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their own bread over a campfire, Conway insists, “This way of life is easier. It's happy.
What's hard is paying bills and stress.”
THE LAST AMERICAN MAN?
Wildlife artist Sallie Middleton told Eustace Conway on his 30th birthday, “You are
the most interesting man I have ever met.” Lots of people would have to agree, in-
cluding Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote a book about him called The Last American
Man . “He represents the kind of freedom we all secretly crave,” Gilbert says. “He
runs his life on his own terms, and we all want that.” A few of the terms under which
Conway, now in his mid-40s, has lived his life:
He lived in a tepee for 17 winters.
At 18, he canoed 1,000 miles on the Mississippi River.
When he was 19, he hiked the Appalachian Trail, living off the land as he
went.
He crossed the country on horseback from Georgia to San Diego in 103
days, setting a new record.
He has eaten everything he could catch, including grubs, ant larvae, squirrel
(“excellent,” he notes), possum, beaver, raccoon (“very good”), and raw
porcupine (“I was starving”).
He once taught a Native American tribe some of its own forgotten skills.
It was in 1987 that Conway founded Turtle Island Preserve, an environmental education
center and wildlife preserve near Boone, North Carolina, which has been described as a “wild
monastery.” All the buildings on its historically accurate farmstead are hand-carved, hand-
pegged, and hand-built by Conway himself from material he harvested right there on the land.
As he likes to say, “With a few sticks and bones we can wake up your world!”
A variety of courses is offered during the spring, summer, and fall. The five-day pro-
grams are generally offered every other month during these three seasons. Check the website
for specific dates. Turtle Island workshops cost $180 per day for adults, $100 for kids 7 to 18;
children 6 and under are free. Long-term internships of a year or longer are also available.
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