Survival Rations … 1962 Civil Defense Style, Four Years Later!©

 

 

Recently, I was watching some YouTube videos, when a video on making “Survival Bread, 1972”, by Dylan Hollis, HERE, popped up.  It was a good video, Dylan is very funny, but unsurprisingly, since his show is a comedy cooking show, there was no new research and no way to fact check his recipe.  However, he did mention that his source claimed that the “Survival bread” would keep for seven years or more.

 

Four years ago, I had written an article about a “Survival Rations Bar, 1962”, which was created by Mr. Lee Kelly, a survival expert, and which sounded very much like the “Survival Bread, 1972” that Dylan had prepared on his show.  I compared his recipe to the one that I had written about, and found that it was almost the same, but I couldn’t find anything specifically about a “survival bread” and “1972”, when I researched it.

 

So, I decided to pull-out my survival bars, which had been sitting in storage, and write a follow-up on my earlier article, complete with some new information and a “three years in storage” taste test, to see how my “Survival Rations Bar, 1962” has fared over the years!

 

But first the taste test!

 

The two the “Survival Rations Bar, 1962”, had been stored in Ziploc® style freezer bags, and kept in a closed plastic tote, in my basement, out of the sun, at a humidity of about 50% and a temperature which averages about 60^oF (15°C).  They looked okay, they smelled okay, they were still rock hard, so I decided to put them to the test of time and taste.

 

Four years ago, when they were fresh from the oven, I had the bars taste tested by four very through and competent judges, my children, and my youngest son’s 14 year-old friend.  Then, my 14 year old thought that they were “great”! While my 19 year old daughter said that they tasted “okay” and that “they were better than hardtack”, which I think means that they are good.  My 23 year old son said, “these are very good … they have a good texture … they taste kind of like apples” and my youngest son’s friend thought that they were “okay”.  That makes two polite votes of indifference and two positive votes.  As a tie-breaker, personally I liked them, I thought that they had a flavor like orange blossom honey!

 

Four years later, I again put them to the taste tested them with four hardy volunteers.  My almost five year old granddaughter tried some and said, “it’s good, can I have some more”.  My youngest son, who is now almost 18 said, “I liked it, it was good, I’m going in for seconds”.  My almost 24 year old daughter stated, “I wouldn’t eat it for pleasure, but it’s good.  I would take it camping, it tastes like a honey granola bar”. And lastly, my 26 year old son who said simply, “it’s good”.  I thought that they still tasted very good and I liked how the flavor of citrus Jell-O blended with the honey.  So, that makes four positive votes and only one of polite indifference.

 

So, the “Survival Rations Bar, 1962”, passed the test of time and taste, with a score of 75%!

 

Just who was Mr. Lee Kelly, survival expert?

 

Mr. Lee Kelly, instructing the 416^th Signal Aviation Company of Fort Huachuca in survival techniques.

Unfortunately, Mr. Lee Kelly “of Phoenix, one of Arizona’s best desert survival experts”², will remain an enigma.  All I have been able to find out about him, is that he was a desert survival expert, who trained U. S. Army units and who created the recipe for “Survival Rations Bar, 1962”.  Apparently, he had died by the time the Desert Survival: Information For Anyone Traveling In The Desert Southwest 1962, was published by the Civil Defense Joint Council.

 

How many ounces were in a box of Jell-O, anyways?

 

A box Jell-O brand gelatin, circa 1960.

So just how many ounces were in a box of Jell-O in 1962 anyways?  And more importantly, why is that important?

 

The earliest record for  the “Survival Rations Bar” recipe, that I could find, was the one published by the Civil Defense Joint Council, in 1962, which called for ½ a package of gelatin.  But unfortunately, they didn’t say how many ounces of gelatin were in a box!  After a bit of research, I found that Jell-O boxes, circa 1960, contained 3 ounce (85 grams) of gelatin powder.

 

The reason this is important is because the modern versions of this recipe all call for a whole box, or 3 ounces (85 grams) of gelatin, but this is twice the amount that the original recipe called for.

 

Why was everyone talking about “survival bars”?

 

The annual U.S. Civil Defense Conference took place in Los Angeles, CA between October 16 to 20, 1961¹.

 

Just what in the world was going on during the early 1960s, that had everyone in full on prepper mode?  Oh, right, the Cold War! 

