A Ghost Story on the Old Northwest Frontier, 1821 ©

 

The Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, West Street, in West Seneca, picture by the author

This story is about murder, witchcraft, violent death, a celebrity murderer, a celebrity witness, a restless ghost; and oh yes, the independence and sovereignty of the Seneca Nation.

“Wait a second”, you say, “you always write about survival, woods-lore and the wilderness, what gives…”?

You are right, I do.  However, in 1821, what today is the Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, on West Main Street, in West Seneca, was then the edge of the Old Northwest Frontier and the wilderness was just outside the cabin door.  Besides it is Halloween and you will have to forgive me for writing about a good ghost story that still haunts the Lower Ebenezer Cemetery and the story of the of the ensuing murder trial, the ghost of which still haunts the halls of the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, New York.

 

A excerpt from Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society, Vol. XXIV, p 110

It all started in the spring of 1821, on the Buffalo Creek Reservation, in western New York state, near the mouth of the Buffalo River, where modern day Buffalo, New York stands today.

That spring a Seneca man, living about three miles from the mouth of the Buffalo River and the frontier village of Buffalo, on the Buffalo Creek Reservation; sickened and died a lingering death.  The Seneca Medicine Men were perplexed, and thought the circumstances surrounding his lingering illness and symptoms were suspicious.  They concluded that he was a victim of witchcraft and evil sorcery.  They blamed a Seneca woman, named Kau-qua-tau, who had nursed him and watched over him at his bed side. They named her as the prime suspect in his murder by witchcraft and sorcery with the aid of an evil spirit!

Kau-qua-tau knew that the penalty for witchcraft and sorcery in Seneca society, from time immemorial, was death: so, she fled her cabin and the Buffalo Creek Reserve and crossed the Niagara River into Canada.

Her flight to Canada was considered proof of her guilt and she was followed, arrested, tried by the Seneca council who had crossed into Canada after her, found guilty and sentenced to death.

But the Seneca council had a problem.  They knew that if they carried out the sentence of death outside of their territory, either in Canada or in anywhere in the Unites States, except in the Buffalo Creek Reserve, it would be considered murder and they would be found guilty of it.  So somehow, they convinced Kau-qua-tau to return with them, back to the Buffalo Creek Reserve.  There they planned on carrying out their sentence of death for the crime of witchcraft and sorcery!

They arrived back into their own territory on May 2nd, 1821 and the Seneca Sachems expected that their duly designated executioner would perform his duty, then and there: however, for some reason he refused.  At this point a Seneca Chief named So-on-on-gise, who was called Tommy Jemmy by his American neighbors and was thought to be related to the Seneca man who had died the lingering death, seized a knife and slit Kau-qua-tau’s throat, killing her on the spot! 

 

The log cabin at the lower left, belonged to Seneca Chief Red Jacket, from Images of America: West Seneca, by Jim Pace, page 33

 

From Images of America: West Seneca, by Jim Pace, page 20

 

It is said that Kau-qua-tau was buried under the earthen floor of her cabin, which stood on the grounds of today’s Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, on the bluff above Cazenovia Creek.  And here our ghost story rests in an uneasy grave until 1842, and the removal of the Senecas from the Buffalo Creek Reserve and the purchase of what is today West Seneca by the religious Community of True Inspiration, commonly known as the Ebenezer Society.

The Seneca’s abandoned cabins and homes were assigned to various members of the Ebenezer Society.  Not knowing the bloody history of the cabin on the bluff above Cazenovia creek, some Ebenezer’s moved into the old cabin and came to live in Kau-qua-tau’s old cabin.  According to legend, it wasn’t long until they began to hear strange sounds and see visions and complain of sleeplessness.  In fact, anyone who tried to stay in the old cabin claimed to experience the same sensations.  Eventually the Ebenezer Society leader, Christian Metz, in attempt to dispel the claims, stayed overnight in Kau-qua-tau’s old cabin.  The legend says that the tormented spirit of Kau-qua-tau, bloody and bound in chains, appeared to Metz.  The next day the Kau-qua-tau’s old cabin was burned to the ground and the clearing where it stood was consecrated as a cemetery.  Tradition also has it that no one was ever buried on the site of the Kau-qua-tau’s burned cabin and grave!

The Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, West Street, in West Seneca, in 1956, from Images of America: West Seneca, by Jim Pace, page 111

The Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, West Main Street, in West Seneca, today, picture by the author

The Lower Ebenezer Cemetery, West Main Street, in West Seneca, today, picture by the author

And so, that is the end of our ghost story and a ghost story is all it would have been, except back in 1821 the American inhabitants of the village of Buffalo were shocked and horrified by the charges of witchcraft, sorcery and murder.  Forgetting that the Seneca were, to a certain extent at least, an independent community with their own laws, customs and jurisdictions, they arrested So-on-on-gise on a charge of murder for the killing of Kau-qua-tau!  And thus, begins a story of a murder trial, the ghost of which still haunts the halls of the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, New York, to this very day.

 

An excerpt from Niles' Weekly Register, from August 4, 1821, p. 358-359; discussing the first trial of So-on-on-gise

The arrest and trial of So-on-on-gise was big news in 1821, it had a celebrity murderer, allegations of witchcraft, evil sorcery and murder, and even a famous witness! 

So-on-on-gise was a celebrity and had led a troupe of Seneca performers to England from 1817 to early 1819, with Storrs and Company of Canandaigua, New York, where they had played in an Indian Show, with great success.  He was also a Seneca elder and chief and as late as 1835 was still a signatory on official letters to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs and President Andrew Jackson¹, but that is getting ahead of our story. 

So-on-on-gise, or Tommy Jemmy as he was called by the newspaper reporters who covered the trial and who turned it into a sensation, was arrested and thrown into prison in the village of Buffalo, on Saturday, May 5th, 1821.  So-on-on-gise, during his first trial before a Circuit Court session held in Buffalo, which started in mid-July 1821; never denied killing Kau-qua-tau.  In fact, he plead not guilty because, “…the Seneca Indians were a sovereign and independent nation, exercising exclusive jurisdiction of all offences committed by any of its members within their own territory”².  Since both Kau-qua-tau and So-on-on-gise were Seneca and both the judicial execution and the alleged witchcraft had occurred on Seneca territory, according to So-on-on-gise, his legal counsel and the Seneca Nation, this was not a matter for the courts of New York State.  The Senecas felt that the entire issue was about their sovereignty and independence, which was guaranteed by treaties with the Federal Government of the United States and the U.S. Constitution; and that even though their territory was completely surrounded by New York State, they were independent from the State of New York.

Picture by the author

An excerpt from William Leete Stones, The Life and Times of Red-Jacket, page 320-321, reporting some of Red Jacket’s testimony at the trial

 

So-on-on-gise’s first trial started in mid-July 1821, and featured testimony from the famous orator, and Native American spokesman, Red Jacket, or as he was known to the Senecas, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha.  Red jacket was put on the stand as a witness for So-on-on-gise and his plea of not guilty.  The trial ended later that same month, with the jury quickly determining that, all “…the allegations contained in the prisoner’s plea were true”³.  Tommy Jemmy, or So-on-on-gise as he was known to the Senecas, was found not guilty!

An excerpt from Niles' Weekly Register, from August 25, 1821, p. 411-412; discussing the second trial of So-on-on-gise

Not to be undone, the prosecution quickly referred the case to the New York Supreme Court, and so started the second trial of So-on-on-gise.  However, the New York Supreme Court, which started proceedings in August 1821, was unable to deny the Seneca’s claims to a “qualified sovereignty”⁴ and another New York State court allowed So-on-on-gise to go free!

But New York State, which is never willing to admit that it was wrong, passed a bill in the New York Assembly, on April 8, 1822, which unconstitutionally declared the supremacy of the jurisdiction of New York State courts over a “a sovereign and independent nation” and at the same time pardoned So-on-on-gise, who had not been convicted of a crime by two different New York State courts.  This strange bill was quickly ratified by Governor De Witt Clinton and the Council of Revisions on April 12, 1822 and it gave life to the ghost of the trial of So-on-on-gise.  The ghost of So-on-on-gise’s trial and the question of Seneca sovereignty still haunt the New York State Governor’s Mansion to this very day, with legal issues being tried or arbitrated from time to time.

Ooohh…spooky!  Have a fun and safe Halloween!

