There are some cultivated papaw-trees on Long Island, but I do not think they bear fruit. Certainly none that I have seen have ever fruited. You will find the tree as far south as Florida and Texas, through the Middle States and west to Michigan and Kansas. It flourishes in the bottom lands of the Mississippi Valley and seeks the shade of the forests. The bark is dark brown with gray blotches; the leaves are large, being from two to twelve inches long and four inches wide. They are oval, pointed at the tip and narrowed at the base. When matured they are smooth, dark green on the upper side and paler beneath. At first the flower is as green as the leaves, but finally turns a deep red-purple. It grows close to the branch and is solitary.

May-Apple

One of the most delicious wild fruits we have is the May-apple or mandrake. It is finely flavored, sweet and juicy, but being a laxative one must eat of it sparingly. It is most common in the Middle States and reaches perfection in Ohio.

The plant is from twelve to eighteen inches high, and the large umbrella-like leaves are lifted on smooth, straight stems. The fruit usually grows from the fork of two leaves. It is yellow, lemon-shaped, and about the size of a plum. The flesh is like that of the plum and there are numerous seeds in fleshy seed coverings. It ripens in July and is quite soft when fully ripe. I have sometimes gathered the firm, yellow May-apples, put them away in a cool, dark, dry place to ripen, and in taking them out have found them in prime condition. They will ripen in this way without spoiling if not allowed to touch one another.

The leaves frequently measure a foot in diameter; they have from five to nine lobes, which are notched and pointed at the tips; the upper side is darker than the lower. While the fruit of the May-apple is edible, the leaves and root are poisonous, not to the touch but to the taste. The flower is a clear white with from eight to twelve rounding petals and it generally measures about one and a half inches across. The petals expand in the morning, become erect in the afternoon, and close at night. We are told that the May-apple is a roadside plant, but I have found it only in the woods.

Wild Grapes

There are several varieties of wild grapes, all, I think, edible but not all pleasant to the taste. The fox-grape is sweet, but has a musky flavor and odor, a thick skin, and a tough pulp. The fruit ripens in September but few care to eat it. The vine grows luxuriantly and is very common. The summer grape is another tough-skinned grape. It is not musky but is generally astringent. The vine resembles the fox-grape in growth, being strong and vigorous. The fruit of the blue grape is sour and hangs in long, heavy clusters. It is usually found along water-ways.



Frost-Grape or Chicken-Grape

If you try to eat the frost-grapes before frost you will find them decidedly sour, but after a good frost they are really fine. They have a snappy, spicy flavor all their own, and one eats them, like currants, skin and all. They are small, round, and black with a slight bloom. The clusters are well-filled and hang loosely. The vine grows luxuriantly, branching from a large trunk, and is found in wet places and on the banks of streams, though it does well in the open and in drier soil. It flourishes in New England and down to Illinois and westward to Nebraska. The leaves usually suggest three lobes but are mostly undivided. They are coarsely toothed and the under side bears occasional hairs along the veins.

Wild Nuts. Black Walnuts

Of all the wild-growing foods, nuts are, perhaps, the most nutritious. The black walnut, not plentiful in the Atlantic States but abundant in the Middle States and in the Mississippi Valley, has a rich, wild flavor, and a deep-brown stain for the hands that tear it from its ball-like covering of tough, pimply green which forms the outer husk. The nut is sometimes oblong, sometimes almost round, with a deeply grooved, hard, brown shell. It grows in pairs or solitary. The tree is large, often reaching the height of one hundred feet, and its trunk is from four to six feet in diameter. The bark is dark brown with deep vertical grooves and its surface is broken with thick scales. The leaves are compound, growing on a middle stem which is sometimes two feet long. Each leaflet is a narrow oval, sharply pointed at the end, and usually about three inches long. The nuts require frost to ripen them.

Butternut

While the butternut-tree is much like the walnut in general appearance, it does not grow as large. The nuts are different in shape and in flavor, and the leaflets are hairy instead of smooth. The butternut does not grow as far north as the walnut, but is often found side by side with the walnut in the Middle States. The green outer covering of the nut is oblong and sticky on the surface, and, like the walnut, will stain the hands. The shell is hard, brown, oblong, and pointed at one end. It is deeply grooved. The flavor is rich but the nut being oily soon becomes rancid.

Hickory-Nuts

In gathering hickory-nuts you must be able to distinguish between the edible variety and others that are fair on the outside but bitter within. There are nine varieties of hickory-nut trees, and in general appearance they are alike. All have compound leaves and the leaflets are larger and fewer to the stem than the walnut, usually numbering from five to eleven. The nuts grow in small clusters as a rule, often in pairs, and the outer husk separates when ripe into four pieces, allowing the nut to drop out clean and dry. The full-grown tree is of good size and is found almost everywhere in the United States.

Shellbark. Shagbark

The shellbark or shagbark hickory-nut is one of the best. The flavor, as every one knows, is sweet and pleasant. It is the bark of the tree that gives it the name of shagbark, for it separates into long, ragged strips several inches wide which generally hold to the trunk at the middle and give it an unkempt, shaggy appearance.

Mockernut

The mockernut is the hickory-nut with a dark, brownish-colored shell, hard and thick and not easily cracked. It is called the mockernut because while the nut is large, usually larger than the shellbark, the kernel is very small and difficult to take out of the thick shell.

Pignut

I will italicize the pignut because, though I have never eaten it, I once tried to, and the first taste was all-sufficient. Some writers tell us that the flavor is sweet or slightly bitter. It was the decidedly bitter kind that I found lying temptingly clean and white under the tree. The thin outer husk of the pignut is not much larger than the nut. It is broader at the top than at the stem, where it narrows almost to a point. The husk does not open as freely as that of the other hickory-nuts. It is inclined to cling to the nut; in some cases it only partially opens and drops with the nut.



Beechnut

One of the sweetest and most delicately flavored of our native nuts is the little, triangular beechnut. The tree is common and widely distributed, but few people know anything about the nut. In Kentucky the nuts used to be plentiful, but I have seen none in New York. It is said that a beech-tree must be fully forty years old before it will bear fruit, and that may be the reason the nuts are not oftener found.

The soft-shelled nut is very small, no larger than the tip of your little finger. The color is pale brown, and it is three-sided with sharp angles. It is contained in a small, prickly husk and grows both solitary or in clusters of two or three. When touched by frost the burr opens and allows the nut to fall out while the burr remains on the tree.

The bark of the beech-tree is ashy gray, and the leaf is oblong, pointed at the tip, toothed on the edge, and strongly veined.

Chestnut

I find that the chestnut-tree is not as well known as its fruit, which is sold from stands on the street corners of most American cities. A round, green prickly burr is the husk of the nut, and this is lined inside with soft, white, velvety down. Nestled closely in this soft bed lie several dark-brown nuts with soft, polished shells. The first frost opens the burrs, and the sweet nuts fall to the ground.

You may recognize the tree in midsummer by its long-tasselled, cream-white blossoms, which hang in profusion from the ends of the branches. The chestnut is the only forest-tree that blossoms at that time, so you cannot mistake it. Later you will know it by the prickly green burrs, which develop quickly. The tree is large and common to most States. The leaves are from six to eight inches long; they are coarsely toothed at the edges, sharply pointed at the end, and are prominently veined on the under side. They grow mostly in tufts drooping from a common centre.



Bark and Roots of Trees

Slippery-Elm

The inner bark and the root of the slippery-elm are not only pleasant to the taste but are said to be nutritious. They have a glutinous quality that gives the tree its name, and the flavor is nutty and substantial.

This variety of elm is common and is found from the Saint Lawrence River to Florida. It grows to a height of sixty or seventy feet, with spreading branches which flatten at the top. The outline of the tree is much like that of a champagne-glass, wide at the top and narrow at the stem. The slippery-elm resembles the white elm, but there are differences by which you can know it. If you stroke the leaf of a white elm you will find that it is rough one way but smooth the other; stroke the leaf of the slippery-elm, and it will be rough both ways. The buds of the white elm are smooth, those of the slippery-elm are hairy. Then you cannot mistake the inner bark of the slippery-elm, which is fragrant, thick, and gummy. The outer bark is dark brown, with shallow ridges and large, loose plates. The leaves are oblong, rounded at the base, and are coarsely toothed. They are prominently veined and are dark green, paler on the under side.

