What was in their pockets and packs?

[Grayman]

This last archery deer season I was working my territory, being avoided by deer, and just woods bumming. I stopped to rest and eat a sandwich and started thinking about what people carried with them when they went to work, or hunted and so on. When I hunt I have a cool modern back pack, a modern knife, a fold up saw, small first aid kit, arrow repair stuff, small stone for the knife sun screen, water and my lunch, plus a little extra lunch because you just never know. I assume a guy in 1830's south east Texas would have carried the same stuff, but how would that have looked? If you have any good sources I can look at I would love to see them. Thank you in advance for any information.

 

[tenngun]

Meat pies made a sealed dinner. Wrapped in paper or cloth. Smoke, pipe, strike a light kerchief would be stuffed in pockets. Pudding still in the pudding bag. Raw fruit or veggies was considered dangerous to eat.
Schoolcraft Audubon leave record of personal kits

 

[leadhoarder]

Don’t forget the flask of whiskey.

 

[Hawken]

Loaf of bread to chaw on. Plug tobacco. A flask containing rum or whisky (For reviving flagging spirits after a rough day - for medicinal purposes only, natch). Perhaps a compass, monocular, flint & steel. Tintype of sweet Annabelle...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

"The hunting shirt was universally worn. This was a kind of loose frock, reaching half way down the thighs, with large sleeves, open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when belted. The cap [cape] was large, and sometimes handsomely fringed with a ravelled piece of cloth of a different color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom of this dress served as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, [johnny ] cakes, jerk, tow for wiping the barrel of the rifle, or any other necessary for the hunter or warrior. The belt, which was always tied behind [so it was a sash], answered several purposes besides that of holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes the bullet-bag, occupied the front part of it. To the right side was suspended the tomahawk, and to the left side the scalping knife in its leathern sheath." Doddridge

LD

 

[Buck Conner]

.
Loyalist Dave's " Doddridge " comment is very good.

This can become a long list depending on amount of time your going to be out. The usual goods and clothing will change per time of year and weather conditions. Some areas can have wet or super cold conditions (more clothing and kinds of gear needed).

I use to supply Mark Baker and several other historical writers with period edibles to write about in their columns. It was good for business and an inexpensive way to get free advertising for "Clark & Sons Mercantile" - the only source handling "correct documented period foods". We used dried period foods (saves weight), then all you need is water.

You have to watch the weight of your equipage, it adds up faster than one would think. We would see some bringing everything but the kitchen sink. An easy way to keep tabs on what you have and the important thing is what you really use. Over the years I try and make everything taken have several uses (that's a big weight saver).

Many folks bring heavy ground cloths, heavy weight tarps for shelters. The lightest weight ground cloths and shelters we have found are king size bed sheets (buy the highest thread count you can find), then water proof them with one of the commercial products available. Now your dry in wet weather, have products that dry fast and are super light.

Try and find blankets (2) that will cover you and not have allot left over (everyone is different for this). I've seen guys that a 3-1/2 point blanket will work while another person uses a 4 point (personal needs). Years ago Mark Baker was pushing one blanket for his outings (that didn't pan out like expected) he damn near froze he told me, ended up sitting by the fire all night.

I'll have to give you a shopping list of supplies that we always carried, weight is your biggest issue.


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[Grayman]

Meat pies made a sealed dinner. Wrapped in paper or cloth. Smoke, pipe, strike a light kerchief would be stuffed in pockets. Pudding still in the pudding bag. Raw fruit or veggies was considered dangerous to eat.
Schoolcraft Audubon leave record of personal kits

I had seen that about the fruit, and how tomato's were considered poisonous. Having seen how nasty an heirloom tomato can look, i don't blame them for thinking they weren't good to eat.

 

[Grayman]

.
Loyalist Dave's " Doddridge " comment is very good.

This can become a long list depending on amount of time your going to be out. The usual goods and clothing will change per time of year and weather conditions. Some areas can have wet or super cold conditions (more clothing and kinds of gear needed).

I use to supply Mark Baker and several other historical writers with period edibles to write about in their columns. It was good for business and an inexpensive way to get free advertising for "Clark & Sons Mercantile" - the only source handling "correct documented period foods". We used dried period foods (saves weight), then all you need is water.

You have to watch the weight of your equipage, it adds up faster than one would think. We would see some bringing everything but the kitchen sink. An easy way to keep tabs on what you have and the important thing is what you really use. Over the years I try and make everything taken have several uses (that's a big weight saver).

Many folks bring heavy ground cloths, heavy weight tarps for shelters. The lightest weight ground cloths and shelters we have found are king size bed sheets (buy the highest thread count you can find), then water proof them with one of the commercial products available. Now your dry in wet weather, have products that dry fast and are super light.

Try and find blankets (2) that will cover you and not have allot left over (everyone is different for this). I've seen guys that a 3-1/2 point blanket will work while another person uses a 4 point (personal needs). Years ago Mark Baker was pushing one blanket for his outings (that didn't pan out like expected) he damn near froze he told me, ended up sitting by the fire all night.

I'll have to give you a shopping list of supplies that we always carried, weight is your biggest issue.


.

