Smudges

Categories: Viii Little Foes Of The Trailer

Smudges are said to afford relief in camp, but my own experience has

been that the insects can stand them better than I. A smudge is made by

burning things that make little flame and much smoke. Dead leaves, not

too dry, will make a fairly good smudge, but a better way is to burn

damp cedar bark, or branches, on piles of hot coals taken from the

camp-fire and kept alive at different sides of the camp.



The accounts of extreme suffering caused by insect bites come from

unusually sensitive people. All people are not affected alike. Two

persons from one camp will tell entirely different stories of their

experience with insects. The best way to encounter these, as all other

annoyances, is to protect yourself as well as you can and then, without

whimpering, make the best of the situation. All the pests described will

not fall upon you at once, and, taken singly or even doubly, you will

manage to survive the ordeal. If the pleasure of the trail did not

over-balance the pain there would be fewer campers to relate their

troubles.