The Dakota Fire Pit was first developed on the plains. It was used to hide fire, which could be seen for miles on the plains, burn with minimal smoke as it provides enough oxygen to prevent most smoke, and to burn in a manner that is incredibly efficient as fuel came scarcely on the plains.
While the Dakota Fire Pit is a bit more labor intensive than other fire methods, it will produce a warmer, more fuel efficient fire. This means that to cook on, less fuel will be required– meaning more wood saved for later and less time spent collecting fuel. This fire method is also useful for stealth camping as the flame is below ground, minimizing visibility of light.
Another advantage of the Dakota Fire Pit is that it is easy to cook on and if the pot is big enough, can be set directly over the fire. If not, this can be remedied with some cross beams quickly fashioned with a few sticks braced across the fire pit.
How the fire pit works is depicted in the diagram below. It helps to build the oxygen feeding hole in the direction of prevailing winds. The fire heats up, drawing in air, the 0xygen feeding hole is sloped to the base of the fire so that it will draft oxygen in, causing a warmer and more efficient flame.
Find a flat area where the fire will be made, preferably under some canopy cover so that any smoke coming off may be further diminished.
Clear the area of organic material so that the fire will be safe and not spread.
If a modern digging tool isn’t available, a stick may be used to greatly increase digging efficiency.
Dig out a hole that is about one foot deep and around one foot wide.
A secondary hole is dug about half a foot to one foot away from the fire pit. This hole is dug at an angle leading to the bottom of the fire pit. This hole allows for oxygen to feed into the bottom of the fire in the pit causing it to burn more efficiently. Tinder is built up in the hole on the right and then ignited.
This photo is from the oxygen hole. As you can see, it feeds into the very bottom of the fire pit so that the fire may draft oxygen and burn more efficiently.
If the wind is blowing too hard and is causing the fire to burn too rapidly, rocks may be used as a damper to slow the fueling of the fire by partially covering the feeder hole.
When it becomes time to move to the next camp, the fire site can be restored to its original state. The fire is extinguished properly and the dirt is filled back into the holes. The original debris is scattered over the site to rehabilitate it and hide the fire site.
Fire is an important element to wilderness survival. After getting a fire going the first time, it is important to never allow it to go out in a survival situation. The Long Match is a method of carrying that fire with you as you leave camp and head out to the next destination. This becomes of great use when the only method of fire starting available is through primitive methods.
The Long Match may be thought of as a “bushcraft cigar.” It is made of an outer shell and dry fuel that will smolder. The goal is not to ignite the dry tinder but to allow it to smolder until it is desired to be blown into flame.
First one gathers the shell. This may be made from nearly anything that can be rolled up into a tube. In this case, birch bark was used off of a dead and down birch.
The bark was broken into about a foot long section and then sliced down the middle to open it up.
This prepared bark is now ready to house dried grasses, leafs, and bark. The next step is to forage for these things. Anything dry that will smolder will do. This means it’s better to use grasses, bark, or things like chaga bits rather than sticks as the goal isn’t to have a flame but a smoldering bundle of fuel.
Dry leafs and pine needles are collected from trees where they blew into rather than the wet ground.
Dry standing grasses are easily collected and worked into a bundle.
After these things are collected and meshed together, they are placed on the inside of the outer shell.
The bark is then rolled up as tightly as possible to make sure the inner fuel is held together.
Once the long match is rolled properly, it is time to secure it with some cordage. In this case, 550 cord is used though root lashing or natural cordage will work just fine. This long match is tied in three sections to make sure that the shell is secure but also if the outer shell degrades as the fuel burns down the new (and smaller) sections will be held together.
To help hold the grasses and bark in, a cap can be made from another piece of bark by inserting it into the folds on the end of the long match.
With the cap now on, the grasses at the top of the long match are tamped down to make sure the smoldering carries throughout the fuel source rather than burning out.
A coal from a camp fire may be placed inside the tamped fuel source. In this case, a sparked piece of amadou is placed inside the fuel source.
To help insulate the coal from being put out by wind and to make sure that the coal catches the grasses and smolders, the coal is covered by a thin layer of fuel.
