Making An Axe Helve By Hand.

More Ranger Information.

Gorham's (often spelt Goreham) Rangers, Nova Scotia, 1755(Translated from the French:) "...there is also an independent company of 120 men composed of Maringhams [Mohican] Indians, which ours [our Indians] despise, and of bad subjectsof all nations. This corps is destined to run into the woods and is dressed in grey, cross pocket, with small leather caps or hats. It does not reside in Halifax..." Extracted from a French "Projet d'attaque sur Halifax" made in 1755, papers later taken by British.

Rogers Rangers
"...the said Robert Rogers to be Captain of an Independent Company of Rangers to be forthwith raised and employed in His Majesty's Service..." Boston, 24 March 1756, W. Shirley [General & Commander in Chief of H.M. Forces in North America]
Terms on which the three Ranging Companys are to be raised for His Majesty¹s Service under the Command of Capts Humphrey Hobbs & Thomas Speaksman. [Albany, May 14th, 1756] "...A good hunting Coat, Vest, Breeches, a Shirt, a pair of Indian Stockings, Shoes and a Hatchet to be delivered [to] each man gratis at Albany - A firelock and Blanket to be Delivered Each Man at Boston, the firelock to be returned at the End of the Service."

John Earl Loudoun to Capt Robert Rogers, New York, 11 January 1757 "...augment the Rangers with five additional Companies...each company to consist of one Captain, two Lts, One Ensign, four Sergeants and one hundred privates... They are likewise to provide themselves with good warm clothing which must be uniform in every company, ...And the Company of Indians to be dressed in all respects in true Indian fashion..."

Gen. J. Amherst to H. Bouquet, New York, 31 August 1763 "...And I approve of your having Ordered the Rangers to be discharged for I have a very low opinion of them..."
(Translated from the French:) "...there is also an independent company of 120 men composed of Maringhams [Mohican] Indians, which ours [our Indians] despise, and of bad subjectsof all nations. This corps is destined to run into the woods and is dressed in grey, cross pocket, with small leather caps or hats. It does not reside in Halifax..." Extracted from a French "Projet d'attaque sur Halifax" made in 1755, papers later taken by British.

Ordered that the Rangers by Act of Assembly appointed to keep Ranging upon the frontiers of this province take care to settle themselves to inhabit beyond all the inhabitants plantations situate upon the frontiers as aforesaid, and that they keep an exact journall of all their proceedings & observations made in their Ranging & return an account thereof unto his Excellency at the Port of Annapolis, at least once a Month... Council of Maryland March 3, 1695/96 http://www.baltimorerangers.org/

October 1693 - Items purchased to be given to the rangers to be raised in Baltimore county; "2 bibles, 1 prospective glass, 1 dark lanthorne, 1 pockett compass, 2 books called Duties of Man, 2 copies of the Book of Common Prayer, 2 bookes of Church Catechism, 2 books of Christian Religion, 2 books on Marshall Discipline and 3 books of the Articles of War."

March 1694/5 - Six hatchets, six gunlocks and 18 screws for the locks are provided to Oldton by the government for use by his rangers.

March 4, 1695/96 - 8 pounds of powder to be delivered to the rangers under Oldton.
April 1696/97 - Oldton signed a receipt for for ten saddles and caps for carbines, nine bridles, ten pair of pistols, ten cartouche boxes and belts, ten bayonets and belts and ten carbines and belts for use of the Rangers of Baltimore county. Prior to this issue a ship arrived that described the carbines and pistols as having round locks, not dog locks.
May 26, 1697 - John Oldton signed a receipt for 8 pounds of powder, 10 pounds bullets out of the county magazine.
June 1, 1697 - The Assembly approved the issuing of "10 granadoes, 10 fuses, 2 spades, 2 pick axes and 2 shovels"
June 2 1697 - The following items were to be sent to the rangers in Baltimore by the Maryland Council; 10 grenades, 20 fuses, 2 spades, 1 pick axe, 2 shovels, 50 pounds of powder "with fflint and Ball equivallent the same to be returned backe and not made use of but upon action". However, according to the receipt dated June 23rd he received: 3 grenade shells, 14 fuses, 49 flints, 43 pounds of bullets, and one pick axe.
Oct. 13, 1697 - The council ordered that the rangers of the Potomac and Baltimore Garrisons take up one or two unmarked wild horses a piece, for use in the Kings service, provided they train and break them and do not sell them.http://www.baltimorerangers.org/index2.html

The Baltimore Rangers have an excellent site with information and good images.

18th Century Items Of Interest.

Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County Will Book Liber O 1748-1763 p 5-13
Ordered: March 8, 1742/3
Taken: March 24, 1742/3
Entered: September 13, 1748
2 pencils 4/ /
89 agate /flints
1 Coffee pot 1 Chocolate do. £4 1 Copper tea Kettle 15/ 4.15. 0

Ball, Sarah
Lancaster County, Virginia
Lancaster County Wills & Deeds # 13 1736-43 pp. 290-293
Taken: 8 October 1742
Recorded: 9 October 1742
1 Gun . 5. 0 (5 shillings)
To 2 black jugs with 2 gall. of Lynseed oyl . 7. 0
To 2 tinn Sauce pans . 0. 6
To 1 tan'd horse skin and; 1 tan'd hogskin . 6. 0

"Extract from a List of Payments made to Officers, Voyageurs, and others for arms and supplies in the war against the Chickasawsand other tribes, 1732-1734," Quebec, undated, in: Paris Archives, Colonies, C 11 A 63, Library of Congress,p. 135, including Translation.
6. chemises de traille (6 trail shirts at 4#) This is a very interesting item. Just exactly what is a "chemise de traille", a trail shirt? Is this a hunting shirt? Is it a man's shirt-style work frock? Is the hunting shirt the same thing as a frock? Anyone have any ideas on this one?
I suspect there was a mistake in copying from the original French term "chemise de traite" or trade shirt. You can sometimes find "traite" written with 2 T as in "traitte"
André Gousse
Au poste de la Grande Rivière

fFitzhugh, Henry
Stafford County, Virginia
Stafford County Will Book Liber O 1748-1763 p 5-13
Ordered: March 8, 1742/3
Taken: March 24, 1742/3
Entered: September 13, 1748
1 Frock 1. 0. 0

Hammersley, Francis
Charles County, Maryland
Charles County, Maryland Inventories 1735-1752 pp. 287-289
Taken: 13 May 1745
Recorded: 29 May 1745
14 Barrels of Indian corn a 10/ P 7. 0. 0
2 Bushells of Beans a 4/ P . 8. 0
2½ Bushels of Oats a 2/ P . 5. 0
2 Grass Baskets a . 8. 0

Woodland Indian Centre Seam Soft Sole Moccasin Pattern. Courtesy Of Native Technology And Art.

Making a paper pattern for moccasins:
(use the same pattern left and right moccasins)
1. Place feet (or tracings) on either side of center line of paper with 1" between heels and edge of paper.
Each heel should be 1/2" away from the center line, and the balls of the feet below the big toes should be 1/4" away from the center-line of the paper.
2. Even with the heels, mark points E and E' (1/2" from the center-line and 1" from the edge of the paper) Also mark points D and D' (1/2" from the center-line at the edge of the paper).
3. Mark point A by following a line from the base of the big toe to the center-line.

4. Draw curve around top of foot 1/2 " from toes from point A to just above little toe.
5. To find points B and B', measure the circumference around the (widest part) ball of the foot and place half the distance on either side of the center-line where the ball of the foot is, mark this point. Now measure 1/2 " straight down and 1/2" straight out.
6. Finish drawing the curve around the top of the foot to point B and to point B'.
7. Drop an imaginary line straight down from each of the marked points for the circumference of the foot, this marks the bottom of the moccasin cuff at the heel. Another imaginary line connecting this point with point B shows where the cuff will be folded down at the ankle.
8. To draw the front corners of the cuff, draw a 2" line from point B, perpendicular to the imaginary fold-over line for the cuff.
9. Maintain a 2" cuff width to find point C at the rear corner of the cuff. Connect point C with point D at the heel by drawing a slight curve that intrudes no more than 1/4" from the edge of the paper.

Make sure paper pattern fits foot around instep and at heel before cutting out of leather.

After cutting out the paper pattern, fabric or felt can be used to practice stitching.

Sew inside out: Seam A to B/B' and seam D/D' to C/C'. Use a combination of whip stitch and running stitch (it's easier to pucker the toe using the running stitch). Cut slits (for heel tab) from D to E and D' to E' only after the toe is stitched, and proper fit is checked.

Right side out, use the whip stitch in sewing the seam for the heel tab.


Some variations in Trimming the Heel Tab.

ATTATCH THONG AT SEAM AT BACK OF ANKLE.
Cut thong from a scrap of leather by cutting from the perimeter of the scrap, in a spiral, towards the center. Use the thong to keep the moccasin snug. stitch the thong to two places at the back of the moccasin, or punch holes below the cuff, and wrap the thong around to the front and tie it in the back.

