CHAPTER TEN
THE FIRE
DO not forget the matches! Our dear friends and the girl guides can imitate the savages, and strike a light by rubbing two sticks together, or they carry steel and flint and tinder, and are always ready with a spark. But that is beyond us. It is difficult to light the two sticks. Remember the odd scraps of dry paper—especially on a wet day. Even a scoutmaster finds difficulty in making fire with wet sticks.
Making a fire is a considerable diversion.
Unless you are very hungry it should take time. You find the suitable place, fix your stones, gather the wood, fill the coffeepot, make yourself at home, and only then strike the match. It is a mistake to light the fire before the coffeepot is ready.
You will ascertain the direction of the wind, and put down your knapsack in a position where sparks will not fly on to it. And you will place your stones or tripod in such a position that the wind will drive the flames on to it. If your coffeepot is on the wrong side of the wind it may take a long time to boil.
You must be careful to choose stones which are high enough and ledgy enough to afford a draught for the fire, and a secure lodgement for the coffeepot.
To start the fire you need the thinnest and tiniest of bits of wood—the little dead stems which lurk in the grass. The long dry stalks of withered wild flowers are even better than wood, and if you have these you need no paper to start the fire. They burn like dry stubble—which is, in fact, what they are. Dead grass, however, is of little good; it burns, burns out, smokes, and gives little heat.
The second line of fuel is the smart little bits of crackling wood to be found nearly everywhere. The third line is of stout bits of wood. The fourth, if you feel like it, is the really substantial timber you may haul to the scene. To boil your pot you do not need this last, but, remembering you will sit an hour or so by the camp fire, you do well to have a supply beside you.
The fire laid, lit, crackling, the pot warming and heating, you may relax your attention, spread out the victuals, take off your boots, enjoy the beginning of the night’s rest. It is wonderful coffee that comes out on these occasions. You might not care for it indoors, but you revel in it as the product of your own camp fire.