The evening times., 1898-09-03
EVE MAY CAMP
WITHOUT ADAM
w Women Have Learned Many
Things During This War.
One Is to Enjoy Camp Life Out I'm
the Wilderness Without the
Aid of Man.

This summer, with the war taking |
away so many men TO light and detam- |
iug the rest at their desks and offices |
for economy's sake. women have taken |
Tie matter of summer amusement and |
r~cuperation even more than usually into
their own hands. and they have ciscov- |
ed that by JudiCious management II Is |
possible for them to camp out without |
the help of their husbands and brothers, |
SAYS the PittSburg Dispatch. As rule
they do not so very tar from home, or at
any rate they take pains to select u spo.
which is near some farmhouse or civil
lied settlement so as 10 be able 10 de-
nand protection when it is necessary.
One party that has just started to
place beside stream where there Is SAID
To be good fishing. consists of four girls
and the mothers of two Of them, with
two poor boys about fifteen years cd.
who were willing to go for the fun OF
camping at the expense OF somebody
else. The boys were thought to be need
ed to put up the tent, carry water and
attend to such details of rough life the
girls could not or would not do.
Their baggage. which they took with
them on the wagon. consisted of tent.
eight blankets and three hammocks. with
kettle. frying pan, coffee pot and big
spoon for cooking utensils, and a hatchet
anu Il Sill8ll SlGhlC lOt ChAliilS "OOL
grass.
To the uninitiated, it may seem strange
that they should want an implement for
moving the grass but one days eXper-
fence Will prove that ii is Indispensable.
II is impossible to be comfortable any
where with all sorts of carniverous in
sects assailing one from every direction,
and the only thing which affords any
protection from the pests is ''smudgc."
t;.sr In
August than in July, but there are still
enough of them To spoil camp life for
those who do not know how to drive
them away. Nothing makes a better
snnsldge than wet grass or hay, and that
is where the sickle comes in. One OF the
first things to do upon arriving at ones
destination is to cut nice pile Of grass,
and dampen if, if the weather is very
dry. Otherwise the dews be trusted
TO furnish sufficient moisture TO make
good smoke. 4 piece of paper or some
dry hay is necessary to light the smudge.
after which the wet hay should be piled
over the blaze until il is nearly eXtin-
guished. leaving only the volumes of
smoke TO burst through and nearly choke
the girl who is tending the "smudge"-
for il has 10 be watched and fed with
more hay the moment the blaze shows
symptoms OF coming through. This will
drive away most OF the mosquitoes and
the pennyroyal or tar dope" which the
girls have brought along should do the
rest
Meanwhile two girls are gathering fire
wood with one of the boys and the hatch
ct 10 help. There are always plenty of
dry branches and underbrush to be found
If one searches diligently, and TWO girls
can easily collect enough TO last all day
II he mex. thing 10 be done Is 10 send
one Of the boys with the hatchct TO cut
TWO forked sticks and one straight one
each about three feet long. to make the
( fireplace Three good-siz,d s.ones with
fiat tops Will be found usefHl TO hep
make = good ire. Two are placed SeV-
eral iuclrS apart, with one al the back
leaving a place ia front 10 light the fire.
/ The paper or dry grass and leaves with
some Jwigs are laid between the stones
for kindliug. and The larger branches are
3 piled above, resting on the stones SO as
J not TO crush out the blaze before il gets
/ well started. a forked stick has been
| driven into the ground on each side Of
| the fire and the straight one laid
across, resting in the crotch. and now Il
| is time 10 put on the water which has
been brought from a nearby spring by
! one of the boys. II there is no nearby
! spring the projectors of the scheme have
made mistake in selecting the place TO
camp. for good water is one of the first
J considerations. The straight stick is
| slipped through the handle Of the kettle
| and returned to its resting place in the
/ forkel sticks and with the fire blazing
! beneath il. the water is soon merrily
I boiling the potatoes or the corn which
1 have been provided for dinner. The coz
I fee pot may be set on the fiat stones
/ after the fire mas subsided somewhat. or,
! if il is real camping coffee pot with a
! bail. il may be hung beside the kettle,
/ and when IL bOilS over. as il always does
: no matter how carefully it may be
1 watched. two girls will rush 10 the res
! cue. seize the straight stick at each end
/ and carefully nft it off the fire. kettle
| and all.
There are those who regard a kettle as
/ a superi!uous luxury. Man usually re-
CARDS such an implement with scorn. and
J tells you that potatoes and corn NAV
| both be roasted in the ashes, and that a
! kettle is useless incumbrance, but wo-
I man can do more with kettle than with
/ a campfire, and were she dependent rIpoo
! the hot ashes and embers which are the
| product of burning great logs she would
| wait long time for her dinner. A ket
| tie OF water. on the contrary. viii bubb, @
| joyousiy over the most mournful little
| aIology for blaze. and the woman who
expects 10 cook in the open Will take her
1 kettle along and save her temper. A
| large tin bucket will also be found very
/ useful for water. while the kettle is in
! Use, and for carrying milk from the
, farmhouse that is nearest The dishes
! should be tin or aluminium. if one goes
very far from home, but it is possible to
| carry eight porcelain cups and plates in a
| picnic basket If one objects to the metal
| flavor. 1t is good plan to pack grocer
les and the like in a large tin boiler. as
this can be closed tight and kept free
from insects and dampness.
One always expects to slumber on
spruce boughs when camping in the wild
| wood, and to obtain these the boys and
| the hatchet are Indispensable. Dry grass
and some bundles of hay fetched from
| the farmers haymow will be found nee
essary supplements to the few scrawny
| branches that ii is usually possible to
obtain very near TO civilization These.
1 with the blankets and the hammocks,
viii be found sufficiently comfortable
beds for girls who have really done their
share Of the days work
/ have purposely neglected TO give any
advice about putting up the tent as ey-
eryone who goes camping Is flooded with
directions about loosening the pegs to
slack the rope when it rains. because
rope shrinks when it is wet about put
| ting ii on bit of rising ground, so as
| not TO be Hooded in wet weather, and 100
other crumbs OF useful knowledge.
Instead of actually camping out with a
tent, a party of school ma ans have ta-
ken possession of vacant house in a
small settlement. Piles of hay have beer
| spread in the corners of the rooms and
| here the girls find themselves less expos
ed to the elements and insects than in a
tent This is done to save expense. as the
rent is practically nothing and by doing