Hunter's Path XVI

SMOKING
Smoking is a wonderful way to preserve
meat and to add flavor. It will also keep insects
away. The quickest way is to use a warm
smoking process where the meat will also
be cooked by the heat. A smoking oven can
be built with a mixture of termite-mound
clay and fresh buffalo or elephant dung. A
much quicker way would be to find a termite
mound, which can be hollowed out and used
as a smoking-oven. Dig a tunnel horizontally
at the base of the mound towards the center
and a tunnel vertically from the top to
the bottom. It should be an l-shaped tunnel,
where the fire is made inside the horizontal
part and the vertical part will be the chimney,
through which the smoke will be concentrated
on the meat. A wooden grid must be
made from green sticks and placed into the
chimney about fifteen centimeters from the
top. The meat is placed on top of the grid and
then the chimney is covered with a lid made
from leaves or grass. A small fire is made in
the bottom tunnel, and wet bark or green
leaves are thrown continuously on the fire to
create lots of smoke. Place a big rock in the
opening of the bottom tunnel to control the
oxygen and to keep the flames small, without
letting the fire die. The thicker the meat the
longer it will take, so rather cut thin strips
which will be ready in a few hours.
SHEPHERD’S TREE ROOT
The root from a Shepherd’s tree can be
prepared and used as an effective preservative.
First you have to dig out a root as thick
as your arm and about one meter in length
or bigger. Then clean it and crush it with a
rock. Remove the hard woody parts and cut
the soft fleshy parts into small pieces. Spread
these little pieces out onto a big flat rock or
onto your shirt in the sun to dry for a day
or two. Once dried, you can crush or grind
the dried parts again until you have a coarse
white powder which is used to rub onto the
pieces of meat. It is effective on meat and in
milk. If you want to cook the treated meat,
the powder can be washed off or left on.
Shepherd’s tree root is edible, and coffee can
also be made from it.
STORAGE AND SAFE-KEEPING
Food gathering and survival cooking takes
a lot of effort and energy, and you cannot
afford to lose any food due to predators,
insects, or contamination. Do everything
possible to store your food safely, especially
at night. This is where a thorn bush comes in
handy. You can either secure your food in the
middle of a thorn bush, or if you have a rope
you can hang it in a tree out of the reach of
predators. It should be at least three meters
off the ground. Remember that vultures and
baboons have very keen eyesight, so cover
your food with bunches of green leaves and
make sure it is not visible from a distance. It
is not a good idea to keep food in or close
to your shelter.
FOOD POISONING
Food poisoning is a common problem in survival
situations and is often caused by spoiled
food. The best remedy is to eat a spoon of
charcoal three times a day and make yourself
some marula-bark tea. The charcoal will
absorb the poison and the tea will stop the
diarrhea. Remember to drink a lot of water
to avoid dehydration.
It is critical to realize that the bush
is neutral. It is neither for nor against
you. Your life depends on how well you
adapt and improvise.
Contact
For a real wilderness experience – you
are welcome to join me on a hunting
safari, photographic safari, or survival
course in South Africa. Please contact
me at info@douwkruger.co.za or
+27-12-5485819 or +27-829389465.
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