It's a nice mental break for me, I'm no-contact with my mom (narcissistic and would verbally abuse me if she actually got to know me) and I'm weary of seeing Mother's Day advertisements all day. Townsends is so wholesome.
Your storytelling is incredible. Makes me want to wander into the wilderness and narrowly survive a buffalo stampede then celebrate with a feast of 10 lbs of buffalo meat and a 1 oz corn meal biscuit.
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist9 He coming back then? Cos I've been watching my watch and tapping my foot for a while now, and frankly it seems rude at this point. He did promise to get back to us before the last of the generation who knew him had passed. Nearly two millenia late on that one. I don't claim to be the most reliable person in the world but I'd be feeling pretty ashamed if I was that remiss.
As a brazilian, hearing about the american frontiersman, was impossible to me to not trace a parallel with the brazilian bandeirante, a group of explorers and adventurers who searched for gold and gemstones dwelving further and further into the interior of the continent, expanding thus the frontiers of Brazil and turning him, like America, in a big continental country.
There was also the "tropeiros", also known as "carreteiros". They traveled the country with lots of carts ("tropas"), transporting food throughout the colony. In Brazil, there's a good number of "tropeiro" dishes that are still eaten to this day. From the dishes that are still eaten today, we see that their diet consisted mostly of dried meats and sausages.
These poor man's feast videos are probably some of my favorite Townsend videos. Is it history, is it cooking, the lines are blurred so well I'm doubly entertained.
it's life, which is the unfortunate thing we forget amidst our modernity, we like to think our lives are so much different from theirs in the past, but there's so much we can learn from them
My grandfather was born in a chuckwagon on a trail between Alberta and Montana, i often imagine how difficult life must of been for a mother with children and a new born. This is not ancient history , i am fifty and met the man. Bringing along the dried staples and hunting and fishing as they went. Amazing strength
My great-grandmother had an incredibly difficult upbringing during the depression. She was in a family of ten kids and she had to start cooking from the age of five because her mother was slowly dying and her father would rather drink and cheat on her mother. Her uncles took her out into the garden and showed her which weeds you could make soup out of, and that’s what they ate (alongside whatever her brothers hunted and fished).She didn’t even have a coat or shoes to go to school in (and this was in brutal midwestern winters) until her teacher bought them for her. It stands to reason then that when she got older she was very possessive over what she had, and she wasted absolutely nothing (she would even wash and reuse Ziploc bags). She unfortunately died when I was very young. I could only imagine how many more stories she would have had.
I must be a slow learner, John, because it dawned on me for the first time today that your last name is literally "Town's End" (in other words, the frontier or wilderness). This was your destiny all along. 🙂
@@AldoSchmedack Townsend is a topographic surname of Yorkshire and Norfolk origin, indicating residence at the extremity of a city or burgh, i.e. on the edge of town, looking out on the wilderness. 🙂
Top 5 favorite channels! Speaking of injuries, would love to see John and Co talk about medicines and practices that were used in the 18th century frontier.
That would be a good video. It would be cool if they do an interview with a fellow 18th century enthusiast who specializes in medicine at the time and could talk about that. Of course, the difference between "folk medicine" and the horrific form of medicine that was practiced at the time would be night and day. It would be a time when some forms of folk medicine, especially those practiced by indigenous people, who had the traditional knowledge to know which plants could be used for certain things, was probably better than what was considered medicine by the average settler.
@@stephenhancock1578oh right, I remember that one! They mentioned how Spanish medicine, insofar as it followed the Muslim traditions in medicine that they adopted, such as cleaning your instruments and washing your hands, was not too bad. But insofar as people adopted the humoral ideas about health, it was bad. Bleeding and leeches. Yeesh.
Long time watcher, first-time commenter. Appreciate that you reenacted how someone would've actually gone about their day, settled in camp, and prepared dinner. Refreshing approach to an old time telling of history. Much love and respect to you, Townsend.
I'm from Germany so obviously I don't have a very strong connection to American history and tradition, but a few years ago when I was in school we had the topic "America", especially the frontier and that period of time. It kinda stuck with me, as it comes close to what we would define as an adventure. Thank you for providing such informative videos and also setting me back in time to easier days :) (the easier days being my time at school, not the 18th century 😂)
Around 25 years ago, myself and a small group decided to do the frontiersman/long hunter personas in our living history group. We , in order to do the displays justice, decided to live the life, as accurately as possible, on every opportunity. We would do a week or two week long "trek" or the whole living off of the land. I was really suprised at how genuinely hard each day was, and each night as well. Your videos are fantastic, but they cannot display the struggle that this life was, and really, no amount of verbal or written description could. Kudos to all you do to show all of this.
Speaking of injuries that could kill you, I've got a little story: I was working in the ER as a tech. A man in his 50's came in with his family. He had a little nick on his right cheekbone. He had been horseback riding with the family and the person in front had pushed a small tree branch out of the way and it had come back and hit him on the face, giving him the tiny cut. The reason he had come in was because it had started to swell. Within 30 minutes his right cheek had drastically swollen up. Within another 10 minutes it had spread down around his throat and was constricting his airway. He was rushed to emergency surgery. I heard later that he had lived. If this had happened way back when, he would have been dead. Infections are to be taken seriously!
That almost sounds more like an allergic reaction. Even more deadly and much faster than an infection! The things we just shrug about now were deadly perils to people on the frontier.
@@laggybum3218 literally googled medical documents of infections and says usually 2 to 3 days from receiving a cut or laceration an infection can occur. Sounds like reaction probably allergic to me
I know that in the Wild West most famous dish was a bean stew with meat or without depending on the hunt. Most people who traveled brought lots of beans with them which was easy to carry and they never got bad. Bean stew was known everywhere.
@@ianfinrir8724 super easy to grow too, I'm constantly finding tons of wild peas. They are small and the pod is tough but the seed is sweet and slightly fruity.
