What You Need To Know About Eating Bracken Fiddle heads!!!

As woodsmen & woods women we spend a good deal of time in the woods whenever we can, one of the things many of us do is seek out wild edible foods to supplement foods that we are carrying. Bracken fiddle heads are widely known to be an edible food, BUT, they can also be dangerous to eat! These fiddle heads are carcinogenic, they are less so if cooked/boiled, but never totally safe! My advice is to not eat them at all unless it was an emergency & there was no other sources of food available. Personally I can't see this happening, we nearly always have the option of eating fresh game. You can survive up to roughly three weeks without food depending on your health, your exertion levels & you must have a good drinking water supply.

Read More Here: https://honest-food.net/bracken-fern-edible/

Digging for Witchetty Grubs with Dorothy Napangardi

Life in Colonial America

Wild Edible Foods. Prickly Lettuce.

Prickly Lettuce.

Lactuca serriola, Prickly Lettuce. Emu Plains, NSW.

http://www.survival.org.au/bf_lactuca_serriola.php;

More Information Here: http://www.herbiguide.com.au/Descriptions/hg_Prickly_Lettuce.htm

The Weight Of Lead Versus Gunpowder.

Lead is heavy, and it is probably the heaviest item I carry in my knapsack other than my brass trade kettle. However, I limit how much lead I carry, and I carry more gunpowder in my powder horn and in my gunpowder wallets than is needed for the amount of lead that I carry. Why more gunpowder than lead? Because every time I shoot game, I retrieve the lead from the animal during the skinning and butchering process, and I then remould this lead so I can use it again. So the more gunpowder I carry, the longer I can remain in the wilderness without having to seek out a trader. I only have to carry this pack until I get to my destination.
A good trap line also saves on powder and lead. I hunt on the way back each day after checking my trap line. If I have meat enough to eat from the trap line, then I don't need to hunt. But if my traps for larger game are empty, then there is still a chance of getting something on the way back home.
Also I always carry some fishing tackle for set lines or regular fishing with a pole.

My Powder Horn.

Two of five Gunpowder Wallets.

The Ball Bag which I carry in my shot pouch.

Lead carried in the knapsack.

Lead ladle and two moulds. One for ball, and one for goose shot.

Fishing tackle carried in my belt pouch.

18th Century Wilderness Living. Experimental Archaeology.

18^th Century Wilderness Living. Experimental Archaeology.

The question that is always on people’s minds is “what do I carry”. To answer this question you must first ask yourself what is my persona, and what do I do in daily life. Rarely will you find a period list showing the equipment, tools and supplies carried by a woodsman. There are some diaries of travelers and settlers but these still leave a lot of grey areas, a lot of questions unanswered.
Boone was a hunter first and a farmer second. He did leave home for up to a year at a time, but we don’t know for sure where he was in that time or whether or not he had contact with other people in that time. His long hunts suggest that he did not go far, as his brother was able to return to the settlements for more supplies and horses to carry back the deer skins from that hunt.
What I am more interested in is how did people back then survive in the wilderness long term. What did they need to carry with them knowing that there were no trading posts or settlements where they were going, and they were going too far from the settlements to be able to return on any regular basis?

The only way I can find the information I want is to actually go into the woods and see what it takes to live comfortably, not comfort as we know at home, but relative comfort under primitive conditions. Most, if not all of the gear we carry is for comfort of living, that and the fact that much of it is traditionally what our persona would have owned and carried, we are after all Living Historians first, and survivalists second. We will not compromise authenticity in any way, unless our life should depend on it.

So let’s look at the life of a woodsman who is searching for somewhere in the wilderness to settle, possibly with others, maybe with family, but maybe alone. What do we need to survive in the wilderness with relative comfort? First let us make a list of the things we will need to do whilst in the wilderness, and against this list mark down what tools we will need to accomplish this chore:

·         Travel: The correct clothing and footwear. Spare moccasins and perhaps some leather to repair worn out moccasins.

·         Shelter: We do not want to have to construct a brush shelter every night, indeed we may not need a shelter at all, but when it is raining or snowing, then a wise traveller will carry a piece of oilcloth to keep him/her dry.

·         Fire: Fire may not always be needed, but being able to make fire is of the utmost importance in the wilderness. So we need flint, steel and tinderbox, and perhaps a fire-bag to keep these in along with some spare tinder and kindling.

