Kopassus Commandos - Indonesia

Just remembering some training I performed for the Kopassus Commandos of Indonesia. Please feel free to check out the link below for more information on one of the most elite Commando units in SE Asia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopassus

Chas Cotter, American Safari guide in Kenya

About a million years ago when I was a kid, my summer time habit was to set up my pup tent in my moms back yard, and live out there for the entire summer. I would spend most of my time in the woods. At night I would stay up late reading books about great Adventurers by flashlight . I remember two men whom I admire for their exploits and courage, both men were always an inspiration to me over the years. Frederic Russell Burnham who was an Army scout during the Apache wars, then subsequently went to africa to be a scout for the British Army there. And, Charles Cottar, from Texas (I think), who was a Big Game hunting Guide in Kenya . I would have loved to have met both of these men. The Cottar family still runs a Safari business in kenya, you can find more info at the link I have provided below.

http://www.cottars.com/

I love this excerpt from the book"The heart of the hunter" by Edison Marshall

"Tha date appointed came at hand, and I stepped down from the railway carrage in Nairobi, the very first English capitol of Kenya. My first feeling was one of profound dismay. Coming to meet me was an old man with a feeble step. Yes, he was Charles Cotter. He had been down, he said, from a bout with blackwater fever complicated by a leopards getting on him, but he was alright now. How could this cripple lead me over the veld, through the grass, and amid the thorn, After big game?

Yet, I soon began to notice the old hunter's eyes as he spoke, and the light in them and the life and change, and they were not the eyes of a dotard. And there were other signs I could not yet isolate, and then a big plain sign, when he began to curse some hotel porters who had picked up my baggage without permission.
His voice had a ring to it. And a western accent still.

All the next day as we assembled our outfit for the trip, He walked and talked with increased vigor. Actually he was well short of sixty, but in town he had seemed much older, and only when he got shed of it did his years peel off, and these were beginning to give way to the mere prospect of return to the velt. This was his stamping ground. He had traded for it his old hunting grounds in Texas and Oklahoma, when these were far from tame, and he had lived by it, and fought it, and loved and hated it for more than twenty years. He was tall, and powerfully framed, and was once a pehnomenally powerful man. His hands were still wolf quick, when they had to be, as I noticed when he drove the lorry to pick up supplies. My recommendation to his was that I was an American, for he had never forgotten,never ignored, that he was one too. And this meant more to him than I could quite understand at first. It was the keynote of his being, an oblation and a great pride.

He had piercing eyes, narrow set, indescribably blue. Still, I did not know then that he was the heir of Jim Bridger and Kit Carson, the very last of that great breed of hunters developed in the American west. A true mountain man born after his proper time, and strangely walking the plains of Africa."


I also enjoy this  1st hand information about Chas Cottar  from ; "Safari guide"; excerpts from Dappled Sunlight, subtitled “Memoirs of a Safari Life” the Late Patricia Mary Cotter memoirs

He arrived in Kenya in 1910 for the first visit then came and went each year until he brought his whole family here in 1914, his wife Annette, and nine children –three boys and six girls : the eldest, a girl born in 1911 Charles registered a company to guide safari’s called Cotters Safari Service in 1919.

He had already had articles published in the “American Field” newspaper between 1914 and 1918 , and had been very involved with making movies of his adventures since his early safaris to Kenya.

These movies were shown in the states throw Chester Outing Films and there is a letter in the family achieves written in 1920 from Mr. Chester to Charles saying how sorry he was that Charles would not be able to send any more films for a while due to his illness….The illness which Mr. Chester refers to was always thought to be a stroke, but in fact Charles had not been feeling well for some times beforehand, and it was while he was guiding a safari that the paralysis began, so he rushed home to Nairobi and a couple of days later could not get out of bed.