The long match may then be blown on to help insure transfer of the fire from the coal to the fuel source. In the case of an actual coal from a fire, it will often do it by itself but it doesn’t hurt to make sure that the fire is captured, especially in a survival situation.
The long match is now ready to be transported as it smolders, preserving the life of the coal.
If the wind is blowing, causing the fuel to smolder too quickly, measures may be taken to slow this unwanted effect. Fitting a cap on the top of the long match, the exact same way as the bottom cap was made in the beginning, will help starve the long match of oxygen and slow the rate of burning. Make sure some air is still able to get to the coal otherwise it will go out.
When it is time to make the camp fire or possibly a new fire to go about and make a new long match to continue the journey, it is simple to remove the cap and blow life into the fire. The long match is already full of tinder and ready to go with the right bit of wind!
Out in the bush we get many scrapes and bruises. It is not a foreign thought that one day you may sprain your ankle on a hike with no help around. Here is a method that could give you an edge to fight the pain and make it back alive.
Poplars contain a compound known as salicin in their inner bark. The marketed artificial substance many of are familiar with is acetylsalicylic acid; more commonly known as Aspirin. If you are allergic to aspirin do not use any form of it, including this method. The risks that apply to aspirin use still apply here and should not be taken lightly. The natural form is actually absorbed easier than the synthetic form, so do not believe that just because it is natural it is good for you. It is advised that you seek guidance from your medical doctor before using any herbal supplement or medicine. Overdose symptoms may include ringing in your ears, headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, hallucinations, rapid breathing, fever, seizure (convulsions), or coma and require immediate medical attention. The use of aspirin is not advised for people who are bleeding as it may cause them to bleed out.
Usually, a younger branch off of a willow or aspen tree is cut. From there bark is scraped off and collected making sure to get the white “slick” layer of inner bark just underneath and before the hardwood. Within this bark and cambium layer lies the pain killing properties of aspirin.
There are a couple methods of ingesting this drug to help fight pain and alleviate inflammation. The most simple is to take about a 2 table spoon dose of the shredded cambium and bark then chew on it. It is going to taste as one may imagine; like chewing on chalk. Swallow the juices that come from the quid.
The second method of ingestion is to make a tea. Once again, take about 2 table spoons of the cambium, let it steep for about 10 minutes in hot water. Be careful not to boil the water with the cambium in it as it may denature the aspirin. This drink is often bitter but can be spruced up by adding some mint or honey.
Stripping the bark comes more easily in spring and summer. It becomes more difficult to separate it as the months grow colder but is still very possibly and remains just as useful.
Here is a list of some plants that contain aspirin in the cambium and bark:
Populus tremuloides: Quaking, Trembling or American Aspen (northern & western North America)
Populus grandidentata: Bigtooth Aspen (eastern North America, south of P. tremuloides)
white willow/European willow ( Salix alba )
black willow/pussy willow ( Salix nigra )
crack willow ( Salix fragilis )
purple willow ( Salix purpurea )
weeping willow ( Salix babylonica )
Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink. It is well known in the survivalist and outdoors community that even freshwater is unfit for human consumption without treatment. Here are some tips and tricks on how we lose water, fighting dehydration, and how to stay hydrated in the bush and under emergency circumstances.
How we lose water per 24 hours
————-minimum—-hot——-heavy exercise
skin——— 350ml——350ml——-350ml
sweating—- 100ml——14000ml—–5000ml
respiration—350ml——350ml——-650ml
urination—– 1400ml—–1200ml——500ml
Defecation— 100ml——100ml——–100ml
——Total– 2,300ml—–3300ml——6600ml
—-————- 2.3L——-3.3L———6.6L
To maximize water uptake: drink no more than 8oz every 15 minutes so your body may absorb the maximum amount (8oz:15min)
SIGNS OF DEHYDRATION
Headache, irritability. Dark yellow urine, thirst, fatigue. Dry or sticky mouth. Low or no urine output. Not producing tears, sunken eyes, lethargic or comatose, vomiting, diarrhea, or a feeling one can’t keep anything down which may cause and/or worsen dehydration itself.
