A "poncho," by the way, is
a blanket of rubber cloth about 4-1/2 feet wide and 6 feet long, in the
center of which is a slit through which you can put your head; then the
rubber cloth falls over you like a cape, as in Fig. 210, and makes a
perfect protection against rain. The ponchos these men had were not quite
long enough to cover the whole bed, so they fastened umbrellas to the head
posts, as shown in Fig. 211. During a shower in the woods the rain comes
straight down in large drops, caused by the water collecting on the
leaves. To prevent these large drops from splashing through the umbrellas,
they laid pieces of cloth over the umbrellas, which served, like the fly
of a tent, to check the fall of rain drops.
[Illustration: Fig. 212. Umbrella with Fly.]
A Nightmare.
I slept in the mummy case that night and Dutchy in the first sleeping bag.
It must have been about midnight when I was awakened by a most unearthly
yell. It sent the cold chills running up and down my back. A second scream
brought me into action, and I struggled to throw back the head flap, which
had become caught. It seemed an age before I could open it and wriggle out
of the bag. Dutchy was sitting up in bed with a look of horror on his
face, and his whole body was in a tremor of fear.
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