 

Between September 1961 and the end of October 1961, the Soviet Union detonated a series of 57 atomic bombs over the arctic island archipelago of Novaya Zemlya.  To capped off this series of tests, on October 31^st, they detonated the “Tsar Bomba”, which, at 50 megatons was the most powerful nuclear device ever tested.

 

Fall Out patterns for the spring of 1962.

So the “Survival Rations Bar, 1962” recipe makes a tasty bar, which keeps well, provided you keep it dry and cool, and still manages to taste good four years later.  And you will only need to use ½ a box of gelatin 1.5 ounces (43 grams) to accurately reproduce the “Survival Rations Bar, 1962”, a staple of the 1960s Cold War panic, created by that desert survival enigma, Mr. Lee Kelly.

 

For more information read, “Survival Rations … 1962 Civil Defense Style©” HERE and Desert Survival: Information For Anyone Traveling In The Desert Southwest, 1962 ©, HERE.

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same ©”, where we will talk about the similarities between the situations that the spies and scouts the Indian Wars of the Old Northwest Frontier of North America, during the late 18th and early 19th centuries faced, and those that the Special Forces trained Long Range Recon Patrol (LRRP) soldiers of Vietnam faced. 

 

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!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ From “Sullivan Wins Funds for CD Conference”, by Bryant Artis, in the Pittsburgh Press, September 27, 1961, page 13

 

Sources

 

Artis, Bryant; “Sullivan Wins Funds for CD Conference”, Pittsburgh Press, September 27, 1961, page 13, https://books.google.com/books?id=nsAbAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=los+angeles+civil+defense+convention++1961&article_id=5131,4297621&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwo8bHxPL9AhV3GVkFHQULAvkQ6AF6BAgCEAI#v=onepage&q=los%20angeles%20civil%20defense%20convention%20%201961&f=false, accessed March 23, 2023

 

BigOven; “Survival Bread”, Aisle Ahead, Inc.©, https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/survival-bread/1364366, accessed March 19, 2023

 

Civil Defense Joint Council, Desert Survival: Information For Anyone Traveling In The Desert Southwest 1962, [Maricopa County; Phoenix, Arizona ,1962] reprinted in http://docs.azgs.az.gov/SpecColl/1988-01/1988-01-0026.pdf, page 5-20

 

EPA; NEIC Safety Manual, EPA-330/9-74-002-B, [National Enforcement Investigations Center, Denver, Colorado, February 1977], page 120, https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi/9101ZO3J.PDF?Dockey=9101ZO3J.PDF, accessed October 16, 2018

 

Hollis, Dylan; “Survival Bread, 1972”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eyTwlQG1T4&ab_channel=B.DylanHollis, accessed March 19, 2023

 

Hunt, Kristin; “The Evolution of Jell-O From 1900 to 2015”, March 7, 2015, https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/jell-o-packaging-from-1900-to-2015, accessed March 23, 2023

 

Keyingredient.com; “Survival bread - keeps forever”, March 5, 2014, Keyingredient.com©, https://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/988185034/survival-bread-keeps-forever/, accessed March 19, 2023

 

“Making survival bars is like baking cookies”, The Press-Courier, Oxnard, California; October 25, 1961 page 11, https://books.google.com/books?id=WQBMAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA6&dq=Civil+Defense+recipes&article_id=3661,5900503&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj57vP4ytT9AhVSFVkFHfKeB68Q6AF6BAgLEAI#v=onepage&q=Civil%20Defense%20recipes&f=false, accessed March 18, 2023

 

“Oops, recipe errs on atom survival bars”, The Press-Courier, Oxnard, California, October 26, 1961, Oxnard, California; page 3, https://books.google.com/books?id=WgBMAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA2&dq=survival+bar++civil+defense+recipes&article_id=5665,6024764&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI_MD_zdT9AhWsEFkFHVd7B2oQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=survival%20bar%20%20civil%20defense%20recipes&f=false, accessed March 18, 2023

 

Susan; “Survival Bread”, June 8, 2010, http://thereliantself.blogspot.com/2010/06/survival-bread.html, accessed March 19, 2023

 

Wallace, John, Lt.; “Let’s Talk About Survival...I”, United States Army Aviation, Volume 7, Number 8, August 1961, page 1-2, https://books.google.com/books?id=MDXUoIzWDhMC&pg=RA7-PA1&dq=%22lee+kelly%22+survival&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUuOC7idf9AhVVEVkFHQkZA3EQ6AF6BAgHEAI#v=onepage&q=%22lee%20kelly%22%20survival&f=false, accessed March 12, 2023.

