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 Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL are posted over at NeilStrauss.com. Thanks to Neil and his team for all the support! Please enjoy these introductory excerpts and look for more complimentary survival reading in the coming weeks. Add Comment  Thanks to Leon Pantenburg over at SurvivalCommonsense.com for running my Jambalaya Recipe! Survival recipe: Heatherly’s jambalayaPosted on February 24th, 2013 by Leon in Leon's Blog Try this simple, tasty southern rice dish that can be cooked outside in a cast iron Dutch oven by John A. Heatherly (Editor’s note: I find that many survival types are also good campfire cooks! (See John’s bio below) It makes sense – whatever food you have available during an emergency should be tasty, or food monotony could set in. For those of you unfamiliar with jambalaya, the dish apparently originated in the deep south, in Louisiana. Jambalaya is considered by most Louisianans to be a filling, but simple-to-prepare rice dish. The recipe is a suggested guideline – I’ve had jambalaya made with just about anything you could imagine. Talk about a comfort food… Click here to see the full article...
 Part of my new backyard survival project is on display over at The Survival Mom's site. Easy, fun, and practical... ROCKET STOVE BREAKFAST By John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template and The Cave and The Sea Last weekend I had the urge to try a new project and wanted it to be one that was inexpensive and simple. Having seen Leon’s Brick Rocket Stove over at SurvivalCommonsense a while back, I decided that my back yard needed one. One trip to the hardware store and about $20 later, here is what happened: Using Leon’s instructions, the 16-brick stove was easily constructed. I chose to add a Dutch Oven lid stand so that I could cook breakfast for my little boy. The stove surprised me by producing a large amount of heat using tiny pieces of fuel. Click here to read the full article... Thanks for the mention of THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL in this fantastic HUNGER GAMES article! http://www.survivalcommonsense.com/the-hunger-games-a-new-gateway-to-teaching-survival-skills-to-youngstersfeed/ Check out THE SURVIVAL TEMPLATE as Book of the Week over at Ivan's site. Thanks Ivan! http://ivanprobst.com/post/26371520537/botw-the-survival-template-by-john-a-heatherly “'The Hunger Games'” smash-hit book and movie got my daughter and one of her friends interested in archery. Maybe John A. Heatherly’s novel 'The Cave and the Sea' will do the same for teenagers regarding learning primitive survival skills. by Leon Pantenburg There is too much fiction in the preparedness/wilderness survival area, passed off as fact, and written by people with little or no knowledge of the subject matter. But The Cave and the Sea, a Novel by John A. Heatherly is up-front fiction, a good read, and you might learn something from it ..." Here is the full review at SurvivalCommonsense.com. For all of you who received a complimentary download of THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL at Amazon on May the 5th, please check out this Pop Quiz and Contest over at Forever Young Adult. The winner will receive a signed copy! Forever Young Adult Pop Quiz "Heatherly makes you feel like you could survive on your own (for at least a little while) after reading this book — not that I’m going to give it a try any time soon ..." HERE is the full review from Forever Young Adult. Thanks guys!  Check out this hilarious AND educational article over at Neil Strauss's site! A little background information: FLYBOY is a member of Neil's Inner Circle, and his experiences with a crazy ex-girlfriend inspired this installment. Enjoy! http://www.neilstrauss.com/survival/surviving-crazy-girls The following was inspired by none other than: our good friend, Flyboy, who commented that he started carrying handcuff keys after a crazy ex-girlfriend left him bound! Perhaps we all have dealt with feminine nightmares AND craziness from time to time? So, with no further adieu, this excerpt from THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL serves as a salute to Flyboy and those like him. Don’t miss some pretty awesome survival reference material at the end, as well. CHAPTER 34 : A PROBLEM GROWS The sound of a scream wakened Coe from a deep slumber. He could not see in the depths of the West Chamber but could tell that Mycha was standing near the wall to his right. He walked from the bough bed on his knees to investigate while her loud thrashing continued. In confusion he rose to comfort her and felt the rush of wind as she spun in the dark to strike him with her arm in a circular motion. The point of her elbow met the Cave wall instead; she screamed in pain then crumpled to the Cave floor. Coe thought that she had waked and knelt to console her as she cried. She was almost inconsolable in her pain. “It hurts,” she cried. “It must be broken…” Her agony sounded unbearable. Coe hurried to the coal bed in the Council