Gulliver's Travels & The Gunpowder Bag.

Gunpowder bags were used in the 18th century for carrying extra gunpowder, but these bags were usually contained in another pack, such as a knapsack. But in the 17th century it seems these gunpowder bags were carried instead of a powder horn. Have you ever read Gulliver's Travels? In that book a powder bag is mentioned, & that was the first time I had ever heard of such a powder bag, and the last time, until now. Here is a 17th century still life painting showing such a gunpowder bag.

... Oeil Still Life with a Bird Cage, Birdcalls, and a Powder-Bag By JOHANNES LEEMANS 

(The Hague c. 1633 – The Hague 1688)

I would say that this painting shows a leather waist belt attached to the powder bag proving that this bag at least was worn at the waist and not over the shoulder. The strap may be the same, but as you can see this strap is not buckled, leading me to think that it was not simply slung over the shoulder across the chest.

http://www.masterart.com/JOHANNES-LEEMANS-The-Hague-1633-The-Hague-1688-Trompe-l%E2%80%99Oeil-Still-Life-with-Bird-Cage-Birdcalls-and-Powder-Bag-PortalDefault.aspx?tabid=53&dealerID=1806&objectID=332180

Samuel Hearne 5. August 1770. Gunpowder Bag.

The person I engaged at Cathawhachaga to carry my canoe proving too weak for the task, another of my crew was obliged to exchange loads with him, which seemed perfectly agreeable to all parties; and as we walked but short days' journies, and deer were very plentiful, all things went on very smoothly. Nothing material happened till the eighth, when we were near losing the quadrant and all our powder from the following circumstance: the fellow who had been released from carrying the canoe proving too weak, as hath been already observed, had, after the exchange, nothing to carry but my powder and his own trifles; the latter were indeed very inconsiderable, not equal in size and weight to a soldier's knapsack. As I intended to have a little sport with the deer, and knowing his load to be much lighter than mine, I gave him the quadrant {42} and stand to carry, which he took without the least hesitation, or seeming ill-will. Having thus eased myself for the present of a heavy and cumbersome part of my load, I set out early in the morning with some of the Indian men; and after walking about eight or nine miles, saw, from the top of a high hill, a great number of deer feeding in a neighbouring valley; on which we laid down our loads and erected a flag, as a signal for the others to pitch their tents there for the night. We then pursued our hunting, which proved very successful. At night, however, when we came to the hill where we had left our baggage, I found that only part of the Indians had arrived, and that the man who had been entrusted with my powder and quadrant, had set off another way, with a small party of Indians that had been in our company that morning. The evening being far advanced, we were obliged to defer going in search of him till the morning, and as his track could not be easily discovered in the Summer, the Southern Indians, as well as myself, were very uneasy, fearing we had lost the powder, which was to provide us with food and raiment the remainder of our journey. The very uncourteous behaviour of the Northern Indians then in[93]company, gave me little hopes of receiving assistance from them, any longer than I had wherewithal to reward them for their trouble and expense; for during the whole time I had been with them, not one of them had offered to give me the least morsel of victuals, without asking something in exchange, which, in general, was three times the value of {43} what they could have got for the same articles, had they carried them to the Factory, though several hundred miles distant.

I got up at daybreak, and, with the two Southern Indians, set out in quest of our deserter. Many hours elapsed in fruitless search after him, as we could not discover a single track in the direction which we were informed he had taken. The day being almost spent without the least appearance of success, I proposed repairing to the place where I had delivered the quadrant to him, in hopes of seeing some track in the moss that might lead to the way the Indians were gone whom our deserter had accompanied. On our arrival at that place, we found they had struck down toward a little river which they had crossed the morning before; and there, to our great joy, we found the quadrant and the bag of powder lying on the top of a high stone, but not a human being was to be seen. On {45} examining the powder, we found that the bag had been opened, and part of it taken out; but, notwithstanding our loss was very considerable, we returned with light hearts to the place at which we had been the night before, where we found our baggage safe, but all the Indians gone; they had, however, been so considerate as to set up marks to direct us what course to steer. By the time we had adjusted our bundles, the day was quite spent; seeing, however, a smoke, or rather a fire, in the direction we were ordered to steer, we bent our way towards it; and a little after ten o'clock at night came up with the main body of the Indians;[95]when, after refreshing ourselves with a plentiful supper, the first morsel we had tasted that day, we retired to rest, which I at least enjoyed with better success than the preceding night.

http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/two-more-gunpowder-bags.html

 

Tinder & Tinderbox Facts.

(1) Charred cloth is a good tinder, but it does not last as long as tinder made directly from wild plants, and cloth for charring is not available in a wilderness situation.

(2) All the plant tinders I have used to date have been easily prepared by charring. Some tinders in the 18th century were prepared by soaking them in nitre, but Potassium Nitrate is not easily processed in a wilderness situation unless you use urine. Even so, charring is an easier preparation than urine and it works better.

(3) The tinderbox is used for storing and carrying tinder. It is used for making fire by striking the sparks directly into the tinderbox. It is used for preparing tinder by placing freshly charred tinder in the tinderbox and closing the lid to smother the smouldering tinder. Uncharred tinder material can be placed in the tinderbox with charred tinder, and it will get charred with use when making fire.

