[Illustration: TRESTLE LEGS.]
So my advice is, make a good thick straw-mattress for yourself during the winter ready for camp.
Another good way of giving yourself a comfortable bed is to make a big bag of canvas or stout linen; 6 ft. long and 3 ft. wide.
This will do to roll up your kit in for travelling; and when you are in camp you can stuff it with straw, or leaves, or bracken, etc., and use it as a nice soft mattress.
A PILLOW is also a useful thing for giving you comfort in camp. For this you only want a strong pillow-case (which also you can make for yourself in the winter). This will serve as your clothes-bag by day and your pillow by night, your clothes, if neatly rolled and packed in it, serving as the stuffing.
I have often used my boots as a pillow, rolled up in a coat so that they don't slip apart, and for a long time I used a Zulu pillow, which is a little wooden stand on which you rest your neck; it sounds uncomfortable, but it is not so—when you're used to it!
A Scout has to Be Prepared to turn out at any moment in the night. He ought, therefore, to have his important clothes laid handy, so that he can get into them at once in the dark.
[Illustration: A ZULU PILLOW.]
On service, of course, a Scout sleeps with shoes on, so that he can turn out at any moment.
I remember on one occasion some of my men gave up obeying this rule, and thought it more comfortable to take their boots off.