Bushcraft

INDEX
Alders. 211
Antiseptics and wound dressings.
111-113
balsam and subalpine I'ir. 229
lodge pole and jack pine. 227
red osier dogwood. 246
white spruce. 216
Aspen. 232-236
and bannock. 68
bark as tinder. 17
bark chalk, uses of, 235
as cooking container, 61
edible cambium. 235
as fuel. 59. 233
as fungal host. 16, 20, 232
green. 43
heat value of cord. 193
quaking, 232-236
twig bundles. 31
with bow and drill. 19-21
Axecraft. 71-108. 135-136
axe handle, replacing of, 79-81
camp axe or hatchet., 85. 87
general purpose axe, 85
design o f . 72, 74-75
large axe, 85, 87-90
sharpening of, 76-77, 79
sheaths. 82-83
small axe. 84
use of. 82. 84-85
Baking, 59. 68
Balsam fir. 229-230
with bow and drill. 19. 21
as fuel. 230
heat value of cord. 193. 230
uses of, 229-230
Bannock. 67-70
Baskets. 202-210. 217-220
simple stretched. 202. 205. 207
spherical. 247, 250
Birch bark. 198-210
Bindcraft, 145-156
binding materials. 145-156
Bcbbs Willow. 150
birch. 197-198
black spruce, 153
conifer roots. 153
rawhide lacing. 154
sinew. 155
tamarack. 153
white spruce, 153
willow wythes, 155
Birches. 191-220. 267
ale, 196
as carving wood. 193
sap. 195-197
Birch bark. 198-210
canoe. 198-200
collecting. 200-201
as emergency food. 199
as fuel. 42. 193
as kindling. 29
shoes. 210
Birch fungus, as true tinder. 16
Birch twigs, uses of. 197-198
Black Poplar. 236-239
bark, as kindling. 28-29
lire wood. 236
hazards, 236
medicinal uses of. 237. 239
as tinder. 17
wood. 236
Black Spruce. 216-221
uses of. 104, 106. 153
Boiling, 54. 60
Broiling. 59. 63
Bow Drill, 12. 18-28
methods of use. 22-26
Carving. 118
Conifers. 213-230
roots. 213-230
Cooking, see also Outdoors Cooking
and Nutrition, 60-61, 64,
66-67
Cooking and Parasites, 60-61. 63.
277-278
Cooking containers, natural.
59-62
Cooking with coals. 67
Cooking with stones, 61-62.
64-65. 67
Cordage materials, 149-156
Cordage techniques, 145-154
Deep Frying. 67
Driftwood, as pot suspender. 54
Emergency Food,
birch. 199
white spruce, 215
Extinguishing Campfires. 47, 48.
50
283 
Felling,
with axe. 90. 97-98. 114
barber chair technique, 200
with knife. 119
with saw. 139
Felling Hazards. 45. 47. 49.
225-227
Firecraft. 11-70
Fire hazards. 45. 47. 49. 225-227
duff and moss. 45. 47. 49
stone rimmed fireplaces, 47
Firelay techniques, 38-45
Fire-lighting. 12-42
application. 12, 38-42
establishment. 12. 28-37
ignition. 12. 13-28
maintenance and moderation.
12, 42-70
moisture, 14. 18. 28-29. 31. 35
with twigs, 30-35
wind. 14
Fires, anatomy of. 48
distance from, 44
shelters. 41. 44. 47. 54, 215
Fire site. 45, 50
Fire woods. 42-43. 193, 227, 230.
236. 240
amount required, 43
heat value of cord, 193
Flint and steel. 12, 14-17
iron pyritc, 16
knives and. 14. 16
quartzite and. 15-16
striking the spark. 17
Frying. 67
Grass quilt, construction of, 159
Iron pyrite. uses in Hint and steel,
16
Jack Pine. 225-229
Knifecraft. 109-134
choice. 109-110
first aid. cuts. 111-113
in flint and steel. 16-17
hair cutting. 121
sharpening. 128-154
Kindlings. 13. 17. 27-30. 327
Kinnickinnick from Red Osier
Dogwood. 246
Limbing and sectioning,
axe. 102-103, 115
knife, 114-116
saw. 136. 143
Lodgepole Pine. 225-229
Matches. 12-14. 31
carrying of, 13-14
Mocock. 202. 209
Moose. 251-268
antlers. 252. 259-260
butchering. 261-264
characteristics, 251,255
habitat. 255-259
hunting. 257-261
megaphone. 207. 254
tanning hide. 264-268
tracks. 259-260
Outdoor Cooking, 12. 40, 59-70
Pine. 225-229
lire killed. 227
as fuel. 227
hazards of. 226-227
uses of. 227-229
Poplars. 231-239
as firewood. 233-234. 236
cambium. 235
conk. 232
fungus. 232-233
Amanita muscaria, 233
Armellaria mellia. 233
Pholioia squarrosoidc.s, 233
sketch pad fungi. 233
Pot suspensions. 50-58
free standing. 54
quick rigs. 51
trench lire. 53
tripod, 52
tripod pivot, 53
types.
Australian cooking crane.
55-56
Burtonsvllle rig, 56-58
High bar suspension. 56-57
elevated kitchen. 58
Pots, and (ire extinguishing, 47
Protein poisoning on hare diet.
278-279
Red Osier Dogwood. 245-246
edible berry, 246
medicinal uses. 246
Saskatoon. 245
Sallx. the true willow, 21. 239
284 
Saw craft, 135-144
tl rcssing, 144
jointing the rakers. 142
jointing the teeth. 141
sharpening, 140-144
sharpening the rakers. 144
sharpening the teeth, 144
setting the teeth. 143
uses of, 136-139
Sheltercraft. 157-190
Shelters, and fires, see also Fires,
shelters. 180. 181
bush beds. 173-176
deep open-fronted shelters. 176
enclosed shelters. 181-190
lean-to. 167-173
open-fronted shelters, 160-172
partly-enclosed open-fronted
shelters. 177-179
partially enclosed shelters.
179-184
snow shelters. 184-190, 215
teepee. 178
Shrubs. 243-250
Steaming. 47. 64-65
Steam bath, sauna. 47. 198. 230
r Strop, 132, 134, 209
Sphagnum, 215. 217. 221
Spruce, 213-224
as fuel. 31
Spruce roots, gathering and
processing. 221-224
ring, or Turkshead knot,
222-224
Spruce sap. in first aid. 216
Spruce splint baskets. 216-220,
224
Subalpinc fir. uses of. 229
Tamarack. 137. 193, 217, 224.
267
uses of. 225
Temporary utility container. 202.
204
Tinder. 16-19
false tinder fungus. 16. 19
natural tinder, 16
true tinder fungus. 16
synthetic tinder. 16
Tinder box. 14. 17. 29
Toboggan, construction, 194-195
planks. 194-195
Varying hare. 269-280
boiled. 60
broiled, 63
diseases. 277-279
population cycles. 271
robe, 276, 279-280
skinning, 275-276
snares. 274-275
uses or. 269
White Spruce, 213-216. 267
and birch bark canoes. 214.216
emergency food, 215
gum, 216
inferior glue. 216
paddles, oars. 214
resin fires. 215
stringed instruments, 214
uses of. 183
Willow. 231-242. 256
and bannock. 68
as fuel. 240
as grills, 63
and pot suspension. 54
steam mats. 65
wood. 240
Wolf, or Silver Willow. 243-244
as cordage, 153
fruit. 243
uses of, 244
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 9
CHAPTER 1 FIRECRAFT 11
Fire-Lighting 12
Ignition 13
Establishment 28
Applications 38
Maintenance and Moderation 43
Choosing a Safe Fire Site 45
Methods of Suspending Pots 50
Outdoors Cooking 59
CHAPTER 2 AXECRAFT 71
The Bush Axe 71
Tree Felling 90
CHAPTER 3 KNIFECRAFT 109
The Bush Knife 109
CHAPTER 4 SAWCRAFT 135
The Saw and Axe 135
CHAPTER 5 BINDCRAFT 145
Cordage Techniques 145
CHAPTER 6 SHELTERCRAFT 157
Shelter Concepts 157
CHAPTER 7 THE DIRCHES 191
The Paper Birch 191
The Alders 211
CHAPTER 8 THE CONIFERS 213
White Spruce 213
Black Spruce 216
Tamarack 224
Jack and Lodgepole Pine 225
Balsam and Subalpine Fir 229 
CHAPTER 9 THE WILLOWS 231
The Poplars 231
Quaking Aspen 232
Black Poplar 236
The Willows 239
CHAPTER 10 THE SHRUBS 243
Silver Willow 243
The Saskatoon 245
Red Osier Dogwood 245
The Ribbed Basket Forms 247
CHAPTER 11 THE MOOSE 251
The Majestic Beast 251
CHAPTER 12 THE VARYING HARE 269
The Key Provider 269
AUTHOR 282
INDEX 284 
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason why a person cannot live comfortably
in the Northern Forests with a few simple, well-chosen
possessions such as a pot and an axe. It is also conceivable
that with the right knowledge you may live well enough
without a pot or axe. The reader may never have to do
without these two precious items, tan a moose hide, or build
a subterranean winter shelter, but intelligent advice derived
from a reliable source may furnish the knowledge that
allows you to do a passable job on the first attempt, should
the need arise.
Fire is the most useful and important skill in basic bush
living, particularly in the cold. It warms and dries, makes
water and food safe and transforms any place in the forest
into a home. Fire is a passable companion when you are
alone, is never boring to watch, and has held our fascination
from time immemorial. Possessing the means and the
knowledge to light fire at any moment is a prerequisite for
living and surviving in the bush. If you are fire's master it
is the genie that does your bidding, but if a lack of knowledge
limits your ability to master it, fire will be a trying servant
that may jeopardize your safety.
A pot is an important possession for heating water, cooking,
melting snow, putting out campfircs, excavating earth
and for collecting berries and other edibles. Drinking adequate
amounts of safe water is necessary for maintaining
health and reducing fatigue. Giardiasis is apt to be found
in the remotest corners of the Northern Forests, a parasite
that is easily killed by boiling. Boiling is the most effective
and convenient method of cooking in the bush. You may get
by without a pot. but it will be sorely missed.
Of the tools useful in bush living, the axe is foremost
becausc of its versatility and durability in cutting firewood,
fashioning shelters and other articles useful in daily
existence. The knife is the smallest cut t ing tool that one may
carry; small, light and unobtrusive, it is readily available for
hundreds of tasks in bush living. Like fire, these tools are
a great asset if used safely and knowledgeably, but impose
penalties on the ignorant and careless. Using an axe to fall
a tree is one of the more hazardous wilderness activities. The
saw is the complementary opposite of the axe. It is safer,
faster and quieter for such applications as cutting firewood.
Cordage and binding holds most things together in basic
9 
bush living. Without cord you cannot rotate the spindle of
the bow drill for making fire or drilling holes, make bow
strings, fish lines, nets and snares. Without some form of
binding you cannoL tie up a twig bundle, lash shelter poles,
or build toboggans, sleds and canoes. From a sewing thread
made of stinging nettle to a tow cable of grass, cordagemaking
and its application is an important bush skill.
It is a major accomplishment in the bush to be able to rest
and sleep with comfort when on the move. When the
weather is mild, a ready-made bed can be found in the dry.
organic materials at the base of a large white spruce. When
conditions become too cold or wet, a fire will give respite.
Under prolonged and adverse conditions, maintaining a fire
is hard work because of the large amounts of fuel required.
An appropriate shelter helps to keep the weather at bay and
captures a fire's warmth with greater efficiency.
The raw materials used in bush living are the locally
available plants and animals. The more you know about
using these resources the more alternatives you have to adequately
meet your daily needs. There is nothing in the bush
that does not have a use at some time or other.
There was only enough space to deal with the two most
important animals in the Northern Forests, the biggest and
the smallest—the moose and the varying hare. The moose
is a major source of meat and fabric for clothing and shelter.
Where the moose feeds the village, the hare provides the day
to day fare.
I did not write this book for old trappers or the people who
have lived in the bush all their lives. I have written it for the
person who wishes to become more knowledgeable about,
and more comfortable in, the bush.
10 
1
FIRECRAFT
When all else fails, fire is the simplest means
of providing comfort and warmth against cold
and wet in the Northern Forests.
If you were dressed in the old European tradition, with
numerous layers of fluffy wool adequate to deal with Lhe bitter
cold, you would likely be wearing about nine kilograms
or 25 pounds of clothing. If you are unable to dry your
clothing out, within five days you would be carrying six
kilograms more weight of accumulated frost. The efficiency
of your clothing would be so impaired by this frost build up
you could die of hypothermia within a week.
When you stop moving in cold weather, the first thought
should be to light a fire. Your hands should not be allowed
to become so numb that fire-lighting becomes difficult. A
simple test of your level of physical capacity is to touch the
thumb to the little linger of the same hand. The moment
you have any difficulty in doing this you should light a fire.
In cold, wet weather when the need is most urgent, firelighting
is often the most difficult. You may have to exercise
strenuously to restore some manipulative capacity to
your hands, or in your clumsiness you may drop or break
matches while attempting to strike them.
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NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
The test for hypothermic incapacity. If you. cannot touch
your thumb to your forefinger, you should take immediate
steps to warm up.
FIRE-LIGHTING
There are four basic stages in fire-lighting:
1. Ignition. Fire may be started in a variety of ways. The
most common methods are matches, the flint and steel, and
the bow drill.
2. Establishment. This stage involves using the most effective
method to light the required type of fire with the fuel
available. Fine and coarse kindlings are ignited, which in
turn ignite sufficient fuel of the right quality so the fire will
continue to burn even in wind or rain. Establishment is a
critical aspect of fire-lighting under adverse conditions as
there are often many problems to overcome.
3. Application. There are a number of different fire
arrangements that produce the best desired effect, combined
with the special properties of the fuels available. There arc
fires for cooking-, warming, drying, repelling insects, signaling
and so on.
4. Maintenance and Moderation. A fire can be made to
burn at a desired output with a minimum of smoke.
Knowledgeable maintenance will allow you long periods between
adjustments or stokings.
In a stove, a fine kindling is set on fire (ignition) which in
turn ignites coarse kindling, and then a fuel that burns fairly
hot (establishment). The fuel should producc a good bed of
coals to better utilize a slower burning, perhaps green fuel,
for staying power. If the fire is too hot. green fuel may be
added or the air supply restricted (moderation). An open fire,
being fuel regulated, is more complex to control than one
in a stove but the stages remain the same.
12 
FIRECRAFT
IGNITION
Matches
The most common and convenient way to light a fire is,
understandably, to use a match. The match flame should
be instantly transferred to a combustible material while taking
care to protect the flame from any wind. Open-flame
methods of ignition are vulnerable to air movements that
tend to extinguish a flame while it is small, but help intensify
it when it is large.
The action of a match flame.
The larger the match, the more time there is to transfer
the llame to any kindling, and the better the chance the
flame will catch. For example, a large kitchen match will
burn for at least the count of 40, one of paper for 15, and
a split paper match for five. If you consistently succeed with
a split paper match in wet. windy weather, you should never
have a problem lighting fires in the bush.
Matches should be carried in waterproof containers in
three separate places. First, in your pants pocket (assuming
your pants are the last items of clothing to be removed).
A second back-up container should be carried elsewhere,
possibly in your shirt pocket. The third is a reserve in your
13 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
pack to replenish the other two sources.
Unprotected matches arc ruined by sweat, melted frost
build-up in the clothes, rain or from falling into water. A
match container should be tested by submersion for ten
minutes. The container must be easy to open with wet or
numb hands.
Matches should never be carried loose in any pocket.
Every year thousands of North Americans suffer severe
burns from this habit, with over 50 actually burning to
death.
The Flint and Steel
Wind is a major problem when lighting a fire with matches.
On the other hand, the flint and steel dispenses with
The flint and steel method of fire-lighting.
14 
FIRECRAFT
Method of cracking apart a rock to expose a striking
surface.
a) Identifying quartzite. Quartzite is a commonly found hard
rock that makes a good flint. The best rock displays a surface
marked with many crescent-shaped fractures.
b) Cracking a quartzite boulder. Quartzite boulders that are
either flat or discus-like are easily cracked when dropped on
a larger rock. Spherical or egg-shaped rocks are very
tenacious, tending to bounce rather than crack. Rocks that
must be thrown to be broken are dangerous and may rebound
towards you or the flying shards may cause injury.
c) A quartzite flake. A flake that is knocked off a quartzite
boulder is usually sharp enough to be used as a chopper or
saw for working wood or as a knife for skinning.
d) Breaking quartzite into small pieces. Once a quartzite
boulder is broken in half it is easily fractured into smaller
pieces that are more suitable for use as flints. The flints
should have sharp edges that can be struck with the steel.
15 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
an open flame and uses wind to advantage. Though not as
convenient, it is a superior method under all adverse conditions.
When you are down to your last ten matches you
may choose to conserve them by converting to the flint and
steel.
The Flint. Any rock, such as quartzite, that is harder than
carbon steel can be used. Wherever rocks are found, some
are always hard enough to act as a flint. The rock usually
has to be cracked apart to expose a sharp edge to strike
against. When the steel is struck against this edge, a fine
shaving of metal is produced becoming so hot in the process
that it burns.
The Steel. The steel or striker must be of tempered carbon
steel to obtain the best sparks. Although many other
substances may work, few have the intense fiery focus or
incendiary spark like a burning fragment of carbon steel.
A natural stone, known as iron pyrite, may be used as a
striker or both striker and flint. Two pieces of pyrite may
be struck against each other to obtain an incendiary spark.
It is difficult to produce sparks from pure iron or stainless
steel.
The Tinder. Tinder is a special material that will begin
to glow from an incendiary spark. There are three tinders
commonly used in the Northern Forests.
1. Synthetic Tinder. Made by charring any vegetable fiber
such as cotton, linen or jute. To make a small quantity of
cloth tinder, tear out ten strips of old blue jean material a
few centimetres wide and 20 centimetres long. Drape the
strips across a stick and set the material on fire. As the flame
dies down stuff the burning mass into an airtight container.
Oncc the flame subsides and the charred material begins
to glow, the lid is put on to exclude oxygen. If no airtight
tin or tinderbox is available, two pieces of bark can be used.
To make larger quantities tightly roll up and bind a jeans
pant leg with wire. Build a fire over the bundle. When it dies
down, stuff the glowing mass of cotton into a jam can with
a tight-fitting lid.
2. Natural Tinder. Made by extracting the context or cottony
substance from the hoof, or false tinder fungus, and
boiling it in a slurry made from the powdery-grey ash of a
wood fire. The false tinder fungus is usually found on dead
birch and occasionally on aspen. It is easy to identify as it
looks like a horse's hoof.
3. True Tinder Fungus. Found on living birch trees, it is
also easy to identify as it appears already charred. The light-
16 
FIRECRAFT
brown interior material is dried to prepare it for use.
Striking the Spark. It takes practice to obtain a good
spark. Use a supple flick of the wrist to make a light glancing
blow. See how close you can come to the flinL with the
striker, yet miss it. You know you have a good flint, steel
and technique when you can make sparks that strike the
ground from a standing height.
Striking into a tinderbox may cause many pieces of the
tinder to glow. To ignite one flake, hold it under the thumb
above a sharp corner of your flint and strike the spark
upward into it.
a) The safest way to use a hunting knife as a striker is to
employ the tip of the blade. The sparks are not as intense as
those produced with the drill.
bj Striking sparks with the back of a knife. This is the most
effective way to strike sparks with the back of a straight
knife. It is risky if the blade is not held firmly as the stone is
struck.
Producing Flame. Make a ball of dry material such as
grass, inner bark of black poplar or aspen and old man's
beard. Place the glowing flakes of tinder in the ball and blow
into flame. To keep the smoke out of your face hold the kindling
above eye-level and blow up into it. The burning ball
of kindling is used to ignite twigs or shavings.
17 
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Striking sparks with an axe.
The Bow Drill
Lighting fire by friction is an exacting skill requiring considerable
background knowledge. It sharpens one's fire
sense and induces a great feeling of accomplishment.
Moisture is a major problem in friction fire-lighting. When
fire hazard is high, it is easy to start a fire with a bow drill.
You are likely to obtain an ember if there has been no rain
for two days, the weather is hot and sunny, and the fire is
made in the hottest part of the day (mid-afternoon). Due to
the low relative humidity normally found in winter, the bow
drill works well, unless there were extensive autumn rains.
Laying a board and drill on "dry" ground for a half-hour may
cause failure because of the moisture that is absorbed.
Suitable woods. Any dry, firm, non-resinous wood will
likely produce an ember. A screeching drill indicates the
wood used has a high resin content. The drag crcatcd by
resin is exhausting to overcome and the powder has a higher
18 
WRECKAFT
Cross section ojfalse tinder fungus. The fungus is found
on dead birch and occasionally on aspen.
ignition point difficult to reach by normal drilling. Wood that
is low in resin may not screech but produces a powder composed
of tiny rolls, which is a sure indication that it will not
work.
Some woods must be sound to work well, while others arc
best if attacked by a fungus. If the board and drill are from
the same piece of wood, and difficulty is encountered, then
both pieccs should be discarded. The board and the drill
must be of the same hardness, or the drill must be the harder
of the two. or it will wear away before it can generate the
required heat. Aspen, willow and balsam fir work well when
both the board and drill are of the same wood.
A superior combination is a punky aspen heart wood board
and a dry. weathered wolf willow drill. Aspen and willow are
popular because of their availability. Both are easily shaped
with a knife or a cracked rock.
Suitable wood is weathered grey, has little bark left on and
comes from a protected, sunny location (such as on the
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NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
Proper use of the bow drill.
1. The wrist fits snugly against the shin to steady the drill.
2. If you do not bear down enough on the socket you will
not make smoke. If you bear down too hard you may
become exhausted before you get an ember.
3. Hold the drill vertical.
4. The bow is horizontal and at 90 degrees to the drill.
5. The instep of the foot is close to the drill.
6. The board must be on a firm footing.
7. Kindling.
8. The thumb and fingers are used to vary the tension on the
bow string.
south side and close to a big white spruce). It must be vertical
with no old man's beard and should be collected well
above your height to ensure the minimum of moisture.
Aspen may be found in three suitable forms. The first is
firm, in diameters of up to ten centimetres, well-weathered
and grey displaying a large check. The sccond is attacked
by a fungus that makes it light and punky and causes the
top part of the tree to break off two or three metres from the
ground. The third and best board of all, comes from a living
aspen attacked by the conk fungus that so weakens the tree
internally it falls, usually fracturing into pieces that can be
removed without using an axe. This wood is both light and
firm, much like balsa.
20 
FIRECRAFT
Both ends of the drill should be similar in size and symmetry.
Initially, sharply pointed ends may seat easier in the
socket and fireboard. Switching the ends frequently during
drilling is the most effective way to produce an ember, if
there is little friction, and the drill wears away rapidly, it
is too soft. If there is little friction and the drill and board
polish instead of charring, then the wood of both is too hard.
Fireboard. The board should be the sourcc for most of the
powder that eventually becomes hot enough to glow spontaneously
from the friction of the drill. Only a dry board
allows the build-up of temperatures to this ignition point.
The board needs only be big enough to be easily held down
with the foot.
21
Drill. A straight drill works best. It should be thicker than
the thumb and about a hand span long. The dimensions are
not critical as drills a centimctre thick and a few centimetres
long or a few centimetres thick and a metre long will work.
The larger diameter drill provides more traction and
imposes less wear on a weak cord. 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
22 
FIRECRAFT
The one-hole method is the fastest method known for
producing an ember by drilling.
The fork-hole method of drilling an ember.
23 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
The two-hole method of drilling an ember.
Socket. A socket should be comfortable to hold in the
palm of the hand. The diamond depression from both a dry
or green "diamond" willow may be quickly made into a
socket. One of the best sockets is easily made from the soft,
thick outer bark of the black poplar. In a few moments of
use it develops an almost frictionless bearing surface. With
other sockets the hole may have to be inlayed with
something smooth and hard. Green leaves, soap or grease
can be used to reduce the frictional drag that is so physically
exhausting to overcome. When a lubricant is applied, c _ly
one end of the drill can be used for the entire drilling
operation.
The drill socket.
Bow. The bow is a straight stick that ranges in length from
that of the arm, to that of elbow to finger tip. If too flexible,
it will not grip the drill and if too rigid, it will rapidly wear
out the bow cord. When the bow is held at the ends and bent,
it should flex slightly. A dry bow, being lighter and more
resilient, is superior to a green one. The tip of the bow may
have a fork (if willow) or a hole (if spruce) and the handle
should have a hole through which the cord passes snugly
so that its tension can be easily adjusted.
24 
FIRECRAFT
The straighter the bow stick the better it works. As it is
pulled back and forth it should clatter against the drill. If
the cord is too tight the drill will tend to flip out. The tension
of the cord can be varied slightly with the thumb and
forefinger of the hand working the bow. When the cord is
made to take a turn around it, the drill must not be between
the cord and the bow.
The bow.
It is difficult to find natural materials with which to make
a strong enough cord for the bow. Only a few vegetable fibers
can withstand the tension necessary to grip and rotate the
drill. With two people, a bow is not required. Almost any
root by itself is st rong enough if one person uses it to rotate
the drill while the other steadies the board, drill and sockct.
(See? Bindcraft, Chapter 5.)
Preparing the Board and Drill. Sharpen the ends of the
drill and make starting holes in the fireboard and sockct.
In the edge-hole method the hole in the fireboard is made
near the end of the board, so that the spark is formed outside
the edge. Under adverse conditions, especially in strong
winds, the two-hole method is the most secure for handling
the fragile ember.
To drill, take a comfortable position, holding the board
steady with the foot opposite to the hand working the bow.
The toe or the instep is placed near the hole being drilled
25 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
and the wrist of the sockct hand rests against the shin. If
you arc not using a lubricant in the socket, switch ends now
and again so both ends of the drill maintain a similar size
and shape. (A pinch of dry sand will speed up the drilling
of the hole.)
All the powder produced is needed to sustain and enlarge
the ember. The best powder should be black and fine,
resembling instant coffee in texture. If the powder is more
brown than black or forms into rolls, then discard the drill
and board for something better.
In the two-hole method, when the first hole is about a centimetre
deep, the second hole is made to slightly intersect
the first. When the two holes are well-established, chip out
a good channel bet ween the two. The friction of the drill will
grind out powder that will eventually reach the spontaneous
ignition point for cellulose. The powder will begin to glow
if enough oxygen reaches it through this channcl.
Willow is well-suited for the crotch-hole method. Drill into
the crotch of a closely forked stick so that the powder piles
up onto a nest of shredded kindling.
Another method is to drill between two sticks bound
together to make the board, with the ember forming through
the bottom of the hole.
Sometimes a forked or flat board is turned over and the
drilling continued through to the bottom of the previous hole
for the through-hole method.
An advanced and fast technique is the one-hole method.
The drill point is made sharp enough to rapidly make a hole
two to three centimetres deep by drilling furiously for ten
seconds. A parabolic-shaped hole should be produced. The
radiating heat from the hot inside surface of the hole converges
at its focal point. The powder that accumulates
around the edge of the hole is heaped up inside it to include
the focal point. It should begin to glow as though a magnifying
glass is being directed on it.
Resting Stage. Because it is tiring to prepare the firemaking
equipment, and more energy will be needed to produce
the glowing coal, take a rest between the two stages.
Prepare the fine kindling required for the next stage. Trim
the sides of the drill and the hole to crcate more friction on
the drill tips rather than on the sides.
The Ember Stage. Drill vigorously to make a deep hole
to contain the ember, then immediately change to the
second, more shallow hole that produces the ember, pausing
momentarily to chip out a channel between the two. If
26 
FIRECRAFT
the drag seems excessive, trim the sides of the drill tip or
the shoulders of the drill hole again. Use long, steady strokes
to build up the temperature in the hole. If you do not bear
down hard enough on the drill you may not produce smoke.
If you bear down too hard you may exhaust yourself before
obtaining an ember. After a few teaspoons of powder have
been produced and the smoke is more pronounced, the drilling
is gradually speeded up until you arc working as fast
as you can.
When you reach the limit of your endurance, stop and look
for a thin line of smoke rising from one point in the powder.
Dispersed smoke coming from the whole pile indicates the
lack of an ember. If an ember is present, fan with your hand
to drive more oxygen to it. The use of your hand allows you
to catch your breath after the exertion of drilling. Avoid
blowing on the ember as the humid air from your lungs may
have an adverse affect on the ember. If no ember is produced
in 15 minutes of drilling use a different board and drill as
there is little hope for success.
Producing a Flame from the Ember. Once the ember is
about pea size place a ball of kindling over the hole thai contains
it. The kindling must be sufficiently frayed to prevent
the powder from sifting through. Place a piece of bark on
the ball of kindling and hold the bark, kindling and board
firmly together. Turn everything over so the board lies on
the bark and the ball of kindling. To dislodge the ember give
the back of the board a rap with the drill.
Place a second ball of kindling and piece of bark over the
ember so it can be handled with the least disturbance. You
can dispense with the two pieces of bark if you are careful
27 
NORTHERN BUS I ICR AFT
when handling the balls of kindling. Well-frayed grass or line
wood shavings can be substituted for black poplar inner
bark.
Either blow the ember into flame, face it into a brisk wind
or twirl it at arm's length.
A fire can be made by two people within an hour of starting
to look for the required materials and using only
cracked rocks as the tools to produce the board and drill.
ESTABLISHMENT
Moisture is a major hindrance in fire-lighting. During
evaporation, moisture carries away a great deal of heat and
saps the strength of a flame or ember by keeping the kindling
cool. As a gram of water requires 540 calories to
evaporate, most of the energv of ignition is used drving the
fuel.
The cooler and damper air found near the ground can be
avoided if the kindling is lit at chest level and then laid down.
Wood size determines how hot and fast a fire will burn.
If wood with a surface area of one square metre is split into
smaller pieces with a total surface area often square metres,
these would burn at a greater intensity, to a higher
temperature and in less time, but the amount of heat
liberated in either ease would still be the same.
The Kindlings
A fire is established by the transfer of an ember or flame
to a fine fuel or kindling. Kindling should not be confused
with tinder (which is a superior form of kindling that glows
from an incendiary spark).
Fine Kindlings. Fine kindlings will ignite readily from a
glowing piece of tinder as from a flame. This sort of material
is scarce in the natural environment.
The inner bark of black poplar is a superior kindling found
on trees that have died in the spring, perhaps as a result of
forest fire or the work of beaver. No other material in the
Northern Forest works as well to enlarge the ember
generated by the bow drill.
Dry grass is an excellent kindling found in the winter but
28 
FIRECRAFT
rare in the summer. It excels when used with the flint and
steel.
The lichens (Usnea and Alectoria) commonly known as
old man's beard are poor kindlings in wet weather because
they absorb moisture from the air. They arc most useful in
the winter when the relative humidity is low. When dry they
burn furiously. They must be used in a fluffy state to work
well. Old man's beard is the least objectionable material to
dry by body heat if tucked into your shirt above the bell.
