Ideal Home Life - online book

A valuable and well-organized system for home education(homeschooling) 3 to 12 years.

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	258	IDEAL HOME LIFE
	or five of them may be cleared off, and the tops of the saplings drawn together and tied. The bunched tops will make an ex­cellent shelter. This may be improved and made nearly water­tight by leaning poles against the bent saplings, .tepee fashion, and thatching well over all. In making lean-tos or other improvised shelters consider­able ingenuity and resourcefulness are sometimes required. Always erect them with the back toward the wind. I have spent many a comfortable night in the wilderness under shel­ter of this kind, sometimes when snowstorms were raging. Making good, serviceable shelters is simply a matter of practice. Putting Up a Tent Alone Let us suppose it is an A or wedge tent—and this is prob­ably the style most boys will use. Select two trees a con­venient distance apart and stretch the ridge rope between them at the proper height, drawing it as taut as possible before securing it. Now peg down the two rear corners, drawing the bottom of the rear of the tent straight and tightly stretch­ing it between the two pegs. Be careful to keep it aligned at right angles to the ridge rope. Next peg down the two front corners, using the same pre­cautions as in the rear, and also drawing each side taut and straight at the bottom from the rear peg on that side and at right angles to it. This done, the remaining pegs may be put in place. Any slack that may occur may be taken up by bracing up the ridge pole with two crotched poles, one in front and one in the rear. Should there be no trees between which to set the tent, cut two stiff poles a little longer than the tent is high at the ridge. Peg down the four corners of the tent in the position in which they are to remain. Go to the rear, and with the ridge pole throw a clove hitch around one of the poles an inch or two from the top of the pole and as close to the tent as possible. It will be well to cut a notch around the pole to prevent the rope from slipping down when stretched. Now lift the pole to a perpendicular position. This will