Produced by Don Kostuch
Transcriber's Notes.
This book shows a world where character and morality are prized. The goal of camp is not just to get the boys out the parents' hair, but to encourage good character and citizenship. Camp leaders are enticed by the contribution they can make to the boys' futures and are selected (or rejected) based on their own moral virtues.
There are many practical suggestions for safety and comfort aside from the absence of modern materials and conveniences, like nylon and gas stoves.
Medical advice given in the book is from 1913 and may be unhelpful, often contradicts current practice and involves unsafe or now illegal substances.
The approximate conversion for prices is 20 to 1, $1 in 1913 is about $20 in 2004.
[Illustration: Photograph by Joseph Legg]
The Heart of the Camp
Have you smelled wood smoke at twilight?
Have you heard the birch log burning?
Are you quick to read the noises of the night?
You must follow with the others for the young men's feet are turning
To the camps of proved desire and known delight.
From Kipling's "Feet of the Young Men."
CAMPING FOR BOYS H. W. GIBSON
ASSOCIATION PRESS NEW YORK 1913
Copyright, 1911, by the
INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS
TO THE THOUSAND AND MORE BOYS WHO HAVE BEEN MY CAMP MATES IN CAMPS SHAND, DURRELL AND BECKET
CONTENTS
Foreword
General Bibliography
I. The Purpose of Camping
II. Leadership; Bibliography (See General Bibliography)
III. Location and Sanitation; Bibliography
IV. Camp Equipment
V. Personal Check List or Inventory
VI. Organization, Administration and Discipline
VII. The Day's Program; Bibliography
VIII. Moral and Religious Life; Bibliography
IX. Food
X. The Camp Fire; Bibliography
XI. Tramps, Hikes and Overnight Trips
XII. Cooking on Hikes; Bibliography
XIII. Health and Hygiene; Bibliography
XIV. Simple Remedies
XV. First Aid
XVI. Personal Hygiene
XVII. Athletics, Campus Games, Aquatics, Water Sports; Bibliography
XVIII. Nature Study; Bibliography
XIX. Forecasting the Weather; Bibliography
XX. Rainy Day Games; Bibliography
XXI. Educational Activities; Bibliography
XXII. Honor, Emblems and Awards
XXIII. Packing Up
Index.
FOREWORD
The author has conducted boys' camps for twenty-three years, so that he is not without experience in the subject. To share with others this experience has been his aim in writing the book. The various chapters have been worked out from a practical viewpoint, the desire being to make a handbook of suggestions for those in charge of camps for boys and for boys who go camping, rather than a theoretical treatise upon the general subject.
Thanks are due to E. M. Robinson, Dr. Elias G. Brown, Charles R. Scott,
Irving G. MacColl, J. A. Van Dis, Taylor Statten, W. H. Wones, H. C.
Beckman, W. H. Burger, H. M. Burr, A. B. Wegener, A. D. Murray, and H. M.
Allen, for valuable suggestions and ideas incorporated in many chapters.
Grateful acknowledgment is made to the following publishers for permission
to quote from the books mentioned in the bibliography—Charles Scribner's
Sons, Harper Brothers, Outing Publishing Company, Baker & Taylor Company,
Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Company, Penn Publishing Company, Doubleday, Page &
Company, Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, Ginn & Company, Sunday School Times
Company, G. P. Putnam's Sons, Little, Brown & Company, Moffat, Yard &
Company, Houghton, Mifflin Company, Sturgis & Walton, Funk & Wagnall's
Company, The Manual Arts Press, Frederick Warne & Company, Review and
Herald Publishing Company, Health-Education League, Pacific Press
Publishing Company.
Every leader, before going to camp, should read some book upon boy life, in order, not only that he may refresh his memory regarding his own boyhood days, but that he may also the more intelligently fit himself for the responsibility of leadership. The following books, or similar ones, may be found in any well-equipped library.
If this book will help some man to be of greater service to boys, as well as to inspire boys to live the noble life which God's great out-of-doors teaches, the author will feel amply repaid for his labor. Boston, Mass., April, 1911.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Boy-Life and Self Government—Fiske. Association Press, $1.00.
Boy-Training—Symposium. Association Press, $1.00.
Youth—Hall. Appleton and Company, $1.50.
Winning the Boy—Merrill. Revell and Company, $0.75.
The Boy Problem—Forbush. Pilgrim Press, $1.00.
Up Though Childhood—Hubbell. Putnam and Company, $1.25.
Growth and Education—Tyler. Houghton, Mifflin Company, $1.50.
SUGGESTIVE ARTICLES ON "CAMPING" IN "ASSOCIATION BOYS";
A Course in Camping—Edgar M. Robinson. Feb., 1902.
The Sanitary Care of a Boys' Camp—Elias G. Brown, M.D.
April and June, 1902.
Seventeen Seasons in One Boys' Camp—G. G. Peck. April. 1902.
Association Boys' Camps—Edgar M. Robinson. June, 1902.
Following Up Camp—Editorial. October, 1902.
What Men Think of Camp—Edgar M. Robinson. June, 1903.
Fun Making at Camp—C.B. Harton. June. 1903.
Educational Possibilities at Camp—F. P. Speare. June, 1903.
Bible Study at Camp—Raymond P. Kaighn. June, 1903.
Simple Remedies at Camp—Elias G. Brown, M.D. June, 1903.
Tuxis System—H.L. Smith. April, 1904.
Life at Camp Dudley—Raymond P. Kaighn. June, 1905.
Life-Saving Crew—F.H.T. Ritchie. June. 1905.
Summer Camps—Frank Streightoff. June, 1905.
Wawayanda Camp—Chas. R. Scott. June. 1907.
Objectives in Camps for Boys—Walter M. Wood. June, 1907.
CHAPTER I THE PURPOSE OF CAMPING
VACATION TIME NEED OF OUTDOOR LIFE PURPOSE OF CAMPING "TOO MUCH HOUSE" A QUERY APOSTLES OF OUTDOOR LIFE HEEDING NATURE'S CALL CHARACTER BUILDING CAMP MOTTOES "ROUGH-HOUSE" CAMPS BOY SCOUTS INFLUENCE OF CAMP LIFE
It is great fun to live in the glorious open air, fragrant with the smell of the woods and flowers; it is fun to swim and fish and hike it over the hills; it is fun to sit about the open fire and spin yarns, or watch in silence the glowing embers; but the greatest fun of all is to win the love and confidence of some boy who has been a trouble to himself and everybody else, and help him to become a man.—H. M. Burr.
The summer time is a period of moral deterioration with most boys. Free from restraint of school and many times of home, boys wander during the vacation time into paths of wrongdoing largely because of a lack of directed play life and a natural outlet for the expenditure of their surplus energy. The vacation problem therefore becomes a serious one for both the boy and his parent. Camping offers a solution.
The Need
"A boy in the process of growing needs the outdoors. He needs room and range. He needs the tonic of the hills, the woods and streams. He needs to walk under the great sky, and commune with the stars. He needs to place himself where nature can speak to him. He ought to get close to the soil. He ought to be toughened by sun and wind, rain and cold. Nothing can take the place, for the boy, of stout physique, robust health, good blood, firm muscles, sound nerves, for these are the conditions of character and efficiency. The early teens are the most important years for the boy physically… Through the ages of thirteen and fifteen the more he can be in the open, free from social engagements and from continuous labor or study, the better. He should fish, swim, row and sail, roam the woods and the waters, get plenty of vigorous action, have interesting, healthful things to think about."—Prof. C. W. Votaw.
