Mountain Man Survival Tips

[Trent Rock]

I have been reading some good mountain man books lately

I have run across some interesting survival tips:

1)You can drink the fluids out of a dead buffaloes bladder
It's pretty nasty, but, If your DYING of thirst
One trapper was thirsty he planted hid whole face in the buffalo heart ventricles and started drinking the blood

2)Another trapper, Uncle Dick Wooton, came upon some Yuma Indians
They gave him these TASTY bread cakes (or so they thought)
He later found out that it was red ants mashed together in little "cakes" and dried in the sun

3)John Coulter survived his harrowing adventure by eating Psoralea Esculenta roots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoralea_esculenta
He learned about them from the tribe of Indians he lived with

4)You can use duck fat (I guess any animal fat would work too?) and obsidian rock to sharpen knives

5)You can pound marrow out of carcass bones to eat

6)You can boil leather (sheaths for example) to get nutrients
Not sure what the exact nutrients are

7)Joseph Walker stumbled into a abandoned Indian village (they abandoned it because Walker was coming)
He found these bags filled with dried and crushed fish (or so they thought)
Then one of the trappers realized it was dried WORMS

The stomachs of the stout trappers were not proof against their prejudices, and the repulsive food was suddenly rejected

8)Apparently boudins, or the medullary intestine, is a delicacy when fried over hot embers

A lot of the survival of the mountain men was contingent upon the strategic placement of their caches
Although one mountain man "Old" Bill Willliams was killed by Ute indians trying to retrieve his cache
He really didn't want to lose his KNIFE and rifle!!!

I'm about 20% through this book===>
http://www.amazon.com/Rendezvous-Re...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226025723&sr=1-1

It's mostly primary source essays :thumbup:

I'll post some more tips/techniques as I read more.....

 

[dipbait]

What Mountain Man books have you read? I use to read a lot of them. My local library has a set of books from the University of Oklahoma press. Those are all good books. That Rendezvous book you are on now looks good. Ill have to check it out.

Driving through Colorado this summer {dont remember the city] I saw a sign advertising the Mountain Man museum. It was well worth seeing.

Id love to expierence an authentic rendezvous , with the trappers, traders , Indians, whiskey, games...

I wonder what happened to Jedidah Smith?

Dam Mormons were lucky Jim Bridger was an old man , I tell you.

 

[CanDo]

2)Another trapper, Uncle Dick Wooton, came upon some Yuma Indians
They gave him these TASTY bread cakes (or so they thought)
He later found out that it was red ants mashed together in little "cakes" and dried in the sun

Sounds like an excellent survival food. It would make a really good bar-type snack. A lot of protein and energy - and if he says they taste good, all the better

 

[bcornelis]

I wouldn't mind seeing the recipe posted for the red ant cakes however I won't be boiling up any of my knife sheaths anytime soon.

 

[Gautier]

Just a note on boiling sheaths and other leather goods for "nutrients". I'd only advise doing this if you know exactly what tanning(brain tanned, vegetable tanned, etc.) process was used. Modern tanning uses some harsh chemicals that aren't safe for ingestion. I don't mean to start shooting ideas down, just don't want to see anyone getting sick or relying on a method that is questionable in the event that they decide to try it.
As for mountain men and survival, I think they had a lot of neat tricks they could teach us youngins and I always like reading about them and trappers.


Gautier

 

[The REAL Commander]

Sounds like an excellent survival food. It would make a really good bar-type snack. A lot of protein and energy - and if he says they taste good, all the better

I assume these cakes would be cooked to some degree. Mnay ants carry parasites that can be harmful if eaten. I would advise that if a large quantity of ants was to be eaten, they should be boiled or cooked in some way beforehand to ensure any possible parasites are destroyed. That having been said, I imagine an ant cake would be OK as far as taste and nutrients are concerned. I am curious if formic acid would give you heartburn, heheh.

 

[Stainz]

I ate chocolate covered ants in a sixth grade class in Bayside, LI back when JFK was running for Prez ('60). They were quite good - like Krackle. Of course, I love chocolate!

