In that same tent I afterwards lived in the blazing heat of the plains
of India. Instead of the fireplace at the end to keep it hot, I had a
great mat of Khuskhu's fibre stretched on a frame and kept always wet
to keep it cool; the hot wind blowing through this was at once cooled,
and kept the tent delightfully cold and fresh inside, and the double
roof prevented the sun from baking it. And I had a punkah, or
swinging fan, slung from the ridge-pole, and worked by a native from
outside.
It was a sturdy little tent, too, and no gale could ever manage to
blow it down. So you see it did equally well for every kind of climate
and weather.
Another form of tent which I used in Mafeking and South Africa, and
still use for sleeping out in, in England, is one which you would
hardly call a tent. It is really a slungcot, with a movable canvas
roof to it. It is called the "Ashanti Hammock."
[Illustration: A BIVOUAC SHELTER.]
It packs up quite small, and is put up in a few minutes. Requires no
pegs. Keeps you off the wet ground.
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