belt pouch hunting....or "do you want a round house kick while I'm wearing these bad boys? Forget About it!!!"

This time of year is so hectic…..So I’m going to apologize for the lag in my posts. Between hunting/work/family and my own weirdness (mostly my own weirdness…..I have issues) I’ve been pretty busy. I gave a weaving talk at Fort Niagara which went pretty well but for me the best part was the tour of the Fort By Ian Stout as the few times I had been to the site I never had time to walk around and take it all in. It was also awesome to hang out with the usual cast of characters (eric schatzel, Ward Oles, Mike Galban, Eli Motsey, Mark Hersee, Brendan Menz) As usual the craziness resulted in a lot of learning and more questions. Those are the weekend I really feel lucky to have the friends I do. Then again they also result in the drinking of shawneebrew….it had a lot of hops…forget about it! Anyhow….This week I’ll make up for it with the stuff I started and stopped over the past few weeks.
So anyhow…the week before the talk I was able to spend a lot of time in the woods. One Thing I finished was a copy of the Lyman pouch I had cut out….I think 2 years ago. Being a slacker sucks sometimes. The pouch was based off a tracing I had done of the original pouch. I used some Bark Tan pig hide for my pouch (I’ll cover this more later) But after the pouch was finished I decided to try it out at my camp in place of my new pocket method (ADD is a hell of a drug)
So my hunting rig was a belt pouch (shot/round ball in the front pocket, turn screw flints and toggle in rear pocket) my horn with the pipe bowl measure (pick and whisk on the strap) I also wore a haversack (authenticity gods forgive me) to use as a game bag as I haven’t finished my netted bag yet. And while hunting I found a penance for this…..
Anyhow…So I headed out from my camp building towards the center of the camp. I had lost a tobacco pouch in the “brush” last time I was out so I figured this was a good route to take to try and get it back. As I walked the trail I flushed a grouse right off the bat. The grouse flew ahead of me and I had no chance of shooting it. So I Pulled the gun up to my shoulder and walk towards the spot the grouse landed. About 15 yards from the spot the grouse landed the grouse popped back up and before it could fly I pulled the trigger. The grouse rolled onto the open trail ahead of me.
Ok so here is the point some ppl will say to themselves….hey !he shot it on the ground! That’s not what I would have done!....well F*ck you. That’s how I learned to hunt. Why put a grouse in the air or flush the rabbit from the brush pile when you can shoot it and eat it? Kobuck’s Kill animals and eat them. You have a problem with that…well don’t hunt with me.
So I reloaded quickly as I was in the brush and had seen a lot of grouse this season in the area. But nothing else popped up. As I walked I spotted a section full of dogbane. So cut a few stalks and shoved them on my pouch and kept walking.I walked the rest of the trail until I came to the end of the brush. I headed up the ridge and found a nice hollow to watch.
I sat on a log looking down the hollow and while I was there saw 6 does work their way up towards me. While I watched them I broke up one of the dogbane stocks and striped off the bark to make cordage and rolled it on my leg. It sounds odd but The deer came within a few feet of me as I sat there making cordage. After about an hour I tucked my new “string” of dogbane in my pocket and walked along the ridge towards the camp.
As I was heading towards the camp I spotted a hornets nest in a pine tree. It was about 20 feet up so I took a few minutes to toss limbs at the branch until the nest broke free. I then looked at the nest for a few minutes for live wasps and tossed the bag into my haversack. I plan on using it for wadding for the rest of the season/
The Section I was hunting wa the spine of a ridge with little islands of brush and open timber on each side. I walked a few yards then stood still listening. Then to my left I heard some squirrels chattering. I snuck along the Ridge and spotted 4 squirrels in a section of pine trees on a shelf below me. As I snuck towards them 3 of the squirrels climbed to my left and one went higher in the tree I spotted them in. as I got within about 10 yards of the tree I shot the loan squirrel.
The squirrel fell in front of me and I quickly reloaded and moved towards the squirrels to my left but they had already moved behind me to a section of hollow trees/brush. I waited a half an hour for movement but it was getting dark so I walked off the ridge spotting a few does as I did. It was a pretty nice day to be in the woods….especially with a new shot pouch…
The pouch I made is based of the Lyman pouch. The pouch is pretty small by most modern shooters tastes but it has a really kewl feature. There is an internal divider that allows you to put shot/ball on one side and the other items you might carry on the other (in my case a screwdriver, extra flint and leather pad. The pouch matches up to the description of the belt bags worn by Roger’s rangers as well as a description of early 19th century hunter/rev war Veteran Nicholas Stoner: “He usually wore a fur cap when hunting, and a short coat, or cloth roundabout. A belt encircled his waist, at the foot of which was fastened a bullet pouch, and beneath which upon the left side were thrust a hatchet and knife; while under his right arm hung a powder horn of no mean capacity.”
I was able to examine the pouch when I was working the clash of empire exhibit and there is a really good image of the pouch in the Clash exhibit Catalog (which is worth buying for so many images ) From what I understand Matt Wulf did an article on the pouch for “On the trail magazine” but I haven’t seen the article yet. God I’m a slacker….anyhow…
I’ve often wondered if these belt pouches were something you’d see more in the Northern states based on the info I’ve seen but honestly….I don’t have a clue. I’ve been a big fan of belt pouches for some time. I’ve carried a pouch based off a dug example since the late 90’s and a belt pouch combined with a belted hunting shirt (with a pocket)t in all honesty I have found has been all I really need to wear when in the woods for long periods of time. My gun equipment goes in the belt pouch (shot/ball, turn screw, flints), pick and whisk on my horn strap (with a tow worm) and other gear goes in my hunting shirt (like Doddridge mentions) or in the hunting shirt pocket.
It might seem odd to carry so little But the more I look in period info from any source relating to hunting I just don’t see the oversized shot pouches full of a hundred little pieces of gear. I really think as a culture reenactors are so “stuff” focused that we really miss the simplicity in the idea of meat/hide hunting. If you’ve ever hunted with anyone that learned to hunt during the depression your idea of “gear” goes way beyond the real tree under armor of today’s hunters. But there I go….off on a tangent.
SO folks if ya get a chance get a hold of WUlf’s article or the Clash Catalog and try a belt pouch out for yourself. They do rock and help cut down on the straps you wear as you walk thru the woods.