Charles had been wounded by leopard twice before this illness

But Charles was not going to kept down by illness, so called his sons Bud and Mike to help him get up and get his legs working again. Today one of Charles grandson who is a doctor, David Stuart sees the symptoms of Lyme’s Disease which Charles could have contracted from a tick in Uganda.

His grandson Glen remembers as being a rather cranky person, but one can only think he must have been so frustrated with one blind eye, and a leg and arm which would not work properly, of course he was cranky! Charles had been wounded by leopard twice before this illness and another time the late 1920s a leopard attacked him and was shot off his back by {his son} Mike.

Tussle;

He also had a tussle with an Elephant but managed to wedge himself between two rocks so the elephant could not get at him…But Charles would not give into his handicaps ,and insisted on accompanying safaris and still taking movie pictures, which he continued to show in the states. He would carry his favorite Winchester rifle while taking movies presumably leaving it in the hands of an African assistant.

So it was that in September 1940s, he was with Bud at Migwarrur, in the Siana hills area of what is now known as the Maasai Mara, not far from Barkitabu, when they sported a rhino in the bush.

Bud was sent by Charles to scout for the rhino which they had briefly seen, and was behind other bush cover some distance away when the rhino charged out of the bush quite close to Charles, but he was not able to get the gun quickly enough, and as the shot went home the rhino gored his thigh and fell on him.

Bud heard the short and his father ‘s yell, so rushed to him finishing the rhino, and tried to make some shade from the hot sun, but Charles refused this, Saying he wanted to see the African sky. The main artery was severed and Charles died from loss of blood an hour later.

Personalities who have made history in promoting tourism in Kenya and in particular investing in tented camps and safari lodges in national parks and game reserves. Some investors have gone an extra mile to ensure that Kenya is one of the best tourist destinations in the world having been declared “the seven wonders of the world” due to its conservation and eco-system efforts in the Masai Mara. Charles Cottar has a safari camp in the Masai Mara which is luxurious named cottars 1920 camp among other personalities who owns tented camps and safari lodges all over East Africa national parks and game reserves.

Tomahawks favorite drink - Coffee

One day in Antigua Guatemala, I needed a bit of exercise so I headed toward the volcano/mountain in the distance and stumbled onto a coffee plantation. It was a pretty place and and very tranquil.

I sat on a cedar log and watched some horses grazing in what looked like a polo field for a while, after taking a few pics of the horses and the surrounding hills I dragged my ass over to take a look at the coffee plants. I had never seen the plant my favorite beverage comes from before. I was surprised at the shiny/waxy looking leaves and the size of the beans themselves.

After looking at the plants and beans for a while I walked over to the shop to see about buying some locally grown and processed coffee to take with me on the trail. I was hit with the greatest aroma of coffee that I have ever been witness to.  Inside the shop I was surprised to see many types of local coffee for sale, I mean you could get the stuff  green, whole bean or in grinds of different coarseness.

My favorite way to brew coffee is the Montana guides style. I have heard it called "Guides coffee" "Cowboy coffee", "Shepherds coffee" etc. but I call it Montana Guides Coffee because that is what it was called when I learned to make it at Montana guides school.

Take a couple good fists full of coffee, chuck it in to a pot of some type throw in a pinch of salt, bring it to a boil then take it off the flames. Give this brew a quick stir, pour in a little cold water to help settle the grounds. Then imbibe heavily this brew. Great stuff on a cold mountain or desert morning, hells bells, for that matter ,it's good stuff in a steamy South East Asian jungle. In fact, my buddy Jing in Cebu likes his with a splash of vinegar in it

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted seeds, called coffee beans, of the coffee plant. Coffee beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees in over 70 countries, cultivated primarily in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. 'Green Unroasted' coffee is one of the most traded agricultural commodities in the world. Coffee can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content. It is one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.

