Middle America's Worldview

Long before toxic chemicals and high-tech tanning solutions, our forebears tanned animal hides using the naturally occurring oils in the animal’s brain. The brain of every animal contains an adequate volume of conditioning oils (unless it’s a whale or something) which can be used to tan the hide. All you need is your animal hide, the brain of the animal, and a few tools to make tanned pelts and leather just like our ancestors. Yes, it’s a laborious skill to practice (not to mention smelly), but if you use brains instead of brawn, you can turn out buttery-smooth, super-soft buckskin. So to make your life easier, here are three tricks for easier brain tanning with deer hides.

1. Age Is Just A Number

There’s glue in every hide—a lot of it, in fact. Hide glue is an ancient product that is still used in modern times, due to its excellence in certain tasks like woodworking. And hide glue is essentially hide shavings that are dissolved in hot water and reduced to a “syrup”. If that doesn’t communicate that hides are full of glue, I don’t know what will. So now that you know what you’re up against—turning dried glue into soft leather—here’s your first trick: age the hides. Remove all the meat and fat from fresh hides and dry them completely. Then age them for several months in a dry and rodent-free location. If hide beetles are a problem in your area, shake borax powder (a common laundry additive) in the hair to kill these leather-chewing devils. Aging your hides is supposed to break down the glue, and whether that is what’s really going on or not, aging the skins will yield softer hides. 

2. Is There Anything Bear Grease Won’t Fix?

The rendered oil from bear fat has been used to lubricate firearms and to waterproof leather for centuries. It’s also a great additive to mix with your brains for brain tanning. Just a few ounces of hot bear fat, poured into a very warm solution of brain and water, will put this age-old conditioner to work for you.

3. Smoke ‘Em If You’ve Got ‘Em

Liquid smoke. You can buy it where they sell BBQ sauce in many grocery stores, or you can make your own by simmering cloth that has been heavily smoked in a pot of water for a few hours. However you get it, add a little liquid smoke to the brain solution and you’ll get an early start on the necessary process of smoking the hide. 

Have you tried your hand at hide tanning? Tell us how it turned out by leaving a comment.

Sure, cacti are tough. They survive in harsh desert climates on very little rain, and they are covered with spines that protect their watery flesh. But the thistle is another tough plant, and arguably more useful. It’s also found throughout many different regions, not confined to the arid country like cacti. Here are some of the survival uses for the misunderstood thistle, including food, water, and fire starting.

Food  

There are many different species of thistle (Cirsium ssp. and Carduus ssp.) scattered across the Northern Hemisphere, and plenty to choose from in North America. There are no toxic species in the US, just a few bitter-tasting ones. Use a shovel to pop the tap roots to the surface, and to cut off their heavily spine-covered tops. The remaining roots can be washed, chopped and eaten raw. The roots can also be simmered, stewed or fried like most other root vegetables.  

Water  

Before the flower heads of a thistle start to swell and take form, a careful survivor can scrape off all of the sharp spines from the immature stalk and munch on it for a celery-like treat. Or it can be chewed just for the water it contains. It will take several stalks to get even a few ounces of water, but by chewing the stem and swallowing only the juice, you’re getting water with no need to pass a large amount of fiber.  

Fire  

Once the thistle stalks have died, they can be scraped to remove their spines. The slender ones can be used as hand drills, and the stout ones can be used as bow drill spindles for friction fire making. They aren’t the best in the land, but they are worth a try in any environment. An even better fire-starting material from thistle is the fluffy seed down. This cream-colored fluff will easily take a spark from ferrocerium rods, and it’s a great addition to the tinder bundles that you’d use in other forms of fire starting. 

