The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-07-07
CAMPING OUT.
BY R. J. B,RDKrrE.

20 without tents. A camp without 8 tent is like an orchard without ap- ples. And don't move into hotel cottage and call it camping" That is about as much like camping as pay ing one dollar a pound and fish, | ing in a stocked fish pond Is like trout fishing. Take tent, the army wall tent is the most comfortable, and enjoy yourself. The guide book will tell you, as 1t told us, that tent is unnecessary. That ''the author and his friends have camped in the Adj rondacks, sleeping in the open air every night, for" forgot whether 1t was three months or three years, and never felt drop of rain. We'll, maybe that Is true. We caught about five weeks of rain in the month of June, but then that was an unusually rainy June. You had better take a tent. Thero may be some moro rare Junes where this one came from.
 But the great charm of the tent does not lie in its utility as an um- brella. It shows of to best adyan- tage on windy night. That is why recommend wall tent rather than the "A" or wedge tent. We had both varieties in our camp, but when the winds were boisterous the wall tent had a few fancy steps that the A" tent can never hope to initiate. Night had fallen. On the other hand, the wind had gotten up. retired to the cot, that sagged down like watering trough to receive me, and the circus began. was not afraid that the tent would blow over it takes terrific wind to capsize a we'll pinned, neatly djusted tent. But didn't see why 1t couldn't stand still. heard the wind waving among the trees. l locke at the cot where the prince was sleeping, and half wished l hadn't brought him out into that land of furious storms. lay down again, looked at the swaying lantern, and thought would get up and put it out. Suddenly the tent squatted down like a collapsed bal loon, and before I could throw my arms over the prince to keep the ridge pole from hitting him, the tent stood straight up three feet higher than Its best standing record. An- other roaring tempest through the trees the four sides of the tent bulged out until 1t was az round as Sibley tent; then 1t collapsed and sucked in until there was hardly room inside for the lantern. Then three sides stifiened up like sheet iron, while the fourth Tapped itself mad for no par ticuisr reason. The tent sanatted again, and when 1t stood up this time the fly began to flap and pound over your head faster than you could think, with the roll of untitled drum, varied now and then by crack like the shot of gun. A moments lull, suddenly the wind seemed to be rcnd- ing the forests, and both tentpoles, fore and aft, were seized with the de- lirium tremens, and shivered and shook and trembled in oscillating spasms, while the walls danced up and down, fluttered, bulged collapsed, and stretched and the frantic fly, Gas fast as mill wheels strike," smited the top of the tent in furious, loud sound ing whacks, that made the very lan- tern burn blue with fear; the moan ing of the wind in the woods rose to a shriek ; under the impression that the whole mountain was blowing away, Isprang to my feet, rushed to the tent door, tore 1t open.
 The bluest skies, the brightest stars, the loveliest night in all the land greeted me with the blessing of peace. The night wind was singing softly in the gently swsying treetops, a lullaby of the summer night, a liquid whis- per, the very undertone of the zephyr, scarce so loud as the purling murmur of the drowsy little brook, growing itself to sleep in the starlight. That was all.
 But why did 1t sound so like Bed lam inside the tent? That's what l wanted to know.
 Camp lie is not without its perils. l used to think that some of the Adj rondack stories were exaggerated. But I found that they were not. There was s great bare place right in front of our camp. It was a mountain with all the trees cut of its rocky brow. Idon't know its family head but we called 1t Mount Elisha, be- cause it was bald-headed. am thus specific about its bald -headedness, be- cause the foot and sides of the moun- tain were not bald. One week l shot a porcupine with a revolver, closc to camp. had the revolver, the porcu- pine didn't. shot 1t because all the rest of the camp was afraid of 1t. That is. l shot at it. Accent heavy on the "at." It wasn't porcupine, any. how; it was only beastly cad of 6 common hedge hog. We trapped . bear, too. We heard it several nights gnawing things around the camp. So