Any firm wood of low resin content can be scrapcd with
a sharp knife to produce a fine kindling. Scraped resinous
wood works very well with an open flame, but poorly with
glowing tinder.
Glowing tinder will cause dry punky wood or charcoal to
glow strongly enough to ignite coarsc kindling. The glowing
tinder is placed between two lumps of charcoal and
blown into a large enough ember to easily ignite coarse
kindling.
Coarse Kindlings. A coarse kindling is any dry wood as
fine as a matchstick that is readily ignited with an open
llame or by a large quantity of glowing tinder.
Birch bark is well-known for its waterproof properties.
Fine shreds are easily ignited by a flame. Like conifer resin,
its resinous or oily nature prevents its effective use with
tinder.
No matter how wet its surface, the corky outer bark of
black poplar can be shaved to expose a dry interior. Fine
shavings of the dry bark ignite easily.
Conifer resin is the most important fire-lighting material
to use with matchcs in the Northern Forests. Lumps of pure
resin or resin-saturatcd bark or wood will assist a match in
lighting a fire even in the worst of conditions. Like wax
without a wick, the resin must be very hot to burn by itself.
The wood at the base of the dead lower branches of pines
is usually saturated with resin. These branches can be
broken oil and splintered and used like resin saturated bark.
In pine country, where fine twigs are uncommon, dead
pine needles are a passable substitute for birch bark. The
needles are waterproof so long as they remain strongly
attached to a branch. The needles should be mostly red in
color, but some green is allowable. Remove the moisture by
slapping the branch against a tree then test on your wrist
to see if any remains. (If the needles drop off they must be
handled with care and used with moisture remaining on
them.)
29 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Tie a large handful of pine branches into a loose bundle.
Rinding prevents the bundle from springing apart when laid
down. The needles will burn poorly if they are too loose or
too densely packed together. This important fire-lighting
technique should be practiced when an adequate supply of
matches is available and should not be attempted for the
first time in an emergency.
To ensure a good start to your fire use enough kindling
(a good handful) to produce the intensit ies of heat required
to ignite finger-thick wood, which in turn ignites whatever
fuel is available. If the kindling is comprcssed it acts like a
solid mass. This prevents any convection heat from working
through and, as a result, your fire may die from insufficient
heat build-up. As a rule, twigs of match-thickness need
a spacing two to five times their thickness.
Fire-Lighting with Twigs
The common method of fire-lighting with twigs.
1. A small handful of dry spruce branches elbow to finger
tip long is broken into thirds with the finest twig ends on the
bottom.
2. Hold the end of the match between thumb and forefinger,
supporting the head with the middle or ring finger to prevent
the match stick from breaking.
3. Strike the match and as it flares, move it to the point of ignition,
providing additional protection to the flame with the
cupped hand. Ignite the finest twigs, which in turn should
ignite the larger ones.
30 
FIRECRAFT
Dead twigs on spruce, aspen or willow are easily found.
Any fine twigs can be used if they are dry and as thin as
a match at their tips. The amount of twigs called for varies
according to the needs of the moment. It may be a small
handful, used nine-tenths of the time for most fire-lighting
purposes; a large handful for an emergency; and a hug of
an armful for an intense, hot fire needed to produce a fast
signal, or to warm a group of winter hikers or a cold, wet
canoeist.
The Common Twig Fire. Gather about five dry spruce
branches that are shorter than arm's length and longer than
elbow to finger tip. Break the twigs into thirds in an orderly
fashion so you can ignite the finest tips first. See how much
you can get away with yet still succeed in lighting your fire,
assuming you have an adequate supply of matches.
Although the common twig fire is adequate for everyday
use, it is not foolproof in severe conditions or when you cannot
afford to waste any matches.
Emergency Twig Bundle. The most critical factor in this
method of fire-lighting is to transfer a match llame as quickly
as possible to some combustible material that will help the
flame do its work.
The materials for the emergency twig bundle are the same
as for the common twig fire. The amount gathered should
produce a moderately compressed bundle larger than the
circle formed by the thumbs and middle lingers of both
hands touching, or over 15 centimetres in diameter. The
larger the bundle the more protection afforded the match
flame in windy conditions. Avoid old man's beard in wet
weather as it is damp and tends to suffocate the match flame
rather than enhance it.
Gather the twigs with the butt ends all to one end and
flush with each other. The thin ends, which are of various
lengths, are folded into the bundle then tied to prevent them
from springing apart. The bundle may be tied with cord,
grass, roots or two interlocking forks of any pliant shrub.
When lighting a bundle, it is easiest to manipulate it at
eye-level. Look for a spot in the thin twig end where the twigs
are not too densely packed together or too widely spaced
apart. The twigs should be about two or three of their own
diameters away from each other. Before the match is lit, a
cavity is made where it is to be inserted. In this way you
know exactly where to put the match as it flares. The
exposed ends ignite more readily if some of the twigs in the
cavity are broken.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
The minimum diameter of a twig bundle. When squeezing
the bundle, you should not be able to touch the tips to the
fingers. The bundle should be larger than this and as large
as a hug if necessary.
32
Emergency twig bundle. The branches used should be
shorter than arm length and longer than elbow to finger tip.
Note the arrangement of the butts of the twigs. The fine twig
ends are folded into the bundle. 
FlKECRArr
33 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
In a strong wind you can make a windproof shelter with
your coat, in which to ignite the twigs or you may simply
turn your back to the wind and hold the bundle in the protection
of your coat. Under gusty and variable wind conditions.
you may have to turn your body to continue to provide
protection. You have about a minute to lay down the
burning bundle. This allows you to light it in a protected
area some distance from the fire site.
As it burns turn the bundle so the flame engulfs other
twigs, and preheats its own fuel. In half a minute, the flame
should be well enough established that any wind will intensify
it. If there is no wind, and the bundle is damp (as
indicated by a dense, white smoke), wave it gently back and
forth to keep it burning.
The burning twigs are laid down so that the wind blows
the flame into the core of the bundle. Ten finger-thick sticks
arc added, then two wrist-thick sticks and finally anything
less than the thickness of one's leg until the fire is going well.
Only then should poor fuel be used.
The twig torch.
34 
FIRECRAFT
Using the Bundle in Wet Conditions. Gather (wigs that
arc as dry as possible. Flick violently to remove excess
moisture. The bundle may be protected under your coat
from further wetting. Search on the lee-side of large tree
trunks, such as spruce, for at least a small handful of dry
material that can be forced into the thin twig end. This is
an appropriate occasion to use conifer resin, or resinsaturated
wood from injured conifers or the resin found at
the bases of dead pine branches. The resin ignites even if
its surface is wet.
The Large Twig Bundle. The large twig bundle is about
the size of a hug. Gather the twigs in the same way as for
the emergency bundle, but the fine ends are folded in toward
the core in small handfuls after the bundle is tied.
The large bundle provides a fast. hot. warming fire for a
group. It is totally consumed in a short time, since the
largest branches are a finger-thickness or less in diameter.
Feather Stick Fire-Lighting
Kindling from shavings can be made with a sharp knife
from any dry, straight-grained, knot-free wood. When
naturally-found kindlings are scarce, an axe is advantageous
to fall, section and split the shaving wood. Shavings can be
made directly on a dry, knot-free standing or fallen tree.
The ideal tree for feathering is dead and well-cured
(marked by a deep chcck and patches of missing bark). The
tree should be absolutely vertical to ensure dryness. If the
tree can be encircled with the thumbs and middle fingers
of both hands then it is too small to stay dry in a prolonged
rain.
Split a knot-free section of wood into thumb-thick picces.
If it is raining, the splitting and feathering should be carried
out in a stooped position with your back protecting the
kindling until it is lit.
The ideal feather stick should be about elbow to linger tip
long and as Ihick as the thumb. The best shavings usually
comc from Ihe edge of the annual rings on pine and spruce
and on the tangent on aspen and willow. The best curls are
made with the curved portion of a sharp knife blade. For better
control, rest the end of the stick on something solid. Hold
the cutting arm straight and make the cut by moving the
body instead of bending the elbow. At the end of the cut,
the knife blade is used to bend the shavings outwards to
35 
NOR'1 HERN U USHCR A FT
The feather stick.
36 
FIRECRAFT
spread them a little. The shavings should use up two-thirds
to three-quarters of the length of the stick. Each shaving
should have one or more complete curls as these ignite
instantly and resist breaking off when handled. Ideally, the
unfeathercd portion should burn through before the flame
goes out. Trial and error determines what will work the best
in each case.
To ensure your fire has a good start, use at least six feather
sticks, with two being well made. A teepee arrangement is
not as stable as leaning the sticks against a log. Place ten
or more finger-thick sticks over the feathers, then two wristthick
sticks followed by two leg-thick sticks, at which point
the fire should be burning well enough to be rearranged into
a more parallel configuration.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
APPLICATIONS
The Parallel Firelay. The most useful fire for cooking and
warming under moderately cold conditions. The fuel is
arranged in a parallel fashion and in line with the wind. The
standard fire uses fuel of arm span length. The smaller the
fire required, the shorter the fuel. When logs can be cut into
short lengths, this is the preferred open fire for use inside
an enclosed shelter.
38 
FIRECRAFT
When you need cooking coals, wrist-thick willow is piled
up to knee height, and allowed Lo burn down. Small fuel may
be added at a constant rate to provide a continuous supply
of coals, which are raked over to the upwind end of the fire.
Compared to other fire types, the parallel fire uses poor fuel
the most efficiently and requires the least adjustment for
long burning.
The Cross Firelay. A modification of the parallel firelay
useful when there is no axe or saw to cut the logs into arm
span lengths for the parallel fire. If the logs are parallel and
close enough to each other, a fire at any point in their length
can spread to both ends. If the logs are placed at a slight
angle to cach other, the spread of the fire is confined to the
area where the spacing is less than ten centimetres. A useful
spread of flame may be achieved in this way, not as wide
as the parallel fire, but with a higher sheet of flame.
The Star Firelay. Here, the fuel is crossed like the rays
of a star. The fire is confined to a relatively small area where
the jumble of sticks cross. As the sticks burn through, cross
them again or push the ends into the fire. The tendency of
the fire to travel out of the fireplace along logs lying on dry
39 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
duff is a problem in a shelter. To prevent this, prop up the
far ends of the logs.
The star fire is a poor choice for a cold weather use in front
of an open shelter. However, it is appropriate for hot weather
cooking, for burning long logs into more manageable pieces
and as the warming and cooking fire inside a teepee where
long logs are used. This type of fire requires good fuel and
frequent adjustment to burn at its best.
The Wall-Backed Firelay. A wall is incorporated into one
side of a parallel fire. The heat radiating from the far side
is mostly re-emitted and partially reflected to provide a
greater effect on the near side (for the same amount of fuel).
A waist-high wall creates a broad sheet of flame and
radiance. Additionally, the wall creates a drawing action so
that smoke is better earned overhead. The wall may be
made of many materials, the most convenient being green
or dry logs. In cold conditions, the burning wall should contribute
to both the intensity and endurance of the fire.
For one night, a wall of one log thickness may be made
from logs an arm span long. For greater stability in stacking,
hew the logs flat both on top and bottom before sectioning.
A wall of large logs will stand by itself, but small logs
40 
FIRECRAFT
require a brace or two. With a brace log the wall may be
leaned slightly forward over the fire so that it will collapse
onto it, thereby eliminating a few stoking sessions during
the night. In cool weather the wall may be made of green
logs, the longest lasting being green black poplar.
Another method for making the wall-backed fire is to stack
the logs so t hat the side next to the fire is as vertical as possible.
Depending on the needs of the moment, the logs may
The wall-backed fire.
Sleeping between the wood pile and the fire.
41 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
be green, dry or a mixture of both. The straighter the logs
and the more snugly they are stacked, the more slowly the
fire will progress through the wall. This reduces the
adjustments required as the fire burns. The coldcr the
weather, the higher the wall up to waist-height. For example,
at -60°C it should be waist-high and made only of dry
wood. Its burning face should be close to vertical and the
fire built against it. The log wall must be parallel to any
steady wind, but may vary 15 degrees before problems with
smoke and sparks become excessive.
MAINTENANCE AND MODERATION
Fires thrive on attention. Frequent adjustment will keep
a fire burning at its best. The adjustment consists of moving
together pieces of wood that are too far apart or
spreading those that are too close together. A fire tolerates
a void under it, but not within it, so these should be collapsed
or filled with fuel. Fuel should be put on in time to
be adequately dried and preheated. In a heavy rain the
amount of fuel piled over a fire may have to be quite large
for it to burn properly.
The cure for a smoky fire is oft en a matter of proper adjustment.
If that does not help, excessive smoke is likely due
to some inadequacy in the fuel. It may be too green or wet
with so much heat being used in drying there is little left
over for burning. Putting on dry, finer fuel will burn up more
products of inadequate combustion and the improved thermal
column will carry the troublesome smoke up and over
your head more effectively.
If poor fuel is all you have, start with a hot fire and keep
it hot by adding fuel sooner and in larger quantities. With
this method even sodden driftwood can be made to burn to
a strong intensity.
Once a fire is well-started, most fuels, be they damp,
inferior, or green, will burn well if at least three logs of less
than ten centimetres thickness are stacked on at a spacing
of about one or two centimetres. As long as they are kept
close enough together, an inter-reflective action and heat
concentration is maintained between them. Green aspen
and birch will burn if first split and used on a hot fire, with
frequent adjustments for proper spacing. It should be
42 
FIRECRAFT
expected that such a fire will be smokier.
Depending on the diameter and quality of the fuel used,
a fire may require adjustment from oncc every three hours
to three times an hour. If all you have is wrist-thick wood
you may have to adjust the fire every 20 minutes. Over three
or four nights you will likely become so accustomed to the
routine to hardly remember any stoking, but by morning
the fuel pile will be gone. You may stoke your fire from your
bed, getting up on occasion to make a major adjustment,
or to place large logs on the fire. Small fuel is stacked where
it can be reached from your bed, but large logs should be
piled in line with your fire and just far enough away so they
do not accidentally catch fire,
Amounts of Fuel Required. For an overnight stay at
-40°C in an open lean-to, sleeping in your clothes, a spruce
30 centimetres in diameter sectioned into arm span lengths
may suffice. If you must gather your fuel wit hout an axe or
saw you may need many fires to section your fuel into
manageable pieces. Each night you may need a pile as long
and wide as you are tall and as high as half your height.
Without an axe you may have to move camp as fuel runs
out. In a teepee with an open fire, you might only use a third
or a quarter of what you would use in an open lean-to.
Whereas in an enclosed shelter with a stove, the equivalent
of a single day's fuel for an open lean-to would last ten days.
Inadequacies of a small fire in cold weather.
43 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Determining the Distance to Stay Away From an Open
Fire. The most effective and efficient open fire to sleep in
front of should be as long as you are tall and big enough to
force you to stay a good step away from it. The heat of a large
fire forces you to stay beyond the range of normal spark
throw. There is less smoke wafting into the face and poor
fuel burns more effectively. A fire that is too small may cause
you to unconsciously roll towards it while you sleep as you
seek more warmth. The result may be damage to your
clothing or a burn injury.
The distance you are from a warming fire is critical to
your comfort.
44 
FIRECRAFT
Gathering fuel without tools. Most standing dead wood
that can be encircled with the fingers of both hands (about
ten centimetres) can be pushed down and broken into
manageable pieces. Firewood is also easily gathered from
logjams, dense stands of pine, aspen and willow or where
beaver have been active. If fallen trees are too heavy to be
moved, they may be burned through into manageable
pieces. Look for trees that have fallen across each other, or
cross them by pushing down standing trees or dragging up
fallen ones. Use a star fire to burn them through. Under
milder conditions, a cross firelay in front of your shelter can
process the wood needed for the night.
CHOOSING A SAFE FIRE SITE
The experienced person develops a feel for fire conditions.
He or she can sense when extraordinary caution is needed
on where to light a fire, how big it should be, how much
vigilance has to be maintained over it, and how painstaking
the attention in putting it out. A high fire hazard
demands care when selecting a safe fire site, as a campfirc
can spread in moments to become a raging wildfire. Under
such conditions a fire should be built on sand or gravel bars,
or close enough to a water source to be able to throw water
directly on the fire without having to take a step. This also
makes it easy to keep the area around the fire soaked down.
The organic layer of soil or duff may have to be clcared
back for a metre around the fire. Try to find a duff-free area
as this saves work and is less disturbing to the environment.
If the duff is less than ten centimetres thick, the site quickly
reverts to a natural appearance. In this respect, grassy (but
not dry) areas and slands of pine or aspen make good sites
for open fires.
Thick layers of duff may smolder without being detected.
A rodent hole or a root may carry a smoldering fire far
enough away so that it is missed when the campfire is put
out. Damp or deep duff will smolder, drying a centimetre
or so ahead of itself. Such fires can burn unnoticed for years
before surfacing to start a forest fire.
Overnight fires on deep moss tend to burn cavities that
may take years to regenerate. Such fires require considerable
effort to extinguish with certainty. In the winter,
45 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Breaking wood by pounding.
Breaking wood by using leverage and the weight of the
body.
46 
FIRECRAFT
when fire caution is relaxed, a ground fire can start that may
smolder until the snow is gone and then surface during a
dry, windy spell. Heavy rain will not put out a deep ground
fire (which may betray its presence by a haze visible only
in the early morning after a still night).
Stone Rimmed Fire Places. A common, though
unnecessary practice, is to ring open fires with stones. This
practicc is based on the claim that the stones confine a fire
and make it safer, yet many forest fires are in fact traced
to such fireplaces. There are, however, justifiable uses of
stones in a fire: to store warmth in a closed shelter: to support
pots when no other means arc available: and. to produce
steam lor a steam bath or a steam cooking pit. Rocks
used without good reason arc needlessly defaccd and, unless
they are scattered after use. leave a permanent marker of
the campfirc. A stone fireplacc also requires more effort to
cool, and the stones that are not moved aside can harbour
hot spots that may start a forest fire.
Extinguishing Campfires
There arc few thoughts that weigh heavier on the mind
than the nagging feeling that your fire is not extinguished.
The following steps should be followed when putting out a
fire.
1. Stop fueling a fire early enough to allow residual fuel
to burn up. Use smaller, fast-burning fuel in the last hour
before breaking camp.
2. Restack unburned pieces so that mostly ash is left when
it is time to put the fire out.
3. Soaking down a fireplace should not be left to the last
moment before breaking camp. A light soaking an hour in
advance will require a fraction of the water and. you will
have a greater assurance that the fire is out if it feels cold
when you leave it.
4. Stand a full pot of water in the middle of the fireplace
to better use the overflow. Scoop in the ashes and coals until
the pot is full. Let everything soak for a moment then
transfer the ashes to a heap at one end of the fire base, saving
as much water as possible for reuse. Under low fire
hazard conditions, the well-soaked ashes may be dispersed
about the environment.
5. In following Step 4, half of the fire base should be
scrapcd clean of ashes. The base is now thoroughly soaked
47 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
and poked full of holes which allow the water to penetrate
better. Keep adding water until the steam stops and you can
comfortably poke your fingers into the soil. Shift the ashes
over t he cooled half and repeat the procedure for the second
half.
The anatomy of a campfire.
The preliminary steps in putting out a campfire.
48 
FIRECKArr
6. Heap the well-soaked ashes in the centre of the fire base
and poke a deep hole into the mound. Pour water into the
hole until it seeps out of the mound.
7. Scrape all charred organic material on the perimeter
toward the centre. Cut off all charrcd root ends entering the
fire base.
8. If a shovel is available, drive it into the ground at the
border of the fire where the charred duff ceases, and pry it
back and forth. Under high fire hazard, this step should be
carried out before the fire is made. This cuts any roots
leading into the fire base and confines any burning roots to
the fireplace. This also allows a better penetration of water
into the fire base. Lacking a shovel, use a sharpened pole
or stake to punch holes then pour water onto this circle from
head-height for better penetration.
9. Pour all dish and wash water around the base of the
fire. The soil will stay cooler and the fire will be easier to
extinguish. This practice also reduces some of the impact
on the soil in the fire base.
10. Extinguishing a fire (without water) built on duff in
the summer may take hours and you still cannot be
absolutely ccrtain it is out. Fuel should not be added for a
few hours prior to extinguishing the fire. Everything combustible
should be burned to an ash. Hot spots in the
fireplace are scrapcd out and allowed to cool repeatedly until
no more burning is dctcctcd. All ash and the remains of the
fire are heaped up in the middle of the fireplace and wcllcovcrcd
with mineral soil. Scrape the duff down to the
Soaking down the fire base.
49 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
mineral soil surrounding the fircplaee.
11. A fire built on moss in winter should have any remaining
fuel laid out on the snow. All charred materials in the
fireplace should be scraped out (with a pot) and spread over
the snow.
12. How easily and thoroughly a fire may be extinguished
depends primarly on the selection of a proper site. The less
organic material in the fire base the better.
The final steps in putting out a campfire.
METHODS OF SUSPENDING POTS
A fire can be made in minutes, but the means by which
a pot may be suspended over it may take much longer to
construct. An ideal suspension should be safe to use or else
scalds or food loss may result. It should easily raise or lower
a pot from simmer to boil to control cooking heat. The
mcchanism should facilitate shifting of pots over a wide area
of the fire. It should allow easy placement or removal of the
pots over the fire. The suspension should be readily constructed
with materials found at hand.
50 
FIRECRAFT
Quick Rigs
While travelling. and meal time approaches, look for a
site with a good source of fuel and the materials with which
a quick suspension may be built. Within moments of making
the fire, the water to be boiled should be hung from a
crude and quickly made suspension with a single height setting
that places your pot over the hottest part of the fire. A
more versatile rig is constructed by the time the water boils.
Most quick rigs consist of three components: the suspension
(S); the pivot (P); and, the anchor (A).
The suspension holds the pot or a pot-hook over the fire.
This should have a notch to engage the pot handle or pothook,
which prevents the pot from slipping off the end or
down along the pole. On a level pole without a notch, a pot
can fall off by simply rotating on its handle. If a suspension
pole is too close to the fire it will burn up. A dry pole may
burn through in the cooking of one meal. The solution is to
place the pole higher and use a pot-hook to lower the pot
to the fire. Use the heavy end of the pole at the suspension
end as it bends less and takes longer to burn ihrough. Peel
t he suspension end or charred pieces of bark will continually
fall into the pot.
A tripod is useful as a pivot when the ground is cither
frozen or rocky, or when there is no means to drive posts
into the ground. The normal tripod has an inherent
51
General principles in suspending pots.
The anchor (A) secures the far end of a suspension pole.
The pivot (P) can be adjusted according to the situation.
The suspension (S) is hung. 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
tendency for one of the legs to flip up if supporting a heavy
load. This is remedied by cutting out the central projection
close to the lashing. Tripod lashings must be strong and
secure. The legs should be sharpened so they will dig into
the ground and not slip outwards. If the far end is firmly
anchored, the suspension end of a pole can be raised or
lowered to a certain extent by moving the pivot back and
forth. The closer the pivot to the anchor, the greater the pull
on the anchor. When a fixed anchor is employed, it is the
only instance where a bipod can be used. A bipod is stable
sideways but not backwards or forwards.
52 
FIRECRAFT
The anchor that secures the far end of a suspension pole
must not release accidcntly or a scald or loss of food may
result.
The tripod pivot suspension.
The trench fire.
53 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
A suspension made from driftwood and willow.
54 
FIRECRAFT
The different anchors that may be employed in suspension
systems.
Complex Suspensions
The Australian Cooking Crane. This is one of the few
suspensions that fulfills all the requirements needed to hang
pots over a fire. This suspension is worth the effort to construct
when cooking for large groups staying in one place
for a number of meals. It is also useful for suspending a large
pot over a small or unstable stove.
1. Prepare from one to four suspension poles about two
arm spans long and no less than wrist-thick at the heavy
end. Cut a " V " completely around the suspension end as
there is no way of predicting which side of the pole will be
up.
2. Find the point of balance of one of the suspension poles
while holding the suspension end over the centre of your
fire. Your pivot bar will be positioned at the point of balancc.
3. Erect a pivot bar about as high as the point of your hip.
Each suspension pole requires a length of bar equal to the
distance from the elbow to the finger tip.
4. The height control cords are now at tached. The safest
and most effective arrangement is to have the cords coming
off both sides of the pole to prevent it from rolling.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
The High Bar Suspension. This uses a horizontal bar
positioned at head-height. Because the bar is well-above the
fire a variety of pot-hooks are employed to lower the pots
at the required heights.
A variation of the high bar suspension uses a platform on
which to build the cooking fire, thereby saving the cook's
back. As well, the smoke will pass over the head more
readily.
The Burtonsville Rig. This suspension system is made
with straight poles that suspend smaller pots at varying
heights.
The Australian cooking crane.
56 
FIRECRAFT
Cutting the pot hook notch with a baton.
57 
The elevated kitchen.
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
I The Burtonsville rig. 
FIRECRAFT
OUTDOORS COOKING
Cooking is a com prom ise between the destruction of
nutrients and improved taste and digestibility. Cooking is
sometimes necessary to destroy poisonous substances and
agents causing disease. Overcooking diminishes vitamins
in meat and calories and minerals in vegetables.
Boiling
Boiling is the easiest, most convenient and nutritionally
conservative of all the cooking methods. Boiling bursts the
fibers and cells of meat and vegetables making them more
tender and digestible. Compared to baking, there is less
water loss, less fat evaporated, and the cooking water can
be used in soups or stews. Boiled food may be less tasty than
baked or broiled food, especially without salt or seasoning.
Burning out a cooking container.
59 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
For example, a boiled hare may be somewhat bland unless
slightly roasted to improve the taste.
Tough meats should be boiled for a short time to extract
the flavor and nutrients normally diminished by the
necessary long periods of cooking. The stock can be made
into soup while the tough meat is cooked until tender in the
second water.
Fat meats, especially from aquatic animals such as
muskrat, beaver and waterfowl should be boiled only
enough to rcduce their strong flavor and high fat content
as they are likely to be tender. They may be broiled afterwards
to enhance their flavor. The valuable fatty stock can
be made into soup.
Boiling (100°C) for half an hour should kill all bacteria and
parasites, especially in the ease of aquatic animals. Carbohydrates
of vegetable origin expand through boiling to
burst the indigestible cell walls and make the cell contents
available. The longer a vegetable is boiled, the more digestible
it becomes, but overboiling causes a loss of the desirable
Making tongs and cooking with stones.
60 
FIRECRAFT
constituents in the cooking water. Animal proteins tend to
shrink when boiled and become less digestible. If bacteria
and parasites were not a problem, meat would be best consumed
raw.
The problem with boiling is that a suitable container is
needed to hold the water and food while it is being cooked.
One method is to use a container of fire-sensitive materials
such as wood, bark, conifer roots, hide or the stomachs of
large animals. Boiling is brought about by dropping eggsized,
red-hot stones into the cooking water. The boiling
utensil used by many Native peoples was a basket woven
from spruce roots. Some Native peoples were not particularly
impressed with metal pots as they did not fold for
transport when camp was moved.
A crude, but functional cooking container can be chopped
out of a log in a few minutes. To work the bottom of the
container make a chisel out of the base of a dead branch of
a large white spruce. When an axe is unavailable, char out
a depression in dry aspen wood with hot rocks or charcoal
and scrape away the charred material as it glows until the
desired depth is obtained. A blowpipe can speed up the process.
When a larger container is wanted, burn out two
A green bark container for use in cooking with hot rocks.
61 
NORTHERN RIJSHCRAFT
Detail of a grill useful in cooking small game and meat.
62
depressions in line with the grain then chisel out the wood
in between with wooden wedges or chisels also made by
charring and scraping.
Any bark capable of holding water can be folded to make
a crude cooking container. The flexible and foldable birch
bark makes the best containers. Stiff barks like those of
aspen or black poplar may have to be shaved down at the
fold lines to facilitate folding without causing breaks in the
bark.
To cook with a green hide, either drape it over four pegs
or use it to line a hollow in the ground. The bottom may be
protected from the cooking stones with a few flat rocks.
Cooking stone sizes may vary from a hen's egg to that of
a baseball. Such stones will heat up quickly and are easy
to move with a fork or tongs. Igneous stones are best as they
rarely fracture from the heat, unlike sedimentary ones.
Stones picked out of the water may explode from internal
steam pressure. 
FIRECRAFT
Broiling
Broiling or roasting involves exposing food directly to the
radiance of a fire or its coals. Broiling is used when no other
means of cooking is feasible or. to enhance the flavor of certain
meats. Proper broiling requires a high heat to coagulate
the surface proteins to seal in the internal juices and then
a gentler heat to help cook the interior to avoid a charred
outside and a raw inside. Tender meat can be broiled
without boiling, however, anything over two kilograms,
unless thin enough, may not reach high enough internal
temperatures to destroy undesirable bactcria or parasites.
Proper broiling is carried out beside the cooking fire or
coals. Broiling directly over coals or flames may deposit
some cancer producing by-products of wood combustion on
your food.
Small pieces of meat can be impaled on a forked stick.
Larger pieces such as fish, grouse or hare should be cut
along the backbone, spread flat over a grill and cooked on
both sides.
Fish may be gutted by cutting along the backbone, rather
than the belly. The scales should be left on. Affix the fish
with the scalc side down to a disposable green willow grill.
The fish is placed directly over the coals so that the scales
are charred as the iish cooks through the skin which doubles
A smaller grill made with a flexible willow fork.
63 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
as both a cooking and serving utensil. Unless the fish is very
thick, it is cooked on the one side only. Fish low in fat. such
as jack, may be basted with fat or oil.
Planking meat is another method of broiling. Wooden pegs
are used to pin fish or meat to a split log. Thicker pieces of
meat may have to be turned to cook from both sides.
The planking method of cooking fish or meat.
Steaming
The steam pit excels in cooking large pieces of tough meat.
A good supply of non-resinous wood such as willow, aspen
or alder is required for heating the pit and stones. A good
site is a sand bar where you can dig down about 50 centimetres.
Sandy soil heats up easily and holds the heat
needed for this type of cooking.
First dig a pit with sloped sides to a depth of about 50 centimetres.
Build a fire in it with wrist-thick wood piled kneehigh.
Stones of head size or smaller are then piled on the
wood and more fuel is added to cover them well. Have
enough stones to make a layer on the bottom of the pit and
a second layer over the food to be cookcd. Oncc the stones
64 
FIRECRAFT
arc glowing and most of the wood has burned up, remove
any unburncd wood or large embers. Arrange a layer of
stones over the bottom of the pit. A thick layer of wet, green
foliage such as clover, alfalfa, sedge, fern or alpine
hedysarum is laid on the hot stones. Any non-poisonous
greens with an acceptable flavor can be used. When greens
are not available, a wet cloth can be substituted.
