Archie Belaney… Grey Owl!

I think it is most likely most of you have never heard of him. If you are from Canada you might have, depending on your age. Archie was a beloved public figure in Canada, Britain and the U.S.

Readers were more than thrilled with his tales of life in the Canadian bush. They loved his hardscabble background. He claimed his father had been a Scotsman adventurer on the American wild west. His mother an Apache indian. After growing up on the frontier, he went to Canada and ranged across the country’s vast wilderness, as a trapper, woodman and riverman.

He embraced the indian heritage earning the Ojibway name Wa-Sha-Quon-Asin, or He Who Walks By Night, something for which he was known to do on most of his land and river travels. With four books under his belt ” The Vanishing Frontier , Pilgrims of the Wild, The Adventures of Sajo and her Beaver People, and Tales of an Empty Cabin he was firmly established as charming story teller and a passionate lover of nature. There was no doubt he could back up everything he wrote about. In 1938 he died suddenly, at age 50. It was then a startling truth came out. He was not the man he claimed to be. He was in fact and Englishman who emigrated to Canada in 1906, at the age of 18. Even his close friends and associates had no clue, including his book publisher.

No doubt can be cast of his sincerity of his passion for nature, as reflected in the life style he rarely strayed from, as found in his book, ‘Tales of an Empty Cabin,” published in 1936, two years before his death.

His first hand look at the wonders of the forest is still compelling, regardless of the fact he was not an Indian. He had two pet beavers who lived in the cabin with him and he raised from the time they were kits. He named them Jellyroll and Rawhide. He had been a beaver trapper, but after raising his two beavers he never trapped beaver again.

His knowledge was very real, I have found his books a joy to read. A movie of his life was made and played by Pierce Brosnan and followed his life pretty well. As a young boy in England, he found

himself captivated by the American Indians, so when he showed up in Canada he aligned himself with Indian mentors and learned to live as an Indian. His skills were real and for years earned money as a trapper. He married an Indian lady who never knew he was not an Indian. He also wore makeup to look darker—how he got away with the wife not knowing is a mystery if in fact she did know she never said so.

You may know him as… Grey Owl!

By Dude McLean

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A Survival Kit: What For?

Every survival book and guru shouts and pounds you better have a “kit”. We have books and articles warning of the dangers lurking out there. We have folks who sell the kits, dictating what should be in them. It is to the point if you do not have a kit, as dictated, you are going to die. Without a kit you are just helpless and stupid for not having half a brain and not half the sense god gave a goat. With all of that being said, look at what we have, a whole industry on survival kits has arisen, leaving once again your pockets running short of bucks.

The books sell and the articles gain acclaim over the contents of said kits. Whole careers are based on the fear factor of a survival kit. I feel it leads to a false sense of security. Depend on yourself and the skills you own, that factor seems to be overlooked.

How many of you have ever gone into the bush with just your survival kit tucked somewhere about your body and tried to use it? Do you really even know what is in it? Do you know how to utilize what is in it? A prudent person would really test it ahead of time, just like all other gear. I have been asking this question now for a few weeks. What is in your survival kit and have you ever used it? Answers range from “I don’t want to mess up my kit,” to, “I can't get everything back in it” “I’ll

know what to do when the time comes,” to, “I have never opened it,” And so forth. All forums at one time or the other have had threads about survival kits and what the contents are, granted some are pretty clever and ingenious. Again, how many of you have ever really used them to see if it would help you get by? Many of the commercial kits are put together by nothing less than hucksters who have no idea if they could, in reality, help you or not. Another factor is how many really carry one in the bush, leaving in it their pack as they wander around away from camp, just a short hike for a look-see?

My point is, if one has the skills and own those skills, you should be able to survive with nothing but what is normally in your pockets and the knife on your side, and many could do well without the knife. Almost every outdoorsman I know carries a pocket knife. Some carry a few folded up contractors bags in the back pocket, a huge plus for shelter and keeping warm. You can put the contractors bag next to your skin and put your shirt on over it causing you to be warmer. Plus you can use it as a way to carry water and a way to shed rain. You have deeper knowledge than you know and you can reach inside your brain—the survival kit you always have with you—and put it to use.