Sassafras

The sassafras grows wild from Massachusetts to Florida, and west through the Mississippi Valley. It is generally a small tree, from thirty to fifty feet high, and is often found growing in dense thickets in uncultivated fields. The edible bark is dark red-brown. It is thick but not hard and is deeply ridged and scaled. The cracked bark is one of the characteristics of the tree; it begins to split when the tree is about three years old. The strong aromatic flavor is held by the bark, the wood, the roots, the stems, and the leaves. I have never tasted the fruit, which is berry-like, dark blue, and glossy, and is held by a thick, scarlet calyx; but the birds are fond of it.

Sassafras tea was at one time considered the best of spring medicines for purifying the blood, and the bark was brought to market cut in short lengths and tied together in bunches.

The leaves are varied; on one twig there will sometimes be three differently shaped leaves. Some will be oval, some with three lobes, and some mitten-shaped; that is, an oval leaf with a side lobe like the thumb of a mitten.

Salads. Watercress

There is no more refreshing salad than the watercress gathered fresh from a cool, running brook. It is a common plant, found almost anywhere in streams and brooks. Its smooth green or brownish leaves lie on the top of the water; they are compound, with from three to nine small rounded leaflets. The flavor is peppery and pungent. Watercress sandwiches are good. The white flowers are small and insignificant and grow in a small cluster at the end of the stem.

Dandelion

A salad of tender, young dandelion leaves is not to be despised, and the plant grows everywhere. Only the very young leaves, that come up almost white in the spring, are good. The flavor is slightly bitter with the wholesome bitterness one likes in the spring of the year. These young leaves are also good when cooked like spinach. The plant is so common it does not really call for a description, and if you know it you can skip the following:

Growing low on the ground, sometimes with leaves lying flat on the surface, the dandelion sends up a hollow, leafless stem crowned with a bright-yellow, many-petalled flower about the size of a silver fifty-cent piece. The seed head is a round ball of white down. The leaves are deeply notched, much like thistle leaves, but they have no prickles.



CHAPTER VIII

LITTLE FOES OF THE TRAILER

Poisonous Insects, Reptiles, and Plants

Insects

My first experience with wood-ticks, jiggers, and Jersey mosquitoes was during the summer we spent at Bayville, near Toms River, N. J. In many ways Bayville, with its sand, its pines, its beautiful wood roads, and rare wild flowers, is an interesting and attractive place. The salty air is fine when the thermometer is self-respecting and keeps the mercury below 90 deg. in the shade, but the oak underbrush harbors wood-ticks, the blackberry bushes cover you with jiggers, the woods are full of deer-flies, and the vicious mosquito, whose name is Legion, is everywhere where he is not barred out.

Wood-Ticks

I had been told of the ticks that infest the forests of the South, had heard blood-curdling stories of how they sometimes bury themselves, entire, in the flesh of animals and men and have to be cut out, and my horror of them was great. In reality I found them unpleasant enough but, as far as we were concerned, comparatively harmless.

The wood-tick is a small, rather disgusting-looking creature which, in appearance and size, resembles the common bedbug. It fastens itself upon you without your knowledge and you do not feel it even when it begins to suck your blood, but something generally impels you to pass your hand over the back of your neck, or cheek, where the thing is clinging, and, feeling the lump, you pull it off and no great harm done. The tick is supposed always to bury its head in the flesh, and it is said that if the head is left in when the bug is pulled off an ugly sore will be the result. We had no experience of that kind, however, nor, in our hurry to get rid of it, did we stop to remove the bug scientifically by dropping oil on it, as Kephart advises, but just naturally and simply, also vigorously, we grasped it between thumb and forefinger and hastily plucked it off. The effect of the bite was no worse on any of our party than that of the Jersey mosquito.

Often your friends will see a tick on you and tell you of it even while they have several, all unknown to themselves, decorating their own countenance. The name by which science knows this unlovely bug is Ixodes leech.

Jigger. Redbug. Mite

The tiny mite called by the natives jigger and redbug is more annoying than the wood-tick, one reason being that there are so many more of him. He really does penetrate the skin, and his wanderings under the surface give one the feeling of an itching rash which covers the body. You won't see the jigger—he is too small, but if you invade his domain you will certainly feel him.

Deer-Fly

The deer-fly will bite and bite hard enough to hurt. It will drive its sharp mandibles into your skin with such force as to take out a bit of the flesh, sometimes causing the blood to flow, but the bite does not seem particularly poisonous, though you feel it at the time and it generally raises a lump on the flesh. The deer-fly belongs to the family of gadflies. It is larger than a house-fly and its wings stand out at right angles to its body. It will not trouble you much except in the woods.

Black-Fly

The Adirondack and North Woods region is not only the resort of hunters, campers, and seekers after health and pleasure, but it is also the haunt of the maddening black-fly. From early spring until the middle of July or first of August the black-fly holds the territory; then it evacuates and is seen no more until next season, when it begins a new campaign.

Under the name of buffalo-fly the black-fly is found in the west, where, on the prairies, it has been known to wage war on horses until death ensued—death of the horses, not of the fly. It is a small fly about one-sixth of an inch long, thick-bodied, and black. It is said to have broad silvery circles on its legs, but no one ever stops to look at these. Its proboscis is developed to draw blood freely, and it is always in working order.

The only virtue the black-fly seems to have is its habit of quitting operations at sundown and leaving to other tormenters the task of keeping you awake at night. When the black-fly bites you will know it, and it will leave its mark, when it does leave, which must generally be by your help, for it holds on with commendable persistence. If you would learn more of this charming insect, look for Simulium molestum in a book which treats the subject scientifically.

No-see-um. Punky. Midge

There is another pest of the North Woods which the guides call the no-see-um. It is a very diminutive midge resembling the mosquito in form and viciousness, but so small as to be almost invisible. Night and day are the same to the no-see-um; its warfare is continuous and its bite very annoying, but it disappears with the black-fly in July or August. By September the mountains and woods are swept clear of all these troublesome things, except at times and in some places the ever-hungry mosquito, which will linger on for a last bite in his summer feast.

The only way to relieve the irritation caused by the bites of these pests, including the mosquito, is to bathe the affected parts with camphor, alcohol, or diluted ammonia. When there are but one or two bites they may be touched with strong ammonia, but it will not do to use this too freely, as it will burn the skin.

Gnats

In the mountains of Pennsylvania the most troublesome insects I found were the tiny gnats that persist in flying into one's eyes in a very exasperating fashion. They swarm in a cloud in front of your face as you walk and make constant dashes at your eyes, although to reach their goal brings instant death.

It is not much trouble to get one of these gnats out of your eye when it once gets in. All that is necessary is to take the eyelashes of the upper eyelid between your thumb and first finger, and draw the upper eyelid down over the under eyelid. The under eyelashes sweep the upper lid clear, and the rush of tears that comes to the eye washes the insect out.

Bees, Wasps, and Yellow-Jackets

While honey-bees and wasps can make themselves most disagreeable when disturbed, you can usually keep away from beehives and bee-trees as well as from the great gray, papery nests of the wasp; but the hornets or yellow-jackets have an uncomfortable habit of building in low bushes and on the ground where you may literally put your foot in a hornets' nest.

They are hot-tempered little people, these same hornets, as I have reason to know. Twice I have been punished by them, and both times it was my head they attacked. Once I found them, or they found me, in a cherry-tree; and the second time we met was when I stepped in their nest hidden on the ground. Their sting is like a hot wire pressed into the flesh. When angered they will chase you and swarm around your head, stinging whenever they can; but they may be beaten off if some friendly hand will wield a towel or anything else that comes handy.

If the stings of any of these stinging insects are left in the wounds they should be taken out with a clean needle or clean knife-blade. In any case mix some mud into a paste and plaster it on the parts that have been stung. If you are in camp and have with you a can of antiphlogistine use that instead of the mud; it is at least more sightly and is equally efficient in reducing inflammation.

Various things have been devised as protection against insect torments.

One is a veil of net to be worn over the hat. You will find this described in Chapter IV under the heading of Personal Outfits.

Dopes

Then there are dopes to be rubbed over the face, neck, and hands. The three said to be the best are Nessmuk's Dope, Breck's Dope, and H. P. Wells's Bug-Juice. There is also a Rexall preparation which, I am told, is good while it stays on, but will wash off with perspiration.

