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The Foxfire Museum is located in Mountain City, Georgia, just below Franklin North Carolina. They have a web site at http://www.foxfire.org/index.html. Looks like they are up to a dozen books in the series now, I may be missing the latest one, actually. This entire geographic area around Rabun and White counties of Georgia and a number of counties of North Carolina, extending over into Tennessee as well, is rich in folk lore and the history of the hard lives these mountain people had. This is the center of native mountain music, which transformed over the years into Grand Old Oprey, Chet Atkins, Flatt and Scruggs, and the modern transfiguration of "country" music. Some of the very best true "Blue Grass" music still is played in these areas. Wonderful stuff.

I might be wrong about the "Foxfire" connection, since I clearly remember it was Northern California. The guy was happy as a lark when his wife cooked up a big, greasy raccoon one day.

The thing that amazed me the most wasn't that there was some loon living in Northern California like his ancestors might have, but that he found a woman to do it with him, and they had kids.

I still wonder what happened to that tribe. It was in the same era as the Foxfire books, anyway.

I haven't seen a copy of any of the Foxfire books in at least a dozen years-many enough for me.
Best,
Ted

For as long as the big bang doesn't happen.

The Foxfire series of books started with "The Foxfire Book" with later editions becoming "Foxfire 2" etc. I bought the original through Foxfire 6 as a set & later bought Foxfire 8. I do not know how high they go but do recall seeing #10. They were originated by Eliot Wigginton, who in 1966 had just completed 5 yrs at Cornell with an A.B. in English & an M.A in teaching. He then located to a 240 pupil, Raybun Gap-Nacoochee school where he taught 9th & 10th grade English & Geography & in his words had about 10 other "Side Resposibilities". Raybun Gap is located in North Eastern GA in the southern end of the Appalacian range close to the NC border. In his words his first few weeks of a "Cornell Hotshot" teaching Mountain kids was a catastrophic "Flop". Realizing if he was going to survive the year he had to come up with something different, he walked in the classroom one day & asked "How would you like to throw away the textbook & publish a magazine". After due consideration "Foxfire" was chosen. For those not familar, not a too scientific description, but Foxfire is a fungus which grows on rotting wood, containing phosphourous I believe & glows in dim light, Basis for many a good "Mountain Ghost Story". Anyway the magazine became a sucess & led to the books. Mr Wigginton, carried his students throughtout the mountains of North GA, NC & I believe into Eastern TN interviewing the folks there & taking notes.
Foxfire 5 is the one to procure for iron making, blacksmithing, gunmaking (including BP) etc. The BP here as I recall was traditional with saltpeter, charcoal & sulphur, I was not familar with using Sugar. During the "War of Northern Agression" the people of Atlanta were encouraged to use a "Bedpan" for urine collection for the purpose of making "Southern BP", I do not believe it was stored for a year, before propelling "Many"-balls at them Yanks.
Incidently my Mother made Lye soap, but she bought "Merrywar or Red Devil" lye in a can. My Grandmother had a hopper & leached her own lye from ashes.
Anyone wants to read more of the squirrel shooting Granny it can be found in the July-August, 2007 issue of a little mag entitled "the Backwoodsman".

Seeing Miller's hometown of Lynchburg reminds me also of the rich heritage of whiskey making these very same mountain people passed down to us, surviving today in very well known brands of sour mash whiskey you may have heard of: Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, George Dickel, just to name a few of the fine distillations I have enjoyed. My favorite is Jim Beam Black label, like it even better than Black Jack. Oh, it's not terribly difficult to find "locally produced" spirits around Rabun Gap and/or Franklin even today.

When taking High School Chemistry in the late 50's ,our instructor had all of us make black powder and Rockets. We then had a contest on the Football Field to see whose Rocket would fly the best and highest.
Amazing how the PC types have changes the Society isnt it?

Darn shame Chief but your URL is shooting blanks. I have thought a lot about making black powder as I can't buy it here in Alaska.

My understanding is that willow/alder makes the best charcoal for the black. Alder and willow is not something we lack here in Alaska, black powder is.

I thank you fellows for helping out with the direction to which volume contained the information.

BIG AL, just Google Foxfire Museum, it'll give you something to get you there.

Thank you Chief. Foxfire

Urine was often used in the old old days of Europe, many times a priest provided the urine (gave it mystical power)which was mixed in to a paste, dried and then broken in to various size pieces. Urine turns to ammonia after a few hours.