Message-ID: <9901059155.AA915547655@hudsmtphq.hud.gov> Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1999 09:39:19 -0500 From: mailto:michael_o._patterson@HUD.GOV Subject: Robinson Crusoe To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
To: Wilbur Streett <mailto:WStreett@MAIL.MONMOUTH.COM> AT INTERNET@CCMAILDOM cc: Subject: Re: Robinson CrusoeThe Apache Sacred Order was "Shelter, Water, Fire, Food" on a tropical island, you can violate it. In a snowstorm, you will die if you violate it.
Beyond that, there are basic tools that would be helpful. If you assume that you can't have tools, then you are in a Stone Age technology. The Bulletin of Primitive Technology [POB 903, Resburg, ID 83440] is one place to start. Tom Brown, Jr., and several
British SAS folks, have authored books on survival technology. Avoid books by people who
haven't lived the skills, you risk your life.
Linda Runyon and Tom Brown, Jr., are among folks who have identified the top 50 and 100 edible wild plants. Interestingly, they are generally more nutritious than anything in the grocery store, and generally more prolific. There are many, many books on herbalism, from John Christopher to Richard Schultze to many, many others.
Reader's Digest used to put out a coffee table book on basic technology. 19th century formularies are very interesting, as they were written for people who "did it themselves".
You really don't know anything, though, until you've been in a full survival situation. It is quite an eye-opener. Cordage is easy enough to make, but it takes time. A fishing net, in a survival situation, is an investment comparable to a car.
A short listing, which desperately needs updating, follows, of some resources. Absolutely no endorsement of any product or contractor is implied by sharing this info, this is FYI only as examples of what is available.
Also, no book can tell you everything. If, for example, you go hunting, you want to do it on an empty stomach, but I've never seen that in any
book. Also, Stone Age living is based on a radically different world view, which is difficult to communicate in print. "Journey to the Ancestral Self", by Tamarack Song, is an example of this world view. A bow that you buy in a store is a bow. If you make it yourself, with power tools, it is an artifact. If you use hand tools, of metal, you start to feel its life, and if you make it with stone tools, it becomes an extension of your arm. That makes no sense until you have felt it in your body. Stone Age technology is very kinesthetic, most of it makes no sense until you experience it. I studied flintknapping for years, and it looked so difficult. I was shown how to do it in 2 minutes, and turned out a usable arrowhead in the following 20 minutes.
RESOURCE LIST TO SUPPORT LOW COST YOUTH PROGRAMS [Stone Age Technology] DRAFT OF FEBRUARY, 1996 This listing is probably very incomplete, especially with the explosion of books being published in these areas nowadays. Try your public library first. If you can't find the specific book you want, at least search the subject area on the shelves. There might be another book there even better for your purposes. Some of the authors
below have written many books. If you really like one book, try looking up the author's name in Books in Print, which many libraries and bookstores have, to see what else they've written. Books below are listed in the first category that applies. They might fit others as well. Always try your library first.
RESOURCE GROUPS:
MAGAZINES/PERIODICALS REMAINDER BOOKSTORES [which can be a great way to find skills books] STORYTELLING SCHOOLS EQUIPMENT BOOKS BASKETRY BOWS METALWORKING PLANT USE TECHNOLOGY, GENERAL STONEWORK SURVIVAL TECHNOLOGY TRACKING, ANIMAL
MAGAZINES/PERIODICALS
Bulletin of Primitive Technology Society of Primitive Technology, POB 903 Resburg, ID 83440-0903
STORYTELLING [this is how cultural values are passed on, even today, and is one of the very few forms of entertainment available in a Stone Age culture. The entire universe of meaning is formed by stories, and I would make it part of any survival program.]