Is thistle a friend or foe to you? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

The recent (and almost back-to-back) series of deadly earthquakes in Japan and Ecuador have brought the importance of earthquake preparedness back into mainstream thought once again. Although the world sees about 15 earthquakes a year above a magnitude of 7, it’s certainly unusual to see them happen so close to each other. The 7.8-magnitude Ecuadorean earthquake and the Japanese quake series that maxed out at a 7.3 magnitude have cost hundreds of people their lives—people who may not have had the time to react. So what are you supposed to do when the ground beneath your feet starts to shudder? We’ve probably all heard to do things like sheltering in a doorway or hiding under a desk, but will these really save your life? Many search and rescue professionals say no. Here are five things to avoid if the ground starts moving underneath you. 

1. Don’t Hide Under a Bed
The small space underneath a bed will be made even smaller if the ceiling collapses on it. If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. The bed will hold up some of the debris, creating a safe void around the perimeter of the bed. Never get under it, and teach your children never to crawl under the bed in an earthquake. 

2. Don’t Climb Under a Desk—Crouch Beside It
The same principle of avoiding a bed applies to furniture that appears roomier. Furniture can become a lethal deadfall trap when the weight of debris is added on top of it. Under the desk may seem like a logical hiding place from a quake, but it’s safer to be beside the desk. Even if it is crushed, the ceiling will still be supported by the desk somewhat. This creates a small triangular space next to the desk (triangle of life), which could mean enough room to survive. 

3. Steer Clear of the Stairs
The average stairway is a deathtrap in an earthquake. The treads can cut a person into pieces if the building collapses on top of them. Don’t be on the stairs, or under them in a quake. 

4. Skip the Doorway
We’ve all been told, at some point, to get under a doorway in an earthquake. But what really happens in that spot? The idea behind this “shelter” spot is probably to take advantage of the extra studs in the wall around the doorway, but the reality is quite different. If you are standing under a doorway and the doorjamb falls forward or backward, you will still get crushed by the ceiling. And if the door jamb falls horizontally, people have actually been cut in half by a failed and collapsed doorway. 

5. Flee From Windows
Windows may seem like a way out of danger, especially since you can see through it, but just imagine the damage that big broken pieces of glass will do to the human body. Glass moves and breaks in strange patterns during earthquakes, and these broken pieces can be deadly if they fall on you—or if you fall onto them. 

Did you make it through a big earthquake? What did you do for shelter? Tell us what you did by leaving a comment.

Photograph by FEMA, via Wikimedia Commons

People have enjoyed the taste of fish for millennia beyond reckoning. And in all that time, it’s still always been a struggle to pull the fish from their watery home. Of all the ways to fish, the simplest methodology by far is hand fishing. This is about as primitive as fishing can get. Actually grabbing the fish from its liquid lair with your bare hands is nothing short of primal. But does that make it the ultimate method of survival fishing? 

Although the idea of hand fishing is simple enough, like many survival skills, this “simpler” process requires a lot of technique. Hand fishing also requires an understanding of the fish’s habitat. Flathead catfish, for example, will hang out in underwater rock ledges, in holes, and under submerged logs in rivers and lakes during the daytime or while guarding eggs. These confined spaces make this species easier to catch, as the fish will be trapped with its back against the “wall.”

To get started in hand fishing, find a waterway that is known to contain catfish and other large slow species (in an area where this activity is legal). Wear shoes, long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and gloves, and wade out into the water. Use your feet to feel for structures that could harbor a fish, and then reach your hand into them. This almost always requires diving. If this works as planned, the fish will move forward and bite your hand. Fight your natural urge to pull your hand away. Leave your hand in the fish’s mouth and pull it toward you. Wrap your free arm around the fish, being careful to avoid contact with the barbs on the fish’s fins.

Never try this solo. Aways go with others so that they can help you if you become injured or entangled. The typical weight for a catfish caught by hand fishing is 22 to 39 pounds—not bad for a method that uses no fishing tackle whatsoever. It’s definitely the most bad-ass primitive method. But you also need to take into consideration the dangers inherent in this form of angling. I think your safer bet is to carry a survival fishing kit with hooks and line. You can’t afford to take big risks and risk big injuries in an emergency setting. No, hook and line fishing is not as cool—but there’s less risk of drowning, and I like that a lot. And in certain situations, getting soaked and risking hypothermia is a bad idea.

