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From: owner-hist_text-digest@lists.xmission.com (hist_text-digest)
To: hist_text-digest@lists.xmission.com
Subject: hist_text-digest V1 #36
Reply-To: hist_text
Sender: owner-hist_text-digest@lists.xmission.com
Errors-To: owner-hist_text-digest@lists.xmission.com
Precedence: bulk
hist_text-digest Thursday, March 12 1998 Volume 01 : Number 036
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 19:25:02 EST
From: Traphand <Traphand@aol.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: August trip
if i an not mistaken it sat on the park grounds.do you need exact loc.of this
.warehouse.but i could find out.is this your first trip to st.louis.outside of
st.louis we also have a cave called traven bluff are traven cave were lewis
and clark stopped.its about a mile and half walk up some railroad tracks to
the cave. if you would like more infor about it let me know.
traphand
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 12:30:47 -0700
From: "David Tippets" <wolverine76@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Sack hats/Animal Efigy Hunting Hoods
Dear Sack Hats, (as Dear Abbey might respond)
If you interpret the "sack hat" just from the paintings of Alfred Jacob
Miller you are basing your interpretation on one of the tree's branches and
ignoring the roots. If you examine the roots, you can gain an understanding
even deeper than that of artist Miller and gain a greater appreciation of
what he was painting. Studying just the one branch of the tree you'll
create a good picture of the entire tree.
What are more generally referred to as, "animal efigy" hunting hoods, were
common among the Indian tribes of northeast and great lakes as cold-weather
hunting headgear. They were sketched by other artists besides Miller and
some examples exist in museum collections in the northeast. Before woolen
tradecloth and blankets were commonly available the Indians made them of
dressed skins(and probably hides and furs).
Though we often tend to forget or ignore it, many of the mountain men in the
western fur trade had either blood connections or connections by marriage to
tribes in the northeast. The Iroquois and the Ojibwa are probably the two
tribes best documented as contributing blood and labor to the western fur
trade. By 1800 there were already Christian Iroquois and mixed-blood hunters
working for the Northwest Fur Company in the Rocky Mountains, and even
though many of them came from Christian families in Lower Canada many also
still clung to much of their traditional tribal culture. Remember that when
the Hudson Bay Compay purchased the Northwest Fur Company they got most of
the NWC's employees in the deal. Then when Ashley's men offered them more
lucrative employment during their clash on the Weber River, many of the
Iroquois and mixed bloods became employees of the St. Louis based company.
Which is all to say, that it really wasn't all that far from Northest to the
Rocky Mountains.
This link is important to appreciate in understanding that there was a whole
lot more to these funny-eared hats than Alfred Jacob MIller ever knew.
Anthropologists studying the tribes that commonly wore the animal effigy
hunting hoods suggest that like all of the other animal efigy Indian
artifacts, they had religeous significance and were not just a type of
primative camo to wear while crawling up on buffalo. Animals were a very
important part of Indian religion and some animals had greater significance
than others, depending on the particular culture. In the Northeast, hunting
hoods have been documented as representing wolves, bears, and even owls.
While anthropologists have documented a religeous connection, they have also
generally conceded that we have lost our opportunity to fully understand the
religious meaning of the all the various animal efigies created as parts of
clothing, tools, pipes, etc..
Some of the insights we gain from studying the roots of these weird hats and
depiction of the hunting hoods by other artists in addition to Miller are:
the hats were primarily designed for cold-weather hunting; they were often
made to be snug fitting and form to the head; they often tied under the
chin; the hunting hoods were sewn of more kinds of material than just wool
blanketing; there was a lot of variety in the hoods form and appearence;
more than just one kind of animal is represented by the efigies; and last --
while we don't fully understand them -- we know that there was a lot more
behind the origens of the hunting hoods than Miller recorded.
Still hungry for more?
Frank Waters, in his book, "The Man Who Killed the Deer," offers some good
insight into how Indian religion and hunting practices interconnected. The
book is centered on a Southwestern tribe but really helps to give you an
Indian perspecive on hunting and animals.
Dave T.
- -----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Darilek <llsi@texas.net>
To: hist_text@lists.xmission.com <hist_text@lists.xmission.com>
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 1998 8:07 AM
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Sack hats
>John Richey wrote:
>
>> Wes Housler had a nice period piece at the RMNR last year in Montana.