Food can be wrapped in cloth for protection against sand
contamination. The food is laid over this foliage and covered
with another thick layer of well-soaked foliage. When cooking
for six to eight people, eight litres of water should now
be added, as adding water later may result in the water contaminating
the food with sand. The second tier of hot rocks
is arranged over the food. A crudely woven willow mat is
placcd on top of the rocks and covered with a layer of grass
to prevent sand from reaching the food. Additional water is
poured around the edges before the pit is covered. Quickly
seal with a layer of lightly packed and dampened sand to
make the pit steamproof.
The steam pit cannot spoil food through overcooking. The
pit can be made up in the morning and opened for supper.
Meat must be cooked five hours per kilogram for a minimum
of six hours. An average size fish requires an hour.
Vegetables can also be cooked in the steam pit. The steam
pit is useful when cooking for 40 to 50 people. No cooking
utensils are needed and no one has to watch over the cooking.
The chance of a bear getting into the food is slight compared
to food left to cook on the surface.
The steam pit.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Baking
Baking involves cooking in an oven with dry heat instead
of direct exposure to fire or coals. With a proper oven, baking
is very fuel-efficient. Baking is feasible only if you are
staying in one place for a period of time because of the time
and effort required to build the oven.
A core of kindling and firewood is made for the oven proper.
A loose, elongated twig bundle of the required length
and diameter for the chimney is stood up against one end
of the oven core. Everything is then covered with grass or
shrubbery followed by a layer of stiff clay at least 30 centimetres
thick. The core is burned out and the oven is ready
to use.
A hot fire built in the oven heats the interior. Coals are
raked out and the food placed inside. The door and the
chimney are blocked off to conserve heat. If a piece of meat
is heavier than 1.5 kilograms, baking may not raise internal
temperatures sufficiently to kill pathogens. A high fat
loss is usually associated with baking.
Detail of clay oven construction.
66 
FIRECRAFT
Deep Frying
With deep frying, food is immersed in oil or fat heated to
slightly over 200°C (where the fat just begins to give off a
pale blue smoke). The food is cooked until golden brown.
As cooking takes place very fast, the protein fibers do not
harden and the flavor and juices are retained. This is
suitable for fish and fry bread, but not for tough meat that
should be cooked slowly at a lower temperature.
Frying
Frying is the method of cooking where fat is added to keep
food from sticking to a pan or pot. Most foods cooked this
way become somewhat indigestible.
Cooking With Coals
Some of the best coals are made from black poplar bark
that is two or three centimetres thick. The bark is put on
a campfire in a criss-cross fashion. A layer of coals is raked
out, a frying pan with a snug lid is placed over them then
covered with another layer of coals to bake bannock, cake
and pizzas. Another way to produce coals is to use large
quantities of finger-thick willow or aspen sticks.
Cooking With a Hot Rock and Insulation
Grouse, chicken or fish may be cooked with a hot rock that
will fit into the body cavity. First wash the rock then check
that it fits. The red-hot rock is placed into the body cavity
and bound in place with twine or wire. Pack in an insulative
material such as dry grass or old man's beard. Let sit for
about four hours or until the chicken or fish is cool enough
to eat.
Making Bannock
Bannock is a form of baking powder bread that is quite
popular in wilderness living. This basic recipe is for two
people.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
1 cup flour
1 moderately heaping teaspoon of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Mix the ingredients well and make into a stiff dough or
runny batter (as needed), by adding from three-quarters to
one and a half cups of cold water.
Optional ingredients that will add variety to the basic
recipe are a tablespoon of sugar, berries or canned or dried
fruit, cheese or cooked meat cut into fine pieces. Without
sugar, a bannock browns only slightly.
A bannock from the given recipe requires at least 15
minutes to half an hour to bake properly, depending on the
stiffness of the batter. Any bannock that is cooked too
quickly will be well done on the outside and raw inside.
One way of mixing the ingredients is to roll down the sides
of a flour bag, make a hollow in the centre of the flour and
lightly mix in the dry ingredients. Pour the required amount
of water into the depression and swirl it about with a stick,
finger, or spoon, catching the sides of the depression lightly
now and again. Do not rush the job. In a short while the
water will take on its full load of flour and can be removed
from the bag on reaching the required stiffness. The ingredients
can also be mixed in a pot, but first grease the inside
by swirling some melted fat in it to help keep the batter from
sticking.
Cooking Bannock
1. Bannock on a Stick. Before you start mixing the dough,
obtain a green, wrist-thick pole of a good tasting wood like
aspen or willow. Peel the portion on which the dough is to
be wrapped and place it near the fire to toast. Rotate the pole
so it heats up well all around. The hot pole will help make
the dough adhere better as well as cook it from the inside
while it bakes on the outside. The dough should be stiff
enough that a roll of thumb-thickness will hang without
breaking. Wrap the dough around the hot part of the pole
and pat down to a thickness of about one centimetre, (dough
wrapped in the form of a tube as opposed to the popular
spiral adheres better). At first, bake fairly close to the coals
rotating constantly until the dough firms up or it may rise
and drop off in pieces. Next, move it away from the heat so
it bakes more slowly, turning it as it browns.
68 
FIRECRAFT
2. Bannock on a Raquet. Here, a stiff dough is stretched
to a thickness of not more than one centimetre, and laid on
a raquet positioned above some coals at a height where you
can barely hold your hand to a slow count of five. Brown
each side.
3. Bannock Baked in Ashes. Rake out a good layer of coals
and ashes. Be careful to avoid sand as it always adheres to
the bannock. Lay down a stiff dough no thicker than a centimetre
and cover well with a layer of ash and coals. Leave
buried undisturbed for about half an hour.
4. Bannock in a Pot or Frying Pan Without Grease. Stir
vigorously as you brown a thin layer of Hour on the bottom
of your pot. Put a thin layer of stiff dough on the browned
flour and suspend the pot at a height where you can barely
hold your hand to a slow count of five. Allow the dough to
bake on one side for 15 minutes, then turn over.
Set a frying pan on a layer of coals. Once the bottom is
cooked, prop the pot or pan in front of a pile of coals to brown
the top of the bannock.
5. Bannock in a Pot With a Tablespoon of Grease. Your
pot must be thoroughly dry or its bottom will melt from the
heat produced should the mixture of steam and smoking fat
burst into flame. Heat a tablespoon of fat or oil on the bottom
until it barely starts to smoke. Pour in a fairly liquid
batter less than two centimetres thick. Spin the pot back
and forth so the centrifugal force will make the dough fairly
A portable smudge pot useful in repelling mosquitoes and
black flies.
69 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
thin at its centre. Hang the pot no lower than where you can
barely hold your hand for a slow count of live. A lid on the
pot will speed up the baking. Bake until the bannock will
not sag. The pot is then laid on its side in front of a pile of
coals to brown the top half, rotating if necessary to brown
the lower half. If the bannock does not adhere to the bottom
of the pot, wedge it in place with a stick slightly longer
than the diameter of the pot.
6. Fry Bread. Fry bread is bannock that is deep fried. It is
the easiest way to make large quantities of tasty bannock
to feed big groups. Roll out a stiff dough about one centimetre
thick and cut into manageable pieces. If shaped into
doughnuts the bread can be fished out of the fat with a stick,
otherwise make tongs like those used to pick up hot rocks.
Begin cooking the fry bread when a piece thrown into the
hot fat comes to the surface by the count of five. It should
take about three minutes to cook each side to a golden
brown. A raw interior results if the fat is too hot or the pieces
of dough are too thick.
70 
2
AXECRAFT
The axe is the most important of the basic bush
tools. Outside of fire, little else can contribute
more to living comfortably in the wilderness
than knowing how to properly use a wellchosen
axe.
THE BUSH AXE
There are numerous styles of axe heads available in many
weights which can be combined with various lengths of handle.
Heads and handles can be modified to create tools that
may accommodate the preferences and needs of the
individual. The appearance of an axe does not necessarily
provide a clue to the quality of its performance as a handsome
axe does not always cut as well as an "ugly" looking
one.
The larger the axe, the safer it is and the less effort
required for its use. The inertia of a heavier axe head is an
advantage in cold weather wTork or in continuous falling.
However, heavy axes arc unpopular in bush travel because
they are cumbersome to carry. The size and weight of a bush
71 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
axe may be a compromise between the work it will be used
for and its portability.
If an axe is uncomfortable to swing, the head may be too
heavy. Conversely, if the head is too light, it is more
exhausting to use, lacking the inertia of the heavier axe.
Ultra-light axes are best suited for experienced users. Their
lack of weight requires a stronger swing. It takes a novice
a moment to destroy a light axe wielded for years by an
experienced person.
Design of the Axe
A blade displaying a slightly convex face, rather than a
flat or concave one, releases easily from the cut, throws
chips well and is stronger when used with frozen wood. If
the face is too convex, the axe blade does not penetrate to
maximum depth resulting in a waste of energy. If a blade
is too thin, it tends to bind in its cut and requires a particularly
annoying tug to free it which also loosens the handle.
Change the shape of the blade until enough convex face
is achieved to effect release at a maximum depth of cut.
Axe nomenclature.
72 
AXECRAFT
The heel of the axe blade should be thin enough to set
easily into wood that is being split.
A blade 12 centimetres long should bulge out less than
a centimetre from a straight line connecting the toe and heel
of the blade. A cutting edge greater than 15 centimetres is
cumbersome to use.
The eye of the axe is the weakest part. With a small eye,
the part of the handle entering the eye may be too thin to
have the required strength. With too short an eye, the handle
comes loose as there is so little surface of handle in contact
with the metal of the eye. A large eye is better providing
the metal around it is thick enough not to closc. open or
crack with use. The metal around the eye is left more
malleable than the blade to resist cracking. For this reason,
it is easy to distort the eye by pounding the back of one axe
with another.
A sensitive user may not want to pound with his axe, but
the less fastidious bushwhacker may look upon the axe as
being as much a sledge as it is a cutting tool, in which case,
a light eye should be avoided. Pounding on the poll with a
wooden bat instead of another axe will not distort the eye
as much.
73 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
The temper of the axe blade should be tough but not too
hard, or it will be difficult to sharpen with an ordinary file
or whetstone. A blade that is too soft will dull easily and wear
out faster. A hard-tempered axe is prone to chip when used
in very cold temperatures.
A good handle should feel comfortable to the hand, being
neither too thin nor too thick. The handle must be slim
enough not to jar with hard hits, but not so slim as to flex
Common axe cross sections.
Checking alignment of handle and axe blade.
74 
AXECRAFT
too easily. If the handle is too round in eross section it is
awkward to hold and gives a poor indication of where the
leading edge of the blade should be. If too flat it will be
tiresome to use if it Hexes too much when the blade is pulled
from its cut. For a straight handle, the flatness has to be
more pronounced to keep the axe from turning in the hand
on impact. A good knob signals the hand when the end of
the handle is reachcd.
75 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Sight in line with the blade to determine the alignment
of the head with the center line of the handle. Some misalignment
in the right direction may improve the performance
of an axe for some users.
If the knob and the axe blade are both made to touch a
flat surface, the blade should make contact from one-third
of the way from the heel to the blade's mid-point. This way
the weight of the head is fully behind the cutting edge of
the blade edge and energy is not wasted through deflection.
The balance is determined by the "throw" of the axe.
which is the forward bulge of the handle within 15 to 20 centimetres
of the head. If Ihe axe is held at the throw in the
flat of one hand and the end of the handle is held up or down
by the other hand, the axe head should lie flat or the blade
point only slightly upward or downward. The longer the bit,
or the lighter the poll, the more throw is required. An axe
that exceeds these parameters will feel as awkward to use
as a pick.
Sharpening the Axe
The inexperienced and occasional users who are more
prone to accidents in the first place, often fail to appreciate
the importance of a keen edge. All woodworking tools,
including axes, should be sharp enough to shave with for
effortless, efficient and enjoyable work. Most new axes
require from an hour to half a day of hand sharpening to
put them into proper shape. A dull axe is less efficient and
more tiring to use. It is also a greater hazard as it glances
more readily. An axe should be sharpened on a regular basis,
perhaps with every half-hour of use or each time a tree is
cut down. A minute spent on sharpening may shorten your
chopping time by five minutes.
The first stage of sharpening is the removal of unwanted
metal by file, grindstone or coarse whetstone. Coarse grinding
tools remove metal the fastest, but leave a rough surface.
The second stage produces a finer edge by using a
medium whetstone surface. The third stage is a fine edge
accomplished with the fine side of a whetstone. The final
edge is produced with a hard and smooth stone called a hone
which should produce a mirror finish. (Chapter 3 discusses
sharpening techniques at greater length.)
A new axe blade may require thinning only once and a
file may be used on it again, only if the blade is nicked.
76 
AXECRAFT
There are files that are specifically made for the axe such
as a flat blunt, single cut with second teeth on one side, and
double cut bastard on the other. When the teeth are in
parallel rows, they are called single cut. Double cut teeth
are crossed with a series of similar teeth. The degree of
fineness of a file is described as rough, bastard, second cut,
smooth and dead smooth. A mill bastard is a small, tough
file that leaves a smooth surface and skips least on hard
spots. It is more portable than a regular axe file.
Files must be used knowledgeably to provide long .service.
Files stored together should be wrapped in cloth to prevent
the chipping and dulling that, results when they come in contact
with each other. Protect, files from moisture as rust
Method of filing an axe.
77 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
weakens the teeth. Anything that will clog the teeth such
as sap, grease or oil should be avoided. A clean axe may
allow your file to last twice as long.
To prolong the life of a new file fill the teeth with
blackboard chalk. This reduces clogging, and reinforces the
file teeth.
A good handle for tanged files is made from a green birch
sapling of a diameter that fits the hand comfortably. The
bark is left on to prevent the handle from splitting. The green
handle can usually be driven on without pre-drilling. One
in four may split. Those that do not, hold well.
When working with a file apply only enough downward
force to get a light even cut, as excessive downward forcc
breaks oil teeth, especially on the backward stroke. Hold the
file handle in the palm, with the forefinger pressing down
lightly on the back of the file. On the return stroke, lift the
file clear of the work.
Severe nicks may take hours to remove. File out a straight
edge in the vicinity of the nick which will regain its curvature
with later sharpenings.
Most oldtimers file their axes towards the cutting edge.
Perhaps a better blade shape is achieved, or a thinner burr
is formed on the edge. On the other hand it is safer to file
in the same direction as the cutting edge.
Drawfiling provides a few more sharpenings from a worn
out file. The file Up or handle is held in the palm of the hand
over the poll of the axe and the other end is worked back
and forth.
When travelling light, a whetstone is an appropriate tool
for maintaining an axe edge. Most whetstones are made of
(synthetic) carborundum. One side is usually medium and
the other is fine. The medium side grinds out any Hie serrations
and the fine side grinds out the medium serrations to
produce an adequate but rough working edge. This stone
is lighter and more compact to carry than a file. A file wears
out quickly, but it works much faster.
When properly cared for, a stone may last a lifetime as
a fresh surface keeps appearing until the stone is used up.
In a year you may wear out many files, each of which is more
expensive than a whetstone.
The stone is held about the perimeter with no finger tips
protruding over the edges and used in a circular motion so
that its whole surface is worn in an even fashion.
An axe can be sharpened with natural stones. Trial and
error will quickly establish which stones will work best.
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AXECRAFT
Replacing an Axe Handle
Removing a broken handle can be a major undertaking.
If possible, first pry out any metal wedges. If some of the
handle remains it may be thinned down enough to drive it
forward through the front of the eye. If inertia-pounding will
not do the job, support the head at the poll and at the blade
over a V-notch sawn in a sound, upright stump while the
handle is hammered through. 11 may help to dry the wood
in the eye to shrink it. If this is done near a fire, be careful
not to draw the temper. The axe head should be comfortable
to hold at all times. Never burn out the wood in the eye
unless you have the expertise and the means to temper steel.
A metal drill bit may have to be used to remove as much
wood as possible from the eye. The bit should not cut into
the inside of the eye, as the resulting score can cause it to
crack.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Second growth hickory makes good axe handles. The
wood should be resilient, strong, and straight grained. The
strongest handle has a grain that is parallel to the long axis
of the handle. Some painted handles may hide poor grain,
knots or other flaws.
If a handle is too thick to suit your needs, few tools are
as effective as broken glass in shaving it down.
If a replacement has to be carved, it may be simpler to
make a straight handle instead of a curved one. There may
be little difference between the two, although some claim
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AXECRAFT
a straight handle is superior in performance.
Before fitting a new handle, clean and grind all parts of
the axe head to perfection. File out any lips, burrs or other
irregularities in the eye and on the blade and pole. If the
interior of the eye has a lip or if the inside surface is
excessively rough it should be filed smooth. The worst lip
is generally formed at the front of the eye. The edges at the
back of the eye, from which the handle is inserted, should
be well-rounded so no sharp corner presses on the wood.
This helps prevent a break at this point. The eye is larger
at the front end in order to better wedge the head on. If it
is difficult to determine which end of the eye is wider, take
careful measurements.
Place the axe head on the handle to determine how much
wood to trim off, allowing a centimetre extra length. Rasp,
carve or shave down the handle with broken glass for a close
tit in the eye, taking carc to remove an equal amount of wood
from both sides so the axe head has the desired alignment
with the handle. Fit the handle frequently to make sure you
do not remove too much wood for a loose fit.
Saw a slot on the long axis of the handle for two-thirds
of the depth that it would fit into the eye. If a vise is available,
squeeze the slot closed and rcsaw it to two-thirds of the slot's
depth. Repeat this once more but to one-third the depth to
make a slightly tapered slot to accept the wedge.
To drive on the head by inertia-pounding, cut off the point
The correct method for driving on the axe head.
81 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
of the knob on the handle, bevel the corners to prevent splitting
and you can direct your pounding force in line with the
handle for the best effect.
The wedge-wood can be any wood that will resist splintering
when being driven into the slot. Wedges hold better if
soaked in linseed oil. The wedge need not be in one piece
but it must extend for the full-length of the long axis of the
An improved axe sheath.
How to store an axe in camp.
82 
AXECRAFT
eye so that the whole eye is tightly filled with wood. The
wedges should be driven in as far as they will go. Trim off
any protruding handle and wedge, leaving about half a centimetre.
Cutting it flush with the metal of the eye does not
allow it to hold as well.
Drive in metal wedges between the interfaces of Ihe
wooden wedges and the handle wood instead of crosswise
to the long axis of the eye. This spreads the wood outward
from the long axis, rather than in line with it, and holds the
head on better. The head may be soaked in linseed oil or
antifreeze to reduce wood shrinkage and help keep the head
on better. Repeated soaking in water to make the wood swell
to remedy a loose head weakens the wood so that the head
breaks off at the handle.
Axe Sheaths
Never carry an unsheathed axe. but if you must, always
be aware of the position of the blade. Carry it at your side
with the blade pointing slightly away from you. Should you
fall, throw the axe aside a short distance so that you do not
cut yourself or anyone near you. Carrying an axe on your
shoulder invites a cut to the neck or back, as well as being
a hazard to those around you. A sheath protects both you
and the axe from unnecessary injury. There are countless
instances where people have been severely injured from falling
on an axe.
Many commercial sheat hs are so poorly designed that the
blade cuts through the material with use. The partially
exposed blade becomes a hazard to the carrier. Sheaths for
belt axes thai do not close properly allow the head to push
out when you sit or fall backwards and may cause a cut to
Ihe forearm. It is wise to have a secure sheath for every axe.
Axe Etiquette
It is poor manners to ask a person for the loan of his axe.
It is worse to use it without permission. If you have work
that has to be done, ask the axe owner to do it for you. A
moment of misuse on your part may mean many hours of
work replacing a broken handle or taking out a bad nick.
A handle may be bought for a few dollars, but the real cost
is ihe hours of work needed to shape it to perfection.
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NORTHERN Bb'SHCRAFT
Safe Axe Use
Safety is a major consideration with axe use. Large or
small, the axe is a serious hazard in itself. Using an axe to
fall large trees is one of the most dangerous activities in
wilderness living. Safe axe use implies that you understand
both your tool and the tree you wish to fell. Assured safety
depends on the correct knowledge on how to fall the tree,
combined with experience and expert guesswork to predict
where il will fall. The more experience you have the better
your guess and the safer you are.
The best way to learn to use an axe is to work with an
experienced person who can provide the training and keep
a watchful eye on you until }'ou have become familiar with
the hazards of both the axe and the failing tree. Every year
many professional forest workers accidentally die at their
work. Without a doubt they knew what they were doing, but
somehow they missed something on that fatal day. The
discipline of axemanship demands that the occasional and
professional faller alike must remember many things and
be able to recognize a hazard before it causcs a fatality.
Axe Size and Safety
The Small Axe. The small camp axe or hatchet with a
handle of 30 centimetres can be the most dangerous of all
if taken for granted or used without safety principles. The
most common injury areas are the knees and the forehead.
Wear head and eye protection when using an axe.
84 
AXECRAFT
The relative safety of various sizes of axe.
The General Purpose Axe. If you hold the head of this
axe in your hand you should be able to fit the end of the handle
into your armpit. This is a favorite size for wilderness
survivalists, trappers, horse-packers and carpenters. If
misused, an axe of this handle lengt h can still cut you in
the face, but instead of the knee, it can end up in the instep
or make your toes longer or shorter depending on where it
hits.
The Large Axe. The full-sized axe with a handle length
of about a metre is the safest as it normally deflects into the
ground before reaching any part of the body.
Using the Different Sizes of Axe
Camp Axe or Hatchet The safest way to use this axe is
to stand well away from the tree, lean on it with your free
85 
NORTHERN Bb'SHCRAFT
hand, and chop as close to the ground as possible. The
shoulder and the arm should both participate in the chopping
action. At the point in the swing where the axe head
is about 30 centimetres from impact, make both the axe
head and the hand move forward together by throwing the
hand forward in the direction of the swing. This changes the
path of the axe head from that of an arc that could deflect
towards you to a motion away from you. The axe should bite
into the wood at a downward angle of about 30 to 45 degrees.
Attempting to chop upward could cause the axe to hit you
in the face. The downward angle is exactly the same for both
the lower and upper cuts. The resulting stump will look
rather ragged, but any other method of cutting will not be
any safer or faster.
If the cut is made from a kneeling position, both hands
arc free to hold the axe. Stay about one or two axe handle
Proper use of camp axe or hatchet.
86 
AXECRAFT
lengths away from the tree and use the same pre-impact
manoeuvre just described.
When limbing a standing tree the parallel action of axe
head and hand can serve to make the cut safer because of
the greater control of the follow through. By reaching partly
around the trunk of the tree, the resulting follow through
of the axe head should be off to the side, well away from any
part of your body.
The Larger Axes. The safest way to use an axe is to maintain
its handle's distance between yourself and the tree, and
to chop within 30 centimetres of the ground. In bending the
back and reaching in this manner, the deflected axe will
have to travel much further to strike the feet, if it does not
reach the ground first. For additional safety, the parallel axe
head and hand motion should be used as described for the
hatchet with both hands on the handle. By the time the axe
Limbing with a camp axe.
87 
NORTHERN Bb'SHCRAFT
Safe chopping distance and height.
A safe stance when falling with a larger sized axe.
88 
AXECRAFT
The hazard of chopping upward.
89
The parallel action of axe head and hands. 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
stops moving, the handle should end up parallel to the level
ground or sticking out at 90 degrees to the trunk of the
standing tree.
It is important to keep stumps low. If the point of impact
is over 30 centimetres high, a glancing blow may strike the
feet. Higher cuts demand caution with respect to this hazardous
point.
Axe expertise is largely a matter of coordination. The axe
must hit exactly where wanted, at the correct angle,
precisely in the previous cut, or effort is wasted in making
the same cut over and over again. A mark of competency
is producing a few large chips instead of a large amount of
small ones.
TREE FELLING
Without experience in tree falling it may be prudent to fall
only straight, sound, uncrowded trees under 30 centimetres
in diameter that are growing on level ground. Reach around
the tree with your right arm and if you cannot touch your
left shoulder then the tree is too large to fall without
experience. Avoid trees that are crooked, crowded, leaning
and those growing on steep slopes until you know what you
are doing.
Before you begin, assess the situation and your surroundings.
You must have a clear space to work and a sure
footing. Always look above you before taking your first swing
with an axe. Low branches and brush that may catch the
axe should be cleared away. Low overhead branches can
spring an axe back into your head or back. A strong axe
swing hooked on a low branch can lift your feet dear of the
ground and land you flat on your back. When using an axe
near camp, always wratch out for clotheslines. Clotheslines
and woodpiles should be kept well separated.
There are many factors that influence how and where a
tree will fall. Unless there is a pronounced lean to the contrary,
expect to fall a tree with the wind. A tree is much like
a sail—especially an evergreen or a deciduous tree in summer
foliage. Trees with heavy branches growing on one side
tend to fall in that direction.
A tree of two degrees lean or less can be made to fall in
any direction on a still day. An expcricnccd fallcr, not using
90 
AXECRAFT
The hazard of falling a crooked tree.
91 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
wedges, may fall a tree against a lean of up to four degrees.
In the case of a pronounced lean a tree can be made to fall
about 70 degrees to either side of its maximum lean.
Careless estimation of the lean is the main cause for a tree
falling in an unexpected direction. In a critical situation a
plumb line should be used from at least two different prospects.
90 degrees apart, to determine the maximum lean.
The barber chair.
92 
AXECRAFT
Determining the lay and lean of a tree.
Falling Hazards
Never take anything for granted that concerns a falling
tree. The same species of tree may display the same outward
appearance, but health, grain, locale and age may determine
a unique reaction. Assume that each tree is different and
make a careful evaluation of all the problems you might
encounter when falling.
93 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
First check for the possibility of wood falling from
overhead. The vibrations from chopping may cause an
unsound top to break off (a habit old dead and fire-killed
pines are known for). A suspicious tree should be struck
several times with the back of the axe while the tree top is
watched carefully to detect any erratic wobble indicating a
weakness. Watchfulness will ensure that you are able to
side-step anything that falls. At the moment the tree begins
to fall, branches or portions of its top or a neighboring one
can break off to fall with considerable impact. A wrist-thick
branch is big enough to penetrate the skull.
Because of the hazard from falling branches or cones injuring
the eyes, one should never look up while chopping
without first moving at least five metres away from the tree.
Even a pencil-sized branch can cause severe eye injuries.
Every unusual configuration of a tree or terrain may have
a hazard associated with it. Trees falling up slope or over
a hump may spring back or lash out sideways with crushing
force. A tree with a curved trunk, much like the one falling
over a hump, may come back over the stump and lash
upwards or sideways. As a tree falls, its branches may grab
on another and rotate to fall in an uncxpcctcd direction—a
habit for which trembling aspen is notorious. A hooked
small branch at the top of a tree may have a pronounced
affcct on the direction of fail.
Falling Characteristics of Different Trees
Different species of tree have unique ways of reacting as
they fall. For example, the branches of a dense, white spruce
tree may cause it to rebound back over its stump. If the flexible
birch catches on another tree it may bend beyond its
limit of elasticity and on breaking cause pieces of wood to
fly in any direction. A falling tree itself may sometimes bend
and break a birch sapling to throw broken shards of wood.
The tension in any bent and pinned sapling, particularly
birch, must be properly released to avoid personal injury.
If cut near the ground the end can lash out with lethal force.
A wrist-thick tree bent into a bow can kill if it hits you in
the chest or throat. The tension of a bent tree is best released
by a partial cut at the central portion of its bend.
White and black poplar often have rotten cores that may
cause them to fall sooner than expected or in an unexpected
direction. An old injury anywhere on a pine may cause a
94 
AXECRAFT
Bent sapling hazard.
The hazard of a break below the mid point of a falling
tree.
95 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
weakening rot to progress up and down the trunk from that
point. A dry pine can be well on its way in its fall when it
snags high up, breaks in its lower half, folds back on itself
causing the top to come down violently in the area opposite
the direction of fall. Rot in the trunk of a spruce usually
starts at the stump and progresses upwards, though not as
hazardous as pine, it may still fall unexpectedly.
Different Methods for dealing with hang ups.
1. If the tree is freed from its stump, the short fall may
dislodge it.
2. Rocking the tree back and forth may dislodge it.
3. Rotating the tree may dislodge it.
4. Chopping out a short section of trunk may help. Use care
as the tree may be made to fall in an unpredictable
direction.
5. If the tree is light enough it may be freed from the stump
and pulled outward to dislodge it. As the tree starts to fall,
let go and get clear of it before it hits the ground or you may
sustain a severe jar to the arms.
96 
AXECRAFT
A hung up tree is a hazard that may require close study,
caution and experience to bring down safely. As a hang up
can be instantly triggered with crushing force, never stand
under any part of it. If rocking, rotating or prying does not
dislodge it. you may have to chop off sections of trunk a piece
at a time until the tree comes down. Cutting down the tree
causing the hang up is very dangerous. Felling other trees
on the hung up one it will likely result in a greater hang up.
This is something an experienced faller will never do.
Falling
1. Determine the direction the tree is to fall.
2. Determine your escape route and clear it. Locatc the
safe retreat you may use if the tree's actions are not to your
liking. Clear away any obstructions near the tree that may
interfere with your work.
3. Make the first cut—the undercut—in the direction the
tree is to fall. The top part of the cut may be at an angle of
45 degrees and the bottom part is made by using cuts at 45
degrees that move through the wood in increments of a few
centimetres. The width of the gap of the undercut is approximately
the diameter of the tree. The depth of the undercut
Clear work area and escape route.
97 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
may vary from one-third to one-half of the way through the
trunk, depending on the soundness of the tree, the degree
of lean, the strength of wind and other factors. If the undercut
is made too deep, the tree may fall in the opposite direction
before the back cut is made, resulting in the notorious
and dangerous "barber chair." The cut should be made
straight across as a slanted one makes a poor hinge.
4. The back cut is made on the side opposite the undercut
and slightly higher. Leaving a few centimetres thickness
of wood between the back cut and undercut as a hinge will
prevent the tree from slipping off the stump or rotating. If
the undercut is not deep enough, or if the back cut is too
high above the undercut, the tree may fall in the opposite
The back cut and the undercut.
98 
AXECRAFT
direction. The difference in height between the undercut and
the back cut may vary with the diameter, the type of tree,
whether it is dead or green or whether you have any special
effect in mind. A rough measure of the difference would be
about two to four finger widths. To fell away from a pronounced
lean the hinge is made wedge shaped, when viewed
from the top, with the wider part made in the direction the
lean is to be shifted. A green tree may fall with a substantial
hinge whereas a dry tree tends to fall only when the
hinge is relatively thin. (See Chapter 4 on felling with the
swede saw.)
As the back cut ncars completion, the tree may be started
on its way with a push to make sure it will fall in the desired
direction. From the moment a tree begins to fall watch it
closely until it is laying still on the ground so that any erratic
or unexpected occurrence may be dodged. Back away from
the tree for a distance of a least five metres and stand behind
another tree for added protection. Never stand near a tree
as it falls because too many dangerous things happen near
the stump.
The hazards of an improperly made cut.
99 
NORTHERN Bb'SHCRAFT
Safe and hazardous areas relative to a Jailing tree.
