The Lost Art of Self-Reliance:

25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

It’s good to be prepared.

Whether you think the Shemitah is going to pummel the Earth. Or an

EMP blast will dim the nation. Or mass earthquakes will rupture the
lands. Or ISIS will infltrate the states through Mexican drug funnels.
Or martial law will ram every square inch of the country into the
hands of Big Governor (Or, maybe, if you’re a true glutton for fear
porn, all of the above)…

to have a couple of useful skills under your belt if things go south.

 And why not? Best case scenario is you can use these skills to provide
value to others. You could, for example, teach people how to make a
crossbow. Or sell your homemade soap on OpenBazaar. Or sow an
old boot back together (I had to thread a boot back together in
Singapore and, because I knew how to fx them, I saved the cost of a
new pair of boots). Or build a new kitchen table. And on and on.

That’s why it pays to be able to step out of the system — functioning

or broken — and survive without it. And where’s best for one to learn
the forgotten ways of the self-suffcient? The professionals, of course.

The pioneers.

Today, with the help of Bioprepper.com, we’re going to do our part to

revive the lost art of self-reliance and share with you 25 forgotten
skills of the pioneers.

[Ed. note: Before you go, watch these two videos of life-or-death
situations. In one video, a man dies. In the other, he makes it out
with his life. (Warning: not for the faint of heart). These videos will
show you — in clear view — why being prepared for anything is
invaluable. SHTF or not. Click here.]

Read on…

25 Forgotten Pioneer
Survival Skills
Bio Prepper
Pioneer life has a special meaning in America. In less than 300 years,
civilization spread across a vast continental wilderness.

From the frst landings in Virginia and Massachusetts in the early

1600’s, American settlers kept pushing westward behind an ever
moving frontier. Into wild country went hunters, trappers, fur
traders, miners, frontier soldiers, surveyors, and pioneer farmers.

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 The farmers tamed the land and made it productive.

Every part of America had its pioneers. Whatever their surroundings,

the pioneers had to depend on themselves and on the land. Self-
reliance was a frontier requirement. Game provided food and leather
clothing. New settlers gathered wild fruits, nuts, and berries.

For salt they boiled the water of saline springs. Maple sugar was
made by tapping maple trees in early spring and boiling the sap until
it thickened into a tasty sweetening.

Substitutes for tea and coffee were provided by boiling sassafras root
and brewing parched corn and barley. With an ax and adze for
cutting tools, the pioneers made beds, tables, benches, and stools.
They split logs into rails to make the zigzag fence that enclosed their
clearings.

25 Forgotten Pioneer Survival

Lessons Worth Finding And
Learning
Soap Making

The pioneers used to make soap themselves using the copious

amount of wood ashes, a natural result of their homesteading
activities, with also a plentiful supply of animal fat from the
butchering of the animals they used for food.

Soap with some work and luck could be made for free. Soap making
was performed as a yearly or semiannual event on the homesteads of
the early settlers. As the butchering of animals took place in the fall,
soap was made at that time on many homesteads and farms to utilize
the large supply of tallow and lard that resulted.

On the homes or farms where butchering was not done, soap was
generally made in the spring using the ashes from the winter fres
and the waste cooking grease, that had accumulated throughout the

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year. Soap making takes three basic steps.

1. Making of the wood ash lye.

2. Rendering or cleaning the fats.

3. Mixing the fats and lye solution together and boiling the mixture to
make the soap.

Food Preservation

The food preservation played a very important role in a pioneer’s life.

Not having a refrigerator his only way to maintain the food edible
was to preserve it.

The most used process to preserve the meat was smoking. I’m going
to share with you an old recipe for curing and smoking hams. The
process of smoking is still used by a few die-hards, but most folks
take a shorter route to preservation — canning, freezing or diluted
methods using “smoked” chemicals applied directly to the meat.

Old-timer Everet Starcher of Sinking Springs gave his directions to

smoking hams in 1976. He was in his 80s when he shared his recipe.

