Hunter Gathering in 2005: Could You Survive?

[brewnog]

Hooray, I knew hyp would play fairly in this thread! I didn't know that about the bark though! Other good fire-lighting paraphenalia include a magnesium block and flint striker (you'll never be able to get it cold or wet enough not to get a spark), wire wool (ditto), and a nice mixture 1:9 of potassium permanganate and sugar.

Especially for you:

http://personalpages.umist.ac.uk/student/E.Smith-2/potholder.jpg

 

[brewnog]

You can also cut beech bark into strips or sheets, and fold and sew it up to make some really good cooking containers. Surprisingly, you can boil water in a pot made from beech bark.

 

[hypatia]

Now that is a really nice picture, and I will try it.

Foods.
Any water/marsh plant with a arrow shaped leaf, you may eat the root/tuber, they all are safe.

The roots of Queen Annes Lace, yummy carrot flavor, boil until soft.

Acorns, boil whole with at least 3 changes of water

wild onions/garlic

tender new shoots{ONLY THE NEW SHOOTS} of ferns

Clovers...the flowers made into tea

anyone care to add more?

 

[wolram]

Now that is a really nice picture, and I will try it.

Foods.
Any water/marsh plant with a arrow shaped leaf, you may eat the root/tuber, they all are safe.

The roots of Queen Annes Lace, yummy carrot flavor, boil until soft.

Acorns, boil whole with at least 3 changes of water

wild onions/garlic

tender new shoots{ONLY THE NEW SHOOTS} of ferns

Clovers...the flowers made into tea

anyone care to add more?

Nettles, boiled

Dandilion roots

Puff balls, mushrooms and other "fungi".

Crab apples

 

[wolram]

Thats a great pot holder Brewy, and you are really good with crayons

 

[fuzzyfelt]

nice pickie and close Brewnog, now to really boil a billy you need a billy can with a wire handle, once boiled with your bush brew inside, protect your hand and swing the whole thing over your head three times, the g-forces will send the leaves to the bottom and behold, a perfect cup of billy tea.

 

[brewnog]

Moss makes excellent stock in soup. All the little bugs in it add protein too!

Also, collect the sap from birch or maple trees (cut a few v-notches in the trunk), and boil it down to make yummy syrup!

 

[wolram]

What about them bugs Brewy? i think Earth worms are edible, i hope caus i
ate some when a nipper, are grubs edible?

 

[arildno]

What about them bugs Brewy? i think Earth worms are edible, i hope caus i
ate some when a nipper, are grubs edible?

Sure, both grubs and maggots are edible, or rather slurpable.
here's a slurping tip:
1. Hold the grub between two fingers (don't kill it, half the fun is that it remains alive)
2. Chew off its tail end

3. Put your mouth around the now opened end and SLURP!
When you get really good at this, you'll see the grub squirm as you slurp, almost to the very end, when it has been reduced to a hollow shell.

 

[honestrosewater]

Sure, both grubs and maggots are edible, or rather slurpable.
here's a slurping tip:
1. Hold the grub between two fingers (don't kill it, half the fun is that it remains alive)
2. Chew off its tail end

3. Put your mouth around the now opened end and SLURP!
When you get really good at this, you'll see the grub squirm as you slurp, almost to the very end, when it has been reduced to a hollow shell.

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

 

[brewnog]

Pretty much all bugs and creepy crawlies are edible, and very nutritious too. Avoid any which smell bad, are already dead, or produce a rash when handled. They're fine to eat raw, but more palatable when cooked, - boiling is safest, but you can roast them on hot stones from a fire too. Remove the legs and wings from large insects to avoid irritation of the digestive tract. Do NOT eat the skin of a hairy caterpillar, do as arildno suggested and squeeze out the goodness! Similarly, remove the armour from big beetles before eating. Ickle tiny insects can be ground up into a paste, or roasted and ground into a powder to thicken soups and stews.