1. Most hazardous where the tree actually Jails.
2. Next most hazardous in the general area of the stump.
3. A tree ojten Jails opposite to the intended direction.
4. Some hazard.
5. Relatively safe.
6. The safest area within the reach of the tree is behind a
protective tree in the safe sector, or outside the reach in the
opposite direction from the tree's Jail.
7. The safest oj all is behind a protective tree, outside the
Jailing tree's reach and opposite to its direction of fall, but on
one side.
8. Being beyond the reach of the tree is relatively safe except
Jor the domino effect. The Jailing tree may knock down other
trees.
100 
AXECRAFT
101 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Limbing and Sectioning
It is easier to limb a tree by cutting towards its top, if the
limbs point upward. Black spruce is the exception, as the
branches tend to point downward. Limbing is best done on
the far side of the tree, using the tree itself as a barrier between
the axe and your legs. If you limb on the same side,
chop so that the axe is swung away from you or the cut is
made behind you.
A safe stance in limbing.
Techniques in limbing.
102 
AXECRAFT
103
Using a protector log.
Using a safe stance in cutting through a log. 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
104
Standing on a log to chop through it.
The source of black spruce compression wood wedges. 
AXECRAFT
Safe cuts outside the frontal zone.
To section a log, it is easier to cut it half-way through from
opposite sides rather than cut it all the way through from
the top. A stance with legs well apart is taken as close to
the log as the length of the axe handle will permit, being
careful not to have the toes protrude under the log. Standing
too far back may cause you to over-shoot the log,
especially with a smaller axe. Standing on top of a log or
steadying it with the foot, may result in a cut to the instep
unless the point of impact of the axe is kept well below the
boot sole. When sectioning smaller logs into firewood use
a barrier log between your feet and the log being cut.
The width of the cut should be equal to the diameter of
the log. The cuts are made at an angle of 45 degrees to the
log's centre line. If the log is of a large diameter, a smaller
notch is made and then enlarged, or the chips will not
dislodge easily.
The simplest way to split a log is to use wooden wedges.
Three or more wedges used at the same time last longer.
A large log may be easily split by using a small hatchct to
make and tap in wedges.
105 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Making splints from black spruce wood.
106 
AXECRAFT
107 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Making difficult splits in wood blocks.
108 
3
KNIFECRAFT
The knife is the smallest, and most portable of
all the cutting tools. Light and unobtrusive, the
knife is readily available for hundreds of everyday
tasks in bush living.
THE BUSH KNIFE
The general-purpose bush knife should have a blade as
long as the width of the palm, although blades half or twice
this length are within acceptable limits. A blade five centimetres
long would be an excellent survival knife cxcept
for being too small to fall and limb trees of wrist-thickness.
A blade 10 to 15 centimetres long will do intricate work like
carving a netting needle, yet be large enough to present a
good target for a baton when cutting down small trees. A
blade 20 centimetres long is a superior tool for heavy work,
but awkward to use for fine work.
All general-use knives should have the blade tip close to
the profile center line of the handle. The back of the handle
and the back of the blade should be on the same line. The
back of the blade should not be thinned down or sharpened
so that a baton can be used more effectively without being
109 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
cut up. There is absolutely no advantage to a two-edged
blade in bush living.
The blade should be of a good quality carbon steel, from
two and a half to three millimetres thick and about two to
two and a half centimetres wide. This size of blade is light
in weight, yet difficult to break. The steel should be soft
enough to be maintained at a shaving edge with common
sharpening tools, without frequent sharpening. Such steel
is found in Mora (Sweden), Solingen (Germany) or Sheffield
(England) knives. Carbon, unlike stainless steel, can be used
as the striker in the flint and steel method of fire-lighting.
Inexpensive stainless steels have had a bad reputation with
respect to producing a keen edge let alone holding it. The
Mora stainless steels however, are every bit as good as their
carbon steels.
The metal of the knife blade should extend for the fulllength
of the handle (a full tang) for strength. The handle
should be a durable, water-resistant material that can be
shaped to the user's hand if necessary. The knife should
Some desirable features of a general purpose bush knife.
For fine work and incising, the knife blade is held firmly to
prevent any movement of the hand relative to the blade.
110 
KNIFECRAFT
have a strong pommel that will protect the handle if the knife
is driven tip first deep into wood.
The curvature of the cutting edge should extend for the
full-length of the blade. This cuts well and is one of the best
shapes that quickly sharpens to a razor's edge. The knife
blade should have a sharp enough point to penetrate deep
into wood with a minimum of effort.
The knife handle should be about as long as the width of
your palm. A handle that is too thick or too thin fatigues the
hand and causes blisters. The cross-section of the handle
should be oval instead of round or rectangular. An oval handle
provides an adequate indication of the direction of the
cutting edge and raises fewer blisters than handles with
angular or rounded corners.
A guard on a bush knife is in the way and detracts from
many operations. It prevents the use of a simple, secure,
deep sheath. Some people prefer a guard for fear of slipping
forward onto the knife edge, but unless the knife is used for
stabbing, the hand should never slip in this way. In all my
years of instructing I do not recall an injury due to the lack
of a guard.
As a test of strength, a good knife should not break when
driven four centimetres into a standing tree at right angles
to the grain, and the handle bears your weight as you stand
on it.
First Aid for Knife Cuts
The more you learn about using a knife, the less likely you
are to cut yourself.
Common knife cuts to the hands.
I l l 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
112
Keep your hands and knife clean. Always have a first aid
kit handy that contains some means for wound closure, nonsticking
dressing and an antibiotic (opthalmic) ointment.
The faster you close a wound or cover it and exclude the
oxygen, the less pain and the quicker it should heal.
There are two common knife cuts. The first is straight in
creating a gaping wound. For fasrer healing, this type of
wound should be closed. Modern adhesives are so effective
that sewing may not be ncccssary. A gaping wound can heal
from the bottom up, but takes longer. This is the preferred 
KNIFECRAFT
method if the wound is contaminated with dirt or the cut
is made under water. The second type of wound is a flap
made by an oblique cut. which is easy to closc with simple
pressure. Should any foreign matter get under the ilap. pus
formation will prevent healing.
For any cut, the prime concern is to stop bleeding
immediately by applying pressure and elevating the wound.
Simple direct pressure should be sufficient to arrest any
bleeding from a knife cut without having to apply pressure
against a blood vessel some distance from the wound.
When a cut occurs, it should be allowed to bleed for a
moment. This action Hushes out any foreign matter rhat
may have entered on the cutting edge. Some people react
by sucking on their cut—a bad practice considering the
undesirable germs found in the mouth that may contaminate
the wound. Next, without a moment's delay the
edges of rhc wound should be brought together and pressed
closed. If a non-sticking pad is quickly applied to exclude
oxygen, the pain of the cut will be reduced. Should excessive
seepage occur through any pads, leave them in place, add
more and apply more pressure. In a severe cut. pressure
may have to be maintained for at least a half-hour. Once the
pressure is released and there is no further blood How. leave
the pads in place for a few hours. Non-sticking pads should
come off without reopening the wTound.
If the area of the wound is reasonably clean, do not wash
it, especially to remove dried blood as you will only cause
a greater contamination of rhc wound. Wash a wound only
if there will be more infectious material removed than might
be carried in. Instead, draw a circle around the wound with
an antibiotic ointment and cover with a non-sticking pad.
On retiring, replace the more durable daytime dressing with
a loose airy one that is less restricting and allows more air
circulation. Whenever possible remove everything and
expose the wound to the sun. An increased intake of vitamin
C (rose hips) also promotes healing.
With conventional bandages keep in mind the case of
removal when they have to be replaced. It is counterproductive
to rip the wound open when putting on a fresh
dressing.
When nothing else is available, cover the wound
immediately with a clean cloth well-smeared with the resin
found in the bark blisters of balsam fir or Porschild's white
spruce. This dressing is left on until the wound has healed
as it is unlikely that pus will form under it.
113 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
Cutting Down Trees with a Knife
Any green tree can be cut down with a knife if it can be
bent. A wrist-thick tree can be bent with one hand while the
other is occupied in cutting it. Larger trees arc softened by
flexing them back and forth a few times using the weight
of your body. Two people can tackle larger trees if one does
the bending while the other carries out the cutting.
After the tree is bent, the cut is made at a fairly steep angle
at the point of the greatest bend. The bending action puts
tension on the wood fibers and opens the cut to allow the
blade to slice through the wood more easily. As the cut nears
completion, the tree must be restrained from falling too soon
and breaking, or extra effort is required to finish the cut.
Dry or frozen trees are difficult to cut down with a knife.
A frozen tree will break easier if the fracture is started with
a cut while the tree is bent.
Cutting down a tree with a knife.
114 
KNIFECRAFT
Bending a tree.
Limbing with a baton.
115 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
Cutting the top off a sapling.
A knife makes a poor chopping tool as it has no weight
behind it. However, if the knife back is struck with
something heavy, it can make respectable cuts. Any sound,
heavy stick (baton) that is comfortable to hold, will assist
a knife in cutting down and limbing small trees, splitting
wood and making many cutting operations easier and faster.
Trees about ten centimetres in diameter and too thick to
bend can be cut down in a few minutes with a baton.
The knife used with a baton must be sturdy enough to
withstand the abuse or it will bend or break. Using a folding
knife puts a severe strain on the blade pin.
Various Safe Knife Operations
One method for cutting through a stick is to make a series
of nicks around it. A thick stick requires this procedure to
be repeated a few times, each time cutting deeper. When
the cut is half or two-thirds through the stick, it can be
broken off and the end trimmed.
Peeling a stick is a basic technique that leads to skillful
wood shaving. Peeled sticks dry out quickly and become
lighter and tougher than unpeeled ones. Heavy knots and
branches should be trimmed off beforehand, perhaps with
116 
KNIFF.CRAW
Cutting through a stick. Make a series of small cuts all
around it (For a large stick, this may be repeated a number
of times.) Each time around, the blade can cut a little deeper.
Once the cut is deep enough the stick may be broken. The
fractured wood is trimmed off to complete the cut.
Peeling a stick with a knife.
Wrap fingers firmly around the handle and make strokes
away from your body.
117 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
Cutting holes through a stick.
an insufficiently sturdy knife may bend at the handle.
To smooth down shafts, a form of sliding plane utilizes the
knife blade as the plane iron.
A knife can be made into a strip cutter when combined
with a guide. With the blade parallel to the guiding face,
regular basket weaving splints, birch bark strips and leather
120 
KN'lFECRArr
or rawhide tongs can be made. If the knife is driven in at
90 degrees to the face of the guide, the knife tip can be used
as a groover or router.
A sharp knife and a small baton can be used to cut or trim
hair. To cut hair, tap strands of it against the sharp edge of
the knife with the baton.
121 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
Steps in cutting the end nock.
i>aje cuts should be made off to the side of the thigh.
122 
KNIFECRAFT
Safe knife operation—cutting toward the chest.
Safe knife operation—keeping the forearm clear.
123 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
The strip cutter and router.
The knife plane.
124 
KNIFECRAFT
Safe knife operation—supporting the end of a stick.
125
Safe knife operation—the placement of the thumb. 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
Safe knife operation—making cuts across the grain in
splitting with either a straight or folding knife.
126 
KMFECRAI'T
127
How to makejlne splits safely.
Using the knife as a shear. 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
The hazard, of bearing down with a folding knife tip.
Interlocking notches used with weak lashing materials.
Knife Sharpening
A passable substitute for sharpening stories are abrasive
surfaces of carborundum paper, emery cloth, wet-and-dry
sand paper and crocus cloth fixed to boards with carpet tape
or glue. Sharpening boards will help you master the basics
of sharpening inexpensively without the chance of damaging
costly stones through ineptness. You may discover you
do not need anything more elaborate or you will be better
able to decide what you need in the way of regular sharpening
stones.
128 
KX1FECRAIT
You may use a full sheet of abrasive or any convenient
fraction. Full-size sheets are useful when sharpening large
or long bladed knives, while a board 5 by 15 centimetres
is handier to carry for touching up your knife.
The thin abrasive surface on a sharpening board can be
gouged if too much pressure is applied. Use lighter and more
frequent strokes instead.
Boards with fine surfaces become more valuable with use.
The worn, fine surface approaches a hone's surface texture
that is useful in the second last stage of sharpening. Hones
are also made of crocus cloth.
A magnified dull edge will appear flat or rounded where
the sharp edge should be. Sharpening removes the metal
on one or both sides of the blade and re-establishes a new
edge. This is accomplished with abrasive surfaces that, grind
away the unwanted metal in five stages: coarse, medium,
fine, hone and strop.
A coarse abrasive will remove metal rapidly, but leaves
a rough bevel face and a saw-like edge where the serrations
from one side of the blade meet those of the other. This sawlike
edge seems to cut well momentarily and must be wiped
clean frequently to regain its sharpness when skinning or
cutting meat where fat and libers are caught between the
teeth. Such an edge also dulls quickly when cutting wood
as the teeth readily break off.
Employing too fine an abrasive too soon prolongs sharpening.
Using a coarser surface too long imposes needless wear
on the blade and the sharpening surface.
Once the coarse surface establishes an edge, the medium
surface replaces the coarse serrations with its own. Then
the fine surface erases the medium serrations. The saw edge
is now fine enough to be shaped into a toothless edge by the
smooth, hard surface of the hone. The honed metal should
shine like a mirror.
Sharpening board.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Magnified representations of an edge at various stages of
sharpness.
Honing, more so than the previous sharpening stages, produces
a fine hinge of metal or burr that resists removal by
a hard, smooth abrasive surface. It is produced when the
steel in the blade reaches a thickness that is so flexible it
keeps flopping over to the side opposite the honing surface
until it is long enough to tear off.
The burr is difficult to see with the unaided eye and is
therefore often ignored. During the first few cuts, it tears off
taking some of the good edge with it, or it leaves the edge
in a disturbed state that dulls more rapidly. The burr formed
when leading with the edge is finer than the one produced
when the edge is dragged. The more substantial burr
removes a greater amount of the good edge as it tears off.
Thus when the burr is properly removed with a strop, the
edge remains sharp longer.
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KNIFECRAFT
Using a sharpening board.
How a hone and a strop work.
131 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
The strop s fine, abrasive, resilient surface removes the
burr as it bulges up behind the edge of the blade. The edge
must be dragged or the strop will be damaged. The hand
can serve as a strop, but it is slow. An old leather belt makes
an excellent strop. A fast-working strop is belting, webbing
or a few folds of cloth tacked to a board, saturated with cooking
oil and dusted with domestic cleansing or abrasive
powder.
The angle at which the blade is held as its edge is drawn
across an abrasive surface has a bearing on how well the
edge will cut and hold up. For the general-purpose bush
knife, that angle is about 8 to 12 degrees. This angle may
be more precisely determined if related to the thickness of
a dime. The measurement is made to the middle of the back
edge of the different widths of blade. A blade one centimetre
wide uses one dime; one and a half centimetres, two dimes;
two centimetres, three dimes; two and a half centimetres,
four dimes; three centimetres, five dimes and finally a three
and a half centimetre width requires six dimes.
The dime test should prove that knives displaying a
distinct bevel next to the cutting edge need only have the
bevel face flat against the abrasive surface to achieve the
proper angle for the cutting edge which is about 20 degrees
(twice the angle at which the blade is held to the abrasive
surface). This type of knife is easy to sharpen correctly.
When the whole bevel face shines like a mirror, the edge
should be sharp.
132
Using a strop. 
KNIFECRAFT
The angles used in different blade configurations.
The test for knife sharpness.
133 
NORTHERN BUSHCKA FT
Maintain a constant angle when making your sharpening
strokes. With a curved cutting edge, the stroke must also
be curved or the entire edge will not come in contact with
the abrasive surface. At the end of the stroke the blade is
raised sufficiently to avoid scraping its edge against the
abrasive surface. Holding the blade at a precise angle is more
important than speed. With experience the motions will
speed up.
Once the edge is established by a coarse abrasive surface,
the number of strokes taken on the medium surface
multiplied by three will be a rough estimate of the minimum
strokes required by the fine surface. If the medium surface
required 30 strokes, the fine will require 100. the hone 300
and the strop 900.
The test for minimal sharpness for woodworking is cleanly
slicing thin paper. For skinning, meat cutting and surgery,
the test is painlessly shaving wet hair on the forearm with
one clean stroke.
A knife's edge can be maintained with sand and smooth,
natural stones. Trial and error will determine what surfaces
and materials will work best during the coarser levels of
grinding. For fine work, sand may be mixed with grease and
used on a board. The sand may have to be crushed for fine
sharpening.
134 
4
SAWCRAFT
Knowledgeable selection, use and maintencuice
of a Swede saw is an important bush skill.
THE SAW AND AXE
The saw and the axe are complementary in function. The
axe is the more hazardous tool, requiring experience and
constant attentiveness to use safely. The axe is especially
dangerous to use after dark. A saw, on the other hand, may
be used by a blind person under most circumstances. The
axe lakes weeks of constant use to master wThcrcas the saw
requires a few hours.
A big saw and a small axe are a good combination employing
the best functions of both tools when there is no time
to master the axe. Most of the work is accomplished by the
saw and the axe serves as a back-up. Limbing is more conveniently
done with the axe. Wedges are easily made and
pounded in with an axe.
The axe is more versatile and must be the first choice if
limited to one tool. An axe may fall, limb and section any
size of tree. Splitting and shaving wood, making and pounding
in pegs or chopping holes in ice are impossible with
a saw.
135 
NORTHERN DUSI1CRAFT
The depth of a Swede saw's bow limits the size ol tree it
can cut through. Outside of this restriction, it can fall and
section a tree with a fraction of the exertion and with greater
convenience in confined or awkward situations, such as cut-
Ling in dense growth or above the head. With the assistance
of wedges, a saw can fall a tree in directions impossible with
an axe alone, but the saw can not make or pound in the
wedges. The saw can make squared ends and thin sections
of log or boards with a minimum of waste. To sawT out
boards, a different tooth arrangement (similar to that of a
bandsaw) must be used. The saw is the handier tool to use
when cutting stove-length wood.
The axe is more versatile and durable, but more
dangerous than the saw. The replacement for a broken handle
can be fashioned with the head itself if neccssary. The
cutting edge can be maintained with locally-found natural
stones. In comparison, a saw blade is quite fragile. Unless
a blade breaks near the end, it can not be salvaged. A twisted
or bent blade is impossible to use and difficult to straighten.
If the set or tooth arrangement is disturbed, the saw cut
becomes progressively more dished, causing such severe
drag that it becomes impossible to pull the saw back and
forth. Without the appropriate tools to maintain its edge a
saw will have a limited period of use.
A saw is easily trapped in its cut, a situation the
experienced person knows how to avoid. A small axe can
release the sawblade by chopping it free.
Saw Use
A saw frame should be heavy enough to keep its blade
under considerable tension. A collapsible saw that can meet
this criterion is rare. Compactness and portability should
not be sacrificed for unrestricted function and durability. An
inferior but portable tool is useless in serious wilderness living.
A big bow saw may be awkward to carry, but it recoups
the extra energy used in lugging it around in the first halfhour
of sawing. On a winter's day when you are tired, cold
and hungry the last thing you need is a tool that is the
shadow of the real thing.
All saw blades should have guards to prevent cuts to the
hands, clothing, packs, tents and pots. You can be severely
injured by falling on an unprotected blade.
Using a saw above the head puts sawdust in the eyes, the
136 
SA\vcRArr
worst being the sharp, dry- brittle branches of spruce or pine
that one often trims to make head room when making camp
near a big tree. Tamarack sawdust can cause a severe
physiological reaction as well. Keep the eyes closed enough
to help the eyelashes exclude the saw dust.
Back strain is rcduced by the use of a sawhorse when a
considerable amount of firewood is being cut
With a good-working saw. the teeth are properly arranged
and the blade perfectly straight. Any technique that
adversely affects the tooth arrangement should be avoided,
such as twisting, kinking, bending, heavy pushing, pulling
or downward force. A gently used saw will stay in working
order for a long time.
Cutting close to the ground so that dirt is pulled into the
cut or sawing sand-encrusted driftwood will quickly dull a
blade.
Use the weight of the saw at first, without any downward
force. As you become more skillful, you may apply
downward force with the wrist of the hand holding the saw.
When you can use the saw smoothly and unconsciously
after having developed a sensitivity to its cutting action, you
will know how much force to use to make it cut even faster.
Fast cutting is a judicious combination of the speed with
which the saw moves back and forth and the downward
force on the blade. If too much force is used you will tire
quickly. A full-length stroke is worth three short ones that
take twice the effort.
The opening and closing of saw cuts.
137 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAI'T
The function of the set in a saw blade is to cut a kerf wider
than the thickness of the saw blade so it can move freely
in its cut. If the log is supported at its ends the kerf closes
behind the blade without interfering with its movement. In
a hung up, small diameter green black poplar or aspen, the
closing forces arc strong enough to pinch the blade sufficiently
that the only way to free it is to chop it out.
How a saw blade is pinched.
Avoiding saw cuts to the back of the hand.
138 
SAWCRAFT
Falling trees with a saw.
Usually the kerf closes behind the blade without restricting
the saw. but if the diameter of the log is greater than
its throat, the saw is trapped. The saw may be released by
either unlatching the blade or notching down the top of the
log with an axe to a depth where the saw can complete the
cut. A top cut can be opened by prying beneath it with a
pole.
A log suspended off the ground and supported at the ends
is cut from the top down as far as possible, short of the kerf
closing. If there is enough space the cut is continued from
underneath where the kerf will tend to open as the cut nears
completion. Where an unsupported end is being cut off the
opposite is true.
139 
NORTHERN DUSI1CRAFT
Saw Sharpening
A dull saw is usually sharpened with a small triangular
or diamond file. Work in good light to see clearly the filed
surfaces on the teeth. File one bevel in turn on all the singlepointed
teeth. Repeat this procedure for all the bevels. The
number of strokes needed on each bevel depends on how
dull the saw and how fresh the file. During your initial
strokes, watch closely to ensure the entire face of the bevel
is filed and count the strokes needed to establish the point
on the first tooth. If six strokes are taken, then use half that
number, as the other half of the sharpening will be done
when the companion bevel is filed. By allowing each bevel
the same number of strokes the basic relationship of the
teeth is maintained for at least a few sharpenings. If very
dull you may have to go over the blade a number of times.
The double-pointed teeth known as rakers are filed about
the same number of strokes, and they must be slightly
shorter than the other teeth. Devote considerable attention
to making each file stroke as even as possible.
140 
SAU'CR.AFT
How a saw cuts.
A major reworking of the teeth is more complex, usually
involving seven steps.
1. Jointing the Teeth. Saw teeth are of even height so that
all will do the same amount of work, otherwise only the
longer teeth do all the cutting, which results in slow work
and rapid dulling. Jointing involves running a file on the
points of the teeth for the length of the blade to make all of
the teeth even with each other. Every tooth should show a
"jointing flat" as a guide for sharpening to the proper height.
The file must be kept at right angles to the blade so that the
teeth are filed to an even height on both sides.
141 
NORTHERN DUSI1CRAFT
The improvised frame saw.
2. Jointing the Rakers. Rakers must be filed about a halfmillimetre
shorter than the other teeth. Check by touching
down on the jointed teeth with a straight edge and insert
a thin metal shim. Take a book with thin pages and measure
how many will be a centimetre thick. The number of pages
divided into a centimetre is the thickness of one page. Put
together the number of pages closest to the desired
thickness. Find a piece of tin. razor blade, etc., that is close
to this thickness to use as a shim.
3. Reshaping the Gullets. As the saw cuts, sawdust collects
in the spaces between the rakers and the other teeth. Every
142 
SAWCRArr
A simple saw horse.
second or third time the blade is reworked, these spaces or
gullets must be restored or the sawdust will jam in them
and cause the saw to drag. The round bottoms of the gullets
need a round file and the valleys between the pointed teeth
need a diamond file.
4. Setting the Teeth. The even-numbered teeth are bent to
one side and the odd teeth are bent in the opposite direction
so that the spread will make a kerf wider than the
thickness of the blade. Specialized tools are required to set
teeth. For maximum efficiency, the set should only be
enough to allow the saw to move freely in its kerf. This is
an angle of about two degrees or an offset of about a quartermillimetre.
Sight along the blade to check if the teeth are
set in an even manner. Regardless of the length of the tooth,
the amount that is bent for the set is from half to threequarters
of a centimetre from the tip of the tooth.
143 
NORTHERN DUSI1CRAFT
5. Sharpening the Teeth. File a smooth bevel to the midpoint
of all jointing Hats for all the teeth for that one particular
bevel, then remove the burr by dressing as described
below. The adjoining bevels are now filed so the jointing flats
arc completely removed. The bevel angle for the teeth is
about 40 degrees.
6. Dressing. Dressing removes most of the burr from the
cutting edges of the teeth. This is achieved by lightly running
a fine abrasive surface back and forth on the sides of
the teeth
7. Sharpening the Rakers. The rakers are sharpened until
all the jointing flats are removed and shortened as already
described under sharpening. The rakers arc sharpened like
a chisel to a 35 degree bevel.
144 
5
BINDCRAFT
Cordage-making is an important skill in many
aspects of wilderness living. The applications
may range from sewing thread to a tow cable.
Cordage and other means of binding may be
improvised from materials readily found at
hand for shelter-making, fishing, snaring,
making weapons, packing and fire-lighting.
CORDAGE TECHNIQUES
The simplest cord or rope made by hand is two stranded.
A number of fibers make up a strand. The thicker the strand,
the thicker and stronger the cord. If the strands are twisted
in a clockwise direction at both ends, a kink will form a short
piece of cord. Fiber twisted clockwise is termed Z-twist and
counterclockwise is S-twist.
The harder the strands are twisted the steeper the twist
angle, the more strength is derived from the fibers, and the
stiffer the cord. The number of twists per unit length is
directly related to the diameter of the strands used. For a
145 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
hard cord of four millimetres thickness, two twists per centimetre
are required as compared to 12 twists for a halfmillimetre
thickness.
To avoid weak spots in the cord, the fiber added to the
strands as the rope lengthens must be staggered, and the
twist in both strands be equal. The fingers rolling the strands
will have a better feel of any thickness changes than can be
seen by eye. For the smoothest cord the fibers added should
be tapered at both ends. New fibers may be added by laying
them along the old fibers and the ends either trimcd off
with a knife or singed off by passing the finished cord
through a hot fire. The latter is done only slowly enough to
singe off the fibers, but not to burn the cord.
Adding a third strand almost doubles the strength and
durability of the cord. A two-stranded cord is first made and
then the third strand incorporated, or all three strands are
made to keep up simultaneously with each other.
The initial step in making a simple cord.
146 
BINDCRAin-
The completed cord is rolled between two flat surfaces
such as a rock and boot sole or two boards. This smooths
the cord and evens out minor inconsistencies in the twist.
The cord is rubbed back and forth to raise the surface fibers
that are to be singed off.
The time and effort in making a cord should be matched
to its intended use. A quickly and crudely twisted grass rope
will do as a lashing in shelter building. A carefully and
precisely twisted bow string may take hours to make.
A simple two stranded cord can be twisted with the
fingers.
147 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
When making fine cordage such as sewing thread, fish line
or netting string, the hand twisting method is slow and
tedious. The process is speeded up by rolling the separated
strands by hand on the thigh. The fibers to be added to the
strands are prepared by rolling them singly on the thigh,
or between the palms.
Using roping hooks.
148 
BINDCRAin-
Basic twining of thread or twine.
Different Cordage Materials and their Uses
Cattail. Fall and early winter leaves will make a good looking
but weak rope for lashing and weaving. Cord made from
cured leaves gathered in late June and early July is very
durable as plant development is arrested at a stage when
the leaves remain supple on drying. The cured stalk of the
flowering plant can be split and the halves twisted into a
stiff cord with a high tensile strength.
Dogbane. This plant is processed and used like nettle
which it resembles in strength and texture.
Fireweed. Like thistle, the outer bark of the mature, but
green stem, yields a fiber of sufficient strength for snare
cord.
Grasses. Some grasses are available during the fall and
winter for snare cord, pole lashing, crude climbing rope, and
tow cables. Any grass that resists crumbling can be made
into cord or rope. Hairy wild rye grass found under spruce
trees where the snow is shallow will make an adequate cord
149 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
for snaring or lashing. The sedges, having a high tensile
strength, will make a cable strong enough to pull out a stuck
vehicle. If grass is dampened before twisting it is more
manageable. Green grass shrinks as it dries, making a loose,
weak rope. Grasses are at their best as soon as they have
died in the fall before weathering begins. Unprotected, most
grass-like cordage materials gradually degenerate to the
point of being useless by late winter.
Roses. The bark is collected in the spring and summer
and the prickles and outer bark scrapcd off with a sharp
edged stick. The remaining bark can be twisted into cord
or twine that is about as strong as that of wolf willow.
Saskatoon. Similar to the rose, the bark is stripped from
the mature shrub and the crumbly outer bark scrapcd off.
What remains is shredded and twisted into a stiff cord that
is similar in strength to wolf willow.
Stinging Nettle. The fine, soft-textured, elongated phloem
fibers found near the skin of stinging nettle are some of the
strongest in the plant kingdom. Stinging nettle is often
substituted for sinew, but is likely not as strong. The fibre
is useful in making bow strings, fish lines and fish nets.
Although the fiber can be extracted from the mature green
plant, it is best after the plant has turned brown in the fall.
However, the longer the plant is allowed to weather after it
dies, the more the fiber deteriorates. Store the plant in a dry
place out of the sun until it is ready to be processed. Largescale
processing techniques lor nettle fiber arc the same as
used to extract linen from flax. A small-scale method to
remove the fiber is to pound the stalk until most of the stem
crumbles out. A simpler method is to split the stalk, starting
at the top of the plant, and peel back the fibers to the
leaf joint. Break the stalk near this joint and again peel away
the crumbly stem. Try to remove most of the fibers in two
strands. Each strand is rubbed vigorously between the
hands or between a hand and a smooth-barked tree to
remove what remains of the flaky outer bark. The lightly
rolled strands are now ready for twining into cord, string
or thread. If a fine thread is required, the strands may have
to be divided accordingly.
Thistles. The outer bark of most green thistles can be
used for snare cord.
Willow Bast. The inner bark of willow, particularly the
large Beaked or Bebbs willow can be made into cord and netting
twine. The stiffer outer bark is separated from the more
flexible inner bark with the hands or by slicing with a knife.
150 
BINIKMAW
Extracting nettle fiber.
Extracting thistle fiber.
151 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
The binding tie.
The inner bark is shredded and twisted or twined in the
usual way. If the bark is gathered as soon as it starts to peel
in the early spring and for a few weeks thereafter, it remains
flexible. At this stage the cord will turn reddish brown. If
the bark is used at other times, it will become brittle on drying,
and remain white or greenish in color. It is still useful
for netting, but the net must be folded immediately after it
is taken from the water and handled gently when dry. The
net must be thoroughly soaked before being unfolded.
