WATER, by Jiyani
Associated directly with food is
water. These two are essential to life. Many
men died because they did not know how nor
where to look for water in apparently dry and
arid regions.
WATER IS EVEN MORE ESSENTIAL THAN
FOOD FOR SURVIVAL.
Thus one has to know how to find
it and fast if one is to survive! We know
today that you can go up to 60 days without
solid food. You will be tormented by hunger,
but you can not survive without
water.
Many different forms of life are
certain indicators of water in your vicinity.
Bees MUST have water. Pigeons and all grain
eaters MUST have water, but the flesh eaters
such as the crow, hawk and eagle can go
without water for a long time. By knowing
something of the nature of insects, birds,
animals and reptiles you can often find their
hidden stores of precious water.
WATER
Since most common diseases in a
survival situation are water-born, pollution
of drinking water MUST BE RIGOROUSLY
AVOIDED.
NEVER! NEVER! EVER TAKE THE
SLIGHTEST UNNECESSARY RISK WITH DOUBTFUL
WATER. Any one of us can generally get along
a while longer without a drink. One drop of
contaminated water can so sicken us that if
nothing worse, we will become too weak to
travel.
STRANGE COUNTRIES and
CAUTION
When in strange country it is
safer not to drink tap water. Buy and drink
bottled water. The safest principle in any
event is to assume ALL WATER to be IMPURE
until proved otherwise, positively and
recently!
PURITY
How
can you tell if water is pure? Short of a
laboratory we can not. Even where a mountain
rill bubbles through sheer mountains, the
putrefying carcass of an animal may be lying
a few yards upstream.
The
folklore that any water a dog will drink is
pure enough for his master is false. We have
often seen dogs drink from toilets. The same
notion for a horse is also false. Smell or
[lack of it] is no guarantee. Sulfurous water
stinks [horribly], yet it is safe to drink
boiled or when not polluted.
The
fact that natives may assert a water source
is pure could indicate they have built up a
degree of immunity. To their systems, the
water is not tainted (polluted). Even the
loneliest wild stream can be infected with
this so called rabbit fever by wild animals
such as muskrats and beavers.
Yet
taking chances with drinking water in a
well-settled community is in one sense a lot
less dangerous than trying out water in a
wilderness away from medical help.
MAKING SURE IT IS PURE
Water can be rid of germs by
boiling. The exact time required to
accomplish this depends on altitude, the
nature of impurity and several other factors.
A safe general rule is at least 10 minutes,
longer is by no means a waste except for
fuel.
If
there is reasonable doubt water is
contaminated, don't take chances even if in
hurry. A great deal more inconvenience and
delay can result from using just any
water.
BOILING TAKES ONLY 10
MINUTES
Getting sick takes days even
weeks before feeling better; sometimes it
results in death. This applies to water
actually consumed and with equal gravity, to
any water entering the human body. For
example, the water in which a toothbrush is
dipped, water in which food and utensils are
washed, and water used in cooking (except
when kept at high enough temperatures for a
sufficient time to insure purity) could all
be sources for disease.
Boiled water tastes flat. Air and
taste can be restored by pouring the cooled
water back and forth between two buckets or
by shaking it in a partially filled jar or
canteen. If one is in hurry and has salt,
just add a pinch of salt.
STAGNANT WATER and POLLUTED
WATER
Both can be made safe to drink
without equipment. If time permits, such
water can be filtered through a sieve of
charcoal. This will both clarify and to a
large extent, purify the water. It is ALWAYS
SAFER TO BOIL WATER BEFORE DRINKING AT LEAST
10 MINUTES. Once boiled, swirl the water for
a minute or so to give back its oxygen and
taste.
MUDDY WATERS CLEANING
METHODS
If
the water is muddy, floating clay particles
can be precipitated by a pinch of alum. This
however requires at least 12 hours waiting
and lots of wood!
If
no artificial means such as iodine tablets
are available, the polluted or dirty water
can be filtered by straining through closely
woven garments such as a felt hat or a pair
of thick drill trousers.
TO
CLEAN and PURIFY MUDDY WATER
-
1) Let it rest during 12
hours.
-
2) Let it circulate inside a
bamboo stick measuring 1 metre long which
you have filled with sand and the end is
filled with grass.
-
3) Dump water in a cloth
filled with sand which filters the
mud.
-
4) Boil that water afterward
for a minimum of 10 minutes.
TO
MAKE A FILTER
Water can be cleared by
filtration although this process will neither
affect any dissolved minerals nor will it
ensure purity.
Water is polluted by animal and
mineral matter rather than by discoloring
vegetable substances such as grass roots and
dead leaves.
The
first two can not be removed with any
sureness by ordinary filtering. This filter
is to clear water by straining it through
solid material.
A
wild filter can be made without too much
trouble particularly in sandy areas by
scooping a hole a few feet from the source of
supply and letting the water seep into
it.
HOT
STONES METHOD
Polluted water can be sterilized
by adding hot stones to the water in the
filter. The water will soon boil becoming
sterile and safe drink.
In
areas where there is the likelihood of water
being unsanitary (near cities or villages),
it is always safer to boil before drinking or
add a pinch of chloride of lime.
Water which is very muddy, dirty
or stagnant can be clarified and sterilized
through a good filter made from a pair of
drill trousers with one leg turned inside out
and put inside the other leg.
The
cuff is tied and the upper part held open by
3 stakes driven well into the ground. Fill
with the dirty water and then drop in the hot
stones.
The
water will filter through and MUST be caught
by a container and poured pack until the dirt
has been filtered and the water has boiled at
least 10 minutes. Remember JUST MOISTENING
[your lips with] polluted water will make you
sick for days; it can even kill
you.
WATER PURITY
Once you have found a water
source, you have two old drinking rules to
choose from, depending on how healthy you
are, how cautious you are and where you
are.
The
first is, when doubt about water, purify it.
The second is, a lively bubbling stream
cleans itself in 30 feet of flowing over
rocks and sands. Or as one old codger I know
put it succinctly, referring to the same
quality of stream bed, "If the cow's around
the bend, the water's fit to
drink."
Which rule you follow is up to
you. We tend to use the second when in
mountainous, wooded country. Our stomachs
might not be cast iron, but they are pretty
resistant to Montezuma's Revenge and La
Turista. Yet as pollution increases we lean
more and more to the first rule.
Boiling takes a lot of fuel and a
lot of time to cool off but in dangerous
regions it is better to drink a lot of tea
rather than wait for the water to cool off.
For Halazone, use one tablet per pint of
water or two if in serious doubt. You MUST
let it stand 1/2 hour or more to be safe to
drink and it tastes funny like a water from a
swimming pool.
