down the pole, holding it in place by graduated notches.

Equipment and supplies for one meal may be carried in one or two haversacks like the one shown. Indeed, a meal may be cooked without any equipment whatever other than a knife which every Scout should be provided with.

Improvised Grate—A few sticks 1/2 inch in diameter laid about 2 inches apart and about 2 inches above the coals form a good enough broiler. Steak and chops cook perfectly well if laid right on the coals.

Cooking kits allow for more variety, as they provide a frying pan, in which bacon and potatoes can be cooked, and a small pail for boiling water. It is convenient for each Scout to carry her own cup, knife, fork and spoon. The cooking kit and supplies can then be divided among the party.

At a permanent camp a frying board is a great convenience. It is simply a flat, smooth board with a pointed end which can be driven into the ground. Fish, meat, game and "Injun" bread can be cooked on this board better than in any other way, as the food receives the heat without becoming charred, and is much more wholesome than when fried in a pan. As long as the board is to windward of the flame, a constant heat is maintained without smoke. A small fire will cook a very large fish in a short time. An old canoe paddle may be used for this purpose. The food is hung on nails driven in the board, a strip of bacon, hung above the fish and dripping on it would improve the flavor.

THE FOLDING BAKER

It is a good plan to use a separate frying board when cooking fish, as the juice from the fish seeps into the board and it is practically impossible to remove it by cleaning. The flavor of fish is not pleasant on other food. If it is not practicable to carry two frying boards one can be careful to reserve the same side of one board for cooking fish.

A long cooking spoon for dishing vegetables out of the pots is very useful. A roll of paper towels for drying dishes and for use as napkins, or cloth dish towels and paper napkins are also useful. Other useful articles are a dish mop with a wooden handle, and a pancake turner.

The Folding Baker—The baker may be placed before the blazing fire. It is a perfect arrangement for baking biscuits and roasting meats.

Friction Top Cans—It is well to have these varying in capacity from one to three quarts. Use one quart size for washing soda, powdered soap, and sugar. The larger sizes should carry flour, cornmeal, etc. Eggs may be placed in the one used for the cornmeal.

FRICTION TOP CAN

Where convenient to provide a large equipment the following utensils are suggested:

Camp grate, 3 wire toasters (one for meat, one for fish, one for bread), 2 frying boards (one for meat, one for fish), 6-quart pail for reserve water, 9-quart pail for boiling vegetables, agate or paper plates, agate or paper cups, knives, forks, spoons, kit knife, paper towels, dish mops, powdered soap, cotton gloves for handling hot or smoky pots, candles, matches (in waterproof packages), non-rusting wire 1/8 inch thick for hanging pots, etc.

A large permanent camp may add greatly to the pleasure of its members, and make a delightful break in the day, by sending off troops of, say, eight girls to cook a camp lunch at a place about a mile distant. For this purpose, when a group plans to do a great deal of camping the above equipment is suggested. It could all be packed in the pack basket, and the girls could take turns carrying it.

FOLDING FRYING PAN

Such a basket without a canvas cover costs about $8 and is extremely useful in permanent camp equipment.

Utensils Required for a Party of Eight and their Uses

If the group of girls plans for a camping trip of several days and transport is available, all the following utensils will be found useful. These may be purchased in any sporting goods store.

Three Wire Toasters—One for meat, one for fish, one for toast.

In cooking meat or fish, and in making toast before a blazing fire, stand the wire toaster upright before the fire and prop it up with a stick.

A board may be used in the same manner. It is often desirable to do this in order to avoid the delay of waiting for the fire to burn down.

Cooking Pots—Size 5 quarts, for boiling vegetables; size 6-1/2 quarts, for boiling vegetables; size 9 quarts, for hot water; size 15 quarts, for reserve cold water.

Each of these pots nests in the next larger size, making one package. A cocoa pot of this type nests into the 5-quart pail.

Two Frying Pans—The handles fold in and the pans pack in a case with the nest of cooking pots. In addition to their usual uses, the frying pans are also used as dish-washing pans, one for the washing and one for the rinsing.

COMPLETE COOKING OUTFIT FOR EIGHT SCOUTS

A heaped teaspoon of washing soda dissolved in hot water will so perfectly clean the frying pans as to permit their use as dish-pans.

Eight agate plates, or aluminum if possible; eight agate cups, or aluminum if possible; eight knives, forks and spoons; one large, long-handled cooking spoon.

The complete cooking outfit may be nested together and packed in a canvas bag and takes up about as much space as a water pail.

Provisions

"When a party camps where fresh meat and farm products can be procured as they are wanted, its provisioning is chiefly a matter of taste, and calls for no special comment here. But to have good meals in the wilderness is a different matter. A man will eat five or six pounds a day of fresh food. That is a heavy load on the trail. And fresh meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables are generally too bulky, too perishable. So it is up to the woodsman to learn how to get the most nourishment out of the least weight and bulk in materials that 'keep' well.