National Assn. for the Presvn & Perpetuation of Storytelling POB 309,
Jonesboro, TN 37659-9983 Yellow Moon Press, POB 1316, Cambridge, MA 02238-1316 (800) 497-4385 orders, (617) 776-2230 Storytelling Books and tapes Story Stone/Another Place, Rt. 123, Greenville, NH 03048
SCHOOLS others listed in Bulletin of Primitive Technology Pathways School Of Primitive Living Skills, 3 Grandview Ave, Stockholm, NJ 07460 Tracker School, Tom Brown, Tracker, Inc., POB 173, Asbury, NJ 08802-0173 Prairie Wolf, POB 96, Randolph, KS 66554-0096 The Fiber Studio, 9 Foster Hill Rd., POB 637, Henniker, NH 03242-0637
(603) 428-7830 ASD, POB 28, Danville, VT 05828-0028 Tapes of Conventions from: Goodkind of Sound, Rt 3 Box 365AA Sylva, NC 28779, annual conference in August. Karlis Povisils, POB 747, Mt. Holly, NJ 08060-0747, 609 589 9114 Two Suns Earth School, Rt 1, Box 318, Fulks Run, VA 22830, 703 867 9338 Blazing Star School, POB 6, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370-0006 (413) 625-6875 SAGE, POB 420, E. Barre, VT 05649-0420
EQUIPMENT
Capotes, Hudson Bay type blankets/Oilcloth: Mound Builder Arts & Trading Co., POB 702, Branson, MO 65616-0702 NW Traders, 5055 W. Jackson Rd, Enon, OH 45323, (513) 767 9244 Western Trading Post, POB 9070, Denver, CO 80209-0070, (303) 777 7752 Johnson Woolen Mills, Johnson, VT 05656, Spec. Hudson Bay Point blankets Allen Weaving Co. 501 W. Fayette St. Syracuse, NY 13204 [oilcloth, Australian drover's coat patterns][good poncho material to cover capotes with]
Woolen Clothing: David Morgan, 11812 N. Creek Parkway N., Suite 103, Bothell, WA 98011
800 324 4934 206 485 2132 Gohn Bros., POB 111, 105 S. Main St., Middlebury, IN 46540-0111, (219) 825-2400 Drycleaners- some sell items left more than 30 days Sheepgate, Otis Stage Rd [Rt 23], Blandford, MA 01008, (413) 848-0990
wool batting
MUSEUMS Check w/ your State's Tourism bureau for these. Many museums offer skills courses
BOOKS
The Wholesale by Mail Catalog. New York: Harper & Row. mailto:@ least 30% off list price. The Next Whole Earth Catalog. Journey to the Ancestral Self Song, Tamarack. Station Hill Press, 1994.
BASKETRY Natural Basketry. C & D. Hart. New York: Watson Guptill Publ., 1976. Fiber Basketry H. Richardson. Kenthurst, NSW, Australia: Kangaroo Press, 1989. The Nature of Basketry E. Rossbach. W.Chester, PA:Schiffer, 1986.
BOWS The Traditional Bowyer's Bible, Vols. 1-3. Ed. Jim Hamm. Publ Bois d'Arc Press, POB 233, Azle, TX 76098-0233 distr. by Lyons & Burford, 31 W. 21 St., NY, NY 10010. His Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans is also good, though he says the Bowyer's Bibles are better. The Bent Stick. P. Comstock. POB 1102, Delaware, OH 43015, $12. The Bowyer's Craft. J. Massey. POB 429, Girdwood, AK 99587-0429 $19.
METALWORKING The Making of Tools. A. Weygers. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1973.
PLANT USE Stokes Nature Guides: A guide to Nature in Winter. D. Stokes. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.,
Peterson Field Guides: Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants. S. Foster. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990. Edible Wild Plants. L. Peterson. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1977. Edible Wild Plants. T.S. Elias. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1990.
Audubon Society Nature Guide: Eastern Forests. A. & M. Sutton. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Handbook of Edible Wild Plants. Gibbon. Weeds in Winter. Brown The Tree Identification Book. Symonds Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West. Moore. Linda Runyon, Wild Foods Co., 13239 Shadow Hills Dr., Sun City West, AZ 85735, (602) 933-8675, offers perhaps the most concise & useful guides; her field guide is awaiting printing. New Age Herbalist. Richard Mabey.
TECHNOLOGY, GENERAL Foxfire Books: The Foxfire Book, Vol. 1-6. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1972. The New England Indians. C.K. Wilbur. Chester, CT: Globe Pequot Press. Survival Skills of North American Indians P. Goodchild. Chicago Review Press, 1984. Pioneer Book of Nature Crafts H.G. Metcalf. NY: Citadel, 1974. A Brief and True Report of the Newfound Land of VA T. Harriot. NY: Dover, 1972, reprint of 1590 edition. Survival Arts of the Primitive Paiutes M. Wheat. Reno: University of
Nevada Press, 1967. Indian Fishing H. Stewart. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1977. Indian Handcrafts C.K. Wilbur. Chester, CT: Globe Pequot, 1990. Crafts of the North American Indians R. Schneider. Stevens Pt., Wisconsin: 1972. [Also: craft books of the Iroquois, Ojibwa, Blackfeet, and Pueblo.] Bushcraft R. Graves. NY: Warner, 1978. Iroquois Crafts Iroqrafts, RR2, Ohswekon, Ontario, CANADA N0A1M0, 1988, reprint of 1945 edition. Iroquois Foods Same as above, reprint of 1916, 1977. Naked into the Wilderness J. McPherson. Prairie Wolf, POB 96, Randolph, KS 66554-0096. 1993. Woodcraft and Camping B. Mason. NY: Dover, 1974, reprint of 1939. Camping and Woodcraft H. Kephart. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1988, reprint of 1917 edition. Northern Bushcraft M. Kochanski. Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA: Lone Pine Pub lishers, 1987. Wildwood Wisdom E. Jaeger. Bolinas, CA: Shelter Publications, distr. Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA, 1992, reprint of 1945.