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 my videos at BandanaMan Productions and don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube, and 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.

Notes

¹ Dennis, Matthews; “Murder! Or the Remarkable Trial of Tommy Jemmy, 19th-Century Seneca Witch-Hunter and Defender of Indian Sovereignty”

² Stone, William Leete; The Life and Times of Red-Jacket, page 319

³ Stone, William Leete; The Life and Times of Red-Jacket, on page 321

⁴ Stone, William Leete; The Life and Times of Red-Jacket, on page 322

Sources

Dennis, Matthews; “Murder! Or the Remarkable Trial of Tommy Jemmy, 19th-Century Seneca Witch-Hunter and Defender of Indian Sovereignty”, Readex Report, Vol. 7, Issue 2, [Readex. 2019]

Niles' Weekly Register, Volume 20, No. 23, August 4, 1821 [Baltimore, MD,], p. 358-359,

https://books.google.com/books?id=ONxGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA358&dq=%22tommy+jemmy,+the+seneca+chief%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwioiI7U18bkAhVBiFkKHQbhB7YQ6AEwA3oECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=%22tommy%20jemmy%2C%20the%20seneca%20chief%22&f=false, accessed 9/10/19

Niles' Weekly Register, Volume 20, No. 26, August 25, 1821 [Baltimore, MD,], p. 411-412

https://books.google.com/books?id=ONxGAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA358&dq=%22tommy+jemmy,+the+seneca+chief%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwioiI7U18bkAhVBiFkKHQbhB7YQ6AEwA3oECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=%22tommy%20jemmy%2C%20the%20seneca%20chief%22&f=false, accessed 9/10/19

Pace, James; Images of America: West Seneca, [Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2011], p. 111

Severance, Frank H.; Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society, Vol. XXIV, [Buffalo Historical Society, Buffalo, NY, 1920], p. 110,

https://books.google.com/books?id=H3YoAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=buffalo+historical+society+volume+24&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi-38va_Y3lAhXutlkKHUc8BCoQ6AEwAHoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed 9/10/19

Stone, William Leete; The Life and Times of Red-Jacket, Or Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha, [Wiley and Putnam, New York, NY, 1841], p. 317-321,

https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5QaeeVN5I-qfalzSMdwg580e_JsVN7Wlq6BxokrZgzUamG-7a4ElDKkhw88-L2xfhN5FuwYTuCxkVUWtpgr8OMua11rRVV8E2en53-4jfRHJuEeuXjtb36wlnEQBaNRF89muAWqtx10pcfZBYTmHuSrz0v3pb8QvwaTVRobmRf28uL3vSOTRfhK9jYf4XIpaWZPH0TkPuRauzi_qbKfE23tUjcQfutx2lHz_ygev8yNi4yfTXrV-VxQ04MQGOU8q7jG46zLkHjlwdESgV4ZsSChVSe-hG7Q, accessed 9/10/19

Indian Summer is the Perfect Time to be in the Woods!

Taken at Letchworth State Park by the author

I love Fall with the reds and yellows of the leaves, it’s my favorite season!  And especially an Indian Summer with its warm dry days and cool, frosty nights.  It is my favorite time to be out in the woods and on the lakes, and it always has been.

“What exactly is Indian Summer¹ and why is it called that”, you ask?   Those are both good questions, so let’s answer them.

A excerpt from “Indian Summer”, published by the Maryland Weather Service, Vol 2, page 484-485

  

According to the National Weather Service’s weather historian, William R. Deedler, who wrote “Just What Is An Indian Summer…”; an Indian Summer is a period of dry, sunny, sometimes hazy and unseasonably warm weather, that occurs during late September to November, usually after a killing frost.  Mr. Deedler further explained that on a weather map, an Indian Summer would appear as a large area of high pressure along or just off the East Coast of North America.  Sometimes the cold high-pressure system that brings in the Indian Summer, as it sweeps east out of the Canadian plains, also produces the killing frost that is the hallmark of a true Indian Summer.  As this cold high-pressure system moves east, it pulls warm air from the south or southwest, northward in its wake.  This warm southern air arrives with southerly or southwesterly breezes that result from the clockwise rotation of the winds around the high-pressure system.  An Indian Summer will only last for a couple of days to a week, before it is pushed away by another cold high-pressure system moving east.

