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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Nov 5, 2008, at 12:50 PM, bob ford wrote:

> Don, one time I was hunting along the stream bed of a wooded area of  
> a farmer's land.  I drank from thwe beautiful clear water of the  
> stream.. 'Walked up aways , bloated dead cow in stream, possum  
> crawled out of its butt ..

And you appear to have not died. At least not all of you.

All surface water is rife with bacteria. As even with the water you  
now drink, no matter city water or bottled, the key to health safety  
is the percentage of bacteria and your state of health when you drink  
it. The water in Hurricane Creek has bacteria "too numerous to count."  
Beavers had populated the upper reaches, so the water is also full of  
giardia.

Btw, for others in a similar good circumstances, which is to say with  
abundant surface water, I learned this summer of an apparently sure  
cure for giardiasis--our old friend, garlic. Raw garlic. Mince two or  
three cloves, put it into a glass, add water, swish it around, drink  
it. Do this on an empty stomach and two or three hours before your  
next meal. Repeat daily until symptoms disappear. One dose does it for  
me.

Think of the pioneers, traveling a few miles each day, stopping to  
camp when possible by a spring or a stream, replenishing their  
supplies. 'Course we don't know how many died along the way.