Those mentions of Scottish and Irish traditions are really prevalent in Frontiersman culture; if you look at 17th Century Scottish Cattle Drivers you’ll see a lot of similarities in the kit they used, the provisions with Bannock bread and such (more oats for the Scottish and Corn for the Americans but still) and even in the terrain; rocky, hilly, and heavily forested as the Cairngorm Forest was still massively spread out over Scottish territory before the Old Growth was removed in the Industrial Revolution. Even the traditions of rover-to-rover hospitality remained the same; it was the duty of the hosting man or group of men to take the first watch so his fellows could sleep easy, regardless of who had the more difficult journey that day. It’s a fascinating, intensely practical and pragmatic culture on both sides of the pond. Thanks for pointing that out Jon!
This new format works really well. You've done a great job cooking traditional recipes, but there are only so many. Pairing cooking with colonial-era survival logistics is a great refreshing take.
You said in the live YT said Sun was the best day to put out a video... I think they might be right. It was really nice to have this to watch this morning while drinking my coffee. Thanks.
I would not ask for a better day. I received my new Townsend mug (green, "Needs More Nutmeg"), and I'm trying out freshly grated nutmeg for the first time with Townsend's coffee. Imagine my delight when I sit down for my first sip, and there it is, a new upload from my favorite channel. If you haven't tried nutmeg, you should; it's "grate!"
@@schwuzi Read a sci fi short story once where a cook did that once. All of the humans were affected by too much nutmeg as they were ingesting and the alien cook could not figure out why.
Lewis and Clark were taught by the Indians how to harvest wapato and prepare it in to a cake. Sacagawea also taught the party how to identify edible plants like wild onions. The indian tribes near the dakotas also traded beans, corn and squash with the party. I don't know how well that spread among the other frontiersmen, but they definitely had access to starchy, potato-like plants and onions. They also had access to various wild fruits.
@@SamKennedy-fb5kkthere are literally studies showing that there's about a 50/50 split in preference between the terms Indian and Native American amongst indigenous people of the USA.
As an Ojibwa Chippewa descendent it’s pretty awesome learning more about my Ancestors history I didn’t know Ojibwa Chippewa Tribe played such a big part in the beginnings of American history
The Ojibwa also discovered and perfected Mahnomen (wild rice) that we can all thoroughly enjoy today. The best wild rice is the stuff I buy from tribes that's hand harvested and parched the old way. Absolutely fantastic. You must be from WI or MN?
@@HolyDiverBronco agreed, I literally got so bored of my computer and phone suddenly, I just felt disgusted with it and started just reading and it feels much slower and nicer especially spiritually being with myself
@Marco ottone society isn't forced upon you. You don't live in some regime driven country where your every decision is dictated by some higher up. If you want to live this life, by all means you can. But not without some planning and lots of hard work, like all things in life
@Marco ottone Very very possible........All you have to do, is not care what people or society think of you and then after that, you just live as simply as possible.
I remember, from the novel, The Trees, by Conrad Richter, that the family referred to the white deer meat as "bread", and would use dark meat in the center of a sandwich. When the matriarch is dying, the father walks to town to buy flower, and makes real bread for her. The kids had never seen true bread, and it was a real treat for them.
My ancestors came from Scotland to NC in the late 1700's and migrated to middle TN to a 4000 acre land grant. Maybe that's why I've always been comfortable in the woods.
When my ancestors made it to what's now central Kentucky, it was the great west. Virgin timber, very few people and what I found interesting is that a family letter talks about them catching wild horses there. The original cabin still stands but the current owner is a bit odd and will not let anyone preserve it properly. Be nice if Townsend's could go in and get him to budge.
I wish I could have seen my home state of Washington before it was heavily settled. Until the late 1800s my hometown was almost entirely old growth, mainly cedar and they could be as much as 20ft in diameter. There were trees so large they'd take a crew days to cut down and longer to cut up into rounds, and it wasnt uncommon to see an entire train filled with timber from a single tree. Even into the 70s loggers considered 30-50 year old trees to be saplings and often didnt even bother cutting them down unless they were in the way. I've heard some similar stories of states like Tennessee and I assume Kentucky too, where the first settlers drove wagons through forests without issue because the trees were so large there was plenty of room to get wagons between the trunks.
Thanks for this interesting talk-- a good reminder, a reality check. The conveniences we're accustomed to may vanish soon, and we will need to 'buck up' to survive. Your channel is great-- a beautiful history lesson. Thank you 👏🏆🏞️
Man, you nailed it on what meat eaters yearn for. I went keto a couple of years ago and lost weight but did it to get my blood sugar under control. Know what I yearn for? Bread! Bread in any form. I want mashed potatoes with grave and hot buttered bread. I could eat a whole baguette, toasted with some butter, and be in 7th heaven.
I've noticed several videos and stories recently where dugout canoes have been discovered in lakes and waterways that date back hundreds or even a thousand years. This made me smile as it was something you discussed back when you were building yours.
I watched this video a day or two ago and I was not able to give it the attention your videos so richly deserve!!! I am glad I came back to it and have watched it properly now. ❤❤
Would love to see a series on the animals of the time period. The "heritage" breeds of chickens,pigs,cows etc that families had on the frontier. Perhaps the horses " Kentucky mountain horses" or mules used. How they were used, cared for, processed etc.. Cheers.
If I taught American history I'd put your videos on when everyone finished their work. Your story telling is wonderful and your genuine love for the subject is infectious. It'd make a kid really fall in love with history.
Thanks sir.. for all the sharing of knowledge you provide and continue to provide.. I know you enjoy what you do every much.. esp. the cabit and the 'wild cooking'.. God Bless Sir...
I really appreciate how you tell the story behind the meal/ingredients as opposed to just throwing a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and not saying a word.