·         Drinking: We will need to keep drinking along the way or we will get sick. We can follow a river or other water course as much as we are able, but we can not be sure of having this water source at all times. So it is a good idea to carry a water bottle or canteen.

·         Eating: We will need food. Some of this will be supplied by dry goods that we will carry with us, but there will also be a need to hunt and or trap along the way. We can carry dried meat for hard times, but we need to replace this supply at every possible opportunity. To do this we will need a good flintlock gun, a shot pouch and the normal contents, plus spare lead, spare gunpowder, a powder horn and tools to keep this gun in working order. We may need to consider carrying spare lock parts or a spare lock. We will need a lead ladle and ball moulds so we can remould spent lead that we retrieve from shot game. We will need a hunting knife, a clasp knife, possibly a third spare knife and a tomahawk.

We will need to carry some snares for small game and possibly some light rope for larger game and for hanging that game.

·         Sleeping: We will need a good wool blanket and the oilcloth we spoke of earlier.

·         Washing: Having soap to use is a luxury, but one we can afford, at least for a while. So we will carry a piece of soap and a hair comb to stop our hair from becoming unmanageable.

·         Cooking: We can quite easily manage to cook meat without a kettle, but a kettle once again makes life just a little bit easier and it gives us more food options. So we will carry a small trade kettle. You may also wish to carry a tin cup for hot drinks.

·         Semi permanent to permanent shelter construction: Much work can be done with the tomahawk/trade axe, but for heavier cutting jobs a light half-axe would be very useful. Shelters can be secured with cordage made from plant fibres, but a more permanent solution is to use wooden pegs. To secure a shelter with wooden pegs we need to make holes, and using an auger is the best way of accomplishing that task.

Small auger and gimlet.

Larger auger.

Half-axe.

·         Repairing and replacing clothing: With all clothing repairs and manufacture we will need needles and thread. These too can be made, but it is much easier and simpler to carry a housewife sewing kit. This will contain spare bone buttons, linen thread, some beeswax, needles and possibly some pins. I also carry some sinew and strips of rawhide. Aside from the housewife we will also need an awl.

Housewife.

Two awls with a wooden sheath wrapped in light linen waxed thread.

·         Fishing: Fishing is another source of food, and something we should do at every opportunity. Fish too can be dried to eat later or along the trail. So we will need some fishing tackle. This should consist of lines and hooks in its basic form, and a container to secure these items. Weights and floats are easily made but you may wish to carry these also.

·         Sharpening blades: Your knives and your tomahawk will need sharpening from time to time, so you will need to carry a whetstone and a metal file.

Now as you can see from this list above, these are all common needs and chores that need to be carried out. The list of items needed to accomplish these tasks may seem long, but really there is no way around this. You could certainly save some weight here and there, but not without compromising a certain amount of comfort. Wilderness living is hard at best, we do not want to make it any harder than it already is.

Our needs for wilderness living obviously go even further that this basic list. There will be ground to prepare for growing crops, perhaps a need to spin and weave. Splitting rails for fencing will require a felling axe and so the list goes on. What you have to decide, is how much of this do you carry? How much do you make on site and what will you need to enable you to make it? If there are other people travelling with you, what do they need to carry? Do they too need to be self-reliant as well as carrying other tools and supplies?

I hope this has given you something to think about, and I welcome any ideas, questions or thoughts you may have on 18^th century wilderness living and travel.
Take care out there.
Regards, Keith.

Cotton, linen and leather food bags with a rum bottle and a small bottle for containing iodine.

Shot pouch and contents.

One of four leather gunpowder bags that the author uses to carry spare gunpowder.

The author's flintlock fusil.

Tools and spare lock parts.

Turn screw and screw.

18th Century Historical Trekking or Historical Travel.

I read a post written by my friend Karl today, in fact I have posted the link on this blog. While I found his article very interesting, it also served to remind me that some people may still not fully understand what historical trekking is all about.
It could just as well be called Historical Travel, because it is all about travelling away from home and what clothing, equipment, tools and skills as well as transport are used to travel.
Historical Trekking can include any period at all, not just the 18th century, but until I introduced it to a Medieval friend of mine it was predominantly 18th century. Now members of NEMAS in Armidale NSW are also involved in Historical Trekking middle ages style.
But just because we have set ourselves a period of 1680 to 1760, that does not mean that we can't incorporate earlier period items of hardware and primitive skills into our activities, which in fact we do. We learn & practice skills that the natives used at the time of colonisation in the New World, and in deed here in Australia also. The very fact that our group is in New England Australia means that we need to learn all about native fauna and flora and its many uses. Here below is a list of the skills that our woodsrunners, both ment & women, are expected to learn and practice. But this list is only a guide, it does not restrict us from learning many other primitive skills from bark canoe construction to flint knapping and many more.

