60 chapters
5 hour read
Selected Chapters
60 chapters
FOREWORD
FOREWORD
As this book is written for boys of all ages, it has been divided under two general heads, "The Tomahawk Camps" and "The Axe Camps," that is, camps which may be built with no tool but a hatchet, and camps that will need the aid of an axe. The smallest boys can build some of the simple shelters and the older boys can build the more difficult ones. The reader may, if he likes, begin with the first of the book, build his way through it, and graduate by building the log houses; in doing this he will
8 minute read
I WHERE TO FIND MOUNTAIN GOOSE. HOW TO PICK AND USE ITS FEATHERS
I WHERE TO FIND MOUNTAIN GOOSE. HOW TO PICK AND USE ITS FEATHERS
It may be necessary for me to remind the boys that they must use the material at hand in building their shacks, shelters, sheds, and shanties, and that they are very fortunate if their camp is located in a country where the mountain goose is to be found. From Labrador down to the northwestern borders of New England and New York and from thence to southwestern Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee, the woodsman and camper may make their beds from the feathers of the "mountain goose." The mounta
5 minute read
II THE HALF-CAVE SHELTER
II THE HALF-CAVE SHELTER
The first object of a roof of any kind is protection against the weather; no shelter is necessary in fair weather unless the sun in the day or the dampness or coolness of the night cause discomfort. In parts of the West there is so little rain that a tent is often an unnecessary burden, but in the East and the other parts of the country some sort of shelter is necessary for health and comfort. The original American was always quick to see the advantages offered by an overhanging cliff for a camp
2 minute read
III HOW TO MAKE THE FALLEN-TREE SHELTER AND THE SCOUT-MASTER
III HOW TO MAKE THE FALLEN-TREE SHELTER AND THE SCOUT-MASTER
Now that you know how to make a bed in a half cave, we will take up the most simple and primitive manufactured shelters. For a one-man one-night stand, select a thick-foliaged fir-tree and cut it partly through the trunk so that it will fall as shown in Fig. 11 ; then trim off the branches on the under-side so as to leave room to make your bed beneath the branches; next trim the branches off the top or roof of the trunk and with them thatch the roof. Do this by setting the branches with their bu
3 minute read
IV HOW TO MAKE THE ADIRONDACK, THE WICK-UP, THE BARK TEEPEE, THE PIONEER, AND THE SCOUT
IV HOW TO MAKE THE ADIRONDACK, THE WICK-UP, THE BARK TEEPEE, THE PIONEER, AND THE SCOUT
The next shelter is what is generally known as the Adirondack shelter, which is a lean-to open in the front like a "Baker" or a "Dan Beard" tent. Although it is popularly called the Adirondack camp, it antedates the time when the Adirondacks were first used as a fashionable resort. Daniel Boone was wont to make such a camp in the forests of Kentucky. The lean-to or Adirondack camp is easily made and very popular. Sometimes two of them are built facing each other with an open space between for th
2 minute read
V HOW TO MAKE BEAVER-MAT HUTS OR FAGOT SHACKS WITHOUT INJURY TO THE TREES
V HOW TO MAKE BEAVER-MAT HUTS OR FAGOT SHACKS WITHOUT INJURY TO THE TREES
In building a shelter use every and any thing handy for the purpose; ofttimes an uprooted tree will furnish a well-made adobe wall, where the spreading roots have torn off the surface soil as the tree fell and what was the under-side is now an exposed wall of clay, against which you may rest the poles for the roof of a lean-to. Or the side of the cliff ( Fig. 23 ) may offer you the same opportunity. Maybe two or three trees will be found willing to act as uprights ( Fig. 24 ). Where you use a wa
4 minute read
VI INDIAN SHACKS AND SHELTERS
VI INDIAN SHACKS AND SHELTERS
While the ingenuity of the white man may make improvements upon the wick-ups, arbors, huts, and shelters of the native red man, we must not forget that these native shelters have been used with success by the Indians for centuries, also we must not forget that our principal objection to many of them lies in the fact that they are ill ventilated and dirty, both of which defects may be remedied without materially departing from the lines laid down by the savage architects. The making of windows wi