Weight is still an issue. Weight (and noise) are the biggest reasons i typically only hunt my archery seasons, and I really only shoot .22's. But even archery tackle can get out of control. I'm basically down to a water bottle, the bow, 2 arrows, knife, stone, lunch, phone. This is my hunting after church type stuff. In my head back then I figure my kit would likely have been the same except maybe a small caliber rifle, and no smartphone. Probably a time piece? Food is another thing i never even thought about. One could literally find them selves out over night. No gas stations to grab a monster and cliffs bar! This is pretty interesting stuff. The family and I went to tombstone last year. I cant remember if its in the bird cage, but they have a little museum with all kinds of stuff under glass. All the odds and ends were just amazing. i do remember a gun that was literally held together with wire, looked like it was percussion, but i cant say. The knives, were pretty plain. Literally just a sharpened pointy piece of metal, not to say fancy stuff wasn't there, but you could defiantly tell what was used, what was a valued personal item and what was a status symbol. An opportunity came about to handle some of these things, but i couldn't do it. I didn't want to be the dumb tourist from Texas that broke something. Ill be checking out Clark And Sons.

 

[kje54]

I had seen that about the fruit, and how tomato's were considered poisonous. Having seen how nasty an heirloom tomato can look, i don't blame them for thinking they weren't good to eat.

Tomatoes in the English and French colonies as well as England and France were viewed as unhealthy, poisonous. In Spain and Italy and Spanish colonies (the southwest) the consumption of tomatoes was commonplace since the 16th century.
The tomato was eventually commercially cultivated in the Carolinas by the mid 1800s.

 

[Grayman]

Tomatoes in the English and French colonies as well as England and France were viewed as unhealthy, poisonous. In Spain and Italy and Spanish colonies (the southwest) the consumption of tomatoes was commonplace since the 16th century.
The tomato was eventually commercially cultivated in the Carolinas by the mid 1800s.

I like them. A guy showed me one of his heirloom tomato's and it looked like a spotty liver. It tasted great, but had a ton of seeds.

 

[kje54]

I like them. A guy showed me one of his heirloom tomato's and it looked like a spotty liver. It tasted great, but had a ton of seeds.

It was after many years of selective breeding by the Spanish and Italians before the tomato became popular in England and the US.
Another thing people don't think about is the early potato. There were multiple varieties and like the tomato were viewed by the northern Europeans and English as poisonous and even evil. The potato was accused for causing leprosy, syphilis, early death, sterility, rampant sexuality, scrofula, narcosis and for destroying the soil where it grew.
Most don't realize but the US was the last major country to inclusively include the potato in our cuisine during the late 1800s.

 

[Grayman]

It was after many years of selective breeding by the Spanish and Italians before the tomato became popular in England and the US.
Another thing people don't think about is the early potato. There were multiple varieties and like the tomato were viewed by the northern Europeans and English as poisonous and even evil. The potato was accused for causing leprosy, syphilis, early death, sterility, rampant sexuality, scrofula, narcosis and for destroying the soil where it grew.
Most don't realize but the US was the last major country to inclusively include the potato in our cuisine during the late 1800s.

That's very interesting about the potato. It was my assumption that everyone just had potato's and accepted them.

 

[Hawken]

The potato was accused for causing leprosy, syphilis, early death, sterility, rampant sexuality, scrofula*, narcosis and for destroying the soil where it grew.

Well maybe they were right. We got all that stuff now, and more!!

* I don't have any idea what "scrofula" might be, but just from the sound, it doesn't sound pleasant. Contagious too, I'm sure.

 

[pilot]

It's interesting that both tomatoes and potatoes originated in the new world and had to go to Europe and then return for us to actually eat them.

 

[kje54]

Well maybe they were right. We got all that stuff now, and more!!

* I don't have any idea what "scrofula" might be, but just from the sound, it doesn't sound pleasant. Contagious too, I'm sure.

Not it's not pleasant, it's a form of tuberculosis.

 

[kje54]

That's very interesting about the potato. It was my assumption that everyone just had potato's and accepted them.

Not only that but it is thought the first Aztec cultivated potatoes were "fingerlings". There were actually a hundred or so different ancient varieties of potato that you can now grow with Heritage seeds, today our commercial crop it limited to a very few varieties.

Fingerlings:

Some varieties that came from fingerlings:

 

[Buck Conner]

Fingerlings:

Some varieties that came from fingerlings:

When we still were dealing in correct period edibles, foraged and cultivated. These fingerlings were popular with the writers (modern and period guys). Mark Baker (Muzzleloader Magazine) said the only problem was you had to keep an eye on them as they will start to spoil in warm weather.


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[user 48679]

In my bag is usually:

* Extra caps/flint
* Several pre-loaded chargers (boolit/powder)
* Nipple/vent pick
* T/C hammer/wedge puller
* A compass
* Firestarter gear
* Small mirror & orange cloth for signaling
* Sandwich/snack
* Water filter/pruifier straw
* T.P. (wet leaves are contra-indicated)

The Firestarter gear was appreciated after I fell into some water in a late Fall hunt, a few miles from my vehicle.



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[tenngun]

I’m having to disagree about potatoes not being used much in America till late nineteenth century. Eighteenth century cookbooks are full of potato recipes, and dried potatoes are common New England ship food. By the late unpleasantness with the north recipient for soldiers was full of potato use. I’m thinking it was Hanna Glass who had bread and ‘cheese cake’ recipe using potato

 

[George]

I’m having to disagree about potatoes not being used much in America till late nineteenth century. Eighteenth century cookbooks are full of potato recipes, and dried potatoes are common New England ship food. By the late unpleasantness with the north recipient for soldiers was full of potato use. I’m thinking it was Hanna Glass who had bread and ‘cheese cake’ recipe using potato

Yes, I agree with your disagreement. I have references to white and red Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes in 18th century, some of them quite early. There is one of Irish potatoes in 1743, sweet potatoes in 1755.

Spence