The Purpose
This is the real purpose of camping—"something to do, something to think about, something to enjoy in the woods, with a view always to character-building"—this is the way Ernest Thompson-Seton, that master wood-craftsman, puts it. Character building! What a great objective! It challenges the best that is in a man or boy. Camping is an experience, not an institution. It is an experience which every live, full-blooded, growing boy longs for, and happy the day of his realization. At the first sign of spring, back yards blossom forth with tents of endless variety. To sleep out, to cook food, to search for nature's fascinating secrets, to make things—all are but the expression of that instinct for freedom of living in the great out-of-doors which God created within him.
Too Much House
"Too much house," says Jacob Riis; "Civilization has been making of the world a hothouse. Man's instinct of self-preservation rebels; hence the appeal for the return to the simple life that is growing loud." Boys need to get away from the schoolroom and books, and may I say the martyrdom of examinations, high marks, promotions and exhibitions! Medical examinations of school children reveal some startling facts. Why should boys suffer from nerves? Are we sacrificing bodily vigor for abnormal intellectual growth? Have we been fighting against instead of cooperating with nature?
The tide is turning, however, and the people are living more and more in the open. Apostles of outdoor life like Henry D. Thoreau, John Burroughs, William Hamilton Gibson, Howard Henderson, Ernest Thompson-Seton, Frank Beard, Horace Kephart, Edward Breck, Charles Stedman Hanks, Stewart Edward White, "Nessmuck," W. C. Gray, and a host of others, have, through their writings, arrested the thought of busy people long enough to have them see the error of their ways and are bringing them to repentance.
Camps for boys are springing up like mushrooms. Literally thousands of boys who have heretofore wasted the glorious summer time loafing on the city streets, or as disastrously at summer hotels or amusement places, are now living during the vacation time under nature's canopy of blue with only enough covering for protection from rain and wind, and absorbing through the pores of their body that vitality which only pure air, sunshine, long hours of sleep, wholesome food, and reasonable discipline can supply.
Character Building
In reading over scores of booklets and prospectuses of camps for boys, one is impressed with their unanimity of purpose—that of character building. These are a few quotations taken from a variety of camp booklets:
"The object of the camp is healthful recreation without temptation."
"A camp where boys live close to nature, give themselves up to play, acquire skill in sports, eat plenty of wholesome food, and sleep long hours … and are taught high ideals for their own lives."
"To give boys a delightful summer outing under favorable conditions, and to give them every opportunity to become familiar with camp life in all its phases. We believe this contributes much to the upbuilding of a boy's character and enables him to get out of life much enjoyment that would not otherwise be possible."
"A place where older boys, boys of the restless age, may live a happy, carefree, outdoor life, free from the artificialities and pernicious influences of the larger cities"; a place where "all the cravings of a real boy are satisfied"; a place "where constant association with agreeable companions and the influence of well-bred college men in a clean and healthy moral atmosphere make for noble manhood; a place where athletic sports harden the muscles, tan the skin, broaden the shoulders, brighten the eye, and send each lad back to his school work in the fall as brown as a berry and as hard as nails."
"A camp of ideals, not a summer hotel nor a supplanter of the home. The principal reason for its existence is the providing of a safe place for parents to send their boys during the summer vacation, where, under the leadership of Christian men, they may be developed physically, mentally, socially, and morally."
Whether the camp is conducted under church, settlement, Young Men's Christian Association, or private auspices, the prime purpose of its existence should be that of character building.
"Because of natural, physical, social, educational, moral, and religious conditions, the boy is taught those underlying principles which determine character. The harder things a boy does or endures, the stronger man he will become; the more unselfish and noble things he does, the better man he will become."
No Rough-house
The day of the extreme "rough-house" camp has passed. Boys have discovered that real fun does not mean hurting or discomforting others, but consists in making others happy. The boy who gets the most out of camp is the boy who puts the most into camp.
Mottoes
Many camps build their program of camp activities around a motto
such as
"Each for All, and All for Each,"
"Help the Other Fellow,"
"Do Your Best,"
"Nothing Without Labor,"
"A Gentleman Always," and
"I Can and I Will."
Scout Law
Endurance, self-control, self-reliance, and unselfishness are taught the
"Boy Scouts" through what is called the "Scout Law."
(1) A Scout's honor is to be trusted; (2) Be loyal; (3) Do a good turn to somebody every day; (4) Be a friend to all; (5) Be courteous; (6) Be a friend to animals; (7) Be obedient; (8) Be cheerful; (9) Be thrifty.
All these are valuable, because they contribute to the making of character.
In the conduct of a boys' camp there must be a definite clear-cut purpose if satisfactory results are to be obtained. A go-as-you-please or do-as-you please camp will soon become a place of harm and moral deterioration.
Results
Camping should give to the boy that self-reliance which is so essential in the making of a life, that faith in others which is the foundation of society, that spirit of altruism which will make him want to be of service in helping other fellows, that consciousness of God as evidenced in His handiwork which will give him a basis of morality, enduring and reasonable, and a spirit of reverence for things sacred and eternal. He ought to have a better appreciation of his home after a season away from what should be to him the sweetest place on earth.
CHAPTER II—LEADERSHIP
THE DIRECTOR ASSISTANT LEADERS THE TERM LEADER HOW TO GET LEADERS VARIETY OF TALENT SUGGESTIONS TO LEADERS OPPORTUNITY OF LEADERSHIP
The success or failure of a boys' camp depends upon leadership rather than upon equipment. Boys are influenced by example rather than by precept. A boys' camp is largely built around a strong personality. Solve the problem of leadership, and you solve the greatest problem of camping.
The Director
No matter how large or how small the camp, there must be one who is in absolute control. He may be known as the director, superintendent, or leader. His word is final. He should be a man of executive ability and good common sense. He should have a keen appreciation of justice. A desire to be the friend and counsellor of every boy must always govern his action. He will always have the interest and welfare of every individual boy at heart, realizing that parents have literally turned over to his care and keeping, for the time being, the bodies and souls of their boys. To be respected should be his aim. Too often the desire to be popular leads to failure.
Leaders
Aim to secure as assistant leaders or counsellors young men of unquestioned character and moral leadership, college men if possible, men of culture and refinement, who are good athletes, and who understand boy life.
"They should be strong and sympathetic, companionable men. Too much care cannot be exercised in choosing assistants. Beware of effeminate men, men who are morbid in sex matters. An alert leader can spot a 'crooked' man by his actions, his glances, and by his choice of favorites. Deal with a man of this type firmly, promptly, and quietly. Let him suddenly be 'called home by circumstances which he could not control.'" The leader must have the loyalty of his assistants. They should receive their rank from the leader, and this rank should be recognized by the entire camp. The highest ranking leader present at any time should have authority over the party.
In a boys' camp I prefer the term "leader" to that of "counsellor." It is more natural for a boy to follow a leader than to listen to wise counsellors. "Come on, fellows, let's—" meets with hearty response. "Boys, do this," is an entirely different thing. Leaders should hold frequent councils regarding the life of the camp and share in determining its policy.
The most fruitful source of supply of leaders should be the colleges and preparatory schools. No vacation can be so profitably spent as that given over to the leadership of boy life. Here is a form of altruistic service which should appeal to purposeful college men. Older high school boys who have been campers make excellent leaders of younger boys. A leader should always receive some remuneration for his services, either carfare and board or a fixed sum of money definitely agreed upon beforehand. The pay should never be so large that he will look upon his position as a "job." Never cover service with the blinding attractiveness of money. The chief purpose of pay should be to help deepen the sense of responsibility, and prevent laxness and indifference, as well as to gain the services of those who must earn something.
Do not take a man as leader simply because he has certificates of recommendation. Know him personally. Find out what he is capable of doing. The following blank I use in securing information:
Leader's Information Blank, Camps Durrell and Becket
Name
Address
College or school
Class of
Do you sing? What part (tenor or bass)?
Do you swim?
Do you play baseball? What position?
Do you play an instrument? What?
Will you bring it (unless piano) and music to camp?
Have you won any athletic or aquatic events? What?