152 
BINDCRAin-
Wolf Willow. The inner bark from the trunk and roots of
this shrub will produce a moderately strong cord lor general
binding. The plant is used all year except for a short period
in the spring when the bark layers are thick and porous. The
bark peels in strips and may be used directly for binding,
or it may be twisted into a cord that remains flexible when
dry. As the outer skin has no tensile strength, and the bright
green layer next to it is weak, both are discarded. The inner
layers, up to eight in number, are used for making cordage.
For a fine-textured cord, the layers are separated and
shredded into fine libers lor the strands. Wolf willow cordage
is useful for snares, fish line, and the cord for the bow drill.
The wood is quite tough but the forks are easily split or torn
apart, so that the bark can be removed without tools.
Other Materials and Methods Used in Binding
Conifer Roots. The roots of black and white spruce,
tamarack and the pines may be used for many binding purposes.
The straightcst and longest roots are from black
spruce and tamarack growing in Sphagnum bogs.
Pick a mossy area with little growth other than spruce or
tamarack to minimize interference with the gathering of the
roots. Roots must be completely free from the moss to be
extracted in one piece. The best time to debark a root is
immediately before it dries. To remove the bark, pull the root
through a split in a stick, between two sticks squeezed
together, or pressed between a stick and a log. Roots can
be kept under water indefinitely and peeled as needed. From
mid-August onward, the roots become progressively more
resistant to peeling and the bark must be scraped off with
a knife. The roots become too weak to be of any use just
before the forest freezes over for winter. Conifer roots can
be peeled, dried and stored for future use. The roots are
softened by boiling or soaking. Drying and boiling the roots
once will increase their strength over the fresh roots, but
repeated drying and soaking weakens them. Conifer root can
be used for lashing, but become brittle on drying, so that
its best application is where no flexing occurs, such as in
static lashings. Once in place the root dries rigid making it
superior for sewing birch bark canoes and making baskets.
Roots thicker than the little finger are too large to work
before splitting. A root may be split into many strands in
a variety of ways. A split is started at either end and must
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NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
be maintained precisely down the middle of the root. If the
split runs off to one side, the thicker side can be bent a little
to center it again. The split will always run off on the side
that bends the most.
The best knots to use with conifer roots are fishing line
knots. More information on working with spruce roots is
covered in Chapter 8.
Pincherry Baric. Pincherry bark can be removed as a
spiral to produce a long narrow strip. It has the unique property
of being both slightly elastic and unaffected by
moisture so that it can be used for tightly binding spear
points and fish spears.
Raujhide Lacing. Rawhide cut into strips is first soaked
and stretched slightly to make it pliable. Rawhide shrinks
on drying, to produce a very tight bind. Its disadvantage is
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BINDCRAin-
Techniques for removing the bark from spruce roots.
that it stretches when wet. Rawhide is used for snows hoe
lacing and sled and toboggan construction.
Sinew. Sinew is one of the strongest animal fibers known.
The more useful lengths come from the larger animals such
as moose, although a varying hare will produce enough to
make one snare. The ligaments from the back and occasionally
from the legs are removed, cleaned of fat and flesh
and attached to a board or stick to dry in the sun. Once dry,
these can be stored indefinitely. The thoroughly dry and
hard tendons are supported on a smooth surface and
carefully pounded with a hammer until the fibers separate
enough to be plyed apart to any desired thickness. Take care
not to cut the fibers in the pounding process. Sinew is useful
for stringing beads, sewing, binding and for bow strings.
Sinew, like rawhide, stretches when wet and shrinks on
drying.
Willow Wythes. A method of binding with willows is to
interlock two forks, leaving the fine ends free to complete
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NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
the tie by twisting it into a kink which in turn is forced between
what is being tied and the lashing material. When
longer lashings are made from willow wythes, they arc
braided together to the required length.
Making a long lashing braid out of short unllou> wands.
156 
6
SHELTERCRAFT
Our clothing protects us from the cold, wind
and rain while we are active or travelling outdoors.
Shelter can be defined as clothing for the
family, or an extension of our clothing.
SHELTER CONCEPTS
Shelter provides a micro-environment that supplements
inadequate clothing or allows you to shed cumbersome
layers, especially when you stop moving and when you want
to sleep in cold weather. Shelter also enhances the effect of
a warming fire.
Various shelters will ward off cold, rain, snow, wind and
insects. Some may fulfill only one specific role, while others
withstand all environmental impositions comparatively
well. The specific shelter required is determined by many
factors, such as intended application, the raw materials and
tools available and the expertise of the builder.
The simplest shelter uses insulative material to keep the
occupant warm. This is particularly useful when it is too
cold to sleep in one's clothing, but too warm to maintain a
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
fire. With the right kind of dry insulativc material you can
build a suitable shelter for the coldest of conditions. A
framework, such as a simple arch shelter or small teepee
will keep the materials from shifting as you toss and turn
while asleep. Crude grass coverings or quilts can be woven
to provide a better cover. Mosses, especially those without
a strong mouldy smell, such as Sphagnum, may be used,
after being dried on a framework near a fire. A disadvantage
of the insulativc shelter is the lack of a work space.
Where insulative materials are scarce or when there is no
time to gather or dry them, or camp is changed daily, a fire
and shelter combination may be more appropriate. There
are over 20 fire-shelter variants to choose from and each one
is suited to a particular situation.
Fire by itself provides quick relief from cold. A shelter
helps provide more warmth for less fuel by keeping the
elements at bay. Most cold weather shelters in the Northern
Forests depend on fire to improve their effectiveness.
The dry spot under a tree.
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S HELTERCRAFT
Using insultative material in a rain proof shelter without
a fire.
Constructing a grass quilt.
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
The sitting-iip insultatiue shelter.
A simple wind screen.
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SHKLTERCRAFT
The Open-Fronted Shelters
Open-fronted shelters use the most readily available local
materials and are often the simplest to construct without
tools. The open-fronted shelter creates a space that can be
warmed to a comfortable level by a lire in front of it.
regardless of the outside temperature. Some common types
are the arch, the ridge-pole or a half-teepee.
An open-fronted shelter warmed by a fire has certain
requirements to be effective. The occupant must sleep
parallel to a fire that is as long as he is tall. The back of the
shelter must be near enough to the fire to be warmed by it.
There must be no cold air movement into the shelter. The
bed, the fire and the wind must be parallel to each other or
problems will result from smoke movement through the
shelter.
The open-fronted shelter can be broken down into at least
five elements. Any one shelter may use a given element or
be composed ol any combination of elements, depending on
weather conditions.
1. The heat source is usually a parallel or wall-backed fire
that is as long as you. are tall. The fire should be built one
good step away from the front of the shelter. The proper
management of a fire in front of an open shelter demands
constant attention resulting in relatively short periods of
rest. The radiant aspect of the fire warms the user and the
immediate surroundings, much like the effect of the sun.
An example of an open-fronted shelter—the halfteepee.
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Whatever needs to be warmed must be positioned close to
the fire and exposed directly to its radiancc. Any warmed
air rises providing little warmth, beyond that flowing around
or past you. Objects intercepting the fire's radiance will
warm up and in turn emit some radiance, but in a much
longer or cooler wavelength.
2. Back protection blocks the infiltration of cold air on
the side away from the fire. By absorbing the radiance from
the fire, the back protection provides warmth on the far side
of your body. Split white wood will reflect some of the
radiance back toward your lar side. The back protection
should be as close to the fire as possible without any space
between the back protection and your far shoulder.
3. The base or bed should be an insulative and resilient
surface, comfortable enough to sit or sleep on, that protects
you from the cold or wet ground.
4. Overhead protection is back protection extended
upward to offer protection from rain or snow. It also helps
direct the radiance of the fire downward onto the bed.
5. Side protection blocks the wind on the windward side.
When a fire is used with an open shelter, the wind must blow
The use of an open fire.
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SHEI/TERCRAFT
parallel to its front so the end of the shelter, and not the back,
blocks any wind. By itself, this is considered a wind screen.
The number of elements incorporated in a shelter depends
on the needs of the moment. Under warm and dry conditions
locate a protected place for a resilient bed. If air movement.
is a problem use a suitable screen. In rainy situations
provide overhead protection. If it is cold, first make a good
fire (your height in length) then collect an adequate fuel
supply. If there is no precipitation the fuel pile can act as
your back protection with your bed positioned between it
and the fire.
A satisfactory shelter site can often be found at the base
of a large white spruce with long overhanging boughs. The
ground near the base is usually soft enough to lie on and
may even be dry after a prolonged rain or free of snow in
the winter, thus making overhead protection and a bed
unnecessary. Side or back protection may be all that is
required so that the amount of building materials is reduccd.
One should be cautioned that ticks also find shelter at the
base of spruce, particularly in the foothills region, and
should therefore not be feared elsewhere.
Overhead Protection
There are many ways a rain or wind-deflective roof can
be made for a bush shelter. Green spruce boughs make poor
roofing, but are often the only available material. Compressed
handfuls of dead, lichen-covered branches are best.
Balsam fir is an improvement over spruce because the flat
configuration of the boughs allow dense packing and the flat
needles shed rain. All boughs are placed on the roof with
the stem up and the underside facing out to an uncompressed
thickness of about 30 to 40 centimetres. The boughs
arc most effective if compressed with logs.
The pitch of a bough roof is critical if it is to shed rain
effectively—a roof that leaks is likely not. steep enough. The
heavier the downpour, the steeper the roof, and the higher
it must be extended, to protect the bed adequately.
In the wintertime, cold air is prevented from seeping
through the boughs by banking with snow. A 15- to
30-ccntimctrc thickness of boughs adequately insulates the
snow from the heat of a fire.
Thatching with grasses, swamp birch branches and compacted
dry spruce branches produces the most effective
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
The use of boughs as roofing.
wind and rain-proof configuration.
One of the more effective backs to an open-fronted shelter
are straight poles touching side by side. The arrangement
is wind-proof, as well as a good absorber and re-emiter of
warmth because of its thermal mass. The first layer is
chinked with moss which in turn is compressed with a
second layer of poles. This is sufficient for winter use, but
for rainy conditions, a third layer may have to be added.
When -40°C or colder, it is easiest and quickest to build
a lean-to from split aspen logs (green, frozen aspen splits in
half remarkably easily at this temperature).
Whenever trees peel easily, the bark can be incorporated
into a roof. Most barks tend to curl on drying, therefore, place
the bark between two layers of poles to prevent this.
A single person, open-fronted shelter may be expanded
164 
SHELTERCRA FT
Some available roofing materials.
to accommodate two people by extending the length of the
bed and shelter by one-third. Each person sleeps opposite
the other with bodies overlapping from heels to hips. Three
or four people use two shelters facing each other. For more
than four people, or during a long stay involving one person,
a brush or wooden teepee may be more appropriate.
The time spent in constructing the more elaborate shelter
is offset by a greatly reduced fuel requirement.
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Spruce boughs are an inferior thatching, but used properly
this abundant material can serve passably well.
— The angle of the roof has to be over 60 degrees. The
stronger the rainfall the steeper the roof must be.
— The boughs are more effective if compressed.
— The best effect is achieved by using the boughs with the
stem up and the underside out to the weather.
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SHELTEKCRAFT
Pitch and roofing material.
167 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
A cross section of a winter lean-to.
1. Wall backed fire is waist high.
2. Fire one good step away from the edge of the bed.
3. Fire made hot enough to force you to stay one step away.
4. The back of the shelter is as close to the fire as possible.
5. The bough bed is at least four fingers thick when
compressed.
6. Boughs are thick enough to prevent heat penetration from
melting the banked up snow.
7. Snow is banked up to prevent infiltration of cold air.
8. If possible, bank up the whole roof with snow.
9. The ridgepole is substantial enough to hold up the weight
of the bough and snow cover. The ridgepole is parallel to the
wind. It is about shoulder high off the ground providing
room to sit and work under the shelter roof
10. The core of the bed is made of snow. It is about chair
seat high.
11. Snow retaining log prevents the snow from melting out
from under the bed.
12. With an elevated bed the ground can be uneven.
13. Face the shelter towards the sun.
14. A clear expanse of snow in front of the shelter provides
more warming effect from the sun.
15. Make the shelter under a tree that provides some
overhead protection.
16. The snow is cleared away between the fire and edge of
the bed.
168 
SHELTERCKAF'r
The shallow open-arch shelter.
169 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
A lean-to built of poles.
170 
SIIELTKKCRAFT
171 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
172
The action of smoke in front of an open lean-to and the
orientation of an open shelter to the wind. 
SHELTERCRAF7
Lean-to construction—2
Bush Beds
Although spruce boughs are popular for making bush
beds, they are not the only suitable materials, and not
necessarily the best. Anything will make do providing it is
fine at the tips and no thicker than the thumb at the stem.
Any shrub such as willow, alder, red osier dogwood or
swamp birch, and any branches such as aspen, black poplar,
birch or pine (with or without needles or leaves) are suitable.
Forbs. such as clover, green or dry grass, sedge, cattail or
bulrush arc adequate. (Wherever the word "bough" is used,
one may substitute any of these materials.) All can be
arranged in a similar fashion to provide resilient insulation
from the snow or cold ground. A ground sheet is
unnecessary if the compressed bed is four or more fingers
thick.
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The simple bed.
174 
SHELTERCRAFT
The hollow core or elevated bed.
Frozen boughs may crumble under your weight unless
they arc warmed to make them supple. Wet boughs should
have excess moisture shaken off before use. Dry, dead,
needle-free boughs make a more insulative but less resilient,
bed than one made of green boughs. As a bough bed will
flatten with use, a fresh layer should be added every three
or four days.
The simplest bed is the uppermost, layer or mattress component
of the more complex beds described in this section.
The simple bed is adequate in the summer or to supplement
a mat and sleeping bag in the winter. The bed can be built
on level ground or packed snow. Fifty to 75 boughs that are
about elbow to finger tip long are laid down singly or in small
handfuls in a chevron-like pattern, with the tips crossing
slightly. For the greatest resiliency, lay the boughs down the
same way they grew on the tree. A layer or two of boughs
(made from small handfuls) with a compressed thickness
of four fingers is an excellent mattress. One layer should
extend for the full-length of the body. Additional layers
extend only from the head to the hips, as the legs do not
need any more resiliency or insulation beyond the first layer.
For multi-layered beds, use the thick stemmed and coarser
boughs first. Long, bare stems should be broken off and used
directly on the ground for the best effect. Boughs thicker
than the thumb should be used to cover the ground layer.
175 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Handfuls of smaller, shorter branches of pencil-thickness
may be jammed stem first into any holes in the bed. A source
of short boughs is usually the top two metres of a spruce
tree. It is better to leave the top in one piece and unlimbed
in the base of a bed. A log at the edge of the bed nearest to
the fire helps to keep you from rolling off while you sleep.
For a pillow, tuck a small armload of branches or sticks
under the boughs at the head of the bed.
The standard bed incorporates a base to raise the simple
bed about 15 to 20 centimetres. This proves to be more
resilient than the simple bed and is useful on uneven
ground. Two logs, about your height in length, are laid down
shoulder-width apart and leveled. The space between the
logs is filled with big boughs, shrubbery, spruce tops, or
small trees, and the simple bed is then made on top of this.
The deluxe bed provides as much comfort as nature can
provide when it is bitterly cold and you have to sleep in your
clothes without a sleeping bag or mat. An injured or ill person
may require such a bed. A platform for the simple bed
is made about chair-seat high leaving a clear space between
it and the ground. The front is left open and the back of the
space is lined with logs. The radiance of the fire warms
everything beneath the bed and the resulting warmed air
rises through it. Hot rocks can also be rolled under the bed.
In cold weather, an elevated bed is always more comfortable
than one made directly on the ground where the air
is coldest. Snow makes a good platform and is a good
insulator from the cold sink of the ground. The front edge
is lined with logs so that the bed will not melt out f r om under
you. The packed snow is leveled and the simple bed built
on top. A hollow bed can be made with long poles supported
at the ends by heaped up snow.
Deep Open-Fronted Shelters
The deep open-fronted shelter is inadequate in cold
weather. It is difficult to maintain uniform warmth within
the structure. Your feet may be comfortable, but your head
will be cold unless you are able to stretch out beside a fire
that is as long as you are tall. Deep shelters are useful in
warm and cool weather where insulative materials and body
heat prove adequate. The easily constructed frameworks are
useful for supporting waterproof covers or for making the
hollow core when constructing snow shelters.
176 
SHELTEKCKA FT
Partly-Enclosed Open-Fire Shelters
The conical shelter is very efficient. It provides a large floor
spacc in relation to the amount of cover required. The shape
allows for standing room in the middle, and an easily heated
low overhead volume. The design is stable in wind and is
useful in heavier forms of construction.
The coverings for conical shelters arc made in much the
same way as for open-fronted ones. Use boughs, compressed
with logs and various types of thatch or barks, from both
coniferous and deciduous trees. Because the cone is stable.
The flexible arch-dome structure.
A. For 4 people, the structure is a full reach high and wide,
and two full reaches long. This amount of headroom is
necessary when an open fire is used.
B. The framework can be made from any flexible wands
such as willow, alder, thin pine and spruce. If less flexible or
thicker wands are used they are lashed instead of woven.
C. The point at which the pitch of the roof is less than 60
degrees must be shingled to properly deflect rain.
177 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
178 
SHELTERCRAFT
it can be banked with earth. Some conical forms are dug into
the ground for cover, ground warmth and thermal mass.
The carth-covered shelters arc usually unpleasant to live in
during the rainy season because of dripping and dampness.
Birch bark makes an excellent cover that is reasonably
portable. It can be peeled almost all year around, whereas
the bark of other trees is only available from midspring to
midsummer. Birch bark is boiled to make it more flexible
then sewn into long strips for more manageable and efficient
coverage.
In Lapland, natural cover materials were replaced with
canvass in the summer and horse blankets in the winter.
Now, such covers are made of durable woven polyethylene.
Most of the nomadic peoples of the Northern Forest regions
used tanned hides as shelter covers at one time or another.
Felt mats were also popular in some parts of the world. Hair
or wool covers have a good reputation for being rot resistant,
insulativc, rain deflective, light and durable. Other
common cover materials are mats woven from various
reeds.
Another shelter found in the Northern Forests is the
domed framework of bent trees or saplings. This type provides
more headroom compared to the conical configuration
and functions much the same way in all other aspects.
Partially-Enclosed Shelters
The partially-enclosed shelters that, use an open fire may
be looked upon as open-fronted shelters built in a circle.
They arc less sensitive to wind effects and use less fuel, but
continue to loose any warmed air through the smoke hole.
They may be compared to a stove large enough for one to
live inside. The shelter configuration strongly influences the
quality of the fire used in it through the size of its smoke
hole (damper) and fresh air inlet (draught). The smaller the
shelter, the lower the smoke level.
To be comfortable in a small shelter where the smoke level
is within a metre of the ground, you must recline and not
use an elevated bed. Dry, good quality, smokeless fuel is
more important here than in open-fronted shelters.
A shelter with a long cone acts more like a chimney drawing
out the smoke, but more cover material is needed. A
good air inlet at floor level also helps, but this may create
uncomfortable draughts in parts of the shelter. This may
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
An enclosed shelter with an open fire functions much like
a large stove with a small fire in its centre.
be overcome by the use of channels in the floor or under the
elevated beds. The Plains teepee employs a structure known
as a dew cloth that allows the draught for the fire to pass
overhead.
With a low smoke ceiling the sleeping benches should be
raised just above the discomfort of the moist or cold ground.
Elevating the fire on a pile of stones also raises the smoke
ceiling. The larger the smoke hole, the higher the smoke
level. A compromise must be struck between the smoke
level and the amount of precipitation the opening allows into
the shelter. If you can stay below it by stooping, the smoke
Smoke levels inside a shelter u>ith an open fire.
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SHELTERCRAn
level is high enough.
In some earth covered and underground shelters the
smoke hole may be the only fresh air inlet for both fire and
occupants. It also serves as the skylight or window and the
only entrance into the shelter.
One method of constructing the semi-subterranean
shelter.
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Three methods of making a sod roof.
182
A thin-shelled shelter cools quickly when its fire is out.
A shelter with enough thermal mass, such as a subterranean
one, absorbs heat from the fire during the day. When the
fire is out, the smoke hole is closed to retain the warmed
air, doing away with the need to stoke a fire at night.
The partially-enclosed, open-fire shelters are more portable
than other structures as no stove or stove-pipe is
required and the shelter covering is often light. The fire provides
illumination so a lamp is not required. 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Enclosed Shelters
Enclosed shelters arc the most efficient and fuel conservative.
They capture a bubble of warmed air produced by
a stove, fireplace and/or the human body. Ideally, this type
of shelter should have sufficient thermal mass and external
insulation to retain enough warmth during the waking
hours to last through the night.
A problem with enclosed shelters, built with natural
materials, is a source of light. It is difficult to find natural
substitutes for glass. Windows that let in light, but exclude
cold, have been made of parchmcnt. gut and ice slabs. A
fireplace provides light, but a stove is usually so wellenclosed
that it is a poor light source.
The enclosed shelters that use body warmth as their main
heat source require a highly insulativc shell of a low thermal
mass. The better-known of these shelters arc made of
snow, such as snow houses (igloos), quinzies and snow
caves. The Inuit also used a semi-subterranean structure
called the kugcri or qasgiq, constructed on similar principles
as the traditional snow house, that functioned like the conical
earth covered shelters. Some also used an insulated tent
that trapped body heat.
Snow shelters are at their best when the temperature is
less than -15°C; when there are no problems from moisture
and dripping; and, clothing does not become overly wet in
building or hollowing out the structure.
When there are no tools for gathering firewood, or fuel is
scarce, the enclosed snow shelter may make life easier.
Instead of transporting a shelter, the building tools are carried
or made on fhc spot from local materials. It may take
longer to make a snow structure than to erect a tent, but
this is offset when breaking camp as there is nothing to take
down.
The properly built snow shelter has many ideal features.
The shelter is well-insulated with a low thermal mass that
is easily warmed. It is as dry as any shelter can be under
the circumstances and is sound and windproof. The shelter
can be constructed to provide more or less room, depending
on immediate needs. The interior of the shelter is bright and
psychologically uplifting.
There are many wTays a snow shelter can be built. If there
arc large drifts, you can tunnel into them in a variety of
ways. Make a large opening for easy excavation then close
it off with snow blocks.
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S HELTERCRAFT
Making artificial blocks.
The wooden snow shouel.
185 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
If consolidated snow or drifts deep enough for shelter construction
arc unavailable, then powder}' snow is heaped up,
allowed to set for a few hours then hollowed out. Snow may
also be heaped up and packed. Blocks are then cut for use
in building a hollow structure.
Snow that is disturbed, compacted or mixed, tends to consolidate
and can be handled in blocks or slabs. Mixing the
snowr pushes the crystals together so they weld to one
another. The moister, warmer layers of snow near the
ground fuse with the colder crystals near the top of the snow.
Consolidation takes as little time as half an hour and as
much as two hours. If cxcavated too soon, the mound may
collapse. If allowed to set too long, the snow becomcs so firm
it is difficult to work.
Using a "skin" to exclude loose snow in building a
Quinze.
186 
SHELTEKCMArr
Loose snow less than 30 centimetres deep is a poor construction
material for snow shelters. It can be packed in
small lots, allowed to set for at least tour hours then
transported in block form. Once packed, it should not be
walked on or the blocks made from it will crumble.
The most useful tools in snowwork are shovels and
carpenter-like saws. A snowshoe can substitute for a shovel,
especially if the tip is rounded. A wooden shovel, similar to
a canoe paddle in outline (with a slightly scooped blade), can
be used in much the same way as a canoe paddle to move
snow.
A thin-bladed knife for cutting blocks can be carved from
wood. Both the blade and handle should be about elbow to
finger tip long. The long handle allows for more leverage
when making cuts. Skis can be used for both packing snow
and cutting blocks. Cutting blocks in dense drifts with a proper
saw is hard work to begin with, so these makeshift tools
may be slow and tiresome to use.
When the snowT is poorly consolidated and you have only
sticks to cut with, then a supporting framework of alder or
willow wands will simplify construction. If the framework
material is frozen it may be too brittle to wrap and weave
in the usual manner. The solution is to tie together the
wands making the arches and to tie the arches to each other
wherever they cross. The irregular blocks may be leaned
against the framcwrork to build a solid shell, which will
become a stable domed structure the instant it is completed.
The floor of the shelter is packed and. if necessary, more
snow is added to a thickness of about 30 centimetres. The
butts of the wands are now inserted deep enough to stay
anchored in place. In shallow snow, a block foundation may
have to be laid down and the wands inserted into it. The
framework must be rigid enough to support the weight of
the snow blocks. The construction should procccd in an
even fashion up the sides of the structure. When the sides
arc partially built, the roof blocks may be placed to
counteract the upward thrust of the framework. After the
structure has been completed and the snow has set lor a
short while, a door may be cut out and the framework
removed if necessary.
The framework can be covered with fabric or boughs then
heaped with loose snow\ Snow crusts leaned against the
framework can be banked up to their upper edge, at which
point another tier is leaned against, the framework and the
process repeated.
187 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
Sequence in constructing a Quinze.
Floor plan of a Quinze.
188 
SIIELTERCRAFT
The ideal shelter is difficult to achieve with wilderness
materials.
189 
NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
The shelter floor can be covcred with anything insulative
such as boughs or grass. A well allows the heavier cold air
near the top of the floor to drain off. Do not scrape away the
snow to the bare ground inside the snow structure. Normally,
under good snow cover, a temperature of about -3°C
to - 5 °C will be found at ground level regardless of how cold
it is above the snow. Ground at this temperature still acts
like a heat sink when it is near a body at 37°C. Although
snow cannot be warmer than zero, it is still more insulative
and reflective than cold ground at -5°C. To counteract this,
about 15 ccntimetrcs of packed snow should cover the
ground.
190 
7
THE BIRCHES
Birch is one of the more beautiful and useful
trees of the Northern Forests.
THE PAPER BIRCH
There are at least 30-40 species of birch often recognized
by their smooth, white bark. The whiteness or silvery color
results from air trapped between the cells. The air acts as
insulation and keeps both the tree trunk and sap cool. This
prevents the sap from rising prematurely in the spring when
freezing may damage the tree s cells. Birch—one of the most
northerly of trees—is capable of withstanding the merciless
arctic summer sun striking at a low angle lor 24 hours a day
with an intensity never found in the tropics. The tree's
ability to tolerate the sun shining on all sides of its trunk
is not a common trait in the plant kingdom.
The paper birch may be found growing in the Arctic tundra
as a severely beset dwarf whose roots are never more
than a few centimetres from permanently frozen soil. It is
also found growing in more southerly latitudes as a stately
tree at least 25 metres tall and up to 45 centimetres in
diameter.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
The birch is a vigorous colonizer of abandoned clearings.
Birchcs were among the first trees to move North in the
wake of the receding glaciers during the last ice age. and
probably for all the other ice ages since the mid-Cretaceous.
Pure stands of birch generally indicate a well-drained
sandy or silty loam that is not ideally suited for agriculture.
The birch can tolerate poor soil, but not shade. Birch stands
arc never dark. The trees grow widely spaced with open
crowns that throw a light shadow, allowing shade-loving
plants to thrive beneath them.
In the fall, each of the tree's cones produce hundreds of
tiny, winged nutlets that are carried away on the slightest
breeze. When the tree is cut down, the stump normally
sends up numerous shoots that perpetuate the original tree.
The tree trunk is easily killed by fire, but can quickly
reproduce itself by developing shoots. As a result, it does
well in burnt and cut-over areas.
The birch is relatively short-lived, maturing in about 80
years although it may occasionally attain an age of 140
yeau*s. Trees over 100-ycars-old make poor lumber due to
degeneration.
192 
THE BIRCHES
Splir and dried birch is one of the best firewoods in the
Northern Forests. Tamarack is the only northern wood
approaching birch in heat value.
The following tabic gives the approximate heat value per
cord (80 cubic feet of solid wood or 32 cubic metres) of dry
wood in millions of B.T.U.'s.
Most Oaks 29.0
Ash 23.5
Birch 23.5
Tamarack 22.5
Jack Pine 18.5
Most Spruces 17.0
Aspen 16.5
Balsam Fir 15.5
As a firewood in northern or mountainous regions, birch
is superior to aspen, balsam fir and pine. It burns with a
brilliant flame and produces a lasting, intense heat. Highly
esteemed for its pleasant aroma, it is also the principal
firewood in Scandinavia and other northern or alpine lands.
Birch is never found naturally seasoned in the forest as it
begins to rot as soon as it dies. The green wood burns
passably well, especially if split into many pieces. Birch also
makes a high-quality charcoal for gunpowder and steel
making.
Carving Birch
Birch was the only dense and heavy hardwood available
for everyday applications for the Northern peoples. It carves
well and machines on a lathe to a smooth finish—a property
for which it is renowned. Compared to other hardwoods, the
birch's rings, grain and pores are all obscure. Although the
grain is obscure, it is definitely noticeable when working the
wood. The fine pores or veins throughout its substance
results in a dull, lusterless texture that takes a satin finish.
The color is an even cream to pale yellow-brown. There is
little difference in appearance between the heartwood and
sapwood. If the tree is injured, the heartwood may turn a
more contrasting light brown.
As long as birch is kept dry and used indoors it is a good
furniture wood. The wood rots very quickly if kept damp and
in contact with the ground. Birch does not bend as well as
other woods used in furniture-making, but will nonetheless
meet the needs of the Northern bushcrafter.
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NORTHERN BUSHCRA FT
Small diameter trees with the bark intact make good
handles for tanged tools, such as files and wood chisels. The
tang may be driven into the green wood without pre-drilling.
A few handles may split but those that do not last for a long
time. The handles are impact resistant, and rarely work
loose.
Hewing Toboggan Planks. Although other woods, such
as dry tamarack may be used, green birch is preferred when
building the traditional toboggan. The boards used may be
from three to four metres long, three-quarters of a centimetre
to one centimetre thick and from eight to 18 centimetres
wide. The last dimension is determined by the
diameter of locally available trees. A toboggan 35 centimetres
wide, made of two boards, requires a tree at least
30 centimetres in diameter. Ideally, a toboggan is built of
two boards, though more commonly with three and if
necessary, with four.
The wood at the lowest part of the trunk bends the best
and is therefore reserved for the upturned portion of the
toboggan. The wood closest to the bark is also more flexible.
A birch log 30 to 35 centimetres in diameter should yield
two boards 18 to 20 centimetres wide. The log is split by
chopping out grooves four centimetres deep on the top and
bottom, through which the split is made with an axe or
wedges. The central portion of the trunk is hewed near
enough to the bark to ensure the making of a 20-centimetre
wide board. When dressed down and dried, this board
should be about 18 centimetres wide. The hewed boards,
if planed with a carpenter's jack plane, should be about one
194 
THE BIRCHES
Hewing out toboggan planks with an axe.
centimetrc thick for a final finished thickness of threequarters
of a centimetre. The boards must be flat, true and
even.