STONEWORK The Art of Flintknapping. D.C. Waldorf.
SURVIVAL TECHNOLOGY Tom Brown's Field Guides [TBFG]: TBFG to Wilderness Survival TBFG to Nature Observation and Tracking TBFG to City and Suburban Survival TBFG to Living with the Earth TBFG to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants TBFG to the Forgotten Wilderness New York: Berkley Books, various years. The Tracker, The Search, The Vision, The Quest, The Journey, Grandfather
John McPherson's Primitive Wilderness Skills series: books, Videos: Naked into the Wilderness Deer from Field to Freezer American Indian Survival Skills. W. Ben Hunt. New York: Meredith Press, 1991. Adapted from The Complete How-To Book of Indiancraft.
TRACKING, ANIMAL
Stokes Nature Guides: A guide to Animal Tracking and Behavior. D. & L. Stokes. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1986. Peterson Field Guides: Animal Tracks. O. Murie. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1954. Tracking and the Art of Seeing. Paul Rezendes
THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ACTIVITY FOR CHILDREN. IT IS FREE, AND CAN OCCUPY THEM FOR HOURS. THE APACHE STARTED THEIR CHILREN OUT TRACKING MICE AND ANTS, WHICH CAN BE FOUND MOST ANYWHERE.
To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU AT INTERNET@CCMAILDOM cc: (bcc: Michael O. Patterson/HSNG/HAR/HUD) Subject: Robinson Crusoe
Let's see.. if I end up stranded on an island, without any resources, the first thing that I would do is look at the environment and try to figure out the basic essentials.
Food, water, shelter..
The people with me would already be educated and have their own opinions about how things should be done, so I don't think that I'll have the opportunity to dictate to them what doctrines they should follow in attempting to build a sustainable environment.
The first thing that I'd do is find out what they already know and what skills they bring to the effort. I'd find out their names, what their
general background is. I'd try to find out if they want to participate or not in the creation of a sustainable environment. Then I'd try to form some sort of consensus as to what the tasks are that need to be done and the priorities..
A book about the types of food that I'm likely to find would probably be helpful. Maybe one of the general survival style books..
Given the scenario, there's not much else that can be specified as far as books, doctrines, etc.. I don't know what sort of people I'm with, and I don't know what sort of resources are available on the Island. What sort of tools did I bring with me?
The reality is that given the scenario, the question of "what books" and what education being asked inside this particular medium is bound to be misleading. Education in the traditional context would be almost useless. Books aren't going to help the people get along, and no one is going to abide by what is written in the books. If the people that I'm with require a book then they probably aren't going to be very helpful in the creation of a sustainable environment. Education in terms of physical
ability, ability to work with tools is going to be much more useful. Education in terms of socialization is more important. That's the "education" that I'd like to see them have.
The question of "what books" in a text based media is likely to create
false conclusions. Only 2 people out of 100 can learn from a text book sufficiently to pass a college course. With those sorts of statistics, I wouldn't be basing anything that I'd be doing on "books".
Yes, books would be useful in those areas where I don't have specific knowledge, like what sort of food is edible, but the assertion of being able to "select" books means that I'd have previous knowledge of the location and the fact of the creation of a sustainable environment, and then I would base the selection of books specifically on the environment that I would end up in. You don't say how many people, how much time,
whether contact with the outside world is possible or not. How much do I get to bring in from the outside world? Can I bring along an Oil Tanker and a pre-fab house? Or is this a "naked and alive" scenario?
But since the scenario is made up, not much meaning can be found anyway. Or put another way, what education would I want the people to have?
Having done it before.
Wilbur
-------------------------------------------- Putting A Human Face On Technology ;-) --------------------------------------------