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CAMPING COWBOY STYLE taken from the CAS-L mailing list and used by permission. Reprint rights are granted by the author with the proviso that no charge is made for reading and credit is given. I've been meaning to get to this for some time and now that the Confederate Cav. has gone into winter quarters, I have the time. Marshal, you have my permission to do with this what you will as far as CAS-L is concerned. Also, any one has free use as far as they don't charge for it, simply reprint and credit to myself. As CAS becomes bigger and bigger, there has been an increased interest in historical camping. Winter Range and High Sierra both offer separate areas for historical camping. I thought I'd pass along some of what I've learned over the past 25 years about it. I'll start out with the basics of horseback camping and move up to the more elaborate. - Pawnee Bill WHAT YOU'LL NEED
HOW TO RIG IT Roll over coat tightly and string it to the pommel. Wrap rope round picket pin and slip under the strings on top of over coat. Roll wool blanket inside of slicker or gum blanket and attach to cantle (place spare shirt and wool shirt inside as well as towel and hatchet). Tie boiler to top of this roll. Slip fry pan in back of this roll. Wear canteen across your shoulders or slip around the saddle horn if you must. Everything is rigged so you can get to it when needed; you can take a meal without undoing the whole kit and you can get to your coat. HOW TO USE IT Bed roll If it's gonna be cold, dig up the ground under your bunk. This introduces air pockets and helps keep you warm. At events where there are horses around, there is usually straw. Put about 2 flakes under your bunk and fluff it up. This adds much insulation and comfort if there's no straw cut grass or bowes to substitute or pine needles. Lay slicker or gum blanket gum side down on top of straw or dug up ground. If you think it's gonna rain, delete this, as it will go on top of this whole mess. Take your horse blanket (yes I know it stinks) and make an envelope at the foot of the bunk, place your saddle at the head of the bunk, fold up your day coat for a pillow. Take your bandanna and tie it on your head granny style, put on your over coat. Slip your feet into the horse blanket and cover the whole thing with your blanket. I have found this rig works best because your feet are saved from drafts and you can jump up in a hurry. I've camped in weather down in the teens and ain't died yet. I ain't sayin' I haven't been cold though, but this is about all the gear you can carry horse back. You could add a tent half to the back roll and buddy up or just use it for more bedding. BASIC FOOD AND USE OF COOKING GEAR I'm gonna cover basic food for horse back camping and I mean basic. In 1858, the US government determined that a man could sustain life on 1 pound of cracker (a 19th c. Cracker is about 3x3' and 1/2 inch thick), a half pound of bacon, salt pork or salted beef, coffee and sugar, salt and an occasional piece of fruit or a vegetable. 6 million men lived on this during the Civil War and only about 4 hundred thousand died from it. 1 in 15, that's not bad odds. I've found the modern man requires a little more than this and he don't take too well to cracker. Bacon: I've found it takes about a pound a day per man( remember grease is food or at least it was before the 1980's). I like the Danish kind that is canned. It can be had for about 2 bucks a pound. Don't bother with store warped kind as it is not cured enough and gets rangy in the saddle bag. Salt Pork: The store bought kind is too fatty and doesn't keep well. I make my own , get fresh slab bacon and dry it in rock salt for about a week, wrap it in wax paper ( brown wax paper of course) and it will keep longer than you want to know). Chunks about 3x3' work well. Now folks, this stuff takes some getting use to, but after about the third day it starts tasting pretty good. To prepare salt pork, soak in water if you can spare it over night, drain cut into bite size pieces and fry. Save the grease, remember it's food. Prepare the bacon in the same manner, but you don't need to soak it. Salt Beef: I could never warm up to this stuff. It's better than starving, but just barely and it doesn't taste any better even the third day out. Best leave this to the dogs and substitute canned beef better yet just stick to bacon. Cracker: About 9 per day per man if you can stand it. It's hard on the grinders but will sustain life. Corn meal: Good substitute for cracker, about a pound a day per man. Boil it up in your boiler, let it stiffen a might, then fry in the grease left over from cooking the bacon. Place a ball of this on a stick and roast briefly and eat off the stick. Now before y'all get too grossed out, this ain't nothing but a hush puppy. Potatoes : Get good fresh small potato's if you are the enterprising type. Boil them the night before if not just slice thin and fry in bacon fat. Add salt and pepper toss in some diced onion if you have it . I tell you, fried potatoes are mighty satisfying when you are out on the ground. Apples: They are easy to haul and keep well. Get good fresh small ones, as they keep better and are easier to pack. Take as many as you can haul . Eat 'em raw, boil or stew 'em with brown sugar and onion , helps to satisfy your sweet tooth. Dried apples work well, but be sure to soak because they can be rough on the insides, if you eat too many. Coffee: Store in silk bag long enough to tie a knot in it. Take plenty cause nothing will sour a fella like running out of coffee on the trail. To prepare, fill your boiler 3/4 full with cold water. Add grounds to top pile it about 3/4 of an inch high. Anyway, it takes about 1 and 1/2 times the grounds that it does at home. To make good coffee, place in fire and let it just come to a boil. Remove from heat, let stand a minute and pour a dipper of cold water on top to settle the grounds. Dip the coffee out rather than pour it. If you can, you will get less grounds in it. The coffee will come out richer if the grounds are left in the water over night and then just place on fire in the morning. If you and your pards can agree on using sugar in your coffee, just dump the sugar in the grounds. Salt & Pepper: I carry mine in a tiny powder horn and just mix it together. Sugar: I prefer brown sugar, as it doesn't get so nasty when damp. To stow all this: Put your coffee and sugar and any thing else that will fit inside the boiler when packing up. The canned bacon rolls well in a bed roll. Be sure to leave one where you can get to it for a meal on the trail. Salt pork will keep OK in saddle bag, but keep it out of the sun as much as you can. Won't really hurt it, but it looks a mite unpleasant. A word of warning. When you're done with 3 days of this food, ease back into your regular diet. Don't gorge your self at the first opportunity, as your body will have adjusted to a low bulk high salt diet and may reject a big meal right off. |
