By: Bears Butt

The central part of America is covered with grasses that sometimes grow to two feet tall.  In the early days of the white man they were covered with buffalo and other prairie animals.  Much of this area is now considered the American wheat belt.  But, back then and even before the white man came onto the scene, the Native Americans that lived there had to be very careful with fire.  We all know what a wild fire can do when burning in tall dry grass.  Fires tend to create their own winds and those winds whip and throw ashes and burning debris for miles.

Alright, think of your self as a Native American way back when.  You have a buffalo down that you and your buddies just killed.  You all have worked up a tremendous appetite and would like some buffalo strips cooked up just right.  Since you guys have been so busy with the killing job, your mother or wife or girlfriend have been watching and know that once the animal is down it will be their job to get it all cut up and some of it served to their strong, brave men.

But, a fire built out on the ground, even if it is surrounded by a ring of rocks will only catch the dry grass on fire and burn for days and days.  Scattering the large herds of buffalo that you so much depend on for your own survival.

So, how do you build a fire in order to cook some meat and keep the flames from catching the grass on fire.

You dig a hole in the ground that’s what you do.  A small hole say 8 inches across at the most, smaller is a bit better say 5 inches across.  The depth? Probably from your finger tips to your elbow would do.

Now let’s think about this for a minute.  In order to burn properly, a fire needs oxygen right.  How on earth will the fire in this hole get oxygen?  It will just sit down in their and smolder and smoke and do us no good.

Ok, let’s dig another hole next to the one we just dug and connect the two with a “tunnel” hole near the bottom of each hole.  Get to work.  Dig, dig, dig.  Now for the tunnel hole, be careful not to cave in the tunnel.

In practice you will get to know just how far apart these two parallel holes should be.  Now you can start a fire in one of the holes and the oxygen will be drawn in and under your fire from the other hole and through the tunnel.  This fire will burn very efficiently and with little or no smoke.  All of the fire building material you toss in on the fire will burn up leaving just fine dusty ashes.

This small opening fire will allow even short sticked hot dog cookers to be used without burning up your expensive gloves and so, you can now trust Edjukateer to once again employee his unique abilities to gather a few hot dog sticks.

Another plus for this sort of fire is your ability to fill the holes up after you are done cooking your meal and you will know the likelihood of the fire rekindling itself after you leave the area is pretty close to nill.  And after you have filled in the holes and kicked around any loose dirt on the surface, you can rake the area with a fallen branch or sage and completely cover any tracks of you being there.

Trust me on this one, you will play heck getting to use this technique on a late muzz mule deer hunt in the Crawfords, but it get your noggin thinking about how you might be able to build one using other materials to acquire the same end result.

It’s called a “Dakota Hole Fire” and here is a video to show you how it all works.

Actually, I think I prefer the hot dog sticks I already have so Edjukateer, never mind.

Bears Butt

July 1, 2012

Written on July 1st, 2012 , Uncategorized

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BearsButt.com | Stories, Ramblings & Random Stuff From an Old Mountain Man

Just some of my old stories, new stories, and in general what is going on in my life.