Having travelled a few routes the Voyageurs/ coureur des bois travelled in the 16th and 17th centuries Upper Canada, Im amazed at how hard they must have had. Even with modern kit and camp food it was " modern difficulty " but nothing like theyd have encountered. Great video.
The Voyageurs were in a different league than the American frontiersmen. I think in order to qualify for a full days wages, they had to be able to carry in excess of 200 lbs of pelts at a dead run. Those fancy belts they wore? Those weren't for decoration. Those guys were so herniated from carrying all that weight, they used those belts to keep their guts from falling out.
Same with places like the Pacific Northwest. Trailblazing can be a nightmare since the brush can get so thick thanks to all the rain, and the rot resistant branches and litter from the native plants can make it so there can be a foot or more of littler between what looks like the ground and is actually ground with brush growing above that, it's not uncommon for you to sink past your knees in litter and with plants like wild blackberries growing through some of the litter it can tie you up and make you feel more like you're treading through quicksand then a forest. Not impossible but without paths or roads it can be exhausting just walking through it and it doesnt help that places like Western Washington can have rolling rather steep hills so for every 100ft of linear distance you walk you may end up hiking up 20 feet, down 20 feet, up 30 feet, and down 10 feet. If you were an explorer or frontiersman going through there and didnt have deer paths or paths cleared by natives to travel on it would be exhausting, especially with a pack.
Thank you again Townsends team, for this fine video - it is deeply educational, as all your shows are, and the colorful writing and presentation are top notch. Wonderful.
golly gee I love when you drop these! As a self proclaimed history buff these really make my day. keep em coming my friend, your blend of culinary skills and historical view point are such a breath of fresh air here on YT
I was just reading about the 1805 Lewis and Clark expedition to the west coast. They ate a lot of dogs purchased from Native Americans. Then salmon which had been caught and dried by natives. In place of flour there were camas bulbs and wapato near the Pacific coast. In the eastern US, the American chestnut was said to be excellent food for people and animals. It was a terrible tragedy that the blight from Asian chestnuts eradicated the species.
American chestnuts are largely gone, but they are not eradicated. Whether they will continue to survive remains to be seen. I'll be collecting two chestnut saplings in a few weeks and planting them in my yard. I hope they are successful.
@@meganlalli5450 Thank you for the information. I wonder if I could grow the trees here in the west. I own a private nature reserve on a big river. I am getting conservation status so the land will be secure, hopefully forever. No edible chestnuts have been grown in my area to the best of my knowledge.
I took American history when I was in high school. Thought it would be a more in depth study about stuff like this all the way to even the 1940s. Instead I got the Woodstock hippie new age era. Lets just say, I slept/did other homework during that class.
Thank you. I really like your vidoes. There's a parallel that immediately comes to mind. My paternal grandmother arrived in Canada after the Ukrainian civil war and the revolution. They were peasants from near L'viv. Her grandmother came along and she was terrified that they would starve in the Canadian wilderness (as if it were any worse than millet porridge and yearly famines). They lived in a hut in the forest, where the children would work barefoot and trade blueberries at the mill for flour. There was no government assistance. They had to live on what they could grow and hunt. They ate like back home, but with slightly more variety and amount. The native people in the area would offer a little help. No different than any other pioneers. At least they didn't have to give most of their food to greedy landlords anymore, nor die by the tens of thousands in a preventable famine, nor be conscripted into some bizarre territorial conflict.
I never had any interest in american history as im not American or English, but after dicovering this channel a few days ago I have learned lots about it just because of how fun it is to listen to Jon talking about colonial America while he cooks stuff.
I came to this channel late in life. At my age, 77. I am too damn old to be a frontiersman or a Colonial farmer. But I enjoy traveling back in time with John.
The first branch of my family (not the side I'm descended from) was actually recruited by William Penn's agents. They left the Ulster Plantation (a large source of Scots-Irish immigrants) and immigrated to live among the other settlers of the Pennsylvania colony. They didn't get along with the other people (anabaptists, mennonites, etc), so they took what I assume was a precursor to the great wagon road down into the Carolina backcountry. Even though it's around 300ish years ago, it's cool to see part of my family's American history represented on your channel. Thank you!
Sometimes I wonder how they did it. Especially in times like this. Im nursing a broken leg, it going to need 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Out on the frontier, there were no doctors to go to, no X-rays to see how bad the break is, no pain killers for the pain, etc. You would just have to splint it and make due. I sometimes wonder just how they managed with injuries like these.
I was excited to hear you mention the Scots Irish! I was wondering if you are familiar with Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer. It's a fascinating and detailed look at the different British cultures in 17th century America. But as you mentioned, the Scots Irish primarily traveled as families into the frontier (more so than other groups), so for every frontiersman their was also a brave, hardy frontierswoman.
I really love your videos. To see historical cooking in different situations, moderated by an awesome ans calm guy just warms my heart. Hope you will never get bored making the videos. Greetings from Germany!🇩🇪
Warms my heart listening to these. The list should be short for a fulfilled life, it’s very nuanced and complicated and mundane today. That element of danger, reliance on your skill, sharing skills and knowledge. Knowing what’s truly important at the end of the day and being content in your abundance or lack thereof
same. I hated most of the subjects in school including history and English, but after i graduated I realized i didnt hate the subjects so much as the teachers and terrible lesson plans. As an adult I love history and I'm a bit of a etymology nerd as well as an avid reader. A good teacher can make a world of difference with a kid though, through elementary school i scored low in reading and writing, nearly got me held back a year, but that was until the 5th grade when i finally got a decent teacher who made me realize I didnt hate reading so much I hated the books previous teachers forced me to read and he was the first teacher to actually try and find a book I'd like.
You and this channel are simply amazing and I am absolutely grateful for both your existences! I needed this info and insight. Thank you! I hope you visit the Southeast again so I can see your presentations in person. Missed the TN visit. This was Excellent!
