After a Disaster, in an Emergency, Your Campsite.

Often, you may not have a great deal of choice; but you will always have some.

Avoid: 

• Wind
• Steep mountain sides (rock falls)
• Poorly drained areas and marches (especially if you want to avoid mosquitoes).
• Keep in mind that, especially in winter, temperatures may vary greatly over a rather small area. Avoid valley bottoms as often they are colder than the higher ground (sides of the valley). But, In winter especially; avoid sloping terrain to avoid avalanches and stay away from the bottom of hollows, as they will, likely, soon be filled with snow  Of course, the warmest areas are near the sea but you will not usually have that choice.
• Beginning too late,setting camp and/or building a shelter. Begin before it gets dark and  before you get exhausted.
• And, if caught in a blizzard; find or make a shelter/snow cave ASAP or you will probably die. Never, never, attempt to travel in a blizzard. 

Keep Your Campsite in Order.

It is important to keep the camp tidy and your survival kit/equipment in one place, safely stored and within reach. Keep your equipment in the kit, or hang it up at the same spot every time after use. It is not funny running around looked for lost or damaged equipment, when it is needed or wanted. And, in a high stress situation, a tidy camp makes the whole situation a lot more pleasant and tolerable.

Latrine: seldom ever seen, you are not  likely to hear even mention of the word on one of those "reality" survival shows; but if you feel your situation is likely to last for more than one day, it is important to dig a latrine.

• Dig a hole in the ground about 18 inches wide, long and deep. Make sure that the contents of the latrine wont pollute nearby water sources and that it is downwind of your site. To keep smell and flies away, toss a little earth in the pit after use.
• It is also a good idea to keep aa kit for washing up at the site. Hygiene is important in the woods and in all disaster/emergency situations.
• When the  hole starts to become full, just fill it over, and dig a new one.
• No need for "polluting" the woods, your environment with a lot of brown and white, striped, paper; toilet paper is definitely not a necessity; in reality, one could use grass, leaves, ferns, or moss. In winter, one could use snow balls, just like real pioneer survivors. Don't worry about frostbite, it is not as cold as expected, not nearly enough to hurt you, unless your use an exceptionally long time to wipe 

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan. Al rights reserved.

The SO CALLED American Buffalo was NOT Made in The United States of the Americas and is NOT a buffalo.

 Who is going to bag who? It's a good thing that bison don't eat meat.

The animals, shown here are NOT buffalo

The "authntically aboriginal" Sioux headdress was 

invented by Buffalo Bill.

A lot of FUN but nothing was real; or claimed to be so.

"The buffalo was the "walking commissary” of the American plains indian cultures from before European settlement began in 1607 until the last Sioux buffalo hunt in 1883."

Whoa, there are a few things wrong here. They are very minor, quite minor, well, at least so insignificant no one would normally notice; but, never the less wrong.

1.  The indigenous North American lived and survived (northern regions of Canada for example), in environments other than the plains of North America.

2.  A spear being about the only exception, indigenous North American cultures did not have weapons powerful enough to kill a prairie bison never mind a woods bison, (the larger of the two subspecies but originally found mostly in Canada. Woods bison migrated east and west rather than north and south like the smaller plains bison.) which is why when they did by happenstance succeed in killing one, the hide was used for armour-awkward and extremely heavy, the bison hides were at that time of very little other use-a bear skin was just as warm and much easier and SAFER to obtain.

3.  Small animals such as beaver and muskrat and Nature’s vegetable garden were much more of a commissary than the bison.

4.  While ELK-what we in North America now call MOOSE-did and do exist; as do wapiti (what we in North America like to call elk); antelope, wild buffalo  and wild “Indian cultures “did not, do not , and never did, exist in North America. (notably: it is estimated by Stats Canada that the last “full blooded Aboriginal” died over a hundred years ago-in other words, while there still exists people with some indigenous native heritage it is just possible that BISON managed to outlive (debateable as it has been found that all bison in the United States of the Americas are, in fact, mongrel hybrids, part cattle, part bison) all original, indigenous North American cultures are now EXTINCT.

A huge pile of buffalo bones left at an archaeological dig site, on the Crow Reservation, in the path of proposed expansion of a coal mine. 

5.  After they obtained the ability to actually kill bison, and, after a market developed for the meat and hides; the indigenous North  Americans SLAUGHTERED just as man- possibly more- bison than Europeans

6.  1607 until 1883, less than 300 (276) years, is this really how long North American indigenous native cultures were able to prosper?