Nessmuk's Dope

In giving the recipe for his dope, Nessmuk says that it produces a glaze over the skin and that in preventing insect bites he has never known it to fail. This is the dope:

Pine tar 3 oz. Castor oil 2 oz. Oil of pennyroyal 1 oz.

Simmer all together over a slow fire, and bottle.

This is sufficient for four persons for two weeks.

Breck's Dope

Pine tar 3 oz. Olive (or castor oil) 2 oz. Oil of pennyroyal 1 oz. Citronella 1 oz. Creosote 1 oz. Camphor (pulverized) 1 oz. Large tube of carbolated vaseline.

Heat the tar and oil, and add the other ingredients; simmer over slow fire until well mixed. The tar may be omitted if disliked or for ladies' use.

Breck tells us that his dope was planned to be a counter-irritant after being bitten as well as a preventer of bites.

H. P. Wells's Bug-Juice

Olive oil 1/2 pt. Creosote 1 oz. Pennyroyal 1 oz. Camphor 1 oz.

Dissolve camphor in alcohol and mix.

Any dope must be well rubbed in on face, neck, ears, and behind ears, hands (on the backs), wrists, and arms; but be very careful not to get it in your eyes.

Smudges

Smudges are said to afford relief in camp, but my own experience has been that the insects can stand them better than I. A smudge is made by burning things that make little flame and much smoke. Dead leaves, not too dry, will make a fairly good smudge, but a better way is to burn damp cedar bark, or branches, on piles of hot coals taken from the camp-fire and kept alive at different sides of the camp.

The accounts of extreme suffering caused by insect bites come from unusually sensitive people. All people are not affected alike. Two persons from one camp will tell entirely different stories of their experience with insects. The best way to encounter these, as all other annoyances, is to protect yourself as well as you can and then, without whimpering, make the best of the situation. All the pests described will not fall upon you at once, and, taken singly or even doubly, you will manage to survive the ordeal. If the pleasure of the trail did not over-balance the pain there would be fewer campers to relate their troubles.

Snakes

The bite of a poisonous snake is by all means to be avoided, and the point is: you almost always can avoid it. With all the snakes in the United States, Doctor William T. Hornaday, director of the Zoological Park of New York City, tells us that out of seventy-five million people not more than two die each year of snake-bites.

Snakes are not man-hunters; they will not track you down; they much prefer to keep out of your way. What you have to do is to keep out of theirs. In a region where poisonous snakes abound it is well to wear khaki leggins as a protection in case you inadvertently step too near and anger the creatures, for in such cases they sometimes strike before you have time to beat a retreat. According to Doctor Hornaday, the poisonous snakes of North America are:

The rattlesnake, Water-moccasin, Copperhead, Sonora coral-snake, Harlequin snake.

Rattlesnakes

The rattlesnake appears to vary in color and markings in the different localities where it is found, and there are fourteen or fifteen varieties, but all carry the rattles, shake them warningly, and coil before they strike. The rattlesnake does not want to fight and if you keep at a safe distance it will glide off in another direction, but it is safest not to venture within striking distance, which is said to be two-thirds the length of the snake, even if the snake has not coiled, for it moves quickly and strikes like a flash.

The rattles are at the extreme end of the tail and are composed of horny joints. The sound of the rattle is much like the humming of a locust (cicada). Rattlesnakes are often found sunning themselves on large rocks, and stone-quarries are the chosen winter quarters where whole colonies assemble. They are also found, during the summer, among underbrush and in stubble-fields, where they probably go to hunt field-mice and other small mammals.



Banded Rattlesnake

The mountains of Pennsylvania are a favorite resort of the rattlesnake, but, though I have passed many summers in Pike County, famous for its snakes, the only live one I ever saw in that locality was in a box at Rowland station. The men of our party occasionally killed one and brought it to camp as a trophy, but one of our weekend guests spent most of his time hunting the rattler that he might take its skin back to the city, yet without success.

It is the banded rattlesnake that is usually found in Pennsylvania. The color is yellowish and it is marked with irregular, wide bands of dark brown. Sometimes the snake is almost black, and it is thought that it turns dark with age.

Diamond Rattlesnake

The rattlesnake marked in diamond patterns of gold outline on brown is of the south and is oftenest found in Florida. This is a very large snake, and closely allied to it is the Texas rattlesnake, which is the same in markings and color, but paler, as if faded out.

Massasauga

The massasauga is the rattlesnake occasionally found in the swamps from western New York to Nebraska, but it is rare. Its color is light brown with patches of dark brown its entire length.

Copperhead

The copperhead is not a rattler, though its vibrating tail amid dry leaves will sometimes hum like one. (This is also true of the blacksnake.) Its bite is very poisonous. It is found amid rocks and in the woods, and is at home from New England and the Atlantic coast west to Indiana and south to Texas. This snake is seldom more than three feet long. Its color is light reddish-brown with bands of rich chestnut which are narrow on the back and wide at the sides. The underpart is whitish with dark spots on the abdomen. The head is generally coppery in color but not always. In Texas the colors of the copperhead are stronger, the bands and head are decidedly reddish, and the bands have narrow white borders.

Harlequin Snake and Coral-Snake

The harlequin snake and the coral-snake are so similar in color and in habits, one description for both will answer our purpose. They are southern snakes, beginning in southern Indiana and extending south. They are quite poisonous, but of such retiring habits as hardly to be classed as dangerous. Most of their time is spent hidden under the sand and in the ground, but when they do come out their colors are so brilliant as not to be mistaken. On the harlequin snake the colors are bright coral-red, yellow, and black, which alternate in stripes that encircle the body. Its head is always banded with a broad yellow stripe. The coral-snake is much the same in color, and only a close observer would notice the difference. The coral-snake is also found in Arizona.

Water-Moccasin, Cottonmouth

The water-moccasin is ugly, and ugly all the way through. Its deadly viciousness is not redeemed by any outward beauty. Its average length is three and a half feet, though it is occasionally longer. Its unlovely body is thick and the color of greenish mud; the sides are paler and have wide, blackish bands. There are dark bands from the eyes to the mouth and above them there are pale streaks. The top of the head is very dark. The abdomen is yellow with splashes of brown or black. Heavy shields overhang the eyes and give a sinister expression to their angry glare. When suddenly approached the moccasin opens wide its white-lined mouth, and one then understands why it is called cottonmouth.

This snake does not coil before its strikes, but vibrates its tail slowly and watches its prey with mouth open. The moccasin is decidedly a southern snake, and girls of the south know that its home is along the edges of bayous and in the swamps. It is frequently seen with its head and a small part of its body out of water while the rest is submerged, but at times it will be found on a water-soaked log or on underbrush and low boughs of trees that overhang the water. The bite is very poisonous.

Other Snakes

There are many other snakes in the United States, but they are not venomous. Here is one thing to remember: you need never fear a snake found in this country which has lengthwise stripes, that is, stripes running from head to tail. Daniel C. Beard tells me that he has learned this from observation, and Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of reptiles in the New York Zoological Park, agrees with him.

While the lengthwise-striped snakes are harmless, others not striped in this way are harmless, too. The blacksnake, though he looks an ugly customer and, when cornered, will sometimes show fight, is not venomous and his bite is not deep. It is, therefore, wanton cruelty to kill every snake that crosses your path simply because it happens to be a snake. Kephart, in his book of "Camping and Woodcraft," says in regard to identifying the poisonous snake:

"The rattlesnake, copperhead, and cottonmouth are easily distinguished from all other snakes, as all three of them bear a peculiar mark, or rather a pair of marks, that no other animal possesses. This mark is the pit, which is a deep cavity on each side of the face between the nostrils and the eye, sinking into the upper jaw-bone."

If, when one has been bitten and the snake killed, an examination is made of its head, it can be ascertained immediately whether the snake was venomous, and in this way unnecessary fright may be avoided.

Beaded Lizard, Gila Monster

The only other venomous reptile found in the United States is the beaded lizard, called Gila monster (pronounced heela). Unless you visit the desert regions of Arizona and New Mexico, you will not be apt to run across this most interesting though poisonous reptile.

