The Forager's Path - School of Botanical Studies

Yucca and Primitive Fire Making

I am pleased to share a chapter from a new book written by my good friend and colleague, Tony Nester. For 20+ years, Tony has trained folks from all walks of life in outdoor survival and wilderness skills. I have had the good fortune of working with Tony for the past several years and have been continually impressed by his depth of knowledge and deep connection to nature. I hope you enjoy his latest writing on the many uses of yucca.

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When Yucca Was King by Tony Nester

“Arizona Herbal medicine” “Sedona herbal medicine” “Phoenix herbal medicine” “Colorado herbal medicine” “Las Vegas herbal medicine” “Prescott herbal medicine” “Flagstaff herbal medicine” “Oak Creek Canyon” “New Mexico herbal medicine” “Flagstaff essential oil” “Flagstaff essential oils” “Flagstaff aromatherapy” “Prescott essential oil” “Prescott essential oils” “Prescott aromatherapy” “Sedona essential oil” “Sedona essential oils” “Sedona aromatherapy” “Phoenix essential oil” “Phoenix essential oils” “Phoenix aromatherapy” “Las Vegas essential oil” “Las Vegas essential oils” “Las Vegas aromatherapy”

Yucca, Spanish bayonet, datil, soapweed—all names for one of the most important plant resources used by ancient peoples in the Southwest. There was a time when yucca was king and it literally wove together the day-to-day life of the prehistoric cultures. If you were an ancient traveler in the desert regions a thousand years ago, yucca would have been a critical plant ally providing the means to fashion rope, tump lines, baskets, sandals, fire by friction, soap, medicine, and offering carbohydrate-rich fruits. It was and still is a tremendously utilized plant in the Southwest though its applications today, amongst native peoples, are now most often associated with basketry.

A member of the Lily family, the genus Yucca includes about 40 species, most of which are found in the Southwest and Mexico, although some species are indigenous to the southeastern United States and the Caribbean islands. Yucca grows on windswept mesas, in the low desert, and can even be found up to 8500 feet on the San Francisco Peaks of northern Arizona.

One use for this amazing plant is in the area of primitive fire making—otherwise known as the art of rubbing two sticks together. Archeological “Arizona Herbal medicine” “Sedona herbal medicine” “Phoenix herbal medicine” “Colorado herbal medicine” “Las Vegas herbal medicine” “Prescott herbal medicine” “Flagstaff herbal medicine” “Oak Creek Canyon” “New Mexico herbal medicine” “Flagstaff essential oil” “Flagstaff essential oils” “Flagstaff aromatherapy” “Prescott essential oil” “Prescott essential oils” “Prescott aromatherapy” “Sedona essential oil” “Sedona essential oils” “Sedona aromatherapy” “Phoenix essential oil” “Phoenix essential oils” “Phoenix aromatherapy” “Las Vegas essential oil” “Las Vegas essential oils” “Las Vegas aromatherapy”evidence indicates that the predominant method of fire making used throughout the Southwest, before the Bic, was the friction method called the hand-drill.

I remember the first time I used yucca for fire making in the old way. It was on a 10-day primitive walkabout in central Arizona where a friend and I were relying solely on the ancient skills used in the Southwest without the aid of any modern gear. With sunset upon us and a cold night ahead, we were on a quest for fire and sought out a cluster of narrow leaf yuccas with dead stalks.

“Arizona Herbal medicine” “Sedona herbal medicine” “Phoenix herbal medicine” “Colorado herbal medicine” “Las Vegas herbal medicine” “Prescott herbal medicine” “Flagstaff herbal medicine” “Oak Creek Canyon” “New Mexico herbal medicine” “Flagstaff essential oil” “Flagstaff essential oils” “Flagstaff aromatherapy” “Prescott essential oil” “Prescott essential oils” “Prescott aromatherapy” “Sedona essential oil” “Sedona essential oils” “Sedona aromatherapy” “Phoenix essential oil” “Phoenix essential oils” “Phoenix aromatherapy” “Las Vegas essential oil” “Las Vegas essential oils” “Las Vegas aromatherapy”

After cutting down a weathered stalk with my blade, I sharpened the pithy stalk into a flat fire board and carved out a small hole with a notch. This hole would receive a spindle made from another thin yucca stalk. Thirty seconds of twirling the spindle into the fire board and a glowing coal was produced which was then placed in a bundle of shredded cottonwood bark and blown into flame. We were no longer at the mercy of the cold and a dinner of cactus fruit, mesquite flour, and panfish cooked over the open flames never tasted so good.

Fire by friction is one skill that was certainly used by prehistoric peoples and making it with your own hands is an empowering feeling that connects you with an ancient timeline. Ever since that trip, I have always looked upon yucca with great appreciation and respect.

The hand-drill method universally employs three underlying principles that are critical to success:

1) Soft, non-resinous wood like yucca or cottonwood must be used.
2) A skillful combination of speed and downward pressure must be employed if the proper level of friction is to occur.
3) And lots of elbow grease coupled with hand callouses are involved.

