Chapter 12: Battle, Fire, and Plague in England

Activities for this chapter

• learn about Goody Glover https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Glover

• make a fire starting kit: tinderbox, char cloth, and tinder from jute, see: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2015/02/10/the-ultimate-firestarter-how-to-make-char-cloth/, http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-char-cloth/?ALLSTEPS

• learn how to start a fire with a steel and flint (we will use ferrocerium rods), char cloth, and tinder nest

• instructions and safety precautions: 

How to Make Char Cloth
Make sure you have your parents’ permission and they know whenever you are working with fire. 

Cut small squares of 100 % cotton fabric.  Be absolutely sure it is 100% cotton—look at the label.  Make sure there are no seams in your fabric squares, because the polyester thread in the seams might melt, seal the hole in the tin, and cause the tin to explode from accumulated gas. 

Lay the fabric squares in your tin without rolling or folding them.  Close the tin (don’t close too tightly—that way if there is any issue with accumulated gas, the lid will just pop open rather than explode). 

Using tongs, place the tin on a bed of hot coals with the hole up.  Watch for the gas escaping from the hole (and along the seams in the tin) to ignite.  When the flame goes out, turn the tin over to make sure the cloth is charred through and there are no more flames coming from the seams of the tin. 

Take the tin out from the coals and set aside to cool.  DO NOT OPEN!  The inrush of oxygen could ignite the hot char cloth if you open the tin.  Wait a few hours or overnight to be absolutely safe before opening.  Keep your char cloth dry.  It is slow-burning and has a low ignition point—perfect for catching the smallest spark and starting a fire.

How to Light a Tinder Bundle
Make sure you have your parents’ permission and they know that you will be lighting fires with tinder bundles (which can flame up dramatically).  It’s a very good idea for an adult to be present. 

Have a container of water at the ready to put out fire. 

Have a fireproof receptacle, such as a metal can, where you can quickly drop the flaming tinder bundle (or your campfire wood pyramid at the ready). 

Tie your hair back. 

Roll up your sleeves. 

Make a tinder “nest” of shredded bark, jute cord, pine needles, or any easily flammable natural material. 

If using a ferrocerium rod, place the char cloth in the tinder bundle nest, and scrape the ferrocerium sparks into the char cloth.  Once the char cloth is smoldering, fold the tinder bundle around the char cloth.  Make sure that the fireproof receptacle or campfire pyramid is right there at the ready and immediately below the smoldering tinder bundle you are holding.  Hold the tinder bundle away from your face (make sure it is straight across from your face and not below—when the tinder bundle catches fire the flames will shoot up and around).  Blow steadily and vigorously, if there is a breeze, take advantage of it.  The more forcefully you blow, the further away from your face the bundle can be, and that is good.  In any case, better to let it go out and try again than bring it too close.  There will be more and more smoke, and at one point it will dramatically catch fire.  When it does, drop it in the fireproof receptacle or campfire pyramid. 

Remember, ferrocerium sparks are hotter than other kinds of sparks, and therefore more flammable—if they land on your jeans or shoes they are more likely to start a fire than sparks from a wood fire.  Likewise, the char cloth has a low ignition point and will start burning more easily than other materials.  Further, if you are using magnesium flakes to increase the flammability of your tinder bundle you might have to take extra precautions.  You may not be able to hold the tinder bundle in your hand in such a case. 

If using traditional flint and steel you will have to hold the char cloth right below your steel as you scrape it.  Once the char cloth catches a spark and starts to smolder, then place it in the tinder bundle nest, fold it in, and follow the instructions above.

• making charcoal is a similar process, here are some links: http://survivial-training.wonderhowto.com/how-to/make-your-own-charcoal-0148846/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcoal, http://www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~scsharip/Charcoal.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_Charcoal_Kiln, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Quattro_Volte

• a movie related to this chapter--Winstanley; also, the series--Cromwell in Ireland (I have seen neither, so cannot opine)

What we did

we tried out an old-fashioned lighter:

we made sparks with rocks (any hard rock will spark--light colored rocks tend to be hard) in a dark room:

we started to make our own fire kits, first we made a tinder nest out of a piece of jute cord:

making a hole in the tin box to make char cloth:

the tin boxes in the fire pit:

in this picture you can clearly see the combustion of the gases escaping from the hole in the tin box:

just about done:

one of the fire kits--tin box, char cloth, and lengths of jute:

everyone successfully started a fire using a ferrocerium rod, char cloth, and tinder nest!