Woodsrunner’s Skills.

This is a list of basic skills in which I personally would expect an 18^th century woodsman or woods-woman to have some experience with.

·        Flint & steel fire lighting

·        Wet weather fire lighting

·        Fire-bow fire lighting

·        Flintlock fire lighting

·        Flintlock use, service & repair

·        Field dressing & butchering game

·        Blade sharpening

·        Tomahawk throwing

·        Making rawhide

·        Brain tanning

·        Primitive shelter construction

·        How to stay warm in winter with only one blanket

·        Cordage manufacture

·        Moccasin construction and repair

·        Sewing

·        Axe and tomahawk helve making

·        Fishing

·        Hunting

·        Evasion

·        Tracking

·        Reading sign

·        Woods lore

·        Navigation

·        Primitive trap construction & trapping

·        Open fire cooking

·        Fireplace construction

·        Clothing manufacture

·        Drying meat & other foods

·        Knowledge of plant tinders & preparation

·        Knowledge of native foods & preparation

·        Knowledge of native plants in the area and their uses for other than tinder and food.

·        Scouting

·        Basic first aid

My thanks to Karl for his post, as is often the case we give each other ideas for future posts. I would like to point out that this post is in no way to educate Karl as to what we do, Karl is very aware of our activities and practices many of the same skills himself. Still Karl's post made me realise that many people may not fully understand what we are all about and so prompted this post.

A Short Story For Survivalists.

The End Of Our World As We Knew It.

A short story by Keith H. Burgess.©


I struggled on, the weight of Lisa and our supply of water on the travois felt immense. Only mind over body was keeping me moving forward now. It was hot and my boots felt as if they had lead soles. I dragged the travois into the shade of a large rock, and after giving some water to Lisa, I sat down to rest.


What had happened? Where were the rest? We had arranged half jokingly to meat at Rays place if it all went to hell in a hand cart, not really believing that Armageddon would happen. Well it had all gone to hell, slowly at first, and then push came to shove. But no one was there, Ray and his family were gone and the place had been ransacked. Lisa had the little Berretta .22 auto, and I had my customised 308. The ammo weighed a ton for the 308 but we had plenty of .22 ammo.


One shot kills with the 308 were not difficult, but we wasted a lot of the meat. It just didn’t keep in the heat. Cooked meat lasted a little longer, but we both got very sick at one stage unable to travel for several days. After that we weren’t game to carry meat for more than a day. The 308 ammo didn’t last long so I ditched it and fell back on the .22. But one shot kills at the distance I was shooting were not possible, and once again the ammo was going fast; funny how you can be content to shoot one round at a time with a repeater, but as soon as you pick up a semi-auto you just can’t stop pulling that trigger.


Night must have come and gone but I don’t remember. I lay there in the sun not able to move. I called to Lisa but she did not answer. First had come the hike in food prices so more and more people were scavenging the grocer’s throw out bins. Then there were no bins, it was all for sale. There were more people living on the streets, I figured we could go and camp out at Ray’s parents place if it got any worse. Then overnight it all changed. Food prices and accommodation were no longer an issue. The worst had happened and we had to get out of town.


I remember movement, I was moving. I was being carried. My face was covered by a wet cloth but I could not move my arms. Then darkness and then I was in a supermarket. All the shelves were empty and covered by dust. My mother was there saying “there is nothing here Rob”, and then Lisa was taking me by the hand and leading me outside into the bright sunlight.


I heard voices but could not open my eyes. I felt….I don’t remember what I felt, heavy maybe, tired, then I was in my parent’s garden. Finally I woke to find Lisa stroking my hair. I lay on a bed of bracken fern up off the ground. What happened I asked where are we? “They say a Ranger found us and then a group of them brought us back here”. I tried to sit up but couldn’t. Lisa said “Lay still and rest”, but I kept trying to sit up so eventually she put her hand behind my shoulder and neck and helped me up. My first thoughts were “my God, I have gone back in time”. I could not have told you what time exactly, I could not understand what I was seeing, but I did know that this was not the 22nd century.