Will you bring your school or college pennant with you?
Have you ever taken part in minstrel show, dramatics, or any kind
of entertainment; if so, what?
What is your hobby? (If tennis, baseball, swimming, nature study,
hiking, photography, athletics, etc., whatever it is, kindly tell
about it in order to help in planning the camp activities.)
[Illustration: A Leader's Pulpit—Sunday Morning in the
"Chapel-by-the-Lake"—Camp Becket.]
Leaders should not be chosen in order to secure a baseball team, or an athletic team. Select men of diverse gifts. One should know something about nature study, another about manual training, another a good story-teller, another a good athlete or baseball player, another a good swimmer, another a musician, etc. Always remember, however, that the chief qualification should be moral worth.
Before camp opens it is a wise plan to send each leader a letter explaining in detail the purpose and program of the camp. A letter like the following is sent to the leaders of Camps Durrell and Becket.
SUGGESTIONS TO CAMP LEADERS. READ AND RE-READ.
The success of a boys' camp depends upon the hearty cooperation of each leader with the superintendent. The boys will imitate you. A smile is always better than a frown. "Kicking" in the presence of boys breeds discontent. Loyalty to the camp and its management is absolutely necessary if there is to be harmony in the camp life.
Personal
Your personal life will either be a blessing or a hindrance to the boys in your tent. Study each boy in your tent. Win his confidence. Determine to do your best in being a genuine friend of each boy. Remember in prayer daily each boy and your fellow leaders. Emphasize the camp motto, "Each for all, and all for each." Study the "tests" on pages 8 and 9 of the booklets, and be helpful to the boys in your tent who are ambitious to improve and win the honor emblems.
Tents
Neatness and cleanliness must be the watchword of each tent. Sweets draw ants. Decayed material breeds disease. Insist upon the observance of sanitary rules.
It is unwise to have all the boys from one town or city in one tent. The tendency is to form clans, which destroy camp spirit. Get the fellows together the first thing and choose a tent name and tent yells.
Appoint a boy who will be responsible for the boys and the tent when you are not present.
Too much attention cannot be given to the matter of ventilation. When it rains, use a forked stick to hold the flaps open in the form of a diamond. In clear weather, tie one flap back at each end (flap toward the feet), allowing a free draft of air at all times. On rainy days encourage the boys to spend their time in the pavillion. Whenever possible, insist upon tent and blankets being thoroughly aired each morning.
Three inspectors will be appointed for each day; fifteen minutes' notice will be given and boys will not be allowed in or around their tents during the period of inspection. Leaders may suggest but not participate in arranging the tent.
The Honor Banner is to be given to the tent showing the best condition and held as long as marks are highest.
Swimming
The U. S. V. L. S. C.[1] crews' in boats will patrol whenever the boys are in swimming, and the leader of swimming must give the signal before boys go into the water. Boys who cannot swim should be encouraged to learn. The morning dip must be a dip and not a swim.
[Transcriber's Note 1: United States Volunteer Life Saving Corps.]
Boats
No boats are to be taken unless an order has been issued by the tent leader (or by the superintendent). The man at the wharf always has power to veto orders at his discretion.
Order of Day
It is the leader's part to see that the order of the day is carried out and on time, including the setting up drill. (See Camp Booklet.) "Follow the leader" is an old game which is still influencing boys.
Work
Three tents and their leaders are responsible for the work at camp, and will be expected to report to the assistant superintendent after breakfast for assignment of work. These tents are changed each day, so that the boys and leaders come on duty only one day in seven.
Each tent is under its respective leader in doing the following work:
Tent 1. Sanitary work, such as policing the campus, emptying garbage cans, sweeping the pavillion, disinfecting, etc.
Tent 2. Preparing vegetables for the cook, drying dishes, pots, pans, cleaning up the kitchen, piazza, etc.
Tent 3. Cleaning the boats, supplying wood for the kitchen, putting ice in the refrigerator, etc.
The next day tents 4, 5 and 6 will come on duty, and so on until each tent has been on duty during the week.
Leaders for the day will call the squad together after breakfast and explain the day's plans. Encourage the boys to do this work cheerfully. Lead, do not drive the boys when working. Not more than three hours should be consumed in camp work.
Sports and Pastimes
Bring rule books on athletics. Study up group games. Bring any old clothes for costumes; tambourines and bones for minstrel show, grease paint, and burnt cork—in fact, anything that you think will add to the fun of the camp. Good stories and jokes are always in demand. Bring something interesting to read to your boys on rainy days. Think out some stunt to do at the social gatherings. If you play an instrument, be sure to bring it along with you.
Bank
Encourage the boys to turn their money and railroad tickets over to the camp banker instead of depositing them with you.
Camp Council
Meetings of the leaders will be held at the call of the superintendent. Matters talked over at the council meeting should not be talked over with the boys. All matters of discipline or anything that deals with the welfare of the camp should be brought up at this meeting. Printed report blanks will be given to each leader to be filled out and handed to the assistant superintendent each Thursday morning. Do not show these reports to the boys.
Bible Study
Each leader will be expected to read to the boys in his tent a chapter from the Bible and have prayers before "taps" each night, also to take his turn in leading the morning devotions at breakfast table. Groups of boys will meet for occasional Bible study at sunset under various leaders. Each session will continue twenty minutes—no longer. Sunday morning service will be somewhat formal in character, with an address. The sunset vesper service will be informal.
Praying that the camp may prove a place where leaders and boys may grow in the best things of life and anticipating an outing of pleasure and profit to you, I am Your friend, (signature)
Opportunities
In securing men for leadership, impress upon them the many opportunities for the investment of their lives in the kind of work that builds character. In reading over a small folder, written by George H. Hogeman of Orange, N .J., I was so impressed with his excellent presentation of this theme of opportunities of leadership that the following is quoted in preference to anything I could write upon the subject:
"The opportunity of the boys' camp leader is, first, to engage in the service that counts most largely in securing the future welfare of those who will soon be called upon to carry on the work that we are now engaged in. Most people are so busy with their own present enjoyment and future success that they pay little heed to the future of others. They may give some thought to the present need of those around them because it more or less directly affects themselves, but the work of character building in boys' camps is one that shows its best results in the years to come rather than in the immediate present.
"In the second place, the opportunity comes to the camp leader to know boys as few other people know them, sometimes even better than their own parents know them. When you live, eat, sleep with a boy in the open, free life of camp for a month or so, you come in contact with him at vastly more points than you do in the more restrained home life, and you see sides of his nature that are seldom seen at other times.
"Finally, the opportunity is given to the man who spends his vacation in camp to make the time really count for something in his own life and in the lives of others. To how many does vacation really mean a relaxation, a letting down of effort along one line, without the substitution of anything definite in its place! But he must be a dull soul, indeed, who can come to the right kind of boys' camp and not go away with his muscles harder, his eye brighter, his digestion better, and his spirit more awake to the things that pertain to the Kingdom of God.
"Then again the camp leader must have the ability to forget himself in others. Nowhere can the real play spirit be entered into more completely than in camp life. A watchman is the last thing he must be. That spirit of unselfishness which forgets its own personal pleasure in doing the most for the general good, is the ideal camp spirit. As Lowell puts it in the Vision of Sir Launfal, it is:
Not what we give, but what we share,
For the gift without the giver is bare.
"The results of all these points which I have mentioned are some very positive things. One is the very best kind of a vacation that it is possible to have. How frequently we hear in response to the question about enjoying a vacation, 'Oh, yes, I had a good enough time, but I'll never go back there again.' To my mind that indicates either that the person does not know what a really good time is, or that his surroundings made a good time impossible.
"Another result of camp is the real friendships that last long after camping days are over. Of these I need not speak. You and I know of many such and what they mean in the development of Christian character in the lives of our men and boys. And, after all, there is the greatest result of all, the sense of confidence in the ultimate outcome that comes with having a share in the work of bringing others to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."
