The Boy Scouts of Woodcraft Camp

by Thornton W. Burgess

“Pard,” said he, “no true sportsman will ever kill more’n he needs. We’ve got enough—all we can use. The man who kills jes’ fer th’ fun o’ killin’ ain’t nothin’ more’n a butcher. He’d better get a job in one o’ them big slaughter-houses. When I find I’m guidin’ fer one o’ thet breed he most gen’rally don’t hev no luck.”

Walter felt the rebuke, but he was fair minded enough to appreciate and not resent it. Nor did he ever forget it.

Back at camp Big Jim at once started preparations for dinner. Going into the woods he cut a small log of hard wood about two feet long, out of which he split a slab about three inches thick. One side of this he rapidly smoothed. Under his direction Walter had, in the meantime, built a fire of small pieces of hard wood. This was soon a bed of glowing coals which would retain their heat for a long time, a property which soft woods do not possess, as the guide took pains to impress upon him. For this reason hardwood coals are always preferable for cooking.

When the slab was smoothed to Jim’s satisfaction he propped it up in front of the coals. Splitting the largest fish down the back its entire length, taking care not to cut through the belly, he cleaned it and wiped it dry. When the slab was hot he tacked the fish to it, skin side down, and spread full width. Then the slab was once more propped in front of the fire and three strips of bacon were hung across the top so that the fat would try out and drip on the fish. When it became necessary to reverse the ends of the slab so that the fish would cook evenly the bacon was taken off and impaled on the pointed end of a small stick, it becoming Walter’s duty to hold this so that the drip would continue to baste the fish.

While Walter tended the fish the guide made a reflector according to an idea Walter had given him. Lashing together two sticks in the form of a T, one two and a half feet long and the other a foot long, he tacked a piece of birch about two feet wide to the ends of the T, thus forming a segment of a circle. The white side of the bark was turned in. A flat piece of hemlock bark was fitted across the sticks and a rough handle was lashed to the whole. The result was a crude but effective reflector to concentrate the light from a flash in a given direction.

By the time this was finished the fish was done to a turn. A dash of salt and pepper was added, and it was ready to serve on the slab on which it was cooked. Have you ever sat under the sweet smelling hemlocks, careless of all else in the world save securing your full share of the flaky pink flesh of a trout cooked in this way? If you have then your mouth is watering this very minute. If you have not—ah, why try to describe it? My advice to you is simply this: Follow Walter’s example at the earliest opportunity.

Bread with butter and hot cocoa (Dr. Merriam tabooed coffee or tea for growing boys) completed the menu. When the dinner was finished, to the last shred of pink flesh clinging to crisp brown skin, Walter felt that never before in all his life had he eaten half so delicious a meal.

With dinner out of the way and camp made ready for the night they prepared to put into execution the plan which was the real object of the trip. There was no moon, for the sky was overcast, and the night promised to be very dark. This was much to Jim’s liking, for the blacker the night the less likelihood that the deer would see ought but the baleful, fascinating glare of the jack-light.

It was nine o’clock when they left camp, Walter in the bow as usual, but this time with nothing to occupy his attention but his camera and the jack-light strapped on his hat. The reflector was within easy reach of the guide, to whom Walter had given careful instructions in its use. A flash, consisting of two No. 2 cartridges, had been prepared and wires connected from a couple of electric batteries. Jim had merely to press a button to fire the flash.

It was agreed that Walter should set his focus for one hundred feet and that, should they be lucky enough to find the deer, the judging of the distance and setting off of the flash should be left to the guide.