Put your hams on a table or fat surface where mice or nothing can
get on them. Rub Morton Salt Sugar Cure liberally over the cut
surface of the hams.

There is a place in the hams where you can put your fnger in, so be
sure that you fll that cavity with the sugar cure. Let your hams “cure”
on the fat surface for a month or month and a half.

For your smoke, use hickory, sassafras or corn cobs. Smoke about
four days. Some people smoke them for up to two weeks.

You can tell how brown the hams are getting.

The fre is for smoke only, a very small fre. You might use an old iron
pot placed inside another heavy metal surface so it doesn’t burn the
foor.
 All you want is a trail of smoke coming up toward the hams which
will be hung by placing a heavy wire through the shank and securing
the hams to a rafter or ceiling of your smoke house.

After you have fnished smoking the hams, run them liberally with
black pepper. Use plenty. Then wrap the hams in an old sheet or
something and put each ham in something like a muslin bag or
cotton feed sack.

Canning was also a very familiar preservation method. If you are

familiar with canning fruits and vegetables then you’ll know how to
can meat too. All you have to do is make sure that you take the meat’s
temperature high enough to kill all bacteria before sealing the jars.

Cooking Over Open Fire

Cooking over open fre differs substantially from kitchen-based

cooking, the most obvious difference being lack of an easily defned
kitchen area.

As a result, campers and backpackers have developed a signifcant

body of techniques and specialized equipment for preparing food in
outdoors environments. Such techniques have traditionally been
associated with the Plains Indians and pioneers of North America,
and have been carried down and refned in modern times for use
during recreational outdoors pursuits.

Closely associated with the American Old West, the Dutch oven of
tradition is a heavy cast iron pot, traditionally made with three short
legs and a concave cover for holding hot coals on top. While such pots
are generally considered too heavy for backpackers, Dutch ovens are
often used in group camp-outs and cookouts.

Dutch ovens were traditionally specially designed for camping, and

such pots (often with legs and a handle, both for suspending the pot
over a fre) are still widely available, though sometimes at a premium

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 over fat-bottomed stove-top models.

The oven is placed in a bed of hot coals, often from a keyhole fre with
additional coals placed on top of the lid, which in camp ovens usually
has a raised rim to keep the coals from falling off. Dutch ovens are
convenient for cooking dishes that take a long time such as stews,
joints of meat and baked goods. They are not the only option for
baking on a campout as devices for baking on portable stoves exist
and clay ovens can be constructed at longer encampments.

A pot hanging over the fre, although picturesque, may spill, and the
rigging may be diffcult to construct from found wood. Generally this
is done with metal rigging, much of it identical to that historically
used in home freplaces before the invention of stoves.

Two vertical iron bars with an iron cross-piece allow pots to be hung
at various heights or over different temperatures of fre. Griddles,
grills and skewers can also be hung over the fre. When working with
wood, one may use two tripods, lashed with tripod lashings, but the
rope will be liable to melt or burn. Dovetail joints are more secure,
but diffcult to carve.

Tracking

Our ancestors used many skills to survive. They used their tracking
skills to fnd and hunt the animals used for food, clothing, and tools.
They had to make the bows and arrows, traps and snares, clubs and
tomahawks used in hunting. While hunting, they had to know what
plants, or parts of plants, were edible and how to prepare them. They
also knew what plants were used for medicinal purposes, and how to
prepare the medicines. They knew how to fnd their way through
forests, mountains, and unfamiliar terrain without the aid of
compasses and maps.

Our ancestors had many skills essential to survival. We should never

forget these skills or how to use them.

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Tracking is identifying an animal by the footprints the animal left on
the ground, by its scat, and by the environment surrounding those
footprints. By identifying the animal in question, a person can know
whether to pursue the animal or evade it. Such things as gait, along
with the distance between prints, can tell you if the animal is running
or walking. Becoming familiar with the footprints of an animal is just
the beginning of understanding tracking. The size and depth of the
print can help tell you the size of the animal.