back issues of OTT for the Wulf article
http://www.ottmagazine.com/issueindex.shtml
catalog with Lyman pouch and alot of killer stuff in it...
"Clash Of empires The british French and indian War 1754-1763" By R.S. Stephenson

the WM3 dont care about bullet boards

Rabble rabble rabble…..did that make sense? Well it shouldn’t have. That’s what my fiancé and daughters say I sound like when I’m focused on…well anything. I’m pissy and mean and say hurtful stuff to…well anyone. It’s tough being Me some days LOL. SO today I got pissed about a lot of shit and while writing 2 blogs (1 on leggings and the other on trousers) I came back the usual shit. And for me one big thing is the West Memphis Three. So ok I know this is odd but hear me out…….ok so I donated my $ in the month of Oct to the WM3 defense fund it for the first time in awhile didnt really amount to shit. Yes I said SHIT….its ok I’m a professional. So I figured I’d do another blog post about the WM3 and scream…..Please if you can donate anything ($, time, facebook space) to these young men. They need our help.

Look if your on the fence please check out the Documentary "paradise lost"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvON2sUfEaQ


these young men need our help......

Blanket coats, cappa coats, capots and A.D.D.

My Blanket coat and punch bowl....great way to stay warm in the morning

IMage of Canadians....note edging on coats and closure with ties

Image of British soldier in capot/blanket coat.....probably close to what John Henry wore

YOU NEED A BLANKET COAT!