Coffee has played a crucial role in many societies. The energizing effect of the coffee bean plant is thought to have been discovered in the northeast region of Ethiopia, and the cultivation of coffee first expanded in the Arab world. The earliest credible evidence of coffee drinking appears in the middle of the 15th century, in the Sufi monasteries of Yemen in southern Arabia.From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy, then to the rest of Europe, to Indonesia, and to the Americas. In East Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its secular consumption, a ban in effect until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia.It was banned in Ottoman Turkey during the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee seed, or "bean", are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus Coffea. The two most commonly grown are the highly regarded Coffea arabica, and the 'robusta' form of the hardier Coffea canephora. The latter is resistant to the devastating coffee leaf rust. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways.

THAI STYLE JUNGLE KNIVES

 

 THAI STYLE JUNGLE KNIVES

Over the past few years in Thailand, and the Philippines I have been enjoying camping and foraging with my many friends. In fact Yesterday was spent fishing and foraging for snails and wild edibles in the woods. My friends know quite a bit about the local wild edibles so I tend to listen and learn from them.

In the evening, we cooked the fish ,snails and mushrooms that we had collected and feasted on those goodies ,along with the ever present sticky rice and Thai beer.

A few years ago,  One lady friend and me  headed to the small town of Laopaksai,Thailand. In that town, I met a local blacksmith, and tool maker named Saijung Kaipo. His forge was set up next to his house. I really liked his simple forge and the simplistic way his show was set up,such as the old tractor tire he uses for a water trough, primitive bellows etc. I noticed that Saijung Kaipo, uses a lot of scrap metal, leaf springs etc. for his knives and tools.

Saijung can make several different sizes and styles of knives but ,what I like the most are his hand forged Axe and Hatched heads. These heads remind me of some of the hand forged tomahawk heads I have seen in the USA.

These Knives and Axe/hatchet heads have a nice heft , some of the knives come with tubular handles and others with wood. One thing that I have noticed in Thailand (at least in this area) is that they don't seem to use a sheath for their jungle knives like you see in the Philippines or Malaysia. I have seen some knife sheaths here made from a heated and flattened piece of PVC pipe tho, pretty cool and efficient.

Over a period of a few months, I hung out with saijung, learning his style of knife making. He even showed me how to make an Axe head, it was a bit tough to do, but we managed to get it done using his simple tools. I have studied blacksmithing in Arizona, Minnesota, the Philippines and Now Thailand.

I like learning these skills from true experts in their fields, using simple techniques, tools and age old skills. It feels good to have this skill set in my bag of wilderness tricks.

See you on the trail!

Pickled Eggs

I love Amelia from the Nat geo show "Live free or die". I also love pickled eggs, 'specially made with beets. Add some Honey, vinegar(I use my home made kombucha vinegar), salt and beet chunks, chuck them in a jar and let them sit for a few days.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/live-free-or-die/videos/how-to-homestead-making-pickled-eggs/

The Horse by Fred Burnham

Excerpt ; "Scouting on 2 continents" by Fred R. Burnham

This is some excellent information on horse husbandry by Fred Burnham.While working as a packer and guide in Montana and new Mexico, I have seen horses and Mules eat "people food" on several occasions, Personally, I have always wondered if "Our" food was nutritionally balanced for other animals. This excerpt from Fred's book clearly states that Horses CAN eat "most foods"  that a man eats...... 

 
A scout knows that a horse can thrive on most of the food that a man eats, even cooked food. One of the reasons why I was sometimes able to outride the cowboys and frontiersmen of the west was that I gave infinate care to my mount. In Alaska and the Klondike our horses would eat bread, all kinds of drief fruit and vegetables, crackers, sugar , prunes, raisins, candy, syrup - even bacon, dried meat and dried fish in very small quantities.They also ate raw eggs when obtainable, dried milk, and other things not ordinarily thought of as foder. The twig ends cut from willow and cottonwood give roughage and some strength. In the deserts a man may save his mount by gathering the fig like fruits from the top of the pitahaya or suhauro. The "Spanish bayonet" also has a good fruit. Horses will eat crushed mesquite beans, acorns soaked and ground, and other desert shrubs and seeds in season. There are bunches of gramma and other grasses clinging to the cliffs that can be gathered for the Scouts faithful friend in time of need.
 
