Moccasins and leather Stockings



These were the items of clothing worn by the Indians of old. Leather trousers would be ideal for working in the woods, it's true, but ordinary old pants will do as well. However, you can make cheap, long-lasting moccasins yourself.

You need an old tire, preferably one on which the tread has not been completely worn off. This will make your moccasins skid-proof.

It is really simple to make them. According to your imagination and ability, you can make anything from simple slippers to magnificently embroidered moccasins. Cut out a piece of rubber that is the size and shape of your foot and remove the excess rubber sticking up on the sidewalls. You can use this as "leather" for the tops. You can either sew the pieces together with twine or tarred cord, or cement or staple them together. Fasten them on your feet with laces drawn through the loops sewn around the top. But moccasins are not the only thing you can make for yourself. You can make many things that will contribute to your ease, comfort and fun in the out-of-doors.

Bacteria lamp

When you've strolled through the woods at night, did you ever come upon faintly glowing pieces of wood? Or have you ever seen a rotting potato that glows? The glow is not really coming from the wood or the potato, but from little bacteria growing on them. These bacteria are called phosphorescent agarics.

You can grow these agarics yourself. Cook a little beef bouillon and add enough powdered gelatin so that it will get hard when it cools. Then take the glowing piece of wood or potato and scrape off bits of it into the lukewarm bouillon. Stir it, pour the whole thing into a wide-necked jar, and leave it alone for a while. With the good culture medium of bouillon and gelatin, the agarics will soon start to multiply, and in a few weeks the jar with the culture will give off a mild, even light. It will make a worthy lamp for your tent or hut.

Campsite filtering system

The illustration shows a filtering system set up at a spring. As you can see, it has sections for drinking, washing and laundering. The bottom of each section is lined with pebbles and sand. The flow of water from section to section should not be too strong.

Sometimes in hurry many people used to forget some important and basic things. Do not worry if it happens to you because you can now make it by yourself.