5 minute read
VII BIRCH BARK OR TAR PAPER SHACK
VII BIRCH BARK OR TAR PAPER SHACK
A description of the Pontiac was first published in my "Field and Forest Handy Book," a book which contains several shelters similar to the ones here given, most of which were originally made for Caspar Whitney while he was editor of Outing . The Pontiac, as here given, is my own design and invention ( Fig. 36 ). It is supposed to be shingled with birch bark, but, as is the case with all these camps, other bark may be substituted for the birch, and, if no bark is within reach and you are near en
3 minute read
VIII INDIAN COMMUNAL HOUSES
VIII INDIAN COMMUNAL HOUSES
When the French Communists were raising Cain in Europe they doubtless thought their idea was practically new, but thousands of years before they bore the red banner through the streets of Paris the American Indians were living quiet and peaceful communal lives on this continent; when I use the words quiet and peaceful , I, of course, mean as regards their own particular commune and not taking into account their attitude toward their neighbors. The Pueblo Indians built themselves adobe communal h
5 minute read
IX BARK AND TAR PAPER
IX BARK AND TAR PAPER
To further illustrate the use of bark and tar paper, I have made the sketches shown by Figs. 46 , 47 , and 48 . Fig. 47 is a log shack with an arched roof drawn from a photograph in my collection. To keep the interior warm not only the roof but the sides of the house as well have been shingled with bark, leaving only the ends of the logs protruding to tell of what material the house is really constructed. Fig. 47 shows a fisherman's hut made with a few sticks and bark. Fig. 48 shows a tar paper
1 minute read
X A SAWED-LUMBER SHANTY
X A SAWED-LUMBER SHANTY
Before we proceed any further it may be best to give the plan of a workshop, a camp, an outhouse, or a shed to be made of sawed lumber, the framework of which is made of what is known as two-by-fours, that is, pieces of lumber two inches thick by four inches wide. The plans used here are from my book "The Jack of All Trades," but the dimensions may be altered to suit your convenience. The sills, which are four inches by four inches, are also supposed to be made by nailing two two-by-fours togeth
10 minute read
XI A SOD HOUSE FOR THE LAWN
XI A SOD HOUSE FOR THE LAWN
The difference between this sod house and the ones used in the arid regions consists in the fact that the sod will be growing on the sod house, which is intended for and is an ornamental building for the lawn. Possibly one might say that the sod house is an effete product of civilization where utility is sacrificed to display; but it is pretty, and beauty is always worth while; besides which the same plans may be used in building and practically are used in some of the desert ranches along the C
4 minute read
XII HOW TO BUILD ELEVATED SHACKS, SHANTIES, AND SHELTERS
XII HOW TO BUILD ELEVATED SHACKS, SHANTIES, AND SHELTERS
For many reasons it is sometimes necessary or advisable to have one's camp on stilts, so to speak. Especially is this true in the more tropical countries where noxious serpents and insects abound. A simple form of stilted shack is shown by Fig. 63. To build this shack we must first erect an elevated platform ( Fig. 64 ). This is made by setting four forked sticks of equal height in the ground and any height from the ground to suit the ideas of the camp builder. If, for some reason, the uprights
1 minute read
XIII THE BOG KEN
XIII THE BOG KEN
Ken is a name now almost obsolete but the bog ken is a house built on stilts where the ground is marshy, damp, and unfit to sleep upon. As you will see by the diagram ( Fig. 66 ), the house is built upon a platform similar to the one last described; in this instance, however, the shelter itself is formed by a series of arches similar to the Iroquois ( Fig. 41 ). The uprights on the two sides have their ends bent over and lashed together, forming arches for the roof. Over the arches are lashed ho
6 minute read
XIV OVER-WATER CAMPS
XIV OVER-WATER CAMPS