This weather is weird. I swear it’s been fall for like 48 hours so far. The rest of the time the temps jump between freezing and the 90’s. I know I keep griping about this it’s just I’d like a season between august and 3 feet of snow. I should feel like watching zombie movies, deer hunting and getting ready for a winter hunt. The best season to be in the woods is when the message boards are full of people fighting about camouflage and loading blocks.
I picked up a killer traine/toboggan made By Mike Galban (for you southern guys a toboggan is a sled not a hat) and a pair of snow shoes. I have my winter mocs almost finished and leggings cut out. And it’s really tough to get to sewing when it’s 65 degrees outside and the trees in the yard are full of leaves. Argh….
So One project I’ve been fixated on lately (among the 27 other projects A.D.D. sucks) for this fall/winter season has been a new blanket coat. Ok not for me…well kinda….Ok hear me out. I have a killer blanket coat that like most of my clothes I got from Travis Crowder (it’s awesome to have friends with OCD/ADD and make historic clothes) The Coat was made from a Whitney blanket and is based off a few images (I’ll cover in this article). It Rules…but….I’ve found a number of other info on Blanket coats so I kinda want one of each….sick I know. I also think these are an item that is way underrepresented among “backcountry” folks. Matchcoats are great but….sleeves and hoods are greater.
Ok First off let me clarify the difference between a capot and a blanket coat…..99% of the time nothing. From what I can tell blanket coats/capots/cappa coats/capos are all an over garment cut like a coat and in many cases have a hood attached. I feel (****assumption***) that the big difference between the two might simply be the material they are cut out of. Blanket coats cut from blankets and capots/cappa coats/capos out of standard cloth.
Man I can feel the hate mail starting already…..Ok These items are worn by Both French and “English” folks in the backcountry and as a result are items Natives in both spheres of influence adopt pretty quickly (much like knit caps, leggings, Moccasins and breechclouts)
Description of Paxton boys
“dressed in blanket coats and moccasins like our Indian traders or back country waggoners”
AT Fort Pitt/Vincennes/kaskaskia we can see these items being purchased by English hunters along with other cold weather gear:
John Hamilton Jan 4 1768
To the following goods at Fort Pitt
1 pr shoes 10/
1 pr leggings 7/6
1 blanket coat 32/
1pr Mittens 4/
One thing that I found interesting is that the blanket coats are being made “in house” so to speak. Tailors at the fort are making the blanket coats:

Fort Pitt October 15,1767
To piercy Thomas for making 6 blanket coats ….1.10._
To John Hutchinson making 10 ditto…2.10._
To Peter Mckaughney making 6 ditto…1.10._
Fort Pitt Oct 27 1768
To Peter McKeaughney for making eight blanket coats for Batteau men 2.0.0

The papers also go on to give details about just what type of cloth these are being made from or what types of blankets were on hand:
BWM papers: 1764 “118 damaged matchcoats to be made in Blanket coats”
March 13 1768
“ 18 three pointed French matchcoats,….18 ½ yards corded blue stroud, 17 ¼ plain blue ditto, 1 dirty blanket which appears to have a large red striped one but all the stripes were torn off only one red thread left at one end” (so they were thread counting in the period….sorry had to say it. Also note that there is corded stroud and plain stroud listed. Not all stroud cloth had the white list edge/stripe…..but that’s what the cool kids wore)

Some runaway ads also point out the types of blankets used in Blanket coats:
WARWICK, November 15, 1775. RUN away from the Subscriber's Plantation in Prince Edward County, on Saturday the 11th Instant, four Negro Fellows, viz. PRINCE, CATO, CHARLES or TRASH, and BILLY BURTON.-…... All of them but Trash were clothed this Fall in Dutch Blanket Coats and Breeches, Trash had Clothes such as Water Negroes generally wear,

There is also small mentions of other colors from a number of sources. Famed Ranger Sam Brady was spotted wearing a “sky blue” cappo and in his Interview Benjamin sites mentioned a neat story about a friend wearing a possible BROWN cappo :
“The other Indian caught him by the cappo, and tore off a great slit. As he passed along he came to a great log and threw himself into the forks of it. His cappo being of the same color, he heard the Indians run along and back without seeing him.” (I know some of you will now probably consider making a capot/blanket coat because of that quote….awesome)