Ever grabbed a fish with your bare hands? What was your biggest catch? Let us know by leaving a comment.

“Not all those who wander are lost.”

That oft-quoted line from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings pretty well describes a certain type of outdoorsman. Maybe it’s a military sniper who relies on evasion to stay hidden and lethal. Or maybe it’s a surveillance professional, a paid spook who deliberately keeps a low profile in order to spy on his target. Or maybe it’s your friend who wins every paintball war because of her ability to melt into the woods and ambush her enemies, including you.

I honed my own evasion techniques during a 22-year career spent in really uncomfortable places while training British special forces, including the RAF’s elite Mountain Rescue unit. What I’ve learned is that it’s not easy to stay hidden, at least over a long period of time. But you can make a pretty good go of it as long as you practice rigorous self-discipline and follow these guidelines.

1. Don’t tell anyone your intentions 
This may seem obvious, but it’s worth remembering that the more you keep to yourself, and the fewer friends and strangers you interact with, the more inscrutable your motives and intentions will be to people trying to predict your behavior and location.

2. Avoid leaving sign
From the moment you leave the known world, you will be inadvertently leaving evidence of your presence and direction. “Ground sign” includes broken twigs and footprints in mud and dust. Avoid leaving “middle sign,” such as brushed foliage and pushed-back vegetation. And be mindful of “top sign,” or hair and fibers caught on foliage and tree bark. Disguise your footprints by pulling an old pair of socks or hosiery over your boots.

3. Leave false trails and looping tracks 
If you travel in one direction and then either backtrack or radically change direction in areas where you can disguise your sign, then you can mislead any trackers, or at least slow them down. Also consider jumping from one trail to another so that tracks start and stop intermittently. This will slow down any tracking operation, but it also takes time, patience, and the right set of conditions to execute.

4. Leave your electronics behind 
Do not carry your cellphone. If you absolutely must, for safety’s sake or to be in touch with a rescuer at the end of your walkabout, then remove the battery and the SIM card before you begin your trip. Electronic surveillance, and in particular cell-cluster analysis, can give very precise location data. And a deep analysis of digital behavior gives searchers a robust profile of your habits and your likely intentions.

Wear optical camouflage to make yourself less visible to cameras and human eyes. If you want to get really serious about staying unfound, then consider thermal-­signature camouflage, which will disguise your body heat to electronic surveillance devices such as drones carrying infrared detectors.

5. Manage your waste 
Discard nothing: no trash or human waste. Your leavings will only serve to highlight that you were there, confirming to would-be trackers that they are back on track. If you must discard an item, try to lay a false trail, but that’s dangerous because it also confirms your presence. This waste-­management edict is absolute: No spitting. No touching surroundings with bare hands. No dripping sweat.

Photograph by Nick Ferrari

We’ve all probably seen this plant on hunts and hikes, and thought, “That’s one fuzzy leaf.” But if you do your homework and find out more about this unusual-looking plant, you’ll discover that it’s far more than just a furry-leafed weed. Its name is mullein (Verbascum thapsus), and this plant offers more than a dozen uses. Many of these applications could be helpful, should we find ourselves in any kind of survival scenario. Even in an urban survival setting, you’re likely to find this plant. It loves dry sunny spots like road embankments and rocky highway medians, and it’s found along roadsides across the country. 

Even though it’s not a native plant species, some Native Americans used fresh green mullein leaves as moccasin inserts to keep their feet warm. Not only do the fuzzy leaves offer insulation, they also release oil that opens up the capillaries to increase blood flow. It’s also been called “cowboy toilet paper,” though that use may not have soothing results. The irritating hairs and the vasodilating oil can cause a rash on the tender skin of your nether regions. 

Mullein leaves can also be placed in hot water. Breathe in the steam to relieve congestion (though many Native folks just smoked the leaves for the same result). The pretty yellow flowers can also be soaked in oil to create earache relieving drops. The leaves can also be brewed into a tea for drinking, or mixed with tobacco and smoked.

