On the Trail: An Outdoor Book for Girls

by Lina Beard; Adelia B. Beard

Bough-Bed

Tips of balsam broken off with your fingers about fourteen inches long make the best of beds, but hemlock, spruce, and other evergreens can be used; if they are not obtainable, the fan-like branches from other trees may take their place. Of these you will need a large quantity, in order to have the bed springy and soft. Always place the outdoor bed with the head well under cover and foot toward the opening of shelter, or if without shelter, toward the fire. Make the bed by arranging the branches shingle-like in very thick overlapping rows, convex side up, directly on the ground with thick end of stems toward the foot. Push these ends into the ground so that the tips will be raised slantingly up from the earth; make the rows which will come under the hips extra thick and springy. Continue placing the layers in this manner until the space for single or double bed, as the case may be, is covered with the first layer of your green mattress. Over it make another layer of branches, reversing the ends of these tips from those underneath by pushing the thick ends of branches of this top layer slantingly into the under layer toward the head of the bed with tips toward the foot. Make more layers, until the bed is about two feet thick ([Fig. 25]); then cover the mattress thus made with your poncho, rubber side down, and on top spread one of the sleeping blankets, using the other one as a cover. Be sure to allow plenty of time for this work and have the bed dry and soft.

Bag-Bed

When the camp is located where there is no material for a bough-bed, each girl can carry with her a bag three feet wide and six and one-half feet long, made of strong cloth, ticking, soft khaki, or like material, to be filled with leaves, grass, or other browse found on or near the camp-grounds. Such a mattress made up with poncho and blankets is very satisfactory, but it must be well filled, so that when you lie on the mattress it will not mash flat and hard.

Cot-Bed

For an entire summer camp army cots which fold for packing are good and very comfortable with a doubled, thick quilt placed on top for a mattress.

The sporting-goods stores show a great variety of other beds, cots, and sleeping-bags, and a line to them will bring illustrated catalogues, or, if in the city, you can call and see the goods.

Any of the beds I have described, however, can be used to advantage, and I heartily endorse the well-made bough-bed, especially if of balsam.

Pillows

Make a bag one-half yard square of brown linen or cotton cloth, and when you reach camp, gather the best browse you can find for filling, but be careful about having the pillow too full; keep it soft and comfortable. If there is no browse, use clean underwear in its place. Fasten the open end of the bag together with large-sized patent dress snappers.