The Woodsman's Journal Online

Sunday, July 12, 2026

Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, What He did Wrong©

Author’s note -- I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

Imagine it is in the middle of winter of some year between 1794 and 1814, the exact year doesn’t really matter. You’ve walked all day, become turned around, bewildered even, in a giant frozen swamp, on the edge of the American Old Northwest Frontier. It’s bitterly cold, and the Sun is going down. It will be dark soon, and it’s going to get colder, much colder. Can you do better than the Lost Traveller did? He survived to tell the tale, would you?

In 1820, the Great Tonawanda Swamp covered about 25,000 to 40,000 acres (roughly 40 to 60 square miles). It was the remains of the mostly dried up corpse of Glacial Lake Tonawanda, which was filled by Lake Erie and emptied into Glacial Lake Iroquois.

A massive, impassable wetland stretching across the northern parts of Genesee and Orleans counties, in New York state, which included within it today, the towns of Alabama, Oakfield, Elba, Barre, and Clarendon. It measured roughly 15 to 20 miles long and several miles wide. The swamp was a major geographic barrier during the early 1800s and was covered with thick, wet woods, deep mud, and dense vegetation, making it nearly impossible to cross or farm. Early pioneer records note the swamp was home to dangerous wildlife, including large populations of wolves. Being lost here, especially in the winter, was no joke. So what did the ‘Lost Traveller’ do wrong; and what did he do right...let’s find out.

What he did wrong...

Our ‘Lost Traveller’ and his companion entered the wilderness without a compass, means of creating fire, food or any spare clothing, because they assumed they couldn’t possibly get lost. If they had remembered to bring a compass and knew that their path would generally be to the west to north-west, then perhaps they wouldn’t have lost their way.

Even without a compass, if they had only known that in the winter, near the solstice, on December 21, six days after they set out, the sun rises in the southeast (30° to 32° south of due east, actually), before crossing through the southern hemisphere, and then setting in the southwest (30° to 32° south of due west), perhaps they would have been able to find their way from the twin villages of Hartford and Canawagus, New York, which today are known as Avon, New York, to the Niagara Falls area without a problem.

Instead they walked for some 15 miles, over an apparently unbroken track through the forest, following blazes, trusting to luck and hoping for the best. December 15^th is one of the shortest days of the year, with the sun rising at about 7:30 am and setting again about 4:30 pm at this latitude; that means there is only a total of about nine hours of daylight. Since the snow depth was low, at about six inches (15 cm) deep, and they had no baggage, they must have been walking at 2 miles per hour (3.2 kph). This means that they walked for some seven and half hours before they lost the trail.

When they realized that they had left the trail, they should have S.T.O.P.ped, and built a camp for the night, or returned by following their tracks to the correct trail. But they didn’t, instead they spent the next hour and half or so wandering the frozen swamp, before the setting sun forced them to stop, set up camp and go no farther.

As it was, they were bewildered, not yet lost, but without any food, or extra dry clothes which was their baggage; as the temperatures plummeted, becoming bewildered was truly becoming an emergency.

So, now we know what the ‘Lost Traveller’ did wrong. To recap, here is what he should have done.

Before heading into the wilderness always carry a compass. Even if you or your guide know how to get from point A to point B, carry a compass for emergencies. Constantly check your compass to make sure you are still on track.

Learn to tell basic directions from the position of the Sun, just in case.

Always have the means to start a fire with you, on your person, at all times. This includes tinder as well as the means to light it.

Bring extra dry clothes, water and food, just in case.

S.T.O.P when you first become ‘bewildered’, don’t keep moving.

If you manage to go off trail, follow your foot-steps and back track to where you know where you are, DON’T wander and try a shortcut. Like a free lunch, there is no such thing as a shortcut.

Plan on setting up camp at least two hours before local sunset (when the sun goes down behind the trees, the nearest hill, ridge, etc.).

But not thinking that it could happen to them was their biggest mistake.

But what did he do right? To find out, tune in next week and read “Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, What he did right©

For more on the ‘Lost Travellers’ tale of survival read “Lost in the Great Tonewanta Swamp, 1796! Part One©, HERE.

I hope that you enjoy learning from this resource! To help me to continue to provide valuable free content, please consider showing your appreciation by leaving a donation HERE. Thank you and Happy Trails!

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and look for me on YouTube at BandanaMan Productions for other related videos, HERE. Don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online, HERE, and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube. If you have questions, as always, feel free to leave a comment on either site. I announce new articles on Facebook at Eric Reynolds, on Instagram at bandanamanaproductions, and on VK at Eric Reynolds, so watch for me.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Beard Adelia Belle; “Woodcraft for Outdoor Boys and Girls”, The Washington Reporter, February 11, 1920, page 5, https://books.google.com/books?id=SjFeAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=%22without+maTCHES%22+1920&article_id=6504,6160930&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjo5feX6aeVAxXYDHkGHYfXELsQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%22without%20maTCHES%22%201920&f=false, accessed June 27, 2026

Department of the Army, Basic Cold Weather Manual, FM 31-70, April 12, 1968, [Paladin Press, Boulder, CO, 1974], page 61

