anted
just within the rim of the tent, and to converge to a point, under its
peak. A tent-pole can be lengthened temporarily, by lashing it to a log,
with the help of a Toggle and strop (which see). A broken tent-pole can
be mended permanently by placing a splint of wood on either side of the
fracture, and by whipping the whole together, with soft cord or with the
untwisted strand of a piece of rope.

To prevent Tent-poles from slipping.--When the tent is pitched in the
ordinary way on a smooth rocky surface, there is considerable danger that
the foot of the pole may slip whenever a gust of wind or other sudden
impulse sways the tent. This danger is to be obviated on precisely the
same principle as that by which builders secure their scaffolding-poles
upon the smooth footways of a street: they put the foot of each pole into
a bucket, filled with sand. As the base of the bucket is broad, the
scaffolding is much less liable to slip, than if the narrow bases of the
poles had rested directly upon the pavement.

To tie Things to Tent-poles.--To hang clothes, or anything else, upon a
smooth tent-pole, see "Clove-hitch." A strap with hooks attached to it,
buckled round the pole, is very convenient. The method shown in the
sketch suffices, if the pole be notched, or jointed, or in any way
slightly uneven. Bags, etc., are supposed to be hung upon the bit of wood
that is secured to the free end. Convenient pegs, made of bits of wood
roughly sharpened, may be driven into the tree, if any, when the
encampment is made.

Preparations for a Storm.--Before a storm, dig a ditch as deep as you can
round the outside of the tent, to divert the coming sheet of
surface-water, and see that the ditch has a good out-fall. The ditch will
also drain the floor of the tent, if the rain should soak in. Even a
furrow scratched with a tent-peg, is better than no ditch at all. Fasten
guy-ropes to the spike of the tent-pole; and be careful that the tent is
not too much on the strain, else the further shrinking of the materials,
under the influence of the wet, will certainly tear up the pegs. Earth,
banked up round the bottom of the tent, will prevent gusts of wind from
finding their way beneath. It is also a good plan to prepare a small hole
near the foot of the tent-pole, with a stone firmly rammed into the
bottom, into which the tent-pole may be shifted, as soon as the strain of
the tent, under the influence of the wet, becomes dangerous to its
s