Now that we know how to camp on solid ground and on the quaking bog we cannot finish up the subject of stilt camps without including one over-water camp. If the water has a muddy bottom it is a simple matter to force your supporting posts into the mud; this may be done by driving them in with a wooden mallet made of a section of log or it may be done by fastening poles on each side of the post and having a crowd of men jump up and down on the poles until the posts are forced into the bottom. If
2 minute read
XV SIGNAL-TOWER, GAME LOOKOUT, AND RUSTIC OBSERVATORY
XV SIGNAL-TOWER, GAME LOOKOUT, AND RUSTIC OBSERVATORY
If my present reader happens to be a Boy Scout or a scout-master who wants the scouts to build a tower for exhibition purposes, he can do so by following the directions here given, but if there is real necessity for haste in the erection of this tower, of course we cannot build one as tall as we might where we have more time. With a small tower all the joints may be quickly lashed together with strong, heavy twine, rope, or even wire; and in the wilderness it will probably be necessary to bind t
7 minute read
XVI TREE-TOP HOUSES
XVI TREE-TOP HOUSES
By the natural process of evolution we have now arrived at the tree-top house. It is interesting to the writer to see the popularity of this style of an outdoor building, for, while he cannot lay claim to originating it, he was the first to publish the working drawings of a tree-house. These plans first appeared in Harper's Round Table ; afterward he made others for the Ladies' Home Journal and later published them in "The Jack of All Trades." Having occasion to travel across the continent short
6 minute read
XVII CACHES
XVII CACHES
The difference between tomahawk shacks and axe houses reminds me of the difference between the ileum and the jejunum, of which my classmate once said: "There is no way of telling the beginning of one or the ending of t'other 'cept by the pale-pinkish hue of the latter." It must be confessed that some of the shacks described in the preceding pages are rather stout and massive to be classed as tomahawk shelters, but, as indicated by my reference to physiology, this is not the writer's fault. The t
5 minute read
XVIII HOW TO USE AN AXE
XVIII HOW TO USE AN AXE
The old backwoodsmen were as expert with their axes as they were with their rifles and they were just as careful in the selection of these tools as they were in the selection of their arms. Many a time I have seen them pick up a "store" axe, sight along the handle, and then cast it contemptuously aside; they demanded of their axes that the cutting edge should be exactly in line with the point in the centre of the butt end of the handle. They also kept their axes so sharp that they could whittle
4 minute read
XIX HOW TO SPLIT LOGS, MAKE SHAKES, SPLITS, OR CLAPBOARDS. HOW TO CHOP A LOG IN HALF. HOW TO FLATTEN A LOG. ALSO SOME DON'TS
XIX HOW TO SPLIT LOGS, MAKE SHAKES, SPLITS, OR CLAPBOARDS. HOW TO CHOP A LOG IN HALF. HOW TO FLATTEN A LOG. ALSO SOME DON'TS
Logs are usually split by the use of wedges, but it is possible to split them by the use of two axes. Fig. 119 shows both methods. To split with the axe, strike it smartly into the wood at the small end so as to start a crack, then sink the axe in the crack, A . Next take the second axe and strike it in line with the first one at B . If this is done properly it should open the crack wide enough to release the first axe without trouble, which may then be struck in the log at C . In this manner it
7 minute read
XX AXEMEN'S CAMPS
XX AXEMEN'S CAMPS
Now that we know how to wield the axe we can begin on more ambitious structures than those preceding. We may now build camps in which we use logs instead of poles. Most of these camps are intended to be covered with sod or earth and are nearly related to the old prairie dugout. The sod house is used in the arctic regions because it is warm inside, and it is used in the arid regions because it is cool inside. You will note that the principle on which the Stefansson is constructed ( Fig. 135 ) is
3 minute read
XXI RAILROAD-TIE SHACKS, BARREL SHACKS, AND CHIMEHUEVIS
XXI RAILROAD-TIE SHACKS, BARREL SHACKS, AND CHIMEHUEVIS
