h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Major Sibley's Tent - A88039786
Author: Dmitri Gheorgheni - Post Editor - U1590784

A short one, for a change. About a tent.

Good Entry!

Was there something put on the ground inside of the camp or did they just take the natural ground to sleep on?

They just slept on the ground - although I'm sure they laid down blankets.

I'm not sure it's going to stay that short...
A bell tent has sidewalls and guy lines (also no fire in the centre)
Both appeared around the same time (1850's)
Bell tents British Cavalry in 1855 during the Crimean wars, and may be dated as far back as the 9th century in Europe.

http://www.canvascamp.com/en/blog/history-of-the-sibley-bell-tent

Yeah, it can stay that short - I'll just remove all reference to bell tents, and you can write a guide entry about them.

Thanks for this. I thought you had spelt "teepee" incorrectly, but I see now that my learned spelling is archaic

I was reminded of totem poles, for some reason. We don't seem to have an entry on them my daughter's partner likes to carve wood, and he created a totem pole for her. I'll have to photograph it for The Post.

GB


PS "Glamping" - nope, still won't tempt me into a tent

The camping around here is the opposite of glamping. My nephew and his youngest went camping with the Scouts a couple of weekends ago. Snow on the ground and about -6C.

We never went camping when I was a kid. We just visited our relatives who didn't have running water.

I want to see this totem pole!

We had relatives in Devon who had an outside privy. 'Twas encouragement to sleep through the night without a toilet break

I confess I have never camped, a week in a caravan as a child was enough for me for a lifetime, it rained a lot and the rain bouncing on the tin roof kept me awake. The bed was so thin I couldn't turn over (and I was a slim child). Everyone else seemed to love the holiday but I hated it. I won't go anywhere now, unless there's a comfy bed awaiting me.

Oh, you will

I was in the BB when younger and have been camping in all weathers in a variety of tents, normally ridge tents or A-frame for DofE but I've been in bell tents too. I must admit I saw the picture and did think 'bell tent'. I must admit I wondered whether, if there was a fire inside the tent, did anyone die of carbon monoxide poisoning? Was the cowl at the top quite stiff to ensure it was always fully open?

<BB<

Our main objection as kids was the insect life in there.

I (had to) go on holidays with my parents to the USA for several weeks a couple of times as a child. I always hated being away from home for so long and camping was/is not my thing at all. I remember waking up in the morning after a sandstorm with sand between my teeth, in my eyes etc... also various visits of animals, roots on the ground under the tent, water and various other things.

Wow. That sounds uncomfortable. Worse than the Wigwam Motel.

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/highsm.55360/

Tav is describing everything I have ever imagined, with horror. I am glad I've never camped

the Wigwam Motel! I know a couple who would love to stay there.

I have kipped in a bell tent, years ago.
They are very effective at providing basic cover to the maximum number of people using just one tent which was quick to put up.
The ones we used could sleep 12 at a push (feet to the pole head to the ouside wall, use your rucksack as a pillow)

Bluebottle, I've been checking on this ventilation issue, both from contemporaries and re-enactors. I can't find any reference to soldiers getting CO2 poisoning. They do say the Sibley tent was better ventilated than most tents.

The flaps sometimes caught fire if they were over stovepipes they ran up through the hole at the top - the Sibley stove was conical and only used a modest amount of wood.

Wow, Bald Bloke - a bell tent eyewitness, indeed!

Let's see: we've got two tent fans, two opposed, and one abstention so far...

Oh, and *CO, not *CO2.

I can imagine that you had to be very friendly with your bedfellows if you had to sleep 12 to a tent were you lined up like a clock dial with feet centre?

Excellent Entry Just one thing I spotted: "a single pole, 12 feet (3.6m)." 12 feet tall?

One wet week in a caravan was enough for me, but I did do quite a bit of camping in my youth. I always slept in a bell tent - they weren't airtight, even without a hole in the top, so I can't imagine there would be any problem with CO - the first time I slept in one I was directly opposite the door and the draft was The second night, I arranged to sleep next to the door, behind the pile of rucksacks, and that was perfect.

We almost always slept feet to the pole - just the once when the tent was on a hill, instead of moving me to the other side of the tent so I could sleep with my head higher than my feet, we all switched to heads to the centre, which sorted that problem but did bring the 'nauseating exhalations' closer together It rained every day during that camp, and we didn't have a stovepipe so the smoke inside the cooking tent was terrible - I admired the quartermaster for going in there to prepare hot food for us (usually the fire was out in the open so we would all take a turn at cooking with the quartermaster).

These days I'm very grateful for budget hotels with accessible bathrooms