Grandpa Simpson knew the value of a shilling...

 Belt rig made of bark tan leather. Closure button is a sleeve button made by Ward Oles
Axe and hoe made by Rick Guthrie

 Random Sporting image for ya....you can dress like this and kill 100 deer

High life below stairs....nice image of lower class folks....i think if you drank enough high life you would have the same look


 The Camp is green again, I mean really green. Like the forest moon of Endor green. The Ferns cover the ground hiding all the ore holes and the forest canopy is once again a great shield from..rain (what gives? It’s like god hates dry clothes).  Also for the record hunting shirts do not shed rain with the fringe. This was truly the brainchild of a person who never ventured into even a slight drizzle. Yes after a point the fringe does wick away water but this also the point everything on you is wicking away water.
        
      So With all the message board weirdness over the past few months I’ve started and restarted writing up a few blogs about my take on all the weirdness. Some were thoughtful critiques of some opposing schools of thought others were rants about the revolt against academic history by people who cling to rugged individualist ideals of a backcountry that didn’t exist. A few were straight up rants full of disdain and esoteric references like 4 people would get. Those were my favorites…But I sided on reason and figured I’d just break down some numbers for folks.

      Ok so you’re a hunter (long hunter/market hunter take your pick)  Ok, So why? Well why do people usually do anything, simple answer money. No matter how ya shake it the reason any of these guys did this was to make money. It wasn’t to spread the gospel, it wasn’t to spread the ideals of Liberty ,it was to make a living.  So looking at this as a business some basic principles of economics come into play. You need a market, a product, supplies and a way to move said product to market.

       So lets jump to the product: Half dressed Deer hides. The majority of these hides were destined for use in the construction of leather breeches or gloves (as well as in a a number of other consumer goods produced in the colonies and Europe) This was the occupation of hunters in the summer months. Summer killed deer produce a superior leather to that of winter killed hides.

      The reason for this is the fact that in the summer the follicles that hold the deer hair are smaller. The winter coat of white tail deer is made up of larger hair (larger follicles) to help create the dead air space that help keep the deer warm. Large follicles equals bigger holes in the hide equals bad leather..Simple?

      The winter months for the hunter was spent (even in the south) trapping beaver or other fur bearing animals for their pelts. Bear hunting for fat (grease) was also an important part of the trade. These activities plus things like cutting wood, helping clear land, etc made up the majority of the hunters year.
    Ok so now lets move on to a quote that breaks down the product pretty nicely. It’s from the Interview of Nathan Boone:
“The summer and fall hunt must have yielded entirely deer skins and these only half dressed. Graining means (if the Hair doesn’t get rubbed off) the scraping off of the hair and the grain, like a cussier leather; Then when dry the leather is rubbed across a staking board until it becomes somewhat soft; then it is said to be half-dressed and fit for compact packing. A heavily packed horse could carry about a hundred half-dressed deer skins of two pounds each.”
       Ok so here is a pretty specific definition of just what a half dressed hide is (process,weight) As well as a nice tidbit on just how much a horse could carry. To top if it off it’s from a guy whose dad was the king of the “Long hunters” so its pretty safe to say he might understand the family trade a little (of course he does say his dad was a good surveyor….and we all know how that turned out)
Now Mark Baker went into this area in his book “Sons of a Trackless Forest”(Mr. Baker in the off chance your reading this..two words for you 2Nd Printing the hobbie needs it!!!) but I’m going to go a little more into the subject. According to Morgan in 1768 the going rate for a half dressed deerskin was 1 shilling 6 pence per pound (quick reminder  12 pennies in a shilling 20 shillings in a pound)

***This description would also be usefull to folks wanting to make "bundles" of deerskins for trade scenerios. The Half dressed hide when stored in a dry place can last a long time***
    That means that the skins carried by 1 horse equaled around 10 pounds (not too shabby) now what about your overhead? I can here people now what do you mean overhead? Well Deer just don’t shoot themselves, except in Far side comics (Gary Larson reference..oh ya whose with me? No one?) Apart from the gun you’re going to need lead ball, powder, linen for patching and flints.
So lets look at the prices for gun related items at Fort Pitt in the 1760’s:
Rifle gun 7/10/0     A neat Fuzee  3/0/0
Lead 1 shilling 3 pence per pound
Powder 7 shillings 6  per pound
Patching linen  1/10 per yard
Powder horn/bag   7/6
Knife 1/3
Flints 2 pence
   Alright so without getting into the “average Rifle caliber” debate I’m going to go back to Baker’s research here. He uses Doddridge’s recollection of men carrying guns that shot “ more than 45 bullets to the pound”  so we’re lookin at a gun over .48 caliber.  SO personaly shooting a .62 caliber gun (roughly 20 balls to the pound) I’m going to need 5 lbs of lead (keeping in mind this is if I hit every deer with one shot and don’t get bored in camp and “shoot at a mark” with my fellow hunters while drinking shrub and have a chew/smoke…both of which I have to pay for)

     The powder for these shots also has to be considered the powder to lead ratio of two pounds lead to 1 pound of powder. This is also an x factor in the equation as what size charge did they use? This determines the amount of charges you get out of your horn. I know for example out of my 1 pound horn I get roughly 120 shots (I shoot 60 grains and have not had a problem knocking a deer down between 30-50 yards) The caveat here for me is I shoot “indian loads”  from descriptions it seems natives in the period  loaded half the powder of their white counterparts:
   William Clinkenbeard’s Interview “you could always tell an Indian gun. Never were so heavily loaded, nor sounded so loud, cracked flatter.”
      SO if you keep with the period ratio you’d need 2 ½ pounds of powder to shoot 100 deer.So we’ll say 3 lbs to keep the math even (and I haven’t found an entry for a half pound of powder) so all together your paying 1/5/ for the ammo to shoot 100 deer. Not so cheap

   Ok since man cannot live by lead alone You also have to take into consideration that clothes/gear break down, rip, rot and just fade away.  SO here is a rundown of what a basic “Doddridge”  inspired kit would cost you:

Shirt  (check shirt 12 shillings 10) Oznabrig shirt 15 shillings
Jacket  1/2/6
Handkerchief  5 shillings
Hunting shirt 1/2/6
Trousers    3 shilling 9 pence  /Leggings  9 shillings      /Breechclout 9 shillings
Shoes 10 shillings     /Moccasins    (1 dressed and smoked deerskin 8 shillings  2 awls 1 shilling)
Blanket a 3pt matchcoat 20 shillings
Kettle /6 shillings

