zie, over which is sometimes put another thin layer of thatch to
prevent the pizie being washed away by heavy rain. Nothing can be more
snug and comfortable than such a house, unless the cows, as Mark Twain
narrates, make things "monotonous" by persistently tumbling down the
chimney.

When the Burra copper mines were in full work in Australia, the banks of
the Burra Creek were honeycombed like a rabbit warren with the "dugout
homes" of the Cornish miners. The ruins of these old dugouts now extend
for miles, and look something like an uncovered Pompeii.

When water is scarce and the tent has to be retained, much can be done
to make the camp snug. I occupied a very comfortable camp once, of which
my then partner, a Dane, was the architect. We called it "The Bungalow,"
and it was constructed as follows: First we set up our tent, 10 ft. by
8 ft., formed of calico, but lined with green baize, and covered with a
well set fly.

Next we put in four substantial forked posts about 10 ft. high and 15
ft. apart, with securely fixed cross pieces, and on the top was laid a
rough flat roof of brush thatch; the sides were then treated in the same
way, but not so thickly, being merely intended as a breakwind.

The tent with its two comfortable bunks was placed a little to one side,
the remaining space being used as a dining and sitting room all through
the summer. Except in occasional seasons of heavy rain, when we were
saved the trouble of washing our dishes, the tent was only used for
sleeping purposes, and as a storehouse for clothes and perishable
provisions. I have "dwelt in marble halls" since then, but never was
food sweeter or sleep sounder than in the old bush bungalow.

A BUSH BED

To make a comfortable bush bedplace, take four forked posts about 3 ft.
6 in. long and 2 to 3 in. in diameter at the top; mark out your bedplace
accurately and put a post at each corner, about 1 ft. in the ground.
Take two poles about 7 ft. long, and having procured two strong
five-bushel corn sacks, cut holes in the bottom corners, put the poles
through, bringing the mouths of the sacks together, and secure them
there with a strong stitch or two. Put your poles on the upright forked
sticks, and you have a couch that even Sancho Panza would have envied.
It is as well to fix stretchers or cross stays between the posts at head
and foot.

In malarial countries, sleeping on the ground is distinctly dangerous,
and as such districts are usually th