There was a rock ceiling, and a dirt floor. There were fires but no smoke or very little and I racked my brain to think where had I seen people dressed like this before, and then it came to me! Way back when I was searching YouTube for “militia”, I came across videos with people dressed very similar to this, but my first recollection of people like this was when Lisa and I went to the cinema and saw The Last Of The Mohicans with Daniel Day Lewis as Natty Bumpo. My head reeled and I lay back down and slept.


When I woke again it was night time. The only light came from the glowing fires. There was a fire near me now and Lisa was sitting cross legged in front of it eating something she held in her hands. The smell of roast meat came to me and I was suddenly very hungry. Then thirst overcame my need for food and I asked Lisa if there was any water. The meat was varied and all tasted great. But they would not let me eat my fill. Over the coming days I regained some of my strength and was able to get up and wander around my new home.


The open part to this rock overhang was blocked by young trees that had been only partly cut at the base and laid back against the rock to conceal the living quarters. There were racks of meat drying slowly over fires and animal skins on frames leaning against the walls. Each fire was a separate group site, but there was a communal camp fire over to one side of this cave like home. Wandering around was like being in a museum display, part stone age and part 18th century. There were bows and flintlock guns, people knapping rocks and making arrows. There was a constant coming and going of people bringing in firewood and water. As I gained more strength I was able to go outside but was warned not to go far and if I heard the sound of sticks being hit together I was to get into the cave as quickly as possible.


Most of the meat came from trap lines, but some hunting was done also. People, men and women they called Rangers ranged the surrounding areas every day as a precaution against intruders. It was one of these Rangers who had found Lisa and I. There were gardens, but they were out of sight and not easily found unless you knew where to look. Not far away was a creek in which could be found turtles and eels. Large stands of Cumbungi or what I called cattail grew along the creek banks. These apparently supplied a variety of foods and the reed stems were used to make arrows. As soon as I was well enough to get about at a normal pace, we were asked if we wished to stay or leave. We decided to stay.


Each day I was taught a new skill and got to practice the skills I had learnt. I took my turn at various chores including gardening, water carrying, standing guard, foraging for firewood far from our shelter, scraping and stretching animal skins, tending the fires that dried the meat, and digging toilet holes in the gardens. I longed to tend the trap lines and hunt with my .22. But I was told that the .22 Berretta was not to be used for hunting, and instead kept in reserve for defence. This brought back the realisation that this seemingly idyllic lifestyle is always under the threat of being destroyed by others that are also trying to survive, if not by the enemy itself, then by our own people.


I learnt to make traps and how to trap. I also learnt how to get close to animals, something I had never been able to do before. I learnt to look for sign and started accompanying the Rangers who were sometimes gone for days. Once a Ranger and I spotted a group of people camped. We scented the smoke from their fires before we saw them. We watched them until they broke camp and moved on noting the direction they were travelling. Then we returned home to make a report.


Chapter 2. The Diary one year later.



I don’t know if anyone will read this, but it gives me some satisfaction being able to record the details of my life here. Lisa and I have a son now. My old clothes have been cut up to make baby clothes and nappies, the washing of which is a major undertaking using hot rocks in a rock basin not far from our shelter. It took us sometime to get used to sharing the same space with everyone else and we were not used to having to keep quiet when having sex. Many couples go bush for sex and only work and sleep in the shelter.


My clothing now consists of mostly leather except for a cloth breechclout and a shirt. Lisa and I made our own moccasins and leggings and frock. Our sleeping bags were of no use under these living conditions and were stripped down for the material. This went to making our undershirts. We have furs made into what are called “matchcoats”, but these are only worn in winter. Our bedding of bracken fern is also covered in furs.


I don’t miss electricity or anything else about my old lifestyle. Truth be told this life seems a lot easier than the life we had before the invasion. We still live with the constant knowledge that we may one day be found by others, but it no longer scares us. We are confident that we will be able to handle whatever comes our way. I am running out of room on this page of parchment, and the lead pencil hammered out of a round ball needs re hammering to a point, so I will stop writing for now.


Summer 2013.

Seven Steps to Folding Your Own Condom. A Link.

http://historyundressed.blogspot.com/2011/10/today-on-history-undressed-i-am-very.html

This may or may not be of interest to living historians, but I am well aware that many followers of this blog do so for reasons conserning wilderness survival. It occured to me that this subject may well be of interest in regards to long term wilderness living.

Brain Tanning & Smoking Skins.

