Dueling in France. 17th Century.

Market vendors go about their business while two duelers fight, exhorted by their seconds, on the Pont Neuf in Paris. Detail from an anonymous 17th-century painting. Musée Carnavalet, Paris.

ON MAY 12, 1627, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, the Count of Bouteville and the Marquis of Beuvron met in a Paris square, for the express purpose of defending their honor. A skilled swordsman, the 27-year-old Bouteville was a veteran of many duels and had killed at least half of his opponents. One of his victims had been a relative of Beuvron, who spent months trying to arrange a duel with the count for vengeance.

More Here: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2016/03-04/why-france-dueling-capital-europe/

My Finished Bottle Gourd Water Bottle.

18th Century Blacksmithing.

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/58318/58318-h/58318-h.htm

How shipwreck hunter's search for a sunken galleon and lost engraved stone could rewrite Australian history by proving the Spanish landed more than a CENTURY before Captain Cook

Copywrite Ben Cropp.

A shipwreck hunter has launched a new expedition to search for a sunken Spanish galleon and engraved stone lost in Queensland that, if found, could rewrite Australia's history.  

Veteran documentary maker Ben Cropp is determined to find evidence that Spanish explorers landed in eastern Australia about 130 years before Captain James Cook's famous voyage up the east coast in 1770.

He is searching for a 17th Century Spanish gold mining settlement he believes existed south of Bamaga in Far North Queensland, according to markings on an ancient map.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8199885/Man-hunts-lost-Spanish-galleon-engraved-stones-prove-Australia-settled-Spain.html

17th Century Horseless Self Driving Wagon.

http://www.deadlinenews.co.uk/2020/03/27/university-researchers-give-rare-insight-in-new-book-on-17th-century-ad-men/

Warren Johnson's description of the Mohawk Valley (New York State), 1760. Copyright, Link Only.

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Warren+Johnson%27s+description+of+the+Mohawk+Valley+(New+York+State)%2C...-a030275538My thanks to Spence at http://minuteman.boards.net/ for this link.

Guernsey skeleton found near buried porpoise 'a sailor'

A skeleton found buried on a tiny island off Guernsey is thought to be that of an 18th Century Royal Navy sailor.

Six leather buttons found matched those often worn by navy sailors in the latter half of the 18th Century.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-guernsey-51374100

The Pittsburgh Waste Book. Trade Items 1759.

PAGE ONE.

My Thanks to Spence for the link to this book.

Keith.

https://digital.library.pitt.edu/islandora/object/pitt%3A31735061278424/viewer#page/8/mode/2up;

Priming Horn Documentation Found!

Priming Horn Information.

“The priming-horn is intended to be filled with Pistol Powder, and the Ranger always to prime from it in time of action, by which method he will not be near so subject to burn priming or miss fire as He would by priming from a Cartridge, as the grain of the powder will be small and a very great fault which Men are subject to in time of action will be prevented, Vizt. That of spilling one half of their Cartridge of powder and sometimes more in priming and shutting their Pans, and when they have loaded and discharg’d their Pieces after the common method, it often happens that the Ball is not sent with half the force it is intended or anything near the distance it ought to go, which mistake will (I imagine) be avoided by the handiness of the Priming-horn, as the Men will have nothing more to do with the Cartridge than bite off the top, put it in the barrel at once and ram it down, and if the Cartridge is fill’d with Cannon powder it will have just the same effect I conceive as if fill’d with Pistol powder which will get into the touch-hole and catch fire as quick as can be wished…..” 21



End Note 21 from page 366: HL, LO6927, 13 Feb. 1758 Captain/Major George Scott, ranger captain:

Small Arms of the British Forces in America, 1664-1815, by Dr. De Witt Bailey.

My thanks to Gus for this information.
Keith.

This information copied from: http://minuteman.boards.net/thread/427/finally-priming-horns-fiw-documentation?page=1&scrollTo=3360

All about soap & shaving in the 18th century.

All about soap & shaving in the 18th century.