"The ideal life for a boy is not in the city. He should know of animals, rivers, plants, and that great out-of-door life that lays for him the foundation of his later years." —G. Stanley.
[Illustration: Camp Becket]
CHAPTER III—LOCATION AND SANITATION
DIRTY DIRT VS. CLEAN DIRT AVOID SWAMPS SELECTING A SITE LAYING OUT THE CAMP GROUND THE LATRINES GARBAGE DISH WATER WASTE BARRELS WATER SUPPLY AN INDIAN METHOD INDIVIDUAL DRINKING CUPBOARD OF HEALTH MAXIMS
Dirt
Clean camps are most easily kept by not allowing them to become dirty.
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Godliness means a right relation to things spiritual, cleanliness a right relation to things material. An old definition says that 'Dirt is merely misplaced matter.' Of all the vehicles of disease, the most important perhaps is dirt. The word dirt in its strict sense comes from the Anglo-Saxon 'drit,' or excrement. 'Dirt,' then, is not earth or clean sand—not clean dirt, but dirty dirt, that is, matter soiled by some of the excreta of the human or animal body. Cleanliness must be insisted upon in a boys' Camp—not the cleanliness that makes a boy squeamish about working with his hands upon some necessary job, but cleanliness that makes him afraid of sharing his tooth brush or table utensils or his clothes.
Cleanliness is not the shunning of good, clean dirt, but a recognition of the fact that to pass anything from one mouth to another is a possible source of death and destruction." [1] "Death to dirt" should be the watchword of the camp. The camp should be a model of cleanliness. Every boy should be taught the value of good sanitation and encouraged to cooperate in making proper sanitation effective.
[Footnote 1: Dr. Chas. E. A. Winslow—"Camp Conference," p. 58.]
Avoid Swamps
The location chosen for a camp should be away from swamps. Avoid swampy and low places as you would a plague. Damp places where there are mosquitoes, should be well drained, and open to an abundance of sunshine. Mosquitoes breed only in water, but a very little water is sufficient if it is dirty and stagnant. Two inches of water standing in an old tin can will breed an innumerable horde. These "diminutive musicians" are not only a nuisance, but dangerous, as malaria and typhoid spreaders by their poisonous stings.
The Site
In selecting a camp site bear in mind these things: (1) A sandy sub-soil, with good drainage. Avoid very sandy soil; sand provides but little hold for tent pegs, and there is grave risk of damage should there come a gale. (2) An open campus surrounded by hills or sheltering trees, and facing the water. (3) Plenty of good drinking water and water for swimming. (4) Base from which supplies and provisions are to be drawn should be within convenient distance, not more than four miles away. (5) Camp should be away from civilization, far enough to be free from visitors and the temptation to "go to town" on the part of the boys. Nothing demoralizes a boys' camp so quickly as proximity to a summer resort.
Arrangement
Before opening the camp much thought and care should be given to its sanitary arrangement. First of all, the dryest section of the camp ground should be selected for the erection of the sleeping tents. Locate them where they will have the full benefit of the sunshine. Tents erected under trees are liable to mildew, for the want of sunshine, and the contents of the tent will soon get musty. Next in importance to the location of "quarters" is the location of the kitchen. This should be near the dining tent, so that the serving of food may be quick, and yet far enough away to insure that disagreeable odors will not destroy the pleasure of eating. If it is very near the sleeping tents the campers will be awakened too early by the chopping of wood and the necessary noises made in preparation of the morning meal. It should be near water. This is very essential for cooking and cleaning. In some of the large camps water is carried to the kitchen in pipes from near-by springs or pumped from wells of pure water. The dining quarters naturally should be located near the kitchen so that food may be served warm. Provision should be made for the protection of the boys from cold, wind, rain, and dampness while eating. The toilet should be located rather far away from the camp, and not in the direction from which the prevailing wind comes toward the camp. Make sure that it is on the line of opposite drainage from the water used by the camp. The details of laying out a camp, erection of tents, etc., are given in another chapter.
Latrines
Particular precaution should be exercised in location and care of the toilets or latrines, even in a one-night camp. Neglect of this will mean disease. When on a one-night camp, dig a small pit which can be filled in again after use. If the camp is to be continued for a week or longer, dig a pit or trench about two or three feet deep and about eighteen inches wide, plant posts on each side of the trench, and eighteen inches above the ground level. Nail shaped seating on these posts. The number of seats will be determined by the size of the camping party. It is desirable to erect a six-foot canvas screen with an opening around the toilet. Dry earth should be sprinkled freely in the trench each time it is used. Also each morning sprinkle plenty of chloride of lime or some good, reliable disinfectant in the trench. Do not permit the throwing of paper about the toilet. Have a box in which paper is to be kept. Flies should be excluded by boxing up the sides of the seats and fastening a hinged lid upon the seats (see illustration). It is an advantage to admit the direct sunlight about the middle of the day because of its bactericidal action on disease germs. In a permanent camp regular wooden closets should be built, with covered roof for protection from rain and wind. The back of the closet should be arranged either by a hinged door or some other method so that the contents may be removed as often as once a week. A wooden box on rollers placed beneath the seats will facilitate removal. The seats should be scrubbed with hot water, sulpho-naphthol, or soap, daily. "Springfield Oval" type of toilet paper prevents unnecessary waste. In one camp the water from a near-by brook is dammed and thus by gravity made to flow by a system of modern plumbing through the urinals and flush closets. This is ideal. Insist upon cleanliness. The cutting of initials and names upon the seats and woodwork should be considered a disgrace as well as a misdemeanor.
[Illustration: Pit Toilet; seat, hinged cover, hinged door at back.]
Taboo the taking of books and papers to the toilet to read. It should be an imperative rule that no other place be used. A little carelessness will cause disagreeable as well as dangerous results. By way of reiteration: First, rigid prohibition of the pollution of the surface of the ground by the strictest rules, diligently enforced. Second, the provision of toilets or latrines of adequate size with proper precaution to prevent the dispersal of excreta by wind, flies, or other agencies. The latrines should be located a distance from camp but not so far as to offer temptation to pollution of the ground. Third, boys should be educated when on hikes or tramps in the old Mosaic Rule laid down in Deuteronomy 23: 12-14. [1]
[Transcriber's Footnote 1: "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: And thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee: For the LORD thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.">[
Garbage
Garbage, consisting chiefly of trimmings of meat and vegetables and the waste from the table, if stored in open buckets soon becomes offensive and is an ideal breeding place in warm weather for flies "that drink of cesspools, dine at privy vaults, eat sputum and are likely to be the most familiar guests at the dinner table, sampling every article of food upon which they walk, leaving in their tracks disease-producing germs which have adhered to their sticky feet where they have previously dined." Declare war upon the "fly who won't wipe his feet" by keeping the garbage in a covered galvanized-iron pail and dispose of it before decomposition takes place. Wash and dry the pail after emptying. If the camp is located near a farm, give the garbage to the farmer. It is the natural food of swine or poultry. Where this is not possible, the garbage should be buried every day in the earth and covered with three or four inches of dirt. Another and better plan, especially in a large camp, is the burning of the garbage and human excreta in an incinerator, such as the McCall. This is the method of the United States Army.
Exercise caution in throwing aside tin cans. The vegetable matter remaining in the cans soon decays and attracts flies. Have a place where these cans may be buried or burned with other refuse each day. Keep the ground surrounding the kitchen free from all kinds of garbage or refuse.
Do not throw dirty dish water promiscuously upon the ground. Dig a trench and put the water in this trench. Sprinkle chloride of lime or a disinfectant upon it each day. In a permanent camp a waste water well should be dug and lined with stone. The drain pipe should be laid from the kitchen to the well. This water soon disappears in the soil and does not become a nuisance. Make sure that the well is not in line with the water supply of the camp. A little potash or some washing soda dissolved in the sink will help to keep the drain clean.
