I stopped by the Glenbow museum in Calgary last week, and among the many
things that caught my eye was a "Red River Cart". It was beautifully hand
made, old, and appeared to be held together with raw hide. Does anyone have
the history on the cart? I could find no information on it while I was there.
Ymos,
Steve
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 12:19:23 -0800
From: bcunningham@gwe.net (Bill Cunningham)
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly had a whale of an article, complete
with drawings, probably 15 years ago.
- -----Original Message-----
From: SWcushing@aol.com <SWcushing@aol.com>
To: hist_text@lists.xmission.com <hist_text@lists.xmission.com>
Date: Sunday, February 13, 2000 9:36 AM
Subject: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
>Ho the List,
>
>I stopped by the Glenbow museum in Calgary last week, and among the many
>things that caught my eye was a "Red River Cart". It was beautifully hand
>made, old, and appeared to be held together with raw hide. Does anyone have
>the history on the cart? I could find no information on it while I was
there.
>
>Ymos,
>
>Steve
>
>----------------------
>hist_text list info: http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/maillist.html
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 16:56:05 -0600
From: "northwoods" <northwoods@ez-net.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
The carts are interesting, and there use in the annual buffalo hunts of the
metis' people were even more interesting. Some info. from the book "The
Canadians" says:
The buffalo hunt fllowed a precise pattern. It began with the initial
rendezvous at St. Boniface on the Red River and another gathering at
Pembina. At Pembina the Metis' erected a small town of tents ringed around
by there carts as protection against the Sioux who were hostile towards
there mixed blood cousins. Each morning a flag was hoisted on a cart
belonging to the captain whos guide would lead the hunt for that day; when
it was lowered the individual capatins and soldiers took over, directing the
arrrangement of the camp, policing it's borders and enforcing the rules of
the hunt. Some of the rules for the 1840 hunt were:
1. no buffalo to be run on the sabbath
2. no party to fork off or lag behind or go before without permission
3. no person top run buffalo before the given order
4. every captain with his men, in turn, to patrol camp and keep guard
5. for a first offense against the rules the offender to have his saddle and
bridle cut up
6. for a second offense the offender to have his coat cut up
7. for the third offense the offender to be flogged
8. any person convicted of theft, even to the value of a sinew, to be
brought to the center of camp and a crier call out his or her name three
times, and adding the word "thief" at each time
Every morning the metis' would set out on a generally westward course
fanning out in rows of carts a mile or more across. This broad front was a
measure of defense against the huge clouds of dust that were created by the
group. The noise from the wheels turning on the ungreased hubs was described
by one chronicler as sounding like "A thousand fingernails being drawn
across a thousand panes of glass." The cart itself was a marvel of utility.
Indeed it was the most important part of metis' economic life, so much so
that the indians called the metis' "wagon men" and devised a sign to
describe them, circling forefingers to signify wheels. The cart was a marvel
of utility. It's light wooden body would support a 1000 pounds. It's dished
out wheels made it virtually impossible to capsize. "A curious looking
vehicle" the artist Paul Kane reported. "made by themselves with there own
axes, and fastened together with wooden pins and leather strings. The tire
of the wheel is made of buffalo hide and put on wet; when it becomes dry it
shrinks, and when it is dry it is so tight that it never falls off and lasts
as long as the cart holds together."
in these carts for the hunt of 1840 went 740 firearms, 1300 pounds of shot,
150 gallons of gunpowder, and 6,240 flints.
20 days out on the hunt, at sundown, the guide brought them within site of a
huge herd fo buffalo. At dawn 400 horseman mounted and reigned up in ranks,
awaiting the command from the chief of the hunt. At his signal the whole
group broke ground and made for the buffalo, first at a trot, then at a
gallop, and lastly at full speed. The whole herd took flight and horses and
riders were presently among them. The horses plunged through the herd guided
only by pressure from the riders knees. With both hands free, the hunters
would fire and reload at a dead run. Musket balls were carried in the mouth,
and after firing, powder was poured into the barrel from a flask and a ball
spit down the barrel. It was seated by dropping the butt fo the gun on the
saddle seat. At the end of the run an observer named Alexander Ross said one
horse had been killed, and two more disabled by falls. One rider had broken
his shoulder and another lost three fingers from a burst gun. A third was
shot in the knee by a fellow hunter. And in the evening 1,375 tongues were
brought into camp.
The hunt continued until all of the carts were filled to overflaowing. Ross
noted that the hunters brought back more than 1,000,000# of meat. The metis'
had celebrated this hunt for decades before this 1840 hunt, and continued it
for 300 more years.
