Camp cookery (Kephart)

One of the most bothersome things in shifting camp is to secure opened cans and bottles from spilling. Surgeon's plaster does the trick in a twinkling. Put a little square of it over each hole in the milk can that you opened for break- fast, and there will be no leakage. To hold a cork in a bottle, stick a narrow strip of the plaster over the cork and down opposite sides of the bot- tle's neck. To protect the bottle from breaking, run a strip around it at top and one at bottom. The caps of baking powder cans or similar tins can be secured to the bodies in the same way. With a broad strip you can seal a box or chest water-tight, stop a leak in a canoe, or mend a broken rod, a paddle, a gunstock, or even an axe- handle (first nailing it). A chest or cupboard can be extemporized from any packing box, in a jiffy, by cleating the top and using surgeon's plaster for hinges. Camp chests are very convenient when it is practicable to carry them; but they should be small, weighing not over fifty or sixty pounds each when packed, so that one man can easily handle them unassisted. If they are specially made, Cot- tonwood is the best material (if thoroughly sea- soned boards can be had — otherwise it warps abominably). It is the strongest and toughest PROVISIONS. 17 wood for its weight that we have, and will not splinter. For the ends and lids of small chests, ^-inch stuff is thick enough, and ^-inch for the sides, bottoms, and trays. The bottom should have a pair of ^-inch cleats for risers and the top a similar jDair to keep it from warping, unless the chests are to go on pack animals. Strap-hinges and hasp, a brass padlock and broad leather end- straps (not drop-handles) should be provided, and the chest painted. The best size is 24x18x9 inches, this being con- venient for canoes and pack-saddles. A pine gro- cery box of this size, with %-inch ends and ^-inch sides, top, and bottom, weighs only 10 pounds, and will answer the purpose very well. Screw a wooden handle on each end, say 5x2 inches, with a hand-hold gouged out of the un- der side. Check off every article in the outfit as it is stowed, and keep the inventory for future refer- ence. Then note what is left over at the end of the trip. This will help in outfitting for the next season. CHAPTER IL UTENSILS. A PARTY going into fixed camp, within wagon call of the railroad, can carry a sheet-steel stove. A good pattern is the Klondike stove shown in the illustration. Its best feature is the size of the fire-box, which takes in wood twenty-eight inches long and thick enough to keep an all-night fire, the stove being closed air- tight. The top of the Klondike, 14x30 inches, is free for utensils; the oven, above it, takes a 10x14 pan for baking or roasting. Oven, legs, and pipe stow inside the body of the stove, leaving space for a 12xl3x9%-inch galvanized box that holds cooking utensils for four persons and can be used in camp as a dish-pan or as a vermin-proof box for provisions. When packed for transportation, the stove measures 30x11x12 inches, and weighs 29 pounds (complete with box and utensils, 43^ pounds).