The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-06-03

him from the end OF the hog en- which
he stood. A white-throated sp1rrow sang
a plaintive little strain from the dead top
of an old hemlock, ami then a bluej y,
with clustering flutter of wings, came
screaming 10 a nearby birch tree as II rs
thought he could scare somebody into sup
posing he was a hawk, falling In which ne
said, "Tweedle -dee, twesdle-dee.' in a
voice almost as plaintive as that cf the
woodsy sparrow.
''Well, how'll this suit?" said the guide
at last The city man turned to his wife
and found her eyes were full Of tears of
real pleasure.
: Driving over near the easterly side of
the clearing they found big rock ihat
some prehistoric glacier had left there.
The ground sloped up gently for about
twenty feet from this rock, and en- that
plot the guide reckoned he would Letter
build the camp.
THE rocks bettern back log for the
fire." he explained. land the ground's
about right to shed RAIN"
Then he went into the woods and cut
two stout forks that he planted behind
the rock in such fashion that twsCe-
foot ridge pole could be laid across them
nine feet above the ground. A twelvs-fcot
log, something over a foot in dsameesr
was cut and placed parallel with the ridge
pole, and about twelve feet from the forks
A lot of poles were then laid flom the
ridge pole to the log, to serve as rasters
and on the rafters roof of spruce bark
which the guide stripped from a couple of
spruce trees he cut for the purpose.
Thus tho roof and back of the camp
were covered In one operation. The ends
were closed in by stacking there host
of small balsam trees, and the front was
left open, though the newspaper man,
who had seen such camps before, had
provided a curtain CT cotton cloth that
could be used either to close the front
or could be spread above the roof as an
. additional protection against the rain in
case leak developed. A small ditch was
dug across the back Of the camp 20 carry
off the water from the roof
A Delightful Task.
All this was work for men, of course,
but in the meantime the wife and chill
dren were kept busy, preparing a carpet
for the camp--such a lovely carpet that
Solomon in all his glory never dreamed
of better For they carried the limbs
of the spruce that were cut for bark TO
the camp, and there broke off all the
twigs with stems smaller than a lead
pencil which they spread over the floor
of the camp in orderly fashion, stems to
the front, until they had made a spruce
bough bed foot deep Over this they
spread a layer of tiny hemlock boughs.
and then on that another layer of bal
ly eighteen inches deep. On this they
spread their blankets and the camp was
finished.
So delightful had been the task that no
one but the guide had given any thought
to the time but no sooner was the camp
completed than every one became raven
ously hungry A fire was built against
the big rock. The kit of camp cooking
utensils was brought into use, and then,
while the family were busy getting ham
and eggs and potatoes and some genuine
backwoocs slapjacks req dy, the guide dis
ape AIRED in tine brush. He was gone only
about fifteen minutes, but when he came
back he brought a dozen small trout,
which he had caught in roaring brook
that tumbled into the creek not two rods
| from the clraring..
IT'S a taste" said he, "and you can
| catch a milkpanful most any time il you
want to-" ~
| To tell of the life of this family during
the month that followed would require a
| volume and il would be an interest ng
| volume too, for they lived wholly Gres
| from care. They were dressed In their old
| clothes, and no one feared a stain from
the grass or soil; ut was all elem dirt, :"
as they often said with glee. About the
only household work was in The preplr-
ing of food; all hands shared in that and
made ii light. They roamed the woods and
| made collections of plants. They watched
| the arrival of new varieties of birds from
| day to day and searched out the hiding
! places where nests were built. They made
| friends with the chipmonk and the red
squirrel. They fished the brook end the
| riffs to their hearts content and the salts
faction OF appetite. They read two or three
| works on plants and animals They were
awake at daylight, but they found the
days too short. They heaped logs on the
fire as night came on, piled balsam boughs
Pnx~ Anzf Of In
cense, and sat Watching the flames till
| only the dream cries of the birds could be
| heard and then, stretching cut on their
fragrant bed. they found the sweetest
restfullest sleep known to man.
There were few drawbacks To the life
Rain fell on three days and kept them
l-under the shelter save only when trey
cooked their meals. And when the wind
did not blow the mosquitoes were trouble
| some, not to mention the deerfly and tbs
punkIe that came at the end OF the month
But even at the worst, these pests were
not as bad as at some boarding house
they had seen; and when the wind was
blowing. and that was most of the time
their camp was located where the winget
fellows were driven away.
The Financial Side.
When the month was ended the wifi
figured out an account of expenses. L
was comforting. 1t ran; Railroad fare
$50; livery Goth ways), IS; hotel lover
night twice., $50; TO the butcher, wht
passed over the road twice a week, So 81
groceries, for which they sent to the lit
tie village, s21 20; the guide, 50; milk from
| a farmer living mile away, s.. 40; sun
dries, IS: total. $50 Al. Never had they IN
joyed an outing so much, and never haC
| one cost so little.
The newspaper man knew that a rea
pleasure is increased by sharing II. HI
| gathered his friends into his fiat and tol(
them of his experience until he aroused
their enthVsiasm, and the Spruce Bari
Camp Club was formed. 1t is al
association of people who spent
their vacations somewhere in th'
wilds. They do not conine thei
outings to the Adirondacks, nor even L
| spruce bark camps. They have canpe
in the haunts of the moose in Maine. AM
where the land locked salmon make tn
heart leap in the wilds of Canada-camp
| ed there under a roof OF spruce bark
They have used shelter tents on Hattera
| Island. in the season when ducks an