The Frontiersman would have also been able to gather from the surrounding area. Cattail pollen as flour, cattail roots as "potatoes", burdock, dandelion, plantain, etc. A lot would depend upon location and time of year.
I’ve literally followed u and a few other UA-camrs for many years since ur channels were little babies. I have a almost father like pride in proudness watching you all grow so much 😊😢
Wow Mr. Townsend. I never thought about that but that's totally right, the frontiersman would long for highly concentrated carbs you only find back in civilization (requires farms and mills).
I love how you shows normal people life from the past. They had rough life, but they wanted a bit of luxury just like we want today. By their standards, eats well, sleep well and being able to rest is something that we takes for granded, but it wasn't for those people. And they was happy from small things in life too, something that many people today can't do anymore.
We're at the cutting edge of our existence, as were our ancestors at their own cutting edge. I'm not certain they'd have complained much more than we're apt to. Probably in 200 years, if man is still alive, they'll be talking about us and how bad we had it. ; )
My ancestors talked about living on meat and cornbread. In addition to what they could grow in small gardens. I'm good with the idea of a lot of wild game and vegetables. But what I'd miss is butter, cream, cheddar cheese, olive oil, and fresh fruit, and coffee. Fresh roasted beans freshly ground with heavy cream and sugar. Oh yeah. That's what would get me down - not having those things. The pandemic gave me a slight flavor of what life might be like without modern conveniences.
My great grandparents raised my dad and uncle. They haf never in their lives ridden in an automobile if any kind, save the hearse that picked their bodied up. My great grandparents farmed the old-fashioned way with horses. A mule kicked my great grandfather in the chest and my great grandma tolde he laid in the nack of a covered wagon outside of the kitchen doorway until he passed from pneumonia due to his injuries. My dad remembered all of this too.
Love what you're doing here man, engaging topics that feed into our natural curiosity without any of the bloat you see on youtube nowadays. Outstanding.
Glad I found this channel. Now I have even more fun videos to watch constantly. Plus it's actually really interesting. Wish there were more channels that did stuff like this.
When I was 12 n 13 I spent 2 summers on my cousins horse farm in the men's of WV. I loved it ligging n baling hay w horses. I met hermits 5 miles from the nearest dirt road their cabins springs coming out of side of mtn the ingenious devises yet simple. Cattle drives I was n my glory. I wish I'd stayed.the only reason I returned was my Dad. I wish I'd stayed.
Wish I lived back then in that time period, no matter the dangers. Seems like you’ve built and living your dream their Townsend. Grate work and grate life you live my friend
I live in Northwest Minnesota and just got back from a trip to Allentown PA. a distance of about 1400 miles, it took about 20 hours. We can travel in an hour what took the pioneers of the 19th century a week. With high speed trains or flying we travel in a few hours what took them months. When the Erie Canal was completed, it took a nearly months long trek to a few days, and many were against it's completion because they felt it would speed up the pace of life too much. Doctors were against the first trains in the 1820's because they thought the high speed of 25mph was too fast for the human body.
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you know it's a great day when townsends uploads
Especially on a weekend 🙏🏼
Agreed.❤
Yes
Indeede
It's a nice mental break for me, I'm no-contact with my mom (narcissistic and would verbally abuse me if she actually got to know me) and I'm weary of seeing Mother's Day advertisements all day.
Townsends is so wholesome.
Your storytelling is incredible. Makes me want to wander into the wilderness and narrowly survive a buffalo stampede then celebrate with a feast of 10 lbs of buffalo meat and a 1 oz corn meal biscuit.
yikes!
I never knew I wanted this until now
Hell naw ain’t doin that
Bison* They're not technically buffalo.
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist9 He coming back then? Cos I've been watching my watch and tapping my foot for a while now, and frankly it seems rude at this point. He did promise to get back to us before the last of the generation who knew him had passed. Nearly two millenia late on that one. I don't claim to be the most reliable person in the world but I'd be feeling pretty ashamed if I was that remiss.
As a brazilian, hearing about the american frontiersman, was impossible to me to not trace a parallel with the brazilian bandeirante, a group of explorers and adventurers who searched for gold and gemstones dwelving further and further into the interior of the continent, expanding thus the frontiers of Brazil and turning him, like America, in a big continental country.
Thanks, don’t know much about pioneer types in other countries but now I have a topic to research
Did they oppress indigenous people too? I’ll bet so!
Never heard of them but sounds cool. I got to admit, brazil is one of the countries i understand the least so thanks for your insight
They stole Indian land too? Like they are doing now in the Amazon. Yeah great men....
There was also the "tropeiros", also known as "carreteiros". They traveled the country with lots of carts ("tropas"), transporting food throughout the colony. In Brazil, there's a good number of "tropeiro" dishes that are still eaten to this day. From the dishes that are still eaten today, we see that their diet consisted mostly of dried meats and sausages.
These poor man's feast videos are probably some of my favorite Townsend videos. Is it history, is it cooking, the lines are blurred so well I'm doubly entertained.
it's life, which is the unfortunate thing we forget amidst our modernity, we like to think our lives are so much different from theirs in the past, but there's so much we can learn from them
If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus Is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9
This channel lowers high blood pressure, anxiety and stress.
My grandfather was born in a chuckwagon on a trail between Alberta and Montana, i often imagine how difficult life must of been for a mother with children and a new born. This is not ancient history , i am fifty and met the man. Bringing along the dried staples and hunting and fishing as they went. Amazing strength
I barely survived a trip to Walmart this morning
@@patriciacampbell2821 lol
@@patriciacampbell2821 ROFL!
