Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1911-08-17

tN53 tcs@sssl serene summer retreat
"a when one invites his
ASS soul to ease in Natures
~ Lotus-land-that place
~SZIS where it seemed always
afternoon. Indeed, /
think that the quintessence OF camp
ing is reached when one knows the
game thoroughly enough to be able
to draw from Nature alone all the
comforts that civilization affords. in
addition to the thohsand joys which
no civilization can give. 1t is far
easier to do this than one would sup
pose, for the reason that most OF the
drawbacks of camp life come from neg
lect OF simple cleanliness and ordln-
'aEy 'Sosily comforts, SUCH as homo
sapiens has become accustomed to
from his cradle.
The subject of camping is really so
vast 'thae it cannst be even approaeh-
ed in a single article 1t strikes ct
the very roots of life At its best it
holds up mirror to us all. showing
how far civilization and overpopula-
tlon have combined to separate us
from the easy formula of life which
the Creator intended how they have
driven thousands to starvation within
stones throw of the fabulously rich,
whereas Nature gave every man the
equal strength of his own two hands.
which were once ample to win him
livelihood and happiness.
ic fyou
or on canoe trip. or such nomadic
camp life. the less of everything
taken along the better good sleep
ing bag is preferable to tent; sin
gle skillet will provide the utensil to
cook with; and rifle, hatchet and knife
are really all the necessities that can
be mentioned. even once went on
camp where took nothing along, ex-
cept a notebook and two sheets Of
blank music paper. A bully tramp over
the mountains 1t was, too. and slept
in piles OF leaves raked up in dry ra
vines that were already filled a solid
foot deep with dry leaves had on
canvas hunting suit, slouch hat, and
CATERS. In the shooting-coat pockets
We're a Dutch weinerwurst. half
dozen hardtacks, three potatoes, and
hunk of bacon. In the ditty bag,
without which never take any trip,
were little primer-boxes filled with
butter, salt, tea and sugar and there
were also variety of hooks and lines.
steel 'possom hook and a pickerel
hook for frogging. 1t was the only
tramp in which had no itinerary.
hadn't any idea Of getting anywhere.
and could stop whenever and as long
as pleased. think was all one
afternoon going two miles around the
flank of one mountain, down into a
ravine and up the brook to the spring,
where | camped for the night. was
gone two days: bagged most of the
species of trees of the middle states
east Of the Appalachians in the note
book, and scrawled the muslc-sheets
so full Of wriggly black notes that the
publisher got cross-eyed trying to
read the copy. Such a camp-tramp
cannot last more than two days. or
you are apt to spend the night hug
ging a tree. while the rain deluges
everything throughout the woods
For the light weekend camps, or
fishing trips not lasting over ten days.
always take small tent.
But the acme of camp life is to ar
range to spend the whole summer out
of doors, beside some favorite lake or
river. To most of us this must be
somewhere within committing dis
tance Of some large city. To few
1t is given to be able to live thus in
a good game country. leaving the busi-
ness cares for the winter months. 1t
is this kind of camp of which | wish
particularly to speak. for it is an ideal
life.
AS a matter of fact. the bungalow
in the woods should be the cleaner
and natter Of the two. If you can
get board floor. so much the better;
but be very sure that none OF the
boards reach out under the walls Of
the tent. so that. the water can follow
them inside. The best way is to rent
your ground, or buy 1t outright with
as much of the surrounding woods as
you can afford. and buy or build a
small bungalow. II you have the
homing instinct you will get to love
that little shack like you do your boy
hood town. and will put in all sorts
Of spare hours and rainy days in i'm
proving 1t and making 1t more COM
Portable. The cheapest one I know Of
is to take half dozen rolls of ready
roofing and some by inch hemlock
toist into the woods and then build
the shack yourself 1t is surprising
how far into the backwoods you can
get with this stuff. given couple of
canoes and day or SOS time.
Pick out picturesque site. where
the outlook will be a pleasure
for many serene hour to
come. and back the shack up against
rocky slope or steep turn OF the
mountainside with souther!y out
look. You will find that the eight or
ten feet back of the house, between
1t and the wall, will soon grow into
valuable "linter" and may some day