"Light outfitting, as regards food, is mainly a question of how much water we are willing to carry in our rations. For instance, canned peaches are 88 per cent. water. Can one afford to carry so much water from home when there is plenty of it at camp?

"The following table is suggestive:

More than 3/4 water

Fresh milk, fruit, vegetables (except potatoes).

Canned soups, tomatoes, peaches, pears, etc.

More than 1/2 water

Fresh beef, veal, mutton, poultry, eggs, potatoes.

Canned corn, baked beans, pineapple.

Evaporated milk (unsweetened).

More than 1/3 water

Fresh bread, rolls, pork chops.

Potted chicken, etc.

Cheese.

Canned blackberries.

Less than 1/3 water

Dried apples, apricots, peaches, prunes.

Fruit jelly.

Less than 1/5 water

Salt pork, bacon, dried fish, butter.

Dessicated eggs, concentrated soups.

Powdered milk.

Wheat flour, cornmeal, etc., macaroni.

Rice, oatmeal, hominy, etc.

Dried beans, split peas.

Dehydrated vegetables.

Dried dates, figs, raisins.

Orange marmalade, sugar, chocolate.

Nuts, nut butter.

"Although this table is good in its way, it is not a fair measure of the relative value of foods. Even the solid part of some foodstuffs contains a good deal of refuse (potatoes 20 per cent), while others have none.

FIVE QUART PAIL TO NEST CANS

"Nutritive Values—The nutritive elements of foodstuffs are protein, a little mineral matter, fats, and carbohydrates. Protein is the basis of muscles, bone, tendon, cartilage, skin and corpuscles of the blood. Fats and carbohydrates supply heat and muscular energy. In other words, the human body is an engine; protein keeps it in repair; fats and carbohydrates are the fuel to run it.

"Familiar examples of proteids are lean meat and white of egg. The chief food fats are fat meat, butter, lard, oil and cream. Carbohydrates are starchy foods (flour, cereals, etc.) and sugar (sweets of almost any kind).

"The problem of a well-balanced ration consists in supplying daily the right proportion of nutritive elements in agreeable and digestible form. The problem of a campaign ration is the same, but cutting out most of the water and waste in which fresh foods abound. However, in getting rid of the water in fresh meats, fruits and vegetables we lose, unfortunately, much of the volatile essences that give these foods their good flavor. This loss—and it is a serious one—must be made up by the camp cook, changing the menu as often as he can by varying the ingredients and the processes of cooking.

"Variety is quite as welcome at the camp board as anywhere else, in fact, more so; for it is harder to get. Variety need not mean adding to the load. It means substituting, say, three 5-pound parcels for one 15-pound parcel, so as to have something 'different' from day to day.

"Digestibility—We must bear in mind the adage that 'we live not upon what we eat but upon what we digest.' Some foods rich in protein, especially beans, peas, and oatmeal, are not easily assimilated, unless cooked for a longer time than campers generally can spare. A considerable part of their protein is liable to putrefy in the alimentary canal, and so be worse than wasted. An excess of meat or fish will do the same thing. Other foods of very high theoretical value are constipating if used in large amounts, as cheese, nuts, chocolate.

"Food Components—Let us now consider the material of field rations, item by item.

"Bacon—Good old breakfast bacon worthily heads the list, for it is the campaigner's standby. It keeps well in any climate, and demands no special care in packing. It is easy to cook, combines well with almost anything, is handier than lard to fry things with, does just as well to shorten bread or biscuits, is very nutritious, and nearly everybody likes it. Take it with you from home, for you can seldom buy it away from railroad towns. Get the boneless, in 5 to 8 pound flitches. Let canned bacon alone; it lacks flavor and costs more than it is worth. A little mould on the outside of a flitch does no harm, but reject bacon that is soft and watery, or with yellow fat, or with brownish or black spots in the lean.

"Smoked Ham—Small ones generally are tough and too salty. Hard to keep in warm or damp weather; moulds easily. Is attractive to blow-flies, which quickly fill it with 'skippers' if they can get at it. If kept in a cheesecloth bag and hung in a cool, airy place a ham will last until eaten up and will be relished. Ham will keep, even in warm weather, if packed in a stout paper bag so as to exclude flies. It will keep indefinitely if sliced, boiled or fried and put up in tins with melted lard poured over it to keep out air. * * *

"Canned Soups—These are wholesome enough, but their fluid kinds are very bulky for their meager nutritive value. However, a few cans of consomme are fine for 'stock' in camp soups or stews, and invaluable in case of sickness. Here, as in canned meat, avoid the country grocery kind.

"Condensed Soups—Soup powders are a great help in time of trouble—but don't rely on them for a full meal. There are some that are complete in themselves and require nothing but 15 to 20 minutes' cooking; others take longer, and demand (in small type on the label) the addition of ingredients that generally you haven't got. Try various brands at home till you find what you like.

"Cured Fish—Shredded codfish and smoked halibut, sprats, boneless herring are portable and keep well. They will be relished for variety's sake.

