Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-07-01
CAMPING OUT.
BURDBTTB DISCOURSES ON LIyE UNDER
CANVAS ROOFS.
Tents That Show OF to Best Advantage on Windy
Nighs-ln Natures Rsunts With 0uly Rsal
Birds Among The Branches
X. J. BUrd6t.e.

Birds Among The Branches.
r. J. BUrdere.
Ny boy, when you 20 out a-campire
don't trough it' too much. Don't z
without tents. A camp without tent
like an orchard without apples An
don't move into hotel cottage and call
camping. That is about as much lik
camping as paying 81 pound and fishin
in stocked pond Is like trout fishing
Take tent, the army wall tent Is tn
most comfortable, snd enjoy yourself
The guide book will tell you, as
told us, that tent is unnecessary. Tha
1.-THE author and his friends are camped il
the Adirondacks, sleeping in the open al
every night, every night, for" l forge
whether it was three months or thre
years, and never felt drop of rain
Well, maybe that ia true. We caugh
about five weeks Of rain in the month o
June, but then this was an unusuall,
rainy June. You had better take a tent
There may be some more rare Junes wher,
this one came from.
Bat the great charm of the tent doe,
not lie in its utility ss an umbrella. L
shows off to best advantage on windy
night. That is why / recommend wal
tent rather than the "a" or wedge tent
We had both varieties in our camp, bu'
when the winds were boisterous the wal
tent had few fancy steps that the "A'
tent can neve: hope TO initiate. Nigh,
had fallen. On the other hand, the wind
had gotten up / retired to the cot,
that sagged like watering. trough
to receive me and the circus
began. was not afraid that the ten,
would blow over-it takes terrific wind
to capsizs a well-pinned, neatly -sdj listed
tent. But didn't see why it couldn't
stand still. / heard the wind waving
among the trees. / looked at the cot
where the prince was sleeping, end hall
wished 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 collapsed
balloon, and then before could throw 10y
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. Another roaring tempest through
the trees the four sides of the tent buiged
ont until it was as round as Sibley tent
then it collapsed and sucked in until there
WAS hardly room inside for the ian.
tern. Then three sides stiffeued up like
sheet iron, while the fourth tapped itself
mad for no particular reason. The tent
squatted again, and it stood up this time
the fly began to flap and pound over your
head, faster than you couid think, with
the roll ola untitled drum, varied now and
then by crack like the shot ola gun. A
moments lull, suddenly the winds seemed
to be rending the forests, and both tent
poles, fore and aft, were seized with de-
lirum tremeus, and shivered and shook
and trembied in oscillating spasms, while
the walls danced up and down, tluttered
bulged collapsed, and stretched and the
frantic fly, ''as fast az mill wheels strike, /"
smited the top Of tbs tent in furious, loud
sounding whacks, that made the very Ian
tern burn blue with fear; the moaning of
the wind in the woods rose to a shrek !;
under the impression that the whole noun
tain was flowing away, spran1 TO my
feet, rushed to the tent door and tore it
open.
The bluest skies, the brightest stars, the
loviest night in all this land greeted me
with the blessing of peace. The night wind
was singing softly in the gently swaying
treetOps, lullaby of the summer night, II
liquid whisper, the very undertone of the
zephyr, scarce 81 loud as the pulling MUIR
muir of the drowsy little brook, growing
itself 10 sleep in the starlight. That was
sll
Bat why did it sound SO like Bedlam in.
side the tent? That's what | wanted to
camp life Ia not without rs perIl5. / useu
t. think that some of the Adiror dack
stories were exaggerated. But found that
they were not. There was great bare
place right in front of our camp. 1t was
mountain with all the trees cnt off its
rocky brow. don't know its family head,
but we called it Mount Elisha, because it
was baldheaded. / am thus specific about
its bald-headedness, because the foot and
sides of the mountain were not bald. One
week shot a porcupiue with revolver,
close TO camp. / had the revolver, the
porcupine didn't. shot it because all the
Iest of the camp was afraid Of it. That is,
! shot at il. Accent heavy on the "at"
1t wasn't porcupine, anyhow; it wac only
q hea.tly cad of common hedgehog. We
trapped hear, too. We heard it several
nights guswirg things around the camp
SO get my mouse trap, one OF those cir
cular four-shooter affairs, undertake tent
II DOT, and caught it. Every night we read
shrilling chapters from Adirondack Muir
rays weird tales, and the next morning We
were grateful, oh, 40 grateful, that We did
not wake up inside of "A bear or lion. There
are worse things in the woods than lions
There was a beautiful jet black ant, scant
three fourths of au inch long, with mapdi-
bles like Telegraph pliers. Ia the dusky
night he grows a-cold in bis little home
under tue sandhill, and comes out and
wraps the drspery Of your tra.la.la.loons
about him and lies down to pleasant
dreams, until you disturb him by putting
Oh yOur own lawful tr-how ?-sers in the
morning. Thea he wakes mp. SO do you.
When three or four ants Of tljs denomina.
ton encamp in each-er-limb Of your ap.
parcl, their presence casts a gloom over the
entire programme And last year n pew
kind of fly had registered and taken rooms
He took n great deal Of room, too. He was
about "a large a. dog with wings, if you
ever weighed that kind ola dog He-tbe
fiy-does not bite. He only flies against
you and knocks You down. used to
think he did this Intentionally. but be-
came convinced that his steering apparatus
is ont of order, and he can't help it. He
seems to be loaded too much by the head,
and 80 steers wildly. think, perhaps, he
has shifted his ballast. When pursuing
him with clsb, have seen him fl J
agains: the side Of the mountain. II may
be an escaped chapter from NATURES Seri-
al Story" We wouldn't have minned
this fly 30 very much, only he was q sing
gish kind OF brute, and when he lights
upon you as you are climbing hill, you
feel rs though you had q two-year old
boy on Your hack.
There is one thing shout camping that
will make you think you are not very far
from heaven. The birds. There seemed
to be q limitness variety of note and
plimage near our camp. Plain, home
,-o.n;n,, b;r1a Il, ra;uapt ~ noiat hrowra