Sites also comments a little more on their use:
“I bought a cappo of Blackfish, that I had to freeze, to get the lice out.Broadcloth”. (I wore one full of ticks the other day does that count?)
“the Indians frequently wore…cappos, etc on their scouts. The one that killed Uncle David Jennings had a cappo and cocked hat…”

And for the other Camp another mention of a white blanket coat from John Henry who was on Arnolds campaign into Canada:
“having a fine white blanket coat, and turning my cap or “bonnet rouge” inside out, the inside being white, made me as it were, invisible in the snow..” (is that describing a lined canadian cap?)

Now….construction, Like I said I cheat I have a Crowder that lives on my other couch and sews clothes for himself that he grows bored with and gives to me. The pattern He used for my Blanket coat started out life as a La Fleur de Lyse “capot” pattern . Travis Did some tweaking cut off the overlap so it tied close and bound the edges with blue tape. This style binding can be seen in an 18th century image of Canadians wearing capots. For a native Capot/blanket coat James Smith had a “tinsel laced cappa coat”.He also shrunk the cuffs from the massive early bucket cuff style.
SO this is one route to go and to my knowledge is the only good 18th century capot/blanket coat pattern. Another route is one suggested to me By Ike Walters a few years ago and he did a write up and that shows you how to adjust a standard coat pattern to a capot/blanket coat. One thing to keep in mind when doing this is that you should choose a coat pattern from your time period. Images of 1750’s capots look different from 1770’s styles just like the cut of a mans coat.
As for a source for commercially made capots/blanket coats…wel flying canoe traders sell an early capot but other then that all I’ve seen are 19th cent knock offs and weirdness. To be honest the flying canoe ones IMHO need some work (but I’m not a big fan of machine sewing).
As far as use in the field goes….I’ve found them to be great to wear all year round. Layered with other clothes in the colder months they cant be beat. They are great at keeping you semi dry in spring/summer showers. In fact they are a great item to carry in place of a blanket or 2nd blanket. Well I should be weaving or sewing or reading or writing……ADD sux

La Fleur De Lyse Patterns
http://www.neheleniapatterns.com/english/lafleurdelyse.html

Ike walter’s blog…..He’s a great resource of info….too bad its French info
http://frenchinwisconsin.yolasite.com/my-blog.php

Native Workshops at Fort Niagara

If you take my class you learn how to weave with children on your back!

You'll be able to teach Babies to weave!

you can also learn to:

weave in a car!

weave on an airplane!

weave in a Bar ! (ya know you were thinking it...crowder.. you bastard)

weave during a steelers game!

and weave during family holiday gatherings.... and still feign interest! ACT now!

I'm totaly gona weave a snuggy...

ANYHOW....For anyone interested I'll be giving a talk on fingerweaving at Old Fort Niagara in a few weeks. There are also some other GREAT talks being given by Mike Galban, Ward Oles and Eric Schatzel (i dont know the beading lady but I'm sure the class is top notch and well worth it) contact old Fort Niagara if your interested.


Native Workshop Series


November 2010


Proudly hosted by Old Fort Niagara
in the Officer’s Club Building

Learn the necessary skills that 18th and early 19th century Native Americans used in
making their accutrements and various other adornments under the instruction of some
of the best craftsmen available. Materials for all classes are provided.
Participants will get to take home a finished craft.


11/6/2010

BEADWORK

with Rosie Hill

9:30am - 12:30pm
Cost: $30.00.
MAX: 20 people.

11/13/2010

FINGERWEAVING

with Nathan Kobuck

9:00am - 12:00pm
Cost: $45.00
MAX: 10 people.

Optional lunch 8.00/person.

QUILLWORK

with Michael Galban

1:00pm - 4:00pm
Cost: $45.00
MAX: 10 people.

11/14/2010

TRADE SILVER

with Ward Oles

10:00am - 12:30pm
Cost: $50.00

- Very Reasonable!