The Gila monster looks very much like a unique piece of Indian beadwork, with its fat body and stubby legs covered with bright-colored, bead-like tubercles, which form almost a Navajo pattern. Its length is about nineteen inches, and its beads are colored salmon, flesh-pink, white or yellow, and black. Though it has the appearance of being stuffed with cotton, it is really formidable and very much alive. Its jaws are strong; when it bites it holds on like a bulldog, and there is no way to force it to open its mouth except to pry the powerful jaws apart. While otherwise slow of movement, it will turn quickly from side to side, snapping viciously. The inside of the Gila's mouth is black, and when angry it opens it wide and hisses.

Treatment for Snake-Bites

If the unlikely should chance to happen and one of your party is bitten by a poisonous snake, first aid should be given immediately, and if a physician is within reach he should be summoned as quickly as possible. Much depends, however, upon what is done first. Any one can administer the following treatment, and it should be done without flinching, for it may mean the saving of a life:

(1) As soon as the person is bitten twist a tourniquet very tightly above the wound, that is, between the wound and the heart, to keep the poison as far as possible from entering the entire system.

(2) Slash the wound or stab it with a clean knife-blade and force it to bleed copiously. If there is no break in the skin or membrane of your mouth or lips and no cavity in any of your teeth, suck the wound to draw out the poison.

(3) Give a stimulant in small doses at frequent intervals to stimulate the heart and lungs and strengthen the nerves, but avoid overdoing this, for the result will be harmful.

(4) If you have with you an antivenomous serum, inject it as directed by the formula that accompanies it.

Tie a loose bandage around the affected member, a handkerchief, neck scarf, or even a rope for a tourniquet, to check circulation, as described in Chapter XII, on Accidents. Every little while loosen the tourniquet, then tighten it again, for it will not do to stop the circulation entirely.

All authorities do not advise sucking the wound, but it is generally done, for with a perfectly sound and healthy mouth there is no danger, as the poison enters the system only by contact with the blood.

Some writers advocate cauterizing the wound with a hot iron; but, whatever is done, do quickly, and do not be afraid. Fear is contagious and exceedingly harmful to the patient. Remember that a snake-bite is seldom fatal, and that a swollen arm or leg does not mean that the case is hopeless.

Poisonous Plants

There are two kinds of poisonous plants: those that are poison to the touch and those that are harmless unless taken inwardly. Both may be avoided when you learn to identify them.

Poison-Ivy

We are apt to think that every one knows the common poison-ivy, but that some people are not familiar with it was shown when one beautiful autumn day a young woman passed along our village street carrying a handful of the sprays of the vine, gathered probably because of their beautiful coloring. Noticing that she was a stranger, no doubt from the city, and realizing the danger she was running of poisoning herself or some one else, we hurriedly caught up with her and gave first aid to the ignorant in a few forceful remarks. The result was that, without a word, the young woman simply opened her hand, dropped her vines on the walk, and hurried off as if to escape a pestilence. We were left to close the incident by kicking the stuff into the street that some other equally uninformed person might not be tempted to pick it up.

If you do not know the poison-ivy, remember this: It is the three-leaved ivy. Its leaves always grow in triplets as shown in illustration. The leaves are smooth, but not glossy; they have no teeth but are occasionally notched. Sometimes the plant is bushy, standing a foot or two high, again it is trailing or climbing. It loves fence corners and big rocks to clamber over; it will also choose large trees for support, climbing up to their tops. The flowers are whitish and the fruit is a pretty, green-gray berry, round and smooth, which grows in scant clusters.

Poison-ivy is found through the country from Maine to Texas and west to South Dakota, Utah, and Arkansas.

Some people are immune to ivy poison and, happily, I belong to the fortunate ones. Many persons are poisoned by it, however, and it may be that fear makes them more susceptible. On some the painful, burning eruption is difficult to cure.

Poison-Oak

The poison-oak closely resembles the poison-ivy, and is sometimes called by that name, but its leaves are differently shaped, being oval in outline with a few coarse, blunt teeth. They are also thicker and smaller than the ivy leaf. The poison-oak is plentiful in cool uplands and in ravines, and is general throughout the Pacific coast from Lower California and Arizona to British America.

Poison-Sumach, or Swamp-Sumach

Another member of the same family is the poison-sumach. They are all three equally poisonous and act by contact. The poison, or swamp, sumach is a high, branching shrub closely resembling the harmless species which grow on high, dry ground. The poison variety chooses low, wet places. The leaves of the poison-sumach are compound, with from seven to thirteen leaflets growing from one stem, as the leaves of the walnut-tree grow; the stalks are often of a purplish color. The leaflets are oval in shape and are pointed at the tip. The surface is smooth and green on both sides and they have no teeth. The autumn coloring is very brilliant. The flowers are whitish-green and grow in loose clusters from a stiff middle stalk at the angles of the leaves. The fruit is a gray-green berry growing in scant, drooping clusters. This gray drooping berry is the sumac poison sign, for the fruit of the harmless sumach is crimson and is held erect in close pyramidal clusters.

Witch-hazel (Pond's Extract) is used as a remedy for all of these poisons, but it is claimed that a paste made of cooking-soda and water is better. Alcohol will sometimes be effective, also a strong lye made of wood-ashes. Salt and water will give relief to some. It seems to depend upon the person whether the remedy, as well as the poison, will have effect.



Yellow Lady's-Slipper

Growing in bogs and low woods from Maine to Minnesota and Washington, southward to Georgia and Missouri, there is a sweet-scented, little yellow-and-brown flower called the yellow lady's-slipper, the plant of which is said to have the same effect when handled as poison-ivy. This flower is an orchid. The stalk, from one to two feet high, bears a single blossom at the top, and the leaves, shaped and veined like those of the lily-of-the-valley, grow alternately down the stem. The plant does not branch. Like the ivy, the yellow lady's-slipper does not poison every one.

I know of no other wild plants that are poisonous to the touch; the following will poison only if taken inwardly.

Deadly Nightshade

To the nightshade family belong plants that are poisonous and plants that are not, but the thrilling name, deadly nightshade, carries with it the certainty of poison.

The plant is an annual and you may often find it growing in a neglected corner of the garden as well as in waste places. It is a tall plant; the one I remember in our own garden reached to the top of a five-foot board fence. Its leaves are rather triangular in shape, they are dark green and the wavy edges are notched rather than toothed. The flowers are white and grow in small clusters. The fruit is a berry, round, black, and smooth, with calyx adhering to it. The berry clusters grow at the end of drooping stems. This must not be mistaken for the high-bush blueberry, for to eat the fruit would be most dangerous.

The antidotes for nightshade poison are emetics, cathartics, and stimulants. The poison should be thrown off the stomach first, then strong coffee be given as a stimulant.

Pokeweed, Pigeonberry

Pokeweed comes under the heading of poisonous plants though its berries are eaten by birds, and its young shoots are said to be almost equal in flavor, and quite as wholesome, as asparagus. It seems to be the large perennial root that holds the poison, though some authorities claim that the poison permeates the entire plant to a certain extent. The root is sometimes mistaken for that of edible plants and the young leaves for those of the marsh-marigold, which are edible when cooked. It is a tall plant with a stout stem and emits a strong odor. You will find it growing by the wayside and in rocky places. The leaves are oblong and pointed at the tips and base. They have no teeth. The small white flowers are in clusters. The fruit is a small, flat, dark-purple berry, growing in long, upstanding clusters on a central stalk. The individual stem of the berry is very short. The name inkberry was given to the plant because of the strong stain of the berry juice which was sometimes used for ink. Pokeweed is at home in various states, Maine to Minnesota, Arkansas, and Florida.

Poison-Hemlock

The poison-hemlock is well known historically, being in use at the time of Socrates, and believed to have been administered to him by the Greeks. It is quite as poisonous now as in Socrates's day, and accidental poisoning has come from people eating the seeds, mistaking them for anise-seed, eating the leaves for parsley and the roots for parsnips. The plant grows from two to seven feet high; its stem is smooth and spotted or streaked with purplish-red. It has large, parsley-like leaves and pretty clusters of small, white flowers which grow, stiff-stemmed, from a common centre and blossom in July and August. When the fresh leaves are bruised they give out a distinctly mouse-like odor and they are very nauseating to the taste. Poison-hemlock is common on waysides and waste places in New York, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. It is also found in New England and Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Louisiana, and California.

The treatment recommended by professionals is emetics, warmth of hands and feet, artificial respiration, and the subcutaneous injection of atropine, administered by a physician.

Water-Hemlock

Water-hemlock is similar in appearance and in effect. It is found in wet places and on the borders of swamps. The remedies are the same as for poison-hemlock.



