In most ways, our lives are a cakewalk to the people who toughed it out in the wild two hundred years ago. Now, we have the convenience of modern medicine, indoor plumbing, technology… life doesn’t have to be a daily battle for survival.

These brave survivalists were the ones laboring their crops on unfamiliar land, struggling to store food to last a winter. Drought meant potential starvation, not just geographic inconvenience. They were the ones living in a world with a plethora of contagious diseases and miserable living conditions.

In all reality, the men and women of the frontier were remarkable just for making it to middle age. But there are some individuals that managed to live note-worthy lives in addition to that.

Take a look at the eight survivalists from the past that braved the wilderness!

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