"Eggs—To vary the camp bill of fare, eggs are simply invaluable, not only by themselves, but as ingredients in cooking. * * *

"When means of transportation permit, fresh eggs may be carried to advantage. A hand crate holding 12 dozen weighs about 24 pounds, filled.

"Eggs can be packed along in winter without danger of breakage by carrying them frozen. Do not try to boil a frozen egg; peel it as you would a hard-boiled one and then fry or poach.

"To test an egg for freshness, drop it into cold water; if it sinks quickly it is fresh; if it stands on end it is doubtful; if it floats it is surely bad.

"To preserve eggs, rub them all over with vaseline, being careful that no particle of shell is uncoated. They will keep good much longer than if treated with lime water, salt, paraffine, water-glass or any of the other common expedients.

"On hard trips it is impracticable to carry eggs in the shell. Some campers break fresh eggs and pack them in friction-top cans. The yolks soon break and they keep but a short time. A good brand of desiccated eggs is the solution of this problem. It does away with all risk of breaking and spoiling and reduces bulk very much. Desiccated eggs vary a great deal in quality, according to material and process employed. Desiccated eggs made of the yolks are merely useful as ingredients in cooking.

"Milk—Sweetened condensed milk (the 'salve of the lumberjacks') is distasteful to most people. Plain evaporated milk is the thing to carry—and don't leave it out if you can practicably tote it. The notion that this is a 'baby food' to be scorned by real woodsmen is nothing but a foolish conceit. Few things pay better for their transportation. It will be allowed that Admiral Peary knows something about food values. Here is what he says in The North Pole: 'The essentials, and the only essentials, needed in a serious Arctic sledge journey, no matter what the season, the temperature, or the duration of the journey—whether one month or six—are four: pemmican, tea, ship's biscuit, condensed milk. The standard daily ration for work on the final sledge journey toward the Pole on all expeditions has been as follows: 1 lb. pemmican, 1 lb. ship's biscuit, 4 oz. condensed milk, 1/2 oz. compressed tea.'

"Milk, either evaporated or powdered, is a very important ingredient in camp cookery.

"Butter—This is another 'soft' thing that pays its freight.

"For ordinary trips it suffices to pack butter firmly into pry-up tin cans which have been sterilized by thorough scalding and then cooled in a perfectly clean place. Keep it in a spring or in cold running water (hung in a net, or weighted in a rock) whenever you can. When traveling, wrap the cold can in a towel or other insulating material.

"If I had to cut out either lard or butter I would keep the butter. It serves all the purposes of lard in cooking, is wholesomer, and beyond that, it is the most concentrated source of energy that one can use with impunity.

"Cheese—Cheese has nearly twice the fuel value of a porterhouse steak of equal weight, and it contains a fourth more protein. It is popularly supposed to be hard to digest, but in reality it is not so if used in moderation. The best kind for campers is potted cheese, or cream or 'snappy' cheese put up in tinfoil. If not so protected from air it soon dries out and grows stale. A tin of imported Camembert will be a pleasant surprise on some occasion.

"Bread Biscuits—It is well to carry enough yeast bread for two or three days, until the game country is reached and camp routine is established. To keep it fresh, each loaf must be sealed in wax paper or parchment paper (the latter is best, because it is tough, waterproof, greaseproof). Bread freezes easily; for cold weather luncheons carry toasted bread.

"Hardtack (pilot bread, ship biscuit) can be recommended only for such trips or cruises as do not permit baking. It is a cracker prepared of plain flour and water, not even salted, and kiln-dried to a chip, so as to keep indefinitely, its only enemies being weevils. Get the coarsest grade. To make hardtack palatable toast it until crisp, or soak in hot coffee and butter it, or at least salt it.

"Swedish hardtack, made of whole rye flour, is good for a change.

"Plasmon biscuit, imported from England, is the most nutritious breadstuff I have ever used. It is a round cracker, firm but not hard, of good flavor, containing a large percentage of the protein of milk, six of the small biscuits holding as much proteid as a quarter of a pound of beef.

"Flour—Graham and entire wheat flours contain more protein than patent flour, but this is offset by the fact that it is not so digestible as the protein of standard flour. Practically there is little or no difference between them in the amount of protein assimilated. The same seems to be true of their mineral ingredients.

"Many campers depend a good deal on self-raising flour because it saves a little trouble in mixing. But such flour is easily spoiled by dampness, it does not make as good biscuits or flapjacks as one can turn out in camp by doing his own mixing, and it will not do for thickening, dredging, etc.

"Flour and meal should be sifted before starting on an expedition. There will be no sieve in camp."

"Baking Powder—Get the best available powder, put up in air and damp-eight tins, so that your material will be in good condition when you come to use it in camp. Baking soda will not be needed on short trips, but is required for longer ones, in making sour-dough, as a steady diet of baking-powder bread or biscuit will ruin the stomach if persisted in for a considerable time. Soda also is useful medicinally.

