Tent pole

“ There are ever so many ways of making your own tent, all of them simple and quite easy for one to follow.
One very strong and serviceable tent has a foundation of straight, young birch trees or saplings cut in the early spring and used for tent poles. Holes should be dug, and the poles set in the ground a quarter their length that no summer wind storm can uproot them. Around each pole, the earth is then pounded down, and the tops of the poles, six or eight in number, should be lashed together with cord. ”

“ Cart, waggon, or gun wheels are extremely useful, both for forming a secure base for the pole to rest on, and for a table and gun rack. The tent pole, as shown in the engraving on the next page, rests on one wheel, whilst it passes through the centre of the nave of another. The hooks for hanging various objects from are formed by the natural branches of the tree from which the pole has been made. We seldom make use of the ferruled pole furnished with the tent when we have young forest trees at hand; in the absence of these, the conventional deal stick serves to fall back on. ”

“ Then he comes to his camp, which is composed of 10,000 tents. His own audience tent is so large that it can easily hold 1000 persons, and he has another for private interviews, and a third for sleeping. They are supported by three tent-poles, are covered outside with tiger skins, and inside with ermine and sable. Marco Polo says that the tents are so fine and costly that it is not every king who could pay for them.
Only the most illustrious noblemen can wait on the Emperor at table. ”

“ For the wall tents one will need a ridge pole (Fig. 288) , and two forked sticks, or rods, to support the ridge pole; the forks on these should be snubbed off close so that they will not thrust themselves up against the canvas on the top of the tent and endanger the fabric; these poles should be of a proper height; otherwise if the poles are too long, the tent will not touch the ground at all, or if the poles are too short, the tent will wrinkle all over the ground like a fellow's trousers when his suspenders break. ”

“ All tent ropes should be relaxed on the approach of rain, or the tightened cord will, in all probability, draw the pegs, and thus allow the wet canvas to come flapping down about your ears, causing no end of discomfort and confusion. A tent may be securely pitched, even on the sands of the desert, by laying a waggon wheel flat on the ground, fixing the pole over the hole through which the axle passes on the head of a plug driven far enough into it to prevent the pole from passing through ”

“ In the balloon expansion tent, invented in 1877 by Captain Newburgh Stewart, R.N., the use of tent pole, pegs, and ropes is entirely avoided, the canvas being supported by light ribs of elastic wood resting on the ground, and the structure is kept taut by hauling ropes descending from the apex and secured by a holdfast driven into the ground. ”

“ One man was sufficient to set up the tent in the stiffest breeze; I have come to the conclusion that the fewer poles a tent has, the easier it is to set up, which seems quite natural. These tents have only one pole. How often one reads in narratives of Polar travel that it took such and such a time -- often hours -- to set up the tent, and then, when at last it was up, one lay expecting it to be blown down at any moment. There was no question of this with our tents. They were up in a twinkling, and stood against all kinds of wind; we could lie securely in our sleeping-bags, and let it blow. ”

“ The abandoned tent was nine miles ahead, the sledge on which life depended bravely bore every strain, the new floe was gained, and the traveling improved, so that good hope was entertained that the tent, its covert and rest, would be gained. ”

“ Such small, incongruous articles as our pots and pans for cooking, our tent, and particularly the tent-pole, which was carried fore and cft above a cargo, and which, from its length, was poking into everything, and constantly getting awry, gave us more trouble than anything else. ”

“ Tents of this description can be arranged by either buttoning four or six sheets together, one sheet being considered as representing the accommodation of one man; but when it is considered necessary to close the two ends of the tent four sheets only are used as a covering, the other two being used as doors. A centre tent pole is also set up, so that a tent for six men has, when pitched, three poles, ten pegs, and six sheets of canvas. When both ends are suffered to remain unclosed, as they would be when shade alone is sought, four tent poles or sticks and fourteen tent pegs are required ”

“ Over the horizontal pole is hung a large mat, the ends of which are pegged to the ground, and the tent is then complete. The mat is made of the epidermis of young palm leaves. In order to prevent water from flooding the tent in rainy weather, a trench is dug around it. The only furniture is the hammock in which the inhabitant sleeps, and in fine weather, this is much more often slung between two palm trees than between the upright posts of the tent. In fact, the only use of the tent is as a shelter in rainy weather, the whole of the life being passed in the open air. ”

“ I discussed with the other members of the party the desirability of chaining the peons to the tent pole, but this appeared so extreme a measure that we abandoned the idea after warning the Teniente that he must not let them escape. ”

“ A large tent is certainly more comfortable in fine weather; but you can make a small one sufficiently cheerful, and have a sense of security in it that you cannot feel in one larger. But, if you will have a large tent, make it of something heavier than drilling.
If you have two tents of the same height, you can connect the tops with a pole, and throw a fly, blanket, or sheet over it on pleasant days. ”

“ All who travel by land, should be on their guard never to allow jugglers, or show-men, of whatever description, to enter their tents; which they will endeavor to do, under pretence of shewing off their mummeries, with the intention of ascertaining the posture of whatever moveables may be within. In this, they are sometimes mistaken; it being usual to have all boxes, camp-baskets, &c., assembled about the foot of the tent-pole, at night, and to secure them by means of a chain passing through their respective handles, &c. ”

“ I lay in my uncomfortable position under the tent for two hours or so. The sand came hurtling through the gap in the tent like shot from a gun. The men and the camels suffered badly. Had the pole of my tent fallen a fraction of an inch to one side, it would have smashed my big chronometer, and then what a difference it would have made to the scientific results of the expedition!
To the outside world the work of an explorer is either failure or success with a distinct line between them. To the explorer himself that line is very hazy. ”