    SO the basic kit of a shirt, jacket, hunting shirt, handkerchief, trousers, shoes, Blanket and a kettle is going to run you 4/12/7  SO add in a rifle, ammo, knife, horn and pouch and your looking at  overall expenses over 13 pounds!!! (not including the cost of flour, the horse, and the other items you’d need to conduct a longhunt)  So for the pack load of deer your already in the hole(is the free credit report.com band in your head right now?).
      Granted the cost of the rifle and a lot of the durble goods (***ecomnomics term!***) isn’t going to be in the expense that goes into every packhorse load of deer skins. However there is A LOT of items I haven’t factored in here. But certain costs are going to be fixed (like lead/powder)
 The idea of the Lone rugged hunter walking thru the woods  shunning cloth for his deerskin clothing, that didn’t need anything from anyone..is well…wrong.  One of the more famous “longhunter” quotes from one of the famous “Longhunts” is the carving by Bledsoe “2300 skins lost, ruination by God”   Stop and think about that for a second.  That’s possibly 160 pounds of lead ball (if they never missed) and 80 pounds of powder (and a hell of a lot of nettle woven cloth for patching…) Think about that next time you hear someone explain to the public they are a long hunter and carry everything they need for a long hunt on them. No wonder the poor guy needs a coverlet haversack so bad he has an extra 240 pounds of gear on him. Then again I have seen guys with an extra 240 pounds of gear on them but its normally in the form of squirrel cookers and giant iron “Celtic” blanket pins.

     Dang that’s a lot of numbers. Ok so whats this all mean? Well the simple numbers involved in “long hunting” and making money off it proves that this just wasn’t a fly by night operation.  The lead and powder to shoot 2300 deer was more than likely purchased thru store credit somewhere.  Not to mention all the gear needed to skin, process and haul the hides.   This is where I could go off on a tangent about 19th century ideas mixing with people’s Grandparents memories from depression era Appalachia and turning into a Grandpa Simpson like weird version of the past (“ I tied an onion to my pocket as was the style at the time”) But I’m not going to.

     And for the record if you spot any errors in my math drop me an email and I’ll correct it asap. Adding up 18th century foreign currency can make ya go cross eyed. To add a little more eye candy to this post I’ve put up a pic of a belt rig for a small game axe I sewed up. The rig is based off the Shelby Rig as well as a few other examples. It can be worn over the shoulder or as a belt. The axe was made by Iron Guru Rick “the godfather” Guthrie. I’ve used this axe to butcher a number of Deer over the past few years and honestly if you need something much bigger (blade is around 2 ¼  overall length is around 4 inches) I’d carry an axe.
 The smaller item is a Ginseng hoe based off an original Rick made. I purchased this a few years ago and was going to have a buddy handle it and just got it back a few months ago (lol still handleless) So I’m hoping to stash it in my pack later this season. Ginseng in Pennsylvania has its own season  http://www.wildgrown.com/index.php/Ginseng-Laws/State-Ginseng-Law/Pennsylvania-Ginseng-Law-and-Regulations.html    So like Boone I’ll be on the lookout for the plants while I hunt.
 Now its back to sewing and weaving. I also have a giant cupcake to make for Cindy since she’s 3 today. Man do I feel old.

Spotted scarves and Blue Plush OR How to Stroll in style...

Blue plush shot bag...I tie my lock cover and knife on the back of the strap

       Shot bag and Belt rig I made for my small game axe forged by Rick Guthrie. B&T spotted scarves underneath
 
    Jesus do I have a lot of catching up to do, SO in typical me fashion I have to admit I’ve been busy. The real world and my quasi job have been kicking my butt as of late. So Sorry to the folks who have been waiting for a new post (sorry Russ) but hopefully the stuff that have been kicking around in my skull will be worth the wait. Just what have I been up to? Let’s see canoe trip, Longhunter school, woodstime, reading and weaving like there is no tomorrow. Oh and don’t forget reading. SO this week I’m going to focus on getting all the stuff I wrote about into a coherent somewhat normal write ups. So since I missed a bateau ride this weekend I spent some time in the woods at the camp.
      While kicking around the woods I took some time to shoot at a mark. In doing so I was breaking in a new jacket I got from Jason Melius . It’s a short brown unlined jacket and is pretty sweet if I do say so. So while shooting the lock of the gun became caught on a handkerchief I had in my right pocket.quickly I realized I was bringing a reference to life.
     In his 1847 History of Kentucky Lewis Collin mentions a story (lack of footnotes dam you 19th cent) of Kentucky woodsman Micheal Cassidy:
“But Cassidy to his consternation, found that his pocket handkerchief was tied round the lock of his gun, so as to prevent its being cocked, and he feared to untie it, lest the indian perceiving it, should fire”

    Cassidy is mentioned in the oft quoted Interview of William Clinkenbeard. He was in Clinkenbeard’s mess company on the Clark Campaign (a fact that point towards even frontiersmen such as Clinkenbeard serving in a military structure…Take that “I’m not in your dam militia” camp) It also flies in the face on the idea that the people in Kentucky wore only nettles and buffalo wool clothes. Unless of course this is a nettle/wool handkerchief….how much would that hurt to wipe your snuff boogies with. It also points out that Cassidy no stranger to the Dangers of the backcountry was probably sporting a jacket rather then a hunting shirt. If your wearing a belted hunting shirt over a jacket it’s tough to get to the pockets. AT the least (say he didn’t have the shirt belted) it shows him wearing a waistcoat and using the pockets (crazy right!). Now we could toss this reference out because it’s from a 19th century source that doesn’t mention the specific interview, but if we did that some of us wouldn’t be able to publish anything...ever.
   