Jimson-Weed

The jimson-weed is very common in Kentucky. I have not seen so much of it in the east and north, but it appears to grow pretty nearly over the whole United States. It is from one to five feet in height, and an ill-smelling weed, though first cousin to the beautiful, cultivated datura, which is a highly prized garden plant. The stem is smooth, green, stout, and branching. The flower is large, sometimes four inches long, and trumpet-shaped. There are several varieties of this weed; on some the flower is white, on others the five, flaring, sharp-pointed lobes are stained with lavender and magenta. The calyx is long, close-fitting, and light green. The leaves are rather large; they are angularly oval in shape and are coarsely notched. The fruit is a prickly, egg-shaped capsule which contains the seeds. It is these seeds which are sometimes eaten with serious results, and children have been poisoned by putting the flowers in their mouths.

Emetics should immediately be administered to throw the poison off the stomach, then hot, strong coffee should be given. Sometimes artificial respiration must be resorted to. In all cases of poisoning a physician should be called if possible.

The habit of chewing leaves and stems without knowing what they are should be suppressed when on the trail. It is something like going through a drug store and sampling the jars of drugs as you pass, and the danger of poisoning is almost as great.

Toadstools

Unless you are an expert in distinguishing non-poisonous mushrooms from the poison toadstool, leave them all alone. Many deaths occur yearly from eating toadstools which have been mistaken for the edible mushrooms.



CHAPTER IX

ON THE TRAIL WITH YOUR CAMERA

What to Photograph and How

You cannot depend entirely upon your memory to recall the sights and adventures of the trail, and will be only half-equipped if you go without a camera and note-book. Several clicks of the camera will record the principal events, while your note-book will fill in the detail.

Selecting a Camera

In selecting a camera remember that every ounce in weight counts as two when on the long trail, and that to have to carry it in your hand is most troublesome and inconvenient. The folding camera, which can be hung over your shoulder with a strap, is therefore the best; and do not try to carry plates, they are too heavy. It is of little use to consult the clerk of a photographic supply shop about the style of camera you should buy. As a rule he is not chosen for his knowledge of the goods, and his advice may be worse than none. The better plan is to secure descriptive catalogues from dealer or manufacturer before investing, and study them well. The catalogues will tell you the price, the size, the weight, and what kind of work each variety of camera will do, and you will learn the advantages and limitations of many before deciding upon one.

How to Know Your Camera

The camera once bought and in your hands, the next thing to do is to become thoroughly acquainted with it. With your camera you are entitled to a little book of instructions. Take your camera and the book, sit down alone, and give them your entire attention. Read the book carefully and, at the same time, carry out the instructions while the camera is unloaded, that is, without the film. If the size of the diaphragm can be changed, change it and look into the lens to see the effect; also try adjusting the shutter and watch the lens for the effect of instantaneous and time exposures. Try the focussing scale, locate some image in the finder, and practise holding the camera pressed closely against your body, pointing neither up nor down, tipping neither to one side nor the other, but aimed directly at the object you are supposed to be photographing. Then try turning the key which brings the film exposures into position.

Loading the Camera

Learn how to load and to unload, first without unrolling your film. Afterward adjust the roll in the camera and see that it is properly placed and will turn easily, before you loosen the end of the film. If you detach the gummed paper which keeps the film tightly wrapped before placing the roll in the camera, the whole film will spring loose from its spool and become light-struck before you can adjust it.

Count the Turns of the Key

With your first roll of films it is well to learn and remember the number of turns you must give the key to bring a new exposure into place. With my camera which takes a four-by-five picture, five turns of the key are necessary between the exposures. Knowing this, I count, and when the fifth turn is reached I complete it slowly, watching carefully the while for the new number to appear in the little red celluloid window. In this way, even when hurried or excited, I do not lose an exposure by turning the key once too often. Always remember to place a new exposure directly after taking a picture, to make sure that you will not take two on one film. In making ready for a new subject count again, for there are four things one must be sure of with most cameras before taking a photograph, and by counting you will know if any have been omitted:

(1) See that a fresh exposure is in place.

(2) See that the shutter is properly adjusted for instantaneous (or time) exposure.

(3) See that diaphragm stop is set at the proper opening for the light you will have.

(4) See that the distance is correctly focussed.

There are cameras, however, that are of universal focus and do not need adjustment. These are convenient ones for the trail, as they are always ready and can be used quickly. Being small, they are also light to carry.

Be Economical with Your Films

A very important thing to learn when taking photographs is to be economical with your films, and especially is this so when on the trail, for your supply is then necessarily limited. Merely for the sake of using the new toy, many amateurs will photograph subjects that are not of the slightest interest to any one, and very often, when a scene or object does present itself that is well worth while, all the films will have been wasted and no picture can be taken.

Plan Your Pictures to Illustrate Your Trip

It is a good idea to plan your pictures so that they will illustrate your trip from beginning to end. A snap-shot of your party starting on the trail, another of the country through which you pass, with, perhaps, one or two figures in it, and the remainder of the films used on objects of interest found on the way. If you can secure pictures of any wild animals you may see, they will make the series doubly interesting and valuable. When you go into camp a view of the camp should be included. When the pictures are printed write on the back of each what it represents, where taken, and the date; they will then be valuable data as well as trustworthy reminders.

Backgrounds

Look for the best view of a subject before using your camera; there is always a choice. One side may be much more pleasing or more characteristic than the other, or may show interesting details more plainly. If you have studied drawing you will be able also to find the view which makes the best composition. The background, too, must be considered, and the position of the sun. The simpler the background the better. Near-by foliage is not good for figures; it is too confused and the figures will mingle with it. Sometimes the adjustable portrait-lens, which can be slipped over the other, will obviate that trouble by blurring everything not in exact focus, and this lens will allow you to stand nearer the object and so make it larger on the film. It is not intended for distant views and the camera should not be more than six feet from the subject when it is used.



Quiet water makes an excellent background, also distant foliage and hills, flat fields and meadows. These may be obtained for figures, but often the very things you want to photograph most are in the woods with foliage close to and all around them; then you must simply do the best you can under the circumstances.

Color Values in Photographs

Another thing to remember is that, unless in broad sunlight, green will take dark and sometimes black; and brown or tan, being of the same color value in the photograph, will mingle with and often be lost in the background. If you are photographing a tawny animal, and most wild animals are tawny, try to get it when in the sunlight with a dark or flat background, or else against a background lighter in color than the animal. For instance, a red squirrel or chipmunk will be lost amid, or against, the foliage of a tree, but on a fence rail or fallen log it will stand out distinctly.

If you have a chance at a beaver it will be near the water, of course. Then the choice view will be where the water can form at least part of the background. If the shore is at the back it may be difficult when the print is made to find the beaver at all. In the interesting photograph shown here the beaver is against the light trunk of the tree which shows where he has gnawed it almost through. In all this the position of the sun must be taken into account, but the rule of always having the sun at your back, like most other rules, has its exceptions. I have found that so long as the sun lights up the object, even when from one side, I can secure a good picture; but I never allow it to strike the lens of the camera, and I make sure that the subject is not silhouetted against its background by having all the light at its back.



Photographing Wild Animals

It is not easy to photograph wild animals after you have found them, but you can do it if you are quick to see and to act and are also patient enough to wait for a good opportunity. You will often find deer feeding in sunlit places and can, if you stalk them carefully, approach near enough to get a good shot. If they happen to be in partial or light shadow, open the diaphragm of your camera at its widest stop and try for an instantaneous exposure. Very good photographs are sometimes taken by that method, and it is worth the experiment where time exposures are out of the question, as in taking moving animals. A snap-shot will be of no avail if the shadow is heavy, however, and a short time exposure may sometimes be used. Set your time lever at No. 1, which means one second, and the lever controlling the diaphragm at No. 16, and by pressing the bulb once you will have a time exposure of one second. An important thing for you to realize in taking animal photographs is the fact that though the creature may seem quite near as you see it with your natural eye, in the picture it will occupy only the relative space that it does on the finder. If it covers a quarter of the space on the finder it will cover a quarter, no more and no less, of the finished photograph.

The wonderful pictures we see of wild animals are usually the work of professionals who have especially adapted cameras; but to take the photograph oneself makes even a poor one of more value.



