Gourd canteen

[tom mesa]

This is a find at St Charles Louis & Clark Rendezvous back in '87. Still hold water.

 

[DaveC]

I had a couple bottle gourds from an in-law's garden that were not cured properly. The first one broke when I was rattling around small stones to try to get at the dried pulp/ innards. Too brittle. The second one I just swirled the interior with a couple melted bars of beeswax and poured out the excess. No nasty, bitter flavors in the water. I've contrived a carry sling trying to protect it somewhat, since it is brittle like the first one I broke. I need to replace the cork with a dried corn cob at some point too. A steep learning curve to make, but not too difficult. I tried to grow the seeds, but none took root where I live.