        The handkerchief is one of those pieces of gear that is really ignored by most folks. Most simply sport a woodsy color checked cotton deal around there neck (or even dye this too with walnuts…come one guys). But from period artwork mixed with period references we can see these was quite a variety of these out there
. The styles shipped to Pittsburgh seemed to run the gambit from plain to fancy:
Invoice of goods on the Batteau Forbes headed to Kaskaskia 1768:
20 bordered Handkerchiefs no. 8 6 shillings
26 do. Do. 6 shillings
17 linen handkerchiefs 3 shillings
32 linen handkerchiefs different patterns 5
15 blue and white cotton Handkerchiefs 5 shillings

Hunters also seem to purchase Handkerchiefs with regular frequency:
June 4 1768 Alexander Ferguson 1 knife 5 “ 1 frock 12”10 1 comb 2” 1 Handkf 5”

July 22 1768 Simon Girty To 1 breech clout 9/ 1 Handkf 15/

And from the runaway ad Mafia:
September 14, 1769. BEDFORD, August 29, 1769. RUN away from the subscriber, on the 14th instant, an indentured servant man named WILLIAM RIDDLE. He is an Aberdeen's man, and talks the brogue peculiar to that part of Scotland, is about 18 years old, slender made, 5 feet 6 inches high, tan complexion, pitted with the smallpox, yellow haired, and a little freckled, had on when he went away an under Virginia cloth jacket with copperas coloured stripes, oznabrug shirt and long trousers, and a pair of Virginia made shoes with buckles. He stole when he went away a gun about 4 feet long in the barrel, and a little silvered in the stock at the muzzel, also a new printed linen handkerchief of two shillings sterling price, with red ground and white spots. It is imagined he will make for Carolina. Whoever conveys the said servant to me, at Bedford courthouse, shall have FORTY SHILLINGS reward, if taken in Virginia, and if in Carolina FOUR POUNDS. WILLIAM AUSTIN.

October 18, 1770. RUN away from the subscriber living in Augusta, near Stanton, a convict servant man named JOHN CEATON, an Englishman, about 5 feet 5 inches high; had on when he went away, a white hunting shirt with striped wristbands, a light coloured lappelled jacket lines with white blanketing, two coarse shirts, and a pair of trowsers, a pair of black worsted stockings, a spotted silk handkerchief, old shoes and brass buckles, a red-coloured wig and has crooked toes. Whoever takes up and secures said servant so that I may have him again, shall have FORTY SHILLINGS reward, besides what the law allows, and reasonable charges paid if brought home. ADAM REABURN.

  These scarves could have been worn around the neck, on the head or as pictured in a lot of period images in the pocket. The neckcloth and pocket scarf pop up in a lot of images of period working class people. Right now a great source for some killer handkerchiefs is Burnley And Trowbridge. The spotted scarves they carry are very close to an example in the Herkimer house and ones worn by sailors in the Benjamin West 1771 image “Penn’s Treaty with the Indians.”

     One theoretical way to sport a scarf (as in not a solid documented method) is in holding up your breech clout. Quite a few of these hunters purchase a clout the same time they purchase a scarf (or 2 scarves). Morgan notes that the French in Kaskaskia sport a scarf on their head, wrist and waist , so maybe this is the hunters adopting an idea picked up from the French. I have used a scarf as a clout belt for a few years now and have found it to be a pretty nice way of holding everything in place. Deerskin belts stretch or break, gartering cuts into you but handkerchiefs do a pretty good job (and don’t rot away from sweat/dirt)

     Also for folks that really want to go the extra yard…want to be super minimalist. Carry a pack that you can document just about anywhwere and anyone can afford…Wrap up your stuff in a handkerchief! Beats the hell out of a coverlet haversack (Why people? Why do you keep making/selling/buying these things? Think of the children….If you carry a coverlet haversack the terrorists win and You hate America) I’ve carried the basics wrapped in a handkerchief on quite a few scouts and it’s pretty simple and easy. If you get tired of carrying it in your hand a buffalo tug/belt works for a strap or simply put it on your gun/walking stick. Yes you can fit all the gear/food you would need for a weekend scout in a handkerchief and your pockets. What does that say about how much you need to carry?
   Another piece of gear made by Jason I broke in was my new Blue Plush shot bag. This type of bag is mentioned in a few runway ads as well as store records sometimes even purchased by…(shocking music) LONG HUNTERS! Me thinks the Harmons may have even purchased one…hmmmm does that mean long hunters didn’t always wear deerskin and nettles? Anyhow..here is a mention of a plush pouch in the Virginia runaway ads:

August 16, 1776. Supplement. RUN away from the subscriber living on the levels of Green brier, two convict servant men. One named WILLIAM ROW, 18 or 19 years old, about 5 feet 8 inches high, of a fair complexion, has dark hair, is an artful fellow, and may forge a pass, as he writes a tolerable good hand; had on, when he went away, shirt, drawers, and leggins, of coarse country linen, and took with him a coat and waistcoat of cotton and linen almost white, also a smooth bore gun of the best sort, double breached, which had part of the stock broke off before, a shot bag and powder horn, very much carved, the strap of the powder horn made of striped girting, and the shot bag of blue plush. The other named ISAAC SINGER, 5 feet 4 or 5 inches high, about 25 years old, thin visaged, small made, of a dark complexion, and has very thin whitish hair; had on, when he went away, old leather breeches, a coarse shirt, brown leggins, and old shoes. They are both Englishmen, and took with them a fur hat, besides other things too tedious to mention. Whoever apprehends the said servants, and secures them so as they may be had again, shall have 40s. reward for each, if taken in the county; if out thereof 4 l. for each, paid by ARCHER MATTHEWS.

   The bag Jason made me is SWEET. It’s dimensions are on the small side (by average modern shot bag dimensions) It’s roughly 6 ¾ wide by 6 deep and had a linen divider in the center. It does look…Odd but it worked out great. I carried 25 roundball and loose shot on one side as well as a oil bottle, extra flints, piece of chalk and feather in it. The feather is for loading the gun based on Audubon’s loading description as well as for stopping up the touch hole to use the lock as a firekit.(please no hatemail on this one. I am an adult, I keep the gun pointed at a backstop while I do this if this makes you uncomfortable…don’t do it). I also took the idea Baker mention in a Muzzleloader. The feather is placed in the touchhole when in camp as a safety device and a sign the gun is loaded. The chalk well I’ll post the quote:
“Belden had soon reloaded, and with a piece of chalk carried for the purpose, he whitened the barrel of his rifle, took a more deliberate aim at the glaring target and fired again” trappers of NY (267)