My great-grandmother had an incredibly difficult upbringing during the depression. She was in a family of ten kids and she had to start cooking from the age of five because her mother was slowly dying and her father would rather drink and cheat on her mother. Her uncles took her out into the garden and showed her which weeds you could make soup out of, and that’s what they ate (alongside whatever her brothers hunted and fished).She didn’t even have a coat or shoes to go to school in (and this was in brutal midwestern winters) until her teacher bought them for her.
It stands to reason then that when she got older she was very possessive over what she had, and she wasted absolutely nothing (she would even wash and reuse Ziploc bags).
She unfortunately died when I was very young. I could only imagine how many more stories she would have had.
@@terminallumbago6465 could you imagine being able to show them how life has changed , just take her to an all you can eat . Mind blown
I must be a slow learner, John, because it dawned on me for the first time today that your last name is literally "Town's End" (in other words, the frontier or wilderness). This was your destiny all along. 🙂
I thought it was "town send" like a mailman/courier or something haha, old English surname
Suburban dweller, Olde Yorkish yé gōd lad/las 😉
@@AldoSchmedack Townsend is a topographic surname of Yorkshire and Norfolk origin, indicating residence at the extremity of a city or burgh, i.e. on the edge of town, looking out on the wilderness. 🙂
Top 5 favorite channels!
Speaking of injuries, would love to see John and Co talk about medicines and practices that were used in the 18th century frontier.
I would too. He did a good cover on 1600-1700 medical care in St. Augustine FL, pretty cool.
true
Heroin and cocaine. The 19th Century medpack.
That would be a good video. It would be cool if they do an interview with a fellow 18th century enthusiast who specializes in medicine at the time and could talk about that. Of course, the difference between "folk medicine" and the horrific form of medicine that was practiced at the time would be night and day. It would be a time when some forms of folk medicine, especially those practiced by indigenous people, who had the traditional knowledge to know which plants could be used for certain things, was probably better than what was considered medicine by the average settler.
@@stephenhancock1578oh right, I remember that one! They mentioned how Spanish medicine, insofar as it followed the Muslim traditions in medicine that they adopted, such as cleaning your instruments and washing your hands, was not too bad. But insofar as people adopted the humoral ideas about health, it was bad. Bleeding and leeches. Yeesh.
Long time watcher, first-time commenter. Appreciate that you reenacted how someone would've actually gone about their day, settled in camp, and prepared dinner. Refreshing approach to an old time telling of history. Much love and respect to you, Townsend.
Yeah, he's one of the best.
If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus Is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. -Romans 10:9
I'm from Germany so obviously I don't have a very strong connection to American history and tradition, but a few years ago when I was in school we had the topic "America", especially the frontier and that period of time. It kinda stuck with me, as it comes close to what we would define as an adventure. Thank you for providing such informative videos and also setting me back in time to easier days :) (the easier days being my time at school, not the 18th century 😂)
Around 25 years ago, myself and a small group decided to do the frontiersman/long hunter personas in our living history group. We , in order to do the displays justice, decided to live the life, as accurately as possible, on every opportunity. We would do a week or two week long "trek" or the whole living off of the land. I was really suprised at how genuinely hard each day was, and each night as well. Your videos are fantastic, but they cannot display the struggle that this life was, and really, no amount of verbal or written description could. Kudos to all you do to show all of this.
Speaking of injuries that could kill you, I've got a little story: I was working in the ER as a tech. A man in his 50's came in with his family. He had a little nick on his right cheekbone. He had been horseback riding with the family and the person in front had pushed a small tree branch out of the way and it had come back and hit him on the face, giving him the tiny cut. The reason he had come in was because it had started to swell. Within 30 minutes his right cheek had drastically swollen up. Within another 10 minutes it had spread down around his throat and was constricting his airway. He was rushed to emergency surgery. I heard later that he had lived. If this had happened way back when, he would have been dead. Infections are to be taken seriously!
That almost sounds more like an allergic reaction. Even more deadly and much faster than an infection! The things we just shrug about now were deadly perils to people on the frontier.
it is a fake story, infections like that take HOURS to even begin to swell up and it then take HOURS for the area to grow in volume.
@@stickychocolate8155 No, it was an infection. I remember that quite clearly.
@@laggybum3218 sounds like reaction to a plant that probably causes reactions no way an infection grows like that within 30 mins. I’m calling bs sorry
@@laggybum3218 literally googled medical documents of infections and says usually 2 to 3 days from receiving a cut or laceration an infection can occur. Sounds like reaction probably allergic to me
I know that in the Wild West most famous dish was a bean stew with meat or without depending on the hunt. Most people who traveled brought lots of beans with them which was easy to carry and they never got bad. Bean stew was known everywhere.
Beans were the first crop to be cultivated by humans. They've been with us since the beginning.
@@ianfinrir8724 super easy to grow too, I'm constantly finding tons of wild peas. They are small and the pod is tough but the seed is sweet and slightly fruity.
Those mentions of Scottish and Irish traditions are really prevalent in Frontiersman culture; if you look at 17th Century Scottish Cattle Drivers you’ll see a lot of similarities in the kit they used, the provisions with Bannock bread and such (more oats for the Scottish and Corn for the Americans but still) and even in the terrain; rocky, hilly, and heavily forested as the Cairngorm Forest was still massively spread out over Scottish territory before the Old Growth was removed in the Industrial Revolution.
Even the traditions of rover-to-rover hospitality remained the same; it was the duty of the hosting man or group of men to take the first watch so his fellows could sleep easy, regardless of who had the more difficult journey that day. It’s a fascinating, intensely practical and pragmatic culture on both sides of the pond. Thanks for pointing that out Jon!
This new format works really well. You've done a great job cooking traditional recipes, but there are only so many. Pairing cooking with colonial-era survival logistics is a great refreshing take.
You said in the live YT said Sun was the best day to put out a video... I think they might be right. It was really nice to have this to watch this morning while drinking my coffee. Thanks.
Thank you for the feedback! Hope it added to your morning routine.
Agree, nice surprise for breakfast!
I would not ask for a better day. I received my new Townsend mug (green, "Needs More Nutmeg"), and I'm trying out freshly grated nutmeg for the first time with Townsend's coffee. Imagine my delight when I sit down for my first sip, and there it is, a new upload from my favorite channel. If you haven't tried nutmeg, you should; it's "grate!"
Just don't eat too much at once. 10g and upwards you'll start feeling really weird ;)
@@schwuzi Read a sci fi short story once where a cook did that once. All of the humans were affected by too much nutmeg as they were ingesting and the alien cook could not figure out why.
Lewis and Clark were taught by the Indians how to harvest wapato and prepare it in to a cake. Sacagawea also taught the party how to identify edible plants like wild onions. The indian tribes near the dakotas also traded beans, corn and squash with the party. I don't know how well that spread among the other frontiersmen, but they definitely had access to starchy, potato-like plants and onions. They also had access to various wild fruits.
They are not Indians. You mean Native Americans
@@SamKennedy-fb5kk S N O W F L A K E A L E R T. They're still Indians. Not the dot kind, but the "woo woo" kind.
@@SamKennedy-fb5kk Besides, the Clovis Indians got here before they did and they were Celtic.
@@SamKennedy-fb5kkthere are literally studies showing that there's about a 50/50 split in preference between the terms Indian and Native American amongst indigenous people of the USA.
@@squiddwizzard8850 I am Indian. Were we asked about our preferences?
As an Ojibwa Chippewa descendent it’s pretty awesome learning more about my Ancestors history I didn’t know Ojibwa Chippewa Tribe played such a big part in the beginnings of American history
The Ojibwa also discovered and perfected Mahnomen (wild rice) that we can all thoroughly enjoy today. The best wild rice is the stuff I buy from tribes that's hand harvested and parched the old way. Absolutely fantastic. You must be from WI or MN?
Despite the overall hardships it feels cozy and wholesome. Salute to Townsend's family
It's a way better life, than this technology driven society we see today.........
@@HolyDiverBronco agreed, I literally got so bored of my computer and phone suddenly, I just felt disgusted with it and started just reading and it feels much slower and nicer especially spiritually being with myself
@@HolyDiverBronco yeah until you die of dysentery at the ripe old age of 17
@Marco ottone society isn't forced upon you. You don't live in some regime driven country where your every decision is dictated by some higher up. If you want to live this life, by all means you can. But not without some planning and lots of hard work, like all things in life
@Marco ottone Very very possible........All you have to do, is not care what people or society think of you and then after that, you just live as simply as possible.
Can't get enough of the rich history and cooking ideas!!!! Keep up the wonderful work!
I remember, from the novel, The Trees, by Conrad Richter, that the family referred to the white deer meat as "bread", and would use dark meat in the center of a sandwich. When the matriarch is dying, the father walks to town to buy flower, and makes real bread for her. The kids had never seen true bread, and it was a real treat for them.
My ancestors came from Scotland to NC in the late 1700's and migrated to middle TN to a 4000 acre land grant. Maybe that's why I've always been comfortable in the woods.
When my ancestors made it to what's now central Kentucky, it was the great west. Virgin timber, very few people and what I found interesting is that a family letter talks about them catching wild horses there. The original cabin still stands but the current owner is a bit odd and will not let anyone preserve it properly. Be nice if Townsend's could go in and get him to budge.
I wish I could have seen my home state of Washington before it was heavily settled. Until the late 1800s my hometown was almost entirely old growth, mainly cedar and they could be as much as 20ft in diameter. There were trees so large they'd take a crew days to cut down and longer to cut up into rounds, and it wasnt uncommon to see an entire train filled with timber from a single tree. Even into the 70s loggers considered 30-50 year old trees to be saplings and often didnt even bother cutting them down unless they were in the way.
I've heard some similar stories of states like Tennessee and I assume Kentucky too, where the first settlers drove wagons through forests without issue because the trees were so large there was plenty of room to get wagons between the trunks.
Thanks for this interesting talk-- a good reminder, a reality check. The conveniences we're accustomed to may vanish soon, and we will need to 'buck up' to survive. Your channel is great-- a beautiful history lesson. Thank you 👏🏆🏞️
Man, you nailed it on what meat eaters yearn for. I went keto a couple of years ago and lost weight but did it to get my blood sugar under control. Know what I yearn for? Bread! Bread in any form. I want mashed potatoes with grave and hot buttered bread. I could eat a whole baguette, toasted with some butter, and be in 7th heaven.
Aye, for me, my wish was for vast amounts of pasta.
I don't really get cravings on keto, but eventually something gets me... usually holiday food.
I've noticed several videos and stories recently where dugout canoes have been discovered in lakes and waterways that date back hundreds or even a thousand years. This made me smile as it was something you discussed back when you were building yours.
❤ A video from Townsends is truely a gift! Thanks guys 😊
I watched this video a day or two ago and I was not able to give it the attention your videos so richly deserve!!! I am glad I came back to it and have watched it properly now. ❤❤
Would love to see a series on the animals of the time period. The "heritage" breeds of chickens,pigs,cows etc that families had on the frontier. Perhaps the horses " Kentucky mountain horses" or mules used. How they were used, cared for, processed etc.. Cheers.
I assumed they dressed the animals in similar outfits
You contribute so much to my living history path. Thank you!
If I taught American history I'd put your videos on when everyone finished their work. Your story telling is wonderful and your genuine love for the subject is infectious. It'd make a kid really fall in love with history.
Thanks sir.. for all the sharing of knowledge you provide and continue to provide.. I know you enjoy what you do every much.. esp. the cabit and the 'wild cooking'.. God Bless Sir...
Been watching you videos for years. You’re story telling is fantastic. I truly enjoy your videos.
That bowl looked delicious! Thank you for the upload. I always enjoy your content.
I really appreciate how you tell the story behind the meal/ingredients as opposed to just throwing a bunch of ingredients into a bowl and not saying a word.
Cheer~~~a man living in the region of a frontier, especially that between settled and unsettled country.😊
Another top notch quality of a video! That's Townsends for you!
Having travelled a few routes the Voyageurs/ coureur des bois travelled in the 16th and 17th centuries Upper Canada, Im amazed at how hard they must have had. Even with modern kit and camp food it was " modern difficulty " but nothing like theyd have encountered.
Great video.
The Voyageurs were in a different league than the American frontiersmen. I think in order to qualify for a full days wages, they had to be able to carry in excess of 200 lbs of pelts at a dead run. Those fancy belts they wore? Those weren't for decoration. Those guys were so herniated from carrying all that weight, they used those belts to keep their guts from falling out.
Same with places like the Pacific Northwest. Trailblazing can be a nightmare since the brush can get so thick thanks to all the rain, and the rot resistant branches and litter from the native plants can make it so there can be a foot or more of littler between what looks like the ground and is actually ground with brush growing above that, it's not uncommon for you to sink past your knees in litter and with plants like wild blackberries growing through some of the litter it can tie you up and make you feel more like you're treading through quicksand then a forest. Not impossible but without paths or roads it can be exhausting just walking through it and it doesnt help that places like Western Washington can have rolling rather steep hills so for every 100ft of linear distance you walk you may end up hiking up 20 feet, down 20 feet, up 30 feet, and down 10 feet. If you were an explorer or frontiersman going through there and didnt have deer paths or paths cleared by natives to travel on it would be exhausting, especially with a pack.
Thank you again Townsends team, for this fine video - it is deeply educational, as all your shows are, and the colorful writing and presentation are top notch. Wonderful.
golly gee I love when you drop these! As a self proclaimed history buff these really make my day. keep em coming my friend, your blend of culinary skills and historical view point are such a breath of fresh air here on YT
I was just reading about the 1805 Lewis and Clark expedition to the west coast. They ate a lot of dogs purchased from Native Americans. Then salmon which had been caught and dried by natives. In place of flour there were camas bulbs and wapato near the Pacific coast.
In the eastern US, the American chestnut was said to be excellent food for people and animals. It was a terrible tragedy that the blight from Asian chestnuts eradicated the species.
that's when Trader Joe's
became popular
American chestnuts are largely gone, but they are not eradicated. Whether they will continue to survive remains to be seen. I'll be collecting two chestnut saplings in a few weeks and planting them in my yard. I hope they are successful.
@@meganlalli5450 Thank you for the information. I wonder if I could grow the trees here in the west. I own a private nature reserve on a big river. I am getting conservation status so the land will be secure, hopefully forever. No edible chestnuts have been grown in my area to the best of my knowledge.
I have learned more about American history on your channel then I ever did in school 🇺🇸🤙🏻
I took American history when I was in high school. Thought it would be a more in depth study about stuff like this all the way to even the 1940s. Instead I got the Woodstock hippie new age era. Lets just say, I slept/did other homework during that class.
I seriously love this channel. I don’t watch it enough, but it always brings me such a calm feeling
The production of this channel has come such a long way, love it!
It's amazing how they endured back in those times. This was fascinating. Cheers!
Thank you. I really like your vidoes.
There's a parallel that immediately comes to mind. My paternal grandmother arrived in Canada after the Ukrainian civil war and the revolution. They were peasants from near L'viv.
Her grandmother came along and she was terrified that they would starve in the Canadian wilderness (as if it were any worse than millet porridge and yearly famines). They lived in a hut in the forest, where the children would work barefoot and trade blueberries at the mill for flour. There was no government assistance. They had to live on what they could grow and hunt. They ate like back home, but with slightly more variety and amount. The native people in the area would offer a little help.
No different than any other pioneers. At least they didn't have to give most of their food to greedy landlords anymore, nor die by the tens of thousands in a preventable famine, nor be conscripted into some bizarre territorial conflict.
Thanks to all of you at Townsends for the great work and sharing.
My mind rests watching Townsends.
I never had any interest in american history as im not American or English, but after dicovering this channel a few days ago I have learned lots about it just because of how fun it is to listen to Jon talking about colonial America while he cooks stuff.
I love these videos
Love the imagery and narration, just fantastic and authentic work!
I came to this channel late in life. At my age, 77. I am too damn old to be a frontiersman or a Colonial farmer. But I enjoy traveling back in time with John.
Love this. I dry my own meet for when I camp in the 19th Century Living History I do. Very similar to what you did here.
The first branch of my family (not the side I'm descended from) was actually recruited by William Penn's agents. They left the Ulster Plantation (a large source of Scots-Irish immigrants) and immigrated to live among the other settlers of the Pennsylvania colony. They didn't get along with the other people (anabaptists, mennonites, etc), so they took what I assume was a precursor to the great wagon road down into the Carolina backcountry.
Even though it's around 300ish years ago, it's cool to see part of my family's American history represented on your channel. Thank you!
Sometimes I wonder how they did it. Especially in times like this. Im nursing a broken leg, it going to need 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Out on the frontier, there were no doctors to go to, no X-rays to see how bad the break is, no pain killers for the pain, etc. You would just have to splint it and make due. I sometimes wonder just how they managed with injuries like these.
I was excited to hear you mention the Scots Irish! I was wondering if you are familiar with Albion's Seed by David Hackett Fischer. It's a fascinating and detailed look at the different British cultures in 17th century America.
But as you mentioned, the Scots Irish primarily traveled as families into the frontier (more so than other groups), so for every frontiersman their was also a brave, hardy frontierswoman.
I was excited, too! The Scots-Irish are tough!
As a native Pittsburgher, I appreciate the mention of Cresswell's brief stop there! Thank you!