What is an Indian Summer is an easy question to answer, what isn’t so cut and dry is why it is called that?

The phrase Indian Summer is old.  The first recorded usage of Indian Summer appeared in the late 18^th century, when a Frenchman by the name of, J. Hector St. John de Crevecoeur, wrote the following in the Letters of an American Farmer, which was published in French in 1782 and wasn’t translated into English until the 1920s:

“German-flats, [which is in central New York state – Author’s note] 17 Janvier, 1778 … Sometimes the rain is followed by an interval of calm and warmth which is called the Indian Summer; its characteristics are a tranquil atmosphere and general smokiness.  Up to this epoch the approaches of winter are doubtful; it arrives about the middle of November, although snows and brief freezes often occur long before that date”².

While, Crevecoeur’s use of Indian Summer and his description of it is the first recorded usage of the, it does not tell us how it got its name. 

Some historians have thought that the term Indian Summer was used to describe the time when the Native Americans organized hunting parties or fired the woodlands to burn off the undergrowth³.  However, the earliest description of why this weather was called an Indian Summer, was recorded by Rev. Dr. Joseph Doddridge, in Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia & Pennsylvania, from the year 1763 until the year 1783, published in 1824.

An excerpt from Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia & Pennsylvania, from the year 1763 until the year 1783, by Doddridge, page 265-266

   

On page 265 and 266, Doddridge include a short section on Indian Summer and how it got it name:

“…an explanation of the term ‘Indian Summer’…It, however, sometimes happened, that after the apparent onset of winter, the weather became warm; the smoky time commenced, and lasted for a considerable number of days.  This was the ‘Indian Summer’, because it afforded the Indians another opportunity of visiting the settlements with their destructive warfare”

From the viewpoint of the Native Americans, who were trying to push back the ever-increasing tide of settlers, intent upon encroaching on their land and way of life, this was the perfect time to visit “…the settlements with their destructive warfare”.  During an Indian Summer, the weather is warm and dry and travelling in the woods is easy.  Also the harvest is done and it is the perfect time to attack your enemies, because even if they survive your attack, they will starve to death or die from exposure, because of the burning of their barns and cabins and the destruction of their livestock and stored provisions.

 

Taken at Letchworth State Park by the author

“Okay”, you say, “thanks for the history lesson, but what does this have to do with woods-lore, survival and camping in the wilderness; and what does it mean for me today”?

What it means is that today, just like in the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, Indian Summer is the perfect time to be out and about in the woods.  So, get out into the wilderness and have some fun!  Enjoy yourself.  Just don’t raid your neighbors!

 

Taken at Letchworth State Park by the author

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and my videos at BandanaMan Productions and don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube, and 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.

Notes

¹ An important disclaimer must be noted, as I climb up on a soapbox, some late 18^th and early 19^th century words and phrases that were used to describe Native Americans and things or events associated with them had negative meanings.  Not all of them had negative meanings, just some.  Unfortunately, these few have colored our modern day thinking and understanding on all of them; the modern-day assumption being that each and every one had a negative meaning.  This just isn’t true, and it is unfortunate that too many modern-day writers have made this assumption.  You can’t change the past and you surely can’t change the future by refusing to look upon it, in the present.  Okay, I am climbing off my soapbox now.

² Deedler, William R.; “Just What Is Indian Summer And Did Indians Really Have Anything To Do With It?”

³ Many of the early writers, who mentioned Indian Summer, described it as “smoky” or that there was a “smokiness”.  Native Americans often fired the woodlands to burn off the undergrowth, as mentioned by Col. William Byrd in his journal, dated 1728, which was reprinted in The Westover Manuscripts, had this to say…

Page 57, “[October] 20th. … The atmosphere was so smoky all around us, that the mountains were again grown invisible.  This happened not from the haziness of the sky, but from the firing of the woods by the Indians, for we were now near the route the northern savages take when they go out to war against the Catawbas and other southern nations.  On their way the fires they make in their camps are left burning, which catching the dry leaves that lie near, soon put the adjacent woods into a flame”.

