SECTION OF CRIMEAN TENT.
Fitting up of tent.
When a tent is to be occupied for any length of time, it will be advisable to dig a hole in the earth to pitch it over, doing so not only adds materially to the space inside the tent, but makes it much more comfortable to reside in, from the shelter afforded by the sides of the excavation. Many of the huts built by the Russian soldiers in the neighbourhood of Sebastopol were sunk to a very great depth, being in fact merely large holes in the earth with roofs to them. The roofs were of poles thickly laid over with brushwood, and then covered with earth, light was admitted through holes in the low framework of the sides, oiled paper being used as a substitute for glass. About 2ft. 6in. will be found a good depth for the excavation for an ordinary military tent to stand over. In digging it see that the sides are cut down evenly, and that the bottom is level. If planks can be procured to floor and line it so much the better. Some persons leave a round bank of earth in the middle for the pole to rest on, but we much prefer fixing a log of wood, cut from a tree trunk, in the centre of the floor. The habitation we formed for ourselves in the Crimea, when encamped before Sebastopol, was thus arranged. We first made a hole in the earth a little less than the diameter of the bottom of the tent, and of the depth before referred to; we then made a pit in the centre about 18in. in depth. In this we sank the lower end of a piece of old tree trunk, 4ft. long and 7in. in diameter. In its upper surface we cut with a gouge a cup-like cavity. We then nailed a spiral strapping of forage hoop round a boat mast we were fortunate enough to hunt out at Balaklava; we then rounded the lower end so as to make it loosely fit into the cup on the head of the block. The bell or upper portion of an old tent was then raised on our mast tent pole, and over it our own new and complete tent, forming so to speak a double roof, having about a couple of inches of space between the two surfaces of canvas. This, by holding a certain portion of air, added in an extraordinary degree to its sheltering properties. We next dug a deep drain completely round the tent, and placed a quantity of broken stones in its bottom. An old wooden packing case was then let in, by digging into one of the sides of the excavation immediately under the doorway. This not only answered the purpose of a step to enter by, but formed an excellent storehole for all sorts of stray matters. The pipe from a small Maltese stove was carried out through the earth, and discharged its smoke outside a low wall of rough stones which encircled the tent. We drove two strong posts deeply into the earth beside the door, across their tops we nailed a strong bar, which served to hitch horses to, rest gun against, &c.; whilst across their lower portions we stretched a piece of forage hoop, edge upwards, to perform the part of a bootscraper. Towards the end of the war we were enabled to procure plank enough to both floor and line the tent throughout, thereby adding much to our comfort. The lining is carried out by placing boards the height of the side banks on their ends, all round the tent, like the staves of a barrel, and then nailing the flooring boards here and there fast to them. The upper ends are kept in their places by nailing short battens of wood across the joints.
The illustration on [page 62] is a section of the tent referred to, and shows the manner in which many of the arrangements described are made. Many tents we have seen have been dug out to a sufficient depth to admit of a sort of cellar or lower room being formed; this can only be done at the expense of much trouble and labour. The arrangement of the interior of a tent admits of the exercise of a considerable amount of ingenuity. Cart, waggon, or gun wheels are extremely useful, both for forming a secure base for the pole to rest on, and for a table and gun rack. The tent pole, as shown in the engraving on the next page, rests on one wheel, whilst it passes through the centre of the nave of another. The hooks for hanging various objects from are formed by the natural branches of the tree from which the pole has been made. We seldom make use of the ferruled pole furnished with the tent when we have young forest trees at hand; in the absence of these, the conventional deal stick serves to fall back on.
THE UTILIZATION OF WHEELS.