One may notice people becoming confused and doing just stupid things they normally wouldn’t do or others becoming combative and aggitated. This is a good time to make them drink some water as that’s one of the reasons they may be doing this, also they may be low in blood sugar (carrying an “emergency” cola product isn’t too bad of an idea for these instances of low blood sugar, but that’s not enough by itself)
Let’s examine the onset of dehydration:
3% dehydration you are thirsty
5% dehydration you are parched (only 50% grip strength)
7% dehydration you are unconscious
Signs of Water and where to Look
-Water flows down hill
-Grooms the surface of the Earth
-Encourages Vegetation
-Animal trails converge towards water
-Natural caches
-Plants, dew collection, snow, evaporation
-Transpiration
Tips and Tricks for Finding/Purifying Water
Hardwoods may be used to as a source of purified water by boring a quarter to 1/2 inch hole and inserting a hollow reed. Collect the sap on bark, a cup, or any container. This method works in early spring (walnut, maple, birch, hickory). This needs to be done in small amounts or mixed with other purified water as the sugar contents of the sap may make one not used to it sick or stricken with a sudden onset of diarrhea. Diarrhea kills in the bush so it is essential to prevent such a condition. The sycamore tree is one of the few exceptions to the sugar content of the sap. The Sycamore’s sap can be consumed without worry as there is very little to no sugar in the sap.
TRANSPIRATION
Transpiration is the process through which plants respire. What occurs during this process is the release of water vapor through the leafs of the plant. It is advised to use nonpoisonous species for collecting water from transpiration.
One may place a plastic bag, tarp, poncho, etc over the green leafs still attached to a plant. The bag is then sealed off so that no air can get into or out of the bag. A rock is usually placed at the bottom of the bag so that the water will pool. It is best to use a clear bag as this further encourages the transpiration process.
STERILIZATION
Boiling, Chemical treatment, and filtration
Boiling water is an ages old method of sterilizing water. Water should be boiled for a minimum of five minutes though there is argument that most microbes that could cause contamination of humans would die off the moment the water starts boiling. It is better to be safe than sorry. Water containers should be covered when boiling as to prevent the loss of water due to evaporation.
Common household bleach may be used to purify water in a pinch. Do NOT use scented bleach as it poisonous!
2-4 drops of bleach to a liter of water; 2-4 drops/bottle
8 drops per gallon. 16 for dirty water
HOW TO CONSERVE WATER
-Siesta during the day
-Don’t eat if no water is available
-Cover pot when boiling
-Drink limit when possible
-Body can absorb 8oz every 15 minutes
-Breathe through your nose
-Never pee in water
-Drink all kitchen water (i.e. pasta water)
Sphagnum moss has a fairly acidic pH and high absorbency. It collects a large amount of water from dew and rain; water may literally be wrung from it. This water should be sterile with the rare exception of a halophile that has only shown up in very rare cases…so it is a calculated risk with low probability of problems. I have now consumed the water squeezed from sphagnum moss on several occasions with no ill effects paying credence to my extensive research.
Sphagnum moss, due to its pH can also be used in a bark water filter to add extra filtering ability.
Another use would be for feminine hygiene pads as the pH will help to keep it sterile and absorbent properties. This is the same moss seen used by Cody Lundin to bandage a wound on a popular television series.
Sphagnum moss tends to grow in bogs or other places with high acidity. One of the things you will notice with sphagnum moss is that if you wring it, quite a bit of water will often come out. The way you can tell sphagnum moss from other moss is due to the way it clusters, it has quite a different branching of stems than other mosses.
I believe also, due to some anecdotal evidence and late night discussions with my biologist friends as well as confirmation by Dr. Robertus (biologist), one should be able to consume the water from sphagnum moss “raw” as well as from the pitcher plant with relatively little concern. There is still the chance of illness but the odds are on your side during an emergency situation.
Winter Cress is a simple to identify plant that is great for beginners. Though it is easy to confuse with different types of mustard plants, I have not found, through research, any poisonous look-alike. The best and true way to identify this plant is by its leafs. You may notice the leafs are differently shaped and more lobed than wild mustard. The leafs will be a dark green and waxy. It grows in moist waste areas and flowers in April-August. Winter Cress may be found year round, and if you’re lucky, can be dug out of the snow even in winter.