"Cornmeal—Some like yellow, some prefer white. The flavor of freshly ground meal is best, but the ordinary granulated meal of commerce keeps better, because it has been kiln-dried. Cornmeal should not be used as the leading breadstuff, for reasons already given, but johnnycake, corn pancakes, and mush are a welcome change from hot wheat bread or biscuit, and the average novice at cooking may succeed better with them. The meal is useful to roll fish in before frying.

"Breakfast Cereals—These according to taste, and for variety's sake. Plain cereals, particularly oatmeal, require a long cooking, either in a double boiler or with constant stirring, to make them digestible; and then there is a messy pot to clean up. They do more harm than good to campers who hurry their cooking. So it is best to buy the partially cooked cereals that take only a few minutes to prepare. Otherwise the 'patent breakfast foods' have no more nutritive quality than plain grain; some of them not so much. The notion that bran has remarkable food value is a delusion; it actually makes the protein of the grain less digestible. As for mineral matter, 'to build up bone and teeth and brawn,' there is enough of it in almost any mixed diet, without swallowing a lot of crude fiber.

"Rice, although not very appetizing by itself, combines so well in stew or the like, and goes so well in pudding, that it deserves a place in the commissariat.

"Macaroni—The various pastes (pas-tay, as the Italians call them) take the place of bread, may be cooked in many ways to lend variety, and are especially good in soups which otherwise would have little nourishing power. Spaghetti, vermicelli, and noodles all are good in their way. Break macaroni into inch pieces and pack so that insects cannot get into it. It is more wholesome than flapjacks and it 'sticks to the ribs.'

"Sweets—Sugar is stored-up energy, and is assimilated more quickly than any other food. Men in the open soon get to craving sweets.

"Maple sugar is always welcome. Get the soft kind that can be spread on bread for luncheons. Syrup is easily made from it in camp by simply bringing it to a boil with the necessary amount of water. Ready-made syrup is mean to pack around.

"Sweet chocolate (not too sweet) has remarkable sustaining power.

"When practicable, take along some jam and marmalade. The commissaries of the British Army were wise when they gave jam an honorable place in Tommy Atkins' field ration. Yes: jam for soldiers in time of war. So many ounces of it, substituted, mind you, for so many ounces of the porky, porky, porky, that has ne'er a streak of lean. So, a little current jelly with your duck or venison is worth breaking all rules for. Such conserves can be repacked by the buyer in pry-up cans that have been sterilized as recommended under the heading Butter.

"Fresh Vegetables—The only ones worth taking along are potatoes and onions. Choose potatoes with small eyes and of uniform medium size, even if you have to buy half a bushel to sort out a peck. They are very heavy and bulky in proportion to their food value; so you cannot afford to be burdened with any but the best. Cereals and beans take the place of potatoes when you go light.

"Fresh onions are almost indispensable for seasoning soups, stews, etc. A few of them can be taken along almost anywhere. I generally carry at least one, even on a walking trip. Onions are good for the suddenly overtaxed system, relieve the inordinate thirst that one experiences the first day or two, and assist excretion. Freezing does not spoil onions if they are kept frozen until used.

"Beans—A prime factor in cold weather camping. Take a long time to cook ('soak all day and cook all night' is the rule). Cannot be cooked done at altitudes of 5,000 feet and upward. Large varieties cook quickest, but the small white navy beans are best for baking. Pick them over before packing, as there is much waste.

"Split Peas—Used chiefly in making a thick, nourishing soup.

"Dehydrated Vegetables—Much of the flavor of fresh vegetables is lost when the juice is expressed or evaporated, but all of their nutriment is retained and enough of the flavor for them to serve as fair substitutes when fresh vegetables cannot be carried. They help out a camp stew and may even be served as side dishes if one has butter and milk to season them. Generally they require soaking (which can be done over night); then they are to be boiled slowly until tender, taking about as much time as fresh vegetables. If cooking is hurried they will be woody and tasteless.

"Dehydrated vegetables are very portable, keep in any climate, and it is well to carry some on trips far from civilization.

"Canned Vegetables—In our table of food values it will be noticed that the least nourishing article for its weight and bulk is a can of tomatoes. Yet these 'air-tights' are great favorites with outdoors men, especially in the West and South, where frequently they are eaten raw out of the can. It is not so much their flavor as their acid that is grateful to a stomach overtaxed with fat or canned meat and hot bread three times a day. If wanted only as an adjuvant to soups, stews, rice, macaroni, etc., the more concentrated puree will serve very well.

"Canned corn (better still, 'kornlet,' which is concentrated milk of sweet corn) is quite nourishing, and everybody likes it.

"A few cans of baked beans (without tomato sauce) will be handy in wet weather. The B. & M. 3/4 lb. cans are convenient for a lone camper or for two going light.