Aerating the water by pouring it
back and forth between two containers several
times will eliminate most of the chlorine
taste. This chemical is quite pungent; if you
hold your breath while drinking it, you will
hardly taste a thing.
SIMPLE CHEMICAL
PURIFICATION
One can buy the chemicals at most
sporting goods and drug stores. Since their
purifying action depends upon the release of
chlorine gas, the tablets should be fresh and
the container kept tightly closed, its
contents dry.
NO
PURIFICATION OF WATER BY CHEMICAL MEANS IS AS
SAFE AS BOILING.
Two
tabs of Iodine will ordinarily make a quart
of water safe for human consumption in 1/2
hour.
If
the water is muddy or its integrity seems
particularly questionable, it is good
insurance to double at least the amount of
Halazone and standing time to be
sure.
Care MUST be taken with chemical
purifiers to disinfect all points of contact
with the container, so that the sterilized
water will not be easily
reinfected.
If
a jar or canteen is being used together with
Iodine, replace the cover loosely and wait 30
minutes so the tablets can dissolve. Then
shake the contents thoroughly, allowing some
of the water to spill out over the top and
lips of the holder. Tighten the cover and
leave it that way for the time required
before using any of the water.
CHLORIDE OF LIME
Chlorine in some form is regarded as
the most dependable disinfectant for drinking
water. When introduced in proper quantities,
it destroys any existing organisms. For as
long as enough remains in the water, it
prevents recurring contamination. It is
better to err moderately on the side of
over-dosage than not enough.
EMERGENCY CHLORINATING DONE IN 3
STEPS
-
1) Dissolve one heaping
tablespoon of chloride of lime in 8
quarts of water.
-
2) Add one part of this
solution to 100 parts of the water to be
disinfected.
-
3) Wait at least 30 minutes
before using. The stock solution MUST be
kept tightly corked in a cool, dark place
and even then, it should be frequently
renewed.
Tincture of iodine can be used as
an emergency purifier. A drop of this fresh
antiseptic, mixed thoroughly with one quart
of water in the same manner as the old
Halazone pills will generally make the water
fit to drink in 30 minutes.
Both the amount and time may be
doubled if this precaution seems
warranted.
IODINE WATER PURIFICATION
TABLETS
Chlorine-releasing compound can
not be relied upon in Semi-Tropical and
Tropical areas.
Water in those regions MUST be
sterilized either by boiling or by iodine
water purification tablets containing the
active ingredient Tetraglycine
Hydroperiodine, These measures have been
adopted as standard by the armed services of
the USA.
These tablets have been proved
effective against all the common water-borne
bacteria. Added to water each tablet frees 8
milligrams of iodine which act as a water
purification factor. One tablet will purify
one quart of water. These tablets too MUST be
kept dry. The bottle MUST be recapped tightly
after opening.
-
1) Add one
tablet to a quart of water in container
with cap.
-
2) Wait 3
minutes.
-
3) Shake water
thoroughly, allowing a little water to
leak out and disinfect the screw threads
before tightening the
cap.
-
4) Wait 10
minutes before drinking or adding
beverage powders and if water is very
cold, wait 20 minutes.
-
5) If water
contains decaying vegetation or is murky
and discolored, use 2 tablets for every
one quart.
-
6) MAKE
CERTAIN that the iodine disinfects any
part of the container which will come in
contact with your lips.
OTHER CHEMICALS TO STERILIZE
WATER
-
1) JAVEL: Add 5 drops of
Javel per 4.5 litres of water NEVER pass
that dosage. Its drawback is that water
tastes acidic.
-
2) "Permanganate de Potasse":
Drop a piece of it in the water in a way
that the water is HARDLY tainted and wait
1 hour before drinking.
-
3) In South America, people
purify water ponds with copper sulphate 1
million parts to one part of
water.
HOW TO RECOGNIZE POISONOUS WATER
HOLES
A
few water holes as in the southwestern
deserts of North America contain dissolved
poison such as arsenic.
Once can recognize these easily,
partly because of bones of unwary animals
scattered about, but mainly because green
vegetation will be conspicuously absent.
Avoid any water hole without green
plants.
POISONED RIVER
While fighting the Boers, Baden
Powel came across this problem, and resolved
it this way, having learned that the water
had been poisoned.
He
simply dug a hole at 9 feet from the river
bank and let the water seep through thus
eliminating the poison. However the hole MUST
be dug deeper than the river bed.
HARD
WATER
If
the area traveled has hard water to which we
are not accustomed, severe digestive upsets
may result if, while getting used to it, we
absorb more than small amounts at any one
time. Boiling may be of some help, but that
is all one can do, until one gets used to
it.
A
WAY TO SWEETEN WATER
If
you are camping by a swamp or pond with an
unpleasant odor, you will want to sweeten and
purify the water in a single
operation.
Just drop several bits of charred
hardwood from the campfire into the boiling
pot. 10 or 15 minutes simmering will do the
job.
Then you can skim away most of
the foreign matter and strain the water
through a clean cloth or if time permits,
merely allow it to settle.
WATER HAZARDS and
SICKNESS
Diseases from water make one of the
greatest threat to survival, if not THE
greatest, immediately following injuries,
cold and man! Among them we find: Dysentery,
Cholera, Typhoid, Douves.
DYSENTERY
This sickness causes general
diarrhea, painful and of long duration with
bloody stools and weakness.
If
you think you suffer it, eat frequently and
drink, if possible, coconut milk and boiled
water. As for coconut milk being a laxative,
drink only a small amount. Boiled rice is
strongly recommended as food during this
illness.
CHOLERA AND TYPHOID
Even with vaccine, you are
vulnerable to these diseases if proper care
isn t taken of water drinking habits. Be sure
to read how to cure cholera and typhoid at
this link and have Terramycin on hand at all
times..
DOUVES
They abound in stagnant and
polluted water especially in the Tropics.
When you swallow them, they infiltrate the
blood causing severe sickness and often
death. These parasite worms penetrate the
body even through the skin. Don t walk or
bathe in contaminated waters.
Nowhere does the addition of
liquor to ice or water rid either of germs.
(Germs keep well in ice; they don't
die).
LEECHES and HOW TO GET RID OF
THEM
The
small leeches abound most particularly in
water streams of Africa. When swallowed, they
cling to throat and nose passages. They suck
the blood and cause wounds. These parasites
move and each time they do, they cause new
open wounds which leads the way to
infection.
Clean your nose as quickly as
possible by sniffing very salted water or
remove the leeches with improvised tweezers
or with the heat from a cigarette. Another
old jungle trick is to rub salt on them which
will make them leave.
WHERE TO FIND WATER?