This hunt was one of the contributing factors of the troubles that would
finally engulf the metis' people.
northwoods
- -----Original Message-----
From: SWcushing@aol.com <SWcushing@aol.com>
To: hist_text@lists.xmission.com <hist_text@lists.xmission.com>
Date: February 13, 2000 11:36 AM
Subject: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
>Ho the List,
>
>I stopped by the Glenbow museum in Calgary last week, and among the many
>things that caught my eye was a "Red River Cart". It was beautifully hand
>made, old, and appeared to be held together with raw hide. Does anyone have
>the history on the cart? I could find no information on it while I was
there.
>
>Ymos,
>
>Steve
>
>----------------------
>hist_text list info: http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/maillist.html
>
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 16:47:34 -0700
From: "Walt Foster" <Wfoster@cw2.com>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
From: "Bill Cunningham" <bcunningham@gwe.net>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
> The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly had a whale of an article, complete
> with drawings, probably 15 years ago.
>
> >Ho the List,I stopped by the Glenbow museum in Calgary last week, and
among the many
> >things that caught my eye was a "Red River Cart". It was beautifully hand
> >made, old, and appeared to be held together with raw hide. Does anyone
have
> >the history on the cart? I could find no information on it while I was
there.Steve
The Red River Cart People may have been in Judith Basin as early as 1850,
maybe a little before. The basin became a favorite spot for economic
employment as they were buffalo hunters and deal off robes. Earlier in my
life I was around quite a few decendents of these people. Bill, I
introduced you to Lennie Maletare at one of the Red Lodge Mountain Man
Rendezvous some years back. He is a direct decendent. While I was with him
one day in Hardin, Montana he met someone else for the first time who was a
shirt tail relative. Listening to them talk it seems that the Canadian
problem caused at least one of them to relocate near Hardin which is a long
ways away from Canada.
My wife second surgery has failed. She would like to move back to
Kennewick. If any members from the list are from this area would you please
contact me off line. Thanks Walt.
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2000 19:42:22 EST
From: SWcushing@aol.com
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
Northwoods.....that was an outstanding post! I will see if I can find a copy of "The Canadians"...do you know who wrote it? The cart sure was something to look at...beautiful workmanship!
Ymos,
Steve
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Date: 14 Feb 2000 06:50:50 -0800
From: Buck Conner <buck.conner@uswestmail.net>
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Red River Cart
On Sun, 13 February 2000, Bill Cunningham wrote:
>
> The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly had a whale of an article, complete
> with drawings, probably 15 years ago.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SWcushing@aol.com <SWcushing@aol.com>
I have a complete set of those plans as well as additional sketches and a few pictures that I can copy for anyone wanting them. Contact me off list and we'll work something out on the postage.
Later
Buck Conner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~ AMM ~ Lenni-Lenape Society ~ NRA ~~~~
~~~~ http://pages.about.com/buckconner ~~~
~ http://www.teleport.com/~walking/clark ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AMM Jim Baker Party / Colorado Territory
"meat's not meat until it's in the pan"
Aux Aliments de Pays!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Signup for your free USWEST.mail Email account http://www.uswestmail.net
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Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 12:17:20 -0500
From: "Henry B. Crawford" <mxhbc@TTACS.TTU.EDU>
Subject: MtMan-List: coffee pots
My source is Frazer Brothers of Dallas, TX. They are primarily Civil War
sutlers, but the big coffee pot with the extra handle near the base is a
pre Civil War item, dating as far back as the 1830s. Frazer's source I
believe is The Village Tinsmith.
HBC
****************************************
Henry B. Crawford Box 43191
Curator of History Museum of Texas Tech University
mxhbc@ttacs.ttu.edu Lubbock, TX 79409-3191
806/742-2442 FAX 742-1136
Website: http://www.ttu.edu/~museum
****** Living History . . . Because It's There ******
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Date: Mon, 14 Feb 2000 20:25:36 -0600
From: "Ratcliff" <rat@htcomp.net>
Subject: MtMan-List: red river carts
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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There were two red river carts, said to be copies of museum pieces, at a =
rendezvous I attended in Montana in 1996. I have a few photos of them =
(complete with a whopping longhorn steer to pull them) that I will =
gladly forward to anyone who asks.
YMOS
Lanney Ratcliff
ps: Please note that the OWNER not ME claimed that the carts were =
authentic. I have no knowledge of such things, but they looked great =
and a couple of the photos give pretty good detail (but not really close =
up). One had rawhide tires.
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