Hew the boards by leaning them against a tree and work
on each bottom half in turn, or "dog" the logs horizontally
to bed logs to hew them. Strings rubbed with charcoal are
strung and snapped down to provide guide lines for straight
hewing. To remove wood, the face that is worked on is
scored to as regular a depth as possible and the wood is
hewed to the bottom of the scores. Someone who is
experienced in this work may take up to six hours to make
two boards.
Although a passable job can be done with the axe alone,
the boards are usually finished with a carpenter's plane or
crooked knife.
Birch Sap
Birch sap is best collected before the buds open in the
spring. Although the sap has some sugar, it tastes like birchflavoured
distilled water. The root pressure sent up by the
tree is quite strong. Pruning birch trees in the spring can
cause a considerable loss of sap.
To tap a tree, cut into the wood proper where the sap rises
through the vessels in the outer layers of the wood. By using
195 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
a herring-bone pattern, a litre of sap may be collected daily.
The sap can be used directly as a drink or shampoo. As a
drink, some Russian people hold the sap in high esteem as
a useful tonic for anaemia, gout, scurvy and rheumatism
in particular. Enormous quantities of sap are evaporated to
make a syrup or sugar resembling that of maple. The sap
can be made into either a form of mild vinegar or a light
alcoholic beverage.
Here is an ancient recipe:
To every Gallon of Birch-Water put a Quart of
Honey well stilled together, ihen boil it almost an
hour with a f ew cloves, and a little Lemon-peel,
keeping it well scum'd; when it is sufficiently
boil'd and become cold, add to it three or four
Spoonfuls of good Ale, to make it work, which it
will do like new Ale; and when the Yeast begins
to settle, bottle it up as you do other Winey
Liquors, it will in a competent time become a
most brisk and spirituous Drink, which is a very
powerful Opener—Moses Cook (1717), The Manner
of Raising, Ordering and Improving
Forest-Trees.
196 
THE BIRCHES
When the sap is not running, an emergency source of
water can be obtained by falling a birch downhill, cutting
off the top then collecting the flow which should emerge
within half an hour.
Birch Twigs and their Use
Birch twigs are an important accessory in the Finnish
sauna. Handfuls of fresh or dried twigs with the leaves on
(about elbow to fingertip long) arc tightly bound with one
of the twigs. The bundle is then used as a fan to circulate
Twisting birch to make it flexible.
197 
NORTHERN BUSHCRA FT
the hot air in a steam bath, to sprinkle water on the roeks
and to drive heat deeper into the body by gently slapping
the skin and leaving the wet leaves against the skin for a
few moments.
A birch twig made flexible by twisting has many applications
as a simple binding. It can be used for tying rails on
fences, closures on gates, sheaves of grain and so on.
The twigs can be fashioned into a broom that is useful as
a spring-toothed rake around barns, gardens and foundry
floors, ft can also be used for beating out fires in controlled
burning of forest and field.
Twigs are cut in the winter, dried and bound into tight
bundles. The thick ends are left even and a short stick is
forced between them to act as a handle. Smaller bundles are
useful as whisks for eggs and sauccs or in the manufacture
of vinegar. The twigs are also used in bough beds, roof thatching.
weaving of rough baskets, wicker fences and as a base
in road construction.
The winter twigs provide a bait for snaring ruffed grouse
which feed heavily on birch buds. A fcncc can be fashioned
from boughs and sticks with openings in which snares arc
set. Handfuls of twigs are stood up on each side of the fence.
A grouse feeding on one handful may attempt to pass
through an opening to another handful and, as a result,
become entangled in the snare.
Birch Bark
Birch bark is composed of both papery and corky layers.
For situations where the paper or outer bark is desired, it
is best harvested in the months of May and June when it
requires the least effort to remove. The bark comes off so
easily it can be damaged as it falls away from the trunk. To
remedy this, spiral a string around the trunk to hold the bark
in place. From late fall to early spring, the two barks may
adhere so tenaciously that separating them is both Lime consuming
and damaging to the paper bark.
The papery or more precisely, leather-like layer is used
for containers and canoe construction. The inner corky bark
is much thicker than the papery layer and has entirely different
properties. In some forms of canoe construction the
twTo are used together and provide a thicker skin requiring
less sheathing and ribs. Removing the outer bark and leaving
the corky layer intact will disfigure the tree, but not kill
198 
THE BIRCHES
it, though the exposed inner bark will no longer form paper
layers. Inner bark allowed to regenerate for a few years can
be peeled off, weighed down and dried flat for use as a table
Lop, or a cutting board for filleting fish.
The inner bark contains some starch and can be ground
up and used as an emergency food. Native Northerners
believed that the tea drink derived from the inner bark could
help sustain a flagging libido.
The dry distillation of the bark of various species of birch
produces different oils for a variety of applications. The
sweet birch BeLula lenLa produces an oil identical to wintergreen
oil. A cord of branches and stems will produce approximately
two kilograms of oil. The bark is distilled at a high
temperature and the oil produced is used for tanning leather,
especially the renowned Cuir de Russie or Russian leather
that has a birch-like odor. This dark-brown, viscous oil is
useful in folk medicine and for repelling insects.
An oil derived from the inner bark is a preservative for tarring
sails, nets and cordage in outdoors applications.
The best outer bark is gathered in winter when it is both
the firmest and the most difficult to remove. Spring bark is
second best. The thin, dark-brown spring bark layer can be
moistened and scraped away to produce a contrast with the
lighter colored bark underneath. Bark gathered in midsummer
to the middle of fall separates into layers more readily.
The inside surface of this outer bark is golden or yellowish
in color. The best bark comes from sound trees.
Bark from dead trees has limited uses. The older the bark,
the more brittle and unsuitable it is for folded baskets
(though useful for crudely woven ones). The best effect is
achieved by weaving strips of bark torn out along the grain
with the lingers rather than cut into regular strips. The same
weaving techniques for spruce splint baskets may be used.
Individual trees have certain peculiarities. Ideal basketmaking
bark may be found in one tree out of 20. Bark that
will separate into a paper-like single ply for writing on is rare.
Birch bark writing paper is very enduring. A clearly legible
mark made with anything sharp-pointed will far outlast ink
or pencil. India ink or ball point pen write well on birch bark.
The internal characteristics of the bark can be determined
to a certain extent from exterior clues. It is a waste to begin
peeling a tree only to discover that the bark is unsuitable.
The desirable qualities may be verified by first prying out
a small flap about a centimetre wide. The bark is then
examined for thickness and tendency to separate into layers.
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NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
The diameter of the tree is not a reliable elue to the thickness
of the bark. For canoe building, the bark should be at least
three millimetres thick. A careful cut is made to avoid injuring
the inner bark and the flap is pressed back if the bark
is found to be unsuitable. A tree that appears to pass the
test should be subjected to more thorough bending, twisting
and folding on a slightly larger flap.
Examine the bark surface closely for fissuring in the lenticels.
Long lenticels may have pin holes through the bark,
and a bark that tears easily along the grain. Old trees and
and those found growing in shady environments tend to
have deeply-fissured lenticels. A tree that sheds a lot of bark
is likely to be thin-skinned.
Bark below the snow line tends to be inferior to bark found
higher up. Iiowever, on occasion it will be superior by being
thicker, tougher, more resilient and separation-resistant.
Before the tree is cut down the lower bark may first be peeled
as high as can be rcachcd from the ground. Where there is
some concern that the bark may be damaged when the tree
falls, or if the tree is to be left standing with only the outer
bark removed, a ladder is used to reach the higher bark.
Some bark gatherers purposely hang up the tree above
the ground or cut a tall stump with the trunk remaining
attached to hold the tree off the ground. Others purposely
"barber chair" the tree by cutting it on the side opposite
from its direction of fall (in the hope that the tree trunk will
be suspended well above the ground).
If the tree falls flat, it may have to be sectioned so that it
can be rolled over to remove the bark.
Puiy>osely barber chairing a birch tree.
200 
THE BIRCIIES
Examine the trunk to determine where to make the best
cut down its side. Cut through a flaw, rather than leave it
in the middle of the sheet. If a tree leans, it may peel best
on the leaning side. A wooden wedge is used to loosen
enough of the bark to provide a good grip for the hands. The
more intact the bark is to remain, the greater the care
needed in the early stages of loosening. The bark is peeled
a little at a time all the way along the trunk. In some cases,
hot water is poured over the bark and into the separation
to facilitate removal. The areas of bark that have grown over
old branch stubs may have to be pounded gently to loosen
the bark.
Bark tends to curl in the opposite direction from the
natural curve around the tree. To counteract this action roll
it with the underside out at 90 degrees to the natural curling
tendency. To help flatten the fresh bark or roll it up for
transport and storage, warm the inside surface with a torch.
This may be either a twig torch or one made on the spot
by splitting the end of a stick and inserting folds of thin birch
bark. The bark is rolled up with the inside surface to the outside
then tied with cord or spruce roots.
The bark is at its best when used as soon as it is removed.
It should be kept in the shade and as cool as possible. When
stored moist or underwater, the natural oils will not
evaporate as readily, but the bark may mildew and become
discolored.
Methods of loosening birch bark.
201 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Birch bark contains natural waxes that make it waterproof,
remarkably rot resistant and flammable: properties
that make it an excellent wet weather kindling. Rolls of large
pieces of bark make good torches and a rope twisted of thin
layers makes a form of candle. The bark burns with a sooty
flame producing a characteristic odor that readily clings to
clothing. Some Natives claim that animals detect this odor
and may avoid it thereby adversely affect hunting success.
Birch Bark Articles
Many forms of baskets can be crafted with birch bark.
Some are quickly made and as quickly discarded, while
others will last 100 years.
Temporary Utility Container. A rectangular bark container
can be made in minutes by folding the corners and
pinning them in place with clothespin-like clamps, or by
using a few spruce root stitches. The corners can be made
with the folds to the inside or the outside. Wide containers
may need four pins and narrow ones only two. To make
sharp folds at the corners without cracking the'bark. heat
it gently at the point where the fold is to be made. This container
is particularly useful for containing hot grease or
pitch, and as a result, is usually short-lived.
Simple Stitched Basket. Wherever clamps arc used, they
may be replaced with a few well-placed root stitches. Greater
durability is achieved with split willow stiffeners, combined
with pieces of bark, wrhose grains are oriented at 90 degrees
to each other.
The Reinforced Rim. The strongest baskets have a rigid
and durable rim. The rim may be attached with the quick
spiral stitch or the more involved whip stitch. The whip
stitch may also be applied at intervals. With split willow,
a long, tapered lap joint makes a smoother looking rim. The
joint on the inner rim should be on the opposite side of the
basket from the one on the outer rim. If the rims are preformed
and dried they are easier to manage and less clamping
is required. A section of rim is clamped and stitched
and the clamps removed as the work progresses, or the
clamps arc leap-frogged along.
The Mocock. This is a traditional basket form determined
by the character of the particular bark used and howr it may
best be formed into a sturdy basket. The basket with its rectangular
bottom that is larger than the round or oval rim.
202 
7'HE H1RCIIES
A folded birch bark box.
203 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
A temporary birch bark container.
is noted to be particularly stable for setting on uneven
ground. The pattern can be altered to obtain a variety of
shapes. To be assured of proper symmetry during construction.
an accurate template of the pattern is made and the
basket's shape established with pegs. The bark is warmed
to facilitate folding and everything is held in place with
204 
THE BIRCHES
Simple stitched baskets.
wooden pegs, buckthorn spines or nails which are removed
as the stitching progresses. All the seams are double stitched.
The rim is completed last. When clamps are not
available the rim reinforcements are pre-formed. It is possible
to make a waterproof mocock without having to pitch
the seams if fresh bark is used, the folds are made carefully
and sewn with roots of regular thickness.
205 
NORTHERN BUSHCRA FT
The shallow water-tight birch bark basket.
206 
THE BIRCHES
The Moose Megaphone. A birch bark cone used to
amplify the voice when calling moose. The cone can be stitched
only part way up the narrow part as the hand will only
go so far into it. A decorative stitch may be used on the large
end and a turkshcad knot made of conifer root can be forccd
over the small end to hold the cone together where it is not
stitched.
Moose megaphone dimensions.
Detail of durable rim construction.
207 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Some of the more useful seam stitches used with birch
bark.
208 
THE BIRCHES
Detail of stitching a Mocock.
The razor-strop fungus found, on birch.
209 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
Birch bark shoes woven from strips of bark that are three
or four metres long. The bark must be cut off the tree in a
spiral to obtain such long weaving strips.
210 
TIIE DIRCIIES
THE ALDERS
The alders arc recognized by their broad, oval, doubletoothed
leaves and by their catkins or hanging flower
clusters. The woody cones that remain on the alder after the
nutlets have dropped instantly differentiate this tree from
the closely related birch or any other northern tree. The
male and female flowers are separate. They are formed in
the autumn and remain on the tree throughout the winter.
Alders have nodules on the roots which, like the peas and
the clovers, harbour micro-organisms that change
atmospheric nitrogen into nutritive protein. This allows the
tree to thrive in nitrogen-deficient soils.
The common alder has a frustrating tendency to overgrow
scismie lines, old trails and other clearings in the forest. An
old trail overgrown by alder is worse than thick bush to walk
through.
As a firewood, dead alder is easy to gather and break into
small pieces without the use of tools. The light, dry wood
burns fast and its pleasant smoke eases a headache. Green
alder was used for smoke-curing fish and meat—one of its
more important applications in the Northern Forest.
The long, flexible wands found in dense stands are useful
when constructing various arch-type shelters. Branches are
easily torn off by hand.
When a green alder is cut., or the bark injured, the wound
turns yellow, then orange and finally a deep red, as though
the tree were bleeding. In the past, the popular imagination
looked upon this as signifying real blood, and the tree
became a symbol of evil. The Ingalik Indians, lor example,
thought that the handling of cut alder was detrimental to
one's hunting success, and analogous to associating with
menstruating women before the hunt.
The tips of alder twigs were boiled, dried and pulverized
for use wTith (or without) mint leaves as incense or to cure
headaches. FirsL a rock was heated on the fire, rolled out,
then sprinkled with alder powder, and the smoke breathed
in. The strong odors from cooking wild meat can be cleared
from a cabin by sprinkling the incense on a hot stove.
The twigs have a sufficiently high tannin content for use
as an astringent. An astringent causcs tissue to become
more compact, such as in the contraction of a muscle fiber,
blood vessels or the coagulation of protoplasm of the surface
cells, thus diminishing either discharge or bleeding
211 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR AFT
from an external or internal body surface. In the case of a
wound or sore, discharge is reduced or stopped, tissue tone
improved and healing quickened if the water in which alder
bark has been boiled is used as a wash. A moist poultice of
the inner bark can be applied to wounds that, bleed profusely.
With the use of a mordant (a substance which fixes coloring
matter to another substance) such as alum, five colors
can be obtained from alder. The bark will producc a tawnyred
that changes to black with the addition of copperas
(hydrated ferrous sulphate). The fresh wood will give a
pinkish-fawn dye. the catkins a green, and the young shoots
a yellow color.
212 
8
THE CONIFERS
The conifers provide the most readily accessible
and abundant raw materials for crafting
and survival.
WHITE SPRUCE
The white spruce is one of the more widely distributed
trees in Canada.
To identify white spruce look for the following points:
1) The buds and twig tips are hairless between the needles.
2) The branches tend to go straight out from the trunk on
the lower part of the tree and upwards on the upper part of
the tree.
3) The crushed needles arc aromatic, with an odor
reminiscent of cat urine. The needles are often covered with
a white bloom. The needles will roll between the tightly
pressed thumb and forefinger.
4) A silvery-white inner bark is revealed when the outer
bark is carefully shaved away.
White sprucc wood has no taste or odor which makes it
suitable for food containers. It carves easily, takes a high
sheen when sanded and its superior resonance makes it a
213 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
good wood for stringed musical instruments. It is an
excellent wood for paddles and oars.
The smoke from white spruce is as irritating to the eyes
and lungs as that of black spruce. It is used as a firewood
only because it is more common than most other woods.
The preferred resin for making the caulking pitch for birch
bark canoes is gathered from white spruce. Collect the resin
in early spring. Remove a long, vertical strip of bark two to
three centimetres wide from Ihe trunk, chopping out a reservoir
at its lower end to collect the resin. The fresh resin is
214 
THE CONIFERS
heated and mixed with powdered charcoal and fat to make
a pitchy mixture that will not crack if dribbled on a piece
of birch bark. If too thin, it will run with the heat of the sun.
If too thick, it will crack when flexed.
Many trees may be found within a given area with the bark
ripped off in long strips by bears. They expose the cambium
layer to obtain the sweet sap. The sap is also used by
humans as an emergency food.
Whenever any conifer is injured, an emission seals off the
wound. This is an oleorcsin which originates in ducts found
in the sapwood. When the volatile substance in the oleorcsin
evaporates, it becomes more and more viscous until the
familiar hard and brittle spruce resin forms. This is an
excellent fire-starter (see Chapter I). For a heat or light
source in a snow shelter, a small fire can be maintained by
using this resin as fuel. Build a tiny fire with twigs on a flat
Mosses commonly found in the spruce-moose forest.
215 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
rock or a board covcrcd with earth and add a lump of resin
whenever needed. A chimney may have to be made directly
above the sooty fire or everything in the shelter will become
grimy.
If pounded together with charcoal, the resin forms an
inferior glue that is sticky when hot. The glue is used for
setting arrowheads and spear points on their shafts before
they arc bound on. The glue fills the voids and prevents any
movement of the projectile point in its binding.
If chewed like gum, the hardened resin causes considerable
salivation and spitting. It was popular in the era
before chicklet chewing gum became commercially
available. Ingalik women claimed that chewing spruce gum
caused an increase in bust size. The chewed gum was also
used in an emergency as an inferior substitute for caulking
birch bark canoes.
A variety of spruce known as Porsild white spruce, has
a smooth bark displaying small blisters containing a saplike
oleorcsin. It is an excellent antiseptic for cuts, wounds,
and burns. Applied fresh, the resin thickens as the volatile
principle evaporates, becoming as sticky as the resin of
balsam fir. The fresh olcorcsin is covcrcd with cattail fluff,
cloth, thin birch bark or tissue paper. Large wounds may
require more resin and protective layers. The wound is bandaged
or protected for a few hours until the volatile component
of the resin is dissipated by body heat, after which the
resin and covering material may stay on of their own accord.
The resin provides the antiseptic and the binding and the
flijff protects the wound from abrasion. Resin may be
removed from clothes or skin with turpentine.
The roots of pines, spruces and tamaracks are useful for
lashing, lacing or weaving. The roots of the black spruce are
superior to those of the white spruce.
White spruce boughs can be used for making insulative
and springy beds, waterproof thatch for shelters, and an
intense, white smoke for signal fires.
BLACK SPRUCE
Black and white spruce share much the same geographic
range. White spruce requires dryer conditions while black
spruce grows in dry or wet soil, often associating with
216 
THE CONIFERS
Sphagnum bogs. The only other tree that fares better in a
bog is tamarack. Black spruce has Ihe unique property
among the spruce of propagating through layering when its
lower branches rest on the ground. The wood from black
spruce is white, soft and resilient.
Black spruce differs from white spruce in the following
manner:
1) On close examination or with a magnifying glass, the
twig tips between the needles are covered with line, short,
brown hairs.
2) The branches tend to point downward at the trunk. A
black spruce is easier to limb from the top down, as opposed
to other trees. The black sprucc is rejected as a Christmas
tree because of its unkempt, ragged appearance.
3) The needles are a dark, bluish-green without luster or
a whitish bloom.
4) The live inner bark is a deep olive-green.
5) The needle resists rolling between tightly pressed
a) Spruce splints are being woven into a basket, The bottom
has been completed and the splints are held in place
with cord or a fine spruce root.
b) The basket corners are folded up.
217 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
Samuel Heme, who observed the Native people's way of
life before the advent of European trade goods, found it difficult
to believe they did not have iron woodworking tools.
The wood and bark implements were marvels of handiwork
made with wood or antler splitting wedges, beaver teeth
dressing and mortising chisels, stone scrapers and certain
abrasive sands and stones. The Natives fully exploited
woods like black spruce that could be worked to a uniform
thickness with these simple tools. (Knotless, straightgrained,
green black spruce can be split 90 degrees to the
218 
THE CONIFERS
Completing the rim of the spruce splint basket.
219
grain into splints of a millimetre thickness. These splints
arc readily woven into durable baskets.)
Careful examination of the wood surface under the bark
will give you an idea of the grain's nature by a faint grain
line. The checks in nearby dead trees are also a useful guide
to the nature of the grain of the living ones.
Natural knot-free wood is occasionally found on the side
of the trunk facing the interior of a clump. Natives would 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
The cross section of a conifer.
220 
THE CONIFERS
limb growing trees so their children and grandchildren
would be assured of knot-free wood.
Although black spruce is a soft wood, the tree will also produce
a very tough wood. If the tree leans and attempts to
right itself, the annual rings will be found to be much wider
on the outside of the resulting curve. These wider rings are
redder in color than the rest of the wood. This wood is useful
for making tough, durable wedges used in splitting.
Another special wood is found where the transition from
trunk to root occurs. This wood is more tenacious than the
regular wood and makes good bowls and mauls.
Spruce Roots
Spruce roots have many applications as lashings, dead fall
trigger mechanisms, lacing and sewing for bark containers
and canoes, whipping, basket weaving, nets, and recreational
crafts.
The ideal placc to gather roots is a deep Spagnum bog
where the water is close to the surface. In shallow moss, the
roots growing into the ground are more irregular and
kinked. If possible, avoid patches of Labrador tea or willows,
as the roots of these plants interfere with the gathering process.
Remove the moss until a large number of roots arc
exposed before you start gathering them. Each root must
How willow wands or spruce roots are split.
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NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
be followed along and released from the moss. Pulling may
break it or those roots crossing it.
Remove the bark from the roots immediately or keep them
wet, as debarking becomes difficult if the root dries.
The spruce root ring.
222 
THE CONIFERS
Unpeeled roots may be kepi in water for months without
affecting their quality, but they may become discolored.
From mid-May until about mid-August the bark peels easily.
Sometimes peeling can be accomplished with the fingers
alone, but usually a root-stripper is required. Each root is
trimmed, split, and coiled for later use. If the roots are to
be used within the next day or so, they are kept moist. Otherwise,
they should be dried. To restore suppleness soak or
boil the roots. The roots gain strength by being dried and
soaked once, but repeated drying and soaking has a
detrimental effect.
Roots thicker than the little finger must be split as they
are too large for most applications. The split is started at the
thicker end with a thumb nail, awl, knife or by biting with
the eye tooth. If the split runs off to the side it is centered
by bending the thicker part more than the thinner part.
Halves of equal thickness must bend equally for the split
to remain centered. If you wish to end the split, severely
bend one of the halves. A smaller root may be split in half,
a larger one may be split in quarters, and a root the
thickness of the little finger may produce eight or more plys
of various cross-sections.
The difference between conifer roots and most other sewing
materials is that the fresh or soaked root is supple while
being used and dries to retain the shape it has been put into.
The ends do not have to be anchored, and when dry, they
are cut off flush with the surface of the material being sewn
without any danger of them pulling out.
Sewing with spruce roots is really a form of lacing as a
needle is not used and the sewing hole is produced with an
awl. The sewing is done with the thin end of the root, and
because the other end is thicker, it. fits tightly into the hole
when drawn through. This makes the hole watertight and
the sewing holds more firmly. Once a few stitches have been
made, a consistently strong pull is made on the root with
each stitch. Eventually, the pull will break the root
indicating the need to change to a new root and discarding
whatever remains of the old one. This ensures a consistent,
Light and regular stitch.
The most attractive stitching is with split or half-round
roots. Occasionally, the root must be given a half-twist in
the stitch so that its smooth exterior remains on the outside
where it is visible.
The Turkshead Knot. This is a spruce root ring with
numerous applications. Depending on its size, it may be a
223 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
ring for the finger, a ehoker for a neckerchief, a beret for the
hair, or a napkin ring. It may be driven onto the end of the
wood handle of a file, chisel or awl to keep it from splitting.
Sewn on to a lid of a birch bark basket, or driven on the end
of a walking stick, the knot makes a decorative knob.
TAMARACK
Tamarack is a Northern Forest conifer with the unique
trait of dropping its needles every fall. It exhibits many suits
such as the pale soft-green of summer, the golden-yellow or
orange hue of fall, and the desolate, bare tree of winter,
which some people mistake to be dead. The lump at the base
of the needle tufts, the softness of the needles and the light
shadow of the tree all identify tamarack.
Tamarack is associated with muskegs, but on occasion is
found flourishing high and dry of its normally sopping-wet
habitat. Less aggressive and more shade sensitive than its
associates, the tamarack is driven back to the wet conditions
which it can tolerate, but others can not. This attractive tree
will readily transplant into a dry environment. One can
rccognizc bogs at a distance by looking for this tree, a useful
point for avoiding a wet area while travelling through the
bush.
The tamarack or larch.
224 
THE CONIFERS
The fallen needles that cover the moss under the tree in
the fall mysteriously disappear by spring. Grouse feed on
the fallen needles.
The wood is heavier than that of any other tree found in
the Northern Forests. As a firewood, weight for weight, it
produces about the same amount of heat as some mine
coals. The wood is very durable especially in contact with
the ground or submersed in wTater. The pioneers considered
tamarack wood to be poisonous. The slivers fester badly in
the skin and the sawdust can cause a severe rash. The most
durable fence posts come from trees attacked by a beetle.
The healthy tree has a reddish inner bark, while that of the
beetle infested one is bluish. The wood was used in boat construction,
especially for keels and large elbows made from
the root and trunk. Whenever hardness, strength and
durability are required, tamarack is apt to fit the bill. The
tree is seldom found in any large diameter and as such is
used lor fence posts, mine pillars or props, railway tics and
pilings. It is also a good wood for toboggan construction.
Tamarack roots arc not the strongest of the conifers, but
they are the straightest, longest and thinnest. The roots arc
used like those of the black spruce.
The dry roots of the tamarack were used by some Native
peoples to carry fire. The root is supposed to burn like a very
slow fuse, glowing without Ilame until it is consumed—a
property likely unique to tamarack. A hazard exists if a dead
tamarack root leads into a fire site. The fuse-like action of
the root may carry the flame far enough away to be missed
when the fire is put out.
JACK AND LODGEPOLE PINE
The pines are highly-esteemed by the lumber industry.
The wood is of good quality with many applications. The
tree thrives on poor agricultural soils.
Jack pine has a strong affinity for sandy soil. Sighting a
stand of this pine establishes the presence of sand.
A similar pine with many identical applications is the
more majestic Lodgepole pine. It is found from the Rocky
Mountain foothills west to the Pacific coast. It prefers glacial
till, having as much aversion to sand as Jack pine has to
glacial till. The two species readily hybridize whenever they
225 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
come close to each other. The basic distinction between the
two arc the cones. Lodgepole cones are armed with recurved
points whereas the Jack pine cone is smooth. The
IxKigepole cone points back to the trunk of the tree, whereas
in Jack pine the cone tip is directed towards the apex of the
branch and tends to lay close to it.
The pines grow in dense stands that often exclude other
trees. The thick stands and the tree's resinous nature make
it quite vulnerable to running fires. In the days before welldeveloped
fire control, thousands of hectares of pine would
be destroyed every summer, to be replaced by dense doghair
stands. The tough and fire-resistant cones harbor seeds
that remain viable for a long time. The cones drop from the
burned trees and open to free the seeds on fire-burned soil
that is very much to their liking.
Scattered throughout most maturing stands of pine are
the fire charred trunks of the forest that once flourished
before the 1860s. The 1860s and the 1890s must have been
dry years, or years with more than the usual thunderstorm
226 
THE CONIFERS
activity, as few forests in the North escaped the ravages of
fire.
Fire-killed pine seems to contain more resin than those
dying of other causes. The sawdust or wood chips from these
trees have a very pleasant resinous, turpentine scent. The
wood displays a sheen and a glossy smoothness on the cut
of a sharp knife or axe. It is an easy and enjoyable wood to
carve, suitable for a variety of carving projects. Because the
resin makes the wood taste of turpentine, it is unsuitable
for eating utensils.
Because of the weather resistant properties of the resin
content, straight-grained and knot-free fire-killed pine may
be split into shingles or shakes that may last four times
longer than cedar. The resin can be extracted to produce
a sticky tar. Fill a pail with split pieces of resinous wood and
invert it on to a piece of sheet metal, under which a fire is
built. A crease in the metal will collect the tar. The tar is
useful for dressing wounds on trees and animals and for
coating wooden cross-country skis.
Fire-killed pine was not always available, so green pine
was used to make shingles. As green pine splits poorly,
shingles were shaved off blocks of pine wood by a
horsedrawn broad axe pulled in a circle about a pivot. These
shingles were of a low resin content and had to be nailed
on a roof so air could circulate under them to allow quick
drying after a rain, otherwise they would soon rot.
Both the resin contcnt and the carving quality of pine
wood make it a good kindling. In open fires this resinous
wood is irritating to the eyes and lungs. In a stove it is fastburning
and produces an intense heat although the B.T.U.s
per cord are rather low when compared to birch or tamarack.
Pine soot, notorious for accumulating in stove pipes, creates
a fire hazard if not cleaned out regularly. The soot, which
is mostly carbon, can ignite under the right circumstances
to produce a white-hot glowing stove pipe that may ignite
a wall or roof some distance from it.
Pine is esteemed in log construction because it grows
straight and tall with the trees tending to be of similar size
in any given area. The log nearest to the ground in a log
cabin (the sill log) is the key to the longivity of the building.
If the bark is removed on one side of a living pine, the
debarked portion will become saturated with resin to produce
a rot resistant sill log.
Pine wras often used in the production of charcoal for
blacksmithing. To make small quantities of charcoal, build
227 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
Some splitting techniques.
a fire that will quickly burn down to a bed of coals. Suffocate
these with dirt and the charcoal is ready to use when cool.
Larger quantities can be made bv a scaled-down version ot
the traditional method used by professional charcoalmakers.
Charcoal glows with an intensity that is about three
times hotter than normal burning wood. Charred wood will
ignite more readily than plain wood.
228 
THE CONIFERS
Rendering pine tar.
Like spruce, the roots of the pine are used for sewing birch
bark baskets and canoes. They are usually boiled to remove
the bark and to make them more supple.
The stumps and other waste products of cut-over pine
forests may be processed for their high resin content. The
fresh resin may be broken down into turpentine and rosin.
Jack pine was tapped for pitch for caulking baskets and
canoes to make them waterproof. Water bottles woven out
of spruce roots were waterproofed by coating the interior
with crushed resin dust and the bottle gently heated to melt
the resin to complete the sealing process.
BALSAM AND SUB ALPINE FIR
The firs are a common tree in the more southerly parts
of the Northern Forests. The flat needles, smooth, blistered
bark, and upright cones make it an easy tree to identify.
A useful aspect of the tree is the contents of the blisters
on the bark. Like the resin found on the Porsild white spruce,
it is an excellent antiseptic for cuts, burns and scalds. The
balsam resin, which is officially called Canada Balsam, is
also used for mounting cover slips on slides.