The young leaves may form dense rosettes during warm spells in late winter and may be picked into the spring while the nights are still frosty. Though the plant is edible all year, the frosty nights of the transition of winter to spring is when they are most delicious. They make a great addition to salads or as a cooked green similar to salad.
As the nights warm up and it is no longer frosting, the plant tends to become bitter. This is quickly remedied by boiling the plants in two or three changes of boiling water. The tight yellow flower buds (at the top of the below picture) appear after the leafs become too bitter for most palates. They may be collected and then boiled for approximately five minutes in two changes of water and served as a broccoli treat.
A simple oil lamp can be made from numerous materials found in the bush or around the home.
Sustaining light away from the fire or when the power goes out may be difficult especially if candles are not on hand. This is an easy solution of using spare oil or rendered fat to keep the lights on when the rest of the world goes dark.
Many different containers could be used to hold the oil. In this case, we will be using a scavenged clam shell for holding the oil. A spoon, a tin can, a soda can, ceramic bowl, or anything nonflammable and not at risk of melting could be used. The wick could be made from a piece of cloth, a rag, a twisted paper towel, or just about anything that will soak up the oil. The oil can come from “waste” cook oil that has dripped off into the cook pan as is the case here. One could also use olive oil or vegetable oil as a fuel or from rendered fat in the bush.
Here we use a clam shell as the container for the oil
Next, some cedar bark is acquired to process into the wick.
Processing cedar
The cedar wick is then made by using the reverse wrap cordage making technique
Add some rendered fat (oil leftover from cooking) and the cedar wick soaks it up
The wick is lit with a match and the shell oil lamp will burn for about 30 minutes on one filling. It can be increased by adding more oil or rendered fat.
The same method could be done with more modern tools or scavenged goods such as a soda can and a piece of reverse wrapped paper towel.
Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of lichen in the family Parmeliaceae that are found throughout most of the world. It is commonly referred to as Old Man’s Beard and Beard Lichen, favoring to grow on trees rather than rocks as some of its lichen counterparts. Often a green color due to its content of Usnic Acid, and having stemmed the name of the color ‘usnic green’, this lichen has been used medicinally for hundreds of years and it is this content of Usnic Acid that gives it these medicinal properties.
Usnic Acid (C18H16O7) is a potent antibiotic and antifungal chemical found within most Usnea species. It was traditionally used as a bandage due to these properties. In an emergency situation, Beard lichen could be used solely to bandage and keep clean a wound. Old Man’s Beard could perhaps be used in combination with balsam fir sap (which is a topical pain killer and adhesive) to secure the lichen to the wound, keep it clean, safe from infection, and reduce pain. Usnic Acid has been found to be extremely effective against microbes like Staphylococcus, streptococcus, pathogenic fungi, as well as exhibiting antiviral, antiprotozoal, anti-mitotic, anti-inflammatory, and its own analgesic properties. These characteristics allow Old Man’s Beard to be far superior in backwoods bandaging than that of Sphagnum moss which is antimicrobial only due to its acidic pH.
Another great property of this easily identified lichen is that it is high in vitamin C, making it of good use in the prevention and treatment of scurvy. This lichen is edible and often was used as a soup thickener by early settlers to North America.
Usnea is a lichen, which is a fascinating relationship between a photosynthetic algae and a fungus with entirely different morphology, physiology, and biochemistry than that of an isolated algae or fungus and occur in some of the most extreme environments on earth. While they may be capable of living in extreme conditions, they are very sensitive to air pollution and their presence may be a good indicator of air quality in the area. This quality should be taken into consideration when attempting to locate Old Man’s Beard as it is unlikely to be found near industrial cities.
Making a debris shelter is a very personalized thing. One has to make them several times to get the specifications fit to one’s spacial/dimensional needs.
Site selection is also very important. I chose an area that was on a bit higher ground than the surrounding area to prevent water running into my shelter and flooding.
