The toas whiskey that came up the front range and to the
forts in the west came on the backs of mules in small kegs.
This wheat based drink (toas lightning) when then taken to
places like El Pueblo where it was put into larger containers and deluted to be sold at the forts or sold to the smaller traders in the area.
The reason for the small kegs, was that there wasn't a wagon
raod over the old la veta pass, so animals had to be used for a
while. When wagon roads like the raton pass was openned up to its traffic, changes were made to all forms of trading.
On the hair question, it is always hard to say. We do have descriptions of men with shoulder length hair, but most of miller's, kane's and bodmer's works show hair that was over the ear. I think that alot depended on how long the man was in the west and what he felt he wanted to look like.
mike.
-------Original Message-------
Sent: 03/03/03 06:35 PM
>
>
Hello again,
I have two more questions. I sure hope there ain't a limit on questions.
Number one. How long is long hair on a mountain man. I remember reading
"down to the shoulders" several times. Anyone find anything different?
Number two. Since mountain men didn't carry canteens much even on horses,
(see, I have been readin' y'all's old posts)I was wondering about
something.
I read somewhere that whiskey was hauled to rendezvous in custom
containers
shaped to fit the side of a horse, I think they were tin but wouldn't
stake
my life on it. Is there any record with more detail about those
containers?
Maybe that would be a good way to haul water around after we drink all the
whiskey!
I'm still new to this computer stuff so if I can do anything that works
<DIV>Check out The Book of Buckskinning ll, scurlock publishing. There is a chapter on camp gear, including lazy backs, furniture, etc...... hope this helps. Randy</DIV>
<DIV>Brothers, I broke my left heel a little over a week ago. I will be confined to crutches for 6-8 weeks. It is imperative that I keep my weight off of my heel (or could ruin the bone). I'm gonna check out thrift stores for wooden crutches, as there are a couple of doin's I'd like to participate in before I'm healed. I'm wearing a removable cast. I should keep it on, so I don't fall and reinjure, etc.... Has anyone had a similar situation? Does anyone have any constructive advice as to how to hide casts, crutches, etc.... I'm pretty creative, but am unable to do much work due to my predicament. The doc says I had better stay off it, keep it elevated, etc... I have a couple of ideas, but I am interested in words of experience. Thanks in advance. Yfab, Randy</DIV>
Lanney's advice seems mighty sound to me. I'd say go ahead and look for the wooden crutches if you can find them.
My son broke his arm a few years ago. We went to the local Tandy at that time and bought some cheap remnant leather (can't recall if it was buckskin, but it looked like it)and cut it into 3 inch wide strips and as long as what ever the remnants were, sewed the pieces together end to end and then wrapped it around the cast till all that was visibal was the leather. Didn't look too bad. I can't imagine folks giving you too much trouble over that. If they do, well I'll keep my sentments to my self here.
Now on the other hand if you want to be one hundred percent "Period Correct" you could cut off your foot and carve yerself a wooden leg.
Longshot
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<DIV> Thanks for all the good advice, etc.... I appreciate all of the heartfelt well wishes. I do plan on following Dr.'s advice so that I heal well. I figured you all would give me some ideas, good advice, etc.... I feel better already knowing that I have such a huge pool of friends who are willing to help a brother in distress. Here are some of my favorite responses:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hey....you boys that can't git around so good..... can I have yer stuff??</DIV>
<DIV><BR>Another Brother is gonna get cut on and be in a non mobile situation soon.. Mebby we all oughtta get together and have us a "gimpy-voo" We can lay in supplies, plenty of liquid pain killer and a few stout Pilgrims for git n' fetch and other camp duties and have us a time. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>D</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM>The only thing I can tell ya is..........</EM></STRONG>
<DIV><FONT face=Erie size=2><STRONG><EM> Jump on a plane to Nashville......</EM></STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM><FONT face=Erie size=2> I'll come pick ya up, and we can sit out on my back deck watchin the turkey, deer and a handful of other critters that wander through my place (48 acres)........and we can whittle ya out a set of wooden git-arounds, while we ponder all the things that have been.....some of the things that are......and what might be tommorrow......!!</FONT></EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM></EM></STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV>Walt forgot to mention we can throw you over a pack mule and tie you down with a diamond</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>How about a travois and a wild eyed stallion??? If nothin' else, grand entertainment!! < BG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV>And if the cast bugs you, wrap it in swaths of white cotton, ornamented</DIV>
<DIV>with "blood" stains and maybe some fake wooden splints. Might as well</DIV>
<DIV>have fun with it!! </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>thanks again for all of the good input. Yfab, Randy</DIV></FONT></DIV>
> ...Does anyone know if the patches for guns bought at Wal-Mart make good char cloth?