229 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
Balsam fir boughs, being of a flat configuration, readily
pack into a dense layer to make a more rain deflective shelter
roof than spruce. The boughs make poorer beds for the same
reason. The tender young tips of the boughs can be used
as pillow stuffing. The fragrance helps to relieve ccrtain
distresses connected with breathing. When the tips are laid
over hot. rocks in a sweat lodge or sauna, a medicinal
atmosphere is created. The rocks should be cool enough that
the branches do not burst into flame or excessive smoke will
result.
The dry wood of the firs seems to throw about as much
heat as black poplar, making it. a poor firewood.
230 
9
THE WILLOWS
This large genus of shrubs and trees provides
a major portion of the raw materials and fuel
for bush living. The willows generally have long,
smooth branches which are slender and pliant.
THE POPLARS
The poplars are members of the willow family. They are
noted for being hardy, vigorous-growing and short-lived colonizers
of spaces cleared by fire, beaver or man. If (.here are
no clearings to fill, the poplar cannot expand because of its
intolerance of shade. In fact, it cannot stand the shade of
its own species, which accounts for the lack of small trees
among adult ones. Trees such as spruce, which are shade
tolerant, use fast-growing poplars lor protection until they
arc sufficiently mature to take care of themselves, by which
time their "nurse trees" have matured and disappeared.
231 
NORTHERN BUS! ICR A rr
QUAKING ASPEN
The quaking aspen is also known as the white poplar, popple
and trembling aspen. Because of their flattened, slender,
very flexible stems, the leaves will quiver with the slightest
air movement. Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in
North America, ranging from the subarctic to the subtropical
regions and from sea level to mountain timberline. Quaking
aspen is commonly found on south facing slopes, welldrained
benches and creek bottoms. Ideal growing conditions
arc rich, moist clay or sandy loams with good drainage
and a water table within two metres. The trees may reach
a height of 24 metres and may live up to 100 years.
Aspen is a host to numerous fungi, all of which, save one.
are harmful to it. One of the most common, known as a conk,
enters the tree through the dead branch stumps and causes
the heartwood to deteriorate. Such a tree can be a hazard
in strong winds because of the reduced strength of the trunk.
By the time the tree is 70-ycars-old. a quarter of its wood
may be affected by this fungus. The wood becomes cither
232 
THE WILLOWS
soft and punky or light and firm like balsa. This material
will glow slowly and can be used to carry lire. The firm,
punky wood makes an excellent board in the bow drill
method of fire-lighting. The dry conk makes a good fire
board as well. The soft, punky heartwood can be used as
towelling for wet or greasy hands.
The sketch pad fungus is also found on poplar. Gathered
alive, it may, as its name suggests, be used for drawings or
writing. Any mark or drawing made on the live, white spore
surface will turn into a clearly contrasting dark brown.
Parasitic mushrooms found on the living tree are
Armellaria mellia, Pholiota squarrosoides and P. squarrosa.
The delectable oyster mushroom, Pleurotus is often
found on dead aspen. A symbiotic associate of aspen is the
interesting and poisonous hallucinogenic Amanita
mLLscaria. The sweetened broth of this fungus is a potent
fly-killer. The root-like structure of A. rnuscaria and the terminal
rootlets of aspen together form a joint structure called
a mvchorrhiza. The fungus derives some of its nutrition
from the structure, but what the tree derives from it is not
clearly understood. Young aspen will die in the absence of
this fungus.
Properly cured aspen wood is quite hard, almost white in
color with a fine uniform texture. It is almost odorless and
tasteless. The wood is suitable for furniture, kitchen utensils
and carving. Aspen is durable like birch only if kept dry
and not allowed ground contact. In pioneer days, it proved
a passable substitute for hickory or ash for the wooden components
of horsedrawn equipment. Aspen doubletrees were
buried in sodden horse manure which improved the
strength and durability of the wood, making it comparable
to that of the eastern hardwoods.
Straight, sound, knot-free trees are selected for woodcarving.
The bark is peeled off in May or June and the tree
allowed to stand or is cut up and stored in a dry place lor
a few years to curc.
Frozen aspen splits remarkably easily. A wooden teepee
or lean-to can be quickly made with the halves.
In the Northern Forests, aspen is second to willow as a
favourite open-firewood because of its good blazing proper-
Lies and pleasant smoke. The coals are short-lived and the
ash is whitish-grey, smooth and fluffy. Sometimes the ash
is employed as a crude baking powder. Canadian aspen was
renowned the world over as a matchwood with an ember
that extinguishes quickly, thereby reducing the chances of
233 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
it blazing up after the flame is extinguished. When water
is scarce for putting out a campfire. aspen may be the
appropriate fuel to use. When required, aspen may be
burned green providing it is split and the starting fire is hot.
Aspen bark is an important food for beaver, moose, elk
and varying hare. Horses can subsist on it when all other
feed is scarce. In winter, it has to be chopped off for the
horses, but in the spring, when the bark comes off easily,
felling the tree is sufficient as the horses can peel the bark
off for themselves.
Like all other Northern Forest trees, aspen will peel easily
from late May to mid-August. The bark can be used to make
first aid splints of all sizes or folded into temporary containers
and cooking vessels for use with hot rocks. As a
234 
THE WILLOWS
shingle it must be tied or weighed down to prevent curling.
It can be used under sod or moss, but is not as durable as
conifer bark and is somewhat inferior to birch bark. The
bark makes a handy flume when collecting water from small
hillside springs.
Like spruce, pine and hemlock, aspen has a substantial
and good-tasting cambium layer that can be scraped off the
surface of the wood in late spring and early summer. This
edible cambium can be dried for future use.
Quaking aspen is commonly known as white poplar, so
named for the chalky white powder that forms on the trunk
of the tree at certain times of the year. Most of the powder
is produced on the side lacing the direct rays of the sun. The
white patches that may be found on any side of the tree are
a white lichen. The chalky material is a reflective sun screen
that prevents the premature rising of sap from the warmth
of the late winter sun. Should the sap rise and freeze, the
tree will be damaged. The powder can be dusted on exposed
skin to help prevent sunburn. Some Native people mixed
the powder with the vitreous humor of the eye balls of large
animals to make a paint for the body or for their artifacts.
The powder can be used as a passable talcum. Stockings
may be turned inside out and gently rubbed in the powder
to reduce chafing.
235 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
If you examine an aspen stand from a distance (even on
an overcast day), the whitish and brighter hue indicates you
are looking north: if the hue is greenish and darker, you are
looking south.
Aspen roots are relatively weak, difficult to gather, and
only suitable for weak bindings.
BLACK POPLAR
Black poplar is faster-growing with a stronger preference
for moisture than aspen. The tree is commonly found in
river valleys, growing the largest on river banks and sandy
islands. The biggest trees are usually associated with large
rivers and lakes. Some trees can attain a height of 30 metres
and a diameter of well over a metre. Like willow, most of
the tree may die save for a narrow strip with a few branches
alive at the top.
The wTood has many properties and applications similar
to aspen, such as the tendency to warp when curing. Slices
of the trunk cure without checking, making this large
diameter tree popular for constructing rustic tables. The sapwrood
is white and the heartwood is brown. The cured wTood
is light-weight, fine-textured and soft. The wood has an
attractive grain that can be stained and finished to resemble
walnut or mahogany. The wood will rot quickly if in contact
with the ground unless it is saturated with moisture,
in which case it makes durable flooring in barns. Dugout
canoes were made from black poplar by the Native peoples
living near large lakes.
Green black poplar wood is higher in moisture content
than any other northern wTood. For this reason the tree is
often struck by lightning and should be avoided during electrical
storms.
Black poplar is the poorest of firewoods, producing the
least heat per given volume of all the trees of the Northern
Forests. The green log is the most fire resistant of woods and
is useful in the construction of the wall-backed fire for
moderately cold conditions. The punky, moist wood of a rotten
black poplar produces a particularly acrid smoke. Once
glowing (which is easily accomplished with a spark), a
punky black poplar log is difficult to extinguish.
236 
THE WILLOWS
The smooth bark of the young tree becomes thicker and
more deeply furrowed or fluted as it grows older. In a big.
old tree the cork-like bark may reach a thickness of ten centimetres.
The bark is not easy to remove, unless the tree has
been dead for a few years. The more superior bark from a
living tree is of a softer, more resilient texture than the dead
and dry bark.
To remove dry bark beyond your reach, use a pole with
a chisel point to pry it off. but use caution as dangerously
heavy pieces may fall or slide down the pole if you do not
let go of the pole fast enough.
237 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
The black poplar pipe.
238 
THE WILLOWS
The bark makes excellent floats for fish nets because of
its buoyancy and resistance to waterlogging. It makes a fast
burning fuel that produces good baking coals. In a prolonged
rain when dry kindling is difficult to find, the wet surface
is sliced off and the dry interior of the bark is shaved into
kindling. The bark makes a superior socket for the bow drill
for drilling holes or making fire by friction. It is quickly
fashioned and readily polishes to produce an almost friction
less bearing surface. This same socket hole makes a fine
pipe bowl for smoking.
The live inner bark was once used for making casts for
broken limbs. A large quantity of the bark is simmered for
a day and the resulting liquor strained out. The liquor is then
evaporated to a syrup. The hot syrup is spread on a cloth
and wrapped around the set broken bone and allowed to
harden into a cast. This will last for as long as two months
until the bone mends.
Another name for black poplar is cottonwood, because of
the cotton-like fluff the tree produces in early June. This
may be used with the liquid resin from the blisters in the
bark of balsam fir or PorsikTs white spruce as a dressing for
burns and wounds. This fluff was added to buffalo berries
when they were beaten to a froth to make soopolallie or
Indian ice cream.
The buds from the black poplar, which are at their largest
in the spring just before they open, contain a yellowishbrown.
sticky balm. If the bud is chewed, the balm first produces
a burning sensation in the mouth then numbs and
sooths a sore throat or relieves a cough. A cough medicine
is made by simmering the buds in water and then sipping
the decoction. Simmering the buds in fat then straining
them out produces a wound ointment for both humans and
animals.
THE WILLOWS
True willow (Salix species) is one of the most widely
distributed tree or shrub genera in the world. There are at
least 75 species in North America. This useful plant may
vary in size from less than a centimetre to that of a big tree.
The features distinguishing willow from all other trees is a
winter bud covered with one scale, and the bitter taste of
239 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
the bark.
Most willow woods are light, soft and tough, and have a
multitude of uses. Some are well-known for their peculiar
patterns of contrasting white sapwood and reddish-brown
heartwood. Willow wood is popular for lampstands, canes,
picture frames and coffee tables. Some willows have long
shoots that are esteemed for basket weaving. Straight willow
shafts are used for arrows or spears. This shrub's preference
for moist areas puts it in the right place to control erosion
011 stream banks and mountain sides. In Europe, willow has
long been utilized for willow furniture, wooden shoes,
artificial limbs, and carriage bodies. The long flexible wands
of many willows can be used for shelter frameworks or for
wattle and daub construction.
The twigs, buds and leaves are valuable browse for ruffed
and sharp tailed grouse, willow and rock ptarmigan, elk.
whitetail deer, moose, beaver, musk rat, varying hare and
porcupine. The foliage provides cover and nesting habitat
for many birds. Many willows are esteemed for their
ornamental horticultural characteristics.
Willows mostly propagate by suckering. Sucker formation
is stimulated by cutting or burning down the parent, which
also creates openings that allow the sun to shine on the
forest floor. In turn, the sun warms the soil to stimulate
sucker formation. Suckers that develop from the root system
of one parent tree arc identical genetically. Taken together
as a group, trees that originate from one individual in this
way, are called a clone. Clones appear alike, leaf out and turn
color at the same time and may have their own unique shade
of color when they turn in the fall. Although the willows can
grow from seed, conditions for successful germination are
so exacting that this is an insignificant means of propagation.
Willow is one of the best open-firewoods easily gathered
without tools. When dry, it burns with the least smoke of
any wood to produce a hot, steady fire with excellent coals.
The smoke is pleasant to eyes and lungs, a desirable quality
for a cooking fuel used in an open fire. A drawback is that
willow is generally small in diameter. In a pinch, willow may
be cut into small pieces for a coal substitute in a forge for
working iron. Willow is also a source of a high quality charcoal
used in gunpowder. It is the most readily available
northern wood for making fire by friction.
The most common northern bow woods are saskatoon,
chokecherry, birch and certain willows. Birch and willow
240 
THE WILLOWS
in particular, must be broken to determine if they have a
long, fine-fiber fracture characteristic of a good bow wood.
Conduct this test on a part outside of the main stave. This
fracture can be found where moose break down small trees
and shrubs to get at the higher twigs.
Bebbs willow, also called diamond or beaked willow, is
common in the north. At limes it is a large shrub or a small
tree, growing over ten metres tall with a diameter of 15 to
25 centimetres. It is one of the sources of "Diamond
Willow." The diamond-shaped depressions (as in the
diamonds found on playing cards) are caused by a variety
of fungi which attack the willow at the junction of the branches
and the trunk. The trunk is peeled and carved to reveal
a striking pattern of diamond-shaped cavities with the white
outer wood contrasting with the reddish-brown heartwood.
The wood may be used for canes, lamps, candle holders, coat
hangers, gun racks, ashtray stands, stools, tables and staircases,
to name a few applications.
The light, durable wood from this particular willow is
suitable for making baseball and cricket bats. The withes
Leaves of various willows (salix) found tn the Northern
Forests.
241 
NORTHERN BUSIICRAFT
have been used for willow furniture and basket weaving.
Bebbs willow provides the bast fiber onee employed for
making fish nets in the north before European netting twine
became available, as stinging nettle is not commonly found
in the north (see Chapter 5).
242 
10
THE SHRUBS
The shrubs of the Northern Forest are not only
a source of food, but provide the raw materials
needed to make useful tools or implements for
bush living.
SILVER WILLOW
Silver or wolf willow is actually not a willow, but a member
of the olive family. Found on river banks and cliffs, sand
dunes and other sunny, well-drained locations, the shrub
can be recognized from a distance by its distinctive silver
foliage. There are times when the whole plant is covered
with silvery flakes. The inconspicuous yellow blossoms that
appear at the axils of the leaves in May and June have a
strong, but pleasant fragrance.
Silver willow bears an edible fruit to which some people
are allergic. The fruit which is a drupe, has a stone that
makes one of the more attractive natural beads in the Northern
Forests. The bead is softened by boiling and a large
thorn can be forced through it to make the hole. When the
thorn is withdrawn from the dry bead it is ready for stringing.
The drupes remain on the shrub well into winter until
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NORTHERN BUS/ICRAFT
the}' drop onto the surface of the snow. Sometimes they are
blown along for great distances until they collect in a drift
where a new plant colony may start.
The bark from the trunk of the shrub can be made into
a cord that remains flexible upon drying (see Chapter 5). The
outer skin has no tensile strength and is used as a dye for
wool.
Silver willow wood is twisted and tough, but splits easily
where the shrub forks. This weak point makes it possible
to gather the bark from the plant without a cutting tool. The
dry, old and weathered wood makes a long-wearing,
superior drill for the friction method of fire-lighting.
In sand dunes, silver willow propagates from roots that
may grow 20 metres before surfacing as a new plant. They
are noteworthy for their even thickness and their strength
in the green state, and their contrasting weakness in the dry
state. The bark from the root makes a stronger cordage
material than the bark from the trunk.
Wolf Willow.
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THE SHRUBS
THE SASKATOON
There are a number of different saskatoons that grow in
the Northern Forests. The plant may grow as a shrub or a
small tree to a diameter of over five centimetres.
The tough wood is difficult to work when dry and is likely
the best northern bow wood. It makes tough handles, supple
fishing poles, excellent arrow shafts and fulfills any
application where resilience and toughness are required.
Saskatoons display a very fibrous fracture when broken,
a property found in most good bow woods. The wood can
be pounded to produce a coarse brush for cleaning teeth or
one fine enough to use as a paint brush in artwork.
The spring and summer bark can be made into cordage
similar in strength to that of wolf willow.
Saskatoons are best-known for the berries used in jams,
jellies, sauces, pies and wines. The berries may be dried and
incorporated into pemmican.
RED OSIER DOGWOOD
Red osier dogwood is a shrub also known as red willow—
a cause for confusion as it belongs to the dogwood family.
The color of the bark ranges from a shade of red to a lightyellow.
A major point of distinction between red osier
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dogwood and willows is that dogwood has white berries,
whereas the willows never have any berries.
Although the berry is edible, it is thought to be poisonous
because of its bitter taste and the fact that many white berries
are poisonous. In spite of the taste, many Native peoples
used it as food, often mixing it with saskatoon which ripens
at the same time.
The inner bark was esteemed as a tobacco additive or kinnickinnick
("that which is mixed"). In spring and early summer
the reddish paper-like bark is easily removed with the
thumbnail, but in the winter when the wood is frozen, the
outer bark must be laboriously scraped off.
The outer bark is discarded because it is too bitter to
smoke. The inner bark is scraped so the shavings are left
attached in the central portion of the wand. One end of the
wand is sharpened so it may be shoved into the ground near
a fire to toast the shavings. In five minutes the wand is
turned. When the shavings are dry enough to crumble they
are ready to use. This kinnickinnick may be mixed with
tobacco or smoked alone. Red osier dogwood kinnickinnick
may have been the only substance smoked in the pipe of
peace or in the steam bath ceremony. It was considered good
for any illness relating to the lungs. Mixed with tobacco, it
was supposed to cancel out the undesirable effects of
nicotine.
The finely-powdered kinnickinnick was also sprinkled on
runny wounds and gaping cuts as a styptic (a substance that
checks bleeding).
The fresh inner bark was pounded into a poultice for
various skin conditions. Indian women who were breast
feeding used the poultice when the infant was biting too
much. They applied the poultice to the aveola to reduce the
pain.
The roots were dug up in the early spring, and boiled, to
make a tonic.
The thin, supple wands can be used for basket weaving.
The wands have to be gathered in areas inaccessible to
moose and elk because of their fondness for this shrub as
a browse. The grazed shrub is the strongest proof of their
presence.
The thicker rods of red osier dogwood were used to make
pipe stems.
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TIIE SHRUBS
THE RIBBED BASKET FORMS
The ribbed baskets are some of the easiest and simplest
to weave. This type of basket can be made from a variety
of materials and combinations of materials and formed into
many shapes. The only tools needed are a knife and an awl.
For a spherical basket of three to four litre capacity, about
200 to 300 wands are required that are as thin and long as
possible. Five to seven ribs no thinner than a pencil, and
a rim and main rib of a centimetre in thickness are required.
First, fashion a rim with a wand that is thicker than the
little finger. If the rim is too thin and flexible it becomes
Detail for main rib and its attachment to the rim in the
construction of the spherical basket.
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distorted during weaving, resulting in an unattractive
basket. The ends of the rim are lock-lapped together and are
bound so the hoop will not spring apart. The hoop may be
dried in this shape or the main rib can be attached directly
to it in the green state.
The main rib and carrying handle is formed by making
a second hoop the same size as the first, or smaller or larger,
depending on the shape desired. The two hoops are placed
at 90 degrees to each other and the weaving started. If a handle
is not required, the ends of the main rib are thinned down
to a one-third thickness and bent around the rim. This may
be tied firmly in place with string and then woven in place
by starting with thin weavers at both ends. If the rim and
main rib are not dried into shape they remain soft and are
subject to distortion by the straightening action of the main
rib. A cord may be tied across the rim hoop to keep it round.
If the basket is to have a flat bottom, a stick is put across
the rim and the mid-point of the main rib anchored to it to
keep the bottom flat.
After two or three wands have been woven in at both ends
of the main rib, two more ribs are inserted. The ribs can be
pre-shapcd and made of a length that will make the basket
more or less spherical or melon-shaped. Both ends of the rib
are sharpened for easier insertion beside the rim or other
ribs. The ribs are sometimes made from rods of the same
thickness as the rim, but split in half.
If the ribs are pre-lormed by drying in a form or a pail, the
weaving is simplified and the basket takes on a more regular
appearance. Weaving without pre-forming is possible, but
takes more experience, persistence and finger strength.
Whenever the weaving at the ends of the ribs reaches a
spacing of two fingers, additional ribs are inserted. The maximum
spacing between ribs at mid-point should be about
the width of three to four adult fingers.
The first weaver is thin and started with the thin end
because of the need for greater flexibility at the start.
However, the thick end is more difficult to anchor as the end
of the weaver is reached. When you are finished with this
first weaver, hold the end in place and put a new weaver
with the thick end next and parallel to it and then continue
weaving. When the end of the weaver is reached, the thin
tip is tucked into the previous work to keep it from coming
undone. All weavers used should be one half or less than
the thickness of the ribs. If the ribs bend as you weave, the
basket will be distorted.
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THE SHNUHS
As soon as there is space to j am in the thicker, sharpened
end of a weaver next to a rib. use this method instead of the
one just described which is only applied when there is no
room to insert the thick end of a weaver. Whenever the
weaver reaches the rim, it is usually made to go around it
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twice before continuing in the reverse direction.
As the weaving progresses, both ends should keep up with
each other and as the basket nears completion the unfilled
gap has to be parallel or there will be large, triangular openings
in the weave. Instead of weaving from rim to rim, stop
one rib short and then two ribs short and so on until the
main rib is reached. The process is then carried out in
reverse or started over again. This procedure, known as
packing, is repeated until the more-neatly filled parallel gap
is achieved.
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11
THE MOOSE
With the possible exception of the bison, the
moose is the largest and most majestic beast
of the Northern Forests and, the largest
member of the deer family the world over.
THE MAJESTIC BEAST
The name "moose" is of Algonkian origin and, depending
011 the authority, translates into "he cuts through" or "he
trims" or "wood eater." All of these readily apply to the
moose and the way it bites off the twigs and shoots of its
favorite browse.
The range of the moose coincides with the range of the
Northern Spruce Forests of Canada, Europe and Asia. This
is referred to as the Boreal or Spruce-Moose Forest.
Moose Characteristics
Everything about the moose's appearance suggests
awkwardness. It has an elongated head with a big nose that
extends well beyond its mouth, a large dewlap without an
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obvious function, a stub of a tail and large, cumbersome
antlers. Its weight may range from 400 to 600 kilograms,
and occasionally excced 800 kilograms.
Without a doubt, the moose is unique. The large, broad,
palmate antlers found only in the male: the long, slender,
big-hoofed legs; the short neck, the large shoulder hump and
the small hind quarters all contribute to distinguish it from
any other deer. The moose has such long legs and short neck
that it has to spread its front legs wide to reach the ground
with its muzzle. It often has to kneel on its forelegs to reach
water or forage. This same anatomy allows the moose to
reach branches up to three metres above the ground and
if it stands on its hind legs it easily reaches a height of five
metres. The hump over the shoulders is due to high
shoulder blades and long backbone spines in the neck and
shoulder region.
Moose anatomy.
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THE MOOSE
The gestation period for the moose is from 225 to 265 days
with the birthing season from May to early June. Single
births are the most common, twins occur less often and
triplets occasionally. The ungainly calf looks like four
spindly legs with a head attached. Unlike the rest of the deer
family, the young are born without protective coloration different
from the adult. At birth the calf may weigh from 10
to 15 kilograms if born alone and half that if a twin. By
November, the weaned animal will weigh an amazing 135
kilograms. In the first month the calf may gain about a
kilogram daily and double the amount thereafter. A yearling
bull calf may weigh from 180 to 270 kilograms.
The calf does not follow the mother until 10 to 14 days
after birth, although it can outrun a man at this age. Many
predators exploit the vulnerability of the young calf. The
secluded calving-place chosen by the mother is usually surrounded
with good feed so that she does not have to go far
from her offspring. The mother moose is protective and a
formidable defender of her young.
The offspring quickly learn many things from the mother
such as using natural camouflage, standing still in thickets,
backtracking, swimming and moving with stealth. The offspring
accompany the mother for a year or two. The females
reach breeding age in two or three years and the males are
sexually mature in three, but usually do not have the opportunity
to breed until their fifth or sixth year when they reach
full adult size.
The male and female do not differ much in appearance.
The female lacks antlers, a mane and the dewlap. (The
dewlap is a pendant of hair-covered skin hanging from the
throat and varies in size from a few centimetres to about a
half-metre in length.) The cow is also 10 to 25 percent
smaller than the male.
The mature bull is individualistic, independent and
unsociable, shunning company except during the rut.
Family ties are weak, though on occasion, a bull and a cow
with her offspring of two years may form a loose association.
more for convenience, than for companionship.
Moose make docile pets or pests depending on how you
interpret the situation. The animal has often been
domesticated, but is short-lived in captivity. The lifespan of
a healthy moose is from 20 to 25 years. Tall fences are
required to contain these animals. In Russia, cow moose
have been trained to respond to the call of a trumpet to be
milked. Moose have been trained to pull sleighs or wagons,
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and are tireless as any horse. Moose that lose their fear of
man (by being fed), may appear regularly for their dole and
become downright ornery if not forthcoming. Another problem
with the captive moose is its change of character during
its rut in the fall breeding season.
The normally timid, retreating, cautious, silent hulk of the
woods changes into a short-tempered, belligerent, bellowing,
bulldozer during the mating season when it assumes
the physical and mental state known as the rut (from early
September to early November). The bull becomes preoccupied
with seeking out females and challenging competitors,
prudently conccding when outclassed by another
suitor. A challenge may involve a great deal of bluffing and
posturing with a disinclination to make contact while the
bulls size each other up. It is a case of intimidating anything
smaller or weaker and acknowledging anything superior.
Where both are equal in size and determination, a shoving
match may result that ends when one concedes defeat and
quickly leaves. Occasionally, a serious battle results in
injury or death. There have been numerous instances where
Moose calling with a megaphone.
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THE MOOSE
horns lock permanently and both combatants die of exhaustion
and starvation.
Feeding is neglected during the rut, to the point that a bull
may loose a quarter of its body weight. Bulls are irritable
during the rut and may attack anything that moves.
The cow moose is an active participant during the rut. She
will communicate her presence and state of mind with
grunts and nasal-entoned love calls that a hunter may
advantageously imitate to bring a bull into closer range. The
right sounds can also cause a love-sick cow to come bounding
in as well. Some people feel moose calling to be unfair,
unless used in bow hunting.
A bull will bellow a rising "moo." whereas the call of the
cow is softer and much like that of a domestic cow. The newborn
calf grunts but later emits a laughing bleat. A bull may
answer the call of a cow with a grunt or a bellow, which is
usually interpreted by another bull as a challenge to an
antler duel.
Once a bull has loeated a cow. courtship occurs with the
bull trying to impress the cow by putting on majestic airs.
The bull follows the cow for about a wreek until they mate
then moves on to find another while the cow entertains new
suitors. Occasionally, a group of cows will be guarded by one
bull. Cows participate in the rut for about a month, while
bulls wear themselves to a frazzle in two months or so.
mating with about four cows.
Although moose are dangerous during the rut. they are
so noisy that one is forewarned of their approach or
presence. Approaching a cow and her calf invites an attack.
Moose are irritable when the weather is cold, and in particular
when food is scarce. They have been known to keep
people captive in their cabins for days.
Moose Habitat
Habitat favored by elk and deer will suit a moose providing
these animals are not present in great numbers. Moose are
found near lakes, ponds, streams, grass-shrub bogs,
muskegs, contiguous mixed-wood forests and burned-over
areas. Since the 1930s, logging has taken the placc of forest
fires in extending favorable moose habitat.
Moose prefer the forest edge, as mature forests provide little
forage. In mountainous country, moose frequent higher
elevations in the summer and the lower valleys in the
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NORTHERS' BUSHCRAFT
winter. In winter, the moose may glean the sparse forage
of a mature coniferous forest as the understorey has the least
snow and also provides protection from wind.
Moose have a home range encompassing a radius of about
15 kilometres. They do not defend any territory. Although
they may drift slowly into more optimal habitat, sudden
migration is rare. Moose tend to spend a few days in one
place then move on. but when snow is deep, they may stay
for as long as the browse holds out.
Moose will eat grasses and other forbs and occasionally
lichens and mushrooms, but the principal browse is the tips
and small branches of willow, aspen, red osier dogwood,
saskatoon, birch, swamp birch, alder, hazelnut, and the
tender tips of balsam fir. The daily winter consumption of
twigs is over 20 kilograms. Moose may straddle large shrubs
or small trees, bending them down to bring the finer branches
within reach. This results in broken trees that are a
common sight in moose habitat. Red osier dogwood, hazel
nut and saskatoon exhibit a characteristic clipped, contorted
appearance from repeated browsings and regrowths that are
a sure sign of the presence of moose.
The willow family responds to wildfire with the sprouting
and growth of many vigorous shoots on account of the
greater availability of nutrients and the elimination of competition.
This results in copious and easy forage for moose.
Willow has a great capacity to recover from the effects of
browsing. In some cases, a browsed branch produces twice
as much new growth in the following year as compared to
an uncropped branch.
During the summer, moose prefer subaquatic vegetation
such as pond weeds and water lilies. A moose may cat up
to 25 kilograms of aquatic vegetation daily. It quickly fills
its rumen then chews its cud at leisure, grinding up twigs
that are a centimetre in thickness with its heavy molars.
Being a ruminant, it has sharp lower incisors and a tough
upper gum. Its large, sensitive muzzle is well-adapted for
stripping leaves and twigs from trees and shrubbery. The
animal feeds most actively at dawn and dusk. Where foraging
takes longer it prefers to feed at night and to rest during
the day.
Winter's twig forage is low in sodium compared to certain
pond weeds that may have 400 times the concentration.
Another source of sodium is the bark the moose will strip
off the living aspen tree when other sodium-containing
forage is scarce. Moose are capable of building up a reserve
256 
THE MOOSE
of sodium for the winter.
A moose is particularly adept in submerging its head for
subaquatlc forage. Because it has the ability to closc off its
nostrils as it submerges, the moose may dive as deep as six
metres for its favorite food.
Like all ruminants, moose have a strong liking for salt.
They favor areas of stagnant mineral-rich water known as
salt licks.
Moose have an exceptional sense of smell, very good hearing
and eyesight that is poorer than that of humans. As a
moose will hear the ticking of a watch at 150 metres, it is
difficult to stalk the animal when there is no wind to mask
the noise made in walking.
Stomach of the moose. The complex stomach allows the
moose to subsist on twigs.
1. Roughly chopped material mixed with sah'ua is stored in
the first compartment (the paunch) then retrieved and chewed
more thoroughly.
2. The coarser material is returned to the mouth as cud then
chewed into a fine pulp that increases the surface area of
the material
3. The finely chewed food is swallowed again. It now
bypasses the paunch to the honeycomb and bible (4) complexes
of the stomach where bacteria and ciliates participate
in the break down of some of the material. Certain nutrients
are absorbed at this stage.
4. The partially processed material with the bacteria and
ciliates pass on to the stomach proper where normal digestion
takes place.
