Fire notice is posted on tree.]




PRESENTATION


The joyous, exhilarating call of the wilderness and the forest camp is
surely and steadily penetrating through the barriers of brick, stone,
and concrete; through the more or less artificial life of town and city;
and the American girl is listening eagerly. It is awakening in her
longings for free, wholesome, and adventurous outdoor life, for the
innocent delights of nature-loving Thoreau and bird-loving Burroughs.
Sturdy, independent, self-reliant, she is now demanding outdoor books
that are genuine and filled with practical information; books that tell
how to do worth-while things, that teach real woodcraft and are not
adapted to the girl supposed to be afraid of a caterpillar or to shudder
at sight of a harmless snake.

In answer to the demand, "On the Trail" has been written. The authors'
deep desire is to help girls respond to this new, insistent call by
pointing out to them the open trail. It is their hope and wish that
their girl readers may seek the charm of the wild and may find the same
happiness in the life of the open that the American boy has enjoyed
since the first settler built his little cabin on the shores of the New
World. To forward this object, the why and how, the where and when of
things of camp and trail have been embodied in this book.