No observing person has travelled far upon the American railroads without noticing, alongside the tracks, the queer little houses built of railroad ties by Italian laborers. These shacks are known by the name of dagoes ( Fig. 136 ) and are made in different forms, according to the ingenuity of the builder. The simplest form is the tent-shaped shown in Fig. 136 , with the ends of the ties rested together in the form of a tent and with no other support but their own weight (see the diagram to the
3 minute read
XXII THE BARABARA
XXII THE BARABARA
The houses along the coast of the Bering Sea are called barabaras, but the ones that we are going to build now are in form almost identical with the Pawnee hogan (Figs. 42 and 43 ), the real difference being in the peculiar log work of the barabara in place of the teepee-like rafters of the said hogan. To build a barabara you will need eight short posts for the outside wall and six or eight longer posts for the inside supports ( Fig. 145 ). The outside posts should stand about three feet above t
4 minute read
XXIII THE NAVAJO HOGAN, HORNADAY DUGOUT, AND SOD HOUSE
XXIII THE NAVAJO HOGAN, HORNADAY DUGOUT, AND SOD HOUSE
If the reader has ever built little log-cabin traps he knows just how to build a Navajo hogan or at least the particular Navajo hogan shown by Figs. 148 and 150 . This one is six-sided and may be improved by notching the logs (Figs. 162 , 164 , 165 ) and building them up one on top of the other, dome-shaped, to the required height. After laying some rafters for the roof and leaving a hole for the chimney the frame is complete. In hot countries no chimney hole is left in the roof, because the peo
2 minute read
XXIV HOW TO BUILD AN AMERICAN BOY'S HOGAN
XXIV HOW TO BUILD AN AMERICAN BOY'S HOGAN
The first time any working plans of an underground house for boys were published was when an article by the present writer on the subject appeared in the Ladies' Home Journal . Afterward it was published with a lot of similar material in "The Jack of All Trades." Since then other writers have not hesitated to use the author's sketches with very little alteration; imitation is the sincerest compliment, although it is not always fair, but it does, however, show the popularity of the underground-ho
9 minute read
XXV HOW TO CUT AND NOTCH LOGS
XXV HOW TO CUT AND NOTCH LOGS
Boys you have now passed through the grammar school of shack making, you are older than you were when you began, you have acquired more skill and more muscle, and it is time to begin to handle the woodsman's axe, to handle it skilfully and to use it as a tool with which to fashion anything from a table to a two-story house. None of you is too young to learn to use the axe. General Grant, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Billy Sunday—all of them could wield an axe by the time they were eight o
4 minute read
XXVI NOTCHED LOG LADDERS
XXVI NOTCHED LOG LADDERS
Ever since man learned to use edged tools he has made ladders or steps, or whatever you may call them, by notching logs (Figs. 169 and 170 ). Fig. 169. Fig. 170. A few years ago I took a splendid trip among the unnamed lakes and in what is known as "the unexplored country"—that is, the unmapped country of northwestern Quebec. We travelled over trails that had not been changed by man since canoes were invented. The forests were untouched by the axe of the white man. There were no roads, no houses
1 minute read
XXVII A POLE HOUSE. HOW TO USE A CROSS-CUT SAW AND A FROE
XXVII A POLE HOUSE. HOW TO USE A CROSS-CUT SAW AND A FROE
Fig. 171 shows a pole house—that is, a house, the walls of which are made by setting straight poles up on end with sides against each other and nailing a beam across the top ( Fig. 172 ) and toe-nailing them ( Fig. 173 ); that is, driving the nails slantingly down through the poles to the sill beneath. Fig. 172 shows how to nail them to the top beam or side-plate. To build a pole house, erect the four corner-posts and any intermediate posts which may be necessary, nailing the plates on top of th
3 minute read
XXVIII LOG-ROLLING AND OTHER BUILDING STUNTS
XXVIII LOG-ROLLING AND OTHER BUILDING STUNTS
Of course my readers know all about geometry, but if by the rarest of chances one of them should not it will not prevent him from using that science to square the corners of his log cabin. Builders always have a ten-foot measuring rod—that is, a rod or straight stick ten feet long and marked with a line at each foot from end to end. Make your own ten-foot pole of as straight a piece of wood as you can find. With it measure six feet carefully on the log C , G ( Fig. 180 ) and mark the point at O
