On the Trail

An Outdoor Book for Girls

By
LINA BEARD

AND

ADELIA BELLE BEARD

With Illustrations by the Authors

NEW YORK

Charles Scribner's Sons

1915

COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS

Published June, 1915

                   TO ALL GIRLS
          WHO LOVE THE LIFE OF THE OPEN
               WE DEDICATE THIS BOOK

[Illustration: Over-night camp.

Fire notice is posted on tree.]




PRESENTATION


The joyous, exhilarating call of the wilderness and the forest camp is
surely and steadily penetrating through the barriers of brick, stone,
and concrete; through the more or less artificial life of town and city;
and the American girl is listening eagerly. It is awakening in her
longings for free, wholesome, and adventurous outdoor life, for the
innocent delights of nature-loving Thoreau and bird-loving Burroughs.
Sturdy, independent, self-reliant, she is now demanding outdoor books
that are genuine and filled with practical information; books that tell
how to do worth-while things, that teach real woodcraft and are not
adapted to the girl supposed to be afraid of a caterpillar or to shudder
at sight of a harmless snake.

In answer to the demand, "On the Trail" has been written. The authors'
deep desire is to help girls respond to this new, insistent call by
pointing out to them the open trail. It is their hope and wish that
their girl readers may seek the charm of the wild and may find the same
happiness in the life of the open that the American boy has enjoyed
since the first settler built his little cabin on the shores of the New
World. To forward this object, the why and how, the where and when of
things of camp and trail have been embodied in this book.

Thanks are due to Edward Cave, president and editor of _Recreation_, for
kindly allowing the use of some of his wild-life photographs.

                                                  LINA BEARD,
                                                      ADELIA BELLE BEARD.
          FLUSHING, N. Y.,
          March 16, 1915.




CONTENTS

          CHAPTER                                        PAGE
             I. TRAILING                                    3
            II. WOODCRAFT                                  21
           III. CAMPING                                    44
            IV. WHAT TO WEAR ON THE TRAIL                  84
             V. OUTDOOR HANDICRAFT                        106
            VI. MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE OUTDOOR FOLK      119
           VII. WILD FOOD ON THE TRAIL                    138
          VIII. LITTLE FOES OF THE TRAILER                165
            IX. ON THE TRAIL WITH YOUR CAMERA             187
             X. ON AND IN THE WATER                       205
            XI. USEFUL KNOTS AND HOW TO TIE THEM          233
           XII. ACCIDENTS                                 244
          XIII. CAMP FUN AND FROLICS                      255
           XIV. HAPPY AND SANE SUNDAY IN CAMP             269