When I make mine I use much the same pattern, but I add the flaps/cuff seperately and make it longer so it comes up the ankle where I wrap it around and use the tie on the moccasin to tie it in place. Also I do not sew the thong in place. I either do not attach it at all, or I make holes in the side of the moccasins to thread the thong through.

I would like to personally thank Native Technology And Art for supplying this moccasin pattern free on the net. Please visit their site at: http://www.nativetech.org/clothing/moccasin/mocinstr.html

You will also find them in my links section.

Women In Men's Clothing.

Who were these lonely wanderers in that wild and wintry waste! The presence of the rifle and of the large high boots which she wore, together with other circumstances, were evidences which enabled the shrewd hunters to guess a part of their story. It appeared that the family must have consisted originally of three persons, a man and wife, with the child now the sole survivor of the party. Voyaging down the Red river during the preceding summer and autumn; lured onward by the fatal beauty of the region, and deluded by the ease with which their wants could be supplied, they had evidently neglected to provide against the winter, which at length burst upon them all unprepared to encounter its rigors.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ga/county/fulton/library/women/woffinal.pdf
One of the famous huntresses of the northwest, while returning home from the woods with a wild turkey which she had shot, unexpectedly encountered a large moose in her path, which manifested a disposition to attack her. She tried to avoid it, but the animal came towards her rapidly and in a furious manner. Her rifle was unloaded, and she was obliged to take shelter behind a tree, shifting her position from tree to tree as the brute made at her.
At length, as she fled, she picked up a pole, and quickly untying her moccasin strings, she bound her knife to the end of the pole. Then, placing herself in a favourable position, as the moose came up, she stabbed him several times in the neck and breast. At last the animal, exhausted with the loss of blood, fell. She then dispatched it, and cut out its tongue to carry home as a trophy of victory. When they went back to the spot for the carcass, they found the snow trampled down in a wide circle, and copiously sprinkled with blood, which gave the place the appearance of a battle-field. It proved to be a male of extraordinary size.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ga/county/fulton/library/women/woffinal.pdf

The first thing to be done was to strike her husband's trail and then follow it till she overtook him or met him returning. Swiftly, and yet cautiously, she struck out into the forest in a direction at right angles with the Indian camp. Being clad in trousers of deer skin and a short tunic and moccasins of the same material, she made her way through the woods as easily as a man, and fortunately in a few moments discovered a trail which she concluded was that of her husband. Her opinion was soon verified by finding a piece of leather which she recognized as part of his accoutrements.
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ga/county/fulton/library/women/woffinal.pdf

Mrs. McM., after a moment's remonstrance, on account of the depth of the snow, regained her courage, and, hastily putting on her husband's boots, started, shrieking “fire!” as she passed up the road, and disappeared
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ga/county/fulton/library/women/woffinal.pdf

Immediately upon learning of her husband's death, Anne became "Mad Anne" and, clothing herself in the garb of a frontiersman, set out to avenge her loss.
http://www.ncgenweb.us/ncrevwar/womenar.htm

Charlotte Charke (1713-1760) was a comedian whose portrayals of men were brilliant caricatures. Having married at 17 and borne a child the next year, Charlotte turned to acting to support herself and her daughter when her lothario husband abandoned them. Once she had tasted success in breeches she wouldn't take them off; she scandalously went on to live her life dressed as a man. She insisted on being called "Mr. Charles" while working in London theatre.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-15696746_ITM

Mary, now on her own, continued to play a male role and became first a footman and then a soldier in the English army. She fell in love with an infantryman. The two of them left the army and opened a tavern called The Three Horseshoes in 1697, right around the time her future comrade-in-arms, Anne Bonny, was born. They ran the tavern for nearly twenty years until Mary’s husband died, leaving her once again alone. Taking up old habits to survive, Mary slipped into her male alter ego and became a shipmate on a sloop bound for the West Indies.
During this same time, Anne was growing up spoiled and plagued by a murderous disposition. On one occasion it’s said she stabbed a maid to death in a fit of temper. Growing bored with plantation life in her adolescence, Anne married a scoundrel and sometimes pirate named Jack Bonny whose designs were more on her father’s wealth than on Anne. Furious with the marriage, William disinherited her; Anne burned the plantation in retaliation.
Eventually Anne tired of her husband’s recreant ways and ran off with Captain Jack Rackham – Calico Jack. Dressed as a man, she immersed herself in the pirate culture, fighting no less savagely than the male crew. She and Calico Jack prowled the shipping lanes around Jamaica, plundering ships and taking as prisoners those they didn’t kill, one of whom was Mary Read.
Mary and Anne soon discovered each other’s true identity and became fast friends. Anne offered, and Mary accepted, a place on the ship. Any doubts the crew harboured about Mary quickly disappeared when, in a rage over the planned execution of a prisoner with whom she’d fallen in love, Mary challenged one of the pirates to a duel; using pistols and daggers, she promptly dispatched him.
http://www.essortment.com/all/pirateswomen_rzzx.htm

Carin or Karin (Catharina) du Rietz (1766-1788), was a Swedish woman who became a soldier at the Royal guard dressed as a man;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carin_du_Rietz

City Of Vice

Authenticity Documentation.