Mackenzie, Eneas; An Historical, Topographical, and Descriptive View of the United States of America, [Mackenzie and Dent, London, 1819], page 508, https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qace32RK0rSk2jqxttZuRyh11-RXIcfKDUiiKI2LqpGDtENvzLmzCCnEHG_Ev8nqEVAcPJyp6APwbtdoTd0QhajdZzGAE-3hJKED9cWKNaBzt0wWnJfE80g4l-VQ6o46l1Sm1L9ZVjX7lZOeTTYPR42JEQXYLiWNzRTG-qafk12l5BpfurWXv4XYcwwoY4bcwF1loxkLYwYF8IJeFKS9FJy8JZNpop9CVwTynkDnYf5iEp4r4L8MgcBpeL6BFU4cbGfm7YaWVeL2upttQe2jNeXvAJCtHnn6YrwU1sPccngWgj9rYqI, accessed July 11, 2026

Moses, Thomas; “The Lost Traveller”, The Analectic Magazine, Volume 4, [published by Moses Thomas, Philadelphia, PA; 1814], page 158, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Analectic_Magazine/pu84AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22the+lost+Traveller%22+analectic+magazine+1814&pg=PP13&printsec=frontcover, accessed June 27, 2026

Russell, J.; “A Map Of The Middle States, Of America”, 1794 http://www.mapsofpa.com/18thcentury/1794russell.jpg, accessed June 27, 2026

Sharp, Hal; “Sportsman’s Digest: Start a Fire with Flint and Steel”, The News-Dispatch, September 18, 1972, page 5, https://books.google.com/books?id=02BVAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=%22start+a+fire+with+flint+and+steel%22+1972&article_id=3452,5991692&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvnvTg7qeVAxUvpIkEHfdCPU8Q6AF6BAgIEAM#v=onepage&q=%22start%20a%20fire%20with%20flint%20and%20steel%22%201972&f=false, accessed June 27, 2026

The American Mountain Men; “Flint and Steel Steel Char Flint”, https://americanmountainmen.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TLR-FIRE-2019-APRIL-28.pdf, accessed June 27, 2026

Wikimedia, “1821 A new map and profile of the proposed canal from Lake Erie to Hudson River in the State of New York”, from the New York Public Library, 1821, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1821_A_new_map_and_profile_of_the_proposed_canal_from_Lake_Erie_to_Hudson_River_in_the_State_of_New_York,_from_the_New_York_Public_Library_-_510d47da-f059-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99.jpg, accessed July 11, 2026

Wikimedia, “Glacial Lake Tonawanda, showing the movement of Niagara Falls”, By Matthew Trump, May 1, 2004, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wpdms_usgs_photo_lake_tonawanda.jpg, accessed July 11, 2026

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Happy 250th Birthday America!©

There is no article this week, because I am busy celebrating America’s 250^th birthday! I’m going to visit Old Fort Niagara to commemorate the 267^th anniversary celebration of the Siege of Fort Niagara before marching in a Fourth of July Parade this evening.

Be safe with your fireworks, no unnecessary trips to the emergency room.

Don’t forget to come back next week and read more in our Summer of 1776 series.

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, Part One©

Humans have been getting lost in the wilderness since, well, humans became humans. Today you can buy survival kits, laminated instruction manuals, take classes and know that most of the time you will be found alive and well within 72 hours by rescuers, but it wasn’t always that ways. Becoming lost in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries in the Old Northwest Frontier was a vastly different matter, with large parts of the world unmapped and no one to find you or even to look for you.

But humans being humans, old lessons learned then, can still apply today. So let’s see what we can learn from none other than the great woodsman Daniel Boone.

Daniel Boone admitted to becoming bewildered once, saying famously that “I have never been lost, but I was once bewildered for three days”.

This is an interesting distinction between “lost” and “bewildered”, and what he is describing would today be known as ‘wood shock’. The steps he took to survive for three days, while ‘bewildered’, are what kept him are what allowed him to ‘keep his head’, not panic, and kept him from becoming ‘lost’ and perishing alone in the wilderness.

The word ‘bewildered’ in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries had a different meaning than it does today. Then it meant confused, lead astray or turned around in the wilderness; like what today we would call ‘disoriented’, the first of the five steps of ‘woods shock’.

“Woods Shock” can happen to anyone who travels in the wilderness, whether they are inexperienced, or experienced woodsperson. It was first described scientifically on April 17, 1873, when Mr. Henry Forde wrote a letter to the Editor of Nature London, responding to an earlier article written by Charles Darwin. The name ‘woods shock’ is what intense disorientation and the feeling of ‘losing their head’ has been called since 1873. Before 1873, this condition was known simply as being “bewildered”.

‘Woods shock’ is the term that psychologists use to describe the state of confusion, bewilderment and fear that can occur when someone realizes they have become disoriented, or ‘bewildered’. It is a catastrophic reaction to realizing you don’t know where you are and this intense state of confusion can lead to panic. The fear and panic can lead victims to do inexplicable things, like discarding gear or clothes.