Page 61, “[October] 23d. … And the reason why a fire makes such a havoc in these lonely parts is this.  The woods are not there burnt every year, as they generally are amongst the inhabitants.  But the dead leaves and trash of many years are heaped up together, which being at length kindled by the Indians that happen to pass that way, furnish fuel for a conflagration that carries all before it”.

So, it would appear from the 1728 writings of William Byrd, that it was the custom of the Native Americans, at least in the mountainous parts of what is now the border between North and South Carolina in 1728, to burn off the woods every year.  This would reduce the chance of a forest fire, which might occur in areas which weren’t regularly burnt off.  Additionally, according to William Byrd, during late Fall, Native American war parties were moving either north or south to attack their enemies, and because they did not make sure that their campfires were out when they left their camp in the morning, were accidentally setting fire to woods.

Sources

Byrd, William; The Westover Manuscripts: Containing the History of the Dividing Line, [Printed by Edmund and Julian C. Ruffin, Petersburg, 1841] p. 57, 61 and 80-81, https://books.google.com/books?id=TMLpBsVTdWIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22The+Westover+Manuscripts%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjSpYu266jlAhWlUt8KHXpeAXIQ6AEwAHoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Westover%20Manuscripts%22&f=false, accessed 10/19/19

Deedler, William R.; “Just What Is Indian Summer And Did Indians Really Have Anything To Do With It?”, [National Weather Service, Detroit/Pontiac, MI, Fall, 1996],https://web.archive.org/web/20141009005228/http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dtx/stories/i-summer.php, accessed 10/08/2019

Doddridge, Rev. Dr Joseph; Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia & Pennsylvania, from the year 1763 until the year 1783 inclusive, [Wellsburgh, VA; printed at the office of the Gazette, 1824] p. 265-266, https://archive.org/details/notesonsettlemen00dodd/page/n4, accessed July 26, 2011

Maryland Weather Service; Maryland Weather Service, Vol, 2, [The John Hopkins Press, Baltimore, MD, 1907], p. 484-485, https://books.google.com/books?id=3lPzAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22Maryland+Weather+Service,+Volume+2%22+%22Maryland+Weather+Service%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizw7bE1Z_lAhVyqlkKHXruCWcQ6AEwAHoECAYQAg#v=onepage&q=%22Maryland%20Weather%20Service%2C%20Volume%202%22%20%22Maryland%20Weather%20Service%22&f=false, accessed 10/15/19

Matthews, Albert; The Term Indian Summer, Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 30, No. 1, January 1902, p. 19-28 and Monthly Weather Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, February 1902, p. 69-79, as reprinted in https://books.googleusercontent.com/books/content?req=AKW5Qac5RC1w54hqrEV1jkzK4o2Vj2iCu4rpZ1Olwn5VRavJO15yVxtC0no66lbHfwIR8vz8cy0O2Kjp7kDa95mGnkPNuzPsHCNrm3YE_3fcHzkjv1lbtZebY4GINB-Dk9tW3NKQwwgqWsdpiakb6j2HbwGbzdcEXfB6Tox5jcntgs9gbV9-JD3ye_JPT2hj30xXLmq039MP2TNmOZK8GdDE9l1Sh8TbsbZuXJ-wu1ijNvhYrOvX0WfmjXKOsQeM7Fr7R1cq_loV, accessed 10/15/19

Sweeting, Adam; Beneath the Second Sun: A Cultural History of Indian Summer, [University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH, 2003], https://books.google.com/books?id=Z0zTH_qFXiAC&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false, accessed 10/15/19

The Buddy System ©

 

The frontispiece from The Boy Scout Hike Book, by Norman Rockwell

The Boy Scouts Of America have been teaching the “Buddy System” for various outdoor activities since 1910.  As a Scout Master for over eleven years and a Birchbark Expeditions Senior Guide for more than five years, I have taught a great deal of young men about the buddy system.

Over the years, I have noticed that quite a few adults, those that were never part of Boy Scouts when they were young, have no idea what the buddy system is, what it is for or why it is important.  So, on the off chance that you have never heard of it either, here is what the buddy system is, what it is for and why it is important to you today as you travel through the wilderness.

In the original Boy Scout manual, The Handbook For Boys, the buddy system was used only when swimming, page 199 states “Scouts should always swim with a buddy”.  Over 100 years later, this is still important advice that can save your life.  Never swim alone!