July 16, 1806, “Everywhere I look I see a beautiful shade of green, spotted with thousands of buffaloes. The wolves have decreased in number. We managed to kill a buffalo and took the REAR AND TONGUE for ample amounts of meat. Once we came to the rose river, I decided to camp. We saw a bleeding buffalo , this buffalo led us to believe that indians were near, possible the blackfoots. We want to avoid any contact with these indians, they may try to capture our horses. This a dangerous job! The blackfoots an THE MINNETARES OF FORT (INDIAN TRIBES) are vicious and wild, we must AVOID them at all costs.”-Source, Journal of the Louis and Clark Expedition 1803-1806.

July 18, 19, 1806 “More huge herds of buffalo for the last twelve miles. Wolves, antelopes, and horses were also spotted. Traveled five miles to Maria's river, got there around 6 p.m. amped on the west side after killing some buffalo. It has become extremely cold, rainy and windy. The weather is terrible! To add to the unpleasantness, a couple a wolves paid us a visit today, I managed to shoot one.” Source, Journal of the Louis and Clark Expedition 1803-1806.

·        Wolves are very shy creatures; there have been NO confirmed cases of a wolf pack EVER attacking humans anywhere and again, wild buffalo have never existed in North America.

·        Neither did or do antelope, and “wild” horses did not exist in North America, at that time.

·        Then, existing, North American indigenous native cultures would have NO or at least very, very, few horses. 

July 18,19, 1806. These accounts of encounters with buffalo were recorded during the return trip by Meriwether Lewis during their travels between the Rocky Mountain Front, the Great Falls and down river forty miles to the confluence of Maria's river with the Missouri, in of July 1806.

Not,"Made In America:The Bison of the Americas (Bison bison), is a bovine mammal that is the largest terrestrial mammal in North America, and one of the largest wild cattle in the world. With their huge bulk, wood bison, which are the largest subspecies in North America, are only surpassed in size by the massive Asian gaur. Bison are NOT  BUFFALO and they are NOT necessarily, COWS.

Asian Gaur

Please NOTE: None of the animals shown here are COWS
These BULLS average well over over 2000 lbs in weight

 The image shown, directly above has been released by the ORIGINAL copyright owner into

 public domain

and by the wild water buffalo, both of which are found mainly in India.

Massive Herds:  Bison once inhabited the Great Plains of the United States and Canada in massive herds, ranging from the Great Slave Lake in Canada's far north to Mexico in the south, and from eastern Oregon almost to the Atlantic Ocean, taking its subspecies into account. Its two subspecies are the Plains Bison (Bison bison bison), distinguished by its smaller size and more rounded hump, and the Wood Bison (Bison bison athabascae), distinguished by its larger size and taller square hump.

The Bison is also commonly known as the American buffalo"

Actually, like MAN, the American bison is a relative newcomer to North America; the bison originated in Eurasia and migrated (about the same time as aboriginal man) over the Bering Strait, only about 10,000 years ago. The North American Bison, was and is, technically a dwarf form of bison.

Bison and Buffalo belong to the order Artiodactyla (Even-toed hoofed animals: includes pigs, sheep, goats, cattle, deer); Neither were “Made in America”.

Family: Bovidae (Cattle, water buffalo, bison, antelopes, goats, sheep and more)

Genus: Bison

Species: Bison priscus (extinct Steppe Bison)

Species: Bison latifrons (extinct Long-horned Bison): The largest and heaviest bison species ever to occur in North America. Much like the Spanish long horn cattle that were once imported into the state of Texas and elsewhere in the United States of the Americas; the long horns  of this bison jutted outward and curved gently upward. Unlike the modern day North American Bison, they were NOT built for  agility, extended running, or any  quick movement, which was undoubtedly a contributing factor to their becoming extinct.

Bison antiquus: Were intermediate in size between B. latifrons and living bison. They also had straighter, shorter horns , more like modern day short horn beef cattle, than B. latifrons. Although not so much so as any modern bison; they were somewhat  agile, and long-running

Species: Bison bison American Bison

Subspecies: Bison bison bison (American Plains Bison)

Subspecies: Bison bison athabascae (the mostly Canadian, Wood Bison; SOME people claim gave name to Wood “Buffalo”Park)

Species:  Bison bonasus (European Bison)

Subspecies: Bison bonasus bonasus (Lowland Bison

 Subspecies: Bison bonasus caucasicus (extinct in 1925)

 Subspecies: Bison bonasus hungarorum (extinct Hungarian Bison).

© Al (Alex- Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved. 