One
is ALWAYS learning from nature. Several
principles serve to aid; water flows
downhill. So we are not surprised to find
water near the tops of mountains indicated by
a lush area or a thread of green "verdancy"
coming down a slope.
Water is also prone to lie near
the base of hills where it can often be
recognized by the density of vegetation. When
country is flat and open, long meandering
tangles of such brush and shrubs as alder and
willow will tell us their tale.
WHEN TO FOLLOW GAME
TRAIL
Those trails often indicate water
presence. A usually reliable indication is a
marked increase in the deepening and widening
of the trail. So do follow these trails. If
traveling in the North America, you will come
to recognize that such trails commonly mean a
muskeg (bog) lies ahead and that the easiest
procedure will be the following an animal s
path around it.
DESERT WATER
Water seeks the lowest level
available and in the desert, these may be
underground. If you see hills, head toward
them, for the likeliest place to find water
is at their base.
Perhaps you have come across the
thin shallow bed of a stream. Even though it
is dry, water may lie beneath the surface.
Hunt for a low place in the bed and dig. The
same procedure applies in the case of dry
lake bottoms. The presence of any water will
soon be indicated by damp sand.
Game trails in desert country
usually lead to water. Follow them downhill
if the land so slopes that you can do this
with certainty. Otherwise scout around till
you can MAKE SURE which direction the paths
have become more frequented; this will be the
way to go.
If
you happen upon a palm, you can depend on
water being at hand generally within several
feet of the base of the tree. Reed grass is
also a sound sign that moisture is
near.
However, in general, it is futile
to search for water near desert plants, for
this one has already taken it. Instead, use
the plant roots which you dig, pull and
section off. For cactus, cut off the head and
avoid the milk.
In
the Arizona desert there is a cactus in a
bottle shape which contains near 7 quarts of
water but only in Arizona. With a good knife
it will take nearly 40 minutes of hard work
to cut the very tough and prickly
skin.
The
water is in the plant, not in the soil. The
only danger comes from milky sap as seen from
cactus in African desert. The Barrel Cactus
is the milky exception.
One
may not find Barrel Cactus if in the wrong
region of the desert. If you find one, to get
the juice, cut off sections of that Cactus
and be wary of spines. Mash them in a
container.
You
can drink any resulting fluid on the spot or
pour it into a second container as often as
needed. If you have no utensils, you can mash
segments of the cactus one by one and suck
the pulp.
1)
Where you see damp soil, dig in
surface.
2)
One can find water just under the surface of
a dry river. The water goes down at the
lowest point of the river bed, in the
exterior part of the elbow of its bed.
Digging under the concave bank of the
exterior side of the river curve is the place
to find water, whereas the convex side is
nil. Help the water to flow by digging small
holes.
3)
Look behind rocks, in trenches and small
ditches, on the flank of canyon or under the
sharp edge of cliff and maybe you will find
natural reservoirs. Often in those places,
the soil is made of solid rock or very hard
soil well packed that collects water. If you
can't find those clues, search for water
where the animals leave their
traces.
4)
In desert, REMEMBER to observe the flight of
birds particularly at dawn and dusk. The
birds glide and hover around these marshes.
Go there every day, parrots and pigeons are
rarely very far from it.
5)
In the GOBI desert, don't count on plants to
quench your thirst. In the SAHARA, the Wild
Gourd or Pumpkin can quench thirst. The pulp
of the Barrel Cactus in USA is safe and will
give 1 litre of milky fluid. (This is the
exception to the milky rule) but it is tough
to get to it, with a good knife you cut the
upper part. Use this cactus as last
resort.
6)
The roots of certain desert plants are found
very near the surface soil. The Australian
Water Tree, the Desert Oak and the Blood Wood
are examples.
Remove these roots and cut them
or better break them in length of 60-100cm.
Remove the skin and suck the water contained
in it.
7)
The Madagascar Traveling Tree of Western
Africa and the Australian and African Baobab
are among the plants capable of supplying
water.
Don't attach too much importance
about stories of contaminated wells. The acid
taste of certain salty or alkaline waters
rich in magnesium are the cause.
Desert waters by the nature of
their surge are generally better filtered and
clearer than your city water. Yet, better
boil that water or add Iodine or Halazone
pills especially in native villages or near
inhabited places.
DESERT SURVIVAL -
WALKING
In
the Desert, adapt yourself to it, rather than
try fighting it.
Desert natives refuse to do any
violent effort during the hottest hours of
the day and as the animals do; they drink and
drink as soon as possible.
It
has been registered desert walking of 140 to
350 miles between 10 to 20 days; while
walking only at night and with only a little
water from plane crashed
survivors.
Here is another illustration to
prove the point. An American called Rodger
Jones, in August 1953 was stranded on a road
in the Great Salt Lake Desert, when an axle
of his car broke down.
As
a former marine he had taken a short survival
course and he did the right think, he lay
down in the shadow of his car (outside) and
slept through the hottest part of the
day.
Around 6pm when the sun had lost
its full impact, though the temperature was
still around 95; he set off along the road.
He knew there were steel water tanks for
tourist at regular intervals.
Twice that evening he came to one
of those tanks painted bright red and drank
as much as he could, also filling up his
water bottle. Wherever he found any shade he
stopped for a rest.
Every so often he collected large
stones and laid them out on the road to spell
the word HELP with an arrow showing the
direction he was walking in.
The
next day a car driver saw one of those signs,
at once followed the arrow and caught up with
Jones after a 4 hours drive.
He
was resting in the shade of a rock and his
condition was excellent despite a midday heat
of 110 F.
Another family who also got
stranded did survive by laying close to the
car shadow, applying lipstick to the blisters
and swollen lips of the husband and children
and covering everyone cheeks and arms with
rouge.
Discovering that the ground was
cooler a few inches below the surface, she
and her husband buried the children up to the
neck in sand and applied sand to the
children's faces, then they did the same for
themselves.
In
most deserts the temperature a foot below the
surface is less than 72 F and on hot summer
day; it may be 18 degree cooler than at the
surface directly above.
Using urine collected earlier
during the day, they dipped some bit of
clothing in the can and press them on
children's face, the smell was unpleasant,
but the moisture was refreshing
cool.
They were later rescued in good
health, but if they had decide to walk off in
bright day, they would have been either dead
or in very bad conditions. It pays to learn
the tricks of survival.
DESERT TRAVEL HINTS
TRAVEL AT NIGHT! AS MUCH AS
POSSIBLE!
-
1) Cover yourself as much as
possible. Clothing stops sweat
evaporating too quickly and helps you
benefit from its cooling effect. If you
remove your shirt, you will feel more at
ease but you'll also sweat much more
beside risking sunburn.
