Chapter VIII: Fire and Food for the Camper

Raw Foods—Hotels—Various Fuels Compared—Fireplaces Provided at Most
Camp Sites—Wet Weather Fire-making—Primitive Cooking
Methods—Prepared Foods—Corrective Foods—Camp-fire Cooking—The
Dingle Stick—Forestry Regulations Concerning Camp Fires—Coffee and
Flapjack Making—Wayside Markets—Men Cooks—How to Cook a Quick
Meal—Improvised Fireplaces—A Varied Dietary—An Ideal Meal—A
Balanced Menu—Recipes for Camp Cooking—A List—Biscuits, Flapjacks,
Corn Bread, Corn Meal Mush, Fish, Rabbits, Squirrel, Game Birds,
How to Boil Potatoes, Baking in Clay, etc.

The motor camper will always require fire because food and drink cannot be properly or palatably prepared without the assistance of fire. It may be thought that this rule like others admits of exceptions, and perhaps this is so. There are some people who do not seem to believe in fire, at least in connection with the preparation of food. Their religion seems about the opposite of that professed by the “Fire Worshipers.” As the Brahmins of India will not eat anything that has ever been alive, so these people will not eat anything that has been cooked. We might term those we have in mind the “Raw Food Worshipers.” They are not very numerous, still there are enough of them to make it worth the while for grocers to carry the products they demand in the way of raw wheat crackers, raw oat biscuit and the like. We have met these people on the road, and it must be confessed that they appear to be a well-fed, well-fleshed folk, whether made so because of a diet of raw food or not is somewhat uncertain as sequence is not always consequence. These people, naturally, will not need instruction concerning camp fires.

There are still others met with along the road who are not interested in the subject of fire and the preparation of food. We refer to those motor tourists who tour but do not camp—those who always travel on until a hotel is found where they may eat and lodge. This is an easy and from some standpoints an attractive way of traveling, but very much more expensive than motor camping.

In some circumstances it may be the wise way of procedure. We have known of many bridal couples that have spent their honeymoons motor touring. We would not advise a newly married couple to try motor camping. While motor camping may offer more adventure and real enjoyment than motor touring with its eating and sleeping at hotels en route, it is more perilous in its effects upon the disposition. The infinite variety of experience that motor camping offers is likely to bring some things that will tend to cloud the honeymoon, and the young couple had best have a year or two of experience in trying out the problem of living together before undertaking camping. It may here be remarked that where a camping party includes more than the family it would be well to be sure in advance that all composing the party are congenial and ready to work together in harmony.

Coming to the question of fire, it may be said that the easiest thing to do is to take along a stove of some sort.

The gasoline stove has one advantage, the advantage that lies in the fact that its fuel is the same as that used in the engine of the car. There are disadvantages, too. Gasoline is somewhat dangerous, and being very thin leaks very readily. Gasoline will leak through a seam that will be sufficiently tight to hold oil. The jolting that is inevitable in connection with motoring, particularly with some of the more popular cars, has a surprising efficiency in opening up the seams of an ordinary gasoline stove. There have been many instances where small leaks have led to the explosion of these stoves. These explosions often have resulted in severe burns, and sometimes in death. Village tinsmiths along the motor highways testify that they frequently have gasoline stoves brought to them by motorists to have leaks stopped.

The various kinds of gasoline stoves specially designed for the use of the motor camper are described in Chapter VI.

Oil stoves have their advantages. They are safe, convenient and reliable. The fuel is readily obtainable almost anywhere, and is economical. Oil stoves, however, have the disadvantage of requiring more attention in the line of cleaning than gasoline stoves because the oil is not as volatile as the gasoline, and so will remain on the parts of the stove and gather dust. This combination is sure to make the stove smelly and a sort of a nuisance in camp. Scrupulous attention in keeping the stove always clean will obviate almost completely the tendency to smelliness. Stoves using a wick are much greater offenders in the way of smelling than the stoves that operate without a wick. The motor camper will find the wickless stove, especially the pressure oil stove, by far the most satisfactory oil stove to use.

Wood stoves, and stoves that will burn any solid fuel, are offered in wide variety by the various dealers in sporting goods. Most of these are very convenient, and the collapsible kind take up very little room. These stoves operate very well with twisted newspapers. If the motor camper instead of throwing away, burning up, or almost giving away his old newspapers to the rag man will bundle up fifty pounds or more of them in a flat package he will have a week’s supply of first-class fuel for his camp stove. Pick up a paper, fold it across once or twice, twist it up tight and hard, thrust it in the stove, light it, and the result will be a good hot fire.

The most useful types of these wood stoves are also discussed and described in Chapter VI, which deals in part with camp equipment. In the same chapter appliances using solidified alcohol are described likewise. These little devices are convenient and very useful for the purpose of heating milk or water for tea or coffee. They are also invaluable where a baby is with the campers. The Theroz and Sterno outfits use this solidified alcohol. The former offers the fuel in the form of cans filled with small cubes of the article, the latter in small cans filled with the fuel in undivided bulk. The little kits which use this kind of fuel are inexpensive, and are mentioned in