Camps and How to Build Them
The trapper who spends the entire trapping season far from civilization must know how to make a comfortable camp or he is likely to pay dearly for his lack of knowledge. Especially is this the case if his trapping is done in the far North where the winters are long and severe.
The Home Shanty
The trapper should have one good “home shanty” to be used as a base of supplies for storing furs, etc. He should also have small camps located along his lines at convenient distances so that he can spend the night with some comfort if he has gone too far to return to the home camp.
The home camp is generally a substantial log shack. It should be located in a sheltered spot, if possible, on some little knoll or slightly elevated spot of ground and as close to good fire wood and good drinking water as possible. The proper size of camp depends on the number of persons in the party. A shanty 10 x 12 feet inside is large enough for two persons. If it is larger it will be harder to keep warm. For a camp of this size the logs should be cut 12 and 14 feet long so as to allow for the notching of the corners. Of course the logs should be straight and they should be as near the same thickness as possible.
Having selected a spot for the camp and cleaned away the brush, etc., commence by laying two of the 14 foot logs parallel with each other and about ten feet apart. Cut notches in the ends of these logs, cutting down about half the thickness of the logs and lay two of the 12 foot logs in the notches. The next step is the floor which should be made of straight poles about five or six inches thick and 11 or 12 feet long. They should be fitted down solidly on the two long logs and may be flattened on top with an axe, or with an adz after the camp is finished. Then fit in two more 14 foot logs which will hold the floor poles down solid.
The door frame or boxing should be cut off square at the ends and butted up against the door frame and held there by driving spikes thru the frame into the logs. Use all the large logs on one side so as to be ready for the roof. The simplest, as well as one of the best, kind of roofs is made of poles, chinked with moss and covered with tar paper or birch bark. The bark roof is the most lasting but requires more work. The door may be made of split cedar, or, if cedar is not to be found, it may be hewn out of almost any kind of wood. For windows, a couple of small panes of glass may be fitted in openings, cut between the logs, and all the cracks should be chinked with moss to make it warm.
There are a number of good stoves in the market, but I prefer to make my own stoves. A good stove may be made of sheet iron by bending it so as to form the top and two sides, riveting an end in behind and hinging a door in front. It has no bottom, being set in a box of earth, but be sure that there is enough dirt or it will burn thru into the floor. Holes should be cut in top for pipe and cooking pots and strips of hoop iron should be riveted on inside to stiffen top.
For stopping camps along the trap lines, the Indian tepee or wigwam is as good as any. They may be made of birch bark or tar paper and if they are covered thickly with boughs and banked with snow it will only require a small fire to keep them warm. If you are fortunate enough to possess a rabbit skin blanket such as are made by the Chippewa Indians you will not need to keep a fire at night.