I can still see Bear Grylls sticking his knife horizontally into a termite mound - then into his mouth. I wonder if he eats the goose liver his cameraman orders for their lodge/motel room with that knife? Never drink from his canteen, either. Good grief, what would I do without supplies??

Thanks for the menu... I was about to fix dinner.

Stainz

 

[hannibal lecter spyderco]

I have been reading some good mountain man books lately

I have run across some interesting survival tips:

1)You can drink the fluids out of a dead buffaloes bladder
It's pretty nasty, but, If your DYING of thirst
One trapper was thirsty he planted hid whole face in the buffalo heart ventricles and started drinking the blood

2)Another trapper, Uncle Dick Wooton, came upon some Yuma Indians
They gave him these TASTY bread cakes (or so they thought)
He later found out that it was red ants mashed together in little "cakes" and dried in the sun

3)John Coulter survived his harrowing adventure by eating Psoralea Esculenta roots
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoralea_esculenta
He learned about them from the tribe of Indians he lived with

4)You can use duck fat (I guess any animal fat would work too?) and obsidian rock to sharpen knives

5)You can pound marrow out of carcass bones to eat

6)You can boil leather (sheaths for example) to get nutrients
Not sure what the exact nutrients are

7)Joseph Walker stumbled into a abandoned Indian village (they abandoned it because Walker was coming)
He found these bags filled with dried and crushed fish (or so they thought)
Then one of the trappers realized it was dried WORMS
8)Apparently boudins, or the medullary intestine, is a delicacy when fried over hot embers

A lot of the survival of the mountain men was contingent upon the strategic placement of their caches
Although one mountain man "Old" Bill Willliams was killed by Ute indians trying to retrieve his cache
He really didn't want to lose his KNIFE and rifle!!!

I'm about 20% through this book===>
http://www.amazon.com/Rendezvous-Re...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226025723&sr=1-1

It's mostly primary source essays :thumbup:

I'll post some more tips/techniques as I read more.....

keep in mind that eatting too much bone marrow will give you massive runs.

 

[nemoaz]

1)You can drink the fluids out of a dead buffaloes bladder
It's pretty nasty, but, If your DYING of thirst
One trapper was thirsty he planted hid whole face in the buffalo heart ventricles and started drinking the blood

Drinking blood or urine is never a good idea. Too much salt. It will dehydrate you more than you already are.

 

[Trent Rock]

Here is another one

During our journey, I witnessed the process of cooking "Kamas," a small root about the size of a crab apple, which abounds in many parts of this country, in the rich bottoms that border most of the streams and rivers. The mode of preparing this root, is almost identical with that by which the south sea Islanders cook their cannibal and swinish food, and the west Indians their plantain. The squaws, by whom all the avocations of domestic labour are performed, excavate round holes in the earth two feet deep, and three in diameter, which are then filled with dry wood and stones in alternate layers, and the fuel fired beneath. When the wood consumes the heated stones fall to the bottom, and are then covered with a layer of grass, upon which two or three bushels of kamas roots, according to the capacity of the whole, are placed, and covered with a layer of grass, and the whole coated over with earth, upon which a large fire is kept burning for fifteen hours. Time is then allowed for the kamas to cool, when the hole is opened, and if perfectly done, the roots which were before white, are now of a deep black colour, not disagreeable to the taste, and having something the flavour of liquorice. Thus prepared, the kamas is both edible and nutritious, and forms no inconsiderable item of food with many of the Rocky Mountain tribes.

http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/ferris.html/ferris.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quamash

While admitting that Lewis was "no regular botanist," Jefferson did praise "his talent for observation." And on June 11, 1806, during an extended stay with the Nez Perce people, Lewis showed that talent. Camas, sometimes known as quamash, was an important food plant for the Nez Perces. Lewis carefully described the plant's natural environment, its physical structure, the ways women harvested and prepared camas, and its role in the Indian diet. Some days later Lewis gathered samples of camas for his growing collection of western plants.

 

[wildmike]

You must be very careful with camas. There are two types the ones with blue flowers you can eat. Even a single root of the yellow flowered variety will kill you deader than a doornail. They look hte same when not in flower, and often grow side by side.