3 minute read
XXIX THE ADIRONDACK OPEN LOG CAMP AND A ONE-ROOM CABIN
XXIX THE ADIRONDACK OPEN LOG CAMP AND A ONE-ROOM CABIN
Not satisfied with the open brush Adirondack camp, the men in those woods often build such camps of logs with a puncheon floor and a roof of real shingles. The sketch ( Fig. 184 ) is made from such a camp. At the rear the logs are notched and placed like those of a log house (Figs. 162 , 163 , 164 , 166 ), but the front ends of the side logs are toe-nailed ( Fig. 173 ) to the two upright supports. In this particular camp the logs are also flattened on the inside in order to give a smoother finis
1 minute read
XXX THE NORTHLAND TILT AND INDIAN LOG TENT
XXX THE NORTHLAND TILT AND INDIAN LOG TENT
Some years ago in the north country the Indians built themselves log tents like the one shown in Fig. 187. These were the winter houses in the north country. A ridge-pole was set up on two forked sticks and the logs slanted up against each other and rested upon that pole. Smaller poles were then laid up against this frame, both front and rear, all of which could then be covered with sod or browse and made into a warm winter house. My boy readers may build a similar house by using small poles ins
1 minute read
CHAPTER XXXI HOW TO BUILD THE RED JACKET, THE NEW BRUNSWICK, AND THE CHRISTOPHER GIST
CHAPTER XXXI HOW TO BUILD THE RED JACKET, THE NEW BRUNSWICK, AND THE CHRISTOPHER GIST
The "Red Jacket" is another camp; but this, you see, has straight walls, marking it as a white man's camp in form not apparently borrowed from the red men. It is, however, a good, comfortable, rough camp and Figs. 190 and 191 show how it was evolved or grew. To build the Red Jacket one will first have to know how to build the more simple forms which we call the New Brunswick, then the next step will be the Christopher Gist, and last the Red Jacket. We will now begin with the New Brunswick. By re
4 minute read
XXXII CABIN DOORS AND DOOR-LATCHES, THUMB-LATCHES AND FOOT LATCHES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM
XXXII CABIN DOORS AND DOOR-LATCHES, THUMB-LATCHES AND FOOT LATCHES AND HOW TO MAKE THEM
Perhaps my reader has noticed that, although many of the descriptions of how to build the shacks, shanties, shelters, camps, sheds, tilts, and so forth are given with somewhat minute details, little or nothing has been said regarding the doors and door-latches. Of course we have no doors on the open Adirondack camp, but we have passed the open camps now and are well into cabin work, and all cabins have some sort of a door. All doors have, or should have, some sort of a door-latch, so the doors a
6 minute read
XXXIII SECRET LOCKS
XXXIII SECRET LOCKS
Secret locks are more useful than strong ones for a country house which is left alone during the winter months, for it is not so much cupidity which causes such houses to be broken into as it is the curiosity of the native boys. But while these lads often do not hesitate to force or pick a lock they will seldom go as far as to smash a door to effect an entrance; hence, if your lock is concealed your house is safe from all but professional thieves, and such gentry seldom waste their time to break
5 minute read
XXXIV HOW TO MAKE THE BOW-ARROW CABIN DOOR AND LATCH AND THE DEMING TWIN BOLTS, HALL, AND BILLY
XXXIV HOW TO MAKE THE BOW-ARROW CABIN DOOR AND LATCH AND THE DEMING TWIN BOLTS, HALL, AND BILLY
Fig. 209 shows the inside of the door with the wooden latch in place. You may use planks from the sawmill for the door in place of splitting them from spruce logs, as the ones here are supposed to be. The battens ( A , B , C ) are made of birch, but you may use any material at hand for them. The hinges (Figs. E , 211 D , 210 ) are made of birch sticks whittled off at the top so as to leave a peg (Fig. E , 211 ) to work in a hole in the flattened end of the horizontal battens ( A and C , Fig. 209
5 minute read
XXXV THE AURES LOCK LATCH
XXXV THE AURES LOCK LATCH