Never collect insects which are feeding on carrion or dung, and avoid grubs feeding on the undersides of leaves; use them as fish bait instead. Very brightly coloured insects and caterpillars often have poisonous skins/cases.

Termite mounds: Food goldmines. Break off pieces of the termite mound, and dunk them in water to drive out the termites. You can also put pieces of termite mound on a fire to make smoke to keep other biting insects away! Alternatively, suspend some termite mound above a fishing spot; falling termites will attract fish to the surface. Termites' eggs are also nutritious.

Bees are edible; honey is too but is hard to collect: Attack bees' nests at night, - make a smokey torch from wet grass, and hold it next to the opening of a nest to fill it with smoke. Then seal the hole. Wait a bit, then crack it open to reveal your dinner of bees and honey. Remove legs, wings and sting before eating. Again, boil or roast to improve the flavour. Eat the honeycomb too, it's gorgeous. Make candles or waterproofing out of the wax. Use the smell test and standard plant edibility test for honey, - it's not guaranteed safe.

Don't bother pursuing wasps or hornets, it's not worth the risk.

Cook ants for at least 6 minutes to break down their poison, then tuck in.

Eat slugs, snails and worms FRESH: Either starve them for a day, or place them in a strong saltwater solution for 10 minutes to clear out the guts. Then boil for 10 minutes with herbs to make them taste nicer.

 

[arildno]

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

EAT SQUIRRELS??
Sacrilege..






Just consider how expertly those little hands handle nuts and the like..

 

[wolram]

Any one have a recipe for snail and worm stew? i will give it a try if i can
find the stuff.

 

[wolram]

I knew someone who ate -slurped- squirrel brains, but he had the decency to kill them first.

Do you guys eat squirrel when camping? They're all over the place around here. IIRC, squirrel meat tastes like chicken, but I was a little kid when I had it.

No brains for me, i will eat the flesh but not the offal.

 

[arildno]

Here's something cool to do with snails (the large soft ones):
(that's slugs, right?)
Stuff one into your nostril, and block that exit.
Slowly, the snail will start crawling upwards, creating the most delicious sensation in you. It all ends with a plop and a gobble when it ends up in your throat.
Be careful not to get it in your breathing tube!

 

[wolram]

Here's something cool to do with snails (the large soft ones):

Stuff one into your nostril, and block that exit.
Slowly, the snail will start crawling upwards, creating the most delicious sensation in you. It all ends with a plop and a gobble when it ends up in your throat.
Be careful not to get it in your breathing tube!

I just threw up in my mouth

 

[arildno]

I just threw up in my mouth

Oh, that's a very common reaction for the first 5 slugs or so.
Some prefer to continue this practice even when they are able to suppress their gag reflex, because they want to see how far they can spit the slug. The record for post-nasal-injective slugspitting length is currently 12.7 yards.

 

[wolram]

Oh, that's a very common reaction for the first 5 slugs or so.
Some prefer to continue this practice even when they are able to suppress their gag reflex, because they want to see how far they can spit the slug. The record for post-nasal-injective slugspitting length is currently 12.7 yards.

Can it get any worse

 

[honestrosewater]

Is that safe - sticking things up your nose? I was just looking at a cool sinus tutorial this morning, and it seems there's lots of places for the slug to crawl and get stuck.

 

[arildno]

Can it get any worse

Oh, sure; next stage is to get a ladybug to crawl up your urethra..

 

[wolram]

Is that safe - sticking things up your nose? I was just looking at a cool sinus tutorial this morning, and it seems there's lots of places for the slug to crawl and get stuck.

I am sure arildno is out to shock with these tricks, i preferred the other type
of thread degeneration, that makes me smile instead of puke

 

[arildno]

Me?? Out to shock?
Perhaps just a little..

 

[brewnog]

Oh, sure; next stage is to get a ladybug to crawl up your urethra..

On a serious note, don't piss if you're swimming in the Amazon.