>> It was a cap made from a scrap of wool, essentially a bag with exagerated
>> corners (to resemble ears) with one side cut out for his face. There are
>> many examples in Alfred Jacob Millers artwork of this type of headgear. .
. .
> If anybody would like to shed light on
>> the origins of the "sacks", I would be glad to hear it.
>
>In Miller's notes for "Approaching the Buffalo" he writes:
>
>"The Hunters form for themselves a peculiar kind of cap, - it has two
>ears with a flap reaching the shoulders. - This is worn with a double
>object in view, - one of which is to deceive the buffalo in approaching;
>- under such guise the Hunter is mistaken by the animal for a wolf, & is
>suffered to advance quite near. - The mop of hair covering the fore-head
>of teh Buffalo obscures his sight & aids the trapper in his deception."
>
>(Editorializing and opinion starts here) In spite of being such a
>well-documented type of headgear, I have never seen one at any
>rendezvous I have ever attended. But you see plenty of animal-skin with
>head headdresses, which might be difficult to document. Sounds like the
>wolf-ear cap is an excellent candidate for a very worthwhile project.
>
>Iron Burner
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 09:33:51
From: Carlson Wagonlit Travel <travel@turbonet.com>
Subject: MtMan-List: new rifle
List,
I want to use your knowledge.
I am looking at building a new rifle.
What does history tell us the mountain man
carried with him during the Fur Trade in the Pacific Northwest
Rocky Mountain area. I really want to build a flinter.
Can anyone help?
Matt Mitchell
Palouse Hills Muzzleloaders
Moscow, Idaho
travel@turbonet.com
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 13:58:06 -0700
From: "David Tippets" <wolverine76@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Capote oxymorons
Dear Detached,
Saying a capote didn't have a hood is roughly the equivalent of saying a
horse didn't have a tail, because by definition you can't have one without
the other.
Capote is a French word that by definition means "with a hood." The French
word first started popping up in fur trade records written by French fur
traders describing the hooded skin garments worn by Indians of the subarctic
region of Canada, way back when French was the dominant language of the fur
trade.
If you look at many of the primary sources of information about trade goods
for the Rocky Mountains, you'll see references to big overcoats made out of
wool blankets -- in which the American and British traders didn't use the
French word "capote" to describe the coats. There were not then, and there
are not now, capotes without hoods -- but there were then, and can be now,
big wool blanket overcoats.
Also, let me suggest that a capote, by definition is not necessarily a coat
make from from a wool blanket. It's the subcultural habits and colloquial
vocabulary of modern-day buckskinnerss that is creating a misconception that
capotes are blanket coats.
Capotes can be made from blankets, but don't have to be made from blankets.
However, if they are a capote they do have to have a hood. The hood could
be detachable, but when it's detached you don't have a capote. It's much
like a stallion; by definition the stallion has testicles, and once they are
detached you no longer have a stallion -- you have a gelding -- not a
stallion with detachable testicles.
To take this strain of thought a step further, mountain men weren't beaver
trappers with detachable capotes. You don't by definition have to have a
copote if you are a mountain man, but you do by definition have to have
testicles. So if a modern mountain man is inclined to prefer a large
overcoat with no hood, let him have the courage to defy the modern cultural
norms of behavior and venture forth to rendezvous capoteless.
Hope this really clears things up.
Dave T.
- -----Original Message-----
From: Basha Richey <mstar176@wf.net>
To: hist_text@lists.xmission.com <hist_text@lists.xmission.com>
Cc: Mstar176@wf.net <Mstar176@wf.net>
Date: Monday, March 09, 1998 4:48 PM
Subject: MtMan-List: Sack hats
>Longtrail,
> Nice link for reproduction fabrics. Patchworks, is going on my
>favorite list. I was particularly intrested in the indigo material.
> Wes Housler had a nice period piece at the RMNR last year in Montana.
