2013 FUMLA Turkey Shoot

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos and misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entree is from the 2013 FUMLA Turkey Shoot.

10/25/13 – Friday

I arrived at Rod’s cabin & was greeted by Dave Finders & Mike Schweitzer. I was originally to share a tent with Mike but it turned out that only us three would be here tonight. We were suprised that Rod didn’t come out. Since there would be ample room in the cabin I decided that I would make a shelter instead as Mike would be staying in the cabin. I made my shelter from my 10x10 ground cloth for tent. My shelter is slightly north and more west of the cabin, by the Charbonou Creek. It’s a leen to with the open side facing East. I’m wearing my tuque as it is rather cool outside right now. I have two extra shirts I’ll us as a pillow & 5 wool blankets [some thinner than others] to cover me. I’m writing by candle light from my lantern from Village Tinsmiths. My market wallet with rations is hanging in the tree above me that my shelter is built against. I also have a beaver trap hanging from a limb.
                After I got my shelter squared away I went to the cabin & ate cheese and thick whole grain crackers. Mike Dave & I shared some liquid cheer & enjoyed comraderie. Dave & I played cribbage. He taught me to play 2 years ago here at the cabin. Dave won. We spent several hours talking about Fur Trade, Indians wars & FT. UNION. [Another enterprise I’m involved with] was brought up some. The guys offered words of encouragement & congratulations on [my current status]. After we concluded Rod was not going to show tonight, it was time for sleep. I’m going to make a hot breakfast in the morning.

10/26/13 – Saturday

It got cold lastnight, even with the 5 blankets. It was comfortable to lay down however. Tonight I will try to arrange the blankets different. Am very thankful for my tuque. Woke up several times throughout the night & looked at the sky. The moon & stars were bright. Feet got cold. I need to fix that. REalizied that I took of without extra socks.
                When I woke up this morning I straightened out my bedroll, grabbed my hatchet & fire kit and prepped wood for a fire. As soon as I got flame I lit the candle stub I keep in the kit. That proved advantageous to getting the fire going.
                Sawyer Flynn arrived as I was getting a green limb of Russian Olive to roast my meant for breakfast. He brought his new rifle. I had an apple & roasted meat for breakfast. Schweitzer brought me a wheel cap. He knew I had been looking for one. It is Russet in color, is well made & he was more than fair in his price. We groused around the campfire I’d made for sever hours. I read some of “Journal of a Trapper.” Swede arrived. The conversation that was already comedic became more so. I had cheese & something like pilot bread for lunch. Tim Soyseth (SWEDE) brought my turkey from last year.

                After we had eaten we set up the steel targets for the turkey shoot, comprising of ones for pistol & muzzleloader. We were wondering if Rod Lassey was going to make it out. As we were walking back to the cabin we saw the familiar figure of Rod walking across the prairie, bedroll in tow, rifle in hand, & then cross the creek. “Impecable timing…” a Halvorson family expression J, as he was just in time to start the shoot.
                I did poorly, only hitting one target & nearly firing my new wiping stick from the muzzle of my loaded rifle. Rod won the turkey. Dave Finders & I tied for the SPAM.

                I made a stew for supper from carrots, potatoe, meant, pearl barly & salt & pepper in my copper lidded kettle. Rod’s father Jerry stopped by for a couple of hours to see how the shoot had gone & catch up with everyone. I played a game of cribbage with Dave again by candle & lantern light…I won this time. We sat talking for a couple more hours & then we decided to shut things down for the evening. I went back to my shelter by the light of my lantern & went to sleep.

10/27/13 – Sunday

Slept much better lastnight. I arranged the blankets in a much better fashion. What was an annoyance the night before was that parts of my body were warm & parts were cold. My shoulder, knee & feet would be cold but the rest of me was warm. There was no frost on the glass of my lantern this morning. I have no idea if that was because it was warmer or because I’d waken up later. I do not have a watch. 

          When I opened my fire tin this morning I realized I had one piece of char cloth left. I found a few small sections of dead juniper to use in starting my fire this morning in addition to the usual tinder & kindling to make sure I’d get a fire going. There were no coals left from the previous night’s fire to assist in getting a fire going. It was a good thing this was my last day here. How foolish I was to not check my fire tin before I left for the camp. It took a lot of work this morning but was able to finally start & keep the fire going with that one small piece of char cloth. I will refill the tine when I get home.
                Ate an apple & roasted my last piece of meat for breakfast. Had some good conversation with Dave this morning…
                Knowing that coming home smelling smoky & dirty I decided to shave. This was an item of interest for all. I washed out my lidded kettle & heated water. The heated water was poured into my tin pan & allowed to cool a little while my brush soaked in it & I stropped my razor. The strop is on the back of my razor box. It was made by Mark Morain of Kootenai River Traders. It’s lid slides open to reveal an open oval cavity, the

bottom of which is lined with what I believe is red wool flannel. The razor rests inside. I was able to fit both my modern hollow ground DOVO straight razor & my 1830s Joseph Elliot wedge style straight razor in it. I used my DOVO as I haven’t sterilized or hat had it [my Joseph Elliot razor] honed yet. I used a modern badger hair brush & my modern 1911 shave soap made by Wm. Newmann & Co. I used a small trade mirror reproduction of an original found near Mandan, ND, dated to 1800-1850. I performed a 3-PASS shave, rinsing between each pass. I did not use any after shave or balm. We talked about shaving & hygien while I shaved. My EMT kit was up at the truck & I had an extra large handkerchief with me just in case problems arose. Shortly after my shave we began to break camp.
                During the daylight hours the top red blanket of my bedroll became a location for hundreds of the remaining box elder bugs to sun themselves. Despite trying my best to flap them off my bedroll gear, Signe, Brynja & I still removed about 20 of them from my bedroll & ground cloth after I got home.
                Just before the rest of us departed, Ben Gjorven arrived to say high & show us his Browning 30 cal….
                It was getting pretty cold at that point & we all headed out. I enjoy the Lassey cabin site along the Charbanue Creek. Fond memories of comraderie, conversations of history & getting to experience a little bit of the life of the men we portray. This camp was a nice change of pace to everyday life.
--Leif