By Ernest Thompson SetonI have certainly made a thousand fires with rubbing sticks, and I have made at least five hundred different experiments. So far as I can learn, my own record of thirty-one seconds from taking the sticks to having the fire ablaze is the world's record (this was written in 1907; since then the record has been repeatedly lowered by others), and I can safely promise this: That every man who will follow the instructions I now give will certainly succeed in making a rubbing-stick fire.

Take a piece of dry, sound, balsam-fir wood (or else yucca, cedar, cypress, tamarack, basswood, or cottonwood, in order of choice) and make of it a drill and a block, thus:

In 1535, the french explorer Jacques Cartier and his men were in desperate
condition after a particularly severe winter in Newfoundland. Already 25 lay
dead and not one of the remaining survivors was not suffering from the ravages
of Scurvy. Fortunately for history a group of local indians took pity on
them, and told Cartier that their medicine man had the perfect cure. Shoving
their prejudices aside, they went to the medicine man.

The miracle brew of this wise man was so simple that Cartier and his men
nearly rejected it at first. Without any hocus pocus, the medicine man simply
plucked a hand full of pine needles from a nearby tree and boiled them in a
pot for a few minutes. Then he gave each one a cup of "soup". Although
skeptical, they did as they were told and the soup transformed their health in
a matter of 6 days. This is recorded because they lived to tell the tale.

Pine needles contain 5 times the vitamin C found in lemons.

For just a few bucks, you can build a survival kit that'll get you out of all kinds of trouble. Fold everything neatly, pack efficiently, and the whole 3 pound 14 ounce kit and caboodle will fit inside a standard fanny pack. The survival kit is intended to supplement the regular contents of a hiker's pack. It should be worn at all times and separate from the backpack. Don't leave camp without it.

Here's what you'll need:

• One each of gallon- and quart-size zipper-lock bags for holding water and building stills; the bags should have wide mouths so you can skim for water andreach into crevices.
• Tincture of iodine to disinfect water; use five drops per quart.
• 2 condoms to use as canteens.
• Plastic drinking tube (3 feet long) for drinking from stills or crevices.
• Orange flagging tape to mark your route or write a message.
• Dental floss (100 feet); a tough string for many uses.
• Duct tape (3 feet); get the strongest variety available.
• Mini flashlight with spare bulb.
• Extra flashlight batteries with date marked; replace every 12 months.
• Magnesium block with striking insert; carry a minimum of three means of starting a fire.
• Cigarette lighter; get a bright color so you won't lose it.
• Strike-anywhere matches dipped in paraffin.
• Firestarters; cotton balls saturated with petroleum jelly and stuffed in a film container pack the smallest, but you can also use chips or other dry, fatty foods or even dryer lint coated with paraffin.
• Magnifying glass for signaling and fire starting.
• Glass signal mirror with sighting hole and a whistle.
• Light space blanket for shelter and signaling.
• Heavy-duty space blanket with grommets and reflective side for shelter and signaling.
• Three heavy-duty, plastic leaf bags; use as a rainsuit, shelter, tube tent, tarp, or for collecting rainwater.
  
• Military parachute cord (50 feet), 550-pound test.
• Extra knife; should be all-purpose with a fixed, double-edged, carbon-steel blade that can throw a spark.
  
• Brightly colored bandanna; doubles as a pot holder, hat, and water filter.
• Basic first-aid kit; contains wound dressing, moleskin, antibiotic ointment, and other items.
• Topo map and compass.