Other editions of book Shelters, Shacks and Shanties

Here is the original 19th century manual that helped pioneering Americans homestead a continent—with detailed instructions on how to build birch bark or tar paper shacks, a sawed-lumber shanty, a sod house, log cabins and much more.Whether you are a student of history, a screenwriter looking for authentic details or a modern homesteader looking for authentic advice on how to build the way our grandparents did, then D.C. Beard’s manual is just what you’re looking for. It includes information on:How to use an axeHow to split logsHow to flatten a logHow to build a Navajo HoganHow to cut and notch logsHow to build a notched ladderHow to make cabin doors and door-latches.The American log cabinA Fisherman’s cabinAnd much, much more.Go back to basics with this classic of American ingenuity!

Originally published in 1914, this handbook is still as essential for the modern builder as it was for the homesteader of the last century. This guide contains step-by-step instructions for building “worry-free” shelters, including special settings such as a sod house, a tree house, an “over-water” camp, a bog ken, and much more. The passionate builder will find illustrated instructions for comforts such as hearths and chimneys, notched log ladders, and even how to rig the front door with a secret lock.

As this book is written for boys of all ages, it has been divided under two general heads, "The Tomahawk Camps" and "The Axe Camps," that is, camps which may be built with no tool but a hatchet, and camps that will need the aid of an axe.The smallest boys can build some of the simple shelters and the older boys can build the more difficult ones. The reader may, if he likes, begin with the first of the book, build his way through it, and graduate by building the log houses; in doing this he will be closely following the history of the human race, because ever since our arboreal ancestors with prehensile toes scampered among the branches of the pre-glacial forests and built nestlike shelters in the trees, men have made themselves shacks for a temporary refuge. But as one of the members of the Camp-Fire Club of America, as one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, and as the founder of the Boy Pioneers of America, it would not be proper for the author to admit for one moment that there can be such a thing as a camp without a camp-fire, and for that reason the tree folks and the "missing link" whose remains were found in Java, and to whom the scientists gave the awe-inspiring name of Pithecanthropus erectus, cannot be counted as campers, because they did not know how to build a camp-fire; neither can we admit the ancient maker of stone implements, called eoliths, to be one of us, because he, too, knew not the joys of a camp-fire. But there was another fellow, called the Neanderthal man, who lived in the ice age in Europe and he had to be a camp-fire man or freeze! As far as we know, he was the first man to build a camp-fire. The cold weather made him hustle, and hustling developed him. True, he did cook and eat his neighbors once in a while, and even split their bones for the marrow; but we will forget that part and just remember him as the first camper in Europe.

First published in 1914, Daniel Carter Beard’s “Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties” is the definitive guide to building survival shelters in the outdoors. Beard was the founding member of the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, which merged with the Boy Scouts of America upon its founding in 1910. Beard began his career as an engineer and surveyor, as well as a trained artist, and he illustrated many works, including some for Mark Twain. He was also an avid outdoorsman, youth leader, social reformer, and prolific author of articles and books for the Boy Scouts, as well as wilderness and survival guides. In his "Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties” Beard provides detailed and easy to understand instruction on how to build everything including a teepee, a log cabin, a tree house, and a beaver hut. This invaluable guide helps the reader to build any manner of essential shelter in numerous difficult environments without requiring any more special training than the ability to use an axe. As useful as it was when first written over 100 years ago, this brilliant guide belongs in the library of every outdoor adventurer.

As this book is written for boys of all ages, it has been divided under two general heads, "The Tomahawk Camps" and "The Axe Camps," that is, camps which may be built with no tool but a hatchet, and camps that will need the aid of an axe.The smallest boys can build some of the simple shelters and the older boys can build the more difficult ones. The reader may, if he likes, begin with the first of the book, build his way through it, and graduate by building the log houses; in doing this he will be closely following the history of the human race, because ever since our arboreal ancestors with prehensile toes scampered among the branches of the pre-glacial forests and built nestlike shelters in the trees, men have made themselves shacks for a temporary refuge. But as one of the members of the Camp-Fire Club of America, as one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, and as the founder of the Boy Pioneers of America, it would not be proper for the author to admit for one moment that there can be such a thing as a camp without a camp-fire, and for that reason the tree folks and the "missing link" whose remains were found in Java, and to whom the scientists gave the awe-inspiring name of Pithecanthropus erectus, cannot be counted as campers, because they did not know how to build a camp-fire; neither can we admit the ancient maker of stone implements, called eoliths, to be one of us, because he, too, knew not the joys of a camp-fire. But there was another fellow, called the Neanderthal man, who lived in the ice age in Europe and he had to be a camp-fire man or freeze! As far as we know, he was the first man to build a camp-fire. The cold weather made him hustle, and hustling developed him. True, he did cook and eat his neighbors once in a while, and even split their bones for the marrow; but we will forget that part and just remember him as the first camper in Europe.

