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ENJOYING EACH OTHER 259
raise the rear of the tent into place. Grasp the rope to keep it taut to hold the rope and rear of the tent in an upright position, while you go well back, at right angles to the rear of the tent, and secure the rope to a rock, stump, or anything that will hold. It may be necessary to drive a stake for this purpose.
Using the other pole, guy the front of the tent in exactly the same manner as the rear. When the tent is finally pegged down it may be found necessary to tighten the guy ropes a little to stiffen the ridge.
It is presumed that before setting the tent the section of ground which the tent is to cover has been leveled and cleared off by cutting out brush, removing stones, and knocking away lumps of earth with the back of the ax.
Ditching It
Now the tent must be ditched, in order to carry off surface water in case of a heavy rain. For this purpose a ditch about four inches deep should be dug along the four sides of the tent (outside of course), with a drainage ditch leading off on the lowest side, to carry away the water. If the boy is called upon to ditch a tent at a time when no shovel or tools are at hand he will find that a sharp stick will loosen the earth, and a tin plate will remove it.
Making a Bed of Wild Material
Spruce boughs, because they have a greater curve and more body and buoyancy, are better than fir balsam. Break, do not cut boughs or limbs with your ax, for this purpose. Boughs that are too big to break with the hand are too big to make a comfortable bed. I do not mean by this that small sprigs are to be used. They are not, for they possess no spring and pack flat and hard. But it will be found that with a little practice pretty large boughs can be broken easily with the hand. Grasp the bough around the stem and bend it upward and backward, and it will snap off at once, even though |
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