SO I haven’t tried out the night shooting with chalk yet but it’s on my short list of stuff to try this summer. So if your looking for a quality handkerchief (or hunting shirt linen) check out burnley and trowbridge’s site http://www.burnleyandtrowbridge.com/neck-handkerchiefs.aspx   Also at the Eastern Woodland Indian Conf. Ward Oles of “At the Eastern Door” had some nice small glass bottles perfect to carry gun oil/paint in SO if your looking for a bottle drop him a line.  WWW.attheeasterndoor.com 

Ok so I broke my mental block and can try and get back to posting these things with greater frequency. Also in the Vein of promotion I want to recommend an article for folks to check out. It’s in the current issue of the William And Mary Quarterly “Fashioning Moccasins: Detroit, the Manufacturing Frontier, and the Empire of Consumption, 1701–1835” Catherine Cangany (a new Buffalo trace reader) This was a great article that shed some light on just how important the “moccasin” was as a trade item. It also shed some new light on the idea of the “shoepack” (looks Like Msr. Tharp is going to get some long hunter customers) info on getting a copy here: http://oieahc.wm.edu/wmq/Apr12/abstracts.html#Cangany

  Ok now back to work. Weaving for Williamsburg, orders and a soaking buffalo hide are all screaming my name, Not to mention the laughing 3 year old running out of the room with a matchcoat full of pins….

John Buxton hates hats....unless they have a Steelers logo

My daughter Riley and I at Niagara...Sporting my plain boring hat...that was awesome to have in the treeless fort

The weather has settled into a steady rain/shine mix as of late. I spent a few hours yesterday shooting my blue gun and walking thru the woods looking for antler sheds (found nothing).
The chewed ball method is still holding up. Shooting at 50 yards off hand I’m
doing really well at keeping a pattern in the center of the target (diner plate
sized target with a 6 by 6 square in the center)…30 yards I’m destroying it. I’m
shooting .58 chewed ball unwadded/unpatched with 70 grains of 3 f. I got a
little cocky and started practicing running and loading from a slit pouch. Not
doing too bad but that’s a whole other post in itself. I still like my otter
pouch better…

So far I’ve covered head scarves, scalplocks and stuff for your scalplocks. Man who would have thought sharing info would stir up such a hornets nest (complete with skin color charts….really?).My intention for this post was to cover more headgear for the Native side of
the hobbie but putting this together I was dumbstruck by the amount of info out there on natives wearing hats, caps,hoods and diadems.

As result I’ve decided to focus on the standard hat. At some point in the near future I plan on revisiting the other parts of head gear (or do the right thing and just write it up as an article….I can hear Henri cursing my name in the distance, I don’t speak French but it sounds bad)

You know the regular, normal, made en masse by professionals, boring hat. I covered this
topic a little in a previous posting when I got bored and decided to try my
hand at a “peachey” of a hat. I never did get to sport the hat I loaned it John
Buxton to use (but its still not in a painting hint hint Mr. B next time you
think of painting a roach how about a hat on the guy…I’m getting a phone call
for that one)

Hats can get caught up in a lot of symbolism in the period. As a result a lot of the
focus on natives wearing hats has been on their presentation to headmen (along
with the fancy coat/waist coat) What this misses however is the plain simple
fact in the 18th century hats were EVERYWHERE. In American culture a
hat was part of a mans standard clothing (working class to the president) until
Kennedy (I have theories why he didn’t wear one…)

SO it’s no coincidence that natives in a hat filled world would pick on their use (usefullness) pretty quickly. also despite popular culture telling us differently native peoples are not morons and had by the time we showed up realized the fact keeping snow/sun/rain off their head and out of their eyes was helpful intraveling in the elements….without help from aliens.

Here are a number of refrences to the use of hats by natives in the 18th
century. This is only scratching the surface of refrences:

“A great number of the natives, i.e. the confederates of the
French had already begun to dress like the French: the same kind of jacket and
vest, while on journeys they wore the they wore the same red cap or hat” Peter
Kalm 1750

“The goods for Indian trade are….hats trimmed in fine and
imitation, with variegated plumes in red, yellow, blue and green” Pouchot 1750’s

“One of our Indians was in the woods a small distance from
Bethlehem, with his gun, hopeing to meet with a deer, on his return home he met
with two men, who (as he informs) he saluted by takeing off his hat; he had not
gone far before he heard a gun fired, and the bullet whistled near by him,
which terrified him very much, and running thro’ the thick bushes his gun lock
catched fast, and went off, he dropt it, his hat, blanket,&c., and came
home much frighted” Page 67 Pa Archives

“In one of our walks meeting an Indian dressed in a
remarkable plain manner with a broad flat hat, like a Qr (quaker), we askt him
if he was a Qr, & he smiling, answered yes, Yes, I a quaker now-but when I
go away I-Indian again” Pa arcives 276
Statement of William Peters and Jacob Duche 1757

“Thursday the white mingo went with us to the place he said
he was fired at and shewed us the place where he stood and that the man who
fired at him that I saw the steps of the
white mingo and as I undertood capn. Wood saw the prints of the to men that we
found the matchcoat and hat he dropped and returnd them to him” Lewis
Morris Pittsburgh 16, 1775

“In the year 1762 I witnessed a remarkable instance in the
disposition of Indians to indulge their wives… set off on horseback for that
place, one hundred miles distant, and returned with as much corn as filled the
crown of his hat, for which he gave his horse in exchange, and came home on foot,
bringing his saddle back with him.” Heckwleder

Fort Pitt March 4th 1765
George Croghan
Merch sold him for the use of the crown at Carlisle Feb 15th
10 fine broad laced coats @ 165
10 laced hats@ 37/6
10 gay embroidered vests 67 ..10..