First I find a “Y” stick that is about as tall as my waist and a ridge pole to run from the Y stick that is perhaps 2-3 feet longer than I am to make sure I can fit in. If one wants to be super efficient, the narrowed spot that one can’t fit in should be filled in with leaves.
This is my just over waist high Y stick with the ridge pole.
Begin filling in the skeleton. I like to make sure the sticks are filled in quite thick. I have seen people do it with less sticks, but in my opinion, this will prevent leaves from falling in as well as as further protect one from the elements, especially the wind. The more one adds and more time one spends on it the better it will be.
Beginning to fill in skeleton.
Further filled in side-view
Rear view
Front view of the skeleton
From here one begins to pile leaves on top of the structure. The more the better. The general rule is that one should have enough leaves that one can stick one’s arm up to the elbow into the leaf pile. Place some “leaf stabilizing sticks” on top of the leaves. This doesn’t have to be as intricate as the structural skeleton. It will serve the purpose of preventing one’s leaves from blowing away.
A finished debris shelter will be about half arm to full arms’ deep with leaves. This will help insulate the inhabitant and further help to waterproof the shelter. There is a pile of leaves on the bottom left corner of the shelter that will be pulled in with the dweller to help plug the shelter and help prevent the escape of heat.
It is not only the outside environment that can strip you of your heat. The ground itself will suck the heat out of you if you do not insulate yourself from it. Cover the floor of the shelter with leaves, ferns, pin boughs, etc to really protect yourself from losing heat to the earth itself.
To sleep in a debris shelter, one crawls into it backwards and (typically) face down. Gather a bunch of leaves at the doorway so that when one crawls in, the leaves can be pulled in as a “plug” and further keep heat in.
Minimizing space in the debris shelter is the name of the game. I want a little bit of dead air space and enough space so that I can move just a little bit. If I have more space than that, my body will be heating all that extra air, which is less efficient. If it is a cold nigh, one’s clothing could even be filled with leaves to help further insulate body heat.
The choice of location also too into account all of those trees that surrounded the area. They were not big enough to fall on me and hurt me (widow makers weren’t there), and they also added a nice canopy to further protect me from the rain and break up the wind.
Clay has a variety of uses in primitive living. Today we will talk about making clay pottery and how to go about firing clay in a primitive type setting.
Clay may be found in a variety of places. From the dry ground itself, river beds, and lake floors to searching puddles accumulated in the woods where clay may likely be.
Dry method of processing clay.
Harvest clay from ground. Crush clay (rock on rock) break it into small pieces, about the size of a BB and then you can begin to grind it into powder.
Slowly and very carefully begin to rehydrate it. After hydrating the clay, let it sit for a few hours before molding.
Wet Method (these were wet method clay pots)
If clay is found in creek bed or lake (as often is the case) it may be sloppy and full of debris.
Take a 1-5 gallon bucket (depending on how much clay you have but it doesn’t much matter if you have more than you need)
Place clay in the bucket/container with water and mix the clay and debris up. Mash it and mix it until it gets to a “milk shake” consistency. You want no solid chunks of clay floating around.
After no more clay chunks are floating around, you should let it settle for about 24 hours. The layers will separate with the sand and rocks going to the bottom, the layer of clay on top of that, water, and then organic material will float to the top.
After about a day of it settling, skim off the organic material on the top. SLOWLY SLOWLY SLOWLY pour off a little bit of the water. Let it settle. Pour off a little more water, let it settle, continue until you’re down to the clay layer.
Scoop out the clay (Carefully!) missing the bottom (which is sand and dirt). Let it dry on rock or large piece of wood for a day. That, or you can hang it in a sack, t-shirt, pillow case, burlap sack, etc, and let it hang dry in the sun.
Next, after your day of drying the clay, is to test its plasticity or in other words, “how well it works”. Work the clay for a minute or two and turn it into a coil/ring/or pretzel. It should not crack. If you can make a coil you have OK clay. If you can make a pretzel without it breaking/cracking, you probably have some good working clay. Make a small pinch pot to see how well it responds and works.
Next, is a big part of guess and check. Tempering one’s clay. Angular pieces of sand are good for adding to clay, very fine gravel, ground bone, ash, they all work for tempering.
