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Post by bamaman on Dec 12, 2008 11:00:46 GMT -5
Well, I have a rendezvous coming up in February. This will be my first winter 'vous and I'm very excited. To me this will be my first time to really get to experience a little of what they really had to deal with back in the day.
Having said that, I'm trying to figure out how they used to not freeze to death. I have a capote and some good wool blankets, etc. But what did they do for their feet? I was thinking about either making something to go over my mocs out of wool or getting some buff skin/fur or something to just make a new pair of winter mocs out of. I have looked in several books and I haven't found any real indication of what the mountain men would have done. Any ideas?
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Post by Cody ( The Patriot ) on Dec 12, 2008 11:51:58 GMT -5
I dont know what they did in the west but the longhunters made winter mocs and lined them with wool liners .Where is the vous?
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Post by Buckskin Billy on Dec 12, 2008 13:46:52 GMT -5
this is the best reference i have been able to find on winter mocs www.womenofthefurtrade.com/page11.html i am making some as of now. i have the wool liners finished and need to get my lazy butt busy making the outer buckskin moc. just make a side seam moc out of wool blankets and then make a buckskin moc to go over it. of course you could do the same with a buffalo hide if you have one. make a side seam out of the buff with the fur on the inside and make a buckskin outer moc. wear good wool socks along with your winter mocs, and your feet should stay warm and cozy. i am making two pairs and would strongly suggest that also. even if the weather is dry your feet will sweat in the mocs and make them damp. i would have a pair for wearing during the day while your out wandering around and then a pair you could change into at night.
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Post by beaudro on Dec 12, 2008 17:15:25 GMT -5
here is Russell Osborne, journal of a trapper. Several descriptions of what a mountain man wore. Staying dry is the key, wool by far is your best freind. I make the same wool moc as billy says, i also use a centerseam at times. Many of the long hunters/market hunters wore more than one pair of mocs at a time, I would also suggest wool leggings. Buffaloe or Otter skin his hose are pieces of Blanket lapped round his feet which are covered with a pair of Moccassins made of Dressed Deer Elk or Buffaloe skins with his long hair falling loosely over his shoulders complets his uniform.
a blanket with an extra pair of Mocasins
We built a fire and laid down to rest, but I could not sleep more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time the night was so very cold. We had plenty of Meat however and made Mocasins of raw Elk hide
There are probably hundreds more accounts of mocs if you would like them.
here is one exerpt from washington irvings journal ,, this won't keep your feet warm,, but it's something to pass on: For the first eighteen days after leaving the Caldron Linn, he and his men had been confined to half a meal in twenty-four hours; for three days following, they had subsisted on a single beaver, a few wild cherries, and the soles of old moccasins; and for the last six days their only animal food had been the carcass of a dog.
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Post by bamaman on Dec 13, 2008 13:09:01 GMT -5
thanks for the info guys...
The 'vous is in Springville Alabama on top of a mountain(relative term I know). It's an event for Frontiersman Camping Fellowship which is a division of the Royal Rangers ministry...
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