Shutter Speed

To photograph objects in rapid motion such as flying birds, the speed of your shutter must be at least one three-hundredths of a second and you must have a fast lens; but with a shutter speed of one one-hundredth I have taken very good pictures of things moving at a moderate rate. A walking or slowly running animal, for instance, can be taken with a shutter speed of one one-hundredth. You should find out the speed of the shutter when you buy your camera, then you will not throw away films on things beyond its possibilities. "You press the button and we'll do the rest" doesn't work where moving objects are concerned.

Those who go a-gunning with the camera, stalk their game as carefully as any hunter with a gun, and for really good results the following method is the safest to adopt. Time and patience are required, but one does not mind giving these, the interest is so absorbing and the successful picture so well worth while.

Set Your Camera Like a Trap

Find the spot frequented by the animal or bird you are after, wait for it to go away of its own accord while confident and unfrightened, then set up your camera like a trap where the lens will point to the place the bird or animal will probably occupy upon its return.

If it is a nest it will be easy, for you can be sure the bird will come back there and can adjust your camera to take in the entire nest. Where there is no nest, sight your camera upon some object between which and the lens the creature must come in order to be within focus, and trample down any undergrowth that may obstruct the view. Make sure that your focus is correct for the distance and that the film will take in the whole animal. You can provide for this by staking off the probable size of the animal at the place where you expect it to stand, and then looking in the finder to see if both stakes are in focus. You will probably have to raise the camera from the ground and perhaps tip it a little. For this a low tripod is best but if you haven't that, and very likely you will not, a convenient log, stump, or stone will answer the purpose. If even these are not handy you can build up a stand of stones or small logs, or pile earth into a mound. Whatever material you use, the stand must be made strong and firm. To have it slip or slide is to lose the picture. Make your camera perfectly secure and immovable on the stand, then tie a long cord to the release (the small lever which works the shutter). The cord must be amply long enough to reach to the ambush where you will hide while awaiting your game. The ambush may be a clump of bushes, a convenient rock, or a tree behind which you will be concealed. If there is no such cover near you can make one of brush and branches. When the cord is carried from the camera to the ambush hide the camera with leafy branches, leaving a good opening for the cord to pass through to prevent it from becoming entangled. Then hie to your cover and, with the slightly slack cord in your hand, await the coming of your game.



Taking the Picture

As the animal approaches the camera grasp your cord firmly and steady your nerves to act quickly, and when it is in focus, not before, give a quick, firm pull to the cord, releasing it immediately, and the thing is done. Don't become excited at the critical moment and make your shot too soon or jerk the cord too hard. If a bird is to be taken upon the nest and the nest is in shadow a short time exposure can be given, or a bulb exposure. For bulb exposure set the lever that controls the shutter at B (meaning bulb), and the lever controlling the diaphragm at No. 16. When the bird has settled upon its nest pull the cord, count three slowly, and release it. The shutter will remain open as long as the cord is held taut and will close when released. This method cannot be used for long time exposures. When you become more practised in the art of wild-life photography you will know how much time to allow for the exposures. There will be some failures, of course, but one good photograph among several will repay you for all your trouble and will make you keen to try again.



Photographing the Trail

You can get a good picture of the trail with a snap-shot when it is in the open, but a forest trail must have time exposure. When your eyes have become accustomed to the dim light of the woods it will not seem dark, and you will be tempted to try a snap-shot because it is easier, but if you do you may certainly count that a lost film. It is not possible to hold your camera in your hands and succeed with a time exposure of over one second. The beating of your heart will jar it, a breath will make it move, so some kind of a rest must be found as when taking the animals with bulb exposure. If the light is very dim first set the lever controlling the shutter at the point T (time), then set the lever for the diaphragm at No. 16, press the bulb, and allow from fifteen to twenty seconds', or even thirty seconds', exposure.

Timing Without a Watch

You can time it without a watch by counting in this way: one-and-two-and-three-and-up to the number of seconds required. One-and is one second.



When the seconds have been counted, press the bulb again and if the camera has not moved you should have a good negative. No hard-and-fast rules can be given for this work because conditions vary; you must rely some on your judgment and learn by experience. It is said that overexposure is better than underexposure and can be handled better in developing the films, so when in doubt it is well to allow a little more time than you think should be necessary. Curious results sometimes come from underexposed films. I once had a print in outline, like a drawing, from a negative made in the Rocky Mountains. It did not look in the least like a photograph, there were no shadows, but it was a good illustration of the scene.

Photographing Flowers and Ferns

If your camera will focus so that you can place it near enough to take small objects such as flowers and ferns, another field of interest is open to you and you can add a record of those found on the trail to complete your series. A camping trip will afford better and more unhurried opportunities for photographing flowers than a one day's trail, unless you carry a box or basket with you for securing specimens that you can take back and photograph at leisure. Do not break the stems of the flowers or plants, take them roots and all. Loosen the soil all around and under the roots so that which clings to the plant may be undisturbed and taken up with it. If the soil falls away, cover the root with damp loam or mud and tie it up in a large leaf as in illustration. This method not only keeps it from wilting but will enable you to take a picture of the growing plant with all its interesting characteristics. If you put your plant with its clod of earth in a shallow bowl, pour in as much water as the bowl will hold, and keep it always full, it will remain fresh and vigorous a long while and may be transplanted to continue its life and growth after you have finished with it.



Just here must come the caution not to tear up wild plants by their roots unless they are to serve a real purpose. Some of our most beautiful wild flowers and rarest ferns are now in danger of being exterminated because of thoughtless and careless people who, in gathering them, will not even take the trouble to break the stems. When the roots are gone there will be no more flowers and ferns.

Look at the Date on Your Film

Even the best photographer cannot take good photographs unless he has good films. On the box of every roll of films is stamped the latest date when it may be safely developed and it is foolish to try to have a film developed after that date has passed. When you buy your films be sure they are fresh ones and that the date insures you ample time; one year ahead is none too long.

Do not open the box or take the wrappings from a roll of films until you are ready to load your camera. Then save both box and wrappings, and when your films have been exposed, use them for covering the roll again. Keep the wrapped and boxed rolls in a dark place until they can be developed. Dampness will spoil both films and plates. If you are in a damp climate, or on shipboard, keep them in a tin box, tightly closed.



CHAPTER X

ON AND IN THE WATER

Boats Safe and Unsafe. Canoeing. Rowing. Poling. Raft-Making. Swimming. Fishing

Safe and Unsafe Boats

One seldom goes on the long trail, or into camp, without encountering water, and boats of some kind must be used, generally rowboats or canoes. The safest boat on placid water is the heavy, flat-bottomed rowboat with oars secured to the oar-locks. In my younger days we owned such a boat, and no one felt in the least anxious when I would put off for hours alone on the lake at our camp in Pike County, Pa.; especially as the creaking turn of the oar-locks could easily be heard at camp loudly proclaiming that I still lived, while I enjoyed the luxury of solitary adventure. But a tub of this kind is not adapted to all waters and all purposes, and the safest boat on any water is the one best adapted to it and to the purpose for which the boat is used.

Round-bottomed boats tip easily and should, therefore, not be used when learning to row, though they are safe enough in the hands of those accustomed to their management. The best of oarsmen, however, cannot prevent her boat from capsizing if her passenger does not know how to enter or leave it, or to sit still when aboard.



Stepping in and out of a Boat

To step on the gunwale (the edge of the boat) will naturally tip it and most likely turn it over. One should always step directly into the middle in order to keep the boat evenly balanced, and in getting out, step from the middle. Stepping on the side or the gunwale of a boat shows the ignorance of a tenderfoot. There are rowboats that are neither round-bottomed nor flat but are shaped like the boat in photograph, page 206. These are safer than the round-bottomed, but are more easily capsized than the flat-bottomed boats.

Canoes and Canoeing

If you are to own a canoe select it carefully; consult catalogues of reliable dealers, and, if possible, have an experienced and good canoeist help you choose it. The pretty canoe made of wood will answer in calm waters and wear well with careful usage, but sportsmen prefer the canvas-covered canoe, declaring it the best boat for cruising, as it is light, easy to manage, will stand rough usage, and will also carry greater loads. The best make has a frame of hardwood with cedar ribs and planking; spruce gunwales and brass bang-plates to protect the ends. This canoe is covered with strong canvas, treated with some kind of filler, and then painted and varnished. There are usually two cane seats, one at the stern, the other near the bow. These are built in. Canoes vary in the shape of the bow, some being higher than others. The high bow prevents the shipping of too much water, but will also offer resistance to the wind and so impede the progress of the boat. A medium high bow is the best.