And speaking of smoke… Mullein is one of my favorite hand-drill stalks for friction fire making. The dead leaves also make workable tinder. Select straight, dead stalks and trim off any rough spots. A light sanding on the stalk will save your hands from extra blisters (above and beyond the normal amount of blisters, that is). Twirl it on a softwood board like cedar, basswood, aspen, willow, or cottonwood and with much practice, you’ll start getting smoke and eventually learn to make embers with this ancient method. Very thick sections (about thumb diameter) can also be used for bow drill spindles. Normal drills have a pointy top, but you can’t carve a point on a mullein because it’s nearly hollow. But when coupled with an oversized and well-lubricated handhold socket, there’s no need for a point on the top of the drill. 

Once you have your fire going, wouldn’t it be nice to have something you could cook over it? Mullein can help with that too. Although it’s illegal today, crushed mullein seeds have been used for centuries as an effective fish poison. The crushed seeds release saponins, glycosides, coumarin and rotenone into the water—all compounds that can stun fish and bring them to the surface. Used in a small body of water, it can bring up fish that are resistant to other forms of angling. Again, this is illegal and quite frankly unsportsmanlike, but in a dire emergency, do what you must. Just catch and gut the fish quickly to minimize the meat’s exposure to these toxins. Cook until well done. 

What else do you use mullein for? Do you use wild plants for food or medicine? Please tell us your favorites by leaving a comment.  

Photograph by Arizona Department of Public Safety

After making some wrong turns and a potentially fatal decision to leave her vehicle, an Arizona woman is lucky to be alive, and she credits survival training for her salvation.

According to U.S. News, 72-year-old Ann Rodgers of Tucson, Arizona was reported missing on March 31 by her family. During a trip to see her grandkids, which should have been an easy drive, Rodgers took a few wrong turns, stranding her to a remote dirt road in eastern Arizona. She was driving a hybrid car, which ran out of both fuel and electric power. To worsen the situation, she had no cellphone service.

Rodgers made the right move on the first night of her situation—staying with her car. She had extra clothing for warmth, and some snacks and water for sustenance. On the second day however, she made a decision that has turned fatal for many people over the past century—she left the vehicle to look for help.

Had she stayed with the vehicle (as you should do), her ordeal would have been shortened by several days, since local police found the abandoned car on April 3. But aside from this major blunder, Rodgers showed skill and tenacity. Accompanied by her dog, she went off searching for help and to look for a ranch which she had passed along the way. Each night, she built a fire for warmth. She drank “pond water” for hydration. She even found edible plants along the way and killed a turtle, which she roasted and ate for nourishment. Rodgers claimed to have learned each of these skills from a survival class and her continued research on the topic of desert survival.
Rodgers told the authorities that she was angry with them at one point, since help hadn’t come. “I was frustrated, but I knew there were people who cared enough to make sure somebody found me…” But it wasn’t because local authorities weren’t trying. The local sheriff’s department and the Department of Public Safety were looking for her, with man trackers, scent dogs, and aircraft. But again, Rodgers’ know-how came into play. She had made a large “help” sign from sticks and rocks, which a DPS pilot spotted on the ninth day of her predicament.

Rescue helicopter pilot Lowell Neshem was quoted saying “I was completely shocked. Up to that point I thought we were looking for a body. For me it was like a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown. I didn’t expect to find her alive.”
After the helicopter set down and picked her up, Rodgers was flown to a local hospital and soon released.

So what did she do wrong in this scenario? She didn’t turn around while she still had fuel in the car. She left the shelter of the car. She went into the desert with very little gear. And one of the worst offenses: she left the road. 

But what did she do right? She stayed with the car on night one, carried food and water in her car, and she learned some survival skills that matched her home region. I say all’s well that ends well. I’m glad she made it, happy for her reunion with her family, and proud of her exemplary strength and fortitude.