Butchering

Raising an animal is one thing, butchering it is another. Few hunters

even know how to properly butcher an animal, as most take them to a
butcher for cutting up and packaging. Yet, an animal which is not
properly cleaned and butchered can cause disease. You can also
waste a lot of good meat by not doing it correctly. The pioneers knew
how to butcher an animal the right way and never wasted anything.
Every part of the animal had a use.

Tanning

This is the frst step in tanning hides and making leather the old
fashioned way. Sometimes called brain tan, smoke tan, Indian tan or
home tan. Watch this demonstrator scrap the hair and grain from the
hide.

Sewing

Sewing can seem like such and olden thing, but it’s really not! Being
able to patch up holes in clothing and tarpaulin among many other
things can useful in survival. It’s not a skill that should be left to the
Grandmothers of the world it’s one that should be passed on down
the generations.

We’ve just mentioned some of the obvious uses for sewing so far,
being clothing and tarpaulin, but what if you need to sew up a
wound? This may seem simple, but if you’ve never sewn before you
 having nothing to base this assumption on.

Weaving

In a post crisis world, not only will it be impossible to buy clothes,

you may also fnd it just as hard to buy material, patterns, and tools
for making your own clothes and shoes. As someone that learned how
to knit, crochet, weave, and hand sew by the age of nine, I can safely
say there is far more to good quality, long lasting clothes than what
you see in the stores. Our ancestors readily turned cotton, wool,
hemp, and other plant based goods into textiles by using spinning
wheels and looms. By the same token, stretching and tanning animal
hides (including brain tanning) also offers a source of fabric from just
about any animal you take for food. When it comes to bugging out or
preparing for a crisis, you will eventually realize that it does not make
much sense to stockpile clothes. Even though modern fabrics are
convenient, they can easily be replaced later on using materials that
you grow or hunt.

Well Drilling

Having your own well on your property is a good idea even if you just
want fresh, clean water that isn’t full of fuoride and chlorine like city
water is. If SHTF, you’ll have one major problem already solved.
Even if it doesn’t come to a survival scenario, having your own water
supply means that you’re basically off the grid. You’re not dependent
upon third parties and that’s awesome in my book. All these things
considered, learning how to dig a well is a good lesson that every
prepper should master.

Gardening

I’ve found that I increasingly prefer old fashioned gardening

techniques (or at least those that I think of as “old fashioned”). I’m
not saying they’re the best. I think my preference has something to
do with my personality–but also that I’m gardening in a harsh
subtropical environment where these techniques really work for me.

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

Some of these techniques are:

Set thin plants to the maximum recommended distances (or more)

for good air circulation, increased drought tolerance.

Cultivate (with a good sharp hoe)to keep down weeds and improve
water penetration

Rotate crops and leave a bed fallow every few seasons

Amend soils with fnished compost

Level the planting area (a gardening book tip that I’ve learned the
hard way and extremely important in sandy soil)

Basic Carpentry and Shelter Building

The pioneers were very good carpenters. On every new frontier the
pioneers made homes for themselves, using what the wild land
provided. In the great forests of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys the
land provided timber. Here the pioneers’ essential tool was the ax.
The ax would clear the forest for the plow. But its frst task was to
shape a pioneer shelter.

When a family of settlers arrived at the spot where they planned to

make their home, they began chopping saplings and trimming poles
to build a lean-to. Between two forked trees they laid a crosspole.
With the help of oxen or horses they rolled up a log, which was
banked with dirt to form a low back wall. Then they laid poles,
slanted upward, from the back log to the crosspole. The sloping roof
was covered with bark and branches. The ends of the lean-to were
walled with shorter poles and pickets. This was the pioneers’ “half-
faced camp.” It always faced south, away from wind and rain. In front
of the open side they dug a fre pit. Logs smoldered there day and
night, giving warmth and protection.

