The relevance attributed to our earliest fathers emphasizes certain pioneer skills we must not lose. These skills keep us in constant touch with our roots, thus offering us a shelter we can call our heritage. If you’ve heard of Kinta Kunte, your roots would mean the world to you.
However, if you’re not one to master skills merely because they were used in the old days, you’d still have to learn these. Because they remind us of how far we have come as a nation and are also crucial to have in several survival situations.
4 Pioneer Skills We Must Not Lose
From the day they first arrived in Massachusetts and Virgins in the 1600s, our pioneering settlers continued to push westward. They ventured with bravery into unsafe, hitherto uncharted territories, assuming on several roles as they did so. These men and women were farmers, hunters, trappers, frontier soldiers, surveyors, fur traders, and midwives.
Regardless of their surroundings, the pioneers survived, as they were dependent on themselves & the land. Self-reliance was key. Fruits, nuts, and berries served as vegetation; wild game offered sustenance & leather. Salt was obtained from boiling saline spring water; boiling maple tree turned to Maple sugar; parched corn & barely and booking sassafras roots were good alternatives to tea & coffee.
Forging weapons and tools from metal and wood, the pioneers ensured that we and succeeding generations could come. Let us look at seven skills that these great forefathers used and how we could optimize them should SHTF.
Cooking Over Open Fire
In the absence of a defined kitchen place, cooking over open fire varies greatly from kitchen cooking of these days. Without the availability of sophisticated utensils and tools which we have now, early pioneers had to develop unique equipment & techniques to prepare food outdoors. The Dutch Oven that we use today is one of such innovations. It was designed with handles and legs that will keep the pot suspended over fire.
The earlier pioneers made hangers to help use pot over open fires, and this technique was widely used before the traditional stoves were introduced. Two iron bars taller than the fire were fixed on either side with an adjustable iron cross-piece that enabled adjustment of the pot, girdle, or skewer to different fire temperatures or heights.
Food Preservation
Proper food preservation was very vital to pioneer living. Without refrigeration, the chief option to preserve meat was smoking. In the winter, though, they tried out other means such as burying deep under the snow or suspending high on a tree in a cold bag.
There are various recipes used by the olden days’ pioneers, but Everet Starcher’s for preserving ham remains in use until today. You do not necessarily need this recipe these days with the availability of various preservation methods, but we never can tell when things may go wrong, so this is it:
- Coat the cut surface of your hams with Morton Salt Sugar. Make sure they are spread on a surface that even rats can’t get to.
- Ensure that you rub this sugar on every inch of the hams, including the inner cavity.
- Use corn cobs, hickory, or sassafras to make fire. Note that the fire has to be very little, as what you need is basically smoke.
- Smoke for four days, although this is extendable to 2 weeks.
- After smoking, leave them to “cure” on a surface for 1 – 2 months.
- When done, rub black pepper all over them, and then wrap in a sheet. After some days, put each ham in a cotton feed sack or muslin bag.
Canning was very much in use too. Before sealing meat in a can though, dry it at a high temperature that can kill off all bacteria.
Game Tracking
The availability of several courses on game tracking these days proves that pioneer skills can never go out of function. The early pioneers had to hunt animals before killing, just as you’re being taught today.
They didn’t track and kill games only for eating, though. They used different animal parts to make various tools, weapons, clothing, traps, foods, arrows, tomahawks, clubs, and snares. They had to hone their cognitive functions, such that they could remember places and information readily whenever necessary. If they didn’t have this ability, most would have died from the several poisonous plants that littered the wild.
Lastly, through trial & error, concise communication, and an unshakeable instinct to survive, earliest pioneers found out how to navigate mountains, rivers, forests, and unfamiliar terrains without the help of compasses or maps.
Gardening
As you read, I’m sure you already know the importance of gardening to our forefathers and to our present-day lifestyles. The pioneers had no choice; else, they’d starve to death or go through many difficulties to get plants. But with certain gardening techniques, most of which are still in use today, these men could plant and harvest crops they needed.
Some of the recommendations learned from these pioneers are:
- Spaces between thinner plants should be well-spread. This optimizes air circulation & increases drought tolerance.
- Cultivate the soil with a sharp hoe to maximize water penetration and suppress weed growth.
- Practice crop rotation and bed fallowing to get rid of specific crop pests and allow drained soils to regain lost nutrients.
- Add finished compost to the soil. This will improve its ability to retain moisture and nutrients. For best results, use well-decomposed organic amendments, for example, aged manure or peat.
In case you have to grow your survival garden, these are handy tips that will help lay the foundation of a prosperous garden.
Concluding The Pioneer Skills We Must Not Lose
There are several other pioneer skills we must not lose, but the four highlighted above are the most critical to survival. You surely recognize the importance of these skills to our pioneers and ourselves as well. A catastrophe can happen at any time. Having these abilities will increase your chances of survival significantly. Other pioneer skills are soap making, well digging, sewing, and basic carpentry. You can see all are quite relevant.