Disorientation, the first step of ‘wood shock’, is experienced when someone’s mental map fails to align with their physical surroundings, causing them to become confused, or ‘bewildered’. If ‘wood shock’ is not stopped at this stage, then disorientation and bewilderment compounded by dehydration, exhaustion, or hypothermia, can lead to fear and then panic setting in. When you panic in the wilderness, you become ‘lost’ and unfortunately being ‘lost’ usually ends in death.

The New Hampshire Lost Person Study, 1974-1979, found that 63% of those lost during the time of the study, were hikers or hunters who had become “disoriented” on clear, sunny days during the summer or fall, in the late afternoon or early evening. Of those who became lost, 54% were traveling through areas that they were familiar with, and 46% had taken a wilderness safety class before becoming lost.

To break the progression of ‘wood shock’, survival experts recommend the acronym S.T.O.P. -- Stop/Stay Calm/ Stay Put, Think, Observe, and Plan. If you S.T.O.P. and stay calm, it will break the progression of ‘wood shock’ at the disorientation stage and allows you to work on surviving the situation, without succumbing to panic; in which case you are only ‘bewildered’. Experienced woods men and women, stop, take a deep breath, and then proceeded to make camp for the night.

Unfortunately, many inexperienced people and even some experienced people let their fear get the best of them, they lose their heads and slide into ‘woods shock’ and panic, charging past the disorientation stage, down the slippery slope to panic and death -- and remember PANIC KILLS!

When Daniel Boone spoke of being “bewildered for three days”, it is obvious that he did not give into his fears and instead took positive steps to ensure his survival, while he reoriented himself. That was why he was merely “bewildered” and not “lost”. So if you ever find yourself bewildered and disoriented in the wilderness, be like Daniel Boone, don’t lose your head, S.T.O.P. and stay calm.

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, Part Two©”, for more on the hard learned survival lessons of the past.

For more on ‘wood shock’, read “Woods Shock, Don’t Lose Your Head! ©” HERE, “Getting Lost And What To Do About It”, Circa 1915 ©” HERE

That is all for now, and as always, until next time, Happy Trails!

Sources

Gentlemen’s Lexicon; or a Pocket Dictionary [John Grigg, Philadelphia, PA, 1835] p. 40 https://books.google.com/books?id=bqEVAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA40&dq=%22bewildered%22+lexicon+dictionary&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiC94-LrtbdAhVPc98KHYO3BRMQ6AEIPjAE#v=onepage&q=%22bewildered%22%20lexicon%20dictionary&f=false, accessed June 27, 2026

McCafferty, Keith; “Woods Shock Can Kill”, Field & Stream, October 2006, page 40, https://books.google.com/books?id=Gv5GUqHcT8wC&pg=PA40&dq=survival+lost+woods&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjO_MfT0JaBAxVbtIkEHYOdCIU4FBDoAXoECAoQAg#v=onepage&q=survival%20lost%20woods&f=false, accessed September 30, 2023

Rosinski, Jane L.; New Hampshire Lost Person Study, 1974-1979, New Hampshire State Fish and Game Department, [Concord NH, 1981]

Russell, J.; “A Map Of The Middle States, Of America”, 1794 http://www.mapsofpa.com/18thcentury/1794russell.jpg, accessed June 27, 2026

The American Mountain Men; “Flint and Steel Steel Char Flint”, https://americanmountainmen.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/TLR-FIRE-2019-APRIL-28.pdf, accessed June 27, 2026

White, Margaret E., Editor, A Sketch of Chester Harding, Artist: Drawn By His Own Hand, [Houghton, Mifflin and Company, New York, 1890] p 47 to 48, https://books.google.com/books?id=zgROAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA48&lpg=PA48&dq=%22he+had+a+very+large+progeny%22+%22chester+harding%22&source=bl&ots=I9y_v-yRI2&sig=qxwqKUR9y42naWBjhoArGJi2P5U&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj4goGi7czdAhXEnOAKHWvECaoQ6AEwAHoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22he%20had%20a%20very%20large%20progeny%22%20%22chester%20harding%22&f=false, accessed June 27, 2026

Wikimedia, “Unfinished Portrait of Daniel Boone”, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Unfinished_portrait_of_Daniel_Boone_by_Chester_Harding_1820.jpg, accessed June 27, 2026

About Me

I live near Buffalo, New York and have more than 25 years of experience in the outdoors. I enjoy being in the wilderness, paddling a canoe or exploring the woods, when I am not researching survival, woodcraft, camping skills or life on the Old Northwest Frontier of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. I am a published author and I have been a guide for Birchbark Expeditions and an Outdoor Skills trainer for the Boy Scouts since 2014. I am also a martial artist, having studied several different combat arts over the past 30 years. Currently, I am the author of The Woodsman’s Journal Online and BandanaMan Productions on YouTube.

The Woodsman's Journal Online

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Sunday, July 12, 2026

Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, What He did Wrong©

Sunday, July 5, 2026

Happy 250th Birthday America!©

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Lost in Late 18th and Early 19th centuries...Lessons Learned, Part One©

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