“Arizona Herbal medicine” “Sedona herbal medicine” “Phoenix herbal medicine” “Colorado herbal medicine” “Las Vegas herbal medicine” “Prescott herbal medicine” “Flagstaff herbal medicine” “Oak Creek Canyon” “New Mexico herbal medicine” “Flagstaff essential oil” “Flagstaff essential oils” “Flagstaff aromatherapy” “Prescott essential oil” “Prescott essential oils” “Prescott aromatherapy” “Sedona essential oil” “Sedona essential oils” “Sedona aromatherapy” “Phoenix essential oil” “Phoenix essential oils” “Phoenix aromatherapy” “Las Vegas essential oil” “Las Vegas essential oils” “Las Vegas aromatherapy”

A couple of things become evident when you first undertake primitive fire making. The first is that you can give up your gym membership. The second is that you will never be caught in the wilds without a lighter! You wouldn’t want to perform this method if you were truly in a survival situation. Finally, a lot of “P’s” go into primitive fire making—perspiration, persistence, patience, practice, and, in the event of rain, prayer. Friction fire making certainly does give you a healthy respect for the day-to-day living skills used by our ancestors.

If you want to try this method of fire making, you will need three materials: a hand-drill, a fire board, and a tinder bundle.

First, cut a plant stalk for the drill. This needs to be about 16” long and made from yucca, sunflower, mullein, seep willow, arrow wood, or cattail. The most common material showing up in the ethnographic literature in Arizona is yucca. Back in Michigan I used mullein and cattail stalks.

Second, carve a flat fire board of soft, non-resinous wood such as yucca, cottonwood, aspen, or willow. Avoid resinous wood such as pine as the sap will cause convective cooling and not allow for the formation of a coal. Specimens from the Museum of Northern Arizona were made from yucca and juniper. My personal favorite is to use cottonwood for a fire board with a drill made from a seep-willow stalk.

Third, construct a tinder bundle from the fluffy shredded bark of a dead juniper or cottonwood tree. Form it into a bird’s nest and use it to cradle the coal before sending it on its way to flame.

Finally, practice, practice, practice—this is a skill that the ancient peoples of the Southwest used on a daily basis so it takes time to develop proficiency. Oh yeah, lots of caveman grunting helps too.

Another use for yucca is to make soap. It doesn’t take much to create some quick suds for your hair or hands. The entire plant contains saponins and is one of the few wild plants that can be used as a soap substitute. When out on a long primitive trek with a group, my students often strongly encourage each other to gather some yucca root after day four!

The waxy green coating on yucca leaves can be utilized for a quickie lather. When I make rope from the inner fibers of yucca, I always save this green fuzz. This is easily shaved off with a stone flake or a knife held at a right angle. The most concentrated soap, however, can be had from the yucca root. Rather than dig up or injure an entire plant just for a small root section, I prefer to look for yuccas overhanging rock faces or outcroppings where the roots are already exposed. I then carefully cut a small thumb-sized piece as this will not damage the plant. Better yet, look for yuccas that have been uprooted by skunks or javelinas. Even roots from dead yuccas can be used. Next, the root is sliced up and then mashed in about two cups of water. Voila— wilderness shampoo. Who said you can’t smell good in the outback!

“Arizona Herbal medicine” “Sedona herbal medicine” “Phoenix herbal medicine” “Colorado herbal medicine” “Las Vegas herbal medicine” “Prescott herbal medicine” “Flagstaff herbal medicine” “Oak Creek Canyon” “New Mexico herbal medicine” “Flagstaff essential oil” “Flagstaff essential oils” “Flagstaff aromatherapy” “Prescott essential oil” “Prescott essential oils” “Prescott aromatherapy” “Sedona essential oil” “Sedona essential oils” “Sedona aromatherapy” “Phoenix essential oil” “Phoenix essential oils” “Phoenix aromatherapy” “Las Vegas essential oil” “Las Vegas essential oils” “Las Vegas aromatherapy”Using yucca to make fire in the old way or to weave with are ways of gaining a deeper connection to the desert landscape as well as providing insight into prehistoric living that you can’t get walking through a museum. Every environment found in North American had a key plant or animal resource that stood out above the others and became the crucial link for the ancient cultures to thrive in that region. For the Plains Indians it was the buffalo, for the Inuit of the interior Arctic it was the caribou, for Northwest Coast tribes it was the cedar tree and salmon. In the Southwest, it was yucca. Yucca was king.

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This article is an excerpt from the book, Life Under Open Skies: Adventures in Bushcraft by Tony Nester. Tony operates the Ancient Pathways Survival School in Flagstaff, AZ. He has served as a consultant for the NTSB, FAA, Travel Channel, NY Times, Backpacker Magazine, and the film Into the Wild. For years he wrote a popular monthly column for Outside Magazine and his freelance writing is frequently featured in numerous print publications. For information on field courses or books, visit http://www.apathways.com

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