-
2) Keep your clothing on. You
will walk further if you don't sweat too
much.
-
3) Unless you have a lot
water, don't waste it washing.
-
4) When drinking, don't
swallow big gulps in one shot. Drink
small quantities. If low in water, then
only dampen your lips.
-
5) Keeping a few small
pebbles in your mouth will ease your
thirst, breathe through the nose and
don't talk.
-
6) Absorb salt only with
water and only if you have a lot of
water.
-
7) Drink as often and as much
as you can; the saving of water will not
get you much farther, yet don't waste
it.
-
8) When extremely thirsty any
liquid is tempting but don't drink any
alcohol. Aside from its effects, it only
dehydrates the body..
-
9) Urine is harmful and only
increases thirst. (This point is
debatable! Many of the survivors of
the Bataan Death March were shipped to
Japan in the cargo holds of ships.
Many of those who survived did so by
drinking their own urine, according to
the book "We Shall Be
Remembered."}
-
10) Smoking dehydrates your
body and heightens the need to
drink.
Sluggishness of the digestive
system is a natural consequence of going
without normal amounts of water and
nourishment.
This condition need not cause
concern and will re-adjust itself when normal
conditions resume. So don't take any laxative
under such conditions for it depletes the
body of further fluid.
DEW
Dew
which settles after cold nights in many
stretches of deserts has also been a life
saver. Survivors have mopped it from the
metal of their wrecked plane or collected it
in tarpaulins.
Dew
must be collected before the sunrise, for it
evaporates quickly. An abundant dew can give
a little more than 1 litre of water/hour.
Thirsty Bedouins sometimes dig up cool stones
just before sunrise and wait till dew settles
on them, then lick the stones dry.
In
many desert regions according to Israeli
scientist Shmuel Duvdevani dew falls in a
quantity which would amount to 25 inches in a
year.
During the war one of the
strangest source of water were the wreck of
burned out or shot up jeeps and tanks and
trucks. Airmen after crash walked 20 miles a
day filling up their water bottles regularly
from the radiator of such vehicles. (This is
a good idea unless the radiator contains
glycol ether which is anti-freeze, a toxic
substance.)
BEDOUINS WATER EXPERTS
Survival experts have taken great
interest in the methods of Bedouins with
their amazing sixth sense which again and
again leads them to sources of
water.
Morning and evenings for instance
they listen to the twittering of birds to
locate where the birds get their drink. They
also find water holes by watching the
direction in which the birds are flying or by
following animals trails. Flocks of birds
circling over one spot, excepting vultures,
usually indicate a drinking place in the
desert.
Of
course the water there is not ALWAYS pure
said a survivor who found such a water hole.
There was such a stench of sh** that he was
almost sick. But his thirst was greater than
his disgust, he has no iodine to disinfect
water nor anything to make a fire with and
boil it, but he drank it and was none the
worse. I should point out, that he should
have dug a hole near by (9 FEET) and let the
water seep through thus safer in some ways. 9
FEET would also get rid of water contaminated
by radiation.
Dense clouds of flies swarming
over a place in the desert show Bedouins
where there was water only a short while
before and they ALMOST ALWAYS FIND IT WORTH
DIGGING THERE.
Bedouins also have discovered
fairly large supplies of water either on the
edge of a desert very near salt lakes or in
the middle of deep dune valleys. Rain water
collects there, seeps into the ground and
settles between different layers of
soil.
If
while digging they hit upon wet sand with a
dry layer underneath it, it is a sign that
the water has already drained off farther
downhill or evaporated in which case they
start digging again in a lower lying
spot.
Almost every desert has wadis,
where sometimes water is still found only a
few feet under a surface which is apparently
bone dry. Of course there is often no more
than a layer of mud left, but thirsty people
have pressed it into a cloth and drunk the
water unharmed. Those who died from it never
told their stories.
AFRICAN BUSHMEN
They dig a small hole in the mud,
stick a suction pipe into it, then suck the
moisture out of the ground drop by drop. A
grass filter stops any sand getting into the
bottom of the pipe. Water not needed at once
is stored in blown-out ostrich eggs in which
quite a large amount of liquid can be
carried.
If
water taste very soapy or salty it may be
poisonous. In the GOBI desert for instance,
there are springs which contain alkali. In
Arizona several springs contain arsenic and a
spring in Sahara contains so much chlorine
that it corrodes clothes.
WHERE TO FIND WATER IN ROCKY
SOILS
Water easily disintegrates lime
stone and digs caverns which you will find
springs and water sweating.
LAVA ETC.
Because of its porosity, lava
retains much water, so you will find springs
along valleys which crosses old lava
flows.
When a dry canyon cuts across a
sandstone or gritstone layer, there is water
which sweats on its walls.
In
region rich in granite, dig a hole in the
green grass and you will discover water
coming up.
IN
SOFT SOILS
Water is ordinarily more abundant
and easier to discover in soft than in rocky
soils. The phreatic sheets often come to
surface in valleys and slopes.
The
springs and sweating are found in the high
level line of the river waters after those
have retracted away.
BEFORE DIGGING TO FIND WATER, TRY
TO DISCOVER THE SIGNS WHICH INDICATES ITS
PRESENCE. The bottom of a
valley, at the foot of a sharp slope, a
corner of vegetation which has sheltered a
spring during rainy season, a low forest and
sea shores are among many places where the
hydrostatic level lies under the
surface.
There is no need to dig deeply in
order to find water. Above the level of the
phreatic sheet, there are small streams and
ponds. However, those waters are contaminated
and dangerous even when far away from any
civilization. Ex. Springs below
towns.
ON MOUNTAINS
Dig in dry spring beds, for water
often hides itself under the gravel. Mountain
slopes usually hide springs at their
feet.
OTHER SOURCES OF
SUPPLY
Creosote plants, Willows, Elder
Berry, Salted Herbs grow only where water is
near surface.
By a starry night, one can with a
handkerchief mop up and gather up to 1 quart
of water per hour from damp soils where you
see flies.
INSECTS, BIRDS AND ANIMALS
INDICATORS OF WATER
Bees in an area are a certain
sign of water. Rarely will you find a hive of
wild bees more than 3 or 4 miles from fresh
water. A bee flies a mile in 12
minutes.
So you can be sure if you see
bees that you are not far from fresh water,
but you will probably have to look for
further indications before you find the water
supply.
ANTS
Many ants need water, so if you
see a steady column of small black ants
climbing a tree trunk and disappearing into a
hole in a crotch, it is highly probable that
you fill find a hidden reservoir of fresh
water stored away there. This can be proved
by dipping a long straw or thin stick down
the hole into which the ants are
going.
