The Woodcraft Girls in the City Part 39

"Just what I have in mind, Eleanor. I shall have you all start practical and c.u.mbersome work this time," smiled Miss Miller, but to the eager questions of the girls, she maintained strict silence, merely saying:

"'Sufficient unto the day'-then you'll see what I have in mind for you."

CHAPTER FOURTEEN-WINTER WOODCRAFT WORK

"Girls, how many are willing to start making a tent?" said the Guide, at the next meeting in the gymnasium.

"A tent! Good gracious!" exclaimed Zan, while the other girls echoed their Chief's amazement.

"Easy as hemming a towel, if you know how," laughed Miss Miller.

"It sounds like a stupendous work, but I suppose Miss Miller will explain it so that a child like Teddy Remington can sit down and make one every day," laughed Jane.

"If you will try I will order the material to-day and show you how to begin the work," urged the Guide.

"All right, go ahead! I'm willing to sew my fingers to the bone if you say so," sighed Zan, who detested sewing.

The other girls laughed and Miss Miller immediately took up the telephone receiver and called up a department store. Her conversation showed that she had already priced materials and had all information at hand to start the tents without delay.

"Now, then, the stuff will be here Monday morning and we can start any time you like. We will allow fifteen yards of stuff for each tent. Four of you can work on one, for the completed tent will accommodate four cots. There being enough girls to work on five tents, I have ordered the material for five."

Once launched on this unusual task, the girls felt a certain pride in saying, "We are making our own tents for camp, you know," and when they heard the large bundle of canvas had arrived they were eager to work.

"First I will cut two strips of the goods, each strip being thirteen feet long. Then lap the selvage of one side over the other, about a quarter of an inch, and sew it down firmly with back-st.i.tching. If we had a machine it would be better still. There must be a double row of st.i.tching in case one row breaks in a strain or sudden yank.

"Now we will spread the whole piece out flat on the floor and fold over each end crosswise of the long strip toward the centre, and about two feet three inches from each end.

"These seams must be st.i.tched or double-seamed on the folds all the way down each fold, about three or four inches in from the outer edge of the fold. As this will be the place where the tent-ropes are fastened, you can st.i.tch it over and over four or five times, for it will have considerable strain come on it.

"The two unfinished ends of the strips will then have a narrow hem which will complete the roof and sides of the tent. "Cut the rest of the cloth into two strips about two feet and seven inches long for the front and back ends of the tent. Each of these is to be cut into two pieces with a slanting cut running from a side two feet one inch at one end to a point two feet one inch on the other side.

"The sharp pointed corners are cut off by folding over the cloth three inches from the edge and by cutting the first slanting edge. You can save these pieces to use for patches when you reinforce the roof at the ends of the ridge-pole.

"Now lay the two pieces together and lap so the points at the top are in the same position. St.i.tch down one selvage for a length of two feet and then straight across to the other selvage, and up to the top again.

"The section left loose is for a door-flap and tapes are to be sewed at places a foot from the bottom and also two feet up from the bottom. Hem each end of bottom and then sew the edges of the sides and slanting top to the sides and roof of the tent-body.

"For the ropes, you have to cut holes about half an inch in diameter right through the folds you st.i.tched down on each side of the roof section. These holes can be bound or b.u.t.ton-holed with a string, or those who prefer can use metal eyelets.

"You will need about eight feet of tent-rope for each pole, and a loop of rope should be sewed at the bottom of the tent below each hole to hold down the sides.

"When the tent is completed it should be raised between two straight tree trunks about five or six feet high, or two poles about the same height. A pole about six feet long will answer for the ridge-pole. When these are up, drive some pegs slant-ways into the ground about three feet away from each side of the tent, to fasten the ropes to, and then drive more pegs slant-ways for the loops of rope to slip over and hold firm.

"Now you will have a neat little tent ready for camping, but two important things still remain to be done-can anyone tell me what they are?" asked Miss Miller, as she concluded reading the directions she had written down on a paper.

The girls thought earnestly for a time, but no one seemed to grasp the need of anything else. Finally the Guide said:

"What would happen in case of a heavy rain-storm?"