The Aures lock differs from the preceding ones in the use of metal springs, but wooden ones may be substituted; for instance, a wooden spring like the one in Fig. 209 may be put under the bolt or latch shown in Fig. 219 , which is practically the same latch; that is, if you turn the latch in Fig. 209 upside down it will make the latch shown in Fig. 219 ; also, if you take the bolt or lock B in Fig. 219 and make it of one piece of wood with a spring to it, like the one shown in Fig. 208 or Fig. 2
7 minute read
XXXVI THE AMERICAN LOG CABIN
XXXVI THE AMERICAN LOG CABIN
Now that we know how to make doors and door-latches, locks, bolts, and bars, we may busy ourselves with building an American log cabin. It is all well enough to build our shacks and shanties and camps of logs with the bark on them, but, when one wishes to build a log cabin, one wants a house that will last. Abraham Lincoln's log cabin is still in existence, but it was built of logs with no bark on them. There is a two-story log house still standing in Dayton, O.; it is said to have been built be
10 minute read
XXXVII A HUNTER'S OR FISHERMAN'S CABIN
XXXVII A HUNTER'S OR FISHERMAN'S CABIN
In all the hilly and mountainous States there are tracts of forest lands and waste lands of no use to the farmer and of no use to settlers, but such places offer ideal spots for summer camps for boys and naturalists, for fishermen and sportsmen, and here they may erect their cabins ( see Frontispiece ) and enjoy themselves in a healthy, natural manner. These cabins will vary according to the wants of the owners, according to the material at hand and the land upon which they are built. By extendi
1 minute read
XXXVIII HOW TO MAKE A WYOMING OLEBO, A HOKO RIVER OLEBO, A SHAKE CABIN, A CANADIAN MOSSBACK, AND A TWO-PEN OR SOUTHERN SADDLE-BAG HOUSE
XXXVIII HOW TO MAKE A WYOMING OLEBO, A HOKO RIVER OLEBO, A SHAKE CABIN, A CANADIAN MOSSBACK, AND A TWO-PEN OR SOUTHERN SADDLE-BAG HOUSE
One of the charms of a log-cabin building is the many possibilities of novelties suggested by the logs themselves. In the hunter's cabin ( see Frontispiece ) we have seen how the ends of the logs were allowed to stick out in front and form a rail for the front stoop; the builders of the olebos have followed this idea still further. In Fig. 236 we see that the side walls of the pen are allowed to extend on each side so as to enclose a roofed-over open-air room, or, if you choose to so call it, a
7 minute read
XXXIX NATIVE NAMES FOR THE PARTS OF A KANUCK LOG CABIN, AND HOW TO BUILD ONE
XXXIX NATIVE NAMES FOR THE PARTS OF A KANUCK LOG CABIN, AND HOW TO BUILD ONE
If the writer forgets himself once in a while and uses words not familiar to his boy readers, he hopes they will forgive him and put all such slips down as the result of leaving boys' company once in a while and associating with men. The reader knows that men dearly love big, ungainly words and that just as soon as boys do something worth while the men get busy hunting up some top-heavy name for it. When one is talking of foreign things, however, it is well to give the foreign names for those th
6 minute read
XL HOW TO MAKE A POLE HOUSE AND HOW TO MAKE A UNIQUE BUT THOROUGHLY AMERICAN TOTEM LOG HOUSE
XL HOW TO MAKE A POLE HOUSE AND HOW TO MAKE A UNIQUE BUT THOROUGHLY AMERICAN TOTEM LOG HOUSE
A pole house is a log house with the logs set upright. We call it a pole house because, usually, the logs are smaller than those used for a log house. The pole house ( Fig. 250 ) is built in the manner shown by Figs. 171 , 172 , and 173 , but in the present instance the ridge-pole is a log which is allowed to extend some distance beyond the house both in front and rear, and the front end of the ridge-pole is carved in the shape of a grotesque or comical animal's head like those we see on totem-p
8 minute read
XLI HOW TO BUILD A SUSITNA LOG CABIN AND HOW TO CUT TREES FOR THE END PLATES
XLI HOW TO BUILD A SUSITNA LOG CABIN AND HOW TO CUT TREES FOR THE END PLATES
Standing on a hill overlooking the salt meadows at Hunter's Point, L. I., there was an old farmhouse the roof of which projected over both sides of the house four or five feet. The hill on which it stood has been cut away, the meadows which it overlooked have been filled up with the dirt from the hill, and only a surveyor with his transit and the old property-lines map before him could ever find the former location of this house, but it is somewhere among the tracks of the Long Island Railroad.
