|
|
|
| Guidelines for Basic Equipment used in Native PortrayalsFood & Cooking GearFire starting kit: flint, steel, tinder, and something to transport it in such as a leather bag. Kettle(s) tin or brass - various sizes appear on trade lists, but not small "corn boilers" or "muckets". For a stationary camp, a limited number of cast iron items may be used. Personal eating utensils: Bowls, plates or trenchers made of wood, tin, or pottery Spoons made of wood, pewter, or silver. Knife to prepare food or to eat with. You may already be wearing one. Drinking vessel or noggin Canteen, jug, or water gourd. While many accounts suggest that water wasn't carried, modern requirements win out in this case. Period bottles are more fragile, but acceptable, as are small kegs for group water storage. A large water gourd can be shared by an entire camp, and is relatively easy to make, if a little fragile to transport. Ad-hoc cooking utensils: Natives made use of stone and other natural items to assist in food preparation. You may want to bring some of these along with you to ensure they are clean and useful. Cooking stones, river cane skewers for meat, wooden tripods for using over the fire, etc. are all important to have to make camp look lived in. Pack and BeddingThe most basic pack method is a bed/blanket roll using a tumpline. Twined pack bags are also very well documented. For permanent camps, baskets and large gourd containers are good options. For men, military style packs and haversacks are acceptable alternatives as well. Woolen Blanket(s) Sleeping hide(s) (optional) a buffalo, bear or elk hide or a couple of deer hides are good to have to sit and sleep on. They can be expensive or time consuming to tan yourself, so save them for after you've gotten most of your other material together. Twined Pack Bag Tumpline (Burden Strap) Twined tumplines, burden straps or hoppus were commonly used. Leather straps with either cordage or leather ties appear in collections and accounts from the period. Small twined or leather bags for storage of your stuff when not rolled up in your bedroll. Linen Haversack if attached to a military unit Military Pack if attached to a military unit Groundcloth/shelter: Treated sail, tarp, or oilskin shared among group or individuals Personal items:
Personal items such as pipes and tobacco, combs, small trade items, etc. appear
regularly in accounts and lists from the period. These small, usually low
cost items can be the added "bang" for little buck. Do research
before you buy, even if inexpensive.
Sewing kit: needles, thread, scissors, leather, various materials Mirror, comb, paint kit Period pipe and tobacco (No modern cigarettes, please. A small pipe is fine, please use one rather than cigarettes. If you need one, see a member; we can probably help.) Period gaming pieces such as gambling sticks can help to pass the time Weapons and Accoutrement
These are necessary for battle reenactment and hunting scenarios, but not needed
for daily life sort of events, though a knife or hawk are useful if eating or
demonstrating many skills.Gun: The trade gun produced for the deerskin trade was the most
common gun used by natives. Without getting into a lot of detail, the .58-62
caliber English and French smoothbore trade guns had walnut stocks and either
brass or iron fittings, and are an excellent choice for a native portrayal.
Rifled guns show up in some accounts, but were likely not very common.
This is a very expensive item; possibly the most expensive item in your kit, so
do your research first and remember that you can have an early gun at a late
century event, but not a late century gun at an early century event. Pistols were traded and given to native people. Do your research here as well. Some events discourage the use of pistols during live fire demonstrations, so don't select a pistol as your primary weapon. Bow and accoutrement: Archery was still alive among native people during this time, but it is difficult to use a bow in a battle reenactment. If you have a period bow, arrows, and other gear, please feel free to bring it to discuss with the public or to private trekking type events. Knives: the "scalping knife" was the most common knife on
trade lists. This would have been a simple belt or neck knife with a half
or full tang and a wooden handle, in what was commonly called "French"
or "British" style blades. Many sutlers sell these knives. The
sheath for a belt knife can be very simple, consisting of deer hide lined with
rawhide. Highly decorated neck knife sheaths can cost hundreds of dollars,
so make sure you purchase an appropriate item if you want to go this route. Folding knives with brass and bone or horn handles, along with wooden handled
"penny" knives show up regularly on trade lists, and are handy to have
in your shooting bag. Axes The round poll "tomahawk" and pipe hawk are most
commonly found, though spike hawks appear in some images and descriptions.
An inexpensive forged throwing hawk is a good starter that will last you for
years. For safety reasons, you should make a simple blade cover before
tucking it in your belt or sash. Larger felling or "squaw" axes are appropriate for using to collect firewood. It's very handy to have one in camp. Shooting bag: Native people made small open bags of twined cordage,
wool, deerskin, or cased animal skins. These can be time consuming to make or
expensive to buy; consult a member or do considerable research before you
invest. These are handy to have whether in a battle/hunting situation or
not, as you won't have any pockets. Horn: Even though you'll be required to use cartridges during battle reenactments, a horn is a necessity. Start with a simple white horn. Scrimshaw with a native provenance or traditional pattern can be a fun thing to do around the campfire, but is not necessary. A simple deerskin strap will serve you well with a horn, or you may make or purchase a twined or fingerwoven one from wool and/or hemp or jute twine, including white beads for decoration if desired. Research patterns before investing time and money. Shooting supplies: cleaning supplies, forged screwdriver and vent pick, wire worm, tow linen, cleaning/shooting patches, small container of grease. The basic equipment necessary to keep your firearm safe and efficient. Craft-related items:There is much more to 18th century native life than warfare. Tools and materials to use for making native goods are a great idea; please think of the context the event is set when deciding what to bring to work with. Modern ItemsThere are some things needed for events that may or may not have analogs in
the 18th century. Medications, shaving kits, personal hygeine items, etc.,
unless they are documentable to the people and the period, should be stored in
period containers whenever possible, and kept out of sight. |
|
Copyright 2004-2007-Southern Indian Department |
