Proving Nessmuk

 Proving Nessmuk


I’ve recently read George Washington Sears (A.K.A. Nessmuk) “Camping and Woodcraft”. Being from the northeast or Northern Wilderness as he was and having personally seen his canoe in the Adirondack Experience museum several time as a child I became intently interested in his gear selections and started some research. 


I found much to my surprise many people claiming that what he claimed in his book could not be accurate. Things such as the weight of his gear, and the contents of his pack were called into question repeatedly. It seems the Bushcraft community simply cannot believe that this man in the mid eighteen hundreds could do what he claims with the gear he talked about.


Foremost in my mind was his “ditty bag”. It is claimed by him to weigh 2.5 ounces and contains the following items;


12 Small fish hooks

24 yards fishing line, braided (4x6yrds)

4 Small sinkers

4 Seeing needles

5 yards Sewing thread

Darning needle

5 yards Darning yarn

Beeswax

Fixin wax (shoemakers wax)

Sticking salve

12 Buttons

Small File

(Fishing line in the 1850’s was generally made of horsehair, since I am not adept at making this, I will use modern braided line as an equivalent)


This is all contained in a 4”x6” chamois leather pouch, that many claim must have weighed 2.5 ounces by itself. 


So I am setting out to test this concept. I am currently sourcing materials, and recipes for the items listed. I will be doing a video series with my results, and possibly of important bits of the collection and preparation of the kit. I am convinced that this kit can be assembled and meet the weight that he claimed. I will post results either way.


If this goes well, I may endeavor to recreate more of Nessmuk’s kit, and test some of his other equipment, and hopefully lay to rest the arguments about them, one way or the other. 

Location: Huntingdon, TN 38344, USA

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Proving Nessmuk - The Ditty Bag

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