See you on the trail!

Tomahawk

Louis in the Huachucas

In 2009, I had been camping in the Huachuca mountains of south Eastern Arizona for 65 days before I headed south of the border all the way to the Panama canal and back. During my 65 days camp out and survival outing, I enjoyed getting up early in the mornings, brewing a cup of Montana guides coffee and sitting by the creek to watch the animals come down to drink. Over a period of time I have seen many deer – both “Mulies” and white tails, Antelope, coatimundi,and other species come to slake their thirst.

One morning in particular, I was sitting on my pack in the shade of a live oak tree, sipping a cup of guides coffee ,waiting on my friend Matt AKA “The wildcat missionary” to show up so we could drive his truck deeper into the mountains to explore a trail to a remote spring. Suddenly I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye, Looking in that direction and saw an illegal alien limping down the trail wearing torn pants and sporting an injured knee.

Hailing the man in Spanish, and told him to take it easy and that I was friendly. After his initial "deer in the head lights look", he approached me, stuck out his hand and said "Hello, my name is Louis, I can speak English".

I shook his hand and introduced myself as Tomas. I asked about his torn pants and injured knee. Louis told me that he ran after seeing a "Fucking Oso"(Bear), fell and hurt his knee.

After talking for a bit I asked him if he was hungry and he said "Yes". I fired up my stove and made some more Guides coffee and broke out some of the grub I had in my pack.Louis in turn got out a large bag of "Carne seca"(dried meat), this was the good stuff, slowly dried over a smoky mesquite fire - not the over priced, chemical filled "Jack links" type junk you get in the USA.

Taking a look at his injury, I had him clean it with some hand sanitizer and baby wipes, next I made some ointment for it by mixing crushed aspirin, garlic powder with a few drops of olive oil.

After he applied my home made ointment to his injury, we covered it with a bandage made from a napkin and some duct tape, which I peeled from my Nalgene brand bottle. All in all not a bad job for and adhoc first aid application. we couldn't do much for his torn pants other than sew them up but Louis declined the use of my sewing kit.

We sat there chatting over coffee and jerky , he showed my pictures of his wife and 3 boys in Maryland. I was told by him that he had been living and working in Maryland for 12 years , he was deported back to Honduras after being caught driving without a license.

Personally, I really appreciated the fact that he preferred to speak English to me instead of his native Spanish.

Louis told my that he had been traveling for 68 days since leaving his parents home in Honduras. He jumped the Border into Arizona at Nogales Mexico and had been walking across the Canelo(cinnamon)hills and Huachuca mountains for 4 days when I ran into him.

Being a world traveler, survival oriented, minimalist type of guy, 68 days of trekking is pretty impressive to me. He had only the clothing he was wearing,150 bucks of Mexican pesos, and a small day pack with some food, water and medicines in it.

No Knife, shelter, maps, etc. It impresses me that Louis would take off alone across an unknown range of mountains with very little in the way of equipment.Shoot... he still had to get past the Border Patrol, and get all the way back to Maryland to be with his family again. I'm not sure but it has to be around 2000 miles to Maryland from this part of Arizona.

After answering a few of his questions about the town of sierra vista, and filling his water bottle in the stream, Louis shouldered his pack, and handed me the rest of his "Carne seca" as a gift for helping him. I wished him "Bueno suerte" and "adios".

The last I saw of this tough little Indian guy was as he took off at a trot over the hill heading for town. I dont agree with Illegal immigration but, I have a grudging admiration for the guts and desire it takes to complete the type of trek Louis had made. I hope he makes it.

See you on the trail,

Tomahawk

Once upon a time in Afghanistan...............