Image taken from Perret’s Book “The Art to Shave Oneself” 1770

A question was raised about what soap was used for shaving in the 18th century, so I thought I would do a little research. No doubt many of you carry a piece of soap in your pack as I do, so soap is an interesting subject even if you do not shave.

George Washington's shaving items.

Honing a straight razor  Perret’s Book “The Art to Shave Oneself” 1770

Honing a straight razor  Perret’s Book “The Art to Shave Oneself” 1770

The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy: Which Far Exceeds Any Thing of the kind yet published by Hannah Glasse 1747

It seems that soap came in large bars, sometimes a person could choose the length of the bar they wished to purchase, & this bar was then cut to size. Other methods saw these bars cut into bricks for sale. I do not get the impression that we are talking about the bars of soap we purchase these days, I think these bricks were square & much larger. This type of soap was known as hard soap, soft soap was apparently the sort of soap that was made at home by the settlers. Whether or not there was a preference in hard or soft soap for shaving I can’t say, but it was this ordinary soap that was used for washing & shaving.

Cutting bars of soap by Diderot

Soap.

Ordinary soap was used for shaving in the 18th century.

Spain during the 11th and 12th centuries, where Spanish Muslims made Castile soap.
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/03/the-history-of-soap/

Castile soap for shaving, washing & weight loss.

https://www.worldturndupsidedown.com/2017/01/18th-century-castile-soap-for-shaving.html

In 1752 Richard Barnard of Temple Bar claimed to be the inventor of the ‘True original shaving powder’. A rival powder, advertised the same year by J. Emon, claimed to ‘make razors cut easy and [was] very good for tender faces’.
https://dralun.wordpress.com/2016/05/17/splash-it-all-over-a-brief-history-of-aftershave/

“To make very good washing balls take storax of both kings, benjamin, calamus aromaticus, labdanum of each a like; and bray them to powder with cloves and orris; then beat all with a sufficient quantity of soap till it be stiff, them with your hand you shall work it like paste, and make round balls thereof.” 

Gervaise Markham, The English Housewife 1683.

 “TO BE SOLD BY EDWARD LANGDON, IN FLEET STREET, NEAR THE OLD NORTH MEETING HOUSE, A QUANTITY OF HARD SOAP BY THE BOX, SOFT SOAP BY THE BARREL”.

Pearlash soap add, Boston Gazette Mid 18th century.
https://spadet.com/19th-century-soap-making-its-history-and-techniques/

In all the material I have researched so far, no where does it mention the size of bar soap, nor are there any images of sketches of 18th century soap. However, I did find a painting, & it does give a fair indication of the size of a brick of soap.

A Lady’s Maid Soaping Linen

c.1765–82

Soap detail.

This is an image of Marseille soap as it is sold today, I have no proof, but I suspect that this could have been what it looked like in the 18th century.

Axes in New France: Part 11 French Colonial-made Axes

https://secureservercdn.net/198.71.233.109/tnx.0f5.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Axes-in-New-France-Part-2-French-Colonial-made-Axes.pdf

Museum of Appalachia to Host “Days of the Pioneer” Antique Exposition - September 13th & 14th

Museum of Appalachia

P.O. Box 1189, Norris, TN 37828

Phone: 865-494-7680 or 494-0514

E-mail: janmarshall@museumofappalachia.org

www.museumofappalachia.org


Museum of Appalachia to Host “Days of the Pioneer” Antique Exposition - September 13th & 14th


The Museum is located 16 miles north of Knoxville, one mile east of I-75 at Exit 122. For additional information call (865) 494-7680 or visit the website at: www.museumofappalachia.org.