"Nuts—A handful each of shelled nuts and raisins, with a cake of sweet chocolate, will carry a man far on the trail or when he has lost it. The kernels of butternuts and hickory nuts have the highest fuel value of our native species; peanuts and almonds are very rich in protein; Brazil nuts, filberts and pecans, in fat. Peanut butter is a concentrated food that goes well in sandwiches. One can easily make nut butter of any kind (except almonds or Brazil nuts) for himself by using the nut grinder that comes with a kitchen food chopper, and can add ground dates, ground popcorn, or whatever he likes; but such preparations will soon grow rancid if not sealed airtight. Nut butter is more digestible than kernels unless the latter are thoroughly chewed.

"Fruits—All fruits are very deficient in protein and (except olives) in fat, but dried fruit is rich in carbohydrates. Fruit acid (that of prunes, dried apricots, and dehydrated cranberries, when fresh fruit cannot be carried) is a good corrective of a too fatty and starchy or sugary diet, and a preventive of scurvy. Most fruits are laxative, and for that reason, if none other, a good proportion of dried fruit should be included in the ration, no matter how light one travels; otherwise one is likely to suffer from constipation when he changes from 'town grub' to 'trail grub.'

"Among canned fruits those that go farthest are pineapples and blackberries. Excellent jelly can be made in camp from dried apples.

"There is much nourishment in dates, figs (those dried round are better than layer figs) and raisins. Pitted dates and seedless raisins are best for light outfits. And do not despise the humble prune; buy the best grade in the market (unknown to landladies) and soak over night before stewing; it will be a revelation. Take a variety of dried fruits, and mix them in different combinations, sweet and tart, so as not to have the same sauce twice in succession; then you will learn that dried fruits are by no means a poor substitute for fresh or canned ones.

"In hot weather I carry a few lemons whenever practicable. Limes are more compact and better medicinally, but they do not keep well. Lime juice in bottles is excellent, if you carry it.

"Citric acid crystals may be used in lieu of lemons when going light, but the flavor is not so good as that of lemonade powder that one can put up for himself. The process is described by A. W. Barnard: 'Squeeze out the lemons and sift into the clear juice four to six spoonfuls of sugar to a lemon; let stand a few days if the weather is dry, or a week if wet, till it is dried up, then pulverize and put up into capsules.' Gelatin capsules of any size, from one oz. down, can be procured at a drug store. They are convenient to carry small quantities of spices, flavoring, medicines, etc., on a hike.

"Vinegar and pickles are suitable only for fixed camps or easy cruises.

"Fritures—Lard is less wholesome than olive oil, or 'Crisco,' or the other preparations of vegetable fats. Crisco can be heated to a higher temperature than lard without burning, thus ensuring the 'surprise' which prevents getting a fried article sodden with grease; it does as well as lard for shortening; and it can be used repeatedly without transmitting the flavor of one dish to the next one. Olive oil is superior as a friture, especially for fish, but expensive.

"Beverages—Tea is better than coffee. Even if you don't use it at home, take along on your camping trip enough for midday meals. Tea tabloids are not bad, but I advise using the real thing. On a hike, with no tea-ball, I tie up enough for each pint in a bit of washed cheesecloth, loosely, leaving enough string attached whereby to whisk it out after exactly four minutes' steeping.

"Cocoa is not only a drink but a food. It is best for the evening meal because it makes one sleepy, whereas tea and coffee have the opposite effect.

"Get the soluble kind if you want it quickly prepared.

"Condiments—Do not leave out a small assortment of condiments wherewith to vary the taste of common articles and serve a new sauce or gravy or pudding now and then.

"Salt is best carried in a wooden box. The amount used in cooking and at table is small.

"White pepper is better than black. Some Cayenne or Chili should also be taken. Red pepper is not only a good stomachic, but also is fine for a chili (made into a tea with hot water and sugar).

"Among condiments I class beef extract, bouillon cubes or capsules, and the like. They are of no use as food except to stimulate a feeble stomach or furnish a spurt of energy, but invaluable for flavoring camp-made soups and stews when you are far away from beef. The powder called Oystero yields an oyster flavor.

"Mustard is useful not only at table but for medicinal purposes; cloves, not only for its more obvious purposes, but to stick in an onion for a stew, and perchance for a toothache.

"Celery and parsley can now be had in dehydrated form. Some sage may be needed for stuffing." Onion and celery salt are real additions to the camp cooking outfit.

"If you aim at cake-making and puddings, ginger and cinnamon may be required. Curry powder is relished by many; its harshness may be tempered with sweet fruits or sugar.

"On short trips, salt and pepper will meet all requirements.

"Packing Food—Meat of any kind will quickly mould or spoil if packed in tins from which air is not exhausted.