If they are 100% cotton (or linen) they should be fine. But my question would be why, unless you have a lot more patches than you'll need for gun care/shooting.
Just this week I made enough char cloth to supply myself and several friends for a year or more (including several demonstrations each week at the living history site where we volunteer). I use material from old clothing, towels and such (jeans, t shirts, socks etc.). In a pinch I go to the local "Dollar Store" and buy a bundle of cheap washcloths or dish towels... as long as it 100% cotton or linen.
I make my char the easy way. Just a two pound coffee can and a piece of aluminum foil for a lid. Throw about ten 2" squares of cloth in the can, cover snugly with the foil, poke a couple of holes in the foil with a toothpick, set it on the stove and cook until the smoke stops. Let the can cool to the touch before removing the foil. .....WARNING...... If you have and wish to keep a "significant other" you should cook your char outside on the grill or camp fire... no matter how high the range fan is on or how many windows you have open it will stink up the house.
Tim
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<P>Note that as far as an astringent goes, Sage Brush (<EM>artimesia tridentata) </EM>leaves are a great source for this. They can even be used directly from the plant, rubbed vigorously with the hands to help in killing bacteria. This is what we teach people to use in the backcountry and at the Boulder Outdoor Survival School (BOSS).</P>
<P>Heaven knows that out west we never run out of sage brush. It is also a great source for bow drill spindles or fire boards used in combination with dead cottonwood root fireboards or spindles for bow drill fire sets.</P>
Very well said...thank you for clarifying things that I was trying to
say, but didn't seem to get it out quite as well as you. Thanks.
Blood
On Fri, 2003-03-28 at 10:27, LODGEPOLE@aol.com wrote:
> This topic becomes more and more interesting as it goes on. Each answer to the question seems to lead to more questions. Some folks seem to ghave thier minds made up in one direction or another, and of course there seems to be those who have to have written proof or it did not happen etc. Will we ever get the true answer? Maybe not. But just for the heck of it let me add a question and maybe we can keep the thread alive a bit longer.
>
> In a message dated 3/25, Blood writes:
>
> << Maybe tow is something other than what we think it is. Or it was called different things at that. >>
>
> Now this takes me back to an earlier post (can't recall who's) where they were arguing against "Char Cloth" ever being used. They showed some documentation that "Punk" was used. I took from that that this was their argument in favor of "Punk Wood." Often while researching we have discovered that what has stalled us in finding what we were looking for was that the definition of a word today was not necessarily the definition of that word 200 years ago and vice versa. So my questions are 1.) was "Char Cloth" called Char Cloth 200 years ago or was it called something else? 2.)Was what they called "Punk" 200 years ago Punk Wood or was possibly something else? Could "Char Cloth" been called Punk? 3.) over the years we've seen many references made indicating that the mountain men seem to always seemed to purchase new cloth shirts at rendezvous for themselves. When these shirts wore out what did they do with them? Cleaning patches? Char cloth perhaps?
>
> I'm not one of those hard core reenactors that has to show up at rendezvous with 32 ten pound historical volumes to authenticate everything in my camp or to discredit someone else's. I'm just in it for the fun and to learn about something that interests me much. There are many ways to start a fire and I've used most of them at one time or another. Just depends on what the circumstances are. If I've got some old cotton cloth around that isn't going to be much good for anything else anymore, I'll char it. If I come across some good soft rotting wood, I'll char that. If I have neither, I can use powder or perhaps my magnifying glass. I suspect that perhaps this may well have been the way they did things 200 years ago as well. Some things were so everyday common that it wasn't written about, so we may never know. 200 years from now when some fool wants to reenact the life and times of Longshot, how will he go about some small things? I smoked for some years. Did I use matches or a lighter to light them? I've never written about it. There is a picture I'm aware of though that shows me using matches to light one. Could this pic be used as definite proof that I used matches? I suppose so. Truth is that I rarely did. I almost always used a lighter. So the only way anyone 200 years ago will know is if someone saves this e-mail for the prosperity of the world. What does all this rambling mean? I guess that I will always keep an open mind and not say "This IS how it was done!"
>
> Longshot
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