Take a 3 small balls from your clay source (pinch pot sized), flatten them to a pancake, slap in one side to your sand (5% temper), flip it over and slap into tempering material again (10% temper) then roll and mix the clay.
Take second test pinch pot ball of clay. Make clay into pancake, make it 10% temper and then mix it up, flatten to pancake, add another 5%-10% temper by slapping it into the tempering material on both sides once again.
Make a 30% temper pot as well. It will help to have a no temper pot as well.
With these pinch pots, put them in the shade for 24 hours where sun and wind can’t get to them. What you’re doing is looking for cracks and such. It will help to fire these later on to see how well they hold up.
You want them to be “bone dry” before they are fired. A week, 2 weeks, to a month before firing them. It is very possible, that if you wake up early in the morning, you could temper and fire pots all in the same day. The thing with waiting after you have your pinch pots is that it will have less and less water in them giving them a better chance when firing.
Wedging is next!
After the clay has the correct temper, smack and roll clay to get air pockets out of the clay; taking special care to NOT fold the clay. The goal is to get all the air pockets out. You can and will probably need to add a little water to allow pliability.
Molding:
after the clay is wedged, you may begin to mold the clay. Having wet hands is a good idea to prevent cracking. Adding water when needed to keep the clay moist.
Using the pad of your thumb, work a hole into the pot. If you see a crack form, smooth it over. the back of ones’ fingernail seems to work well.
Be careful not to over hydrate your clay. If it is too wet, when left to dry, it will lack integrity and slouch, allowing for cracks to form.
After your thumb gets to the bottom of the pot, begin opening it up. Get the pot as thing as safely possible, making sure to not leave the bottom too thick. The thinner the pot, the less likely it is to crack when you fire it.
Drying can be done in a day to a year or more. It’s all how long you want to let it dry and how careful you are when firing it. These pots were dried for 3 weeks.
Firing:
Make Tipi fire with pots surrounding it. This is the beginning of getting the pots warmed up and slowly getting rid of any water that could be left in them. You want all water to be out of them by the time it heats up to 212 degrees F. This is why they will slowly be moved closer and closer to the fire.
After about 15-20 minutes of moving the pots closer every so often, move them onto the coals
Next, is to cover the pots with sticks, in the tipi fire and continue heating them. This FIRST layer is to cover the pots with ash to help protect them from the environment.
After that initial layer of ash, it’s time to beef up the fire and maintain the heat for about 1.5-2 hours, sustaining a warmer fire. Build this layer again on top of your pottery.
It’s better to fire at night because the goal of this is to get the pots heated up until they are glowing orange. You can let the pots cool over night, letting them cool slowly so they do not crack.
After the pots have had sufficient time to cool (about a day) it is time to dig them out from the ashes.
Here is an example of finished pinch pot.
The reason the pinch pot showed above is round is due to trying to keep with traditional shapes of pinch pots in the Great Lakes region. The pots were held upright between stones and heated near fires to bring water to a boil or otherwise cook the pinch pots’ contents.
Find a flat area where the fire will be made, preferably under some canopy cover so that any smoke coming off may be further diminished.
Clear the area of organic material so that the fire will be safe and not spread.
If a modern digging tool isn’t available, a stick may be used to greatly increase digging efficiency.
Dig out a hole that is about one foot deep and around one foot wide.
A secondary hole is dug about half a foot to one foot away from the fire pit. This hole is dug at an angle leading to the bottom of the fire pit. This hole allows for oxygen to feed into the bottom of the fire in the pit causing it to burn more efficiently. Tinder is built up in the hole on the right and then ignited.
This photo is from the oxygen hole. As you can see, it feeds into the very bottom of the fire pit so that the fire may draft oxygen and burn more efficiently.
If the wind is blowing too hard and is causing the fire to burn too rapidly, rocks may be used as a damper to slow the fueling of the fire by partially covering the feeder hole.
When it becomes time to move to the next camp, the fire site can be restored to its original state. The fire is extinguished properly and the dirt is filled back into the holes. The original debris is scattered over the site to rehabilitate it and hide the fire site.