What do you need? depending on where you are, depends on what you need, but most might need shelter. It takes time to build a good shelter worthy of keeping you warm, so start early and use what is available. Keep it small and tight, so it doesn’t take much to warm up the inside. If you can, pile up duff, leaves, browse or other stuff and burrow into it like a critter. You can stuff your shirt with duff and other forest materials. Even newspapers work by balling them up and stuffing them in your shirt or jacket.

Use stones and break them until you have a discoidal blade that can make cuts. Now you have a knife. This leads you to being able to craft traps for food. The traps I would use are deadfall traps no cordage needed and the triggers are easy to carve. If you must use cordage take off your underwear cut into strips and twist it, now you can make several Paiute deadfalls. If the plants are around for you to make cordage so much the better, however, that is a skill you have to already know. Learn trap placement. Sometimes on a “run” no bait is needed. make a lot of traps, like 15 or twenty.

Most carry a lighter, matches, or a fire tool in their pockets. Failing that, a hand drill or a bow and drill could be the answer for fire.

Water is the difficult one. Being able to carry it will be out of the question, however you just might use one of your boots to haul a bit of water with you. Move it to your camp and with fire heat up some small stones, make sure the stones don’t come from the river, place them in the boot of water and bring it to a boil in no time flat . We have purified water that tastes like your feet, but life saving never the less.

If you are able to make fire, remember that three fires placed several feet apart, that smoke are great attention getters. Place green boughs etc on the fire to make it smokey. Stay in place if you are lost, only if it is safe. No shame in being lost, just embarrassment. Better that dead.

Most survival kits have fishing line and a few small hooks, but alas you don’t have a kit. If fish are in the water and it is a stream, dam it up where the creek is narrow, try hand fishing, try to hit them and stun them with a limb. If you are handy make a fish trap, a worth while skill to learn. A spear might answer the problem. Not saying it will work but at least it will keep you busy for a day or so.

72 hours seems to be the number that is touted about for rescue, most likely fairly accurate. If you have not been able to take meat, look forward to a fine meal when the rescue party shows up. Try to stay at least hydrated . Contrary to all the above if you do have a survival kit it might actually help you or not, depends on whether your brain will help you cobble ideas together for uses of your kit. Your brain is the perfect survival kit.

By Dude McLean

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Growing Tobacco For Trade

We have all heard about using cigarettes as a trade item but they will run out. It is a fact that under stress people smoke more and even take up smoking , when they were never a smoker in the past. With all the talk about bartering, this is a no brainier. Tobacco is a cash crop waiting to be planted.

It’s not all that hard to grow and can grow almost anywhere. Tobacco only needs acidic soil and little care. Creating acidic soil is not hard to do and many instructions can be found online.

You can even buy a mechanical hand roller to manufacture your own brand. You can also learn to hand roll cigars, lots of info on the net just Google how to hand roll cigars. It might be a while before you hit on your own method but it can be done. The videos I have seen are clear and easy to pick up the tricks and the art.

Heirloom seeds are best, as you can recover seed from the plants to regrow your own crop, and sell or barter. Some packets of seed are only a few bucks each , just like any veggies you might buy. I like

The Tobacco Seed Company. They will help you choose the tobacco you will need best for cigars, pipes and cigarettes. Virginian Gold, Turkish Basma, Burley Original and so on are just a few they carry. An added plus is you have no additives , no chemicals or other things that do not need to be in your mix.

Right now it is legal to grow anywhere and there is tons of info on the net about growing and preparing the tobacco for cigarettes, pipes , and cigars. A small patch can yield plenty of tobacco.

The cost of smoking is not going down if you are already a smoker, so just growing some of your own will save you big bucks.

Okay I know it is not the greatest thing to be a smoker and is linked to health issues. I believe is it is the added chemicals and no telling whatever else they have added that contributes god knows what to the tobacco. Growing you own eliminates that risk. and if nothing else just use it as a cash crop or barter.

After seeing the number of smokers at events and the number of cigars that seem to pop up at

campfires, and seeing the trading of cigars, “hey try one of these”, I don’t feel I’m too far off the beam here. I certainly do not suggest you take it up, but this is really an easy way to help yourself to a great in demand barter item. Right now I will kick back after writing this article with a fine cigar.