4 minute read
XLII HOW TO MAKE A FIREPLACE AND CHIMNEY FOR A SIMPLE LOG CABIN
XLII HOW TO MAKE A FIREPLACE AND CHIMNEY FOR A SIMPLE LOG CABIN
Fig. 269 shows a simple form of fireplace which is practically the granddaddy of all the other fireplaces. It consists of three walls for windbreaks, laid up in stone or sod against some stakes driven in the ground for the purpose of supporting them. The four-cornered stakes are notched or forked and small logs are laid horizontally in these forks and on top of this a pyramidal form of a log pen is built of small logs and billets, and this answers the purpose of a chimney. This style of fireplac
5 minute read
XLIII HEARTHSTONES AND FIREPLACES
XLIII HEARTHSTONES AND FIREPLACES
In erecting the fireplace for your cabin the stone work should extend into the cabin itself, thus protecting the ends of the logs from the fire. The stone over the top of the fireplace ( A , B , Fig. 274 ) rests upon two iron bars; these iron bars are necessary for safety because, although the stone A , B may bridge the fireplace successfully, the settling of the chimney or the heat of the fire is liable to crack the stone, in which case, unless it is supported by two flat iron bars, it will fal
2 minute read
XLIV MORE HEARTHS AND FIREPLACES
XLIV MORE HEARTHS AND FIREPLACES
Sometimes it is desired to have a fireplace in the middle of the room. Personally, such a fireplace does not appeal to me, but there are other people who like the novelty of such a fireplace, and Fig. 276 shows one constructed of rough stones. The fireplace is high so that one tending it does not have to stoop and get a backache. The foundation should be built in the ground underneath the cabin and up through the floor. A flat stone covers the top of the fireplace, as in the other drawings. Fig.
2 minute read
XLV FIREPLACES AND THE ART OF TENDING THE FIRE
XLV FIREPLACES AND THE ART OF TENDING THE FIRE
One of my readers has written to me asking what to do about a fireplace that smokes. Not knowing the fireplace in question, I cannot prescribe for that particular invalid, but I have a long acquaintance with many fireplaces that smoke and fireplaces that do not—in other words, healthy fireplaces with a good digestion and diseased fireplaces functionally wrong with poor digestion—so perhaps the easiest way to answer these questions is to describe a few of my acquaintances among the fireplaces whi
6 minute read
XLVI THE BUILDING OF THE LOG HOUSE
XLVI THE BUILDING OF THE LOG HOUSE
Our log house on the shore of Big Tink Pond, Pike County, Pa., was built long before the general public had been educated to enjoy the subtle charms of wild nature, at a time when nature-study was confined to scientists and children, and long before it was fashionable to have wild fowl on one's lawn and wild flowers in one's garden. At that time only a few unconventional souls spent their vacations out of sight of summer hotels, camping on the mountain or forest trails. The present state of the
7 minute read
XLVII HOW TO LAY A TAR PAPER, BIRCH BARK, OR PATENT ROOFING
XLVII HOW TO LAY A TAR PAPER, BIRCH BARK, OR PATENT ROOFING
Birch bark and patent roofing are more pliable than tin or shingles, consequently taking less time to lay and making it easier work. In very cold weather put your patent roofing in a warm room a few hours before using it. Never try to cut birch bark, tar paper, or patent roofing with a dull knife. No matter what sort of roofing material is used, do not forget the great importance of the roofing foundation (Figs. 296 and 298 ). If the foundation is poor or uneven the roofing will be poor and unev
15 minute read
XLVIII HOW TO MAKE A CONCEALED LOG CABIN INSIDE OF A MODERN HOUSE
XLVIII HOW TO MAKE A CONCEALED LOG CABIN INSIDE OF A MODERN HOUSE
It was because the writer knew that a great many men and all the boys rebelled against the conventionalities and restrictions of a modern house that he first invented and suggested the surprise den and told how to make one years ago in the Outing magazine. Since that article appeared the idea has been adopted by a number of people. There is a beautiful one in Toledo, O., where the writer was entertained during the floods, and Doctor Root, of Hartford, Conn., has even a better one in his home in
6 minute read