“So a buddy system for getting the job done seems natural enough”, an excerpt from page 126, Field Book For Boys And Men, 1967

Over fifty years later, in the 1967 Boy Scouts Of America, Field Book For Boys And Men; they had expanded the uses of the buddy system to include cooking, gathering wood or water, cleaning and hiking over rough terrain.

“On rough or unfamiliar trails, hike in parties of at least three so that two can help a disabled hiker”, an excerpt from page 242, Field Book For Boys And Men, 1967

I have always taught the Boy Scouts and the adults that I have trained to use the buddy system for all of their outdoor activities, from setting up tents to gathering wood and water, cooking, cleaning up and hiking in the wilderness, and even when they are simply walking from one area of a Scout summer camp to another one.  For most of these activities, company simply makes the task more enjoyable, but just as with swimming or hiking it also makes the activity much safer.  Also, a more experienced person can be paired up with a less experience one so that, as the 1967 Field Book For Boys And Men states on page 126, “on-the-job training” can take place. 

If you are in the wilderness by yourself and you get hurt, quite literally, you are own your own and you will have to rescue yourself.  If you had a buddy or two with you, the situation would be very different.  With the buddy system, if you got hurt, your buddy could provide first aid or other emergency care and if necessary, help you get to safety.

 

The frontispiece from Field Book For Boys And Men, 1967

A two-person buddy system is good; however, a three-person buddy system is even better.  As it notes in the 1967 Field Book For Boys And Men, you should “…hike in parties of at least three so that two can help a disabled hiker”.  If there are three people in your buddy system and one is injured, the other two can give emergency care or one can give emergency care, while the other one goes for help.  I recently took a survival class taught by Craig White, a Canadian survival expert, who used to train the Canadian Military, and he emphasized that you should always be in a three-person buddy group, instead of a two-person buddy group.  The problem with the three-person buddy group, is that the person going for help is travelling through the wilderness alone and has no “buddy” available to help him or her if there is an emergency on the way.  A four-person buddy system, two sets of two buddies, is the best, because if one person is injured, one can stay to take care of him or her, while the other two can safely travel to summon help.

The buddy system isn’t only for the spring, summer and fall, or for camping or hiking; it is also for canoeing and portaging and it is critical to safe adventuring in the winter wilderness.

“Two people employing the ‘buddy system’ can periodically check each other for telltale white spots on their faces…Frostbitten feet are best thawed under the warm clothing of a partner”, an excerpt from Survival In Antarctica

During the winter, it is even more important to have a buddy with you, because they will be able to check you for the early signs of frostbite and help you rewarm frostbitten extremities.

And as a guide with Birchbark Expeditions, I always teach the three-canoe buddy system, since we usually travel in groups of three canoes.  This is because in Algonquin Provincial Park you are only allowed to have nine people per campsite and since we usually put two packs and three people in the canoe; three canoes make a total of nine people.  A three-canoe buddy system means that all three canoes stay together so that each can help if one of the canoes has an emergency.  And since there are usually three people in each canoe, when we get to a portage, the members of each canoe become buddies for the walk to the next lake or river.  This keeps everyone safe on both the water and the land.

So, Buddy Check!  And the next time you venture out into the wilderness take a buddy or two.

I hope that you continue to enjoy The Woodsman’s Journal Online and my videos at BandanaMan Productions and don’t forget to follow me on both The Woodsman’s Journal Online and subscribe to BandanaMan Productions on YouTube, and 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.

Sources

Boy Scouts Of America, Field Book For Boys And Men, [New Brunswick, NY, 1967] frontispiece, p. 126 and 242

Cave, Edward; The Boy Scout Hike Book, [Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, NY, 1920] frontispiece

https://books.google.com/books?id=B3NLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA57&dq=mess+kit+cooking&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiQv9vR7u_cAhVtx1kKHRhMAkQ40gEQ6AEIRTAG#v=onepage&q=mess%20kit%20cooking&f=false, accessed 8/15/2018

National Science Foundation, Division of Polar Programs Survival In Antarctica, [Government Printing Office, Washington D.C., 1984] p. 8

The Boy Scouts Of America, Handbook For Boys, [New York, NY, 1916] p. 199