Place barrels in different parts of the camp for refuse and scraps. A coat of whitewash or white paint will make them conspicuous. In one camp the following suggestive bit of verse was painted on the waste barrels:
Ravenous Barrel
I am all mouth and vacuum
I never get enough,
So cram me full of fruit peels,
Old papers, trash and stuff.
Epicurean Barrel
O, how sorry I feel for a boy
Who litters clean places with trash,
Who throws away papers and fruit peels
Which form my favorite hash.
Waste Barrels
These barrels should be set upon two strips of wood placed parallel. This permits the air to pass beneath the barrel and keeps its bottom from decaying by contact with the ground. The barrels should be emptied daily and the trash burned.
A dirty, carelessly kept, untidy camp will make discipline and order very difficult to attain and the influence will soon be noticed in the careless personal habits of the boys. There is an educational and moral value in cleanliness which is second only to that of good health.
Water Supply
Dr. Charles E. A. Winslow, the noted biologist, is authority for the following statement; [Camp Conference, p.61] "The source of danger in water is always human or animal pollution. Occasionally we find water which is bad to drink on account of minerals dissolved on its way through the ground or on account of passage through lead pipes, but the danger is never from ordinary decomposing vegetable matter. If you have to choose between a bright, clear stream which may be polluted at some point above, and a pond full of dead leaves and peaty matter, but which you can inspect all around and find free from contamination, choose the pond. Even in the woods it is not easy to find surface waters that are surely protected, and streams particularly are dangerous sources of water supply. We have now got rid of the idea that running water purifies itself. It is standing water which purifies itself, if anything, for in stagnation there is much more chance for the disease germs to die out. Better than either a pond or stream, unless you can carry out a rather careful exploration of their surroundings, is ground water from a well or spring; though that again is not necessarily safe. If the well is in good sandy soil with no cracks or fissures, even water that has been polluted may be well purified and made safe to drink. In a clayey or rocky region, on the other hand, contaminating material may travel for considerable distance under ground. Even if your well is protected below, a very important point to look after is the pollution from the surface. I believe more cases of typhoid fever from wells are due to surface pollution than to the character of the water itself. This is a danger which can, of course, be done away with by protection of the well from surface drainage, by seeing that the surface wash is not allowed to drain toward it and that it is protected by a tight covering from the entrance of its own waste water. If good water cannot be secured in any of these ways, the water must be purified. It has been said that what we desire in water supply is innocence and not repentance; but if you cannot get pristine innocence, you can, at least, secure works meet for repentance and make the water safe, by filtering through either a Pasteur or a Berkefeld filter—either of those filters will take out bacteria, while no other filters that I know of will or by various chemical disinfectants, not any of them very satisfactory—or, best of all, by boiling, which will surely destroy all disease germs."
Indians had a way of purifying water from a pond or swamp by digging a hole about one foot across and down about six inches below the water level, a few feet from the pond. After it had filled with water, they bailed it out quickly, repeating the bailing process about three times. After the third bailing the hole would fill with filtered water. Try it.
Drinking Cups
Insist upon the boys bringing to camp a supply of inexpensive paper cups or collapsible pocket drinking cups. Filthy and dangerous diseases are not infrequently transmitted by the use of a common drinking cup.
Paper Drinking Cup.
Take a piece of clean paper about 6 inches square and fold it on the dotted lines, as shown in Figure 1, so as to make a triangle. Do not use paper having anything printed on it, as there is danger of poison from the ink. The other folds are made in the dotted lines, as shown in Figure 2. Each pointed end of the triangle is turned over on one side, as shown in Figure 3, then the sheets of the remaining points are separated and each one folded down on its respective side. This practical idea is furnished by R. H. Lufkin in Popular Mechanics for February, 1911.
Board of Health
Boys should be encouraged to cooperate in keeping the camp clean. A Board of Health may be organized, to be composed of an equal number of boys and camp leaders with the camp physician, or director of the camp as chairman.
[Illustration: A Paper Drinking Cup]
The duties of the board will be to inspect daily the toilets, sinks, and drains, the water supply, the garbage disposal and waste barrels; condemn everything that is unsanitary, and correct all sanitary disorders. The board will also arrange for a series of talks upon "Sanitation and Health," such as:
Sunshine and Health
Johnnie and the Microbes
Dirt and Cleanliness
Fresh Air
Flies and Filth
Health—Its Value and Its Cost.
Have the boys write essays upon these subjects and give credits or points for original interpretation, accuracy of report of talk given, and observance and correction of sanitary disorders.
Maxims
Clean up as you go. Sunshine and dryness are great microbe killers. It is better to keep clean, than to get clean. Dirt, dampness and disease can often be avoided by decency, dryness and determination. Uncleanness is at the root of many of the evils which cause suffering and ill health. Fire is the best disinfectant. Typhoid fever and cholera are carried by dirty habits, by dirty water and dirty milk.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Camp Sanitation-Review and Herald Pub. Assn., Washington, D. C. 6 cents. A twelve-page folder of useful hints on what to do and what not to do.
Wastes and Their Disposal—Henry J. Barnes, M.D. Health-Education League, Boston, Mass., 4 cents. An authoritative booklet written by the Professor of Hygiene, Tufts Medical School. This League publishes a number of very valuable and comprehensive booklets on health subjects.
Good Health—Francis Gulick Jewett. Ginn and Co., 40 cents. Gives detail instruction in matters of health and hygiene. Prepared especially for younger people.
Health—B. Franklin Richards. Pacific Press Pub. Co., $1.00. Written in language easily understood and filled with sensible suggestions.
[Illustration: "The Sardines"—Eight Boys in a 12X14 Tent—Camp Becket]
CHAPTER IV—CAMP EQUIPMENT
ADVANCE PARTY PLAN OF CAMP GROUNDS A MEASURING DEVICE SETTING UP A WALL TENT GUYING THE TENT TRENCHING PEG WISDOM INTERIOR TENT CONVENIENCES HOW TO MAKE A TEPEE TENT WISDOM SLEEPING ON THE GROUND A "HIP HOLE" HOW TO KEEP WARM MAKING A BED DOUBLE-DECK BUNKS BLANKETS PILLOWS KITCHEN WARE TABLE WARE TABLE TOPS A "HORSE" IDEA PERMANENT BUILDINGS SURVEYING HOME-MADE INSTRUMENTS CAMP SURVEY
The greatest help after all is to take the children back to the garden that the Lord God planted. A boy must learn to sleep under the open sky and to tramp ten miles through the rain if he wants to be strong. He must learn what sort of men it was who made America, and he must not get into this fuss and flurry of our American civilization and think that patent leather shoes and white kid gloves are necessary for the salvation of his life.—Edward Everett Hale.
Selecting a camp site and general directions for the laying out of the camp grounds is treated very fully in the chapter on Camp Sanitation, so that this chapter will be devoted to methods that to the experienced camper may seem trite, but which the novice will appreciate.
[Illustration: Laying Out a Camp]
Advance Party
If the camp is a large one it is usually customary to send an advance party several days ahead to erect the tents and get the camp in readiness for the larger party. The successful management of a camp depends very much upon placing the tents in such a position as to give plenty of room and yet be compact. When tents are scattered the difficulty of control is increased. The above diagram is a suggestion for the laying out of a camp which provides for room and control.
Plan of Grounds
The following hints will help the advance party to layout the camp in a systematic and scientific manner. To find the right angle of the camp square, drive a peg at A, another 3 feet distant at B; attach a 5-foot cord from the peg at B, and a 4 foot cord from the peg at A. The point at which the two cords meet at C, where another peg may be driven in, will be the line at right angles to B-A.