MAX: 10 people.

Lunch provided.

ARCHERY

with Eric Schatzel

2:00pm - 5:00pm
Cost: $30.00
MAX: 10 people

To make reservations, call Cindy Liddell at (716) 745-7611, ext. 230.
Prepayment is preferred.

day hunt or is that a squirrel in your pocket?

The Burtilino/schreangaust gun.....so ugly but it kills stuff

Pocket Trash....checked bag of parched corn tied to my canteen....firekit/tobac pouch/compass/book in left pocket.....Powder measure is an original Pipebowl Also use it to measure shot when taking my time to load....shot snake and scarf with gun eqipment in right pocket....knife in trousers pocket

At the "onion Patch" my favorite place at my camp.....trying out the camera's timer

"

Well I was able to take my new gun for a walk yesterday and for a few hours this morning (saw nothing this morning). I traded a horn strap to a buddy for a broken up .54 smoothbore parts gun. So after a week of gluing/soldering/polishing and rawhide wrapping It was ready to go. And man is This gun is ugly.
I decided to leave my shot pouch at home and just carry all my gear in my pockets. In my right pocket I carried some loose .32 cal ball, my shot snake and a small scarf with turn screw, cleaning toggle and spare flints wrapped in it. In my left pocket I carried a pocket compass, notebook/lead pencil, fire kit and tobacco pouch.In my trouser pocket I carried a pocket knife. These items along with my horn with attached new (old) pipe bowl powder measure and canteen/food wallet was all the stuff I carried.
I know it sounds like a lot for a day hunt (though I’ve seen many folks carry A LOT more) I wanted to try out a simple rig for an upcoming few day hunt I’m getting ready for. I have to say this set up would work for a many day hunt with the addition of a few items in a knapsack/wallet.
The clothes I wore was a pair of viriginia cloth trousers, Linen waistcoat, wool jacket and hunting shirt. On my feet I wore my wool stockings and a pair of mocs. The temps went from 40-upper 50’s so I went with wearing a knit cap under my round hat. I have to say that I was really comfortable all day long. I covered a lot of ground and would then plant myself in a blind. I never once got overheated/cold.
Right off the bat my new rig got it’s first test on speed loading. Along the top of the first ridge I walked I came across a few squirrels hanging out eating hickory nuts. I pulled up on the first squirrel I saw and bam! Or should I say *long flash…….bang! A hangfire….and yup you guessed it lack of follow through (DOH!) So I quickly loaded watching the squirrels move off to my left.
I dropped down to the next table and ran the direction I had last seen the squirrels bolt. Well either I overestimated the distance they traveled or am way faster then I thought (probably the first) but looking into the trees ahead of me I almost walked right by a big fox squirrel 20 feet away. SO I pulled up and Bam….dead squirrel.
The rest of the day was less eventful though I did see around 20 deer, flush a few grouse and see the world’s biggest woodpecker. I also gathered some dogbane shoots for making cordage. It was just nice to get outside and scout out some area for fall turkey.
The pocket “shot pouch” seemed to work out really well. It cut down on the straps and all the weirdness that goes along with that. Nothing to cut into my shoulders or shift around to get in the way. I also knew which pocket to get into for what so it got rid off the digging thru a pouch for everything. I also wouldn’t really have needed much more gear to stay out for a few more days at all. I’m going to head out with this kit a few more times and then try it out at the Welbourne event for 2 nights out.
Now please before the hate mail starts I am by no means suggesting hunting/shot bags are wrong. In fact I’m a huge fan of shot bags I have quite a collection at this point. In fact they end up being décor in different rooms as I keep buying/making more. I’m just putting some info out on something I felt like trying.

greensburg show and Stockings

Some of the woven stuff I cranked out over the past few weeks....next tumplines

Bag hose.....these things rock...if you can sew a running stitch and use a tape measure you can have correct stockings

