Pitching a Tent.--It is quite an art, so to pitch a tent as to let in or
exclude the air, to take advantage of sun and shade, etc. etc. Every
available cloth or sheet may be pressed into service, to make awnings and
screens, as we see among the gipsies. There is a great deal of character
shown in each different person's encampment. A tent should never be
pitched in a slovenly way: it is so far more roomy, secure and pretty,
when tightly stretched out, that no pains should be spared in drilling
the men to do it well. I like to use a piece of string, marked with
knots, by which I can measure the exact places in which the tent-pegs
should be struck, for the eye is a deceitful guide in estimating
squareness. (See "Squaring.") It is wonderful how men will bungle with a
tent, when they are not properly drilled to pitch it.
To secure Tent-ropes.--When the soil is loose, scrape away the surface
sand, before driving the tent-pegs. Loose mould is made more tenacious by
pouring water upon it. When one peg is insufficient, it may be backed by
another. (See fig.) The outermost peg must be altogether buried in the
earth. Heavy saddle-bags are often of use to secure the tent-ropes; and,
in rocky ground, heavy piles of stones may be made to answer the same
purpose. The tent-ropes may also be knotted to a cloth, on which stones
are afterwards piled.
"Dateram" is, as the late Dr.
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