A list of goods going to the “Shawnee town” From Fort Pitt

The Shawnee towne
Aug 14 1766 3 doz 10 large silk handk
13 groce bed lace
6 groce red twilled gartering*
6 bolts broad tape
1 dozen gold laced hats
132 (?) lead
2 black leather saddles
4 horse bells

4 doz black silk handkerchiefs
3 doz black silk cravats
80 pieces of taffata ribbons, yellow,blue,green red &
purple
30 regimental coats. good
30 do hats half silver laced good
50 worsted caps
2 lb cruels or other worsteds*
"Frontier Advance on the
Upper Ohio 1778-1779" Pages 413-415

List of Indian goods at Fort Cumberland sept 17, 1755
6 laced hats
14 mens worsted caps

December 1756, Lists of Indian Goods at Rock Creek
strip'd & scarlet worsted Caps from 5\--to 12--per dozn.
Silk Han kers: from 28\--to 33\
Silk Caps--@ 40\ --
Mens worsted Hose from 24\ to 45\--per dozn.
grey, green & red yarn Do.--from 10\6--to 15\--not many
left
Mens beavr: Carolina Hats from 4\6--to 6\--not many left

I hope
this helps folks out there who are looking for something “native” to cover
their head with to really rethink just what’s “native”. No need for a lot of
ornaments, put out a lot of $ or time for a piece that you’ll find out in a few
weeks/months just wasn’t right (thinking about all the turkey bush headdresses
out there…are they really practical?)
If you feel the need to decorate it please keep it simple.
Some silk ribbon/gartering a feather or two or maybe nothing. BTW Mike Galban already called dibs on the
finger woven hat band.
Also for
anyone still interested in the EWIC
please contact the Fort Pitt Museum for info directly. The poster I had
posted turns out to be incorrect. I had thought it was put out by the site but
it seems that it was made by someone not affiliated with Fort Pitt. You can
find the info here: http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/secondary.aspx?id=296
Well back to weaving. Hmm I need to get back to anglo stuff
on here.

Scalplocks and Jamie Pennisi: The man, The Myth,,,The Model

quillworker Eli Motsay, Myself and Super Model Jamie Pennisi...if he doesnt look familiar then you didnt buy a copy of Muzzleloader in the 90's....We Like "ze Blach metal"

Some ideas for "hair stuff" and scalplock size/length

I’ve given up on winter. I don’t care anymore. So now I’m
going to focus on killing turkeys…they still exist right? Time to start sewing
linen. After looking at my gear recently I realized that I’m looking more like
a homeless person then a trader. Breeches are shot, shirt is falling apart. So
now its time to start those projects like it or not. Blah…at least I’m ready
for next winter.
SO to keep things going on the Head gear thing I’ll cover a little bit about
scalplocks and stuff to tie in them. Maybe here I can keep Portuguese quillworkers
from sidetracking the issue (funny how the folks who never shaved their heads
always have the most to say about why you shouldn’t try harder..just sayin)
The most common form of hair style for 18th century natives in the northeast
is the Scalplock (or top knot ,hari Krishna cut whatever you want to call it)
This is simply a small tuft of hair left on the crown of the head. One of the
Best descriptions of this comes from James Smith’s oft quoted narrative:
“All the hair clean out of my head except a small spot about three or 4 inches square on my crown; this they cut off with a pair of small scissors”
Smith’s dimensions seem to be pretty consistent across the board.
Robert Rogers as well as a few others mentions the comparison of the diameter
of the scalplock to the English crown (coin not the kings crown) The Crown used
during the majority of the period has a diameter of 38mm or roughly 1 ½ inches. A good view of a crown can be seen
here:
http://british-coin-price-guide.homelinux.com/Crown-Coin-Price-Guide_files/Page1863.htm
From
images and descriptions we can see that the hair isn’t really that long. Rough
estimate is between 1 to 6 inches long. A detailed description can be found in
Pouchot’s Memoir:
“They do not wear
their hair longer then a priests calotte*, cut an inch long( roughly 1.9
inches a French inch in the period being longer then a modern American inch), covered with grease and powdered with vermillion in the middle. They leave two locks of hair, which they fasten by 2 silver clasps of a fingers length, or in a que made with a border of porcupine
quills. They arrange therein also, some feathers of birds forming a kind of
tuft.”

*Calotte-Skull cap worn by priests

This description for me is pretty kewl as it mentions a little about natives
painting their hair. SO now that we’ve established the general size of the
scalplock lets look at some of the items to wear in it.

“some pluck out and
destroy all, except a lock hanging from the crown of the head, which they
interweave with wampum and feathers of various colors” Peter wlliamson
1750’s Pennsylvania

”excepting three
locks,which they dressed up in their own mode. Two of these they wraped round
with a narrow beaded garter made by themselves for that purpose, and the other
they plaited at full length, and then stuck it full of silver brooches.”
James Smith

“And tied a bunch of
red feathers to one of these locks they had left on the crown of my head, which
stood up fix or six inches” James Smith

“Then he shaved my head leaving only a small tuft of hair upon the crown and to small locks,which he plaited with silver brooches interwoven, making them hang over my face.” John Rutherford 1760’s Detroit

“Pluck from their heads all of the hair except from a spot on top of it, About the size of a
crown piece,…On this are fastened plumes of feathers of various colours with
silver or Ivory quills. The manner of cutting and ornamenting this part of the
head distinguishes different nations from each other” J Carver

“The head is all shaved only the crown which is left for the scalp. The hair in this has a
swan’s plume or some other trinket of silver tied in it.” Rev. David Jones 1770’s Ohio country

“They Wear an oblong piece of white tin in the hair which lies on the neck. One of those I saw had taken a flower of the rose mallow, out of a garden where it was in full blossom
at this time, and put it in the hair on top of his head” Peter Kalm

“Their Hair cut except on the crown which is tied up in a bunch and hung down in a plait, mixed with silver rings” Joseph. Hadfield 1785

Now southern Hair styles are a whole other monster. Bowl cuts with scalplocks,
weird V shaped hair cuts..It’s worth a write up all on its own. So I’ll just focus on some southern
scalplocks and a specific quote that I found really interesting.

“The hair of the head is shaved, Tho’ many of the old people have it
plucked out by the roots, except a patch on the hinder part of the head, about
twice the bigneess of a crown-piece, which is ornamented with beads, feathers,
wampum,stained deers hair, and such like baubles.” Timberlake on the
cherokees

“The Party appeared the next day painted red and black, Their heads covered all over with Swan down, and a tuft of long white feathers fixt to the crown of their heads” Adair

Ok now the context of the “down feathers” quote is for a social gathering but the same
idea does pop up in northern accounts.

For a long time I debated how to do this look then after stepping away
from the search I saw a better version of the Cherokee “commission” image and
the paint in his hair popped out. Add this to the down feathers and wammo it
made sense. Pouchot also describes painting the hairs and once again add the
northern down quotes and you have well….Can you say Yanomamo?