First off I'd like to thank all the folks that stopped by my table at the Greensburg CLA show. I'm really amazed at all the people that are actuly reading this thing. The show was awesome and I got to sit down with Tom Conde for some weaving talk and picked up some pointers on beading. I was also set up next to an awesome young blacksmith Jed Wray. This guy is doing some great knives and tools and I'm hoping to have some of his stuff in the near future to review for you all.
THe high point of the shsow for me was looking at Fred Griser's (sp?) with ALan Gutchess. Alan pointed out some really cool details on a few of fred's guns and I was able to handle a German Import Buck and ball gun. From Alan's research it's a weapon you'd see in the hands of alot of common folks heading west. that being said Alan is a bastard and talked me into one....SO my kids should have a nice Guthrie knife, axe and gutchess gun to look forward too, I'll be dead by then lol and i still need to pay off my type G anyhow....
SO The temp is starting to drop (again) so Its time to start thinking about cold weather gear. The most important piece of gear this time of year is the stuff on your feet. Shoes are an odd deal…at this point I hate fugawee’s…..I only know a few ppl that like these but personaly I found they didn’t hold up well. I also tried the shoes put out by /carried by flying canoe traders. The FC shoes are ok for awhile but have all kinds of construction errors and weirdness in them. But they are way more comfortable then the fugawee’s in my opinion
The Robert Land shoes are ok for me for around a season but if you do much walking in them they fall apart rather quickly. The caveat here is I do a lot of walking/treks in an area that is FULL of iron ore/rocks. So my shoes put up with a lot of wear. If you don’t do much trekking these shoes should be perfect for you in both wear and construction (to a point).
Well I guess I should just get down to brass tacks and focus on stockings….Like I mentioned in an earlier blog Chris Utely stockings are pretty awesome and if your doing more walking then from the car to the campsite they are right up your alley for knitted stockings.
For awhile I was a fan of Paul Meekins stockings but that lasted until I walked 10 miles s in them. While they look good they sucked for walking. When they got wet they acted like sandpaper and killed your feet. (Worn as a second layer they are great). This was the problem I had on the Brandywine walk. I knew they’d eat my feet if wet but I ignored it and well…..it sucked. SO my meekins stockings are now stocking sleeves for a linen waistcoat or going to be stocking leggings.
So honestly the best stockings I’ve worn during an trek/scout/march I made myself. I picked up a pair of stockings based off the Kannick’s Korner Pattern from Travis Crowder a few years ago and they have been the best pieces of footwear I’ve ever worn. (chris’s stockings coming in a very close 2nd)
Travis used a Jersey Knit organic wool from a vendor he found But man I cant say enough good things about these stockings. The fact he used a knit fabric allowed them to stay up when I was wearing them and the construction kept them from causing me the 1000 blisters I found with the meekin’ s knit stockings.Using his pattern and fabric I sewed myself up a second pair of stockings and 4 years later both pair are still in good shape.
I also made a pair of stockings from this pattern from some hemp cloth in a Jersey knit and they worked out great. Summer weight stockings that kept me from getting blisters and were really nice in the middle of july under a pair of leggings.
So for around $40-50 (20 for the pattern 20 for the cloth) you can make yourself a few pairs of awesome stockings that will last awhile and improve the look of your kit. The Kannick’s Korner Pattern is also in a packet of gear for women so if you phrase it right your wife will think your buying her a set of patterns and you’ll get bonus points “I just need to try this pattern out first honey before I sew up your stockings”.

Kanniks Korner- Some really nice patterns
http://www.kannikskorner.com/patwomen.htm

Near Sea Naturals Source for the organic jersey knit wool
http://www.nearseanaturals.com/