>It was a cap made from a scrap of wool, essentially a bag with exagerated
>corners (to resemble ears) with one side cut out for his face. There are
>many examples in Alfred Jacob Millers artwork of this type of headgear. The
>one that comes to mind, is the oil painting of the "Trappers Bride". Two
>of the trappers in the background are wearing "sacks". It seems to me,
>that if you didn't have a hat, that one of these simple creations would be
>a good substitute. Miller also shows hunters using them to approach game,
>on all-fours, as camoflodge. In the AJM painting titled "Trappers and
>horses around a fire" used as an illustration in Ruxtons "Life In The Far
>West"(edited by Hafen) is a trapper wearing a "sack" made with a checked or
>crossed, striped pattern. Since the bags were made out of anything that
>was available (my opinion) then a piece if the woven Indigo from patchworks
>might be a nice piece of material for a reproduction of that trappers "Sky
>Piece".
> I believe Paul Mueller said in a recent link, that hoods were not
>attached to capotes, rather were buttoned or tied on. Am I wrong about the
>"sacks" or were they hoods for Capotes? Miller's paintings have few, if
>any capotes, but it was summertime. If anybody would like to shed light on
>the origins of the "sacks", I would be glad to hear it.
>
>John Richey
>"Yellow Stone"
>
>
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 14:58:27 -0800 (PST)
From: Lee Newbill <lnewbill@uidaho.edu>
Subject: MtMan-List: Traps
Hallo
A while back Dave Parks was a talking about a company called Montgomery
Fur Co., they sell traps, etc.
Was a wondering Dave, have you used their #4 double long springs? Are
they a decent trap? I've got a catalog of theirs coming in preparation
for this next season, and was curious.
At the shop I visited yesterday, Moscow Hide and Fur (URL on my page),
they had several used Newhouses for sale in the 4-4 1/2 size....2 of them
were listed for $17.50, three for $100+, and one for over $200. I believe
the $99 and up ones have "crossed over" from usable to collectable.
I'm thinking the more inexpensive Newhouses are a good buy? They also
have 5 #4 Triumphs with good springs for $10 apiece, has anyone heard of
this company?
How close in size, shape and wieght are the Newhouses and Triumphs in
relations to traps of the 1800's?
Last question, you've said in previous posts to the list, that you use a
piece of wood to set the traps on, have you ever used the U-stick method?
Regards
Lee Newbill
Viola, Idaho
email at lnewbill@uidaho.edu
Keeper of the "Buckskins & Blackpowder" Webpage
http://www.uidaho.edu/~lnewbill/bp.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 00:09:00 -0700
From: Fred Yoder <fyoder@mesa5.mesa.colorado.edu>
Subject: MtMan-List: Char
I've had really good success making char-cloth from 100% cotton turkish
toweling. Same technique, but the texture allows it to really catch a
spark and it burns good and long since the cloth is so thick...
In a non-period situation, 000 or 0000 steel wool works even better than
char and will also work as a distress or signal beacon. Hook a wad of
it to a piece of cord, stand in a clear (minimize risk of wild-fire)
area, spark it and swing it in a vertical circle. Makes a
"ring-of-fire"effect that can be seen much further off than you'd think,
and its pretty distinctive.
- --
Fred Yoder
Grand Junction, Colorado
mailto:fyoder@mesa5.mesa.colorado.edu
ICQ UIN: 2737053
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 01:05:51 -0800
From: Dave Parks <kc7cnw@magick.net>
Subject: MtMan-List: Re: Beaver Traps
Howdy Lee,
Glad you got to visit Moscow Hide & Fur, I hope you got to talk
with Gary Schroeder the owner. He's a really knowledgeable guy. I've had
the pleasure of meeting him at some of the fur sales. He writes the "Fur
Markets" department for Fur, Fish & Game Magazine.
As to your questions, I certainly think that #4 Newhouses in
decent condition for $17.50 are a good buy. The #4 1/2 you mention at a
much higher figure were what Newhouse called their "Wolf Trap". It came
with six feet of heavy chain with a heavy swivel at the trap, another
one halfway down the chain and a heavy two prong steel drag on the end
of the chain. They tend to bring high dollars today, even for being a
commonly used trap up until 30 years ago. I have one left in my
collection.
The Triumphs have not been made for many years and are a good
quality trap. At $10.00 each, I suggest you don't pass them up. As I
remember, Triumphs traps go back into the mid-twenties or early 1930's.