By Dude McLean

Shoot Me First

Some of us are more prone to this than others. Not even thinking we are making a statement, we are creating a  target… Look at my buzz cut, shirts, do-rag, cargo pants,wrap around shades, camo T-shirt, etc. You might as well put up a sign that says “shoot me first “. The same goes with trucks that are lifted and loaded with gear for escaping the hoards. they are screaming take me out I’ve got cool gear, shoot me first, etc..

A motorcycle or bike is just as bad. why? Because they are easy to take out and if your saddlebags are bulging you have gear… shoot me first!

I think we are making statements without reliasing what we are doing. Perhaps dressing down, kind of like a geek, or differently than we have been in the past is the best camo, because you don’t look like a potential problem. The best tactics are the element of surprise… make them shoot the other guy first.

We are influenced by movies, whether we want to be or not. Step back and just be neatly dressed. A do-rag doesn’t make you a man  with skills… The same with pants and a special shirt. Find a peta shirt, or one with  a peace sign on it etc… now that’s camo.

…Be a survivor not a stat.

It’s really a no brainer… Look less than average— the grey man idea.

Lots of ways to approach the problem. Maybe more later. Shoot them not me… I’m pointing to Halcon and others.

By Dude McLean

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“Whats In A Name, Dude? Poking a Little Fun”

What’s in a name? Sometimes it defines something. Like with names for people, it mostly will define you as a male or female, although that can be blurred. Or, that guy is an… fill in your fave bad name.

We are often defined by what we do for a living, although I feel that is unfair because it only tells partly what we really or are not. A carpenter does not go home and keep building because he is a carpenter by trade. I feel too many folks let the occupation define them, that is a one dimensional label and most are more complex than the one thing. Your job should not define who and what you are.

So this is my way of leading up to the point of my thoughts. I have heard it voiced in person, and many times on forums, that some are not happy with being called a “survivalist”, what with all the negative press who seldom get anything right anyway.. Add to the goofy shows about so called survivalists that are splashed all over the TV, it leads many to shy away from this label. Cant say I blame them, because it seems that all survivalists get lumped into one big nutcase bag, too bad. so this is a quest to find a new I.,D..

” Opportunist”, could be one name. Why? Well, those people buy extra items and stock ahead taking every opportunity they can to prepare themselves. Not as catchy and sounds a bit on the shady side but still applies. “Prudentists”,copyright, I just invented a word. Well, it is considered prudent to prepare ahead for what may come down the road. We hear the word prudent all the time, as in a prudent man would do such and such, mostly pertaining to being ready for something. “A prudent man buys insurance” etc. So it would apply for the new I.D.

How about the word prepper? I dont care for that word at all. It is just a lame word for survivalist. its like saying ” gosh darnit” when everyone knows you mean “god damnit”. So we’re still in search for the new I.D. How about “collectivist “. Why? because we are collecting things to put away and store and later on we can say wow look what I collected to save my sorry ass. Doesn’t it have a ring to it though?

How about “Obviousists” because you are doing the obvious by planning ahead and not being blinded by the crap we hear.. still not catchy eh?

Lets go with “: Americanist”, doing what Americans do covering our own butts and taking care of ourselves without the government helping us. Sowe are being prudent and taking the opportunity because it is obvious to collect the items we need in order to survive by preparing. Why should a label bother us? worse things could bother us… AOPCSO Americanopportunistsprudentcollectivesurvivalobvious. Now that’s a moniker you can hang with. I’m sure it will take off like wild fire, but at last we have a new label. You can give me all the credit for making your life a better one by handing out a new I.D. for free.

By Dude McLean

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Metal Detector Myth

I am amazed at most survival book writers ignorance when it comes to fooling a metal detector.  They all seem to be repeating each other and it seems it has not changed in years. It is very evident they are all wrong in my not so humble, ahem.

Over the last several days I have reviewed many new books by writers in the survival world all who are very knowledgeable with many skill sets, and this is not to take anything away from those skill sets. After seeing this same mistake over and over in these 4 books, I dove into my extensive collection of survival books and did a fast look for the problem. Each one said the same thing. They all advise scattering nails , BBs and junk metal over your cache in order to fool a metal detector or the operator. Even a novice who has read one book on metal detecting knows what to do in the case of a heavy metal “collection” concentrated in one place. For someone with lots of experience it does nothing but maybe pin point that something is under all that junk . First it is out of context for the area. Modern detectors can cancel out the surface junk and “look” down deeper and ignore the surface crap.

