A Backblocker's Pleasure Trip

Properly the canvas house belonged to the dry, inland regions. In the coastal belt there was seldom any necessity for it, for timber and bark were plentiful in almost any locality where one's avocation required him to make a temporary residence. The more humid atmosphere, the colder climate, and long spells of wet weather, made the light dwelling of the interior plains unsuitable.

A man could be comfortable anywhere in a tent; but for a family it was inconvenient and cheerless, however big it was. Many families managed in tents in places where their stay was only for a brief period. For all that they had to make a place of bark or iron for cooking in. Even then the conditions were unpleasant for a woman with children. In wet weather she was half her time plodding through mud, and everything in the cramped domicile was damp.