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NORTHERS' BUSHCRAFT
Except during the rut, moose are cautious and alert. A
moose will remain motionless to avoid detection and if
unnoticed, steals silently away. When frightened, it may
crash noisily through the underbrush, or may do so
deliberately during the rut. otherwise it is capable of great
stealth. Its brownish-black hide and yellowish-white legs
blend well with foliage such as spruce or willow. If you look
low to the ground, below the dead branches of the trees that
make up a spruce thicket, you may find that its legs give
it away before its body will.
If the animal is startled it will maneuver downwind to
make a more positive identification by scent and sound—a
habit which can be its undoing when hunted by man. When
bedding down, it will first travel downwind so the scent of
any animal following its tracks will be carried to it.
In spite of its ungainly appearance, large antlers and all,
it can move with ease and grace through deadfall, deep
snow, muskeg or water. During the reign of Russia's
Catherine the Great, the authorities tried to maintain strict
control over the domestication of moose because of their use
as steeds by rebels and escapees of Siberian prison camps.
The horse-mounted authorities were no mat.h for the
outlaw riding a moose as it can run from 25 to 35 kilometres
an hour through seemingly impassible deadfall.
A clicking sound may be heard when the animal runs
across soft ground. The hoof that is spread very wide for the
necessary support clicks together when the foot is
withdrawn, making a sound that carries some distance.
It is remarkable how little a 650-kilogram moose sinks
compared to a 65-kilogram man trying to follow it through
a swamp. Moose have a well-developed mode of lifting their
feet straight up until the hoof clears the surface when making
a foreward step. This facilitates fast movement through
deep snow, deadfall and mud with a reduced risk of injury
to the foot. Because of its preference for wet and soft
environments, moose utilize the dew-claws (located behind
and below the fetlock joint) more than any other clovenhoofed
animal. A moose never bounds like a deer.
A wolf can keep up with a moose only in deep snow or on
glare ice. A moose is particularly vulnerable on glare ice
where it has difficulty in maintaining its footing.
In winter, when snow is a metre or more deep, moose will
often trample a system of interconnecting paths to make a
"yard." This provides some freedom of movement when
defending themselves or travelling to feeding areas.
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THE MOOSE
Another feature associated with moose are wallows. These
arc small, wet areas where moose may urinate in one place,
trample up the urine-saturated soil and roll around in it—a
habit related to the rut.
Moose like to submerge in water for respite from bothersome
insects. They are powerful swimmers that show no
hesitation in crossing large bodies of water on a whim or to
escape predators. A mother quickly teaches her offspring
to swim. During long swims a calf will support its head on
the mother. Moose have been known to swim about 25
kilometres at a stretch. Swimming moose were easy prey
to Native people who would approach the animal with a
canoe. The animal could then be killed with as simple a tool
as a sharpened pole.
Moose Tracks and Antlers
The moose has the largest track in the deer family—as
much as 18 centimetres long. In outline, the print resembles
that of a very large deer. The moose print is larger and more
pointed than that of the wapiti or elk. which more resembles
the print of domestic cattle. Cow moose tracks are smaller
and more pointed than the male's, which are usually blunter
because of the bull's habit of pawing the ground.
Moose have the most massive racks of all the antlered
animals. Some may span over two metres and weigh more
than 30 kilograms. Antlers are a secondary sexual
characteristic renewed annually for the rut. The amount of
solid tissue produced is a wonder of the animal kingdom,
as a bull weighing 450 kilograms may grow 40 kilograms
of antler in five months. The new antlers begin growing in
April and arc covered with a furry, soft, brown skin resembling
velvet. The skin is filled with blood vessels and nerves
that participate in the growth of the antlers. There is an
increased appetite for salts and minerals during this period
of antler development. The antlers are tender, fragile and
sensitive to the touch and cause pain if injured. By the time
the antlers mature in the summer, the velvet is shed and
the animal becomes preoccupied with removing the remaining
shreds by rubbing on bushes and small trees, often injuring
the bark. When the rut is over, the antlers drop off between
December to February. The older the animal, the
earlier this occurs. Antler growth imposes as much of an
energy cost to a bull as pregnancy docs to a cow.
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NORTHERS' BUSHCRAFT
Comparative sizes of various game tracks.
As formidable as the antlers may seem, both the bull and
eow can deal out havoc more effectively with their
forehooves. A healthy, full-grown moose can be a formidable
opponent to a grizzly. It is not unusual for a moose to kill
a bear.
The approximate age of the young animal can be determined
by its antlers. A male calf will have knobs. A yearling
has spikes about 20 to 30 centimetres long. A two-yearold
has two prongs and a three-year-old has three. A fouryear-
old displays the adult pattern. At six or seven years the
antlers are at their finest in size and spread coinciding with
the full development of the animal. As a moose grows older
the points become less pronounced until they are a jagged
edge in an elderly bull. With advancing age, the antlers
diminish both in size and symmetry, and arc dropped
earlier.
Hunting Moose
Prime moose meat may not be as esteemed as deer or
caribou, but it is nonetheless tasty and an important staple
of many of the Northern peoples. A family of four may consume
80 moose a year compared to about three times as
many caribou.
The rut has a profound effect on the normally mild, tender
and delicious meat when the bulls stop eating and start
wandering in September. During the rut the meat acquires
a strong, musky odor and looses most of its fat. At the end
of the rut the meat loses its gamey flavor but is still dry and
tough. By February, the meat is as good as it was before the
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THE MOOSE
rut. A quarter of moose can weigh well over a 100 kilograms.
When hunting moose in the Native style, you can expect
to travel for several days and cover about 50 kilometres.
First, locate a track less than two-days-old. The track s age
may be determined from the freshness of the manure, the
moisture and nature of the torn soil in the hoof print, and
by the freshness of the twig ends eaten off by the animal.
An excellent time to hunt is immediately after a fresh
snowfall. The tracks will then be recent and silent travel
facilitated by the muffling effect of the fresh snow. A moose
is easy to hunt in deep snow where it has difficulty in outrunning
a man on snowshoes.
Tracking is difficult in dense bush. During the fall
breeding season, tracking is unproductive because of the
bull's constant and haphazard movement. It is more effective
at this time to call up the animal with a megaphone,
by rubbing a moose horn or scapula on a tree, or by pouring
water from a height to imitate a urinating cow moose.
When tracking, you must be quiet enough to avoid spooking
the moose. You should wear soft soled shoes and step
carefully. Coughing is a major problem as it may alert moose
to your presence from a long distance. Stay downwind from
the animal to keep scents and sounds from reaching it.
When the trail veers from the wind, you will have to head
with the wind then circle into it to intercept the moose trail
about a kilometre further down. If the trail is intercepted,
and the animal is thought to be more than a kilometre away,
the downwind and upwind circle is repeated until the moose
is spotted or until you find yourself ahead of it, in which case
you have to backtrack to continue a downwind approach or
use smaller downwind and upwind circles towards the
animal.
When surprised, a moose may momentarily survey the
situation before it takes off. This provides you an opportunity
for a shot. If the moose bolts, you can follow in hot
pursuit and take advantage of its tendency to travel a short
distance before stopping to take a momentary survey of
what is following before it continues on. Again, this provides
you with the opportunity for a shot.
Butchering Moose
The big and majestic moose is relatively easy to butchcr.
It should be rolled onto a pallet of spruce or willow to keep
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NORTHERS' BUSHCRAFT
the carcass off the ground so the body heat can dissipate
faster and be butchered immediately. In wet weather, keep
the carcass dry, as moisture promotes rapid spoilage. The
less hair touching the meat the less gamey the meat will
taste. The sooner the meat cools and a dry surface forms
on it, the better tasting it should be. Slow cooling may be
a prime factor in spoilage, especially when the weather is
warm and the animal large.
To gut the moose, insert your knife into the body cavity
just below the lowest ribs and cut towards the rear. As soon
as the slit allows insert the first and middle fingers of your
other hand with the palm facing up. Cut between these
fingers to prevent the knife tip from snagging the intestines.
Go around the male genitals or udder, over the pubic bone
and around the rectum (or female genitals) and tail, cutting
about five centimetres deep. Cut through the pubic bone,
free the udder, the genitals and the rectum, tying everything
off that may contaminate the meat.
Open the throat from the lowest ribs to the lower jaw. Cut
around the brisket rather than through its centre. Remove
the esophagus and wind pipe intact because of the putrefying
bacteria it contains. Reach into the body cavity with your
knife and free the diaphram, then pull everything down from
the top part of the chcst cavity to remove the contents of
the whole carcass.
Save the heart, liver, kidneys and the fat encasing the
intestines. Remove the tongue by way of the lower jaw. Wipe
out any blood in the cavity without using water. Trim away
any bullet damaged flesh.
The sooner the animal is skinned, the easier the hide
comes off. Because of its weight a moose is usually skinned
on the ground. One side is done first, the skin is stretched
out and the carcass is rolled on it. then the other side is
skinned out. Skinning from head to the rear is the easiest
and results in the least flesh remaining on the hide.
Remove the lower legs or shanks by cutting slightly below
the joints then breaking them over your knee. Slit the hide
along the inside of each front leg to meet the belly cut.
Likewise, slit along the inside of the hind legs to meet the
belly cut about 20 to 30 centimetres below the tail. Cut completely
around the neck close behind the jaws, ears and
antlers. Commence skinning from the head towards the
rear, peeling the skin away from the flesh and cutting the
thin white film that holds the hide to the flesh. In the winter,
you must complete the skinning before the hide freezes on.
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THE MOOSE
With the exception of the wolf, the adult moose has few
enemies in the wild. When the snow is deep, the moose
favors ploughed roads and as a result collisions with vehicles
are common. Logging operations may create favorable
habitat, but the roads provide easier access for hunters and
poachers. Poaching has significantly affected the moose
population in recent years.
Encroachment of moose habitat by settlement and
agriculture has resulted in the spread of the white-tailed deer
that is a host to a meningeal parasitic worm. While it does
not affect the deer's health significantly, the worm is
devastating to moose.
In some areas, wood tick infestations of moose are a
leading cause of its death. In the spring, the deaf and blind
female tick climbs to the tip of some foliage and waits in a
dozing state for a warm-blooded animal to pass by. Reacting
to the odor of butrie acid emitted by all mammals, she
is roused and tries to grab or drop on to any animal that
comes close enough. A tick may survive 18 years while
waiting for the opportunity to fill up on the animal blood
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needed to nourish its eggs. The gorged tick drops off its host,
lays its eggs and dies.
In the ease of humans, the tick prefers the nape of the neck
or the back. Should the tick remain attached for a week, a
paralysis may develop that can result in death if the offending
tick is not removed.
Native Tanning of Moose Hide
Native tanning requires simple tools and ingredients and
considerable, tedious, muscular effort. It helps if you have
someone to share the work.
The winter hide from an old bull is the thickest and
hardest to tan. At the other extreme, the summer hide of
a young cow is the easiest to tan.
The first step is a careful skinning, neither nicking the
hide nor leaving any flesh on it. Taking the time to do a proper
job in skinning will save time in the fleshing step.
The hide should be tanned as soon as possible or else
preserved by being salted down. For longer storage it should
also be dried. Avoid exposing a hide to the sun by working
in the shade or on a cloudy day.
A large moose hide can weigh over 90 kilograms. It will
be easier to work cut in half.
To stretch the hide, first cut lacing slots about two centimetres
from the hide's edge and about ten centimetres
apart. This facilitates lacing the hide to a frame with strong
cord. The frame should be large enough to accommodate
any stretching while the hide is worked. The cords may have
to be tightened frequently to keep the hide taut. You may
have to crawl onto a large hide to work it.
All flesh and fat should be thoroughly removed with a serrated
scraper made from a deer or moose tibia or piece of
iron. The fleshing should result in a slimy looking, but
greascless surface. A drying skin should be dampened as
needed. All fat must be removed as its absorption will cause
the skin to become hard on drying.
If the hide is tanned with the hair on, the following step
is omitted and the tanning carried out on the flesh side only.
The hide is turned over and the hair and scarf layer are
shaved away with an adz-like tool. The tool must be
sharpened frequently to remove the hair effectively. Once
the hair side is shaved clean, the hide can dry on the frame
as rawhide.
264 
THE MOOSE
The slimy texture can be reduced by a preliminary smoking
tor an hour or two over a small, smoky fire made from
punky wood. The hide is draped over a small teepee or archtype
structure and covered with old tarps to retain the
smoke. The hide becomes stiff and paper-like at this stage.
The softening process begins by hand-rubbing into the
hide a paste made by simmering the animal's dried or fresh
brains in a little water. The rubbing is continued until all
the paste is absorbed. The brains of the animal should be
sufficient to treat, the entire hide. However, in the case of
a large, thick hide, this may not be so. and the paste must
be extended by incorporating finely chopped liver and/or
marrow from the larger bones. The dampened hide is rolled
up to sit overnight.
The next day, the hide is made into a loop and twisted with
a pole and rail to squeeze out any remaining moisture. This
completely saturates the hide with the brain paste from the
inside out, in preparation for the next step.
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Smoking a moose hide.
Using the metal hide scraper.
266 
THE MOOSE
The hide is again strctchcd on the frame for a final scraping
to remove anything' remaining from the surface, then
allowed to dry out. When dry, it is worked over with a stone
scraper and sandstone to smooth the surface to an even texture.
The lacing is tightened to keep the hide well-stretched.
The hide is softened on the frame with a wooden stretching
tool armpit to finger tip long, of a thickness comfortable to
hold. The blunt point of the working end of the tool is rubbed
into the hide to break and stretch some of the interconnecting
fibers. Softening a moose hide will take at least a day.
Wrork in the shade. As the hide dries it should be dampened.
If the hide dries hard, it must be reworked with the brain
paste. The hide must be worked continuously and consistently
but not too forcefully over the whole surface until
it is soft, pliant and felt-like in texture.
The final step is a thorough smoking. This preserves the
hide's softness and prevents shrinking upon wetting and
drying. Too hot a smoke fire will damage the hide. A variety
of rotten woods are available, each with its own aroma and
shade of color. Rotten spruce, tamarack or birch arc commonly
used. A dense smoke is made with any punky wood.
The smoke fire is first built in a hole and allowed to burn
down to coals. The hide is draped over a framework and
covered with old tarps wherever necessary to retain the
smoke. The hide may have to be moved and adjusted often
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NORTHERN DUSIICRAFT
to ensure an even tan. Smoke-producing materials are added
occasionally to maintain the smoke. A draught hole should
be provided at the edge of the hide and a small smoke hole
is made at the top of the frame. Any other holes in the hide
that may allow smoke to escape should be sewn up.
Depending on its thickness and the depth of color desired,
the hide may be smoked from one to four hours then turned
over and smoked on the opposite side if de-haired. When the
smoking is completed, the edge of the hide may be trimmed
off at the lacing holes and the trimmings saved for lashing
purposes. The skin is rolled up and the tan is allowed to set
for a few days.
If the smell of the hide is too strong, it may be aired in
the shade or laundered in soapy water. If you have done a
proper job of tanning, the hide or any item made from it
should remain soft even after many launderings.
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12
THE VARYING
HARE
The varying hare is one of the key animals in
the ecology of the Northern Forest, with the role
of converting vegetation into flesh for the
benefit of humans and predatory beasts. This
role is particularly important in the dead of
winter when plant food is scarce.
THE KEY PROVIDER
All parts of the varying hare are edible or useful. The flesh
is good tasting, with a low water and high protein eontent.
The hide makes a light and warm sleeping robe comparable
to down. Sinews are useful for fish line, leaders and snares.
The long, thin bones of the foot make excellent gorges for
survival fishing.
The varying hare is at times incorrectly called the
snowshoe hare or the snowshoc rabbit. Hares are closely
related to the true rodents. They differ by having a second
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pair of smaller incisors right behind a very conspicuous and
large pair of upper incisors. The hares also have the most
teeth in the rodent family. As their upper grinding teeth arc
further apart than their lower ones, hares chew their food
with a characteristic side to side movement of the lower jaw.
Twice a year, a hare's coat undergoes a color change. This
accounts for the term "varying"—a strategy that helps to
camouflage it from predators. In the fall, the brown coat
turns white then back to brown in the spring. The changeover
takes about ten weeks, during which time the hare is
a mottled brown and white. Eventually the animal becomes
as white as the snow except for its greyish underbelly and
the black rims of its ears and eyes. The shadow is more conspicuous
than the hare itself. For rabbit-skin robes, the
winter skin is about a quarter more insulative than that of
summer. In some parts of the world the hair of this animal
is esteemed for making felt, especially for fine hats.
Although hares like young, dense conifer stands, this is
not an exclusive preference. Heavy brush consisting of
various combinations of trees and shrubs such as young
aspen, willow, alder, birch, rose, saskatoon, red osier
dogwood, hazelnut and snowberry are acceptable so long
as food, shelter and protection from predators is found.
Hares frequent the edges of muskegs, heavy spruce thickets
and moss-carpcted spruce stands bordered by poplars and
pine.
The varying hare.
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THE VARYING HARE
Hare Predators
The varying hare has a large host of predators. Hawk, owl,
coyote, fox. wolf, lynx, bobcat and weasel, to name a few,
are dependent on it. When hare populations are low the
meat eaters experience trying times. The larger predators
are driven to attack bigger animals that they would otherwise
leave alone. When hares are scarce the snowy owl ventures
further south than usual in search of food.
The hare copes with this incessant prcdation with a high
reproductive rate. The doe may produce two to three litters
a year with an average of four to six leverets per litter in good
times, and two or three if food is scarce or the health of the
population is low. A pair of hares, in optimal habitat, will
increase to a population of about 1500 in five years in spite
of predation.
Hares and rabbits have been noted the world over for their
prolific nature, their sheer numbers at certain times and.
their occasional outright scarcity. Densities of 13,000 hares
per square kilometre have been known to eventually reduce
to two or less. WTien populations peak, winter food resources
may be depleted leading to lower survival and reproduction
rates. Overbrowsing reduces regular winter food resources
as new.shoots and bark are consumed. This accounts for
the first two or three years of decline.
There is a corresponding increase in predators with the
peaking of hare populations. Predation has little influence
on hare numbers at this stage. As food shortages take their
toll, predation may account for maintaining low populations
after bottoming out, and food resources have returned to
adequate levels. When predator numbers themselves eventually
decline due to the scarcity of hares, the hare population
will increase again.
The depletion of winter food sets the stage for their initial
dcclinc and the later interaction with their predators. The
hares become scarce, the vegetation recovers, the predators
reduce in numbers, and the cycle continues. Generally, the
cycles throughout the continent are in phase with each other
by a matter of a year or so. Dr. Lloyd Keith, an authority
on animal c.yc.\c.s, feels this synchronization is initiated by
two successive mild winters occuring during the increase
phase of a ten-year cyclc. This allows low populations in
some areas to peak rapidly, while helping near-peak populations
to remain steady under more marginal conditions.
A hare's home or form is best described as a place, rather
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NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
than a particular structure. It docs not burrow or make
nests. A simple hollow in a dense thicket is sufficient.
Polygamous by nature, hares mate mostly in March or
April but may start in January and quit in July. Depending
on the authority consulted, gestation is anywhere from 30
ro 43 days. The young are born between early February and
late July, well-furred and with eyes open. They are about
seven to ten centimetres long and weigh 50 to 85 grams.
The leverets move about on the first day. sometimes remaining
together with their litter mates, but more usually scattering
about the immediate area. The mother seeks out the
leverets individually to nurse them alter dark. The leverets
How a hare runs.
272 
THE VARYING HARE
can find food for themselves shortly after birth, feeding on
greens the first day. They are weaned by the time they arc
a month old. The hare reaches sexual maturity in about a
year. It will then weigh from one kilogram to more than two.
depending on the variety of hare and other factors. In the
wild, the adult may survive from three to five years.
Hares cat the soft parts of all plants, including the roots
and fruit. They eat leaves, twigs, bark and buds of trees and
shrubs, as well as various grasses. Their main winter forage
is tender young spruce and pine. When hare populations are
high they can seriously compete with deer, moose and elk
for forage. Normally vegetarian, the hare is occasionally cannibalistic
and will cat flesh (attested to by trappers who use
meat as bait).
The varying hare depends on its fleetness of foot to outrun
many predators. The hare's thickly-furred broad feet allow
it to move with ease in deep, soft snow. Where other animals
have a bare sole on their paws, the hare has pads that arc
covered with a tight, springy layer of strong, stiff forward -
directed hairs. With the winter coat change these hairs grow
longer to provide more support on the snow. The animal also
spreads its toes to provide the largest possible treading surface.
So equipped, the hare can attain bursts of speed up
to 50 kilometres an hour over snow, and outrun any
predator it sees in time.
Regardless of how far a hare is chascd it will remain within
a few 100 metres of its home base. Eventually, lanes are
beaten down in snow or summer moss, especially through
thick undergrowth which offers few alternate routes. Hares
groom their trails of anything that may impede their movement.
Although the hare prefers lanes, it is not strictly confined
to them. In open country the hare may not make lanes
at all. Its tendency to use well-traveled lanes and to go under
objects across its path rather than jumping over them, is
used to advantage by the trapper.
Hares are most active after dark. At dusk they move to
their feeding areas and forage the heaviest in the last few
hours of darkness, moving about the most between eleven
o'clock in the evening and one o'clock in the morning.
A doe may occupy a territory for a long time, shifting
about in relation to available food. A buck may occupy the
ranges of two or three females, but does not guard any territory
except at the height, of the mating season. When
fighting, hares tend to bite one another. Hares are not social
animals, but they are tolerant of one another.
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Snares
The varying hare can be caught with string lifting-pole
snares. Because the hare might bite through a string snare
it is necessary to raise its forepaws off the ground so that
il cannot reach the snare holding it.
To set up the lifting-pole snare, obtain a pole of wrist
thickness at the butt end and about an arm span and a half
long.
Find a tree within a metre of the hare run to act as the
pivot, or drive in a suitable stake near the run.
Hold the thin or snare end of the pole about 30 centimetres
above the run and between shoulder and elbow high at the
other end then bring it in contact with the pivot tree. You
now know how high the pivot has to be.
Erect a cross bar (of broom handle thickness) over the run,
usually, but not necessarily, at right angles to it and
underneath the snare end of the liftingpole (about 25 centimetres
above the run). This may be done at any angle to
the lifting-pole and in many ways other than the one just
mentioned.
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THE VARYING HARE
Use a snare cord about as long as nose to finger tip of the
outstretched arm. A knot is tied in one end of the string and
left dangling to a length of three fingers after the cord is
securely tied to the lifting-pole. Cut a notch to keep the string
from slipping off the end of the pole.
Holding the short string by the knot, bring the lifting-pole
down to the cross bar on one side and using the long end
of the string on the other side tie a slippery half-hitch. A
noose is made with the end of the long string by tying a running
bowline. The bowline eye should be small enough to
barely admit a pencil. The diameter of the noose should be
about 12 centimetres or the width of the adult palm
including the thumb. There should be a space of four lingers
between the bottom of the snare and the ground. If the noose
is made too large, the hare will be caught by the waist and
will likely bite off or break the snare. If the noose is too small
it will be pushed aside.
An area may have most of the runs going back and forth
in a predominant direction according to the terrain. Snares
should be set across this area for the greatest effect. Choose
the best used runs and trample or block off the rest. Runs
in the snow should not be disturbed or the hares may make
alternate paths. Take a round about route to an end of the
run area and try to drive some of the hares into the snares
by making noise. You may have to set as many as 30 snares
in times of low populations to catch a hare a day.
The snares should be checked early each morning. Snares
should never be abandoned as the animal will be wasted and
endures needless suffering.
Skinning a Hare
A hare can be skinned without tools as the hide tears
easily. Start by freeing the skin around the genitals and anus
so these parts are left intact until the hare is gutted. The skin
is freed from the hind legs and pulled off like a tube down
to the wrists of the forepaws. With the skin pulled taut over
the head a little cut with a knife or sharp stone at the back
of the head releases the skin from the head. The skin is
detached at the forepaws. In this form, a skin can be used
as an emergency mitt or a storage bag for a fire board and
drill or be incorporated into a robe.
The head is detached and the feet cut off. A sharp rock
will cut through the tendons of the legs. The head should
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NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
be skinned out and boiled for the brains and the meal
remaining on it. The long fingers in the toes of the rabbit
may be used to make a gorge for catching fish, an awl or
a primitive sewing needle. The tendons and sinews may be
twisted into cord for more snares.
Tear through the abdominal cavity and the diaphragm
with the fingers. The lungs, circulatory system and
esophagus are easily torn out with the fingers. The pelvic
bone is broken by bending the thighs back. The genitalia
and large intestine are pulled out and downward without
contaminating the meat. If there is hair on the carcass do
not wash it off until just before the meat is cooked.
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THE VARYING HARE
Hare Disease
If a hare looks unhealthy, it may have dry land tularemia,
a rare condition in the winter. This is primarily a disease
of rabbits and hares. One of the symptoms is fever and is
sometimes known as rabbit fever. When humans contract
the disease, nine times out often, it is from an infected rabbit
or hare.
Tularemia is a dreadful disease that should be thoroughly
understood by animal handlers, hunters, trappers and
anyone interested in wilderness survival techniques—
particularly when it concerns the use of wild game.
The disease is also known to infect dogs, cats, sheep, pigs,
ground and tree squirrels, field mice, prairie dogs, chipmunks,
muskrats. beaver, coyotes, fox, deer, various grouse
including ruffled grouse, snakes and nearly 100 other
animals.
The most common way to contract tuleremia is to handle
an infected animal when there are breaks in the skin of
the hands, although infections are known to occur through
unbroken skin. The disease can be caught from animal or
insect bites (such as ticks, fleas and deer flies), drinking contaminated
water, breathing in the organism or eating
infected meat.
Tularemia is caused by an oxygen dependent bacillus. It
is easily destroyed by 10 minutes of heat at over 58°C.
Infected meat can be made safe by proper cooking, with
boiling as the preferred method. Roasting may not allow the
required heat to penetrate the interior of a larger piece of
meat.
Any game showing spots on the liver, spleen, lungs or
kidneys is suspect and should be handled accordingly.
About one person in 20 contracting the disease may die from
it or complications resulting from it. The average course of
the disease is about two weeks
Symptoms in humans usually appear in two to four days
and occasionally in one to ten days. In many ways the symptoms
resemble that of plague. There is a sudden onset of
headache, recurring chills and sweats with a body
temperature of 39.5° to 40°C. There is usually nausea,
vomiting and extreme physical weakness and exhaustion.
The lymph nodes swell and may pustulate.
In the most common form of the disease, a small boil-like
eruption appears at the site of the infection such as on the
hand, eye or mouth shortly after the onset of symptoms. A
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NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
large ulcer may also appear at the site.
The disease can take on at least three different forms,
depending on its point of entry and what organs are affected.
If the airborne organisms released when the animal is being
skinned and dressed are inhaled, a form of bronchitis, or
worse, pneumonia can be contracted. Another type of infection
can be typhoidial in nature.
Early diagnosis of the disease is not always easy. However,
a variety of antibiotics, streptomycin in particular, are effective
in combating it.
If you live in an area where the disease is prevalent and
you handle animals extensively, wear protective gloves and
clothing. Be aware the infective organism can become airborne
in the form of tick feces or while game is gutted and
insect bites can pass on the disease. Make it a point to cook
wild meat adequately.
If a hare looks unhealthy it may be best to discard it
altogether. Sometimes hares have such afflictions as scabby
ears and spotted, ulcerated livers, usually in association with
population peaks. Some are infected with a lumpy sore on
the back. This is the parasitic larval stage of a warble or bot
fly. In any case, cooking the meat well should prevent any
health problem that could arise from the above conditions.
The most efficient way to cook hare is by boiling and using
the broth. To improve the taste when salt is unavailable, the
boiled hare may be browned over coals. If a pot. is
unavailable, the hare may be roasted. It is cut up into convenient
pieces and propped up in front of glowing coals on
sharpened sticks. A grill may also be used on which the
whole or half of the animal is spread out to be cookcd. As
it is not the smoke or flame that does the cooking, but the
radiance of the coals, the meat is not placed over the coals
as much as it is placed to the side.
A kilogram of hare meat, will provide about 1000 Calories.
Hare meat has a much lower water content than most other
meats so a smaller quantity is used for a serving.
There is some question as to the value of eating hare
unsupplemented by fat. Eating such lean meat will bring
on a kidney condition known as "protein poisoning" or
nephritis. If you eat hare exclusively, by the end of a week
you may be eating three or four times as much food by
weight as you did at the beginning of the week. Regardless
of the quantity ol food consumed you may start showing
signs of starvation and an inflamed condition of the kidneys.
Regardless of how much and how often you eat, hunger
278 
THE VARYING HARE
persists. The stomach distends and you may feel a vague
restlessness. Diarrhea eventually occurs and persists until
fat is eaten. Death results after a few weeks.
To prevent this, some Native people would singe off the
animal's hair and cook the entire animal. In this way, fat
found in the skin, brains and intestines would make up the
necessary fat requirements. The intestines and their contents
would provide the benefit of the partially digested
vegetable matter. The uninitiated may find that hare
prepared in this way is difficult to stomach.
Hare Robe
Robes from the skins of the hare are made when the fur
is white (the best condition). The hare is case skinned (pulled
off like a tube) and the fresh hide is cut into a continuous
spiral strip with a sharp knife. The strip may be two to three
centimetres wide and three to four metres long. This strip
is twisted and gently stretched to transform it into a furry
cord. In some cases, for added strength, the strip is wrapped
around a cord in a spiral. Some Native people would
start their cut at the stronger eye holes, leaving them intact 
NORTHERN BUSHCRAFT
to provide a more effective way to attach strips together by
means of a sheet bend.
The strips are wrapped in balls or stored by wrapping on
a metre long stick and kept frozen until 60 or 70 are collected
to make a robe of the desired size. The robe has to
be made before the skins dry.
A simple method of fashioning the robe begins by making
a loose chain or monkey chain sinnet that acts as the
foundation for the plaiting and determines the width of the
blanket by its length. At the end of each row the cord is
anchored with an overhand knot. At most, the mesh should
allow two fingers to be poked through it. New strips are
either tied or sewn on. When the blanket dries, the loops
should hold their shape and stay in place. If the robe is to
be made into a sleeping bag it is made wider at the top so
that it will lit over the shoulders better. The robe weighs
about three to four kilograms and can be rolled into a bundle
about 25 centimetres thick and 50 centimetres long. This
type of robe continually sheds hair so that you are likely to
find hair in everything you own and in your food as well.
Should the hair get in the eyes, it will cause an irritation.
This can be averted by sewing an inner and outer shell made
of cotton or nylon.
280 
THE AUTHOR
Mors Kochanski is known throughout Alberta for his extensive
work in outdoor education. He is especially familiar to outdoor
enthusiasts in north-central Alberta, where he has lived and
worked for the past 20 years. His enthusiasm for wilderness
recreation, his extensive knowledge of the field, and his desire
to learn everything there is to know about the wilderness have
made him one of the foremost authorities on wilderness skills.
Kochanski is a former editor of Alberta Wilderness Arts and
Recreation. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Faculty
of Physical Education at the University of Alberta.
282