Even an old detector will work because any metal detector operator worth his salt will rake the surface and and scan it again, rake again and check it again. Also the ploy of putting a decoy cache on top of the real deal will not work… all operators always scan the hole again after a recovery.

I have been at the game of metal detectors and making finds for 50 years or more. I have found well hidden caches that had these “fooler” junk metals scattered around, all it did for me was ring my alarm that something is under there. The only place junk metals would work is in a true junk yard… That would be a nightmare.

I mean no disrespect to these fine writers with awesome survival credits and skill sets. For the most part they are right on . Not everyone can know everything. This happens to be an area of expertise that I know well. So in a way this is an open letter to those fine survivalists who offer us their hard won skills in their books.

With the utmost respect to those writers on survival.

By Dude McLean

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Do It Yourself

With winter coming on, you still have time for some Do It Yourself Projects. Most wont take more than afternoon. I’m sure you have been planning to do some of these ideas already, just need that swift kick in the butt to get at it.

A rain catchment system , you can start with any size containers you want. but 55 gallon barrels seem to be a natural. You can buy these at many stores, like home depot and the like, set them up in a series, cutting a hole and adding a plastic pipe to connect to the next barrel with overflow at the top of the barrels. Be sure to include a connection to drain the water, a hose attachment is easy to do at the bottom of each drum. Even if you are in a place that does not have much rain fall you will be surprised at the amount of rain that builds up and you can fill a few 55 gallon drums very quickly. Extra water is always nice to have. You do not even have to drink it, water your plants and critters with it.

A container garden is perfect for herbs. You can use 1 gallon containers and larger.

Plant any herbs, one to a container, depending on the size the herb attains when mature. This is classic way to grow tomatoes. cucumbers grow well in containers, as do squash. You can even provide a lattice work for them to grow on. Peppers respond well to the container garden . Almost anything you want to grow in a container will do well, with just a bit of maintenance. Many of us have all kinds of buckets just taking up space, that,s what got me going. They are easy to move so you can follow the sun or bring them into a shelter on the coldest days and nights . I use one of those heavy duty wagons to move several plants at once. You reap the bounty and it is really free food you grew yourself. Some like to hang the containers or even grow the plants upside down. By growing your own, you know where it came from, no nasty additives etc.

Don’t have chickens, but always wanted them? Building an inexpensive chicken coop is not hard to do. I saw some metal frame windows at the swap meet, 5 bucks each. They are about 6 by 5 feet that lets in the light and the warming sun and stops the wind. A few boards and chicken wire is not expensive. I used some old drawers for the nests and installed an old door I had on hand. Be sure the coop is critter proof. Lots of plans on the net to help you with ideas to slap it together. Now you have fresh eggs and the chickens are not full of some goofy hormones… cost less than a 100 bucks total. Maybe you want ducks or quail or pigeons? The cost should be the same or very close.

One of my daughters raises exotic chickens. Some are very pretty. Some are goofy looking, but they sell for 10 bucks each and up to 50 bucks each. Breeding pairs are more. Many different kinds of pigeons, from racers to tumblers. You can also sell squab as a side line.

On the net are plans for building your own smoker, from an old refrigerator, so you can smoke your own meats. The projects I saw are very straight forward and seems they could be done in an afternoon. I have never done this but as soon as my old box dies, the one in my mancave, that’s how I will recycle it.

Many times, just by driving down the road or through a few alleys, you will find broken fridges that are being thrown out. If I find one that’s my next move. It’s a great way to preserve food, from fish to fowl, to whatever you wish to smoke.

Small projects have a way of not getting done, but they can provide you food for very little effort. Do it yourself. You will feel better. With today’s prices for food, whatever you can do to cut that cost is money in your own pocket and not in the stores pocket… I like that.

By Dude McLean

Please feel free to post comments on my articles, I enjoy hearing from and responding to my readers. When you're finished posting your comment please click PUBLISH to share your comment with me and my readers.