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

Trading

The concept of private barter and alternative economies has been so

far removed from our daily existence here in America that the very
idea of participating in commerce without the use of dollars seems
almost outlandish to many people.

One thing is certain, though: in the aftermath of a widespread

disaster or the collapse of civil society as we know it, you’ll want to
have useful skills and items that you can barter or trade with. Once
society collapses, bartering will become a business. Individuals will
have items they can barter with, but in most cases, a person would
not be able to afford to part with the items they do have.

Anyone not prepared will have nothing to barter with, so looters will
be active as well as desperate. Real trading will be based On ‘long
term’ items. Seeds, not food. Arrows, not ammo. Tools, not flters.
See, once the ‘short duration expendables’ are consumed, you won’t
be re-supplying, you’ll be making your own or doing without. From
turning your own arrow shafts, to cutting arrowheads from old
license plates; from building fltration weirs to flter water, to needing
copper tubing to make ‘wood-fred-water-heaters’.

Knowledge and durable supplies (axes, hammers, spoke shaves, saw

blades, etc.) will be the real money. He who has stocked dozens of
saw blades will be king. He who sits on a case of toilet paper will be
sad he didn’t learn how to replace it with what they used 200 years
ago, instead (FYI, toilet paper is only about a 100-year old concept —
ask yourself, what did they use before then, and get a real clue —
because THAT is VERY valuable in the long term!)

So, forget stocking for that 2-week event, it’s not that diffcult. The
hard part is stocking for the total paradigm shift, that few remember
how to do much of.

You won’t be making your own saw blades anytime soon. Now, ask
yourself, what else will you NOT be making, that you need to learn

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

how to make, or replace with older technology, before you need it (or
need to trade it)?

Navigation

Being able to read a compass and a map is maybe one of the most
important skills that will make the difference between life and death.
Imagine the pioneers that had to make huge journeys to the old west
from Independence Missouri to Oregon City.

They were able to orientate by the stars and by the sun. Nowadays is
easier to use a GPS but if SHTF and the GPS won’t work no more the
old ways will come handy.

Trapping

Having the skill of trapping small game for food will be a great
advantage. Knowing how to set multiple types of traps for different
animals will ensure your survival and the survival of your loved ones.
Here’s a great article on trapping:

SIX PRIMITIVE TRAPS FOR CATCHING FOOD IN THE WOODS

Saving Seeds

Saving seeds is maybe a known skill but it is vitally important to the

survival of your garden. By saving seeds you ensure the continuity of
your food supply over the years. Start by saving your seeds and
planting them in spring to practice this skill.

Start A Fire Without Matches

There’s a primal link between man and fre. Every prepper should
know how to start a fre with the resources around them, even if that
means creating fre without a match or lighter.

This is an essential survival skill as you never know when you’ll fnd
yourself in a situation where you’ll need a fre, but you don’t have

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

matches. Maybe your single engine plane goes down while you’re
fying over the Alaskan wilderness, like the kid in Hatchet.

Or perhaps you’re out camping and you lose your pack. It need not be
something as dramatic at these situations-even extremely windy or
wet conditions can render matches virtually useless. And whether or
not you ever need to call upon these skills, it’s nice to know you can
start a fre, whenever and wherever you are.

Maintaining Proper Hygiene

Maintaining a proper hygiene one of your top priorities because

sickness can and will cause you problems. After SHTF water will be
scarce and showers may not work so people must take in
consideration this aspect when prepping. Bathing on a regular basis
is necessary to avoid illness due to bacteria building up on your skin
and causing health problems. You should take in consideration
sponge baths as an option.

Knowing Herbal Remedies

For medicines the pioneers had to provide for themselves. Women

soon learned the use of herbs for healing. They used boneset for
fever, pennyroyal to purify the blood, horehound for coughs, and
ginseng for tonic. Syrups and salves were made from cherry root,
horseradish, and witch hazel. Wild mustard, poplar root, and red
sumac root went into teas, poultices, and powders. The standard cure
for a chest cold was to rub the chest with goose grease and apply a
mustard plaster.