The man to ask in detail about these and any antique trap is my old
friend Bill Foreyt, Route 2 Box 56, Colfax, WA. (509) 397-3351, Bill is
a great guy and has an extensive collection of traps. Just a few years
ago, he told me that original fur trade era beaver traps were scarce in
any condition and a rough one would bring $150.00 and up......if you
could get one of the trap collectors to part with one. He's still
looking for one for me. About 12 years ago I sold him one of the rarest
traps in his collection.....but that's another story.
As far as your question of "How close in size, shape and weight
are the Newhouses and Triumphs in relation to traps of the 1800's?" A
close look at trap "D", figure 26 on page 121 of Carl P. Russell's book
"Firearms, Traps & Tools of the Mountain Men" (fifth printing,
University of New Mexico Press, 1983 Lib. of Congress Cat. Card #
77-81984) will show you just how close the Newhouse is to the originals.
Even if you found an original beaver trap of the 1820's on the banks of
Horse Creek in Wyoming.....it would be representive of that particular
trap maker and not all of the beaver traps used during this period.
Individual blacksmiths made traps that were of a design they had grown
up with and knew or a design they had seen by another blacksmith and
prefered to use.
The common thread that pretty much keeps this period beaver size
traps the same, is the use of the "jaw post" that held the trap jaws.
The ends of the jaws were pinned and hinged on these posts. This design
goes back to England and Europe. As for the weight of fur period traps,
they varied from 2 to 5 lbs. The base of trap "C" on pg. 121 of
Russell's book is very strange compared to others. It has a double base
rarely seen in these type of traps. Stranger yet, it was found in 1903
at an Indians grave here on the Rogue River (near me) in S/W Oregon.
It's weight is only 2 1/2 lbs, even with a double base!
The piece of wood you mentioned, is a piece of 1/2"X10"X10"
plywood that I carry to set coilspring traps with. The U-Stick you
mention is, I assume the pair of sticks tied together at one end with
leather strap and is used to "pinch" or depress the traps longsprings
for ease of setting the big traps. I have never bothered with them,
first of all, it would take two sets of them to set both springs unless
you made a device to hold one spring depressed while you depressed the
other spring. Bear traps came with big "C" clamps that were made to set
these huge traps. It was also the LAW that when setting a bear trap, you
were required to wire the c-clamps to the trap...incase a man stepped
into it. At least he would have the means to get his fractured leg out
of the trap! How he would walk back home is questionable? I set my #4
longsprings by breaking them over my knee in a quick downward thrust.
While holding the springs depressed, I flip the dog over the jaw and
slip it into the notch in the pan with my thumbs. It's easy to do after
a little practice.
Lee, another good deal is to look into some of the Bridger #5's.
They have a 7 1/2" jaw spread and are as tough as nails.They are
available from: R-P Outdoors
505 Polk St. /P.O. Box 1170
Mansfield, LA. 71052
1-800-762-2706
They offer the Bridger #5 for $22.99 each, which is about the
going
rate for them. Let me know how you do on your selection. I'm glad to
help anytime I can.
Regards, _M_ Manywounds
W
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 09:58:09 +0100
From: mstar176@wf.net (Basha Richey)
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Capote oxymorons
Dave T,
Thanks for exposing the roots, that was just exactly the type of
info I was looking for. If anyone cares to contribute more, we will boil
'em down an make a tea.
I appreciate the precise definition of the french origin of the name
of the hooded garments. I'll admit the type of french that I commonly use
out in the country in these southern lattitudes is the kind that my wife is
quick to point out that she doesn't care to hear. I keep telling here that
it is my naval training, she keeps pointing out that as Capt. Stewart
remarked of his employee Mr. Miller that my "early training...has been
faulty"!
As far as the capote oxymoron, it gets worse than that. My first
mistake, I added that unecessary remark about he capotes from my faulty
memory. When I got out my book and looked at the painting "The Trappers
Bride" the groom is wearing, you got it, a Hooded Garment! Next time I'll
get the book, and look, before opening my mouth.
Best Regards.
Your Humble Servant,
Yellow Stone
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 10:39:50 -0800
From: Gary Bell <micropt@gte.net>
Subject: MtMan-List: Capotes, hoods & etc.
