Every hunter in the West and among the Indians and Mexicans of two continents now carries a flint and steel, and a dry substance to catch and retain the spark. This substance with a full outfit can now be had in most stores that supply sporting goods, and every camper should have a supply.
The back of a jackknife, a bit of flint-like rock, such as quartz, and some very dry cotton lint—kept for protection in a close box—will do just as well as the manufactured outfit, and it can nearly always be had. If you carry half-charred cotton rags in a box or bottle you will find them of use in making fire.
SHELTER
Camps are either temporary, that is changed from day to day, or they are permanent and may be visited year after year, or they may be used for a few weeks at a time. Temporary camps are the ones we are considering, and these can be elaborate or very, very simple. I prefer the latter, and I am sure the boys will agree with me.
During the autumn and when the weather is dry and the nights not too cool, the best way to camp is in the open, sleeping on beds of boughs, about a roaring fire, and with one blanket under and another over.
Small dog tents, such as our soldiers carried in the Civil War, are cheap and very convenient. Each man carried a section, and two made a tent, into which two men crawled when it rained, but in dry weather they preferred to sleep in the open, even when it was freezing.
Shelters of boughs, arranged A fashion from a ridge pole make good temporary shelters and are first rate as wind brakes at night.
If you have to sleep on the ground, you should have a poncho, that is a blanket faced with rubber on one side, to keep the body from too close a contact with the wet earth. The ideal camping place is near a good spring or beside a stream of pure water, in a natural grove with plenty of dry dead wood in the vicinity. The dry wood should be protected from rain if you are camping in the same place for some time.
The camp fire should be made of two thick green sticks or legs to be used as andirons. These should be placed about eighteen inches apart, so as to keep the lighter, dryer fuel off the ground. They will also serve to support the cooking pots. Where stones can be had, they serve well for andirons.
A shack built of crossed logs requires some time to build and some skill to make, but it is not beyond the reach of any boy who has seen —and who has not—an old-fashioned log shanty.