 

Sherlock Holmes and The Curious Case of The Scalded Feet, Part Two©

 

 

This is the exciting conclusion of “Sherlock Holmes and The Curious Case of The Scalded Feet©”, for Part One, go HERE. – Authors Note

 

Last week, we wrote about how George Rogers Clark and John Gabriel Jones, while journeying from Harrods Town, Kentucky to Williamsburg, Virginia on June 6, 1776, developed what they called “scald feet”, a common affliction that was also known as, “scald foot” or “scalded feet”. 

 

Photograph by the Author

The investigators notebook...

 

What exactly was this ailment and what would a modern doctor call it today and how would they treat it today?  So, let’s lay out our clues and unmask “Scalded Feet”, the culprit behind this “Shocking Complaint”!

 

During the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries you would prevent scalded feet by taking off your moccasins and sleeping with your feet towards your fire.  It was necessary to dry out and warm up your feet at night, while you slept.  Drying out your feet for about 8 hours, out of the 24 hour day, was important.  During the early stages of their journey George Rogers Clark and his companion were unable to build a fire, because of the possibility that the fire would attract the attention of hostile Native Americans, and so were unable to prevent a case scald feet from developing.

 

During the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, if your feet became scalded, you could cure them in a few days by washing them with an “ouse (ooze) made of oak Bark”, or by using a salve made of pounded and boiled slippery elm bark, and then by rubbing them with oil.

 

Scalded feet is likely when your feet have been constantly wet for three to four days, or 72 to 96 hours.  If your feet are wet for too long, they become shriveled, or macerated, and the outer layer of skin, the epidermis, can separate from the dermis, the inner layer of the skin.

 

A symptom of scalded feet is a burning sensation, as if the skin of your feet were too hot, and will it become too painful to walk or put a weight on your feet.

 

Doctors of the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries thought scalded feet was a type of “rheumatism” and was thought to be brought on by “wet feet, wet clothes, &c.” and by “damp weather” and it shared symptoms of swelling, feelings of heat without a fever, and a “pain of an acuteness surpassing description”, with rheumatism.

 

It was well above freezing, in fact the temperatures in early June 1776 would have been between a high of 75^o to 82^o F (24^o to 28^o C) and a low of 56^o to 65^o F (13^o to 18^o C). 

 

So, whodunit?!

 

The culprit behind this “Shocking Complaint”, known during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries as “scald foot”, “scalded feet”, or “scalded feet”, has now been unmasked as one of the members of the immersion foot gang!

 

Because the temperatures during George Rogers Clark and John Gabriel Jones’ journey from Kentucky to Virginia, were likely to have been higher than 32° to 59°F (0° to 15°C), we can safely assume this mystery ailment was not frostbite, which is a malady that only occurs when temperatures are below freezing, or “trench foot”, which is a non-freezing cold injury (NFCI).

 

And, because the temperatures during their journey were likely to have been between 75^o to 82^o F (24^o to 28^o C) for a high, with lows between 56^o to 65^o F (13^o to 18^o C) and because their feet were constantly wet for three to four days, or 72 to 96 hours, the pain and burning sensations that George Rogers Clark and John Gabriel Jones’ suffered from, and knew as “scald feet”, would like be diagnosed today as “warm water immersion foot” (WWIF), or, possibly its second stage form, called “tropical immersion foot” (TIF). 

 

So, now we know what caused that “Shocking Complaint”! and “The Curious Case of The Scalded Feet” has been solved!  That common affliction known as “scald feet”, “scald foot” or “scalded feet”, today is known as “warm water immersion foot” (WWIF), or “tropical immersion foot” (TIF)

 

Don’t forget to come back next week and read “Survival Rations … 1962 Civil Defense Style, Three Years Later!©”, where we will talk about making survival cereal bars, how well they keep, and more importantly how they taste, three years later!

