s easily put together. The
measurements, folded, are only 6 x 4 inches by 1-2 inch thick, and its
weight but 13 ounces. The manufacturers make the same lantern in
aluminum, but I found it too easily bent to stand the rough handling
incidental to a horse trip. The steel lantern costs one dollar.[3]

[Sidenote: Hatchets]

If you carry an axe at all, do not try to compromise on a light one. I
never use such an implement in the woods. A light hatchet is every bit
as good for the purpose of firewood, and better when it is a question of
tent poles or pegs. Read Nessmuk's _Woodcraft_ on this subject. The
Marble Safety Axe is the best, both because of the excellent steel used
in its manufacture, and because of the ease of its transportation. I
generally carry mine in my hip pocket. Get the metal handle and
heaviest weight. I have traveled a considerable part of the Canadian
forests with no other implement of the sort.

[Sidenote: Axes]

On a horseback trip in the mountains, however, this will not suffice.
Often and often you will be called on to clear trail, to cut timber for
trail construction or to make a footing over some ultra-tempestuous
streamlet. You might peck away until further orders with your little
hatchet without much luck. Then you need an axe--not a "half axe," nor a
"three-quarter axe"--but a full five-pound weapon with an edge you could
shave with. And you should know how to use it. "Chewing a log in two" is
a slow and unsatisfactory business.

To keep this edge you will carry a file and a water whetstone. Use your
hatchet as much as possible, take care of how and what you chop, and do
not wait until the axe gets really dull before having recourse to your
file and stone. It is a long distance to a grindstone. Wes Thompson
expressed the situation well. He watched the Kid's efforts for a moment
in silence.

"Kid," said he sorrowfully at last, "you'll have to make your choice.
Either you do _all the chopping or none of it_."

[Sidenote: Repairs]

Needle, thread, a waxed end, and a piece of buckskin for strings and
patches completes the ordinary camp outfit. Your repair kit needs
additions when applied to mountain trips, but that question will come up
under another heading.

_SUMMARY_

_Minimum for comfort_

Silk tent (sometimes)
Rubber blanket
Blanket
Pillow case of denim
Pocket axe
File and whetstone
Needle and th