18TH CENTURY LIVING HISTORY, HISTORICAL TREKKING, AND PERIOD WILDERNESS LIVING.
A LIVING HISTORY BLOG.
18TH CENTURY LIVING HISTORY IN AUSTRALIA.
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
Woolman In The Woods.
This was the first night that we lodged in the woods, and being wet with travelling in the rain, as were also our blankets, the ground, our tent, and the bushes under which we purposed to lay, all looked discouraging; but I believed that it was the Lord who had thus far brought me forward, and that he would dispose of me as he saw good, and so I felt easy. We kindled a fire, with our tent open to it, then laid some bushes next the ground, and put our blankets upon them for our bed, and, lying down, got some sleep. Journal of John Woolman, 1760.
Yes he learnt the hard way but he did learn. “This induced me to resolve not to travel more by land without my gun, powder and shot, steel, spunge (punk wood) and flint, for striking a fire…” Patrick Campbell, 1792.
Yes John, charred cloth was used in city homes, but not in wilderness situations. I did find one record of a chap who having been left behind by the rest of the family found himself without any tinder to make fire. He rubbed some gunpowder into his handkerchief and struck a spark on that. I wish I had the link for this info, but it was a long time ago.
4 comments:
Sounds like he's doing a bit better than in the last post.
Yes he learnt the hard way but he did learn.
“This induced me to resolve not to travel more by land without my gun, powder and shot, steel, spunge (punk wood) and flint, for striking a fire…”
Patrick Campbell, 1792.
I see that he refers to "spunge", that being "punk wood" and not charcloth. Good reference for the holier-than-thou 'charclothers!'
Yes John, charred cloth was used in city homes, but not in wilderness situations. I did find one record of a chap who having been left behind by the rest of the family found himself without any tinder to make fire. He rubbed some gunpowder into his handkerchief and struck a spark on that. I wish I had the link for this info, but it was a long time ago.
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