If wet, then water is there. To
get the water, do not on ANY account chop
into the tree. If the hole is very small
enlarge it with your knife-point at the top.
Make a mop by tying grass or a rag to a
stick. Dip the mop into the water and squeeze
into a container.
Another method is to take a long
hollow straw and suck the water you need from
the reservoir. These natural tree reservoirs
are VERY COMMON in Dry areas, and are often
kept full by the dew which condensing on the
upper branches of the tree, trickles down
into the crotch and into the reservoir inside
the tree.
Water reservoirs are very common
in the She-Oaks (casuarinas) and many species
of Wattle.
MASON FLIES
Theses large, hornet-like
creatures are a certain indicator of water.
If you see a mason fly building in an area,
you can be sure that you are within a few
hundred yards of a soak of wet
earth.
Search around carefully and you
will see the mason fly hover and then
suddenly drop to the ground. If you examine
the place where she landed, you will find the
soil is moist and that she is busy rolling a
pellet of mud for her building. By digging
down a few inches or at most, a couple of
feet, you will surely find a spring and
clear, fresh, drinkable
water.
BIRD INDICATORS
FINCHES
All the finches are grain-eaters and
water drinkers. In the dry belts, you may see
a colony of finches and you can be certain
that you are near water, probably a hidden
spring or permanent soak.
WILD PIGEONS
They are a reliable indicator of
water. Being grain and seed eaters, they
spend the day out on the plains feeding and
then with the approach of dusk, make for a
water hole, drink their fill and fly slowly
back to their nest. Their manner of flying
will tell you the direction of their water
supply.
If they are flying low and swift,
they are flying to water but if their flight
is from tree to tree and slow, they are
returning from drinking their fill. Being
heavy with water they are vulnerable to birds
of prey.
GRAIN EATERS
All the grain eaters and most of the
ground feeders require water, so if you see
their tracks on the ground, you can be fairly
certain there is water within a few miles of
your location. An exception are parrots and
cockatoos which are not seen as reliable
indicators of water.
CARNIVORES
BIRDS
Being flesh eaters, they get most of
the moisture they need from the flesh of
their prey thus not reliable water-drinkers.
Nor should you regard the water living birds
as indicators of fresh or drinkable
water.
MAMMALS
Nearly all mammals need water at
regular intervals to keep alive. Even the
flesh eaters MUST drink, but animals can
travel long distances between drinks and
therefore, unless there is a regular trail,
you can not be sure of finding water where
you see animal trails. This is a general
rule.
However, certain animals NEVER
travel far from water. Ex. A fresh track of
wild pigs is one sign that there is water
near by. Also fresh tracks of rooster and
most of the grazing animals, whose habit is
to drink regularly at dawn or dusk. In
general, water is found by following these
trails downhill.
FROGS ETC.
Frogs, salamanders, weevil
charancons ALWAYS look for a damp place to
rest and usually, if we dig under them, you
will find water points, even
springs.
REPTILES
Most of the land-living reptiles are
independent to a very large extent on water.
They get what they need from dew and the
flesh of their prey and thus, not an
indicator of water.
WATER FROM VEGETABLE
SOURCES
The roots and branches of many
trees contain sufficient free-flowing fluid
to relieve thirst. This can be collected by
breaking into 3 feet lengths the roots or
branches and standing these in a trough of
bark into which the collected fluid will
drain to the container.
In some plants the amount of
stored water is truly unbelievable. The water
will gush out literally when the plant is
cut.
WARNING!:
THESE VEGETABLE "DRINKING-WATERS"
CAN NOT BE KEPT FOR MORE THAN 24
HOURS.
The fluid starts to ferment or go
bad if stored and might be dangerous to drink
if in this condition. The nature of the plant
if judged by the properties of its foliage is
no guide for the drinkability of the fluid
which is its sap.
For example, the Eucalyptus whose
leaves are heavily impregnated with oils of
Eucalyptus and in many cases poisonous to
human beings, contain a drinkable fluid,
easily collected from the branches or the
roots. The fluid is entirely free from the
essential oils and with no taint of the
Eucalyptus. Its roots measure from 12 to 25
metres, crawling under low depth. Pull them
off, remove the bark, and the sap will sweat
at both ends which you have put
containers.
The Liana or Monkey ropes found
in tropical regions are an example of a
prolific abundant source of
water.
There are certain
precautions and a few danger signs with
regard to vegetable fluids. If the fluid is
milky or red or colored in any way it MUST be
regarded as DANGEROUS, not only to drink but also to the skin.
Many of the milky saps except those of the
ficus family which contain latex or a natural
rubber are EXTREMELY
POISONOUS.
One exception known = Barrel cactus USA.
The milky sap of many weeds can
poison the skin and form bad sores and if
allowed to get into the eyes cause blindness.
With ALL vegetable sources of fluid even
though the water itself is clear, taste it
first and if quite or almost tasteless or
flavorless, it is safe to
drink.
For vegetable sources of water in
arid areas, the best volume is generally
obtained by scratching up the surface roots.
They are discovered close to the ground and
if cut close to the tree, may be lifted and
pulled, each root yielding from 10 to 20
feet. These MUST be cut in 3-4 feet lengths
for draining.
Many persons who
have tried to obtain drinking water from
vegetable sources failed to get the precious
liquid to flow just because they did not
break or cut the stalk or root into
lengths. UNLESS THESE
BREAKS ARE MADE, THE FLUID CAN NOT FLOW
and the conclusion is
that the root, branch or vine is without
moisture.
In general water
is more plentiful from plants in gullies than
on ridges. And the flow is wasted if the
roots are broken into sections and
NOT CUT. Cutting tends to bruise and seal the
capillary channels
DEW COLLECTION
In barren areas where there are
no trees, it may be possible to collect
sufficient moisture from the grass in the
form of dew to preserve
life.
One of the easiest way is to tie
rags or tufts of fine grass round the ankles
and walk through the herbage before the sun
has risen, squeezing the moisture collected
by the rags into a
container.
Many explorers saved their life
that way. Pig-face and Ice plant and Pig weed
contain large proportions of drinkable
moisture.
WATER ON SEA
COAST
FRESH WATER CAN ALWAYS BE FOUND
ALONG THE SEA COAST BY DIGGING BEHIND THE
WIND BLOWN SAND HILLS WHICH BACK MOST OCEAN
BEACHES! These sand hills
trap rain water and it floats on top of the
heavier salt water which filters in from the
ocean. Sand hill wells MUST be only deep
enough to uncover the top inch or 2 or
water.
SAND WELLS
If dug deeper, salt water will be
encountered and the water from the well will
be undrinkable. It will be noticed too that
the water in those wells rises and falls
slightly with the tides.