Native water containers for scouts or the sound of One hand cupping

Von Reck's Image.....Guy carrying a bottle, crazy

Native water containers...Bottles, tin canteen, Jug and yeah I guess a gourd

New Turkey Call made by John Curry

Man do I love fall…now when is it going to start? 90 degree days and 45 degree nights is really throwing my system off. I’m still getting all my gear back in order to head out to the woods for some small game/turkey hunting. Speaking of Turkey hunting I got a nice gift in the mail This morning A wingbone turkey call made By John Curry. I’ve been sitting around using the call all morning to the amusement of my daughter Cindy. I just hope I don’t amuse turkeys with it as much.
SO one of the reasons I started this Blog was I’ve been working on a Native “trekking” article for…well ever. I have a ton of info and paring it down to fit into one article just wasn’t happening. So here I can go Piece by piece the gear I have found that was commonly carried by 18th century natives from what I have found in narratives, journals, ledgers as well as archeological reports and Images.
SO I’ll start off simple…Something to carry Liquid in. I’ve heard a lot of native reenactors complain about just what they should carry water in on a scout. I heard a lot of theories “they just drank from every spring with a cupped hand” (love flute plays in the distance, cue single tear) to “just use a cupped hand to get from over the side of the canoe”….honestly I heard A LOT of “cupped hand” theories which led me to think that those in the hand camp had not walked very far from the Canvas villages.
Then about the 20th time I read James Smith’s narrative “scouwa” I came across a passage that is often used but for the trophy coat guys: " I observed they had a great many bloody scalps, Grenadier's caps, British canteens.." There it was a simple answer to a simple problem. I pointed it out to a few people but the response was stand offish as canteens didn’t seem to many like an item a native would buy.
The more I started digging in the Fort Pitt records other examples of native use of what many would feel would be a totally euro item. Then I found Canteens listed as the goods being sold by Bayton Wharton and Morgan and bam there it was:

1765 Fort Pitt Day book
Alex Mckee
Delivered the Indians for the use of the crown
2 canteens @ 5/…….10
1 breechclout /to a senneca/ ..7..6
1 pr halfthick Leggins ..5..
6 broaches @ 1/6 ..5..
1 callico Shirt 1.._.._ 2/11/6

The purchase of canteens by natives happens a few more times in the day book. SO for me this was proof of their commonality among the Ohio country Tribes during the 1760’s. Yes I know this is very specific but it was what I was looking for. But the purchase of rum, brandy and shrub of natives at the fort didn’t match up the amount of canteens being sold so I started looking for more documented examples of ways to carry these Items.
The most basic Item is the Glass Bottle. Bottles of many sizes and styles pop up in archeological sites from Michigan to Georgia. The more I looked the more I started finding bottles also popping up in images of natives as well as in a Canoe Model of all places.
One of my favorite images of a traveling native was done by Phillip Von Reck of a Yuchi in the 1730’s. The Image clearly shows (along with notes) a native man wearing his pack as well as carrying a small mallet bottle of “rum or brandy”. A simple easy way to carry water…in a bottle held in your hand. It’s also not a far stretch to assume (there is that word) it would be plausible to carry a bottle of water in your pack.
Another style of liquid container I found in a few sites were Ceramics. The Conestoga site in Eastern Pennsylvania contained some larger ceramic jugs as well as some delftware containers. These same style Containers were also found in Tunica sites in the Mississippi Valley. While both these communities are earlier then most of reenact it shows the ready use of European items for more than just hunting and warfare.
Well I should be weaving. I hope this gave you some new info/Ideas to think about and hopefully try out. Well I should be weaving I have a big show this weekend I’m heading to the “Fine Folk art and Firearms” Show in Greensburg, Pa. I’ll be set up with Mike Galban, Travis Crowder and Mike Burke’s powder horns so stop by and say Hi.
Also if your on Face book check out the new site I put up to show my latest weaving/sewing projects
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=648771937#!/pages/The-Buffalo-TraceTreaty-elm-Traders/148727705165662

Wow way too much self promotion at the end of this one….Next thing you’ll know I’ll start taking myself seriously....get all golem on ya….mmm probably not.

These are great “stuff” books

Brain, Jeffrey P.1979 Tunica Treasure. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 71. Harvard University, Cambridge.

1988 Tunica Archaeology. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, No. 78. Harvard University, Cambridge.

Kent, Barry C. 1984 Susquehanna's Indians. Harrisburg: The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission,