t your browse bags stuffed with balsam browse; or
pile up a mountain of dry leaves over which you can stretch your
blankets. Pile all the duffle way back in the peak against the little
back triangle where it will surely keep dry and will form a sort of
back for your pillows. You will find the forester tent lighter and
warmer than the ordinary lean-to, as it reflects the heat better.
After a couple of weeks in it you will come home with your lungs so
full of ozone that it will be impossible to sleep in an ordinary room
without feeling smothered.

Canoeing, Rowing and Sailing
(Prepared with the cooperation of Mr. Arthur A. Carey, Scout Master,
Boy Scout ship Pioneer; Mr. Carleton E. Sholl, Captain Lakanoo Boat
Club Crew; Mr. Frederick K. Vreeland, Camp-Fire Club of America. and
Mr. R. F. Tims, Vice-Commodore, American Canoe Association.)

The birch-bark canoe is the boat of the North American Indians, and
our modern canvas canoes are made, with some {174} variations, on the
Indian model. With the possible exception of the Venetian gondola, the
motion of a canoe is more graceful than that of any other boat
propelled by hand; it should be continuous and gliding, and so silent
that it may be brought up in the night to an animal or enemy, Indian
fashion, without making any sound, and so take them by surprise.

[Illustration: Canoeing stroke (a)]

175 Campcraft

Many accidents happen in canoes--not because they are unsafe when
properly handled, but because they are unsafe when improperly
handled--and many people do not take the trouble even to find out the
proper way of managing a canoe. Many canoes have seats almost on a
level with the gunwale, whereas, properly speaking, the only place to
sit in a canoe is on the bottom; for a seat raises the body too high
above the centre of gravity and makes the canoe unsteady and likely to
upset. It is, however, difficult to paddle while sitting in the bottom
of a canoe, and the best position for paddling is that of kneeling and
at the same time resting back against one of the thwarts. The size of
the single-blade paddle should be in proportion to the size of the boy
who uses it--long enough to reach from the ground to the tip of his
nose. The bow paddle may be a little shorter. The canoeman should
learn to paddle equally well on either side of a canoe. When paddling
on the {175} left side the top of the paddle should be held by the
right hand, and the left hand should be