THESE SAND WELLS ARE COMPLETELY
RELIABLE SOURCES OF WATER ALL OVER THE
WORLD.
When digging, it is necessary to
rivet the sides of the well with brushwood,
otherwise the sand will fall into the well.
On coastal areas where cliffs fall into a
sea, careful search along the lower edges of
the cliff will generally disclose soaks or
small springs. These, in general, follow a
fault in the rock formation and frequently
are evident by a lush growth of ferns and
mosses.
I personally found that near the
cliff, at the bottom of them where you find
fallen rocks meeting the sand beach, if you
dig there yet not too close to those rocks,
you will find water about 1 foot down. It is
a perpetual source of water, as much as you
want, even for 20 persons. It keeps filling
up every day.
MAKE SURE you
rivet the side also and just cover the hole
with some planks or drift board and mark it
well so that it keeps animals away, for sand
will cover it fast after a while from the
nearby sand hill.
I know about them I survived on
them for 5 months on a deserted island. Brion
Island. QC.
SEA! MOISTURE FROM FISH
FLESH
Another source of liquid
sufficient to sustain life at sea, when no
fresh water is available, comes from flesh of
the fish.
The fish are diced and the small
portions of flesh are placed in a piece of
cotton cloth and the moisture wrung out. This
moisture is not excessively salty and can
sustain life for a long
period.
CONDENSING SALT
WATER
It is possible to condense sea
water without equipment and obtain sufficient
fresh water.
A coolamon is made or
alternatively a hole is scraped in the ground
and lined. The salt water is put into this
hole. A fire is built and stones are put into
it to heat up. These, when hot, are put into
the salted water which soon boils and then
water vapor is soaked up by a towel or thick
mat of cloth.
In time, this will become
literally saturated and may be wrung out,
yielding a fair quantity of fresh drinkable
water. Once the cloth is cool the collection
of water vapor is fairly
rapid.
MOISTURE CONDENSATION IN ARID
AREAS
This still produces about 50%
more water between 8pm.. and 8 am. than
during the day, but it still works day and
night. Don t depend to drink this water
immediately for it takes 24 hours before
collecting 1 quart (1 litre) of water
sometimes.
A simple still for water
condensation in arid areas can be made from a
piece of light plastic sheeting about 4 feet
(122cm) square. A clean garbage bag which has
been fully cut and open will do. A hole is
dug in the ground in a sunny position. The
hole should be about 3 feet (1 meter) across
and 15" to 18" (38cm - 46cm) deep or deeper
if possible.
The site should be preferably in
a moist ground, a depression in a creek bed
is ideal if one can be found. If green
material such as shrubs or succulent herbage
is nearby, the hole should be lined with this
and the materials packed down. It may be
necessary to weigh down the material with a
few flat stones. In the centre of the hole
and in the deepest part, a container is
placed to catch the moisture from
condensation.
Lay the sheet of plastic across
and covering the hole using some of the earth
scooped from the hole to seal the edges
lightly.
Place a stone in the centre of
the upper side of the plastic sheet above the
approximate centre of the water container to
weigh it down to just over the container
below.
Moisture in the soil and in the
greenery placed in the hole will be drawn off
by the heat of the sun and condense on the
underside of the plastic. The condensed
moisture will collect into droplets, coalesce
and trickle down the underside to the lowest
point where it drops off into the
container.
If the underside of the plastic
sheet is slightly roughened with fine
sandpaper or similar fine abrasive such as a
piece of finely grained stone, the droplets
will coalesce and run off more cleanly than
if the underside is absolutely
smooth.
Body waste such as urine, waste
food, moist tea leaves etc. can be put into
the hole. The pure moisture only is
condensed. From 1 - 4 pints of water a day
can be collected by this
method.
If the stay in the area is likely
to be of some duration the top few inches of
the hole can be removed and fresh green
material replaced and the still will continue
to work when this is done.
FRESH STILL SITES MAY BE
NECESSARY EVERY 2ND OR 3RD
DAY.
This still can also bring you
food! Since water under the plastic will
attract snakes and small games which will
crawl under the still cone but can not go
out.
This effective method was first
used by the Water Conservation Laboratory in
Arizona.
It is not necessary, but very
useful, if you have a flexible plastic tube
about 1.5m long which will permit you to
drink from the bottom bucket without having
to remove it and stopping the
recuperation.
OTHER WAYS TO FIND
WATER
EXPERIENCE WITH A OIL
LAMP
At night, dig a hole 2 feet deep,
cover the bottom with very dry wood and place
an oil lamp which has very little oil (just
so the wick is imbibed), light it up and
place it on the wood floor.
Cover up the hole with branches
and wait till morning to see if your oil lamp
is still burning. If so, then there is water
at a certain depth. Dig and you shall find
it. Why is that?
Because the dampness of the under
water sheet increases the air condensation
furnishing more oxygen and thus, makes the
oil last longer which keeps the flame to your
oil lamp. If however it has died, then there
is a lack of dampness. The oil alone has not
sufficed for the night s duration having
burned faster than the air which was too
dry.
WATER FROM A LANTERN - PART
2
If all other means of getting
water have been exhausted, any metal
container and lighted lantern may be used to
obtain water.
Remove one end of the container
and submerge the closed end in a foot or more
of salt water. Place the lighted lantern
inside the container on the bottom. Cover the
open top, allowing only enough air to enter
to keep the lantern burning. The heat will
cause moisture to form on the inside
container. This can be soaked up with a rag
and squeezed into a cup.
EXPERIENCE WITH A WOOL
BALL
Do as for the oil lamp but replace
it by a wool ball. Put a very dry wool ball
on the dry wood and cover the hole. The
following morning look at your ball and press
it strongly, the quantity of water will tell
you if its worth digging.
RAIN WATER
ALWAYS SAFE TO
DRINK and easy to
collect with any tarp but unfortunately there
are 3 exceptions. A chemical, atomic or
bacteriological warfare would render this
water unsafe unless filtered and boiled. Man
has created its own worst
problems.
WATER IN COLD
CLIMATE
Snow: Clean snow can be eaten any
time one is thirsty. The only precaution is
to treat it like ice cream and not to put
down too much at once when overheated or
chilled. Rather, let it melt down in your
mouth. It is better not to eat snow when
extremely cold, for it has the tendency to
dehydrate the body and provoke chill. Let it
melt slowly into your mouth in small
quantity
One of the most pleasant
wilderness desserts is ice cream made with
snow. Pour milk into a container, add sugar
and some flavor such as chocolate and stir in
preferably fresh light snow till taste and
texture are satisfactory.
Snow drawback is that a
considerable amount is needed to equal a
glass of water. Packed snow gives more water
of course, ice even more.
