TENTS.
General Remarks.--Although tents are not worth the trouble of pitching,
on dry nights, in a healthy climate, they are invaluable protectors to a
well-equipped traveller against rain, dew, and malaria. But a man who is
not so equipped, who has no change of clothes, and no bedstead to sleep
on, will do better to sleep in the open air, in front of a good camp
fire. Napoleon I., speaking of soldiers, says ('Maximes de
Guerre'):--"Tents are not healthy; it is better for the soldier to
bivouac, because he sleeps with his feet to the fire, whose neighbourhood
quickly dries the ground on which he lies; some planks or a little straw
shelter him from the wind. Nevertheless a tent is necessary for superior
officers, who have need to write and to consult a map." To a party
encamped for a few days, tents are of great use as storehouses for
property, which otherwise becomes scattered about, at the risk of being
lost or pilfered.
Materials for Tenting.--Light canvas is usually employed, and is, to all
intents and purposes, waterproof. Silk, of equal strength with the
canvas, is very far lighter: its only disadvantage is its expense.
Calico, or cotton canvas, is very generally used for small tents. Leather
and felt are warm, but exceedingly heavy; and would only be used in very
inclement climates, or where canvas could not be met with.
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