I really love your videos. To see historical cooking in different situations, moderated by an awesome ans calm guy just warms my heart. Hope you will never get bored making the videos. Greetings from Germany!🇩🇪
Sunday morning coffee and a good video. Good prelude to a busy day.
I love these videos so much! Thank you for making them for so many years now! theyre magnificient work of historical events!
Another excellent chapter in the life of a frontiersman thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Mr. Townsend. Much appreciated. You guys always do a GREAT job.
Warms my heart listening to these. The list should be short for a fulfilled life, it’s very nuanced and complicated and mundane today. That element of danger, reliance on your skill, sharing skills and knowledge. Knowing what’s truly important at the end of the day and being content in your abundance or lack thereof
Man I wish I had a history teacher who was this passionate in school
same. I hated most of the subjects in school including history and English, but after i graduated I realized i didnt hate the subjects so much as the teachers and terrible lesson plans. As an adult I love history and I'm a bit of a etymology nerd as well as an avid reader. A good teacher can make a world of difference with a kid though, through elementary school i scored low in reading and writing, nearly got me held back a year, but that was until the 5th grade when i finally got a decent teacher who made me realize I didnt hate reading so much I hated the books previous teachers forced me to read and he was the first teacher to actually try and find a book I'd like.
This channel is such a respite. Thank you for doing this work.
2:51 as an Appalachian State alumni, thanks a bunch for shouting out our town’s namesake 🙏🏻🙏🏻
You and this channel are simply amazing and I am absolutely grateful for both your existences! I needed this info and insight. Thank you! I hope you visit the Southeast again so I can see your presentations in person. Missed the TN visit. This was Excellent!
The Frontiersman would have also been able to gather from the surrounding area. Cattail pollen as flour, cattail roots as "potatoes", burdock, dandelion, plantain, etc. A lot would depend upon location and time of year.
Thank you for the history lesson on the makeup of the Scotch-Irish character.
I’ve literally followed u and a few other UA-camrs for many years since ur channels were little babies.
I have a almost father like pride in proudness watching you all grow so much 😊😢
Wow Mr. Townsend. I never thought about that but that's totally right, the frontiersman would long for highly concentrated carbs you only find back in civilization (requires farms and mills).
Bless you sir. Thank you for being one of the cornerstones to wholesome history for so many of us.
these videos keep me sane! thank you so much
I love how you shows normal people life from the past. They had rough life, but they wanted a bit of luxury just like we want today. By their standards, eats well, sleep well and being able to rest is something that we takes for granded, but it wasn't for those people. And they was happy from small things in life too, something that many people today can't do anymore.
I love the storytelling and reenactments in this video!! Thank you Townsends for this amazing piece of work!
Best channel ever. Thank you. 💕
these feast videos have such a cozy atmosphere
Another great history lesson and amazing video thanks.
We really take for granted how easy we have it
We're at the cutting edge of our existence, as were our ancestors at their own cutting edge. I'm not certain they'd have complained much more than we're apt to.
Probably in 200 years, if man is still alive, they'll be talking about us and how bad we had it. ; )
My ancestors talked about living on meat and cornbread. In addition to what they could grow in small gardens.
I'm good with the idea of a lot of wild game and vegetables. But what I'd miss is butter, cream, cheddar cheese, olive oil, and fresh fruit, and coffee. Fresh roasted beans freshly ground with heavy cream and sugar. Oh yeah. That's what would get me down - not having those things.
The pandemic gave me a slight flavor of what life might be like without modern conveniences.
Living your dream. Lucky man!
We need MORE channels like this. Thank you so much for the love and dedication to your craft.
Often times the simplest food is the best, most comforting food.
A treat for all the mothers watching
This channel is so precious,i love that you make a meal just like they would with whatever little you had left !
This is wonderful. Thank you.
This is such a wonderful video!! I'm really loving this series!
My great grandparents raised my dad and uncle. They haf never in their lives ridden in an automobile if any kind, save the hearse that picked their bodied up. My great grandparents farmed the old-fashioned way with horses. A mule kicked my great grandfather in the chest and my great grandma tolde he laid in the nack of a covered wagon outside of the kitchen doorway until he passed from pneumonia due to his injuries. My dad remembered all of this too.
Love what you're doing here man, engaging topics that feed into our natural curiosity without any of the bloat you see on youtube nowadays. Outstanding.
You guys look like you have a ton of fun. I dig the vibe. I would chill with you guys any day.
Every food you make on this channel looks so good. I like the atmosphere of your videos too, very relaxing.
Glad I found this channel. Now I have even more fun videos to watch constantly.
Plus it's actually really interesting. Wish there were more channels that did stuff like this.
When I was 12 n 13 I spent 2 summers on my cousins horse farm in the men's of WV. I loved it ligging n baling hay w horses. I met hermits 5 miles from the nearest dirt road their cabins springs coming out of side of mtn the ingenious devises yet simple. Cattle drives I was n my glory. I wish I'd stayed.the only reason I returned was my Dad. I wish I'd stayed.
Wish I lived back then in that time period, no matter the dangers. Seems like you’ve built and living your dream their Townsend. Grate work and grate life you live my friend
Wow! I was transported by your story and visuals. Frontiersmen didn't have it easy for sure.
I live in Northwest Minnesota and just got back from a trip to Allentown PA. a distance of about 1400 miles, it took about 20 hours. We can travel in an hour what took the pioneers of the 19th century a week. With high speed trains or flying we travel in a few hours what took them months. When the Erie Canal was completed, it took a nearly months long trek to a few days, and many were against it's completion because they felt it would speed up the pace of life too much. Doctors were against the first trains in the 1820's because they thought the high speed of 25mph was too fast for the human body.
The different feast shows are wonderful to watch and learn from
This is pure bliss, bless you all. Tim UK