I had a dream the other night, I didn’t understand.
A figure walking through the mist, with flintlock in his hand.
His clothes were torn and dirty, as he stood there by the bed,
He took off his three-cornered hat, and speaking low, he said:

If he stood by your bedside, in a dream while you’re asleep,
And wondered what remains of our rights he fought to keep,
What would be your answer, if he called out from the grave?
Is this still the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?

I have had a lot of “flatlanders”, and some not so flat, ask me over the years how to start a fire with flint and steel. Well when I tell them (or show them) the process, and I get to the part where I use char cloth to catch the spark, invariably one will ask “where do you get the char”??
So, here is a short tutorial on making char cloth.

What you need…
100% cotton or linen cloth
Things such as an old bath towel, t-shirt, or what have you.
“How can I tell it’s cotton”? you ask.
The best way is to light an edge of the fabric then pinch it out and see if it chars, or melts, if it melts it is not cotton or it is a blend and will not work for char cloth, a few years back the government changed the labeling on cotton to read 100% even if it has nylon in it, so do not go by the lable.

A container made of metal, with a lid such as a cookie tin, paint can, or an older shoe polish can. Punch a small hole in the top of the lid as shown.

Take your cloth and tear, or cut it into small squares (2″X 2″ is fine), and put it in your tin. Dont pack it too full or the top will blow off (trust me…I know).

Put the lid on and place the tin in the fire.

The tin will begin to smoke from the hole, this is the gasses burning off charring the cloth, it will flame up too.

When the smoke and flame has stopped coming out of the hole, take it off the fire and place it in a cool spot to cool. IMPORTANT! Do not open the tin before it cools or it will burst into flames and you’ve just wasted your time and cloth.

The finished char cloth..It should catch a spark readily, and be a pitch black color, if there are any brown spots in the cloth your going to have to put it back in the tin and let it go a bit more in the fire.

 I would like to personally thank everyone who attended the meeting for coming and helping to make our club better…

There was a lot of discussion about going to other rendezvous, not as a club for demonstrating but rather as individuals, with the exception of Klondike Days.

I too am planning on going to a few I haven’t visited in many years..not to demonstrate, but to have fun and see some friends I haven’t seen in a coon’s age and maybe meet new ones.
That’s all I got for now pilgrim……

…granpaw

covering the pump with blankets

Closeup view of the tag.

Hudson Bay 3 point blanket.

Evie

Don’t forget to bring your camera.

Kokopelli.

Probably the most popular & well known Indian symbol. Known as the seed bringer and water sprinkler. A common fertility symbol throughout the Southwest. His image is found many times in petrography art. He is a personage who is honored as a kachina by most Pueblo cultures. He is associated with fertility, the male principal, biology, and the significance of guarding seeds. Usually depicted as old, bent under his heavy load with his flute. He travels to many communities, impregnating young women who are mesmerised from the notes played on his flute. Related to the cricket or locust whose natural music is associated with the state of humidity and seasonal weather. Many bawdy stories of his various exploits have been told. As a kachina doll, he is made with a staff, not a flute and is carved as a hunchbacked. His likeness also featured exaggerated male sexual organs until the missionaries came in the 1930′s, who frowned on this practice. Today he is considered the ambassador of the Southwest.