 

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!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ Lt Col. Alfred M. Allen, Internal Medicine in Vietnam: Skin Diseases in Vietnam, 1965-72, Vol. I, Office of the Surgeon General and Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 1989, page 115-117

 

² Ibid, page 111

 

³ Ibid, page 117

 

 

Sources

 

Allen, Alfred M., Lt Col.; Internal Medicine in Vietnam: Skin Diseases in Vietnam, 1965-72, Vol. I, [Office of the Surgeon General and Center of Military History, Washington, D.C., 1977], p 102-117, https://books.google.com/books?id=Quw5DlbHKt0C&pg=PR17&dq=Internal+Medicine+in+Vietnam:+Skin+Diseases+in+Vietnam,+1965-72&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiw1cjXjqP9AhWID1kFHf7qBEoQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=Internal%20Medicine%20in%20Vietnam%3A%20Skin%20Diseases%20in%20Vietnam%2C%201965-72&f=false, accessed 2/19/2023

 

An American Physician, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts, [John I. Kay and Co., Pittsburgh, PA, and James Kay, Jun. and Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1831], page 212, http://books.google.se/books?id=bWLe9UcnYH8C&pg=PA212&dq=rheumatism+symptoms&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OqsKUZnBO-in4gSHnIGQDw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20symptoms&f=false, accessed March 9, 2023

 

Barber, John W.; Historical Collections of the State of New York, published by Clark, Austin & Co, New York, 1851 page 151

 

Belue, Ted Franklin, edited by; The Life of Daniel Boone by Lyman C. Draper, [Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 1998], page 480 & 490

 

Belue, Ted Franklin, The Long Hunt, [Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA 1996] page 91

 

Buchan, William, M.D.; Domestic Medicine, [Otis, Broaders, and Company, Boston, 1848] page 281, http://books.google.se/books?id=5fArAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA281&dq=rheumatism+%22wet+feet%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N60KUYW9EqOq4ATZooCACg&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20%22wet%20feet%22&f=false, accessed March 9, 2023

 

Cobb, Daniel J.; The Medical Botanist, and Expositor of Diseases and Remedies: In Two Volumes, [Printed by Geo. H. Bidwell, Dansville, NY;1846], page 201,

https://books.google.com/books?id=3omsbZjTso0C&pg=PA201&dq=rheumatism+feet+symptoms+cold+wet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHyd2p2tT9AhW_F1kFHXvBBp44ChDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20feet%20symptoms%20cold%20wet&f=false, accessed March 11, 2023

 

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, [Wellsburgh, VA; printed at the office of the Gazette, 1824] page 144 , http://www.archive.org/details/notesonsettlemen00dodd, accessed July 26, 2011

 

James, James Alton; George Rogers Clark Papers: 1771-1781, [Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois, 1912], pages 210 – 212, https://books.google.com/books?id=z0kSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA210&dq=%22our+feet+being+wet+for+three+or+four%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Tz8HUdD9EcrL0QGU74D4CA&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22our%20feet%20being%20wet%20for%20three%20or%20four%22&f=false, accessed February 18, 2023

 

Hammon, Neal O., edited by; My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone, [University Press of Kentucky, 1999, Lexington KY], page 36-37

 

Hartley, Cecil B.; Life and Adventures of Lewis Wetzel, the Virginia Ranger, [Published by G. G. Evans, Philadelphia, PA, 1860], page 264, http://books.google.se/books?id=wUozAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA264&dq=%22moccasins%22++tied++spy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=giwJUdCBMOiI4ATrqIGQDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22moccasins%22%20%20tied%20%20spy&f=false, accessed March 8, 2023

 

Hutchinson, William T.; Kentucky and the Revolutionary Era, 1770-1815, [The University of Chicago, November 1976-February 1977], page 19, http://storage.lib.uchicago.edu/pres/2009/pres2009-0501.pdf, accessed March 7, 2023

 

Jordan, Ryan; “Maceration, Immersion Foot and Backpacking”, September 15, 2019, [© Beartooth Media Group Inc.], https://backpackinglight.com/maceration-immersion-foot-and-backpacking/, accessed February 21, 2023

 

McCormack, Neil MD., and Bitter, Cindy Carol MD., MPH., “My Feet Are Killing Me: A Hiker’s Journey”, Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 2020; June 2020, Volume 31, Issue 2, pages 245 – 246, https://www.wemjournal.org/article/S1080-6032(20)30009-0/fulltext#articleInformation, accessed February 17, 2022

 

Sloan, Brett MD., and Meffert, Jeffrey J., MD.; “‘Boot foot’ with pseudomonas colonization”, Journal of American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 52, Issue 6, June 2005, page1109 - 1110, https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(05)00986-2/fulltext, accessed February 25, 2023