The Candiru, a transparent Catfish (about 2.5cm long) can swim up the urethra of a person urinating in the water. It then gets stuck by its dorsal spines, where it will cause muchos pain, infection, and death.

 

[wolram]

On a serious note, don't piss if you're swimming in the Amazon.

The Candiru, a transparent Catfish (about 2.5cm long) can swim up the urethra of a person urinating in the water. It then gets stuck by its dorsal spines, where it will cause muchos pain, infection, and death.

Ok no peeing in the amazon or putting things in strange places
To get back on track Bewy, how do you build a shelter.

 

[arildno]

On a serious note, don't piss if you're swimming in the Amazon.

The Candiru, a transparent Catfish (about 2.5cm long) can swim up the urethra of a person urinating in the water. It then gets stuck by its dorsal spines, where it will cause muchos pain, infection, and death.

And males shouldn't go skinny-dipping in waters with pike in.
There was this Norwegian lieutenant back in the 18th century who stripped down and took a bath, and then..okay, you get the rest.

 

[wolram]

And males shouldn't go skinny-dipping in waters with pike in.
There was this Norwegian lieutenant back in the 18th century who stripped down and took a bath, and then..okay, you get the rest.

yes they have a wicked bite, another no, no.

 

[brewnog]

Shelters eh.

Depends entirely on where you are. Not only because your location will determine what kind of protection you need (from cold, the elements, wild animals etc) but also what kind of materials you're likely to be able to work with.

Generally speaking, don't set up shelter on exposed hilltops (too windy), valley bottoms (cold and damp sink to these), hillside terraces which are at risk of moist ground, too close to water (trouble from insects, risk of flash floods), near solitary trees (lightning), or near hornets' nests!

My favourite shelters for woodland are those built in natural hollows, you have a ready-made space, and all you need to do is build a roof (sloping if you like) and a sleeping platform inside. For long-term shelter, sods of grass make a great waterproof roof.

 

[hypatia]

I too would look for a natural place to build shelter, a simple opened front leanto would work for a while{make sure your backs to the wind} as would a brush shelter. For long term, I would want at least one back wall of stone at least 3 to 4 ft high. To support heavier timbers and to act like a reflector for fire/heat.

 

[juvenal]

There have been times when I've been so entranced by the beauty of the natural world that I wanted to live like a native off the fat of the land. Whether I was sober or not is a completely different matter.

 

[wolram]

I think i would choose wood land for shelter , like Brewy, there is lots of
building material, i have never built a stone wall Hypatia, it sounds easy
but i think it needs skill, I think i would attempt a wattle and daub round
house, with the door way facing sun rise, i saw a reconstruction of one
in a program called time team, all about "archeology", the construction is
hard work, but they are good for ten plus years,

 

[hypatia]

Ahhh the waddle and daub, called a medicen house by natives of N. America. There a nice little place to make for the long haul.
A round dug in Hogan would be good too, not many wild animals will venture underground to go after large prey. And the above ground part is sort of like a waddle, with timbers and a solid roof.

 

[wolram]

Ahhh the waddle and daub, called a medicen house by natives of N. America. There a nice little place to make for the long haul.
A round dug in Hogan would be good too, not many wild animals will venture underground to go after large prey. And the above ground part is sort of like a waddle, with timbers and a solid roof.

Im lost, what is Hogan and waddle?underground? Hypatia what has
the medicen man given you?

 

[hypatia]

A Hogan is a round house, dug into the ground about 24 inches. With its dome roof, its about 10 ft tall in the center. Logs make up the basic structure, and mud/grass/reeds cover it. The door always faces the morning sun.
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/000ab/000ab08d.jpg

 

[wolram]

That looks a sturdy house and no thatched roof, but how about bad
weather would it not flood when it rains.

 

[hypatia]

I've not been in one while a deluge style of rain fell, but they hold tight with the normal rains. Also rains here almost never come from the east. And of course {USA} we half to worry about tornados, so this would be my building of choice.
Round buildings offer so much more useable room.