Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

152 CAJViriNG AND WOODCRAFTand cleaned, and pounded in a mortar into a kind offlour, and when they wish to make it very good, theymix some sugar [i.e., maple sugar] with it. Whenwanted for use, they take about a tablespoonful ofthis flour in their mouths, then stooping to the riveror brook, drink water to it. If, however, they havea cup or other small vessel at hand, they put theflour in it and mix it with water, in the proportionof one tablespoonful to a pint. At their camps theywill put a small quantity in a kettle with water andlet it boil down, and they will have a thick pottage.With this food the traveler and warrior will set outon long journeys and expeditions, and as a little ofit will serve them, for a day, they have not a heavyload of provisions tp carry. Persons who are unacquaintedwith this' dietought to be careful not totake too much at a time, and not to suffer themselvesto be tempted too far by its flavor; more than oneor two spoonfuls, at most, at any one time or at onemeal is dangerous; for it is apt to swell in thestomach or bowels, as when heated over a fire."The best of our border hunters and warriors,such as Boone and Kenton and Crockett, relied agood deal upon this Indian dietary when startingon their long hunts, or when undertaking forcedmarches more formidable than any that regulartroops could have withstood. So did Lewis andClark on their ever-memorable expedition across theunknown West. Modern explorers who do theiroutfitting in London or New York, and who thinkit needful to command a small army of porters andgun-bearers when they go into savage lands, mightdo worse than read the simple annals of that tripby Lewis and Clark, if they care to learn whatreal pioneering was.It is to be understood, of course, that the parchedand pulverized maize was used mainly or solely asan emergency food, when no meat was to be had.Ordinarily the hunters of that day, white and red,when they were away from settlements or tradingposts, lived on ''meat straight," helped out withnuts, roots, wild salads, and berries. Thus didBoone, the greater part of two years, on his first expeditionto Kentucky; and so did the trappers of