Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990 
|
Post by Keith on Apr 6, 2021 1:25:25 GMT -7
I am posting this because I noted in another post that someone had questions relating to the oilcloth. I made this video based on the research I have done & my understanding through that research & my own experimental archaeology.
Keith.
|
|
|
|
Post by lenapej on Apr 6, 2021 14:48:55 GMT -7
Great video, thanks for sharing.
It seems you said that you tried using a blanket as a shelter in the rain? did it shed rain at all?
|
|
|
|
Post by Black Hand on Apr 6, 2021 17:25:57 GMT -7
It will depend on the quality, wool and weave of the blanket. A cheap, low-quality wool, loosely-woven blanket will leak like a sieve...
|
|
|
|
Post by Black Hand on Apr 7, 2021 17:35:53 GMT -7
Frankly, I feel a well-made shelter made of natural materials will be far superior to a wool blanket covering and more weatherproof. I'd rather have the blanket wrapped around me than over my head.
|
|
|
|
Post by lenapej on Apr 9, 2021 9:39:25 GMT -7
As of yet I have not tried it, but I guess I'm wondering why they used them in the period if it was useless as a shelter, were their blankets much better quality than ours? or was it just a thing of having something over their heads? granted I don't remember any period stories saying it was a GREAT shelter, Lol
Growing up I read some books written by Lewis B. Miller (19th century) and he mentioned quite often of the scouts wearing wool blankets, much as the 18th cen matchcoat, in rainy/foul weather on their patrols against the Comanche. perhaps it was more about warmth than shedding rain, I don't know.
|
|
|
|
Post by spence on Apr 9, 2021 10:59:32 GMT -7
There is a facet of this question which is seldom addressed, acclimatization. I read a British scientist's report on a study he participated in which involved climbing on Mt. Everest. One night they slept in a stone shelter part way up the mountain, in extreme cold. He was outfitted with the best modern clothing, sleeping bag, etc., which could be provided, but he was miserable all night because of the cold. In the same room was one of the Sherpa guides. He slept soundly all night on an old pad on the floor and with only light covers, a blanket or two, and denied any discomfort. The human body is capable of amazing adaptations to the environment, given enough time. I don't think there can be any doubt that our ancestors were much more tolerant to cold than we are, just because it was just the way things were, all their lives.
Startling accounts of this being the case show up in the literature.
Journal of Moses Austin, 1796, on the Wilderness road to Kentucky:
16 Dec.
I cannot omitt Noticeing the many Distressed families I pass in the Wilderness nor can anything be more distressing to a man of feeling than to see woman and Children in the Month of December Travelling a Wilderness Through Ice and Snow passing large rivers and Creeks without Shoe or Stocking, and barely as many raggs as cover their Nakedness, with out money or provisions except what the Wilderness affords.
Spence
|
|
Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
|
Post by Keith on Apr 10, 2021 0:11:06 GMT -7
It did a fair job, but it soaked the rain up, got very heavy & then started to droop!!! I decided I would have been better off with the blanket wrapped around me.
Keith.
|
|
|
|
Post by lenapej on Apr 10, 2021 10:51:15 GMT -7
Spence
I believe you are correct, there are a lot of Amish people in our area, and I once asked one how they get by in the hot, humid, summers here without air conditioning, the answer was they are born, and live in that condition and therefore the body adapts to its environment.
Kieth
thanks for the info.
|
|
|
|
Post by paranger on Apr 10, 2021 12:47:26 GMT -7
Speaking to the acclimatization piece:
after a summer in Iraq, I noticed that when I returned home I got almost shivering cold below about 80F for some time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Black Hand on Apr 10, 2021 12:56:49 GMT -7
Happens to me every spring and fall when the weather changes. Sometimes 68 degrees is too cold and other times too warm...
|
|
|
|
Post by hawkeyes on Apr 11, 2021 4:52:08 GMT -7
One thing I've always kept in the mind, comfort is relative to your environment.
Like Paranger I've been to multiple places and differing environments. At times of discomfort I've always kept myself in check with the notion things could be or get much worse.
Being able to keep a handle on one's mind plays a big part in many ways. Certainly does for me even when engaging in my historical affairs. Find it allows you to endure what many can't and more.
|
|