You can also use a smoke house for smoking skins. This does not have to be a full size smoke house, you can dig a fireplace & chimney into an earth bank & construct a small shelter above the chimney, or even hang the skin/s in an upside down metal dustbin or similar. You can dig a small trench & cover it to form a tunnel & make a fire at one end and your smoke house at the other end.

What was life like for women in Plymouth Colony? A Video.

Colonial Settlers Travel 2. The home Site.

COLONIAL SETTLERS TRAVEL 2


So let us imagine that we have now moved far enough into the wilderness to start looking for a place to settle, what sort of area are we looking for? Priorities will be water, a good site to grow food, and shelter. Personally, if I were doing this now, I would be looking for water with cattail growing, & possibly water chestnut too. This would provide an immediate supply of food. I don’t think I would be too keen to start clearing areas for a garden & crops; it would stand out like a sore thumb. But I know this is what most new settlers did, & my choices would be influenced by my experiences in the last century. I would also be looking for some instant natural shelter, such as a rock overhang or a cave. My garden would probably be close to the water, or planted in the shade in the gullies.

Cattail Pond in Wychwood Forest where the author lives.

“these beginners in a new and wild country
fared very hard, may be readily believed; for
this small flock was constantly in great fear on
account of the many Indians or savages who
swarmed around them at that time ; they lacked
all sorts of tools, and were compelled to hoe
the seed into the soil because they had neither
horses nor cattle ; besides they were at that
time and long afterward without flour-mills,
and had to crush the grain between flat
stones, so that it was a very difficult task to
bake bread. And more than all this, no salt
was to be had for a long time. They had wood,
and did not lack meat because they shot all
sorts of game, though they were often in great
want of gun-powder. For a long time several
persons had to keep one horse in common until
more horses and cattle were brought from other
countries. Not to mention the multitude of large
and small wild beasts, snakes and vermin
of every kind, so that they constantly lived in
great fear and anxiety ; therefore they were
obliged to keep large fires burning around their
huts by day and by night, to keep the bears, panthers
and wolves away”.
Gottlieb Mittelberger’s Journey to Pennsylvania in the year 1750 and Return
to Germany in the year 1754.

With a group of such people it will be necessary to organise who will be doing what. There will be various occupations that need filling. There is no point in every man going hunting for instance, some must stay & protect the community, others must work on shelters. There are gardens to be organised, meat to dry, skins to be fleshed & tanned, a trap line set out. Perhaps some immediate form of dwelling for the protection of all. Foraging for edible plants, collecting firewood, setting out fixed lines for fish. There is a lot to be done.

In all this I would try to keep as lower profile as possible, no need to attract trouble. I would not collect all the firewood from one area. I would be careful not to leave too much sign when collecting water or travelling to & from the gardens. But did anyone in the 18th century think this way? Colonial settlers cleared the land & left sign wherever they went. In many cases I think they became very complacent in regard to their safety.

“On the tenth of February 1675, came the Indians with great numbers upon Lancaster: their first coming was about sunrising; hearing the noise of some guns, we looked out; several houses were burning, and the smoke ascending to heaven. There were five persons taken in one house; the father, and the mother and a sucking child, they knocked on the head; the other two they took and carried away alive. There were two others, who being out of their garrison upon some occasion were set upon; one was knocked on the head, the other escaped; another there was who running along was shot and wounded, and fell down; he begged of them his life, promising them money (as they told me) but they would not hearken to him but knocked him in head, and stripped him naked, and split open his bowels. Another, seeing many of the Indians about his barn, ventured and went out, but was quickly shot down. There were three others belonging to the same garrison who were killed; the Indians getting up upon the roof of the barn, had advantage to shoot down upon them over their fortification. Thus these murderous wretches went on, burning, and destroying before them”.
A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson.

"The party that took us consisted of six Indians and four Frenchmen, who immediately commenced plundering, as I just observed, and took what they considered most valuable; consisting principally of bread, meal, and meat. Having taken as much provision as they could carry, they set out with their prisoners in great haste, for fear of detection, and soon entered the woods”.
The capture of Mary Jemison 1758.

The Taking Of Mary Jemison By Robert Griffing.

