The A B C of Mining: A Handbook for ProspectorsBramble, Charles A.
Science
The A B C of Mining: A Handbook for Prospectors
Bramble, Charles A.
Mining engineering; Prospecting
If overtaken by storm in any wild northern region, do as the animals
and Indians do under like circumstances: seek the nearest shelter and
lie close until the weather has moderated. The secret is to conserve
your energy, not to fritter it away fighting a power against which you
may make no real headway. A shallow, brush-lined gully; the lea of a
bank, or small clump of trees; these and other seemingly slight
protections sometimes mean life instead of death. The experienced
woodsman never leaves camp without matches in his pocket; and in
winter he carries a few pieces of dry birch bark in the bosom of his
hunting shirt, as he knows how vitally necessary it is on occasions to
be able to kindle a blaze at very short notice.
A tent should never be pitched loosely, as no matter how fine the
evening the weather ere morning may be tempestuous in the extreme, and
the unpleasantness of having a tent come down about one's ears in the
dark must be experienced to be realized. Also, never pitch a tent with
the doorway toward the northwest in winter, because that is the
quarter from which comes the cold.
In summer, from June until mid-August, the mosquito, the black fly and
the midge or sand fly, make life a burden in the north. The best
remedy for the mosquito and black fly is a mixture of tar and olive
oil, of the consistency of cream, rubbed on all exposed parts of the
person. A dark green veil will also keep the insect pests out of the
eyes, mouth and ears, and in winter is better than snow goggles to
avert blindness. But, unfortunately, it interferes with the enjoyment
of the pipe, and hence is not in much favor with woodsmen.
To make good bread it is not necessary to take either yeast cakes or
mixing pan into the wilderness. An old hand thinks himself rich with a
few pounds of flour in his sack, and soon has a batch of bread baking
that would turn many a housewife green with envy. He proceeds in this
fashion: A visit to the nearest hardwood ridge shows him a green
parasitic lichen growing on the bark of the maples (lungwort). Some of
this he gathers, and steeps it over night in warm water near the
embers. In the morning he mixes his flour into a paste with this
decoction, using the bag as a pan. The dough is next covered with a
cloth and set in a warm corner to rise; a few hours later it is
re-kneaded and baked. The result should be delicious bread. Some of
the leaven, or raised dough, may be kept, and will suffice for the
next batch of bread, and so on ad infinitum.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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