“ An ordinary tent, when the snow is flying, would be filled in no time.
The tent is pyramidal, with one pole in the center, and the edges are usually held down by the sledge runners or by snowshoes used as tent pegs. The men sleep on the floor in their clothes, with a musk-ox skin under, and a light deerskin over them. I have not used sleeping bags since my arctic trip of 1891-92.
The "kitchen box" for our sledge journeys is simply a wooden box containing two double-burner oil-stoves, with four-inch wicks. The two cooking pots are the bottoms of five-gallon coal-oil tins, fitted with covers. ”

“ In choosing a tent, select one that will stand in some sort of shape with only four pegs, or with six at the very utmost; it should admit of being pegged close to the ground without any intervening 'fly;' it is no objection that it should require more than one pole; and, when considering how much weight it will be possible to carry, it must be borne in mind that the tent will become far heavier than it is found to be in the peculiarly dry atmosphere of a tent-maker's show-room. ”

“ Each corner pin should be directly in rear of the corresponding front corner pin, making a rectangle. Unless the canvas be wet, a small amount of slack should be allowed before the corner pins are driven. According to the size of the tent one or two men, crawling under the tent if necessary, fit each pole or ridge or upright into the ring or ridge pole holes, and such accessories as hood, fly, and brace ropes are adjusted. If a tripod be used an additional man will go under the tent to adjust it. The tent, steadied by the remaining men, one at each corner guy rope, will then be raised. ”

“ The Gipsies and travelling tinkers of England have an equally unpretentious tent, which consists of a framework of hazel rods bent so as to form a series of low ridges, the ends being stuck into the ground, and over this frame blankets or other coverings are thrown and pegged down. The simplest, but at the same time the least convenient, of ordinary tents is the conical, consisting of a central pole with ropes and canvas radiating from it in an unbroken slope to the ground. ”

“ Of tents attached to the car there are those that do not touch the ground and others that have a ground attachment. Still others are entirely separate from the car and form independent units. Some tents use poles and others are supported entirely by ropes. Where tent poles are used they are as a rule in sections for convenience in packing. ”

“ It should have a ring fastened to the cloth in each peak through which to pass a rope or line to take the place of a ridge pole. Such a tent can be pitched [91] between two trees or saplings, and, after tying the rope to the trees, it can be tightened with a long forked stick, placed under one end of the rope. If two trees are not conveniently located, then two poles crossed and tied together will make supports for one or both ends, the ridge line running over them and staked to the ground.
Fire between Two Logs
Fire Built against a Log
On a chilly night, the A tent is quite advantageous. ”

“ The interior of the tent is often more or less divided by the pole supporting the roof, and by a pile of household goods, such as they are. Sometimes a rude loom is fastened to the poles, and at it a woman sits working on the floor. The framework—made of canes—is kept in place by rigging to pegs in the ground. The woman's hand is her only shuttle, and she threads the wool through with her fingers, a span at a time, afterwards knocking it down tightly into place with a heavy wrought-iron comb about two inches wide, with a dozen prongs. ”

“ As tent-poles are not expensive, you may find it convenient to have two sets for each tent; one stout set for common use, and a lighter set to take when transportation is limited. Sound spruce, free from large knots and tolerably straight-grained, makes good poles; pine answers as well, but is more expensive.
The upright poles of a stout set for a wall-tent of the United States Army pattern should be round or eight-sided, and about two inches in diameter. ”

“ Then wide, stout tape should be sewn along the edge of the canvas wherever there is to be any strain on it, such as eyelet holes for ropes, or hooks and eyes, or strings for closing the ends of the tent, etc.
Often in woods you can find two trees standing, say, eight feet apart. If you have a six-foot tent, you can use these for tent poles by tying ("lashing" is the word used by sailors and Scouts) each end of the ridge of the tent to a tree. ”

“ The holiday humour that ought to have prevailed in the tent that evening — our first on the plateau — did not make its appearance; there was depression and sadness in the air — we had grown so fond of our dogs. ”

“ It is very diverting to walk among the camps. They are as different in their form as the owners are in their dress, and every tent is a portraiture of the temper and taste of the persons who encamp in it. Some are made of boards, and some of sail-cloth; some partly of one and partly of the other. Again, others are made of stone or turf, brick or brush. Some are thrown up in a hurry; others are curiously wrought with doors and windows, done with wreaths and withes, in the manner of a basket. Some are your proper tents and marquees, looking like the regular camp of the enemy. ”

“ It is only a bad attack of influenza. I lie here in a dim, brown holland coloured twilight. A large marquee of double folded canvas keeps out the sun; a few shafts of light twinkle through here and there. Through three entrance gaps I catch glimpses, crossed by a web of tent ropes, of other surrounding tents, each neatly enclosed by a border of whitened stones, the purpose of which is to prevent people at night from tripping over the ropes. Everything is scrupulously neat and clean. Orderlies run from tent to tent minding their patients. ”

“ A great wind arose in the night, and had not W. seen himself to the tent ropes and pegs our tent would certainly have been blown down, and we should have been smothered in a mass of flapping canvas. As it was, the tent shook and heaved at its moorings and cracked like pistol-shots, some of the furniture coming down with a crash. ”

“ In small, inexpensive tents that stand apart from the car, tents without floors, a quite satisfactory article is the Scout Featherweight Shelter Tent.
The “Scout Featherweight” has a door at each end, and each door is equipped with an overlapping lapel and double row of tie strings. Draw the lapels together, tie them securely and the whole world is shut out completely.
Two folding poles, six stakes and a pack-bag are supplied with each tent. It’s no trick at all for a man or a boy to put the tent up in two minutes. No ridge poles, no guy lines. ”