"I cannot omit writing about the dreadful circumstances of our Township, Albany. The Indians came yesterday morning, about 8:00 o'clock, to Frederick Reichelderfer's house. As he was feeding his horses, two Indians ran upon him, and followed him into the field 10 or 12 perches [a perch is equal to 5½ yards] behind; but he escaped and ran toward Jacob Gerhart's house, with a design to fetch arms. When he came nearer Gerhart's, he heard a lamentable cry `Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus', which made him run back towards his own house, but before he got quite home, he saw his house and stables in flames; and heard all the cattle bellowing, and thereupon he ran away again. Two of his children were shot, one of them was found dead in his field, the other was found alive (and brought to Hagenbuch's house) but died three hours after. All his grain and cattle were burnt up. At Jacob Gerhart's they had killed one man, two women, and six children. Two children slipped under the bed; one of which was burned; the other escaped and ran a mile to get to people. We desire help, or we must leave our homes."
http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brobst/chronicles/chap3.htm#s3


For people who were said to be so scared of the forests & the Indians I find it surprising that these settlers ever dropped their guard. I once lived in an area where the inhabitants were often under attack. Our dogs & horses were shot, the attackers coming right into the front yard of some homes. We were far from the help of the authorities, & so had to protect ourselves. Even now all these years later, the first thing I do in the morning is look out the windows & survey the area. It becomes second nature.

“When the first settlers landed on American shores,
the difficulties in finding or
making shelter must have seemed ironical as well as
almost unbearable. The colonists
found a land magnificent with forest trees of every
size and variety, but they had no sawmills, and few
saws to cut boards ; there was plenty of clay and
ample limestone on every side, yet they could have
no brick and no mortar ; grand boulders of granite
and rock were everywhere, yet there was not a
single facility for cutting, drawing, or using stone.


These homeless men, so sorely in need of immediate
shelter, were baffled by pioneer conditions, and had
to turn to many poor expedients, and be satisfied with
rude covering. In Pennsylvania, New
York, Massachusetts, and, possibly, other states,
some reverted to an ancient form of shelter : they
became cave-dwellers ; caves were dug in the side
of a hill, and lived in till the settlers could have
time to chop down and cut up trees for log houses.

I don't have the height I would like here, so I am cutting my way in from surface to ground level, then after cutting in a larger room, I will roof it.

Cornelis Van Tienhoven, Secretary of the Province
of New Netherland, gives a description of these
cave-dwellings, and says that " the wealthy and
principal men in New England lived in this fashion
for two reasons : first, not to waste time building ;
second, not to discourage poorer labouring people. 


It is to be doubted whether wealthy men ever lived
in them in New England, but Johnson, in his Won
der-working Providence, written in 1645, tells of the
occasional use of these " smoaky homes." They
were speedily abandoned, and no records remain of
permanent cave-homes in New England. In Pennsylvania
caves were used by newcomers as homes
for a long time, certainly half a century. They
generally were formed by digging into the ground
about four feet in depth on the banks or low cliffs
near the river front. The walls were then built up
of sods or earth laid on poles or brush ; thus half
only of the chamber was really under ground. If
dug into a side hill, the earth formed at least two
walls. The roofs were layers of tree limbs covered
over with sod, or bark, or rushes and bark. The
chimneys were laid of cobblestone or sticks of
wood mortared with clay and grass. The settlers
were thankful even for these poor shelters, and
declared that they found them comfortable. By
1685 many families were still living in caves in
Pennsylvania, for the Governor s Council then
ordered the caves to be destroyed and filled in.
Sometimes the settler used the cave for a cellar for
the wooden house which he built over it.

The homes of the Indians were copied by the
English, being ready adaptations of natural and
plentiful resources. Wigwams in the South were
of plaited rush or grass mats ; of deerskins pinned
on a frame ; of tree boughs rudely piled into a cover,
and in the far South, of layers of palmetto leaves.

Wigwam.

In the mild climate of the Middle and Southern
states a " half-faced camp," of the Indian form, with
one open side, which served for windows and door,
and where the fire was built, made a good temporary
home. In such for a time, in his youth, lived Abraham Lincoln.
Bark wigwams were the most easily
made of all ; they could be quickly pinned together
on a light frame. In 1626 there were thirty home-
buildings of Europeans on the island of Manhattan,
now New York, and all but one of them were of bark”.
ALICE-MORSE-EARLE 19th century.

My half-faced shelter in the forest.

Wigwam.

A cave would make a very secure home.

A rock overhang in an Australian forest. Also known as rock houses.

This 19th century settler family lived inside this hollow tree in Victoria Australia.

These wattle & daub houses were very popular from the 17th century through the 19th century. This one is in Australia.

A log cabin in the woods.