(4) Not all tinderboxes are waterproof. I recommend that you keep your tinderbox, a candle stub, and a little kindling in a greased leather fire bag. Make it large enough that the top/opening can be rolled down for closure.

(5) I recommend that you always carry spare tinder in a greased leather bag. I carry my spare tinder in one of my gunpowder bags.

 My brass tinderbox and fire steel.

Tinderbox with charred plant material; bracket fungus and punk wood.

Tinderbox with both charred tinder material and uncharred tinder material.

My greased leather fire bag.

My greased leather gunpowder bag. I carry unprepared tinder material in this gunpowder bag. The residue from the gunpowder coats the tinder so it will catch a spark without having to char it.

Part 2 of Getting Started in Historical Trekking.

How To Get Started In 18th Century Historical Trekking. Part 2.



You will need something to make fire. I suggest you make a fire-steel out of a piece of broken file. These items actually were used in the 18th century, either broken files were shaped by a blacksmith into a knife blade or a fire-steel, or the average person could use the broken piece to make a fire-steel as is.

This is one I made. I simply heated to cherry red in the fire, and let it cool slowly. Then I filed one edge smooth, heated to cherry red again and cooled it fast in water. It works very well, great shower of sparks.


A tinderbox is used to contain your tinder, it is also used to prepare plant tinders, and you can make fire directly from the tinderbox.

Here you can see two tinderboxes, my brass one on the left, and a lolly tin being used as a tinderbox on the right on top of a leather fire-bag.


This is my greased leather fire-bag which I keep my tinderbox in along with some small pieces of kindling and a beeswax candle stub. This is made out of clothing weight leather, which you can pick up at the op-shop in the form of leather coats, jackets and skirts etc.

My fire-bag is carried inside my belt pouch which is with me all the time, but you could start of by carrying yours in your knapsack.

This is my belt pouch which I made out of second hand bag leather. The brass buckle I found second hand at the local saddler’s. The belt I also bought at the op-shop. My fire-steel is tied to the pouch buckle and kept in the pouch.

It is always a good idea as Anne Bailey reminded us in a recent post, to carry some spare tinder in another container. I carry my spare tinder in my gunpowder bag when it is empty. When using it for gunpowder, I carry the tinder in another greased leather bag in my knapsack.

My gunpowder wallet or bag. This is clothing weight leather which you can get from second hand leather clothing in an op-shop. It is easy to sew.

The Gun, The Knife, And the Axe, Oh and don't forget the Tinderbox!

The gun, knife and axe have always been the symbols of the woodsmen and pioneers, with these tools they could/can survive in the wilderness indefinately. I suppose the tinderbox was taken for granted as it does not get a mention, or perhaps these hardy people depended on the flint lock for making fire. Certainly many old cabins still have the bullet holes in the interior walls to the left of the fireplace, this from people who forgot to plug the vent on a loaded gun before making fire with the lock. One spark to find it's way into the vent is all it took to fire the gun!
Fire has been important to man since it was harnessed/used in the paliolithic period. It cooked meat which helped older people eat and therefore they lived longer. Fire meant warmth in winter and it kept carnivourous animals away from the camp and sleeping places. It is said that fire was responsible for the first social groups, the warmth and protection bringing people together. Fire is still important.

"Fire and candle" was a term used in the 17th century meaning one's home or dwelling:
"And if any ffreeman should bee absent out of the Citty a space of Twelve moneths and not keep fire and candle and pay Scott and lott should lose his freedom."

"The Pattent with the rest of Papers needful Given to the Jury, and the Sheriffe sworn to Keepe them from fire & candles & etc untill they bringe in their verdict."
Colonial American English; Words and Phrases Found in Colonial Writing, now Archaic, Obscure, Obsolete, or Whose Meanings Have Changed. Richard M. Lederer, Jr. A Verbatim Book, Essex, Connecticut. 1985.

Not being able to make fire in the wilderness at best could mean a very uncomfortable night, and at worse, death.
“…rain began hammering down so heavily that, one hundred miles from the nearest trees, and with nothing available but moss, nobody could start a fire.”

Samuel Hearne, 1770.
“Fierce winds and blowing snow reduced the men to huddling among large rocks, unable even to start a fire.”
Samuel Hearne, Canada, 1770.
“This induced me to resolve not to travel more by land without my gun, powder and shot, steel, spunge (punk wood) and flint, for striking a fire…”
Patrick Campbell, 1792.

So the ability to make fire is important, so we should do all we can, even when using primitive methods, to make sure that our equipment is first class. Here are some things you can do within historical boundaries to ensure that you can make fire under the worst conditions.
1) Learn the skills involved in primitive fire lighting, whether it be flint and steel or some other method. Learn where to find dry kindling in wet weather, and what you can do if you run out of prepared tinder.
2) Make sure you are carrying with you: Dry prepared tinder; a small amount of dry kindling in the form of dried grass and twigs; keep your fire works in a greased fire-bag to keep them dry; and make sure your fire works are always with you even when you are not carrying your main pack.

My greased leather fire-bag which contains my tinderbox, some kindling, and a small beeswax candle for helping dry out damp kindling and making it burn.

My gunpowder bag which when empty of gunpowder contains spare tinder. This bag or wallet is also greased to make it water resistant.

“ takes fire readily from the spark of a steel: but it is much improved by being kept dry in a bag that has contained gunpowder.”

Samuel Hearne, Northern Canada, 1772