 I am "on post" in a guard tower at a F.O.B. in Northern Afghanistan, the night is blacker than 4 feet up a bulls ass. My AK-47 is slung on my chest, resting on the trauma plate  of my body armor. I have a bacon sandwich in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other , I'm listening to "Black Betty" by Ram Jam via my Mp3 player, and all the while scanning my area of responsibility through night vision goggles. For me it doesn't get much better!, I cant believe I get paid to do this!

Tomahawk

Life in the raw

Im often asked why I choose to live life "in the raw" in remote places or 3rd world countries...Well, To borrow a few words from "Magnum PI"; "When counting the assets of a paradise, you have to start with geographical and bio diversity". Take the Sonoran desert for instance; a few miles miles in any direction and you've been to the hills of Montana, a tropical jungle in the Philippines, the ranches of Texas, or even the Moon from the beginning of time. its Impressive. I like the idea of living in such a place.

What I don't like (now) are the narrow minded and PC people who seem to have swarmed this area in my absence. In addition ,I dont like or understand, the crazy cost of living here and in Mexico, or anywhere in Latin America for that matter. What happened to having a good time, living cheap  ,relaxing, and just being part of the ecosystem called America. I am afraid we as a people have morphed into something I no longer recognize. It is sad indeed.

So,as therapy for myelf, im going to sit cross legged on the ground in front of the fire "indian style", relax, reconnect with nature, then go to town, be as NON PC as I can be. Sometimes you just need to just get out of the woods, chase girls, get drunk, get into a fight, eat good food, speak a different language, drive a long ways ,and piss off border guards on both sides of the fence. Then, maybe, ill take a hike in the hills and journey to the "moon".


Tomahawk

George Orwell, "Down and out in Paris and London"

Down and Out in Paris and London is by far my favorite George Orwell story.
 it his only work in the Picaro esq gerera, additionally,it is his first full-length work. Published in 1933. It is ^{his personal account}  in two parts on the theme of poverty in the two cities. The first part is an account of living on the breadline in Paris and the experience of casual labour in restaurant kitchens. The second part is a travelogue of life on the road in and around London from the tramp's perspective, with descriptions of the types of hostel accommodation available and some of the characters to be found living on the margins.

After giving up his post as a policeman in Burma to become a writer, Orwell moved to rooms in Portobello Road, London at the end of 1927. While contributing to various journals, he undertook investigative tramping expeditions in and around London, collecting material for use in "The Spike", his first published essay, and for the latter half of Down and Out in Paris and London. In spring of 1928 he moved to Paris and lived at 6 Rue du Pot de Fer in the Latin Quarter, a bohemian quarter with a cosmopolitan flavour. American writers like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald had lived in the same area. Following the Russian Revolution there was a large Russian emigre community in Paris. Orwell's Aunt Nellie Limouzin also lived in Paris and gave him social and, when necessary, financial support. He led an active social life, worked on his novels and had several articles published in avant-garde journals.

Orwell fell seriously ill in March 1929 and shortly afterwards had money stolen from the lodging house. The thief was probably not the young Italian described in Down and Out. In a later account, he said the theft was the work of a young trollop that he had picked up and brought back with him; it has been submitted that "consideration for his parents' sensibilities would have required the suppression of this misadventure. Whoever reduced Orwell to destitution did him a good turn; his final ten weeks in Paris sowed the seed of his first published book."Whether through necessity or just to collect material, and probably both, he undertook casual work as a dishwasher in restaurants.

 In August 1929 he sent a copy of "The Spike" to the Adelphi magazine in London, and it was accepted for publication. Orwell left Paris in December 1929 and returned to England, going straight home to his parents' house in Southwold. Later he acted as a private tutor to a handicapped child there and also undertook further tramping expeditions, culminating in a stint working in the Kent hop fields in August and September 1931. After this adventure, he ended up in the Tooley Street kip, which he found so unpleasant that he wrote home for money and moved to more comfortable lodgings.