"Flour should not be carried in the original sacks; they wet through or absorb moisture from the air, snag easily, and burst under the strain of a lashrope. Pack your flour, cereals, vegetables, dried fruits, etc., in the round-bottomed paraffined bags sold by outfitters (various sizes, from 10 lbs. down), which are damp-proof and have the further merit of standing up on their bottoms instead of always falling over. Put a tag on each bag and label it in ink. These small bags may then be stowed in 9-inch waterproof canvas provision bags (see outfitter's catalogues), but in that case the thing you want is generally at the bottom. * * *

"Butter, lard, ground coffee, tea, sugar, jam, matches, go in pry-up tin cans, sold by outfitters (small quantities in mailing tubes), or in common capped tins with tops secured by surgeon's plaster. Get pepper and spices in shaker-top cans, or, if you carry common shakers, cover tops with cloth and snap stout rubber bands around them.

"Often it is well to carry separately enough food to last the party between the jumping-off place and the main camp site, as it saves the bother of breaking bulk en route.

"When transportation is easy it pays to pack the bread, bags of flour, etc., in a tin wash-boiler or two, which are wrapped in burlaps and crated. These make capital grub boxes in camp, securing their contents from wet, insects and rodents. Ants in summer and mice at all times are downright pests of the woods, to say nothing of the wily coon, the predatory mink, the inquisitive skunk, and the fretful porcupine. The boilers are useful, too, on many occasions to catch rain-water, boil clothes, waterproof and dye tents, and so forth.

"A Last Look Around—Check off every article in the outfit as it is stowed, and keep the inventory for future reference. Then note what is left over at the end of the trip. This will help in outfitting for the next season."

Camp Cooking

Meat and fish are easy to cook and require few utensils. Steaks or chops require from four to twelve minutes to broil rare over a good bed of live coals, depending on the thickness of the meat. Place either directly on the coals in wire broiler and raise only an inch or two above the fire. Turn after about 1-1/2 minutes, and afterward turn a little oftener to prevent burning.

Chicken or duck of broiling size takes about 20 minutes to broil and requires very particular care in frequent turning to prevent burning. Turn about every 1/2 minute. As portions of the skin show signs of getting too brown baste them with a few drops of hot water from a large spoon. This also tends to keep them moist. The poultry may be cooked by propping the wire broiler upright six to nine inches from a blazing fire. Often the poultry is started this way and finished over the coals, as this saves considerable time in waiting for the fire to burn down. The chicken or duck may be hung close to the fire by a wire from a slanting pole, revolving frequently. An hour is required to roast poultry.

Stew—Cut meat in small pieces, brown in frying pan (use drippings), remove and place in stew pan in which there is sufficient water to cover stew. Cut vegetables in small pieces, place in frying pan a few minutes—long enough to soften—place in stew pan, season with salt and pepper, cook one-half hour—add flour thickening (water and flour), cover with enough water to prevent stew becoming dry and bury in hot oven for two or three hours.

Broiled Fish—Place in wire broiler, rubbing broiler first with salt pork or lard to prevent sticking, and broil over coals for about 20 minutes. All fish that is broiled should be served with a little butter sauce.

Frying Pan Dishes

Fried Fish—Cut the fish in pieces; that is, serving portions. Roll fish in cornmeal (this is not absolutely necessary). Fry for about 20 minutes (depending upon thickness of fish) over hot fire, in about 2 tablespoons of heated frying oil. Tried-out bacon, salt pork, lard, Crisco, or prepared cooking oil may be used.

Fish Balls—Fish balls prepared at home and carried along make good camp food. For group of eight: Ingredients—1 bowl dried codfish soaked several hours in cold water, 1 egg, 2 raw potatoes cut in pieces, 2 ozs. butter, frying oil, 2 tablespoons milk. Boil codfish and potatoes together for about 10 minutes, mash, add 1 beaten egg, butter size of 1/2 small egg (about 2 ozs.), 2 tablespoons milk and stir thoroughly. This mixture should be about the consistency of stiff oatmeal. Heat small amount of frying oil in pan. Drop batter from large spoon into hot oil. When brown, turn and cook on other side. Each patty should cook about three minutes to the side, about six minutes for the whole.

Fried Ham—Boil in frying pan for about 5 minutes, then pour off water and fry about two minutes on each side.

Fried Bacon—Fry gently until fat is tried out (Save drippings.) Bacon may also be fried on a hot rock, or cooked on sharp pointed stick with forked ends.

Fried Country Sausage—Fry sausages over moderate fire for about 15 minutes till they are brown.

Corn Beef Hash—Carry with the ingredients already prepared 1 part corned beef, chopped, 2 parts chopped cold boiled potatoes. Melt butter or suet into the frying pan. Fry.

Vegetables

Boiled Potatoes—Clean and scrape potatoes. Do not peel. Have water boiling and salted before putting potatoes in pot and keep water boiling until potatoes are soft. Large ones take about 25 minutes to cook. Plan to serve the meal about 25 minutes after the potatoes are put on the fire, for they are best served hot. When potatoes are cooked, drain water and keep hot until served.

Fried Potatoes—Slice cold boiled potatoes uniformly and fry in hot butter until brown.