One firm of camp-outfitters advertises a canoe called the Sponson, the name being taken from the air-chambers built along the outside rail, which are called sponsons. It is claimed that these air-chambers make it next to impossible to upset the canoe, and that even when filled with water it will support a heavy weight. Sponsons can also be purchased separately and can be adjusted to any sized canoe.



For a novice the sponsons would seem a good thing, as they not only insure safety but, in doing away with the fear of an upset, make learning to paddle easier. Then there are the guide canoes made especially for hunting and fishing. They are strong, flat-bottomed, will carry a heavy load, are easy to paddle or pole, and will stand rough water. These canoes are good for general use on the trail.

The prices of a good canoe range from twenty-eight dollars to forty dollars. One may go higher, of course, but the essentials of the canoe will be no better. A lower price means, as a rule, not so good a boat.

Paddles

Girls and women generally require shorter paddles than men, as they do not have the same reach of arm, and you can take your choice of lengths. For the stern the paddle should be longer than for the bow. Paddles are made of red oak, maple, ash, spruce, and cherry. Some authorities prefer spruce for ordinary usage, but in rough water and in shooting rapids a harder wood is best. The weak part of a paddle is where the blade joins the handle, and this part should not be too slender. If you use spruce paddles keep them smooth by trimming away all roughness and keep them well shellacked, else they may become water-soaked. Paddles range in price from one dollar and fifty cents to three dollars.



Accessories

A strong, healthy girl will no more need cushions and canoe-chairs than a boy, but a back rest is not always to be despised. It is well to have a large sponge aboard for bailing and for cleaning.

At a portage or "carry," the canoe is carried overland on the shoulders, and though some guides scorn to use a carrier, others are glad of them. There are several styles, one being the neck-yoke carrier, another the pneumatic canoe-yoke. The pneumatic yoke, when not inflated with air, can be rolled into a bundle three by six inches, and when inflated it can also be used for a canoe-seat, a camp-seat, and even for a pillow. Its weight is two pounds and the catalogue price is three dollars and twenty-five cents.

Care of the Canoe

Even the strongest canoe should be well cared for. To leave it in the water for any length of time, when not in use, is to run the risk of damage and loss. A sudden storm will batter it against shore, send it adrift, or fill and sink it. A canoe should always be lifted, not dragged, ashore, and it should be turned upside down on the bank with a support in the middle so that it will not be strained by resting only on the ends.

Getting in the Canoe

Never allow any one to get into your canoe or to sit on it when it is out of the water. That is harder on it than many days of actual use. When you are to get aboard your canoe, bring it up broadside to the shore and put one foot exactly in the middle, then carefully place the other beside it and sit down quickly, but with care to keep your balance. If there is no one to hold the canoe for you, use your paddle to steady yourself by pushing it down to the bottom on the side away from shore. This will keep the canoe from slipping away from under you while you are stepping in. One of the first things to learn in canoeing is to preserve your balance; even a slight lurch to one side or the other must be avoided. Make every necessary movement cautiously and do not look backward unless absolutely necessary. Never attempt to change places with any one while in the canoe. If the change must be made, land and change there.



Upset

Should there be an upset keep hold of your paddle, it will help to keep you afloat, then if you can reach your craft and hold to it without trying to climb upon it you can keep your head above water until help arrives or until you can tread water to shore. If you can swim you are comparatively safe, and a girl who goes often on the trail should, by all means, be a swimmer.

Paddling

Some expert canoeists strongly advise kneeling in the bottom of the canoe while paddling, for at least part of the time, but the usual method is to sit on the seats provided at bow and stern, or sit on the bottom. The kneeling paddler has her canoe in better control, and becomes more one with it than one who sits. In shooting rapids and in rough weather kneeling is the safest when one knows how to paddle in that position. It is a good thing to learn both methods.

When you paddle close one hand firmly on the end of the paddle and the other around the handle a short distance above the blade. Then, keeping your body steady, dip your paddle into the water slightly in front of you and sweep it backward and downward toward the stern, keeping it close to the canoe. You face the bow in a canoe, remember, and reach forward for your stroke. At the finish of a stroke turn the paddle edgewise and slide it out of the water. For the next stroke bring the blade forward, swinging it horizontally with the blade parallel to the water, and slide it edgewise into the water again in front of you. Fig. 34 shows the beginning of a stroke, Fig. 35 while the stroke is in progress, and Fig. 36 the ending. During the stroke bring your upper hand forward across your face or breast, and with the lower draw the blade through the water.

It is well to begin as bow paddler, for your duty there, in smooth water, is to watch for obstructions such as hidden rocks and submerged logs or snags, while the paddler at the stern must steer the canoe and keep it in a straight course.

At the beginning learn to paddle as well from one side as from the other. To be able to change sides is very restful and sometimes a quick change will prevent an accident. Like many other things, the knack of paddling will come with experience and will then require no more thought than keeping your balance on a bicycle and steering it.

Loading a Canoe

A top-heavy canoe is decidedly dangerous, that is why it is safest to sit or kneel on the bottom, and in loading your camp stuff bear the fact well in mind. Pack the load as low in the canoe as possible with the heaviest things at the bottom, but use common sense and do not put things that should be kept dry underneath where any water that is shipped will settle and soak them. Think again and put cooking utensils and lunch provender where you can reach them without unloading the canoe. The packing should be done in such a way as to cause the canoe to tip neither at one end or at the other, and certainly not to one side.



Rowing

A rowboat is a safer craft than a canoe, and rowing is not a difficult feat, but there is a difference between the rowing of a heavy flat-bottomed boat and rowing a light skiff or round-bottomed rowboat. In rowing properly one's body does most of the work and the strain comes more on the muscles of the back than on those of the arms.

In paddling you face the bow of the canoe; in rowing you are turned around and face the stern of your boat. In paddling you reach forward and draw your paddle back; in rowing you lean back and pull your oars forward. When beginning a stroke grasp the handles of your oars firmly near the ends, lean forward with arms outstretched and elbows straight, the oars slanting backward, and, by bearing down on the handles of the oars, lift the blades above the water. Then drop them in edgewise and pull, straightening your body, bending your elbows, and bringing your hands together one above the other. As you finish the stroke bear down on your oars to lift the blades out of the water again, turn your wrists to bring the flat of the blades almost parallel with the water but with the back edge lifted a little; then bend forward and, sweeping the oars backward, turning the edge down, plunge them in the water for another pull. Turning the wrists at the beginning of a stroke feathers the oar, the forward edge of which is sometimes allowed to skim lightly over the surface of the water as the oar is carried backward. In steering with the oars you pull hardest on the oar on the side opposite to the direction you wish to take. A little practise and all this comes easy enough.

The thing for a beginner to avoid is "catching a crab." That is, dipping the oars so lightly in the water as not to give sufficient hold, which will cause them, when pulled forward, to fly up and send the rower sprawling on her back. In dipping too deeply there is danger of losing an oar by the suction of the water. Experience will teach the proper depth for the stroke.

On some of the Adirondack lakes the round-bottomed rowboats are used almost exclusively, but the boat with a narrow, flat bottom is safer and is both light and easy to row. A cedar rowboat is the most desirable. The oars should be light for ordinary rowing yet strong enough to prevent their snapping above the blade in rough water.

Rafts

You can never tell just what will happen when you go on the long trail, that is one of its charms, nor do you know what you will be called upon to do. The girl best versed in the ways of the water as well as of the woods is surest of safety, and can be most helpful to her party. Possibly you may never be called upon to build a raft, and again an emergency may arise when a raft will not only be convenient but absolutely necessary. When such an emergency does come it is not likely that you will have anything besides the roughest of building material and no tools besides your small axe or hatchet. But with your axe you can chop off limbs of sufficient size for the raft from fallen trees, and with ropes made of the inner bark of trees you can bind your small logs together in such a way as to hold them firmly. Do not use green wood, it will not float like the dry. Logs about twelve inches in diameter are the best, but half that size will make a good raft. Six feet by twelve is a fair size. The smaller the logs the larger the raft must be in order to carry any weight, for it must cover a wider surface of water than is necessary for one made of large logs. One good-sized log will carry your weight easily, but a small one will sink beneath you.