XLIX HOW TO BUILD APPROPRIATE GATEWAYS FOR GROUNDS ENCLOSING LOG HOUSES, GAME PRESERVES, RANCHES, BIG COUNTRY ESTATES, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST BOY SCOUTS' CAMP GROUNDS
XLIX HOW TO BUILD APPROPRIATE GATEWAYS FOR GROUNDS ENCLOSING LOG HOUSES, GAME PRESERVES, RANCHES, BIG COUNTRY ESTATES, AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST BOY SCOUTS' CAMP GROUNDS
The great danger with rustic work is the temptation, to which most builders yield, to make it too fancy and intricate in place of practical and simple. Figs. 323 , 324 , 325 , and 326 are as ornamental as one can make them without incurring the danger of being overdone, too ornate, too fancy to be really appropriate. Fig. 323. Fig. 324. Fig. 325. Fig. 326. Fig. 328 is a gate made of upright logs with bevelled tops protected by plank acting as a roof, and a flattened log fitting across the top. T
5 minute read
Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties
Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties
Illustrated by the Author $1.25 net He gives easily workable directions, accompanied by very full illustration, for over fifty shelters, shacks, and shanties, ranging from the most primitive shelter to a fully equipped log cabin. Boys will find it an invaluable guide in constructing temporary or permanent shelters in their hikes or encampments. A Handy Book for Beginners Illustrated by the Author $1.00 net The directions for making boats are practical and illustrated by simple diagrams, and the
1 minute read
The Jack of All Trades
The Jack of All Trades
Or, New Ideas for American Boys Illustrated by the Author $1.50 net "Every boy who is handy with tools of any sort will enjoy this book."— Youth's Companion. "Full of new ideas for active boys who like to use tools and see interesting things growing under their hands."— New York Tribune. "A perfect treasure-house of things that delight the soul of a boy."— The Interior. For Playground, Field and Forest Illustrated by the Author $1.50 net "It tells how to play all sorts of games with marbles, how
1 minute read
The Outdoor Handy Book
The Outdoor Handy Book
"It tells how to play all sorts of games with marbles, how to make and spin more kinds of tops than most boys ever heard of, how to make the latest things in plain and fancy kites, where to dig bait and how to fish, all about boats and sailing, and a host of other things which can be done out of doors. The volume is profusely illustrated and will be an unmixed delight to any boy."— New York Tribune....
22 minute read
The American Boys Handy Book
The American Boys Handy Book
Or, What To Do and How To Do It "It tells boys how to make all kinds of things—boats, traps, toys, puzzles, aquariums, fishing tackle; how to tie knots, splice ropes, make bird calls, sleds, blow guns, balloons; how to rear wild birds, to train dogs, and do a thousand and one things that boys take delight in. The book is illustrated in such a way that no mistake can be made; and the boy who gets a copy of this book will consider himself set up in business."— The Indianapolis Journal....
33 minute read
Handicraft and Recreation for Girls
Handicraft and Recreation for Girls
With over 700 illustrations by the Authors 8vo. $1.50 net An elaborate book for girls, by Lina and Adelia Beard whose former books on girls' sports have become classic, which contains a mass of practical instruction on handicrafts and recreations. So many and so various are the things it tells how to do and make that it will give occupation to any sort of girl in all seasons and all weathers. "The girl who gets this book will not lack for occupation and pleasure."— Chicago Evening Post. New Idea
58 minute read
The American Girl's Handy Book
The American Girl's Handy Book
How To Amuse Yourself and Others With nearly 500 illustrations 8vo. $1.50 net In this book Lina and Adelia Beard, the authors, tell everything the girls of to-day want to know about sports, games, and winter afternoon and evening amusements and work, in a clear, simple, entertaining way. Eight new chapters have been added to the original forty-two that made the book famous. "It is a treasure which, once possessed, no practical girl would willingly part with."— Grace Greenwood. With some 600 draw
57 minute read