Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

24 CAMPING AND WOODCRAFTfor himself in an emergency. He may employguides and a cook — all that ; but the day of disastermay come, the outfitmay be destroyed, or thecity man may find himself some day alone, lost inthe forest, and compelled to meet the forces ofNature in a struggle for his life. Then it may gohard with him indeed if he be not only master ofhimself, but of that woodcraft which holds the keyto Nature's storehouse. A camper should know forhimself how to outfit, how to select and make acamp, how to wield an axe and make proper fires,how to cook, wash, mend, how to travel withoutlosing his course, or what to do when he has lostit; how to trail, hunt, shoot, fish, dress game, manageboat or canoe, and how to extemporize suchmakeshifts as may be needed in wilderness faring.And he should know these things as he does the wayto his mouth. Then is he truly a woodsman, sureto do promptly the right thing at the right time,whatever befalls. Such a man has an honest pridein his own resourcefulness, a sense of reserve force, adoughty self-reliance that is good to feel. His isthe confidence of the lone sailorman, who whistlesas he puts his tiny bark out to sea.And there are many of us who, through some miscueof the Fates, are not rich enough to give carteblanche orders over the counter. We would likesilk tents, air mattresses, fiber packing cases, and allthat sort of thing; but we would soon " go broke "if we started in at that rate. I am saying nothingabout guns, rods, reels, and such-like, because theyare the things that every well conducted sportsmangoes broke on, anyway, as a matter of course. I amspeaking only of such purchases as might be thoughtextravagant. And it is conceivable that some folksmight call it extravagant to pay thirty-five dollarsfor a thing to sleep in when you lie out of doors onthe ground from choice, or thirty dollars for potsand pans to cook with when you are '*playing hobo,''as the unregenerate call our sjdvan sport. To