[Illustration: Right Angle of Camp Square]
Measuring Device
The illustrations opposite show a device by which a camp, baseball grounds, running track, tennis court or any distance may be quickly and accurately measured. The first thing to do is to get an inch board and cut a round disc (a) about 12 inches in diameter. Cut two of them and tack them together. The diagram "b" is easier to cut out and will serve the purpose just as well. When the two are temporarily tacked together, bore a hole through the centre for the axle. The eight spokes should be of light material and not too pointed or they will sink in the ground and prevent accuracy. The spokes are tacked on one disc as shown in "c" and then the other disc is nailed on the outside.
[Illustration: A Measuring Device]
Paint the end of one spoke red, so that you can count it every time it comes around. By having the points that touch the ground exactly 9 inches apart, one revolution of the wheel will measure six feet. For an axle use a small piece of broom handle, and for a handle use a long light pole. By varying the length of the spokes you can make the wheel measure any desired distance.
Wall Tent
The line of the camp having been laid out, the next thing is the erection of the tents. The best way of setting up a wall tent (either the 12 x 14 or 14 x 16 size), the type used in most of the boys' camps, is the method used by the army and described in Kephart's "Book of Camping and Woodcraft." Four boys or men proceed as follows: Nos. 1 and 2 procure canvas, and Nos. 3 and 4 the poles.
Nos. 3 and 4 lay the ridge pole on the ground, in the direction that the tent is to stand; then lay the uprights at each end of ridge-pole and at right angles to it, on the side opposite that from which the wind blows. Then drop the tent pins and hammers at their respective ends of the tent; then drive a pin at each end of the ridge to mark front and rear. Meanwhile Nos. 1 and 2 unroll the tent and spread it out over the ridge-pole and on both sides of it.
Nos. 1 and 3 now go to the rear, and Nos. 2 and 4 to the front, and slip the pins of the uprights through the ridge-pole and tent. If a fly is used, it is placed in position over the tent, and the loops of the long guys over the front and rear pole pins. No. 4 secures center (door) loops over center pin in front, and No. 1 in rear. Each goes to his corner, No. 1 right rear, No. 2 right front, No. 3 left rear, No. 4 left front.
All draw bottom of tent taut and square, the front and rear at right angles to the ridge, and fasten it with pins through the corner loops, then stepping outward two paces from the corner, and a pace to the front (Nos. 2 and 4) or rear (Nos. 1 and 3) each securely sets a long pin, over which is passed the extended corner guy rope. Care must be taken that the tent is properly squared and pinned to the ground at the door and four corners before raising it.
[Illustration: Shelter Tents, Seton Tepee, Tent Made Of A "Fly", Wall
Tent]
Nos. 1 and 3 now go to the rear, and Nos. 2 and 4 to the front pole, and raise the tent to a convenient height from the ground, when Nos. 2 and 3 enter and seize their respective poles, and all together raise the tent until the upright poles are vertical. While Nos. 2 and 3 support the poles, Nos. 1 and 4 tighten the corner guys, beginning on the windward side. The tent being thus temporarily secured, all set the guy pins and fasten the guy ropes, Nos. 1 and 2 to the right, Nos. 3 and 4 left, and then set the wall pins.
To prevent the upright poles from sinking in the ground under the pressure of the canvas, place a flat stone or piece of wood under the pole.
Guying the Tent
One of the troubles with tents is their remarkable proclivity for tightening and slackening with the varying conditions of the weather. This means a constant loosening or tightening of the guy ropes, and the longer the guy ropes the more they will shrink or stretch according as they are wet or dry. This may be overcome to some extent by using very heavy corner posts securely driven into the ground and spiking a pole across them, and very short guy ropes fastening to this pole. (See page 47.) A shower, or even ordinary dew, will cause the canvas to shrink, therefore be sure to slacken the guys, or you may have a torn tent or broken ridge pole.
Trenching
Dig a trench around the tent and do it before you have to. If you have ever gotten out in the middle of the night when the rain was coming down in torrents, to dig a ditch or trench, you will appreciate this bit of advice.
Warn the boys not to touch the roof of the tent on the inside when it is raining, for it will surely leak wherever it is touched.
There is a right and a wrong way of driving stakes into the ground. Study illustrations, p. 47.
Peg Wisdom
In taking down the tent, don't pound loose the tent pins or pegs, but with a looped rope and a pull in the direction from which they are driven they can easily be removed.
Conveniences
After pitching your tent, put everything in order. Run a stout line, either of rope or rustless wire, between the two upright poles, about a foot below the ridge pole. A very convenient thing to throw clothes over. In some camps they have a shelf suspended from the ridge pole, divided into compartments, one for each boy in the tent. Nails driven in the upright poles afford convenient pegs to hang things on. Be sure the nails are removed before taking down the tent or a rip in the canvas will be the result.
A bundle of elder leaves in a tent will keep away flies. If ants show a desire to creep into your tent, dust cayenne pepper into their holes and they will no longer trouble you.
When there is no wooden floor in the tent, strew small hemlock twigs. They make a fine carpet and the odor is both pleasant and healthful.
In addition to the different styles of tents shown in the illustrations on page 43, the following description of how to make a ten-foot teepee is given by Charles R. Scott in his Vacation Diary:
Making a Teepee
Sew canvas together making oblong ABCD 20 by 10 feet; with E as centre and EA as a radius, draw half-circle AFD. From remaining canvas cut smoke flaps LKCM and ONBP. Sew piece of canvas at C and B making pocket for ends of smoke poles. Sew ML to HI and PO to GJ on one large piece of canvas. Sew lash to E to tie teepee to pole. Sew 6 or 7-foot lash to K and N to set smoke flaps with. Make holes in pairs from L to D and O to A for lacing pins. Ten poles 12 feet long are needed. Make tripod of nine of these and tie teepee at E to pole two feet from top and place over tripod.
In "Recreation," April, 1911, in an article on "Tent Making Made Easy," H. J. Holden tells how to make ten different tents with but one piece of canvas.
[Illustration: The Ten Foot Teepee]
Tent Wisdom
The best type of tent to use in a permanent camp is a wall tent, either 12 x 14 or 14 x 16, which will accommodate from four to six fellows. An eight ounce, mildew-proofed duck, with a ten or twelve ounce duck fly will give excellent wear. Have a door at each end of the tent and the door ties made of cotton cord instead of tape. Double pieces of canvas should be sewed in all the corners and places where there is unusual strain. Manilla rope is best for guys, and metal slides are preferable to wood. If the tents are made to order, have a cotton cord about two feet long sewed in each seam just under the eaves, so that one end shall hang down inside the tent and the other outside. The walls of the tent can then be rolled up and tied so that the tent will be thoroughly aired. Make sure that the end of the ridge pole and of the upright poles have iron bands to prevent splitting of the poles.
Bed on Ground
For a short-term camp, pine boughs make the best kind of a bed (see chapter on Tramps and Hikes for description of bed). Sometimes a rubber blanket is spread upon the ground and the boys roll themselves up in their blankets. An old camper gives the following suggestion to those who desire to sleep in this fashion:
The bed should be made in the afternoon while the sun is shining. To make the bed, clear the ground of twigs and stones. The space should be about 6 x 3 feet.
A "Hip Hole"
A shovelful of dirt is removed, making a shallow, transverse trench, about midway of the bed. This trench is the "hip hole" and the making of it properly is what renders the bed comfortable. In making the bed the following order should be observed:
(1) spread the rubber blanket;
(2) the blanket spread so that one-half only covers the prepared couch;
(3) then spread the woolen blankets so that the "hip hole" is in the right place;
(4) add the pillow;
(5) fold the blankets over you and pin them with big safety pins across the bottom and along the side.
