My Historical Trekking Equipment & Tools.

[Le Loup]

A TMA member requested I post some images of my gear, & Puffer said I could stick it wherever I chose! So I figured this is as good a place as any.
I carry the same gear regardless of the mode of travel, though these days I don't have horses anymore, so it is either on foot or by boat.




What's In The Bag on video.

This is my gunpowder wallet or bag. For extra long treks I will carry extra gunpowder in the bag. When it is empty of gunpowder, I carry spare (plant) tinder in this bag.
Documentation: "takes readily from the spark of a steel: but is much improved by being kept dry in a bag that has contained gunpowder" (57).

My brass trade kettle. If I remember correctly, it is about 7" wide by 4 & a half inches deep. It does not really take up much room in my small knapsack, because I fit my food bags inside of it.

If you are using a tin lined kettle, then I advise using a wooden spoon. Anything else is likely to damage the tin lining.

[Roaddog]

Thanks for the picks. They are very cool.

[Puffer]

You mention your "powder bag" & using it to carry "extra" powder on long treks. Interesting, this is a new concept to me

Any "safety concerns ??
Puffer.

[Gordon H.Kemp]

As Puffer says , would like to hear more of the history of carrying powder in a bag . Is it somthig done by many folks over there or just a personal preference ?  Thanks for the photos .

[cb]

While  not 18th Century powder bags, bags of powder, and powder sacks, show up on several of the RMFT trade lists - here's links to two of them....
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&clie ... xsufj3grxk

[Le Loup]

The gunpowder wallet is a New World item, I can not say where else it may have been used. Safety wise I have no problems with it secured in a greased leather bag, but Rogers Rangers had a problem one time when  a Mohawk Indian of Johnson's not being happy with taking orders from Rogers stuck his knife into a larger gunpowder bag a Ranger was handling and fired hi musket into it! The Ranger was badly burnt & had to be taken back.
 This incident did happen during the F & I war period.

Researching this is like trying to find many common items. When did you last read about how to use a box of matches?!

That is also an 18th century quote under the gunpowder bag.
"takes readily from the spark of a steel: but is much improved by being kept dry in a bag that has contained gunpowder"
.”Samuel Hearne, Northern Canada, 1772
This is of course refering to a plant tinder being kept dry in a gunpowder bag.

John Smith became president of the Jamestown colony in 1608 but returned to England in October 1609 for medical treatment after he was injured by a fire in his gunpowder bag. In 1614 he sailed to the area he named New England and mapped the coast from Penobscot Bay to Cape Cod. The following year he was captured by pirates and held for three months until he escaped and headed back to England, never seeing North America again. He died in England in 1631 at age 52.
As I understand the above, he had this bag suspended from his belt against his hip.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0206/dispatch1.html
Gunpowder was contained in bags for use in ships cannon, so one has to be careful to avoid getting these confused with other gunpowder bags. Of course these may well have been used and carried by individuals, but the info must be found in that context which as yet I have not found.

Supplies for 24 Abenakis and Iroquois who have joined our party:
24 pounds of gunpowder in one bag of half an ell

Supplies for the six militia men:
6 pounds of gunpowder in bags of one eighth of an ell

1756-1760 journal of Louis Antoine de Bougainville
France, Archives de Colonies series C11A, volume 117, folios 191v to 194, National Archives of Canada, microfilm f-118.

[sse]

Great looking stuff and a great discussion thread.  Your presence has already improved our group...

[Le Loup]

While  not 18th Century powder bags, bags of powder, and powder sacks, show up on several of the RMFT trade lists - here's links to two of them....
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&clie ... xsufj3grxk

I really appreciate you passing this on CB, Thank you.

[Le Loup]

Great looking stuff and a great discussion thread.  Your presence has already improved our group...

Thank you for saying so. There are obviously some good people here & I still have a lot to learn.

[Gordon H.Kemp]

I would have to agree with SSE , we havn"t had this much activity on the site in some time .
     My wife and I and children spent some 15+ years in different attempts to totally break freeof the grid and social umbilical cord . If it didn"t do anything else , it taught them how to survive  without depending on goverrement sources .
      If you get time ?go to the photo gallery and look munder kemp in lifestyles and there are a few photos there that you may relate to .
        I"m really impressewd with the photos vidios and information Thanks

[Le Loup]

I would have to agree with SSE , we havn"t had this much activity on the site in some time .
     My wife and I and children spent some 15+ years in different attempts to totally break freeof the grid and social umbilical cord . If it didn"t do anything else , it taught them how to survive  without depending on goverrement sources .
      If you get time ?go to the photo gallery and look munder kemp in lifestyles and there are a few photos there that you may relate to .
        I"m really impressewd with the photos vidios and information Thanks :hairy

Thank you, will do.

[vthompson]

Thank's for making your post. It made an interresting read.

[Le Loup]

Finally after all these years I got round to making the clasp knife that I really wanted.

[Le Loup]

My three greased leather gunpowder bags.

[Le Loup]

My Blades.
I always carry three knives. Hunting knife, legging knife, & clasp knife.