Coming now to the matter of keeping qualities we find that any of the evaporated, dried or condensed foods on the market meet all requirements. Bacon, cured for winter use, may not remain in a perfectly sweet condition, and it is well to make sure before purchasing that the meat is well salted and smoked. Butter may become strong unless the weather is cold, but I have found that first-class creamery butter will keep nicely for a period of two and a half months in fairly cold weather. For a longer trip canned butter should be procured. It may be purchased in Canada from almost any grocer located in an outfitting point. While potatoes and other fresh vegetables are prohibited because of weight and bulk they are also eliminated from the list because they freeze in cold weather. A trapper must often be away from camp for a period of time varying from a few days to a week or more and anything that can freeze will surely do so in one night of "40 below" weather. As an exception to this rule I advise taking a few onions, for in spite of their weight they are a food worth considering. They freeze as readily as potatoes, but if they are kept frozen until time for use it will not hurt them in the least. There are many dishes that are greatly improved by an onion flavor and I am very fond of this evil-smelling vegetable when sliced and fried with steak. Ordinary canned goods containing water are tabooed in cold weather, for they freeze and burst the cans, besides falling short in the first requirement of camp foods, namely, light weight.
Nutrition in foods is a quality which needs but little expenditure of gray matter if one does not attempt to live a long period on an unvaried line. By taking a variety of foods and changing the menu frequently danger from lack of nutriment is reduced to the minimum. Condensed and dried foods are invariably very nutritious. With fresh meat occasionally the foods which I recommend will meet all requirements in this particular.
What has been said on the subject of nutrition in camp foods will suffice for the fourth requisite — perfect balance and lack of injurious elements. While I would not advise the use of one or two articles of food as a steady diet the kind I name in the lists given herewith, if used in the proportions given and a little fresh meat or fish can be sandwiched in here and there, no bad results will follow. On the other hand, if any of the articles, or especially a line of articles like the dried fruits, are omitted, I would not be responsible for the good health of the user.
Within the borders of civilization, and especially with those people doing office work or following any indoor occupation which does not require plenty of bodily exertion, constipation is a serious menace, in fact I think it is the cause of many ills which are generally attributed to other sources. In the woods it is somewhat different, for the long tramps and other violent exercises tend to keep the bowels open, but it is not so with all men, and especially with those who hail from the city. Even the seasoned woodsman should not trifle with anything of so serious a nature, for even to him chronic constipation may come as the result of a steady diet of white flour and other constipating foods. In the lists which I give the foods most harmful in this way are wheat flour, especially when used in baking powder bread, cheese, rice, beans and peas. The foods most valuable for offsetting the bad effects of the above are the dried fruits, especially prunes, and cornmeal. Fresh meat and onions act as laxatives also, but too much of any of these foods may cause the system to fortify itself against them and their good effects are reduced greatly. Many kinds of food are difficult to digest; but it should be remembered that all stomachs are not alike and what is indigestible for one man is easily assimilated by another. The only way to learn what foods are harmful and which ones are not is by trying them, but this should be done and the results known before going into the woods.
Tea and coffee are used extensively in the woods because they are very refreshing to tired travelers. Tea is especially invigorating. But both of these drinks, if used in excess, are harmful. Coffee injures the nervous system directly, while indirectly it works on other organs, and tea is injurious to the stomach, also the nerves. Taken in reasonable amount these drinks will do no harm, but they should never be used to the exclusion of water. The latter is the natural drink and we cannot use too much.
The fifth requirement in camp foods is one that must not be forgotten. On a long trip into the bush the outfit is sure to get a certain amount of rough usage; a pack strap may give way or the packer may stumble or slip and down goes the pack. With but few exceptions, then, everything which will not stand a reasonable amount of rough handling has no right to a place on the outer's list. The exceptions are a few articles which when taken in small quantities must be put up in glass and these few foods are pickles, vinegar and others of similar nature. If any other less breakable container can be found for these it is better to use it, but if these foods are in bottle same must be carefully packed to prevent breakage. Eggs are the most unsatisfactory of all foods for transportation into the wilds, for they are easily broken, cannot be kept during cold weather and spoil quickly when the weather is mild.
This is not an article on packing or otherwise transporting outfits into the bush, but I wish to say this in regard to packing foods, that all packages and containers should be as light as possible consistent with strength and durability. Paper sacks are not the proper thing, for they are so easily torn. It is by far the better plan to have small duck or muslin bags for all dry foods. Nothing should be taken if put up in wooden boxes or other containers having sharp edges or corners, but all such articles should be removed and placed in the cloth sacks. If this is impossible it is better to eliminate such goods from the list.
To give a list of foods which are suitable for steady diet in the wilds is easy, and it may be a perfect list, well balanced, nourishing and having all the other desirable qualities, yet it may not be satisfactory for general use. Individual tastes do not all follow the same channels and there are no end of people who could pick from any list of foods that I might give a number of articles which they cannot eat or which are not received kindly by their respective systems. Another thing is the difference in quantity of food consumed by different men. While a life in the open air with continuous physical exercise from before daylight until after dark develops an appetite in any man, with some men their appetites seem absolutely insatiable and they consume enormous quantities of food. It is therefore difficult to give a list which may be taken as an accurate guide and approximate quantities only can be given, these being in the present time based on what I consider a normal woodsman's appetite. Note in the following lists quantities intended for one man one month's use and if the lists look good they may be used for a basis on which to figure the amounts of food required for the length of time.
List No. 1. — Twenty pounds wheat flour and ten pounds cornmeal, or 25 pounds wheat flour and five pounds cornmeal; one and a half pounds best baking powder, free of alum; three pounds table salt (this is more than necessary for food, but allows for preserving game); ten pounds bacon or five pounds bacon and five pounds salt pork; one pound lard or "Crisco" (this is seldom needed if all bacon grease is saved and used for cooking); three pounds creamery or canned butter; 10 pounds beans, small or large, as preferred; four pounds split peas; five pounds evaporated fruit, either apples, apricots or peaches, assorted if desired; four pounds prunes; six pounds sugar (seven pounds if used in tea and coffee); two pounds tea (black, green or mixed) or three pounds ground coffee in airtight tins; one bottle, about two pounds, sour pickles; four pounds evaporated, unsweetened milk in small size tins; two pounds cheese; one ounce black pepper. Eighty-seven and a half to 89 1/2 pounds total weight.
The foregoing is my standard list on which I have based many a purchase of supplies, and while I vary quantities sometimes, and add luxuries now and then, the list alone, just as given, makes an excellent one for real woods trips.