- --------------53F7894D5AB28CD722576C56
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Basha Richey wrote:
> Dave T,
> Thanks for exposing the roots, that was just exactly the
> type of
> info I was looking for. If anyone cares to contribute more, we
> will boil
> 'em down an make a tea.
> I appreciate the precise definition of the french origin
> of the name
> of the hooded garments.
<snip out some stuff>
I feel a little awkward quoting latin in the mountain man camp.
My dictionary also traces the term capote back to the French, but
clearly the root word for a whole host of terms, from capital to
cap to kaput is the Latin capitalis. I wonder if there is an
even older Greek term that is similar! Anyway, I see a
continuous tradition of hooded military and civilian capes and
coats preceding the nineteenth century. Detaching the hood seems
a logical extension of that long tradition, although I doubt that
all hats derive from this root alone. All this speaks of the
white's tradition, which we as reenacters in the fur trade
mountain man era honor in our capotes, and apparently now in bag
style hats as well.
I would love to see an extended discussion of the Native American
traditions in this regard, extending the animal effigy and
hunting techniques remarks Dave T. and Basha R. recently shared.
As a humble offering along these lines I would cite an 1833
painting by Bodmer of an Assiniboin hunter named
Pasesick-Kaskutau wearing his winter hunting outfit, featuring a
rectangular pelt (coyote or badger are my guesses), stitched down
the back to make a very serviceable head cover much resembling a
pointed hood, with lower corners of the pelt reaching his
shoulders, and a black tipped tail attached near the bottom of
the back seam. It looks warm and dry, and may well obscure the
hunter's profile. No other Bodmer paintings in the wonderful
book _People of the First Man_, (edited by Thomas and
Ronnefeldt), show northern plains Native American headgear that
relate to capes or hoods -- virtually all of their headgear seems
plaited into the hair for decorative purposes. One can only
suppose that in winter they hunkered down into their buffalo
robes or blankets to keep their heads warm.
As a partisan of the real Northwest (upper left hand wet zone) I
am somewhat familiar with the local Native traditions of
generally huge conical woven hats, and appreciated the recent
references to them having once made it into Ft. Hall country ( I
believe) as a trade item. They do not seem to be related to
coats or capes except that many coastal people used grass rain
capes with these hats, and they shared similar materials.
So, does that leave us mountain man wannabees with the Miller
illustrated eared hoods?
Does anybody in camp recall finding capote hoods decorated with
fur?
Gary (no mountain name yet) Bell
- --------------53F7894D5AB28CD722576C56
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
<HTML>
Basha Richey wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>Dave T,
<BR> Thanks for exposing the roots,
that was just exactly the type of
<BR>info I was looking for. If anyone cares to contribute more, we
will boil
<BR>'em down an make a tea.
<BR> I appreciate the precise definition of the
french origin of the name
<BR>of the hooded garments.</BLOCKQUOTE>
<snip out some stuff>
<BR>I feel a little awkward quoting latin in the mountain man camp.
My dictionary also traces the term capote back to the French, but clearly
the root word for a whole host of terms, from capital to cap to kaput is
the Latin <I>capitalis. </I> I wonder if there is an even older Greek
term that is similar! Anyway, I see a continuous tradition of hooded
military and civilian capes and coats preceding the nineteenth century.
Detaching the hood seems a logical extension of that long tradition, although
I doubt that all hats derive from this root alone. All this speaks
of the white's tradition, which we as reenacters in the fur trade mountain
man era honor in our capotes, and apparently now in bag style hats as well.
<P>I would love to see an extended discussion of the Native American traditions
in this regard, extending the animal effigy and hunting techniques remarks
Dave T. and Basha R. recently shared.
<P>As a humble offering along these lines I would cite an 1833 painting
by Bodmer of an Assiniboin hunter named Pasesick-Kaskutau wearing his winter
hunting outfit, featuring a rectangular pelt (coyote or badger are my guesses),
stitched down the back to make a very serviceable head cover much resembling
a pointed hood, with lower corners of the pelt reaching his shoulders,
and a black tipped tail attached near the bottom of the back seam.
It looks warm and dry, and may well obscure the hunter's profile.