Fried Raw Potatoes—Slice raw potatoes uniformly, boil in frying pan 5 minutes and then fry in butter until brown.

Onions—Boil in salted water 30 minutes until tender. Onions and potatoes go well together and campers should boil them together.

Green Peas—Buy them fresh from a farmer near camp if possible. Reject over-ripe pods. Shell and boil about 20 minutes in salted water, keeping peas barely covered. Drain almost all water when cooked and add one ounce of butter.

Green Corn—Boil corn about five minutes in boiling salted water.

Cocoa

One teaspoonful (level) to each person, 1/2 cup of water to each person, 1/2 cup of milk to each person. Cook cocoa in water 5 minutes; add to warm milk and allow it to reach boiling point. Do not boil.

Bread

When possible carry along a supply of bread.

Toast—Toast may either be made over coals or by propping wire broiler upright before blazing fire.

"Biscuit Loaf—This is a standard camp bread, because it bakes quickly. It is good so long as it is hot, but it dries out soon and will not keep. For four: 3 pints flour, 3 heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder, 1 heaping teaspoonful salt, 2 heaping tablespoonfuls cold grease, 1 scant pint cold water. Amount of water varies according to quality of flour. Baking powders vary in strength; follow directions on can. Mix thoroughly, with big spoon or wooden paddle, first the baking powder with the flour and then the salt. Rub into this the cold grease (which may be lard, cold pork fat, drippings) until there are no lumps left and no grease adhering to bottom of pan. This is a little tedious, but don't shirk it. Then stir in the water and work it with spoon until you have a rather stiff dough. Have the pan greased. Turn the loaf into it and bake. Test center of loaf with a sliver when you think it properly done. When no dough adheres remove bread. All hot breads should be broken with the hand, never cut.

"To freshen any that is left over and dried out, sprinkle a little water over it and heat through. This can be done but once."

Washing Dishes

Every part of the camp work should be a pleasure, and there is no reason whatever that dish washing should be an exception. If the following directions for dish washing are followed the work may be so quickly and perfectly done as to be part of the fun.

1. Each girl should throw scraps from her plate into a trench or receptacle. Do not throw food scraps on the camp fire, as they make a disagreeable smoke.

2. Wipe each plate and other utensils as clean as possible with paper napkin, and throw napkin in the fire.

3. Scrape out all cooking pots. If any material has burned on them, boil them out with one ounce of washing soda to one quart of water.

4. Pile all dishes thus prepared beside the two dish-pans. Partly fill the dish-pans with boiling water, putting a heaping teaspoonful of powdered soap in one.

5. Wash dishes with dish mop, and rinse in other pan of hot water.

If the water is kept hot one girl can keep two busy drying, and the whole operation for a party of four should not take over ten minutes. If unskillfully done, without sufficient hot water or preparation, it is a disagreeable task. Try to make it a pleasant one.

The coffee pot should be frequently boiled out with washing soda.

The wire broilers may be cleaned by rubbing them with ashes from the camp fire.

In nesting a blackened cooking pail, wrap it in paper to prevent soiling the inside of the pail into which it fits.

Use the fewest dishes possible in cooking and you will lighten your labor.

Use the same plates for different courses, rinsing them with hot water.

Be sure to carry in your dish washing outfit, washing soda, powdered soap and dish mops.

"Dutch Cleanser" is very useful in cleaning dishes, pots and pans.

After washing up for the night, put utensils and provision box together and cover with rubber cloth to protect them from the weather.

Cleaning Up

This is important! If you leave your camping place littered with tin cans, paper, etc., you will be spoiling that place for future campers.

Burn all waste paper and string.

Bury tin cans and empty bottles.

Bury food scraps and refuse.

Be absolutely certain that you have extinguished your fire.

You should take pride in leaving your camp site so clean that not one evidence of your camping remains except the ashes of the fire.

PHOTOGRAPH BY G. CLYDE FISHER.

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.

—John Muir.

MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

BY ELOISE ROORBACH, GARDEN EDITOR OF "TOUCHSTONE."

Mountain climbing is the final test of a Girl Scout's perseverance in following a trail, in endurance, courage and woodcraftmanship. Nature reserves her choicest beauties and secrets for those who know how to conquer all difficulties. No Girl Scout's education is complete until she has seen mountain peaks like waves of the sea flashing with white snow foam, piercing the blue sky as far as the eye can reach; clouds forming below her feet; breathed rare air found only in high places; drunk from the pure source of rivers, and heard the mighty roar of waterfalls. A climb to a high mountain top is an experience that will enrich and influence the entire after life of whoever has had the hardihood and wisdom to accomplish it.

Before attempting this last test of scouting the girl must be in perfect physical trim, be able to sleep on the ground, have learned to live simply. Girls should train for this experience by taking graduated hikes. On these hikes the girls can practice using the condensed foods that must be depended upon in mountain climbing. The rations for those who wish to climb to high places must necessarily be condensed, for each Scout must carry her own rations for two weeks.