Room and quickly ignited one of their lamps. He added wood to the fire before returning to the West Chamber to tend to her. She had stopped crying but seemed in shock while saying, “My arm is badly damaged, Coe; please help me … please … is it broken?” He examined her arm in the torchlight. In the dimness he could tell that it was misshapen. “Mycha,” he said calmly, “Give me your good hand. You have to stand and walk to the other room. Your arm will be fine – I will fix it.” He helped her stand as she winced in pain while doing her best to support her wounded arm. He guided her to stand in the firelight against one wall of the Council Room so that he could examine more closely. Gently he ran his fingers from her shoulder down past the wounded joint to her wrist. She winced again but was able to maintain control. He made an effort to speak with calm clarity: “Your arm is not broken; you have dislocated your elbow.” Gently he held her hand as it dangled beneath the mangled joint. “Mycha, turn your head away from me. Stand still. Take a deep breath then let it out.” He didn’t hesitate; as he heard her complete her exhale he forcefully pulled her hand diagonally away from her body. While maintaining downward pressure with one hand he pressed inward on her elbow with the other. The entire procedure took less than a second; her scream was delayed. She cried desperately as he helped to lower her to a seated recline against the wall. He supported her arm near her midsection while carefully pulling her head to his chest in an embrace. She cried for several minutes as he spoke to her. “I have seen an injury almost identical to this before,” he said. “We can handle it, and in a matter of weeks, it will be much better.” She continued to cry and eventually reached with her good hand to support her arm. “Okay, thank you. It still really hurts …” Soldier crept into the Council Room and rested his head on her lap. “I will build up the fire for you and need to make medicine. Will you be alright while I go to the willow?” She nodded; quickly Coe placed three small rocks in the fire then exited the Cave to navigate through the darkness to the willow tree. His familiarity with the area enabled him to move quickly in the starlight. He extracted pieces of bark and also took a small piece of willow branch that had several green leaves attached. Upon returning to the Cave, he filled a wooden cup with water and dropped in a hot rock. After adding the willow leaves, twigs, and bark, Mycha’s tea was steeping. “This will make you feel better,” he said. “I will make a sling for you.” She managed a smile as he folded a piece of leather from her pack into a large triangle. “When you are ready to stand, we will sling your elbow,” he assured her. “Please drink your tea – it is ready.” He placed the cup in her good hand. “What is happening to me, Coe?” she asked, before taking a small sip of the willow tea. “How could this occur?” He touched her cheek, smiled, and tried to look unafraid; in truth, he had no idea how to respond. He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her as she sipped from her cup. Reference: Survival Medicine So unexpected, bad things can happen, even in a “safe” environment. A little Survival/Medical know-how can make things better! Willow For centuries, willow bark has been used as treatment for a myriad of ailments. The bark contains a chemical called salicin that is similar to aspirin, although some studies have identified other compounds that have “antioxidant, fever reducing, antiseptic, and immune boosting properties.”* Some show that willow can reduce pain and inflammation at much lower doses than aspirin. It has been shown to help with headaches, low back pain, and osteoarthritis, and is also recommended for the treatment of menstrual cramps, fever, flu, bursitis, and tendonitis. How should willow bark be used? For adults, administer as a tea: “Boil 1 – 2 tsp of dried bark in 8 oz of water and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes; let steep for ½ hour; drink 3 – 4 cups daily.”* Willow is not recommended for children under the age of 16 due to the dangers of Reye syndrome. As with all treatments, there are some precautions. For example: those who are allergic to salicylates should not use willow. For more information and a thorough listing of usages, precautions, interactions, and depletions, please see The University of Maryland Medical Center website, listed below. *http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/willow-bark-000281.htm MEDICAL MANUALS While internet resources are great, it never hurts to have a few paper resources around in case they are needed in times of trouble. Here are a couple that we recommend: Many thanks to Leon Pantenburg at SurvivalCommonsense.com for sharing this excerpt and article from THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL! This is the first published fiction on SurvivalCommonSense.com. Generally speaking, there is way too much preparedness fiction on TV and in print that gets passed off as fact! But the following piece