If you have two long, strong ropes you can use them for binding the logs together; if not you must make the ropes from fibre of some kind. Daniel C. Beard in his book, "Boat-Building and Boating," tells of making a very strong rope of the inner bark of a chestnut-tree which had been killed by fire. The fibre torn off in long strips must be twisted by two persons, or one end may be tied to a branch while you twist the other. When two are twisting one person takes one end, the other takes the other end, and, standing as far apart as possible, each twists the fibre between her fingers, turning it in opposite directions until when held slack it will double on itself and make a double twist. The ends are then brought together and the rope kept from snarling until it is bent at the middle and allowed to double twist evenly all the way to the end. The fibre rope will be a little less than half the length of the original strands, and it should be about the size of heavy clothes-line rope. The short lengths of rope must be tied together to make two long ropes. Use the square knot in tying to make sure that it will not slip. When the knot is wet it will be quite secure.



Primitive Weaving Method

For tying the logs together use the primitive weaving method. Lay three lengths of rope on the ground, one for the middle and one each for the ends of the logs. Roll one log along the ropes until it rests across the middle of each rope, then turn each rope over the log, forming a bight as in Fig. 37. Bring the lower rope over the upper (Fig. 38) to form a loop, and turn it back over the log (Fig. 39). This leaves the log with three loops of rope around it, one end of each rope lying on the ground, the other end turned back over the log. Now roll another log over the lower ropes up close to the first log (Fig. 40). Bring down the upper ropes over the second log (Fig. 41), cross the lower ropes over the upper ones and turn them back (Fig. 42). Draw the ropes tight and push the logs as closely together as possible; unless your logs are straight there will be wide spaces between. Roll the third log over the lower ropes and make the weaving loop as with the other two, always crossing the lower rope over the upper (Fig. 43). Continue weaving in new logs until the raft is the required width, then tie the ends of the ropes around the last log. Remember to keep the ropes on the ground always in a straight line without slanting them, otherwise the sides of your raft will not be at right angles to the ends, and it will be a crazily built affair, cranky and difficult to manage.

Chop notches on the outside logs where the ropes are to pass over them, and they will keep the rope from slipping out of place (Fig. 44). Cut two, more slender, logs for the ends of the raft and lash them on across the others as in Fig. 45. The end logs should extend a little beyond each side of the raft. Fasten a rope with a strong slip knot to one end of the cross log and wrap it over the log and under the first lengthwise log, then over and under again to form a cross on top. When the rope is under the second time bring it up between the second and third log, then down between the third and fourth log, and so on to the end, when you must make a secure fastening. These cross logs give additional strength, keep the raft in shape, and prevent its shipping too much water.

If you will make a miniature raft, following these directions carefully, when the time comes for you to build a full-sized one you will be quite familiar with the method of construction and will know exactly how to go about it.



For the little raft use small, straight branches about twelve inches long. Twist your slender rope of fibre if you can get it, of string if you cannot, and weave it around the sticks just as you would weave the rope around the logs, finishing off with the two end sticks for the end logs.

Poling

If you have a raft you must know how to pole it, and at times it is necessary to pole other kinds of craft. Select a straight pole of strong, green wood eight feet or more in length. The length of the pole will depend upon the depth of the water, for it must be long enough to reach bottom. Trim off all the small branches and make it as smooth as possible.

When the water is deep and calm a pole may sometimes be used as a paddle to send the raft along, but its real purpose is to push from the bottom. In poling you must necessarily stand near the edge of the raft and must therefore be careful not to lean too far over the water lest you lose your balance and fall in.

Poling is a primitive, go-as-you-please method of propelling a craft and is almost free from rules except those suggested by the common sense of the poler. Like the early pioneers, you simply do the best you can under the circumstances and are alert to take advantage of every element in your favor. Where there is a current you pole for it and then allow your raft to float with it, provided it goes in the direction you wish to take and is not too swift. In this case you use your pole for steering, which may sometimes be done from the stern, making a rudder of the pole, at others from the side, and at times reaching down to the river bed. If the current runs the wrong way be careful to keep out of it as much as possible.

Shallow water near the shore is usually the most quiet and the safest for a raft. Here you can generally pole your raft up-stream when the water is deep enough to float it and is not obstructed by rocks, logs, or snags. A raft is not safe where there is a swift current, and there should always be strong arms to manage it.

Swimming

If you will realize that your body is buoyant, not a dead weight in the water, and that swimming should come as naturally to you as to the wild creatures, it may help you to gain the confidence so essential in learning to swim. If you are not afraid of the water you will not struggle while in it, and the air in your lungs will keep you afloat while you learn to make the movements that will carry you along. You will not sink if you are quite calm and move only your hands under water with a slight paddling movement. Keep in mind that every inch above water but adds so much to the weight to sink you lower. To throw up your arms is the surest way of going straight to the bottom. Do not be afraid to allow the water to come up and partially cover your chin.

All sorts of contrivances have been invented to keep a person afloat while learning to swim, but they all tend to take from, rather than to give confidence, for it is natural to depend entirely upon them and to feel helpless when they are taken away. According to my own experience the best method is to have a friend place a hand under your chin while her feet are touching bottom and to walk with you while you learn to make the swimming movements. This will keep your head above water and give you a sense of security, and you will then strike out confidently. The support rendered is so slight you learn to manage your own weight in the water almost immediately, while you have the feeling that some one upholds you, and the friendly hand may be withdrawn at intervals to allow you to try entirely alone.

You see that after all it is the feeling of being supported more than the actual support that counts, and if you can convince yourself that you need no support you won't need it. It is best to start by swimming toward land instead of away from it. To know that you are not going beyond your depth but are gaining the shore is a great help in conquering fear.

Movements in Swimming

If you are learning alone, begin in quiet, shallow water only deep enough to float you; waist-high is sufficiently deep. Assume the first position for swimming by throwing your body forward with arms extended and palms of hands together, at the same time lifting your feet from the bottom with a spring. This should bring your body out perfectly straight in the water, feet together and arms ready for the first movement.

Now separate your hands, turn them palm outward, and swing your arms around in a half-circle until they extend straight out from the sides, pushing the water back with your hands. In the second movement bend your elbows and bring them down with palms of hands together under your chin, and at the same time draw your legs up under your body with knees and feet still held close together. The third movement is to send your arms shooting straight ahead, while your legs, separating, describe a half-circle and your feet pushing against the water force you forward and then come together again in the first position.

This is a point to be remembered: always thrust your hands forward, to open the way, and your feet back, to push yourself through it, at the same time. It is like a wire spring being freed at both ends at once, each end springing away from the middle. When you push the spring together, that is, when in taking the second movement you draw in your hands and feet, do it slowly; then take the third movement—letting the spring out—quickly, thrusting out your hands in front and your feet at the back with a sudden movement, pushing your feet strongly against the water and stretching yourself out as far as you can reach.



Floating

Some people can float who cannot swim. Others can swim but are not able to float. That is, they think they are not and do not seem willing to try, but it is quite necessary every one should know how to rest in the water, and learning to float is very essential.

The hand of a friend will help you in this as in learning to swim, but for floating it is held under the back of your head instead of under your chin. Lie on your back with legs straight before you, feet together, arms close at your sides, and head thrown back; trust the water to bear you up and all that is necessary to keep you afloat is a rotary motion of your hands under water. After a time all movement may be given up and you will lie easily and quietly as on a bed. It is said that it is easier for women and girls to float than for men, because their bones are lighter, and some learn to float the first time they enter the water; all of which is very encouraging to girls. Breathe deeply but naturally while floating, for the more air there is in your lungs the more buoyant will be your body and the higher it will float. If your body is inclined to roll from side to side spread out your arms under water until you steady yourself. If your feet persist in sinking extend your arms above your head under water and this will maintain the balance.

Do not try to lift your head, but keep it well back in the water. If your nose and mouth are out that is all that is necessary. Let your muscles relax and lie limply.

To regain your feet after floating bring your arms in front and pull on the water with scooped hands while raising your body from the hips.

Diving

You will learn to dive merely for the joy of the quick plunge into cool waters, but there are times when to understand diving may mean the saving of your own or some one else's life, and no matter how suddenly or unexpectedly you are cast into the water by accident, you will retain your self-possession and be able to strike out and swim immediately.