The foundation of a mountain climber's bill of fare is rice, bacon, cheese, chocolate, raisins, dates, dried fruits, powdered soups, whole wheat crackers, and tea. Tea should be used instead of coffee. The eating chocolate is sometimes made into a refreshing drink. Only a small amount of sugar and salt can be carried. This fare is augmented by mushrooms, wild fruit and berries and fish. Watercress is a refreshing addition and a good Scout knows where to find it. Some hardened climbers add a little "jerky" (dried meats) to this bill of fare.

No definite rule of distance to be covered in a day can be laid down. In the high mountains ten or twelve miles a day should be considered a maximum, for part of the benefit to be gained from such trips is the enjoyment of the trip itself. It is better to go a few miles slowly, observing keenly all the time, stopping for frequent rests to examine a flower, to drink at a clear spring, to feast upon the view, than to cover more ground in a hurried way.

The following is a suggestion for the management of a day in high mountain altitudes. Arise with the sun or a little before breakfast. Breakfast consists of rice, dried fruit (put to soak the night before), bacon, and shredded wheat biscuit. Before packing, make a small package of cheese, chocolate, raisins and biscuit for the noon lunch that can be reached without having to unpack equipment. There should be a rest of at least an hour at noon, eating slowly, throwing off the pack, and if possible relaxing flat on the back for a while. Then another hike of three or four miles, making camp early in the evening, about 5 o'clock. This divides the day into three periods of hikes with a rest in between. The dinner is like breakfast, with the addition of soup. Soup can be prepared and eaten while the rice is cooking. Mountain trout can be fried with bacon.

The equipment must be of the lightest. Clothing should consist of one pair of stout, high, waterproof, hob-nailed boots; one pair of light moccasins, to rest the feet in camp; short skirt; middy; riding breeches or bloomers (for in crossing difficult passes skirts must be discarded); hat; gauntlet gloves; one change of underclothes; three pairs of wool stockings; one sweater; one comb (no brush); one small pocket mirror; ivory soap or soap leaves; one tube of cold cream; compass; fishing rod, lines and hooks; rope; leather thongs; stout string; note-book and map; small hatchet; matches (in waterproof case).

GIANT ALASKAN MOOSE
The largest member of the deer tribe. The antlers which are worn only by the male are shed once a year. Range: This and related forms found in northern United States, Canada, and Alaska. Courtesy of American Museum of Natural History.

No guns, books or cameras can be carried on a high hike, for their weight is prohibitive. A sleeping bag made of eiderdown, lined with canton flannel and covered with oiled silk or duck's back can be rolled and carried across the shoulders. A knife, fork and spoon in addition to the big sheath knife worn at the belt, one frying pan, tin plate and cup (aluminum should be used in preference as tin rusts easily), a rice and a soup kettle are all the cooking utensils needed. If a company of Girl Scouts attempts a high mountain climb, additional covers of clothing and food can be carried on a pack mule, but this chapter is for those who wish to climb unencumbered with pack animals. It is by far the finest way to see the high mountains, though it must be admitted few have the hardihood or courage to try it. The new Roosevelt National Park, one of the most magnificent playgrounds in the world, can be visited in the way just described.

The writer of this chapter has walked all through this park carrying the clothing, food and equipment just described. Every day of the journey found her in better physical trim, vigor, strength, and with keenness of vision and joy of life increased daily.

BUSY BEAVERS AT WORK
The largest gnawing animal in this country, noted for damming streams with trees (which they cut down by gnawing), mud, and stones. Range: This or related races formerly found practically all over this country, and northward into Canada. Detail from Habitat Group in American Museum of Natural History.

THE RED GOD

Now the Four-way Lodge is opened: Now the hunting winds are loose,
Now the Smokes of Spring go up to clear the brain;
Now the young men's hearts are troubled for the whisper of the trues,
Now the Red Gods make their medicine again!
Who hath seen the beaver busied? Who hath watched the black-tail mating?
Who hath lain alone to hear the wild goose cry?
Who hath worked the chosen waters where the ouananiche is waiting?
Or the sea-trout's jumping crazy for the fly?
Who hath smelled wood-smoke at twilight? Who hath smelled the birch log burning?
Who is quick to read the noises of the night?
Let him follow with the others, for the young men's feet are turning
To the camps of proved desire and known delight!
Do you know the blackened timber? Do you know that racing stream
With the raw, right-angled log-jam at the end?
And the bar of sun-warmed shingle where a man may bask and dream
To the click of shod canoe-poles round the bend?
It is there that we are going with our rods and reels and traces
To a silent, smoky Indian that we know,
To a couch of new-pulled hemlock with the starlight on our faces,
For the Red Gods call us out and we must go!
He must go—go—go away from here!
On the other side the world he's overdue.
'Send your road is clear before you when the old spring-fret comes o'er you
And the Red Gods call for you!

—Rudyard Kipling.

LOON WITH NEST
From Group in American Museum of Natural History

---