considers the creation of improvised light sources for survival. The emergency lighting techniques mentioned at the end of the story could easily be adapted to the aftermath of a natural disaster. And if it takes a good tale to get people’s interest, then so be it! First is an excerpt from THE CAVE AND THE SEA, A NOVEL, by John A. Heatherly, followed by a photo explanation of some of the ideas. John is an experienced outdoorsman and has appeared on this website with his previous non-fiction book “The Survival Template.” "Don’t miss the reference material at the end!" – Leon CHAPTER 20: BUFFALO HORN AND TALLOW When the trio arrived at the Cave entrance, Mycha requested immediate access to her wood-and-leather rucksack. From the sack she produced a small wooden cup that was sealed with a piece of rawhide and a leather string. She washed the wound on her forearm with water then extracted a dark paste from the cup. “Herbs mixed with tallow,” she commented to Coe, without pausing to look at him. “Will help prevent infection.” The wolf-bite wound looked smaller and less horrific with the blood removed. She took a handful of leaves from another tiny bundle in her rucksack and applied a poultice, securing it in place on her lower arm with leather and string. Coe had been attentive to her as she cared for her wound. He began to feel uncomfortable now that the process was nearing completion and didn’t know what to say. “I … thank you … maybe I can …” His broken statement trailed into silence as he stared at the ground in front of him. “You appear to have seen much killing recently,” Mycha said. “It prevents you from knowing a friend when you see one?” “We should keep those wolf hides,” Coe replied, clearly anxious and attempting to change the subject. “And we need more water. Stay here near the Cave. I will be right back. Oh, and people call me by my nickname, Coe.” He felt foolish mentioning wolf hides and water and hoped that she would see his logic. Coe quickly returned to the spring, filled his canteen, and field dressed the wolf carcasses. Normally he would have worked more slowly to prevent waste but in this case, was afraid the other wolves might be in the area. Maybe his decision to retrieve the hides was foolish anyway? He carried the wolf hides back to the Cave with plans to tan them soon. He approached the Cave to find Mycha happily organizing her gear while talking to Soldier. The puppy wagged his tail as he lay on the ground next to her. Coe felt a mix of emotions, guilt being the most supreme. “Thank you,” he said. “You saved me while I had your dagger … I just … something is wrong and …” Mycha interrupted him. “You are welcome, and don’t feel the need to explain everything to me,” she said. ” I have been traveling away from my people for a while now, too, and know what it is like to be afraid. Help me with these.” She handed him a buffalo horn that was filled with tallow and kept one for herself. “We need a wick for each of these lamps,” she said while surveying the area around her. “I have been using cattail down and need a better solution now that I have found the Cave.” “One advantage of cedar slash is the abundance of bark,” Coe commented, stepping into the Cave’s entrance. He returned with two strands of reverse-wrapped cedar bark cordage and handed one to her. “I have a fire-pit we can use to complete your lamps,” he said. “Why don’t we move inside?” Coe sensed that Mycha would be patient with his awkwardness. He had many questions for her but felt uncomfortable when talking about anything other than the necessities of their situation. He had been injured and alone for so long that her presence affected him immensely, in good and bad ways. His loneliness was gone but had been replaced with questions, anxiety, and shock at the entry of this new person in his life. Mycha’s exotic appearance, foreign accent, and mysterious demeanor confused him while increasing his stress. Hopefully he could relax soon. He tried to organize his thoughts and questions while helping Mycha move her pack inside the Cave. They ate small portions of jerky from her store and spoke little while they worked. Modern Adaptions From John A. Heatherly: "While the characters in THE CAVE AND THE SEA used a buffalo horn with tallow (rendered animal fat) and cedar bark as a light source, I like to recreate their idea using these modern, low-cost items." A lamp for emergency lighting can be quickly improvised from a soda can. (photo below) This simple lamp uses kitchen drippings from a meatloaf pan along with a cotton wick. Simply pour the drippings into the can, reverse the pop-top, and insert the wick! This lighted collection of lamps made from cans and bottles can provide quick emergency lighting. (photo below) The “Oil-Lamp Candelabra” is constructed of soda cans of different varieties, a metallic soda bottle, and a wine bottle. Some use tallow from kitchen drippings as fuel, while others use oil from the frying pan or even conventional lamp oil from the hardware store.
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