Although this fine book was meant orginaly for boys to build something beyond a scrap lumber club house, or create something more interesting out of a pile of loose brush, than a child's imagined fort, the wisdom is ageless for all to apply as a survival skill, or a temporary refuge. This is a practical, hands-on guide by one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America and a joy to read.Over 332 illustrations and clear, easy-to-follow text make this an invaluable book.

Originally published in 1914, Shelters, Shacks and Shanties presents step-by-step tutelage on all aspects of outdoor accommodation. D. C. Beard explains how to construct a variety of worry-free shelters appropriate to a natural environment that is by turns both friendly and foreboding. Included are a sod house for the lawn, a treetop house, over-water camps, and an American log cabin. Fully recognizing that the outdoorsman builds a shelter with the intention of inhabiting it, Beard explains how to build hearths and chimneys, notched log ladders, and even how to rig secret locks. Illustrated throughout with instructional line drawings, Shelters, Shacks and Shanties harkens back to the can-do spirit of the American frontier and belongs in the knapsack of every modern scout, young and old alike.

-included Author's biography, Daniel Carter Beard, one of the founders (1910) of the Boy Scouts of America.Shelters, Shacks, and Shanties was written and illustrated by Beard in 1914. It has 338 pen and ink drawings, along with instructions for a wide range of shelters, from the simplest and most basic — structures built with nothing but a hatchet — to gradually more elaborate constructions using an axe. It’s addressed to “boys of all ages” and is of special interest to homesteaders or anyone else thinking about putting a simple roof overhead.ContentsI. Where to Find Mountain Goose. How to Pick and Use Its FeathersII. The Half-Cave ShelterIII. How to Make the Fallen-Tree Shelter and the Scout-MasterIV. How to Make the Adirondack, the Wick-Up, the Bark Teepee, the Pioneer, and the ScoutV. How to Make Beaver-Mat Huts, or Fagot Shacks, without Injury to the TreesVI. Indian Shacks and SheltersVII. Birch Bark or Tar Paper ShackVIII. Indian Communal HousesIX. Bark and Tar PaperX. A Sawed-Lumber ShantyXI. A Sod House for the LawnXII. How to Build Elevated Shacks, Shanties, and SheltersXIII. The Bog KenXIV. Over-Water CampsXV. Signal-Tower, Game Lookout, and Rustic ObservatoryXVI. Tree-Top HousesXVII. CachesXVIII. How to Use an AxeXIX. How to Split Logs, Make Shakes, Splits, or Clapboards. How to Chop a Log in Half. How to Flatten a Log. Also Some Don'tsXX. Axemen's CampsXXI. Railroad-Tie Shacks, Barrel Shacks, and ChimehuevisXXII. The BarabaraXXIII. The Navajo Hogan, Hornaday Dugout, and Sod HouseXXIV. How to Build an American Boy's HoganXXV. How to Cut and Notch LogsXXVI. Notched Log LaddersXXVII. A Pole House. How to Use a Cross-Cut Saw and a FroeXXVIII. Log-Rolling and Other Building StuntsXXIX. The Adirondack Open Log Camp and a One-Room CabinXXX. The Northland Tilt and Indian Log TentXXXI. How to Build the Red Jacket, the New Brunswick, and the Christopher GistXXXII. Cabin Doors and Door-Latches, Thumb-Latches and Foot Latches and How to Make ThemXXXIII. Secret LocksXXXIV. How to Make the Bow-Arrow Cabin Door and Latch and the Deming Twin Bolts, Hall, and BillyXXXV. The Aures Lock LatchXXXVI. The American Log CabinXXXVII. A Hunter's or Fisherman's CabinXXXVIII. How to Make a Wyoming Olebo, a Hoko River Olebo, a Shake Cabin, a Canadian Mossback, and a Two-Pen or Southern Saddle-Bag HouseXXXIX. Native Names for the Parts of a Kanuck Log Cabin, and How to Build OneXL. How to Make a Pole House and How to Make a Unique but Thoroughly American Totem Log HouseXLI. How to Build a Susitna Log Cabin and How to Cut Trees for the End PlatesXLII. How to Make a Fireplace and Chimney for a Simple Log CabinXLIII. Hearthstones and FireplacesXLIV. More Hearths and FireplacesXLV. Fireplaces and the Art of Tending the FireXLVI. The Building of the Log HouseXLVII. How to Lay a Tar Paper, Birch Bark, or Patent RoofingXLVIII. How to Make a Concealed Log Cabin Inside of a Modern HouseXLIX. How to Build Appropriate Gateways for Grounds Enclosing Log Houses, Game Preserves, Ranches, Big Country Estates, and Last but not Least Boy Scouts' Camp Ground