How to Camp Out | Page 9

DRAWERS.
If you wear drawers, better turn them inside out, so that the seams may
not chafe you. They must be loose.
SHOES.
You need to exercise more care in the selection of shoes than of any
other article of your outfit. Tight boots put an end to all pleasure, if
worn on the march; heavy boots or shoes, with enormously thick soles,
will weary you; thin boots will not protect the feet sufficiently, and are
liable to burst or wear out; Congress boots are apt to bind the cords of
the leg, and thus make one lame; short-toed boots or shoes hurt the toes;
loose ones do the same by allowing the foot to slide into the toe of the
boot or shoe; low-cut shoes continually fill with dust, sand, or mud.
For summer travel, I think you can find nothing better than brogans

reaching above the ankles, and fastening by laces or buttons as you
prefer, but not so tight as to bind the cords of the foot. See that they
bind nowhere except upon the instep. The soles should be wide, and the
heels wide and low (about two and three-quarter inches wide by one
inch high); have soles and heels well filled with iron nails. Be
particular not to have steel nails, which slip so badly on the rocks.
Common brogans, such as are sold in every country-store, are the next
best things to walk in; but it is hard to find a pair that will fit a difficult
foot, and they readily let in dust and earth.
Whatever you wear, break them in well, and oil the tops thoroughly
with neat's-foot oil before you start; and see that there are no nails,
either in sight or partly covered, to cut your feet.
False soles are a good thing to have if your shoes will admit them: they
help in keeping the feet dry, and in drying the shoes when they are wet.
Woollen or merino stockings are usually preferable to cotton, though
for some feet cotton ones are by far the best. Any darning should be
done smoothly, since a bunch in the stocking is apt to bruise the skin.
PANTALOONS.
Be sure to have the trousers loose, and made of rather heavier cloth
than is usually worn at home in summer. They should be cut high in the
waist to cover the stomach well, and thus prevent sickness.
The question of wearing "hip-pants," or using suspenders, is worth
some attention. The yachting-shirt by custom is worn with
hip-pantaloons, and often with a belt around the waist; and this
tightening appears to do no mischief to the majority of people. Some,
however, find it very uncomfortable, and others are speedily attacked
by pains and indigestion in consequence of having a tight waist. If you
are in the habit of wearing suspenders, do not change now. If you do
not like to wear them over the shirt, you can wear them over a light
under-shirt, and have the suspender straps come through small holes in
the dress-shirt. In that case cut the holes low enough so that the

dress-shirt will fold over the top of the trousers, and give the
appearance of hip-pantaloons. If you undertake to wear the suspenders
next to the skin, they will gall you. A fortnight's tramping and camping
will about ruin a pair of trousers: therefore it is not well to have them
made of any thing very expensive.
Camping offers a fine opportunity to wear out old clothes, and to throw
them away when you have done with them. You can send home by
mail or express your soiled underclothes that are too good to lose or to
be washed by your unskilled hands.
CHAPTER V.
STOVES AND COOKING-UTENSILS.
If you have a permanent camp, or if moving you have wagon-room
enough, you will find a stove to be most valuable property. If your
party is large it is almost a necessity.
For a permanent camp you can generally get something second-hand at
a stove-dealer's or the junk-shop. For the march you will need a stove
of sheet iron. About the simplest, smallest, and cheapest thing is a
round-cornered box made of sheet iron, eighteen to twenty-four inches
long and nine to twelve inches high. It needs no bottom: the ground
will answer for that. The top, which is fixed, is a flat piece of sheet iron,
with a hole near one end large enough for a pot or pan, and a hole
(collar) for the funnel near the other end. It is well also to have a small
hole, with a slide to open and close it with, in the end of the box near
the bottom, so as to put in wood, and regulate the draught; but you can
dispense