“What’ll we need to take?” asked John. “We can’t live on the country as we did up North.”
“Cut it light, young men. One week’s grub at a time, say. The little tent, with a wall, and the poles along—we can spread it on the boat if we like.”
“Not the mosquito tent?” asked Jesse.
“No, not after the seasoning you chaps have had in the North. Some mosquitoes, but not so many for us old-timers. Take bars, no head nets. We’re not tenderfeet, you see.”
“A blanket, a quilt, and an eiderdown quilt each?” suggested John.
“You’ll not! Did Lewis and Clark have eiderdown?”
“No, but they had buffalo robes!”
“And so have we!” Uncle Dick laughed aloud in triumph. “I found three in an old fur trader’s loft here, and—well, I bought them. He’d forgotten he had them—forty years and more. A blanket and a quilt and a robe each, or Jesse and John to divide the biggest robe—and there we are!”
“A tarp to go over all,” said Rob.
“Yes. And our regular mess kit. And the usual wool scout clothes and good shoes and soft hat. That’s about all. Two trout rods, for the mountains. One shotgun for luck, and one .22 rifle—no more. It’ll make a load, but Jesse’s river ship will carry it. Nasty and noisy, but nice, eh?”