 

Wilson, George; If You Survive, [Ivy Books, New York, 1987] page 206-207

 

Zafren, Ken, MD.; “Nonfreezing cold water (trench foot) and warm water immersion injuries”, [© 2023 UpToDate, Inc., updated October 26, 2022], https://www.uptodate.com/contents/nonfreezing-cold-water-trench-foot-and-warm-water-immersion-injuries#:~:text=NFCI%20or%20frostbite%20can%20usually,to%20cold%20or%20warm%20water, accessed February 17, 2023

 

Sherlock Holmes and The Curious Case of The Scalded Feet, Part One©

 

 

George Rogers Clark, writing in 1791 about his journey, with John Gabriel Jones, from Harrods Town, Kentucky to Williamsburg, Virginia; on June 6, 1776, told of how on the third day of their journey one of their horses gave out and they were forced to share the remaining horse.  Due to the constant rain, their feet continuously wet, and they developed what he called “scald feet”.¹ 

 

During the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries on the Old Northwest Frontier of North America, “scald feet”, “scald foot” or “scalded feet”, was a common affliction², experienced by many scouts, rangers, hunters, and travelers through the wilderness areas of the Old Northwest Frontier. 

 

What exactly was this ailment and what would a modern doctor call it today.  How did they prevent and treat it during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, and how do they treat it today?  It is a medical mystery and as the great Sherlock Holmes would have said “The game is afoot”! 

 

The clues at the scene of the crime...

 

A careful reading of George Rogers Clark’s journal, pages 210 to 2012, with the important passages shown above, gives us some clues as to what this “Shocking Complaint”, George Roger Clark’s case of scalded feet might be.

 

George Rogers Clark described the weather as being constantly rainy
and stated that their feet were constantly wet for three to four days, 72 to 96 hours, at which point they developed “scald feet”.  They travelled another two days, 48 hours “in greater torment than I ever before or since Experienced”.

 

He also described how they dared not build a campfire, for fear of
alerting Native American hunting or war parties to their presence, due to ongoing hostilities with the Native Americans, particularly the Shawnee.

 

The torment they felt was a burning sensation, as if the  skin of their
feet felt too hot, and it became too painful to walk through the woods.

 

George Rogers Clark knew that they could heal their feet, within a
few days, if they used “oil and ouse (ooze) made of oak Bark”.  On the sixth day, they were able to find a shelter, build a fire to warm themselves, dry their clothes and care for their feet, by washing them with oak ooze and rubbing them with oil.

 

George Rogers Clark didn’t mention the exact temperatures he and his companion experienced on his journey through Kentucky, but we can look at today’s temperatures and get an idea of what the historical temperatures would have been during early June 1776.

 

From Weatherspark.com, HERE.

The temperature today in Kentucky, during late May and early June, varies between a high of 77^o to 84^o F (25^o to 29^o C) and a low of 58^o to 67^o F (14^o to 19^o C)⁵.  The temperatures in 1776 would have been approximately 2^o F (1^o C) cooler than they are today.

 

A review of the historical record...

 

So, are there any clues hidden in the historical record, that will help us solve this mystery?

 

Lyman C. Draper, an early 19^th century chronicler of the Old Northwest Frontier and Daniel Boone, wrote that “His feet getting scalded^dd, in frontier parlance, by heat in walking, he peeled some oak bark, jammed it into an ooze with which he rubbed his feet...owing to the soreness of his feet, he did not make so good progress...  Ted Franklin Belue, the editor of the Life of Daniel Boone, further explained that  “^dd‘Scalded’ feet meant one’s foot soles had stayed wet for so long that the many-layered, shriveled flesh peeled off in thick hunks that tore deeply into the tender sole”³.

 

So, feet that were wet for too long, became shriveled or macerated , and the outer layer of skin, the epidermis, could separate from the inner layer of the skin, the dermis.

 

During the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, according to Doddridge, an early chronicler, moccasins were considered in wet weather to only be a “decent way of going barefoot”⁴, because the spongy, pliable, porous nature of buckskin, moccasins would not keep your feet dry in wet conditions.  

