we admit the ancient maker of stone implements, called eoliths, to be one
of us, because he, too, knew not the joys of a camp-fire. But there was
another fellow, called the Neanderthal man, who lived in the ice age in
Europe and he _had_ to be a camp-fire man or freeze! As far as we know, he
was the first man to build a camp-fire. The cold weather made him hustle,
and hustling developed him. True, he did cook and eat his neighbors once
in a while, and even split their bones for the marrow; but we will forget
that part and just remember him as the first camper in Europe.

Recently a pygmy skeleton was discovered near Los Angeles which is claimed
to be about twenty thousand years old, but we do not know whether this man
knew how to build a fire or not. We do know, however, that the American
camper was here on this continent when our Bible was yet an unfinished
manuscript and that he was building his fires, toasting his venison, and
building "sheds" when the red-headed Eric settled in Greenland, when
Thorwald fought with the "Skraelings," and Biarni's dragon ship made the
trip down the coast of Vineland about the dawn of the Christian era. We
also know that the American camper was here when Columbus with his comical
toy ships was blundering around the West Indies. We also know that the
American camper watched Henry Hudson steer the _Half Moon_ around
Manhattan Island. It is this same American camper who has taught us to
build many of the shacks to be found in the following pages.

The shacks, sheds, shanties, and shelters described in the following pages
are, all of them, similar to those used by the people on this continent or
suggested by the ones in use and are typically American; and the designs
are suited to the arctics, the tropics, and temperate climes; also to the
plains, the mountains, the desert, the bog, and even the water.

It seems to be natural and proper to follow the camp as it grows until it
develops into a somewhat pretentious log house, but this book must not be
considered as competing in any manner with professional architects. The
buildings here suggested require a woodsman more than an architect; the
work demands more the skill of the axeman than that of the carpenter and
joiner. The log houses are supposed to be buildings which any real outdoor
man should be able to erect by himself and for himself. Many of the
buildings have already been built in many parts of the country by Boy
Pioneers and Boy Sco