How to stay warm at night in a tent

staying warm at night
Picture from “The Way of the Woods, A Manual for Sportsmen in Northeastern United States and Canada” by Edward Breck, 1908.

These tips on how to stay warm at night in a tent were taken from “The Complete American and Canadian Sportsman’s Encyclopedia of Valuable Instruction,” by “Buzzacott” – Revised edition, 1913. It was interesting that even in those times, the danger of forest fires was acknowledged and safety considerations pointed out, as in only having campfires in areas where it was safe to do so and wouldn’t risk starting a forest fire. Using iron pails seemed to be the norm. Another consideration, modern tents have floors or at least tarps put down underneath, so these methods would only work in tents with dirt floors. I’d be curious to know from anyone reading to the end if they’ve ever heard of anyone being “Moonstruck” besides Cher.

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How to start a campfire without matches

Campfire
Lou Ambers cooking over a campfire, using a tin can on a stick, from New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

This advice for starting a campfire without matches came from “Mountain Scouting, A Hand-Book for Officers and Soldiers on the Frontiers,” by Edward S. Farrow, U.S. Army, 1881. I’d be interested to hear if any readers have methods other than those described below. Please respond in the comments.

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