Bough-Bed
Category:
Iii Camping
Tips of balsam broken off with your fingers about fourteen inches long
make the best of beds, but hemlock, spruce, and other evergreens can be
used; if they are not obtainable, the fan-like branches from other trees
may take their place. Of these you will need a large quantity, in
order to have the bed springy and soft. Always place the outdoor bed
with the head well under cover and foot toward the opening of shelter,
or if without shelter, toward the fire. Make the bed by arranging the
branches shingle-like in _very_ thick overlapping rows, convex side up,
directly on the ground with _thick end_ of stems _toward_ the _foot_.
Push these ends into the ground so that the tips will be raised
slantingly up from the earth; make the rows which will come under the
hips extra thick and springy. Continue placing the layers in this manner
until the space for single or double bed, as the case may be, is covered
with the first layer of your green mattress. Over it make another layer
of branches, reversing the ends of these tips from those underneath by
pushing the _thick ends_ of branches of this top layer slantingly into
the under layer _toward_ the _head_ of the bed with tips toward the
foot. Make more layers, until the bed is about two feet thick (Fig. 25);
then cover the mattress thus made with your poncho, rubber side down,
and on top spread one of the sleeping blankets, using the other one as a
cover. Be sure to allow plenty of time for this work and have the bed
dry and soft.
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