Particular care has to be taken
when melting snow to not burn the pot. Melt
the snow until the bottom of the pot is
safely covered with several inches of water
before adding more snow. Use any tool to pack
the snow as it melts to avoid the bottom of
your pot drying up and burning. This nuisance
is compensated for by the fact that snowfall
makes water readily available throughout
wilderness.
One needs a lot more water in
cold weather than one expects, because the
kidneys have to take over much of the process
of elimination otherwise done by the sweat
glands.
ICE and FRESH
WATER
This is the water supply of many
an Arctic establishment but the tasks of
cutting and melting is sufficiently
inconvenient that when it is feasible, most
prefer to chop or chisel holes in the lake or
stream to get water.
Such holes MUST be covered to
discourage their freezing. Also it is the
preferable method since you waste no fuel. To
obtain water you need twice the amount of
fuel to melt snow than if you melt ice for
the same quantity of water.
To break ice, it is better to use
a pointed tool. First, hit a few light
strokes to create a split then a hard blow to
break an ice piece the length desired. On a
great lake or long river, cut toward an
already existing split to avoid making only
small bits.
If one wants to dig a hole in a
lake or river to obtain water, one MUST be
careful doing it to avoid
splashing.
First, start to axe all around
your hole but make very sure not to puncture
the ice all the way to the water, until your
hole is deep and wide enough for your bucket.
Then and only then, once you are near water
on all sides, give a sharp blow to break the
ice completely. If you don't do this, the
water will seep into the hole and you will
get dangerously wet while trying to enlarge
it. However, as far as purity is concerned,
ice and the water obtained from melting ice
differ in no respect from the water
originally frozen.
SALT WATER ICE BECOMES
FRESH
The soundest reasoning leads to
the [worst] conclusions when the premises are
false. We are certain that the ocean is salt,
so it is logical than that the ice of salt
water MUST also be salted
Wrong! It so happens as Dr. V.
Stefansson notes, the sea ice becomes fresh
during the period intervening between its
formation and the end of the first summer
thereafter.
If, during freezing weather, you
are ever in a position where you have no
other source of water but salted water,
you'll want to catch small amounts of the
available brine and allow ice to form in it.
The slush and any remaining liquid should
then be removed.
The ice you'll find fresh enough
to use in emergency. Ocean ice loses its salt
so rapidly that ice over 1 year old is nearly
fresh.
And ice formed 2 or more years
old can not be distinguished as far as taste
goes from river ice unless waves have been
breaking over it recently or spray has been
dousing it.
Melted hollow otherwise will
usually be found to contain ample fresh
water. Salted ice is grey and opaque whereas
unsalted ice is bluish and crystal
colored.
FINDING DRINKING WATER ON
OCEAN
Rain water will often furnish
drinking water at sea. When it starts to
fall, the precaution is immediately taken to
let it wash any accumulated salt from
everything that is to be used for catching it
and storing it.
Dew is heavy enough is some areas
to merit being caught in a sail or tarpaulin
stretched with sufficient sag to allow any
condensation to collect.
One may be out of sight of land
and yet so near the mouth of some great river
that even far at sea the water will still be
fresh.
OBTAINING WATER FROM
FISH
The proportion of water in fish
is so high that at sea, except when large
enough emergency water supplies can be
secured from ice or rain, fish are the most
dependable source.
They can be caught in many
different ways and in some waters many fish
will even leap freely aboard at night
especially if a light is shown to attract
them. Most sea life can be used although
crabs and sharks are excessively
salty.
Sea snakes which, unlike eels,
have no scales are edible but have poisonous
fangs. They are 10 times worse than the land
ones.
Unless the fish you catch has
ordinary scales and looks like most fish you
are used to seeing, a good rule, especially
in warm waters, is to leave it alone. For
example, Jelly Fish should neither be handled
nor used.
WATER FROM FISH
Water can be obtained from
freshly caught fish in several different
ways.
The most fundamental method is to
divide the fish into small portions and chew
each of these thoroughly spitting all solid
matter before going to the next morsel. The
fish can also be sectioned and twisted within
a cloth, the freed juice is either sucked or
caught.
One primitive way of dealing with
a large fish is to hack holes in its side and
allow moisture from the lymphatic vessels to
ooze into these. If you like the juice of raw
clams or oysters you are apt to find all this
surprisingly pleasant. You'll be able to
satisfy thirst as long as you can catch
sufficient fish for your
needs.
REMEMBER, it will take you
several hours to obtain 1/2 litre of this
liquid, so be patient while squeezing the
fish.
BODY WATER
PRESERVATION
Even when you have found water,
you have won only half the battle. You MUST
make this reserve last and for that to happen
you MUST not sweat or do so as little as
possible.
Your body exits heat either by
evaporation or sweating. As soon as the body
fluid volume lowers, sweating diminishes, the
body temperature rises and you exhaust
quickly.
An increase of only 6 degrees in
your normal body temperature is of lethal
consequences. Even though you seem to be less
hot when you remove clothing; you also
quickly lose your organic fluid that way. If
you stay clothed; you will prevent the heat
to penetrate and this will also slow down the
evaporation.
YOU MUST BOTH DRINK AND AVOID
SWEATING TO AVOID
DEHYDRATION.
Experience proves a man in normal
working condition spends 3,000 calories a day
and that a man in good health can subsist for
a long time on only 500 calories per day
without bad effects on his
organism.
Of course in condition of great
fatigue or cold exposure, one has to eat more
to maintain his body temperature. Water is
still much more necessary than food. One
generally needs at least 1/2 pint (2 cups)
per day minimum. Once exposed to desert heat,
one needs a minimum of 3.8 litres (1 gallon)
of water per day.
This will enable you to cover a
distance of 30km (18.64 miles) as long as the
sweating is well-controlled and the moving is
done at night. During the day, it would give
you 15km (9.32 miles) distance on the same
amount of water.
WHAT TO DO IF WATER IS
SCARCE
If you have ample water at the
moment but may have little or none later, the
soundest procedure is to drink as much as we
reasonably can before quitting the source of
supply. Fill up before abandoning a ship or a
plane.
If in dry country; drink a lot
while and just before leaving the water hole
unless there are extenuating circumstances.
Every effort MUST be made to take adequate
water with you when leaving what may be an
isolated supply. Water comes
first.
We repeat that an unbelievable
amount of water is exuded through the skin s
pores and the rate of perspiration is
markedly increased both by heat and by
exertion. The need for water intake can be
much lessened by your keeping as quiet as
possible and as comfortably cool as one
can.
