The difficult art of tracking – Part 2

Three mounted Comanche Indian warriors, photographed 1892.
Three mounted Comanche Indian warriors, photographed 1892.

This is the second installment in a series about tracking taken from “Mountain Scouting – A Hand-Book for Officers and Soldiers on the Frontiers” by Edward S. Farrow, 1881. If you missed the first, please follow along here. Farrow concentrates on how to differentiate tracks and how to determine the age of a trail in this segment.

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The difficult art of tracking

Harry Yount at Berthoud Pass in Colorado. 1874. See notation at end of story for more information about this mountain man.
Harry Yount at Berthoud Pass in Colorado. 1874. See notation at end of story for more information about this mountain man.

Being a fan of Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead, I was curious how you learn to become a tracker. I found some information on the subject in the book “Mountain Scouting – A Hand-Book for Officers and Soldiers on the Frontiers” by Edward S. Farrow, 1881. I’ll break the information I found into segments. The content isn’t politically correct by today’s standards but taken in the context of the times, it makes for an interesting read. I found the Indian usage of stone mounds to be a particular point of interest. Let me know if you have any additional tips on the subject in the comments.

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1910 Hit and Miss Engine video

In October I went on a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario and made an excursion up to Ball’s Falls for their Thanksgiving Festival. There were a lot of great machines on display from the era this blog concentrates on. I’ll be uploading videos of these as individual posts so that if you know any details about each machine they can be added in the comments and discussed.

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Iron furniture for farms circa 1868

An iron pump

I found an interesting article regarding iron furniture (wells being the main concentration) in “The Illustrated Annual Register of Rural Affairs and Cultivator Almanac for the Year 1868,” Containing Practical Suggestions for the Farmer and Horticulturist by J.J. Thomas. There is an interesting article about the history of 19th century blacksmithing for context.

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Finishing the wilderness camp

 

A log cabin dwarfed by a Big Tree in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, ca.1920
A log cabin dwarfed by a Big Tree in Mariposa Grove in Yosemite National Park, ca.1920

In the final installment on the construction and outfitting of a wilderness camp from the book “Woodcraft” by E.H. Kreps, 1919, we wrap up all the loose ends. Kreps reveals where the camp is that this was modeled after and furnishes a list of supplies that would be needed for two people. If you missed the beginning of the series, please follow the links below.

1st Installment: Selecting a location and initial preparation of a wilderness camp

2nd Installment: Construction of walls, floor, door and windows for a wilderness cabin

3rd Installment: Construction of gables and roof for a wilderness cabin

4th Installment: Finishing the wilderness cabin door, window and filling cracks

5th Installment: The stove

6th Installment: The bed

7th Installment: The table

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Building a table for our wilderness camp

"Lamon's log cabin, the first built in Yosemite Valley, Calif." Their work completed, two men sit on stumps in front of the finished product, ca. 1895.
“Lamon’s log cabin, the first built in Yosemite Valley, Calif.” Their work completed, two men sit on stumps in front of the finished product, ca. 1895.

In this 7th installment in a series regarding the construction and outfitting of a wilderness camp from the book “Woodcraft” by E.H. Kreps, 1919, we’ll build a table, bench and work on securing our food. If you missed the beginning of the series, please follow the links below.

1st Installment: Selecting a location and initial preparation of a wilderness camp

2nd Installment: Construction of walls, floor, door and windows for a wilderness cabin

3rd Installment: Construction of gables and roof for a wilderness cabin

4th Installment: Finishing the wilderness cabin door, window and filling cracks

5th Installment: The stove

6th Installment: The bed

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Furnishing the home camp: the stove

Their work completed, two men sit on stumps in front of the finished product, ca. 1895
Their work completed, two men sit on stumps in front of the finished product, ca. 1895

We’ve finished the part of this series constituting the construction and outfitting of a wilderness camp from the book “Woodcraft” by E.H. Kreps, 1919. This part of the series goes into furnishing your wilderness cabin as described in this same book and starts off with the construction of a stove. In case you missed the initial series, follow the links below.

1st Installment: Selecting a location and initial preparation of a wilderness camp

2nd Installment: Construction of walls, floor, door and windows for a wilderness cabin

3rd Installment: Construction of gables and roof for a wilderness cabin

4th Installment: Finishing the wilderness cabin door, window and filling cracks

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Finishing the wilderness cabin door, window and filling cracks

Black and white image of a man in front of log cabin surrounded by dogs
Black and white image of a man in front of log cabin surrounded by dogs, December 1899.

This is the fourth installment in a series regarding the construction and outfitting of a wilderness camp from the book “Woodcraft” by E.H. Kreps, 1919. In this installment we go over finishing the floor, door, windows and sealing cracks. If you missed the first three installments, follow the links below. In future posts, we’ll cover the furnishing of the home camp.

1st Installment: Selecting a location and initial preparation of a wilderness camp

2nd Installment: Construction of walls, floor, door and windows for a wilderness cabin

3rd Installment: Construction of gables and roof for a wilderness cabin

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Constructing the gables and roof for a wilderness camp

building a log cabin
Three men building a log house in a snowy clearing; Identified as the Trans-Alaska Company Station 4 on Little Joe Divide, Alaska, 1901.

This is the third installment in a series regarding the construction and outfitting of a wilderness camp from the book “Woodcraft” by E.H. Kreps, 1919. This segment talks about the construction of the gables and roof.

If you missed the previous segments you can click on the links below.

1st Installment: Selecting a location and initial preparation of a wilderness camp

2nd Installment: Construction of walls, floor, door and windows for a cabin

Read more