 

In his journal, George Rogers Clark didn’t specifically mention if he and his companion were wearing moccasins or shoes, though it is likely that they were wearing moccasins, since moccasins were easier to repair in the wilderness than shoes were.  However, whether they were wearing buckskin moccasins or leather shoes, because of the wet and rain, their feet would have been continuously wet since the start of their journey.

 

Early chroniclers all agree that scalded feet was brought on by travelling in the rain, or through muddy, wet or swampy areas.  In fact, they thought that scalded feet was a type of “rheumatism”!

 

Scalded Feet...Rheumatism?

 

It appears that doctors, chroniclers, and sufferers of scalded feet, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, all thought that scalded feet was some type of chronic rheumatism or gout⁵.

 

So, just as in the case of George Rogers Clark and his scalded feet, “rheumatism” was thought to brought on “wet feet, wet clothes, &c.” and “damp weather” and shared the symptoms of swelling, feelings of heat without a fever, and a “pain of an acuteness surpassing description” with scalded feet.  Doctors of the time felt that it could be avoided or cured by keeping “the feet dry and warm, and avoiding as much as possible, every exposure to evening air or damp weather”.

 

C0mmon sense tips to avoid scalded feet.

 

Because of the impossibility of keeping your feet warm and dry, while you traversed the wilderness, rangers, spies and scouts during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, prevented scalded feet by taking off their moccasins at night and sleeping with their feet towards the fire.  Their moccasins were set to dry on sticks near the fire or if there was the threat of attack during the night, they were tied to the breech of their gun.

 

This was a practice that was learned from the Native Americans, who were commonly described as sleeping with their feet to the fire.  A chronicler gave a very early example of this practice, when writing about the invasion of the Five Nations, by a large body of French and French-allied Native Americans in January 1693, noting that “…each man, wrapped in his cloak, with his feet pointed towards the fire in the centre, would thus pass the night”.⁵  Also, when writing about capture of Francis Slocum in 1777, the author of the Friends Intelligencer, 1854, recorded that at night “…The Indians…would make up a great fire of logs at their feet…”.⁶

 

Nathan Boone, Daniel Boone’s son, when corresponding with Lyman C. Draper, confirmed that hunters, and presumably Daniel Boone himself, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, removed and dried their leggings and moccasins at night, before sleeping with their feet to the fire

 

So, to avoid scalded feet it was felt that you needed to remove your wet footwear and dry out and warm up your feet while you slept at night.  This means that a drying out/warming up period of about 8 hours out the 24 hour day was very important in preventing scalded feet.

 

Other sources discussed cures for scalded feet, which most commonly were described as washing your feet in an “ooze” made from boiled white oak bark, and then rubbing them with oil.  In the absence of a fire the oak bark could be pounded to produce a salve, this is the cure that Daniel Boone used.  Another remedy was a salve made of pounded and boiled slippery elm bark. 

 

Oak “ooze” contains tannic acid, an astringent which will dry and harden your skin.  A poultice made from boiled oak bark also has antiseptic properties, reduces inflammation, and acts as a healing agent in cases of minor burns.  Additionally, Native Americans traditionally used oak ooze to treat chapped skin.  Slippery elm, ulmus rubra, is native to Eastern North America, and its bark contains mucilage, a gel-like substance, which is why it is called slippery elm.  This mucilage contains tannic acid, and salicylic acid,  which helps the skin to shed dead cells and reduces swelling and redness.

 

So, what was Scalded Feet?!

 

Just as with every great mystery, you will have to come back next week and read “Sherlock Holmes and The Curious Case of The Scalded Feet, Part Two©”, for the gripping conclusion of the mystery and to find out what “Scalded Feet” actually is!

 

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!

 

 

Notes

 

¹ James Alton James, George Rogers Clark Papers: 1771-1781, [Illinois State Historical library, Springfield, Illinois, 1912], page 210-212,

 

² From Kentucky and the Revolutionary Era, 1770-1815, by William T. Hutchinson, page 19,

 

³ From The Life of Daniel Boone, edited by Ted Franklin Belue, page 480 & 490

 

⁴ From Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts, by An American Physician, 1831; Domestic Medicine, William, Buchan, M.D., 1848 and The Medical Botanist, and Expositor of Diseases and Remedies: In Two Volumes, Daniel J. Cobb, 1846

 

⁵ Rev. Dr Joseph Doddridge, Notes on the Settlement and Indian Wars of the Western Parts of Virginia & Pennsylvania, from the year 1763 until the year 1783, [Wellsburgh, VA; printed at the office of the Gazette, 1824] page 144 , http://www.archive.org/details/notesonsettlemen00dodd, accessed July 26, 2011

 

⁶ From John W. Barber, Historical Collections of the State of New York, published by Clark, Austin & Co, New York, 1851 p 151

 

⁷ From the Friends Intelligencer, Vol. X, Published by William W. Moore, Philadelphia 1854 page 421.