Ok stay with me…The native people of the Amazon still practice wearing greased/painted hair sprinkled with down feathers. I don’t like using modern images But it does giveyou an idea of how to “put on the down”.
Ok so feathers ,tubes ,brooches all seem to be common items shown in the period. I’ve
added a few images in a collage to show various items being sported in the
hair. Also I’ve done an image of some modern reproductions that are an
alternative to a roach. It’s not that roaches weren’t common but I feel that if
Jamie Pennisi hadn’t owned one back in the early 90’s we wouldn’t see so many
at events (i.e. Modern artists pint them a lot so you all wear them a lot)
Some

other things you might try and rethink/think about:

Turkey Bush roaches- Ok a few feathers is one thing but a
giant flock of turkey feathers on your head is another.

Hackle roaches- Ok the Death of wolfe native is kewl looking
but there is no original feather roach with a modern roach base. Try tying some
feathers to a brooch or a tube. You get the same look using all period
alternatives.

Try dying your feathers- Period references mention dyed
feathers why not try and natural dye some swan/small turkey/fake eagle
feathers.

Brooches-plenty of accounts of them plaited into hair

Hair garters- come on dare to be common

Context- Are you at a Johnson hall? Treaty of Easton? Or are
you hanging out at Pluggy’s town or hunting? Chances are you’re going to sport
different stuff in your hair for different occasions. Sometimes less is more.
It’s pretty hard to lay down for a nap when you have a turkey pompadour.

Wear Nothing- Go crazy be that guy with just a scalplock.
Might not look like the guy on the cover of muzzleloader but you’ll look like
the guy in a bunch of period images.

Well I’ve rambled on enough on the subject.. I should be weaving or sewing anyhow. Have you signed up for the EWIC yet? If you make it and ask nicely you can probably
get Jamie Pennisi to do his greatest poses from the covers of Muzzleloader for
you. He loves it when you ask him to do that.

On a crass commercialism note AT the Eastern Door now has a source for small Glass
bottles like I’ve mentioned here a few times. I’m not sure of the prices but
they are the perfect size for paint (hair) oil. Drop him an email for details.

being wrong,The EWIC and Steve Jones's Head Scarf

I am a firm believer of admitting when I’m wrong. Many times in this weirdness I have chased a rabbit down a hole only to find out that it was a skunk (and I was lookin at the bizzness end) The “Cherokee” bag has proved to be just one such skunk (and I’m really kicking myself for this one). I had my doubts about the bag but was looking for northern examples of that type of painted bag. Well a blog reader set me straight.
The Cherokee bag for all intents and purposes looks to be an Apache bag. Allen Chronister sent me a image of an apache bag after my blog posting and bingo that bag looks Cherokee. I looked for a few more hours and fond a number of examples of that bag all attributed to the apache. SO folks put the tempera paint away and get back to sewing otter skins.
This is a perfect example for me of looking for info, adapting to new info and not bein scared to admit the fact the info you found is dated/worng. If you don’t do that in this hobbie….well then you end up wearing orange buckskins, a blanket bonnet with a rr pin and bitchin about the fact you cant get into the kewl new events. Evolve or die people….
So since I’ve been locked into looking at all things native as of late I’ve decided to throw some info out there to maybe rock the canoe so to speak. I think it’s again time we all look in our trade mirrors and take a good long look….at what’s on our heads. One of my big pet peeves for a LOOOOONG time has been the overuse of modern paintings to justify hair weirdness. Roaches, turkey feather bushes, feather roaches made like modern powwow roaches all with turtle shell spreaders and squirrel skulls.
You know you did it. The pictures are on facebook. You spent more money on prints then books and ran down sutlers row buying all kinds of weirdness….
SO building off of a few articles Alan Gutchess did years ago in his booklet “native portrayals” I’m going to try and point out some documented native headgear that might look a little better than the skunk skin roach.(Btw we all need to whine really loud so that gutchess reprints “portrayals” it was full of great info) And speaking of the Dark Overlord….*****Commercial ALERT!!!!******
If you haven’t already heard The Fort Pitt Museum/Heinz History center is hosting the Eastern Woodland Indian Conference again this year. For anyone interested in native material culture (or just a really great conference on history) I implore you…GO TO THIS CONFERENCE!!!! The Conference is April 28-29 in Pittsburgh ,Pa (home of Fort Pitt, the Stillers and Primanti’s) for more information go to : http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/events.aspx?EventID=171
So together with all of the other head ware that is out there for native folks maybe the easiest to document and get your hands on is the old standby the headscarf. As I’ve pointed out before there are a ton of different ways to wear a headscarf: pirate style, Like the gentleman in the Italian image, turban style, tupac style, headband style or you can try Steve Jones style circa 1975 (if you don’t know who Steve Jones is then you’re probably not a sex pistols fan hence the joke is lost on you but 4 of you laughed like crazy).
Below I have compiled some quotes showing the use of scarves across the period/regions during the last half of the 18th century

"He wore a brown broadcloth coat, a scarlet damaskin lapel waistcoat,breeches over which his shirt hung, a black cordovan neckerchief decked with silver bugles, shoes and stockings and a hat. His ears hung with pendants of brass and other wires plaited together the handle of a basket." Description of Andrew Montour

“one of them soon struck a tomahawk into his head, and jerked off a piece of scalp about the biggness of a dollar, they took also his indian breeches and a hankerchef he had on his head...." Adair The South east

“Their head is dressed in the best mode, with a black silk handkerchief about it” Rev David Jones 1770’s ohio country

“A large and beautiful silk handkerchief was tied around his head” Johnathan Alder 1780’s ohio country

“one of the Indians had a handkerchief tied about his head…the other had a cocked hat” William Biggs Illinois country 1788

“He took about a yard of black silk…and tied it round my head” Thomas Ridout 1788 captured by Shawnees on the Ohio

“he wore the indian costume, but WITHOUT any ornament and his silk handkerchief while it supplied the place of a hat…” Simon Girty’s dress O.M. Spencer 1790’s ohio

