Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-02
frsstsn for TEE EVENING srAn.
LIFE AT CAMP CAMERA.

Written for TEE EVENING star
LIFE AT CAMP CAMERA.
Hsw Bachelor Clerks Enjoy the Sum-
mer Out Of Doors.
sRLscFfSo TIE LocArToS-THR OUTFIT NKKpRp
A sANrLs DAY IN cAMP-MANY prrrIcuL-
TIES, BUT PLkxrI or PATIENCE AND GOOD
NATURE.
a. z HAVE solved the problem. II was
ANA> this: How shall several bachelor clerks,
AEAWwho must work in the city for living,
0A with only thirty days Of precious vaca-
~Vtion from January 70 January. camp
out for six or eight weeks. sleep these hot
nights, with naught between them and the
stars but canvas and pure country air. expert
ment to their hearts content In cooking their
own meals, and yet keep right on with their
regular clerk work and be at no more expense.
or but very little more, than board and lodg-
ing in the city would have cost
IL was like problem in the .'rule Of three. :"
Given, first several young men who desired q
change Of this sort and who could probably
live peacsably together; second, q camping
outfit and a good locality for the camp, and.
third, some willingness and ability on the part
OF the persous concerned TO shift for them
selves in the matter Of housekeeping. We have
happily combined these three terms and OBJ
tanned the fourth-succesa
LOCATING THE CAN'T.
We finally selected q beautiful spot q mile
from the Riverdals station on the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad. A stream, suggesting, here
and there, the sylvan beauty Of Rock creek.
winds through . well-wooded country The
tent was pitched on high ground, under a
great oak and but . few yards from q large
tract OF woods few moments walk down a
gentle descent brings one to burn" as the
scotch would call it, a narrow brook between
nigh banks. And q little further down stream
rs spring OF cool water. Opposite the spring
10 a farm house, whose hospitable occupants
furnish the campers with milk, eggs, &c.
THE CAMP OUTFIT.
Asst the expense Of outfit We bought a
double tent Oval" and ''fy'0, size 1oxl4. for
S2S. 1t 10 spacious and convenient. Three
cots stand against the walls, leaving room for
setting dining table large enough for four.
or, possibly, i've; also room for two-burner
gasoline stove, when il 10 too cool or breezy TO
DO the cooking outside or under the ..fiy.
The ny" 10 . tent in itself, but without side
walls, and Is intended to afford an extra cover
ing over the main tent in case Of heavy rain;
AZ all other times the extra canvas serves the
open
front OF the other; for this purpose we bought
| an extra ridge pole.
FOR housekeeping supplies, secondhand
store furnished nearly everything-cots.
blankets, carpet, mosquito netting. enough
COOKING utensils for i've or six persons, &c
The gasoline stove "a treasure by the way)
cost, new. ~; camp chairs a dollar piece. A
Few other things swelled the total cost to about
S54. Al an Offset to this expense, the outfit
Can be used for another season, sold or rented
out.
After three weeks trial We saw. 1T is a great
thlngi we would like TO do il over again next
year. One man, however, saws. Il don't
know; wouldn't care il it wasn't for 90 much
cooking and washing up, and walking mile in
fast"
Each day in camp is much the same as any
otner, and yet the novelty and pleasure is
always sufficient to draw forth the occasional
remark; This is fun and health combined; /
About am, probably. one Of the campers
wakes, perhaps because the night air has by
that time become somewhat wintry, and por-
ton OF the extra covering which he had fshed
out OF his trunk and piled upon the cot has
. hH. on: He readiusts the bedding, tries his
Dean shooter on . mongrel who is nosing
around after the remnants OF last nights din
ner, and then turns in for another nap At S
he wakes again, looks hastily at his watch and
jumps up, half dresses Gin bachelor camp
styie), lights the stove and puts on water for
ost meal or cracked wheat. Looking at the
still forms Of his comrades. he says to himself:
Poor fellows! I'll let them sleep as long as
possible" few minutes later all are up.
The breakfast Is soon under way. One makes
up some 'what-is-it' hash, IN which are thrifty
combined all possible remnants from yester-
days meals (recipe not given in the books).
Another puts on the coffee pot When the
mush 10 done its place on the stove is taken,
perhaps, by the patent 'Hy-trap" toaster ian
ingenious arrangement for toasting bread over
gasoline stove).
During this time, also, some one has been
putting the bedding out to air under the morn
ing sun. The odd moments, being precious.
are hlled In with further toilet making One
snatohes i've minutes for shaving Another is
hunting anxiously around-"where's NV COL
lsr2" On one such occasion the camper. giving
up tho search, put on clean collar and went to
the city. While shopping, before Office. he
happened to take of his hat when out dropped
the missing article.
But to return to the breakfast About $50
the three cooks, laden with culinary spoil,
gather about the table; and If the reader thinks
that meal, cooked with their own hands, is not
enjoyed let him camp and try it, The only
drawback Is the ever-present fact that at 7:lO
the cooks must become tramps. and walk a
mile through dust and dew to the railway sta
ton. At $50 the dish-washer, elected to that
high office by the popular suffrage Of the whole
camp, nils the dish-pan with the water which
has been heating, and in a few moments every
thing is washed clean (more or less), wiped,
and slowed away in the great box whose top
serves as table upon which to prepare
meals and wash up. Then the top of the
dining table, made by one Of the party, to lust
cover the open end Of the stowage box, is
clapped on and locked at the two sides: trunks
are locked, umbrellas and market basket seized;
also butter, lard. &C., to put into the little re-
frigerator box floating in the creek; then off
across the country, reaching the station in
time to black up three pairs of dusty shoes
with the apparatus which is kept in good hid
ing place near by (no matter where). Upon
arriving In the city the marketing is done, but
such articles as meat and butter are bought as
late in the day as possible or else left in the
refrigerator of friend until O'Clock.
THE BEST PART OF THE DAY.
But the cream Of camping out is gathered
upon the return from the city, Office cares over
with. One unlocks the storage box and then
sits down in the delicious shade of the tent to
pare potatoes Another goes for water and to
the farm house for milk, eggs, &C., while the
third sets the table for the best meal of the day.
On especially warm days the dinner is pre-
pared and enjoyed out of doors and there is a
charm about it which only picknckers or camp
ers know. The cool air, the beautiful view
across the green and quiet valley to the wooded