"Oh, we must dig a trench about the outside for rain!" cried Zan, suddenly realising this important factor in camping.

"Yes, and a floor must be laid to keep us dry from the damp ground!"

added Jane.

"I had in mind the gutter for rainwater, but the floor is an important detail, too. I have a second item that is as important as either of the others, though," continued Miss Miller.

"Miss Miller," now said Elizabeth Remington, who was visiting the Tribe that afternoon, "If you select a spot high and dry on top of a knoll or hill where the sides carry water down away from your tent, you will not need to trench the circle to draw off rain from the ground where your tent stands. It is a natural water-shed."

"Ah, I see Elizabeth is a more experienced camper than I am, and I admit that she is better informed than I in this case," said the Guide, bowing.

"Another good plan, Miss Miller, is to select a place where the sun can shine in in the morning and dry out dampness from the cots and inside of the tent. In case you can't find a place with a natural water-shed in the ground, then a trench must be dug about a foot wide and nine inches deep, according to the size of your tent. I am figuring on this size tent. This trench should be led away from the doorway just as a leader on a roof carries the water from the building. Also dig a ca.n.a.l for some distance away from the tent to keep the water from backing up when there are sudden heavy showers. Otherwise, your place will be flooded from the over-flow of the trench."

"Fine! Tell us some more, Elizabeth," said the Guide.

"Well, mother has experimented and found that in tents made of such thin stuff as you have here, or with duck or ticking, it is advisable to water-proof it before using in camp."

"That was the second point I wanted the girls to find out and add to the rules," said Miss Miller, glad to hear the visitor was so well-versed in this work. "Oh, have Betsy tell us how to do it!" cried several girls.

"I have heard but forgotten. Now I'll get mother to write down the rules and bring it to you another time," said Elizabeth, sorry she could not oblige the Woodcrafters.

"And if anyone here wishes to know the secret before our next meeting, let her read Edward Stewart White's 'Forest,' or Seton's 'Woodcraft Book,' or the 'Boy Scout Manual,'," added the Guide.

"They also explain how to make tepees, Miss Miller," said Elizabeth.

"Yes, and a tepee is simpler to make than a tent, but this style tent is much roomier and so serviceable."

That meeting adjourned very promptly as the girls were not as eager to remain late sewing on heavy material as they were when there was dancing or singing.

But the tents were completed in time, and very proud the Woodcrafters felt of the great achievement.

During January, Miss Miller took them to many out-of-town points of interest. Almost every Sat.u.r.day was spent somewhere where the girls learned many new historical facts, or were able to place incidents heard of in connection with the place visited.

Thus, they visited Edgar Allan Poe's cottage and the old Revolutionary Mansions left in certain localities of New York.

They took the Hudson Tube to Fulton Street, thence the Broadway subway to 2O7th Street. Here they took a cross-town car to Fordham Road and walked north along the Concourse to Poe Park. The cottage where Poe lived and wrote many of his famous poems is standing here, and directly opposite the cottage is a bust of Poe, erected on the centenary of his birth, January 19th, 1909.

Another trip that cost very little and was most interesting was a visit to Governor's Island. The boat left the Battery, and on the Island they visited the Military Museum, the Military Prison, the Abandoned Fort, and the Aviation Station. An aeroplane rose and practised even while the Tribe watched it from the Field.

Another Sat.u.r.day, the Guide started them early in the morning and they visited Sing Sing, watching the men at work at their trades and seeing the wonderful law and discipline maintained there. On the way back from Ossining, they trolleyed to Dobbs' Ferry and visited the old Washington Headquarters there. It has been purchased and restored to its original interesting state by a loyal American Patriot, who discovered in time that a brewery was negotiating to purchase the estate and turn it into a road-house. Thanks to the generous Patriot, such a desecration was spared the Nation!

One of the outings included visits to historical places in Brooklyn, and the girls were surprised to find many relics of the Revolutionary period still in good order in various sections of this city.

Beginning with February, Mrs. Remington expressed a wish to visit a Council at the Gymnasium and suggest some work to the girls. They immediately replied with an enthusiastic invitation for her to visit them Friday evening.