Ground Ivy also Known as Catsfoot (Glechoma hederacea)

Has been introduced to North America and is now common in most regions other than the Rocky Mountains.
Leaves and stems appear much like much like MINT to which ground ivy IS RELARED.

Ground Ivy isn't related to true Ivy (Hedera helix), but it trails along the ground in a similar way, albeit on a much smaller scale. A perennial member of the family Lamiaceae, which includes herbs such as Mint, Marjoram and Thyme, Ground Ivy has the square stems and pairs of round, blunt toothed leaves that are characteristic of many members of the family. 

The leaves are slightly aromatic and in full sun they are sometimes tinged with red. The flowers have three lower and two upper petals and are a pretty shade of blue/violet, often with darker blue or mauve blotches. The flowers are popular with bumblebees.

Ground Ivy is just one English name. Others include Alehoof, Gill-over-the-ground, Gill-go-by-the-Hedge, Creeping Charlie, Haymaids, Tun-hoof, Hedgemaids, Lizzy-run-up-the-Hedge, Catsfoot and Robin-run-in-the-Hedge. The name Alehoof was given because Ground Ivy used to be the most common flavouring in beer (before hops were used, from the 16th century onwards). Most of the other names refer to the plant’s low, spreading habit as it grows in wooded places and hedgerows.

Ground Ivy is reported to have several medicinal properties and these are described on a number of websites, including Plants for a Future, A Modern Herbal, Rowan Remedies, and Health from Nature, including treatments of headaches, inflamed mucous membranes, bruises, ear infections and kidney disease. One website refers to several interesting pieces of research which suggest that Ground Ivy has antibacterial and insecticidal properties and can stimulate platelets, inhibit tumour production and boost the immune response. 

There is also a variegated form of Ground Ivy, Glechoma hederacea ‘Variegata’, which is often grown as a low-maintenance plant for hanging baskets.

• Ground Ivy leaves are rather bitter but are edible when young. They can added to salads for a slight aromatic tang or cooked like spinach, added to soups or used as a flavouring; however, ground Ivy is poisonous to horses and is avoided by rabbits 
• Leaves are suitable as a flavouring agent or in smaller quantities,as a potherb
• Grows in thickets, disturbed sites, and open woods.©Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan. All rights reserved.

Fire Safety

This depends on three things: a safe spot for the fire,a safe fire (not the kind often built by a bunch of Nuts, playing survival/adventure games), making sure your fire is out after use. Remember the old Canadian Pioneer/Survivor slogan "Just as you would an innocent daughter, chaperone your fire, don't let it go out alone".

WITH WATER

1. Don't pour water on it, which can actually spread the fire, sprinkle with back of fingers.

2. Spread the sticks and  coals.

3. Sprinkle again. Don't leave it, until coals are cool enough to put your hand on.

WITHOUT WATER

1.Spread sticks and coals

2. Scrape burning embers from large logs and sticks.

3. Cover with dirt.

CHECK AND BE SURE THE FIRE IS DEAD, OUT.

OF COURSE, YOU KNEW ENOUGH TO HAVE BUILT THE FIRE ON ROCK OR MINERAL EARTH TO BEGIN WITH.

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.

To Make Your Fire Go

Tinder:
Some kind of flammable material that will flare up when touched with the flame of a burning match--or, preferably, you remembered to carry a mini-torch in you personal survival kit. The tinder can be bark from cedar, birch, basswood, elm or willow trees, most any such dry material. Weed tops from aster, thistle, goldenrod,  milk weed, or cattail are also excellent. Fuzz sticks whittled from dry wood, leaving the shavings attached are good fire starters. Fluffed bark of juniper, birch bark, dry dung, dry grass could be used as tinder. Tinder is any kind of material that takes a  minimum of heat to catch fire.

Kindling:
This is the thin branches of split wood that will catch the flame from the tinder and in turn  ignite the heavier fuel. Kindling is mainly procured from trees, evergreen twigs, squaw wood,  which is the dead wood still on trees, that can be collected by simply breaking it off. Willow, alder, and aspen are also excellent. Again, remember the saying: "if you can't snap it, scrap it. Gather a couple of handfuls of this kindling, pencil thin or thinner.

Fuel:
For doing a real job of providing heat or light. This, FUEL, can range from THUMB THICK BRANCHES for cooking a simple meal; to heavy logs, for keeping a fire going through a long, Canadian, winter, night. use whatever wood you can get from a fallen limb or a dead tree branch from a tree. Break, or chop, if you are lucky enough to have an axe or hatchet in your available survival gear, into pieces of suitable length for your fire.--about a foot or so long. Some woods burn burn more easily than others--but,most any wood is usable for a quick meal. Fuel from such trees as hickory, oak, beech, birch, maple, and ash are excellent long burning woods. Make sure you have more than enough fuel wood. It burns more quickly than you think and you don't want to leave your fire, or your cooking while looking around for more more. wood..