 

 

Sources

 

An American Physician, Mackenzie’s Five Thousand Receipts, [John I. Kay and Co., Pittsburgh, PA, and James Kay, Jun. and Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1831], page 212, http://books.google.se/books?id=bWLe9UcnYH8C&pg=PA212&dq=rheumatism+symptoms&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OqsKUZnBO-in4gSHnIGQDw&ved=0CEMQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20symptoms&f=false, accessed March 9, 2023

 

Barber, John W.; Historical Collections of the State of New York, published by Clark, Austin & Co, New York, 1851 page 151, https://books.google.com/books?id=6TMop7dnFYAC&pg=PA277&dq=%22each+man,+wrapped+in+his+cloak%22&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjfyu2Eytb9AhVuFlkFHT38DogQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=%22each%20man%2C%20wrapped%20in%20his%20cloak%22&f=false, accessed March 11, 2023

 

Belue, Ted Franklin, edited by; The Life of Daniel Boone by Lyman C. Draper, [Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 1998], page 480 & 490

 

Belue, Ted Franklin, The Long Hunt, [Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA 1996] page 91

 

Buchan, William, M.D.; Domestic Medicine, [Otis, Broaders, and Company, Boston, 1848] page 281, http://books.google.se/books?id=5fArAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA281&dq=rheumatism+%22wet+feet%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=N60KUYW9EqOq4ATZooCACg&ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20%22wet%20feet%22&f=false, accessed March 9, 2023

 

Cobb, Daniel J.; The Medical Botanist, and Expositor of Diseases and Remedies: In Two Volumes, [Printed by Geo. H. Bidwell, Dansville, NY;1846], page 201,

https://books.google.com/books?id=3omsbZjTso0C&pg=PA201&dq=rheumatism+feet+symptoms+cold+wet&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiHyd2p2tT9AhW_F1kFHXvBBp44ChDoAXoECAQQAg#v=onepage&q=rheumatism%20feet%20symptoms%20cold%20wet&f=false, accessed March 11, 2023

 

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, [Wellsburgh, VA; printed at the office of the Gazette, 1824] page 144 , http://www.archive.org/details/notesonsettlemen00dodd, accessed July 26, 2011

 

James, James Alton; George Rogers Clark Papers: 1771-1781, [Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois, 1912], pages 210 – 212, https://books.google.com/books?id=z0kSAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA210&dq=%22our+feet+being+wet+for+three+or+four%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Tz8HUdD9EcrL0QGU74D4CA&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%22our%20feet%20being%20wet%20for%20three%20or%20four%22&f=false, accessed February 18, 2023

 

Hammon, Neal O., edited by; My Father, Daniel Boone: The Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone, [University Press of Kentucky, 1999, Lexington KY], page 36-37

 

Hartley, Cecil B.; Life and Adventures of Lewis Wetzel, the Virginia Ranger, [Published by G. G. Evans, Philadelphia, PA, 1860], page 264, http://books.google.se/books?id=wUozAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA264&dq=%22moccasins%22++tied++spy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=giwJUdCBMOiI4ATrqIGQDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22moccasins%22%20%20tied%20%20spy&f=false, accessed March 8, 2023

 

Hutchinson, William T.; Kentucky and the Revolutionary Era, 1770-1815, [The University of Chicago, November 1976-February 1977], page 19, http://storage.lib.uchicago.edu/pres/2009/pres2009-0501.pdf, accessed March 7, 2023

 

Moore William W., Published by; Friends Intelligencer, Vol. X, Philadelphia 1854 page 421, https://books.google.com/books?id=kZ0sAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA421&dq=would+make+up+a+great+fire+of+logs+at+their+feet+friends&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjy6-DZytb9AhXpMlkFHb2iB8gQ6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q=would%20make%20up%20a%20great%20fire%20of%20logs%20at%20their%20feet%20friends&f=false, accessed march 11, 2023