On the Trail | Page 8

be able to help you according to
their special powers. You would not go to a musician to have a portrait
painted, for while the musician might give you wonderful music he
would be helpless as far as painting a picture was concerned, and so it
is with trees. They cannot all give the same thing; if you want soft
wood, it is wasting your time to go to hardwood trees; they cannot give
you what they do not possess. Know the possibilities of trees and they
will not fail you.
=How to Chop Wood=
Trailing and camping both mean wood-chopping to some extent for
shelters, fires, etc., and the girl of to-day should understand, as did the
girls of our pioneer families, how to handle properly a hatchet, or in
this case we will make it a belt axe. There is a small hatchet modelled
after the Daniel Boone tomahawk, generally known as the "camp axe."
It is thicker, narrower, and has a sharper edge than an ordinary hatchet.
It comes of a size to wear on the belt and must be securely protected by
a well-fitted strong leather sheath; otherwise it will endanger not only
the life of the girl who carries it, but also the lives of her companions.
With the camp axe (hatchet) you can cut down small trees, chop
fire-wood, blaze trees, drive down pegs or stakes, and chop
kindling-wood. Every time you want to use the hatchet take the
precaution to examine it thoroughly and reassure yourself that the tool
is in good condition and that the head is on firm and tight; be positive
of this.
Great caution must be taken when chopping kindling-wood, as often
serious accidents occur through ignorance or carelessness. Do not raise
one end of a stick up on a log with the other end down on the ground
and then strike the centre of the stick a sharp blow with the sharp edge
of your hatchet; the stick will break, but one end usually flies up with
considerable force and very often strikes the eye of the worker, ruining
the sight forever. Take the blunt end of your hatchet and do not give a
very hard blow on the stick you wish to break; exert only force
sufficient to break it partially, merely enough to enable you to finish

the work with your hands and possibly one knee. It may require a little
more time, but your eyes will be unharmed, which makes it worth
while. Often children use a heavy stone to break kindling-wood, with
no disastrous results that I know of. The heavy stone does not seem to
cause the wood to fly upward.
[Illustration: Stand on the log when you chop it.
13 14 15 16
17 For safety.
The stump will be like this on top when the tree is down.
How to use the axe.]
=How to Chop Logs=
Practise on small, slender logs, chopping them in short lengths until
you understand something of the woodsman's art of "logging up a tree";
then and not until then should you attempt to cut heavier wood.
If you are sure-footed and absolutely certain that you can stand firmly
on the log without teetering or swaying when leaning over, do so. You
can then chop one side of the log half-way through and turn around and
chop the other side until the second notch or "kerf" is cut through to the
first one on the opposite side, and the two pieces fall apart. While
working stand on the log with feet wide apart and chop the side of the
log (not the top) on the space in front between your feet. Make your
first chip quite long, and have it equal in length the diameter of the log.
If the chip is short, the opening of the kerf will be narrow and your
hatchet will become wedged, obliging you to double your labor by
enlarging the kerf. Greater progress will be made by chopping
diagonally across the grain of the wood, and the work will be easier. It
is difficult to cut squarely against the grain and this is always avoided
when possible. After you have cut the first chip in logging up a tree,
chop on the base of the chip, swinging your hatchet from the opposite
direction, and the chip will fall to the ground.

Having successfully chopped off one piece of the log, it will be a
simple matter to cut off more. Chop slowly, easily, and surely. Don't be
in a hurry and exhaust yourself; only a novice overexerts and tries to
make a deep cut with the hatchet.
Be careful of the blade of your hatchet; keep it free from the ground
when chopping, to avoid striking snags, stones, or other things liable