To Keep Warm
Stewart Edward White in "Camp and Trail" tells how to keep warm when sleeping on the ground: "Lie flat on your back. Spread the blanket over you. Now raise your legs rigid from the hip, the blanket, of course, draping over them. In two swift motions tuck first one edge under your legs from right to left, then the second edge under from left to right, and over the first edge. Lower your legs, wrap up your shoulders and go to sleep. If you roll over, one edge will unwind but the other will tighten."
A bed tick[1] 6-1/2 feet long and 2-1/2 feet wide, to be filled with grass, leaves, straw or any available stuff makes a comfortable bed.
[Transcribers Footnote 1: Cloth case for a mattress or pillow or a light mattress without springs.]
To Make a Bed
A comfortable bed used at Camp Durrell, is made by driving four posts in the ground and nailing a frame work of saplings on these posts. Rope is then interwoven from side to side in somewhat the fashion of the old-time cord bed. Pine boughs are then placed "shingle" fashion in the cording, making a very comfortable bed.
Double-Deck Bunks
Many of the long-term camps, however, have cots or bunks with canvas bottoms. This is the best way to sleep for boys who are going to be in camp the entire summer. The following type of double-deck bunk is in use at Camps Adirondack, Becket, Wawayanda and Dudley. The illustrations give a clear idea of its construction. Use wood as free from knots as possible. Spruce seems to be the best kind as it is both light in weight and very durable. The top section upon which the canvas beds are tacked is bolted to the uprights which makes a bunk easily taken apart. Three of these uprights, one at each end and one in the middle, will make a bed section accommodating four boys, two on the "first floor" and two on the "second floor." In this manner eight boys may be comfortably housed in a 12 x 14 or 14 x 16 foot tent, with room for baggage in the center, as shown in the illustration on page 37.
Blankets
Always remember that to keep warm while sleeping in a cot or bunk, you must have as much thickness of blanket under you as above you. Usually boys will pile blankets on top of them and have only one blanket under them and then wonder why they are cold.
Pillows
A pillow may be made out of a bag of muslin or dark denim and stuffed with a sweater or extra clothing. Much better—take a small pillow with you with removable and washable "case" made of dark green or brown denim.
[Illustration: Bunk Diagram]
Kitchen Ware
In purchasing kitchen ware, a mistake is frequently made by getting a cheap kind of ware unfitted for the hard usage of camp life. The kind manufactured for hotels and restaurants and of sufficient capacity, is more expensive, but will outwear two outfits of the cheaper type and is really more economical in the long run. In the buying do not omit that most adaptable and convenient of all cooking utensils for camp—a wash boiler. Get one that is copper-lined and made of the heaviest tin.
Table Ware
Campers prefer the white enamel ware on account of its appearance and wear. If the imported kind is purchased it will last for at least three long-term seasons. Avoid tin and the cheap gray enamel ware. Each boy should be provided with a large plate of the deep soup pattern, cereal bowl not too large, a saucer for sauce and dessert, a cup, knife, fork, table spoon and tea spoon. In a small camp the boy usually brings his own "eating utensils." When the table is set with white oil cloth, white enamelled dishes, both serving and individual, with decorations of ferns, wild flowers or blossoms, the food always seems to taste better and the meal proceeds with that keen enjoyment, which is not only conducive to good digestion but promotive of good fellowship. A dirty table and dishes and rough-house table manners are a disgrace to a camp even as small as six boys. Cleanliness, courtesy and cheerful conversation contribute to the making of character while at meals.
Table Tops
Table tops should be made of matched boards and battened. Screw the battens[1] to the boards. The tables should be thirty-six inches in width. The length must be determined by the number of persons to be seated. The seating of boys in tent groups is considered the best plan.
[Transcriber's Footnote 1: Narrow strip of wood for flooring.]
A "Horse" Idea
A wooden horse made after the following sketch will support the table top and seats. The seat may be a plank about twelve inches wide and one and one-eighth inches thick.
[Illustration: Wooden Horse Table and Seat Support]
Buildings
Permanent buildings are largely planned according to the ideas of the director or organization operating the camp and this, therefore, is a matter which cannot be fully treated in a book of this character. Convenience, harmony with natural surroundings, and adaptability are the three things which govern the planning and erection of permanent camp buildings. "Wilderness Homes," by Oliver Kemp, contains many suggestions for camps of this character. In "Recreation" for April, 1911, is an excellent article by William D. Brinckle on "Log Cabins."
Surveying
The following practical suggestions on surveying in a boys' camp have been especially prepared by H. M. Allen. Surveying is an important subject for study and practice, as it is both interesting and useful and may serve as a stepping-stone in the later education of the boy.
The surveying may be roughly divided into two parts, simple and advanced. The simple work includes that which can be carried on with a few cheap instruments easily secured or made by the boys. The advanced work requires better instruments and is adapted to high school boys. Only the simple work will be described.
Home-made
The instruments needed in simple surveying are, compass, measuring tape, draughtsman's scale, protractor, drawing materials and a small home-made transit. The leader should, if possible, become familiar with some good textbook on surveying, such as Wentworth's Plane Trigonometry and Surveying. He should also get some civil engineer to give him a little instruction in the rudiments. It is well also to get some practice before going to camp. Any vacant lot or gymnasium floor will be suitable. If the leader is near a small lake that will be especially desirable.
The transit is easily made. A flat board should be selected, about twelve inches in diameter, which will not warp. Upon this a circle is marked about ten inches in diameter. For this purpose use a pair of drawing compasses. Then with a protractor lay off the degrees of the circle. A small brass protractor can be bought for 15 cents, a good one, large size, costs 80 cents. A good plan is to mark the circle on bristol board [1] which can be tacked in the board. Then a pointed piece of wood ten inches long should be fastened with a nail in the center of the circle. At the ends of the pointer pins should be placed vertically so that they are in line with the pivot nail. This will form a sight for measuring the angles. The board is then mounted upon a pointed stick or tripod. You will need a hatchet and a half dozen sharpened sticks for markers and a boy for rod man. You are now ready for the survey.
[Transcribers Footnote 1: Smooth, heavy pasteboard.]
[Illustration: Fig. 1. Top View of Transit, Protractor, Sighting Pins,
Board for Circle, Support]
Camp Survey
To make a map of the location of the camp, the first thing is to locate a base line on a level piece of ground. At the two ends A and B stakes are placed and the length carefully measured with the tape. Then from one end of the line stretch a string about ten feet long, toward the other stake. Under this string place the compass. In this way the direction of the line may be learned.
In figure 1, the base line runs about 10 degrees west of north. Drive a stake where the tent is to be located. This place will be called C. Then place the transit at A and measure the angle formed by the imaginary lines AC and AB. In the example the angle is about 45 degrees. Then place the transit at B and measure the angle there, formed by the lines AB and BC. Then the angle at C should be measured and the sum of the angles thus measured will be 180 degrees, if the work is correct.
[Illustration: Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4]
Now make a drawing of the survey. Draw on paper a line corresponding to the line AB, making a certain scale, say 100 feet to the inch. If the real line is 200 feet long, the line on the paper will be 2 inches. With the protractor the angles at B and A may be drawn or plotted. This will give the location of the point C. With the scale determine on the plan the length of the other sides of the triangle ABC. The actual distances should next be measured with the tape to test the accuracy of the survey.
Next place a stake along the side of the lake at a point D. Then in a similar manner measure the triangle with the transit. With the protractor the lines AD and BD can be plotted on the plan. With the scale the length of the lines AD and BD can be estimated from the map. The rest of the lake is surveyed in the same manner. It is only necessary to take other points on the lake and survey the resulting triangles. It is a good idea to use four-foot stakes with flags placed so as to be easy to sight to them.
Finally a tracing may be made with carbon paper giving only the shore line and leaving out the lines of the triangles and the map is finished. The boys in one camp surveyed a lake a mile long with home-made instruments with excellent results.