No other Bodmer paintings in the wonderful book _People of the First Man_,
(edited by Thomas and Ronnefeldt), show northern plains Native
American headgear that relate to capes or hoods -- virtually all of their
headgear seems plaited into the hair for decorative purposes. One
can only suppose that in winter they hunkered down into their buffalo robes
or blankets to keep their heads warm.
<P>As a partisan of the real Northwest (upper left hand wet zone) I am
somewhat familiar with the local Native traditions of generally huge conical
woven hats, and appreciated the recent references to them having once made
it into Ft. Hall country ( I believe) as a trade item. They do not
seem to be related to coats or capes except that many coastal people used
grass rain capes with these hats, and they shared similar materials.
<P>So, does that leave us mountain man wannabees with the Miller illustrated
eared hoods?
<P>Does anybody in camp recall finding capote hoods decorated with fur?
<P>Gary (no mountain name yet) Bell
<BR>
<BR>
<BR> </HTML>
- --------------53F7894D5AB28CD722576C56--
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 10:59:33 -0800 (PST)
From: Lee Newbill <lnewbill@uidaho.edu>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Re: Beaver Traps
On Thu, 12 Mar 1998, Dave Parks wrote:
<snip>As far as your question of "How close in size, shape and weight
> are the Newhouses and Triumphs in relation to traps of the 1800's?" A
> close look at trap "D", figure 26 on page 121 of Carl P. Russell's book
> "Firearms, Traps & Tools of the Mountain Men"<snip>
Thanks Dave!
I'm still waiting for me personal copy of CP Russell's book to arrive,
ordered it last week. Think I'll snap up those Triumphs and look hard at
the Newhouses. Who'd a thought traps would someday be a collector's item.
I can remember when I was a boy in the sixties, wandering through my
Grandpa's and Uncle's barns in NE Washington, playing with piles of 'em.
Traps that have been long ago sold off as scrap and junk. If I'd of only
known then, what trails I would be wandering on now.....
Regards
Lee Newbill
Viola, Idaho
email at lnewbill@uidaho.edu
Keeper of the "Buckskins & Blackpowder" Webpage
http://www.uidaho.edu/~lnewbill/bp.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 09:40:47 -0600
From: Jim Lindberg <jal@cray.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Capote oxymorons
Speaking of capotes and hooded garments, one of our Voyageur members
just returned from visiting family in France. She reported that capote
is slang for prophylactic. The proper word being closer to
"preservative". Her husband using his best french informed the family
that the reason french bread tasted so much better in France was because
they didn't use "preservatives" to which everyone just starred at him!
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 12 Mar 1998 15:53:25 -0600 (CST)
From: mxhbc@TTACS.TTU.EDU (Henry B. Crawford)
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Capotes, hoods & etc.
>Basha Richey wrote:
>
>> Dave T,
>> Thanks for exposing the roots, that was just exactly the
>> type of
>> info I was looking for. If anyone cares to contribute more, we
>> will boil
>> 'em down an make a tea.
>> I appreciate the precise definition of the french origin
>> of the name
>> of the hooded garments.
>
><snip out some stuff>
>I feel a little awkward quoting latin in the mountain man camp.
>My dictionary also traces the term capote back to the French, but
>clearly the root word for a whole host of terms, from capital to
>cap to kaput is the Latin capitalis. I wonder if there is an
>even older Greek term that is similar! Anyway, I see a
>continuous tradition of hooded military and civilian capes and
>coats preceding the nineteenth century.
Just to throw more hardware into the works, the Spanish term capote, with
the accent on th last syllable, translates as "cape." Three years ago, I
wrote the history of a log cabin here at the Museum that was moved from
Guadalupe County, Texas. The structure is officially called the El Capote
Cabin. It came from a stock farm of the same name, so named because of the
cape-like land formations located near the farm. The formations were named
way back during the Spanish period, pre 1821. It does not surprise me that
the French, Latin, and Spanish terms are identical except for slight
differences in pronounciation.
My two pesos.
Cheers,
HBC
*****************************************
Henry B. Crawford Curator of History
mxhbc@ttacs.ttu.edu Museum of Texas Tech University
806/742-2442 Box 43191
FAX 742-1136 Lubbock, TX 79409-3191
WEBSITE: http://www.ttu.edu/~museum
********** Opening Day, March 31!!! **********
------------------------------
End of hist_text-digest V1 #36
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