Alpine Tent.--Mr. Whymper contrived a tent for his alpine explorations, which he found eminently successful. It has a waterproof floor, continuous with the sides: it is supported by poles, that slip into hems of the cloth--two poles at either end. These tents have been used on various occasions by Mr. Whymper's brother in Alaska, and by Mr. Freshfield in the Caucasus, and were highly approved of, but I do not know whether these tents would be altogether suitable for more comfortable travel. I myself had a tent made on this principle some years ago, but disliked it, for I found the continuity of the floor with the sides to act unsatisfactorily; the tent retained the damp, and the weight of the body, acting on the floor of the tent, was apt to disturb its walls. Mr. Whymper's tent is procurable at Carter's, Alpine Outfitter, 295, Oxford Street, London.
Boating Tent.--Further on, in the chapter on "Boats," the way is shown by which sailors make a tent out of their lug-sail, throwing it over a framework of oars.
Gipsy Tent.--A traveller who has only a blanket, a plaid, or broad piece of material of any kind, with which he wishes to improvise a tent, may make a framework of long wands, planting their ends in the ground, bending their tops together, and lashing or wattling them securely; over this the blanket is thrown (fig. 3). If the sticks are sufficiently long and pliant, their ends should be bent over the roof half-way down the opposite side, as in fig. 1. This adds considerably to the strength of the arrangement.
The gipsies in England use the following excellent contrivance to save the trouble of tying the sticks together. They carry a light bar of wood, 2 1/2 feet long, bound with string here and there to keep it from splitting; through this, six holes, each big enough to admit the tip of the little finger, are bored or burnt; they also carry eight hazel rods with them, each six feet long, and arrange their framework as in fig. 2. It will be observed that the two rods which are planted behind give additional roominess and stability to the affair. The rug and pillow show the position in which the occupants sleep. Blankets, not sheeting, pinned together with wooden pegs, are thrown over the whole, as in fig. 3.