18th century round-frock. The round frock is reversible being the same at the back as it is in the front.

The Farmer. Wearing a work frock in about 1760 (1780)  (Date updated by Capt. Tom 19th March 2010).

Dutch Boy Smoking. Wearing a similar work frock but with a button closure at the neck. In Cymru (Wales) this style was worn by Shepherds and was known as a coat-frock. The button front could extend anywhere from waist to almost reaching the lower skirt. Unfortunately I have to date not been able to date the Welsh/Cymru frock.

Voltair still wearing his old style clothes in a later period. Look at the short waistcoat on the other man.

A frock coat? Whatever it is it has not got the common large cuffs. It has no fold back cuffs at all.

Same here, and note the leggings in use in Europe.

Two similar coats with cuffs.

Another Dutch picture showing a work frock similar to the English frocks, though this one is worn under another garment.

Yesterday I posted the photo of Joy Spirit Hawk & White Wolf on the "Frontier Folk" forum and for doing so recieved a stream of verbal abuse. Why do I mention this? So that you do not make the mistake of joining that forum and end up with a bad impression of 18th century Living Historians! We are not all like that, thank goodness and in fact I had no idea that anyone in our fraternity was like that! There are some good people on that forum, but for me the rudeness and abusive comments of the few have spoilt it for me.

Apart from the abuse I was asked exactly what area in the New World did I think this mode of dress was worn. I get this question from time to time so let us look at it very quickly.

Here is an Englishman that has just arrived in the New World, where has he arrived in the New World? Does it matter? No of course it does not matter. It does not matter that he may have landed in New England and then travelled to Ohio country, he is still wearing the same clothes that he left England in, the same clothes he arrived in.

He or she does not change their clothing style from place to place, and what makes anyone think that in 1740 there was different styles of clothing for different areas of the New World! Different nationalities in different areas maybe, but it is the people who set the clothing style, not the place.

I don't care if this chap arrives in a work frock or a frock-coat, that is what he has and that is what he will wear until it wears out or he finds another reason for changing it.

There was no American style in 1740, there were no Americans in 1740, I mean this was still English/French settlements. Even if you were born there at this time, would you think yourself American or the nationality of your family?There were native peoples who had been there for centuries before the whites arrived and they sure as I am sitting here did not think of themselves as Americans!

There were Dutch, English, French, Swiss, and many other nations. Some had similar dress styles to others, some did not. But whatever they wore it was nothing whatsoever to do with the area they settled in in the early to mid 18th century. Do not let people fob you off with this question of area. What it probably means is that they don't know!

Another recommendation or something to at least think about. When you are interpreting a particular period, say 1740, do not expect everything that you wear and use to have come from this period. If I was born in 1680, then by 1700 I am 20 years of age. I am wearing 17th century clothing and I have 17th century items of equipment. I leave for the New World and I still have the same clothing and items of equipment.

I become a hunter/trapper, I do not purchase new clothing. I like this style of long weskit and do not want to change this style. It is now 1740, I am 60 years of age. I am wearing French fly breaches, Indian style leggings and centre seam woodland moccasins. I still wear a long weskit and a work frock, and I still have most of the 17th century items I brought over with me.

My fusil is now a flintlock, but nothing else has changed. I may have lost my clasp knife and replaced it with an 18th century style but why would I change anything else if it still worked?

It is now 1760, and I am still dressed the same. I am an old man and fixed in my ways and am not about to start wearing a shorter weskit and fall front breeches. My clothing is made for me if I need new clothing and it is made the way I like it.

Interesting information in Old English Household Life By Gertrude Jekyll at: http://books.google.com/books?id=dINkv8BLpu4C&pg=PA132&lpg=PA132&dq=English+labourer

Watson and The Shark.

By John Singleton Copley.

This is the painting recommended by Capt. Tom in the message below. Note the frocks the seamen are wearing.

If you have any comments please share. we/I still have a lot to learn and we won't learn if we don't share our knowledge.