One really kewl thing about headscarves is that a number of them survive and were depicted in some artwork of the period. For someone who cant shave their head this is a pretty good alternative to going bareheaded. It’s also a good way to keep your dome from cooking if you do shave your head.
Now lets put the headscarf into perspective. I’ve attached some prices of common goods at Fort Pitt during the 1760’s. This should give you a better understanding of just how much this common head wrap covered with brooches would have cost compared to goods you’d need to buy to live.
Costs of Goods at Fort Pitt sept 18, 1761
Large Silk Handks 1 buck 1 doe
2 fathem ribbon 1 buck
Silver brooches 1 raccoon (doesn’t list number of brooches)
Ear Bobs 1 doe

1765 Fort Pitt prices
1 brooch 1/6
Linen Handkerchief ‘3/
Cutteau knife 2/
Plain shirt 12/
1 blue stroud 1/2/6
Breechclout 7/6
Jews harp 2/
1lb Tobacco 2/
Looking glass 7/6
2 yds ribbon 2/

Here is an average transaction…something that would have been a common occurrence at Fort Pitt
List of goods bought by “delawares” in one trip
9 bars lead 6 @5….2..6
9 pints gunpowder @4/ ..8.._
1 french matchcoat….12,_
1 pr Half thick Stockings…..5,_
2 cutteau knives @10..1.8…..1/9/2
Peltry Delvired to Delawares received in Barter for the above goods
6 bear skins
13 deer skins

SO this makes one realize just how much the Caldwell headscarf was worth even at the time it was put together. LOL It’s pretty expensive to put together today as well can you say mortgage payment?…some of my friends are sick. I Priced out the Swiss headscarf based on modern prices…your looking at $1700….It is tax refund season lol. Anyhow the resource I recommend if you’re looking to bedazzle your scarf to check out the silverwork from Ward Oles www.attheeasterndoor.com Also keep in mind I havent even really touched on their use by the french or english
Well nows its back to weaving and fighting with the “gingi monster”. I’ve been cranking out a lot of stuff as of late to get ready for the upcoming trade shows. I’ll be set up at Pricket’s Fort at the end of the month and should have some Stroud leggings, clouts and a stroud blanket coat or two in tow. Stay tuned for part two of the head gear I’ve been compiling stuff that covers scalplock size length and common stuff to tie into it.

hitting yourself in the face with a warclub...it feels awesome when you stop

Cherokee (?) bag in the NC archives....not sure how I feel about it

SE shot pouches...Treaty Guy's strap is red garters/fingerweaving.. who knows but a pretty simple UNDECORATED pouch easy to make and document

1760's italian image showing boy wearing a headscarf....not a pirate...maybe a wicker pirate

Happy New year!!! Oops I kinda missed that…and 12th night…man am I horrible at weekly blog posts. Well my hunting season was..pointless. I shot a nice 8 point the first day around 7:30am (long hunting season huh) It came in with a doe and a 10 point, but right off the bat I watched it lay down for a few minutes at about 80 yards. It worked its way closer to me and layed down again. I knew something was wrong with it so first time it got broad side from me I shot it right behind the shoulder (around 40 yards)
When I gutted it I noticed a really strong smell coming from the deer but I couldn’t find any wounds apart from where I shot the deer. Well when I started butchering the deer with my father we started seeing green specks and the stink stayed with the meat and then in the back we found gangrene. So I didn’t get a hide or the meat I just got the antlers…blah. There I was no doe Lisc., No hide and no deer meat. Kinda makes you want to go home and kick the dog. Then the Steelers lost….dont worry I didn’t kick the dog.
I’ve been spending a lot of time fighting the Horde of Squirrels this winter and realizing that my time spent sewing the super dead on winter gear was kind of pointless. All I really needed was moc liners and a blanket coat. I have become pretty good at shooting in the rain and have my kit geared towards foul weather shooting. The simple rig of gun case/cows knee and gear worn under the coat has been working out pretty well.
One thing I felt like posting was the second image I’ve found on a man wearing a scarf on his head. I’ve seen a lot of folks using the “absolute” rule on wearing scarves “pirate style” or under a hat. While I’m not a big fan of the practice I do hate the absolute rule when its simply just the parroting of ideas even more. Let’s face it the thing that turns folks off about improving is the absolute idea.
That being said if you’re at a 1770’s event in the middle of the Cumberland gap maybe the slops and the pirate scarf though both documented during the 18th century really aren’t in the right place together(just sayin). My point of this is for someone looking to document another simple head covering under a hat or in the field. Also to document that the “pirate style” isn’t the only way to wear a scarf (come on be different…do something they did now what griz showed ya…peer pressure)
I’ve also been pretty OCB about all things south eastern. As a result I’ve been putting stuff into neat little files. One thing I’ve been working on is a compilation of SE shot bags (thanks frontier folk yeah forced my hand) Jason Melius and I have been in an all out text msg war for months swapping info (and mean jokes that hurt others) So I’ve tossed up a compilation of images of SE shot pouches . As well as some original native shot bag gear.

All the bags are pretty standard but….one is from the NC archives.

It’s labeled Cherokee and is painted along the lines of some northern pieces so I have to get down and do some digging before I really make up my mind about it. Now that you’ve seen this all I ask is if folks want to try and make it 1 they don’t use tempra paint 2) learn how to hide paint 3) did I say don’t use tempra paint? And 4) just because it’s a leather bag/sheath and you paint it doesn’t make it South eastern….it could still be reenactor crap with some paint on it.

I know

that souns a little mean but I've seen alot of weirdness done in the name of the South. All kinds of twined weirdness comes to mind. Well I broke thru my mental block now Jim apple and all the other FB folks will stop yellin at me and I can hide again with my weaving and zombie movies....

