Posted by Pvt. Chauncey on January 27, 2002 at 19:07:37:
For those of you who get BBC 2, especially you folks in England (Adele???), you might be interested in tuning this coming Thursday 31 January at 8:00pm.
Ray Mears, extreme survivalist, "following his boyhood hero Robert Rogers, a frontiersman who achieved fame for an incredible feat of wilderness survival." Ray Mears and the BBC came here in October for this episode of his series. Ray spent a great deal of time recreating the Rangers' desperate return in 1759 from their raid on St. Francis, when so many of them died of starvation. In particular he follows Rogers' footsteps, finds the food and used tools such as Rogers' had, to get himself to Fort 4 to save the lives of his men.
The BBC contacted me nearly a year ago for help in the right people to talk to, to help make it happen, and to see if we would participate in the filming reenacting those starving and desperate rangers. We did this filming in October, on the Crown Point road, opposite the Connecticut River from Fort 4. A beautiful setting, as was most of Mears' film sites.
Unfortunately, that time slot conflict with 'Who Want to be a Millionaire'. :>))
I hope you all over there get to see it. Look for me -- I'm in the blue bonnet (and I'm NOT the shortest of the men, believe kit or not). If you see feet walking over a small log or through the leaves in black colonial shoes with brass buckles, and the toe piece of leather leggings, that's me too!!
The link below tells you more about the real history and our own little trek following Rogers' footsteps.
YMHOS,
Pvt. Chauncey
Rogers' Rangers
Rogers' Own Coy.