Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-03
LIVING IN A TENT.
How . Family is Enjoying Camp Life-Its
Comforts and lts Iaconvenicnces.


Comforts and Its Inconvenience.
correspondence of The Evening Star
HARPER's FERRY. ". Va. August /. 1891.
-Four white cloth walls. roof Of the same
material, the whole set on spot seven by
seven feet square levelcd of on the mountain
SIDE; TINS is the home at present occupied by
wiie' baby boy and myself. Our walls are not
ornamented with pictures, but spread out jus;
below us Is a view that no painter can do JUS
tice to on canvas. In the near foreground is
the Shenandoah. rushing through a gorge
Ike valley, beyond a narrow elevated tongue Of
land between it and the Potomac, at the tip of
which and near the water level is the Quaint
old-fashioned village of Harper's Ferry; higher
up Is Camp Hin and at the roots Of the tongue.
one may use such expression. is Bolivar
Beyond, rising sheer from the river, Mary
land Heights stands, will not say like grim
sentinel, as the term has been used so often,
but 1t is noble mountain, the highest in the
vicinity. Scattered here and there are ranges
and peaks Of the Blue Ridge, with more level
ana cultivated intervals. with farm houses and
extensive peach orchards and vineyards.
we are camped in lovely forest Of Young
chestnut trees. All the timber on these noun
tains was cut down during the war 70 give free
range TO the batteries that crowned their sum-
mits ana to prevent the unobserved approach
on an enemy These ragged, decaying stumps
Gus, clean-limbed chestnuts. with their NANTES
OF gay green leaves. are record of kindly
pence. Many of these Young trunks are as
large as mans body. and il seems hardly pos
sloie to one who took an active part in the war
that they have all grown since its close. All
along the crest o. this ridge are ruined stone
forts. rihe pits and rude, hastily constructed
huts. built by the soldiers for shelter.
can easily In imagination plant batteries Of
twenty-four Founders behind these angles. fiji
fNfsS
hear the rattle and humping of artillery and
supply wagons as they are being dragged over
the terribly stony mountain roads the shouts
OF drivers the crack of rifles and the roar Of
cannon; All is silent now. The woods are
peopled by chipmucks and song birds butter
nuts and naples shade the ruined useless FORTS
the wild grape hangs gracefully over the rifle
pits.
And the sulphurous riffs of passion and voc
Lie deep meath 4 mantle pure and smooth.
Like bnrnt-out craters healed with SNOW.
CAMPING OUT Is DELIGHTFUL
Camping ont is SIMPLY delightful. 1t il an
idyl, it is unwritten poetry. We rise in the
morning whenever we like, orr simple break
fast is cooked with dry cedar, little fire built
between two fiat stones, the smoke of which
rises like incense. The smoke of a camp fire is
delightful. notwithstanding il has provoking
way OF drifting into ones eyes, no matter
which way the wind blows One comes near
to nature while leading such life The many
tools, the conveniences and luxuries. by which
we are surrounded in our highly civilized life.
duh the inventive faculties. One is placed
here in positions where he wonders
what stone age man or a Swiss lake dweller
would do under like circumstances. The
ground IN the tent made hard bed and all
the leaves We packed on ii did not help mat
tiers but little while. SO We got some canvas.
placed two pieces about seven feet long side BY
side stitched them together, turned in the ends
and firmly sewed them down, leaving "A hem
suflclently wide That stout pole could be run
through each end. These poles were set up on
forked stakes and ingeniously stretched apart
lengthwise by other poles. and. presto we had
bed as soft and comfortable a hs-IGLiock.
BABY boy has scraped acquaintance with
half of the children IN the neighborhood and
swaps with them or even terms the tricks of
the city for the lore of the country: they tell
him the names of birds. insects and flowers
where the incest berries grow and the habits
of the inhabitants of the woods and he is as
happy as a king.
But camping out has its drawbacks This
morning while we were all away a short dis
lance picking blackberries for dinner a drove
OF hogs. with which the woods are infested
made an attack on our tent, and tearing up the
stakes entered and dragged out the pantry and
its entire contents. When We arrived at
home they had devoured every thing they could.
even to the wooden butter dish. They had
mixed coffee, sugar and salt into an almost
chemical compound and were deliberatins
whether it would be policy to chew up and eat
the tin plates and teaspoons. A long
dreary storm comes on and for davs
the rain pours down without abatement. the
stones are slippery. the wood is soaked and will
not burn tine cook, whoever he or she NAV be-
is cross, an affection which becomes epidemic
the trees rain while the clouds are resting, and
there is mud abundant and pastry everywhere
Nations run low and We are confined within our
narrow walls until life becomes irksome Under
such circumstances if there is any profanity in
a man il is apt to ooze to the surface.
But such weather is the exception and this
tent is strong and tight and not a drop of water
has ever come through it. In short camping
out is a most agreeable and healthful change
for those who live in cities, mode of life that
In very many ways is preferable to that in
country boarding houses or summer resorts.
&. s.