Shooting dogs at Fort Pitt for fun and profit

New mocs made using the Galban DVD...worn with knit stockings from South Union mills and wool slippers
Chausons/wool slippers these things are great year round in mocs and easy to make

Cindy posing in her mom's Ug boots....she wears them when I wear my mocs...how do you tell a 2 year old she's a farb...tough love


It’s raining…again. I had planned today to work on a new fleshing beam to get ready for Rifle season. I have talked to some local deer processors and am going to try and get a fair amount of hides fleshed and put up to dry for the spring. I really want to get some hides for a display Bale as well as some hides for the tan vat.
SO apart from weaving I’ve been able to finally finish up some winter mocs using Mike Galban’s DVD and the last of a Hide I got from Alec. I cant say enough good things about either product. This was my first attempt at Mocs with Vamps and I made a passable pair for my first try. I now have a good pattern for myself and plan on making another pair soon (as soon as I get another hide lol) and I’ll sew them with leather wang (I used Linen cord for this pair) I’m a little leery of wearing these in snow as I’ve found that it rots pretty quickly in the damp weather we get most of the winter.
I also finished some Chausons to wear as moc liners along with my knit stockings. Wearing them around the yard to break the whole rig in has worked pretty well. It has also provided hours of laughter for my family. These are also the same people who watch survivor every week….so I’m not too worried.
Ok my geekness is going to shine thru today. For fun I like to read Orderly books from the 18th century. I’ve found that they are a great resource on the day to day life at an 18th century fort/camp as well as how much you can try and get away with as an 18th century Soldier. My friend/co conspirator Jason Melius have used these for sources of inspiration in our portrayal as the ner dowell’s in any 18th century Army. SO here are a few excerpts from the Fort Pitt Orderly book during the ohio counry uprising of 1763:
June 4 1763 “ He is also to deliver this evening to a sergeant of each company two quarts of loose powder, which they are to distribute to those men that have cartridges, and see that they strengthen each cartridge by adding one-third of an inch in length to it.” **how much of a kick would this load have in a bess?**
June 5 1763 “As the dogs about the garrison make daily great disturbance…It is therefore the commanding officer’s positive order that all the dogs without exception that are not tied up after 4 o’clock this afternoon shall be killed…It is likewise the commanding officer’s that the wolf and bear be immediately killed or put out of the fort.” ***yes he wrote wolf and bear….***
June 16, 1763 Fort Pitt receives word that the war is over…Gotta wonder if they saw the irony?
June 22, 1763… The dogs still being noisy at night, and hindering people of their rest….Patroles will go round the fort for the future to kill them, and for every dog they kill they will get a half crown reward. ***Ecuyer…the guy who did hand out small pox blankets and now a dog killer….he was also an anti-Semite but that’s in a letter…**
July 3, 1763 “The men to lie upon their arms every night till further orders, without taking off their clothes.” ** Yeah there is a story there you just know it***
One of the things I really try to focus on for my portrayal is the lives of the Redeemed captives that lived and worked in the Ohio country. The romantic notion of these men is of people “with a foot in each world” or “trapped between two cultures”. While this may have been the case for some I don’t think it was as “hawkeye” as many would have it.. For me it really seems that these men more often than not seemed to be a little more comfortable living as men who could walk down both sides of the street so to speak.
A good example of this can be found in the example of Daniel Sullivan ( “a spy at Detroit” Page 230 Frontier Defense on the upper Ohio) Below is some of Sullivan’s deposition of his travles through the ohio country villages actin as a Spy for the Americans. He is dressed in “indian dress” but from what I’ve pointed out in past blog postings this could mean A LOT of things. It is also apparent to folks in the know he’s not “native” .
I also have to wonder after reading this how much of his cover story is well…true. Also It’s important to note that his story doesn’t seem odd to Governor Hamilton or the other ID folks he comes across.
“AT Guyahaga were two traders with stores of Indian goods and a cargo arrived there the 18th of april from Detroit. The 19th I hired myself agreeable to Col. Morgans directions to James Howel to serve as a batteau man to go to Detroit with peltries and to bring away other goods. We were eight days coasting it to Detroit. On my arrival I assisted to unload the boat and then was conducted to Governor Hamilton in my Indian dress who enquired who I was and my business. I informed him that I had been taken prisoner when young by the Delawares, that nine years afterwards in 1772 or 73 I went to live with my relations in Virginia But the present war coming on between Britain and America and having no way but my gun to maintain myself I had removed back to my Delaware relations and determined to live with them until I could do better. That I had hired with a trader at Guyahaga to assist him with his peltries to Detroit in order to enable me to buy some powder and lead to hunt…..The Governor Dismiss’d me to go where I pleased and he would be my friend….”
Sullivan spends the nigt lodged with an ID interpreter and his family but his walk through of the city gets a little tougher the next day.
“In this tour Pluggy’s son discovered me and applied to the Governor to have me confined on Accot of my having in the fall of 1776 killed his brother in law near the Kenhawa. John Montour seconded this information and as a proof referr’d to the wound I received in my left arm at the time….”
Sullivan then is sent on a tour of a few posts in Irons..LOL not a great spy. From notes in “frontier Defense..” Sullivan may have been wounded in this account from “The revolution on the Upper Ohio…” acting as a spy for Fort Randolph. Remember a “spy” is generaly someone who goes out dressed as a native vs. a scout who is looking for indian sign but normaly dressed as a local.
“They saw some indian signs & was immediately fired on by an indian no above 8 yards distance. Just at the very moment the foremost of the spies was jerking his gun off his shoulder in order to shoot & the indian bullet took the box of his gun (just opposite his breast) & lodged there The spy received little damaged only grazed on the arm in two or three places either by part of the bullet or of the box lid—such as buckshot might have done The spies shot at him as as possible both,& he fell but recovered immediately & he & his partners cleared themselves as quick as possible, with the loss of his shot pouch Powder horn & many other little articles the damned savages had the assurance to camp there within a mile of this fort (Fort Randolph) but on their own side of the river. They were so provident as to bring a string for a prisoner but unluckily lost it in the fray”
Sweet he was probably carrying a rifle and the natives lost a prisoner Line. Gotta love the little details and curse them for phrases like “little articles”. This for me also is yet another account of a guy getting shot in his gear and I still have yet to find a guy getting shot in anything that resembles a bullet/loading block (think about it something hanging around your neck about breast high full of ball and NO ONE got shot in one? I have shot horns, rifles, bags , knife handles and even blanket rolls but no bullet boards yet)
Well that’s it for today. Now back to weaving and getting ready for the first day of Rifle season. I need to finish myself any kind of tumpline to drag a deer (I really hate those modern weird drag ropes…junk) and get my modern gear into some kind of order. Every year it’s the same speech from my father….I shouldn’t hunt in Doc Martens ,jeans a knit cap and a punk rock sweatshirt, I’ll get cold (and I never do). For some reason he never says anything about my 18th century stuff….Hopefully my Whale wars/ Animal Liberation front sweat shirt shows up in time. The deer will be looking for guys in Cammo , they’ll never notice me…