Some frontier remedies were based more on superstition than

science. Among these were potions of walnut bark “peeled upward,”
boiled nettles, and “nanny tea,” made from sheep dung.

Foraging

From all the skills mentioned here, this is probably the most well
known. However, we’ve seen that many people either focus on the

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

ability to hunt, or the ability to forge. In order to give you the best
chances of survival, knowledge of both skills is extremely necessary.

Developing on from that you’ll also want to think about clothing,

because those really nice winter jackets you’ve brought probably
won’t last forever. Skills like skinning will come into their own here.

Making Alcohol From Fruits And Grains

Back in the old days making alcohol was a common thing amongst
the pioneers. Alcohol is a great disinfectant, great for entertaining
and a very valuable trade item. Knowing how to make alcohol will
give the ability to trade both alcohol and the skill itself which will be
in great demand. Here’s a great article on how to make alcohol at
home:

HOW TO MAKE ALCOHOL AT HOME

Basic Firearm Repair

Back in the old west guns were something vital. Everybody had one.
So the demand for this skill was very big and everyone knew the
basics to repair their gun and had some basic spare parts around. I
bet you think you got everything you’ll need, right? Covered all the
basics didn’t you?

Bet you forgot one critical thing that will keep you alive more than a
weapon or cleaning kit…

What is it? FIRST AID KIT for your primary weapons.

Yea I thought so. Firing pins, extractors, detents springs. Places won’t
be around to get parts. They are small and don’t weigh much. Pass
this on…

Raising Livestock

The ranchers went west to raise cattle. The open plains were ideal for

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

grazing huge herds, and the completion of the transcontinental

railroad in 1869 made it possible to ship the cattle to market in large
and proftable numbers. Cattle ranching was a tough business that
gave the West its cowboys. Cowboys tended the herds while they were
grazing, branded them when they were of age, fought off cattle
thieves, and managed the long drives of thousands of cattle over
hundreds of miles of open prairie to the railroads. They followed
well-known trails, like the Chisholm Trail, that have become a part of
the landscape of U.S. folklore.

Hunting

Hunting requires spending a lot of energy, and there’s a reason that

settled humans moved from hunting to cultivation in the form of
growing food and rearing livestock. The ability to grow fruits and
vegetables not only saves you from having to hunt as much, but it
also provides nutrients for your diet that you might not otherwise
obtain, especially when attempting to survive in the longer term.
There are illnesses that can be brought on simply by not getting
enough nutrition like Scurvy. This is something avoidable. The
rearing of livestock would be a harder task but not unimaginably so.
This will not only yield food, but it’s also a good way of keeping busy
especially if you’re trying to survive in an environment far from the
general population

Blacksmithing

The mighty smith of folklore was the blacksmith, who worked with
iron and steel and whose hammer wielded more force than his fellow
craftsmen, the tinsmith and the whitesmith, who worked in lighter
metals. The word “smith” derives its meaning from the word
“smite,” transformed over time to mean “a man who strikes.”

Blacksmiths were valuable in every frontier community because they

could make tools: crowbars, axles, axes, plows, and other
implements. They also produced fne metal parts like hinges, hoops
for wooden barrels, nails, and pots.

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The Lost Art of Self-Reliance: 25 Forgotten Pioneer Skills

The blacksmith ranked with the cobbler as a rural philosopher, and

his shop, with doors open during the summer and comfortably warm
in the winter, offered men a receptive place for gathering and gossip.
The craft was passed on from master blacksmiths to young
apprentices, who were usually just boys when they began learning.

Today many people associate blacksmithing with one who makes

horseshoes, but those specialists are more properly known as farriers.

[Ed. note: This article originally appeared on the Bio Prepper

website at this link.]

www.bioprepper.com

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