Teepee Fire Lay:
Is one of the oldest known fire-lays and was used by primitive and tribal peoples world wide.  This ancient method got it's North American name from  the way it somewhat resembles a native shelter. You will find that it is still one of the easiest and quickest to build and that it is especially good if you intend to do any boiling or frying.

1. Place a large handful of tinder on your prepared fire place.
2. Push a stick into the ground on a slant over the tinder.
3. Now lean a circle of kindling sticks across the slanting stick with their tips together and with an opening towards the wind.
4. Crouch don in front of the prepared fire, set your back to the wine. Strike the match, let it burn into a real flame, then touch it to the tinder, close to the ground.
5. Let the kindling get a good start; then feed the fire, first with thin pieces of fuel wood; then, gradually, with thicker pieces. 
6. Continue feeding until the fire has reached the size you need.

Criss Cross Fire Lay:

This is one of the best methods, when you need a bed of coals for broiling (roasting) or baking.

1. Place two pieces of wood ,about as thick as your wrist, and about a foot long on the ground parallel to one another, about a foot length apart.
2. Place a good handful of tinder on the ground between them.
3. Lay a number of thin kindling sticks crosswise on top of this base  leaving spaced between each stick. Continue building up the cross layers, increasing the thickness of the wood from layer to layer. but always placing the pieces a distance apart This allows the flames and the draft to move upward.
4. About eight layers is enough.
5. Follow instructions 4-6 for teepee fire lay. When properly laid, the criss cross fire sill flare up with a blaze, then quickly turn into a bed of glowing embers suitable for most cooking

©Al (Alex-Alexander) D Girvan. All rights reserved..

Basic Firecraft

If you must eat, if you need warmth, if you just wonder what nameless thing crouches in the night, ready to pounce and make you pay for your indiscretions or sins,; if you fashion tools, if you would signal and communicate with others, or just enjoy social networking you can use fire. And when you have the skills necessary to provide fire when you need it, in any kind of weather, you are  in the way to becoming a true SURVIVOR. Just remember The Mother's rules and that though it can be called Canada's true national game and belongs lock, stock, and barrel, to Canada, it is not the most popular of-- Let's forget the BS--it is NOT a game or at least not one that anyone really WANTS to play.

The ability of making fire is important; it can even save your life. If you can't already light a fire, learn to do it-correctly and efficiently:

 A fire can provide warmth on cold days and nights.

 You can cook your food.

Purify (or at least disinfect-they are not the same thing) water.

You can signal for help (signal fire)

It can help you make and temper tools

It acts as a moral boost in an emergency situation. I'm sure you know the feeling one gets just gazing into a fire at night.

Our early Canadian pioneers-those of European or mixed European native decent- as did the earlier purely indigenous (first migrant) predecessors used fire as a basic survival tool. Whatever our distant racial heritage, fire helped all our ancestors develop this country, at the forge, clearing the land, cooking their meals, heating their homes and shelters, and in many other ways. The very first migrants, those we often called Indians of course, used it for warmth and cooking, making tools and weapons and as a signalling method as well as just a tool of survival.

Although obviously not made in their own image, to most primitive peoples of the world, fire was a god; and this is quite understandable as it raised them- in one way- somewhat above the so called dumb animals and made what we now call "civilization possible. The Greeks regarded fire as a gift from the gods they had created and come to worship. From away back in time, fire has been held in awe by man--even men who did not directly use it for warming themselves, cooking their food, lighting their way, melting their metals, or any of the basic needs. You only have to stare into the curling flames, to be lost in many dreams of comfort, fellowship, and safety in the dark.© Al (Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All rights reserved.

Survival, Sleeping Warning and Tips

Rule:
Have little or no clothing on, but much insulation underneath and over you.

• Sleeping in clothing will hold moisture, which, in cold climates, chills the body. For this reason, the Inuit and other peoples who built or lived in all snow igloos generally slept completely naked.
• Contrary to popular belief; you will not freeze to death in your sleep; cold awakens you unless you are very tired or drunk. Drinking alcohol -hot or cold-will not warm you up but in fact will bring more blood and heat  to the skin surface. The heat is then dissipated or radiated off, chilling the body.  

©Al Alex-Alexander) D. Girvan. All Rights reserved.