Boys should be taught how to use the compass and a map in tracing their way through an unknown country. Also to travel by the stars or by the moss on the trees.
CHAPTER V—PERSONAL CHECK LIST OR INVENTORY
CHECK LIST MARKING LOST AND FOUND MEMORY HOW TO PACK SHIPPING LABELS NEATNESS GENERAL HINTS
Experience only can determine what should be taken to camp. Usually the first camping trip decides what to take on the second trip, and also reveals how few things, providing they are right things, one really needs to be comfortable in camp. A boy's mother, who is generally the official trunk packer of the family, makes a mistake in stowing away in the trunk a lot of things not serviceable or suitable for camping. Cotton goods, except towels, handkerchiefs, and hose, are of no use. Gray woolen shirts, gray, brown, or green sweaters (a boon to campers—avoid white, red, or striped colors), khaki suit, outing flannel pajamas (tan color preferred) are in the class of real camp necessities so far as clothing is concerned. The hat should be drab or khaki color, of campaign style, something that will shed water and sun. The hat used by the Boy Scouts of America is admirably adapted for campers.
The outfit may be divided into four classes: things necessary, things desirable, things convenient, and luxuries. Boys who go camping for two weeks or less should take articles in the following list marked (1); those who go for four weeks or less should take articles marked (2) in addition to those marked (1); and those who go for what may be called the season, six or more weeks, should take those marked (3), in addition to all of (1) and (2).
Necessary
Woolen sweater (coat style) (1)
Note book or diary (1)
Twine and rope (2)
Two flannel shirts (gray) (1)
Lead pencil (1)
Change of underwear (1)
Pens and ink (2)
Two pairs stockings (1)
Stamps, stamped envelopes (1)
Jersey (2)
Outing flannel pajamas (1)
Paper, postals and envelopes(2)
Running pants (1)
Handkerchiefs (1)
Needles and thread (1)
Two pairs woolen blankets (1)
Matches in metal box (1)
Poncho (1)
Folding drinking cup (1)
Turkish towels (1)
Strong pocket knife on chain(1)
Extra pair heavy shoes (2)
Toilet soap (in aluminum or
celluloid box) (1)
Echo whistle (2)
Fishing tackle (2)
Comb and brush (1)
Camera (2)
Tooth brush and tooth paste(1)
Small-sized Bible (1)
Money (1)
Pins and safety pins (safeties one-inch and four-inch) (1)
Good disposition (1)
Leggings-tan, army style (1)
Desirable
Extra suit of clothes (2)
Rubber-soled shoes (sneakers) (1)
Soft laundered shirt (2)
Bathing suit or tights (2)
Small compass (2)
Small mirror (1)
Baseball, bats, gloves (2)
Whisk broom (2)
Tennis racquets and balls (3)
Dish towels (2)
Ping Pong racquets, balls (3)
Cheap watch (1)
Rubber boots or overshoes (2)
Map of vicinity (2)
Clothes pins (2)
Musical instruments (2)
Flash lamp (2)
Scissors (2)
Repair outfit (2)
Convenient
Games (3)
Can opener (2)
Books (3)
Small hand washboard (3)
Small pillow (2)
Thick strong gloves (3)
Mosquito netting (2)
Heavy woolen stockings (3)
Candles (3)
Elk hide moccasins (3)
Luxuries
Bath robe (3)
Blacking and brush (3)
Shaving outfit (3)
Laundry bag (2)
Face rag (3)
It is understood that cooking utensils; tools, tents, cots and the general camp equipment is supplied by the camp management. The above list is for the individual campers.
Mark Everything
Mark everything with your initials, or, if in a large camp, your camp number. This may be done with indelible ink upon white tape, and the tape sewed upon the garments, or you may order through the large department stores your full name embroidered on tape in sufficient quantity to sew upon your belongings. Marking your "goods and chattels" helps identify ownership, for things somehow get fearfully mixed up in a boys' camp.
A clever scheme for locating lost articles was adopted by one large camp. A "Lost and Found" shop was opened. Articles found were brought to the shop. Hours for identification and reclaiming were announced, the owner paying two cents for each article claimed. This method had the effect of making the boys more systematic and less careless in throwing things around, or leaving them upon the ground after a ball game or play. After a certain length of time, an auction was held of all unclaimed articles. The money received was put into books for the camp library.
Write it Down
Make your "check list" during the winter. Have an old box handy in which to put things you think you will want to take to camp. Boys usually talk over the experiences of the last camp until about January 1st, then they begin to talk and plan about the next camp. As you think of things jot them down in a little memorandum book marked "Camp Ideas." Leaders will find this plan especially helpful. In making up the list, put down each article on a separate line. Don't jumble things together. Leave nothing to memory which, alas, too frequently is a splendid "forgetter." Write it down on paper. Examine your list very carefully, and strike out everything you can do without. Simplicity coupled with comfort should be the guide in making up the list or inventory. Tack the list on the inside of your trunk or camp box. Often the little trifles prove the most valuable things on a camping trip. For instance, a supply of giant safety pins is invaluable for pinning blankets together in sleeping-bag fashion. Ever roll out of your blankets or toss them off on a cool night? If so, you know the value of a giant safety pin.
What to pack the outfit in and how to pack it is a problem which each must solve for himself. A cracker box, with hinged cover, padlock, and rope handles, is good for a short-time camping trip. It should be of the following dimensions: 30 x 18 x 15 inches.
[Illustration: Camp Box]
A good strong steamer trunk is about the best thing. It is convenient, easy to handle, and takes up very little space.
The boys who are mechanically inclined, will want to have the fun of making a camp box. The illustration is a suggestion successfully worked out by a number of boys. The dimensions may be determined by the maker. Don't make it too big, or it will be a burden and also occupy too much room in the tent. It stands upright and serves as a dresser. Boys who spend a summer in camp should have either a steamer trunk or this dresser.
If the trunk or box is too small to carry blankets, a good plan is to roll blankets, bedding and such articles in a roll or canvas, the ends and sides of which are doubled inward, so as to prevent articles from dropping out or getting wet. Strap with a good shawl or strong rope. (See illustration.)
[Illustration: Blanket Roll.]
A dunnage[1], duffle, or carry-all bag is sometimes used for packing, but there is a possibility of a "mess" as well as a loss of your good disposition and patience in trying to locate some desired article.
Carry your poncho to be used in case of rain en route.
[Transcriber's Footnote 1: Personal baggage.]
Shipping
Have your expressman deliver your baggage at the station at least one hour before the train starts. If the baggage is delayed, much annoyance and loss of temper is the result. If the camp is a large one, some one should be designated to look after the baggage arrangements. After checking the baggage, this person should receive checks and attend to claiming baggage at destination.
Many of the large camps provide mucilaged labels or "stickers" to paste on the end of the trunk or box making identification easy at railroad baggage room. Initials and camp number should be painted on outside of trunk or box.
Neatness
"A place for everything and everything in place" should be the real key to find things in your trunk. Neatness is good discipline for the mind, and should characterize every real camper. The trunks of some boys in camp look as if a cyclone had struck them. "Full, pressed down, and running over." Every old thing in any old way is both slovenly and unhygienic.
About once a week everything should be taken from the trunk or box, and exposed to the sun. Let the sun also get into the trunk or box. Then repack neatly. This will prevent mould and dampness, and be the means of discovering lost articles. Finally be sure to go over with care your "check list" or inventory the day before camp breaks. This will prevent rushing around excitedly at the eleventh hour, hunting lost articles.
GENERAL HINTS
Gray and khaki are the most inconspicuous colors for camping.
Shirts should be provided with breast pockets.
Each lock should have a duplicate key to be given to the tent leader, or in a large camp, to the camp banker.
Have an old laundry bag in which to put soiled clothes. "Wash day" is a popular day in many camps. No camper need be dirty when there is abundance of water.