Keeping the clothing wet will
help at sea in hot weather although it should
be rinsed in the latter part of the afternoon
to prevent collecting too much salt. Allow to
dry out before evening if the nights are
chilly.
If in desert without sufficient
water and obliged to depend on your own
resources to get out, your best chance will
be to stay as relaxed and cool as possible
during the torrid hours. Travel at dusk,
night and dawn.
If on flat shelterless desert,
one can ALWAYS scoop a narrow pit in which to
lie while the sun is blaring
down.
The utmost shade will be obtained
if this trench extends East and West. Two or
3 feet of depth can result in as much as 30
degree or more difference in temperature
between its shadowy bottom and ground
level.
Before you take such refuge, you
should leave some sign of your presence in
case help passes near by. Weighting a shirt
over one of the excavated piles may serve
this purpose.
WHEN WATER IS
REPLENISHED
When water has missed for a long
while, you MUST NOT DRINK A GREAT DEAL AT
ONCE; once you find it. It will cause nausea
beside the body will not retain it, thus
wasting much of it later.
MISCELLANEOUS
TIPS
WATER FROM AN OLD HAND
PUMP
Many of us have seen those old
water hand pumps but few of us REMEMBER or
know how to make them pumping
water.
Before one starts to pump himself
crazy and not get any water, remember that
water MUST be added to the upper cup at the
base of the crank.
The reason is simple. The
addition of a cup or two of water will create
the suction needed to pump the water. If you
don't add this water, you will pump air and
think there is no water underground which
would be false.
Every morning or after a couple
days without use, this same process must be
repeated in order to create the vacuum. So
better leave a jug nearby which contains
enough water to get the machine going. This
might sound silly or childish to say such a
thing but one would be surprised how few of
us know this tip.
WATER PRESERVATION AT SEA
TIPS
Precautions to take to save your
body fluids are equally important as your
necessity to drink water.
-
1) If you
don't have water to drink, don't eat.
Food needs water to be digested,
especially protein.
-
2) In hot
countries, avoid sweating as much as
possible so you will avoid losing body
water faster.
-
3) Dampen your
clothes in the sea, wring them and wear
them. Take advantage of any cooling wind.
If your body is covered with a salt
crust, remove it with a
cloth.
-
4) Stay in the
shadows as much as
possible.
-
5) Sleep and
rest as much as you can. You will reduce
to a minimum the loss of body
fluid.
-
6) Prevent if
you can sea sickness; there are pills for
it.
-
7) Don't drink
any alcohol, for it increases the
dehydration process.
-
8) If you
smoke, you will increase your thirst. If
you must smoke, make it in the evening or
at night.
-
9) To remove
the thirst temptation, suck on a button,
it will make you salivate
more.
FINDING WATER
There are no handy kitchen
faucets in the wilds---except in the larger
campgrounds with their trailers and
recreation vehicles bumper to bumper, and
six-man tents guy line to guy line. If you're
not in one of these, and don't happen to be
hiking along the course of a river or
canoeing over chains of lakes, where do you
find water?
Your map will help if it's
detailed enough. Almost any water source of
any size, including annual spring freshets,
will be marked on a geodetic map. Even so,
it's a good idea to be aware where water is
most likely to be found, in case you left the
map at the last log rest stop. Besides,
knowing nature, being familiar with its
habits, gives you a real sense of
understanding and accomplishment that is very
much a part of the joy of
camping.
In mountainous and forest regions
such as Eastern and Western Canada, and the
United States, and most of Northern Europe,
water rarely presents a problem. Almost any
downhill country, be it a long slow valley or
a deep gorge, will lead to it. These natural
formations developed through water erosion
and the sculpture tells the
tale.
As you walk, keep
your eyes open for a change not only in
terrain but in vegetation as well. If you see
a crooked line of Willows or Willow like
trees in the distance, IT'S ALMOST A SURE BET YOU'LL FIND A
STREAM WHEN YOU GET THERE.
The mountain ahead is bare, with no
water or greenery in sight. One side comes
down steeply to a heavy rock formation; the
other side slopes gently down to a valley and
gently up to another mountain. Head for the
sloping side rather than the steep
escarpment. It has a much slower run off
larger surface area, and thus a greater
likelihood of retained water.
COTTONWOODS
In arid country, cottonwoods
serve much the same purpose as willows in
country more hospitable.
A chain of cottonwood indicates a
river bed. Whether that bed turns out to be
wet or dry is another question. But if its
dry, examine the ground by one of the largest
and most ancient of the cottonwoods. On the
inside bank of the old river's curve, you
will usually fund a small pool of water. At
least there should be enough ground moisture
so if you really need water you can dig down
a foot or so and find
seepage.
REMEMBER THOUGH IT DOES NOT
USUALLY PAY TO DIG FOR
WATER.
With the amount of energy used, the
moisture lost in sweat usually far exceeds
that gained from the hole you have
dug.
ANY LUSH VEGETATION IN ARID
TERRAIN INDICATES WATER IN ONE FORM OR
ANOTHER. Birds such as
Doves or Blackbirds, in flocks on the ground
or quail in any quantity, are other signs of
a water source nearby.
You will need 2 quarts (2 liters)
a day under average conditions but in the
desert or during periods of heavy activity,
this raises to 4 quarts (4 liters) or more
per person per day.
IF WATER BY THE
BARREL
If water is
plentiful, as well as wood,
MAKE SURE YOU ALWAYS HAVE SOME
HOT WATER boiling or
close to the flame to keep it hot.
REMEMBER, to sterilize water, it takes 10 minutes
boiling no matter what some may say. Be
safe.
THIRSTY
Drink when thirsty
often and in small amounts. DON'T ATTEMPT TO RATION LIMITED
QUANTITY OF WATER, LIFE WILL NOT BE
PROLONGED. DON'T gulp
water, swish first mouthful around mouth,
swallow slowly, otherwise you will be sick
and vomit this precious
water.
Avoid unnecessary activities that
cause perspiration. Seek shade. The less you
perspire, the longer you'll live without
water.
SURVIVAL TIME CHART NO
WATER
Some examples of expected
survival times are: Fahrenheit 50 F.
temperature without water, with minimum
exertion- life expectancy is 14 days, with 1
gallon = 16 days. 120.F. Under same
conditions = 3 days with 1 gallon = 4
days.
Those are rough estimates for
adults. For children and sick folks, the
estimate is about 1/3 less. As you see, water
is more important than food. Limit food and
salt intake when water is limited, especially
protein foods which absorb much more water
from your body.
FINDING WATER and
PURIFYING
Under hot, dry conditions where
little possibility of finding water exists,
the search for water will cause greater fluid
loss than amount of water found. It is best
to stay in shade, move as little as possible
and wait for help.
BACK