Tools Made from Rasps or Files

Tools Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 Blacksmiths re-use worn or damaged files and rasps by making them into something else. All the tools listed here are also listed in the sections and categories given. Historic Maritime I (1607-1676): The First Colonial Dominion Sub Category Woodworking: Axes and Hatchets 102409T1 Hatchet 13 1/2" long, 3 1/8" cutting edge It has a forge-welded edge. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/102409T1web1.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/102409T1web2.jpg SubCategory Woodworking: Boring Tools TAB1010 Stone drill 8 1/2" long This stone drill has clearly been re-fashioned from a used blacksmith rasp. It was made in the 17th or 18th century. It is typical of the type of tool early settlers would have used to drill a mooring hole. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/tab1007.jpg SubCategory Woodworking: Edge Tools 42602T4 Drawknife 10" wide, 4 1/2" wide blade This hand-forged tool has been carefully refashioned from file steel. The short chubby handles are in the English style and are made of carefully cut and glued leather. This nifty tool is difficult to date; it is probably made in the 18th century. It is displayed in the Maritime I case because it is so typical of the homemade tools of the early colonial period. This tool is, in fact, exactly what a small drawshave in the tool kits of the first New England settlers could have looked like. BDTM Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic SubCategory Agricultural Implements 102409T2 Grafting froe 13" long, 4" wide, 2 3/4" cutting edge DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/102409T2web1.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/102409T2web2.jpg 913108T47A Grafting iron 9 1/2" long, 2 3/4" long blade DTM Blacksmith, Farrier, and Metalworking Tools SubCategory TBF3501 Bench vise 7" high, 2 1/2" wide The hold down is made from a recycled farriers' rasp. DTM 3114T3 Hoof knife 6" long, 1 1/4" wide, 2" edge DTM 61601T5 Tin snips 12 3/4" long These are clearly reforged from a file. The first rolled tin dates to the early 18th century. This reforged smith-made tool is at least 200 years old. DTM SubCategory Cobbler and Saddler Tools 1 Tools Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 62406T3 Curriers' slick fleshing knife 6" long, 2" blade It is forge-welded from a recycled rasp. DTM SubCategory Domestic Utensils 11301T1 Block knife 20 5/7" long with 15 3/4" chopping arm and 5" wide iron blade The iron component of this food and/or tobacco chopper is made of a recycled farriers' file. DTM TBF3000 Cleaver 8 3/8" long with a 2 1/2" blade It was forged out of an old rasp. DTM SubCategory Knives 81101T14 Crooked knife 8 1/2" long, 3" blade Crooked knives are especially common in northern New England where they were used by Native Americans and European settlers for many purposes including basket-making and working birch bark. This knife has been reforged from an old file or rasp, one of early American artisans' most important sources of recycled forged steel. The crosshatched carving on the nicely fashioned applewood (?) handle suggests a Native American user. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/81101t14.jpg SubCategory Logging Tools 913108T49 Spud 8 1/2" long, 2" wide DTM SubCategory Miscellaneous Tools 40501T4 Pry bar 21 3/4" long Refashioned from an old rasp, this rip is a classic example of recycling a dull rasp. With a nicely forged rattail hanger, this tool is probably late 18th century. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Boring Tools 31602T2 Turn screw 19 1/2" long with 15" long and 5/8" wide blade It has a nicely turned handle with a recycled iron ferrule. A recycled file has been used as the turn screw. An unusual hole has been wrought and drilled in the turn screw center. DTM TJR1301 Turn screw 12 1/2" long, 3 1/2" handle This shows the typical recycling of used rasps. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Edge Tools 81801T11 Drawknife 6" long, 3 1/4" blade This carefully wrought shave is made from the recycled steel of a rasp or file and predates the patternmakers' drawknives that it resembles. Its use is unknown. DTM 2 Tools Historic Maritime II (1720-1800): The Second Colonial Dominion & the Early Republic The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 31702T2 Drawknife 10 1/2" wide, 5 5/8" blade This is an excellent example of an edge tool made out of recycled file steel with English style handles. DTM 32412T2 Drawknife 14" long, 8 1/2" long blade This drawknife is crudely welded together from a file and two separate pieces of steel. Courtesy of Liberty Tool Co. DTM 913108T39 Drawshave 20 3/4" long, 7 3/4" blade This shave is made from a recycled rasp or file. DTM 111001T21 Toothed chisel 3 7/16" long, 2" cutting head with 17 teeth This is an excellent example of recycling file steel. Its use is unknown; it is too delicate for stone facing. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Planes 81101T12 Coachmakers' router 13 3/8" wide, 7/16" wide cutter This once common 18th century tool shows indications of being refashioned from an old file or rasp. DTM SubCategory Wrenches 43006T4 Wagon wrench 3/4" and 13/16" wide wrench openings It is a curved wrench, forge-welded and hand-filed from a handmade rasp. It is a nice example of an 18th century wagon wrench. DTM Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution SubCategory Agricultural Implements TCR1001A Grafting froe 8 5/8" long with a 3 1/4" blade This tool is refashioned from an old file or rasp. It was a basic necessity for Davistown residents maintaining orchards in the 19th century. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/tcz1006.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/tcr1001a.jpg Blacksmith, Farrier, and Metalworking Tools SubCategory 913108T7 Blacksmiths' tongs 13" long DTM 913108T37 Blacksmiths' tools (5) A) 2 1/2"; B) 9 1/4"; C) 6 1/2"; D) 1 3/4"; E) 7 3/4" This is a set of tools a blacksmith may have made for his own use. They consist of: B) grafting tool, C) spud, D) wedge, and two farriers' hoof cutters A) and E). DTM 021812T4 Clinch cutter This is a farriers' tool rendered out of a recycled rasp or file. DTM 3 Tools Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 032103T3 Farriers' chisel 7 3/8" long, 2" long cutter This is an excellent example of recycled steel. Originally a steel rasp, worn out rasps were saved and reworked into other useful edge tools. The peened top cutting edge reflects the transition from forged iron to a hammered steel cutting edge. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/032103t3_p1.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/032103t3_p2.jpg TG1010 Punch 5 1/4" long DTM 021812T6 Wedge 3" long, 1 1/4" wide This is possibly a farriers' or blacksmiths' tool made from a recycled rasp or file. It has a hand-drilled hole of 1/4" diameter that might be used for a handle. DTM SubCategory Cobbler and Saddler Tools TG1007 Tack pry 11 3/8" long It is made from a file. DTM SubCategory Coopers' Tools 81801T13A Coopers' _____? 6" long, 4" angle extension This tool is characterized by the same grooved crease found in all coopers' hammers, though slightly narrower (1/8") than the crease in 81801T13 (1/4"). It is clearly refashioned from recycled file steel and is very unusual. A specific identification is welcomed. DTM 092409T3 Coopers' adz 9 1/3" long, 1" wide with a 12" long handle DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/092409T3web2.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/092409T3web4.jpg SubCategory Domestic Utensils 913108T37A Food chopper 6 1/2" long, 7 3/8" wide blade DTM SubCategory Hammers 032203T3 Snowball hammer 8 3/4" long, 2 3/16" cutter at one end This is a typical example of a late 18th century or early 19th century recycling of a precious forged steel rasp. After becoming dull, this rasp was reshaped into a tool for knocking the snow and ice from a shoed horse. What was the cutting edge used for? Notice that the malleable wrought iron top edge of the tool has been bent over from use, whereas the steel cutting edge shows no evidence of wear. This illustrates the varying amount of carbon in different sections of this tool. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/032203t3_p1.jpg http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/032203t3_p2.jpg SubCategory Knives 913108T15 Crooked knife 8 1/2" long, 3/4" long blade This is typical of the forge-welded crooked knife used by the settlers of North America for basketmaking and other uses. DTM 4 Tools Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 TG1009 Knife 9 1/2" long, 3 3/8" handle DTM SubCategory Miscellaneous Tools TG1006 Brick chisel 5 3/4" long, 1 1/2" wide It does not have a handle. DTM TG1008 Unidentified tool 16" long, 14" wood handle DTM Watchmakers, Jewelers, and Silversmiths' Tools SubCategory 041505T28 Spinning tool 15" long including a 14" wood handle, 2 1/2" long pewter ferrule The wood handle holds the tanged steel chisel. This cutting tool is clearly made of recycled file steel. It is an uncommon tool from a long lost trade. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Boring Tools TCC3011 Burin 4" long This commonplace tool is refashioned out of an old file and has a beautifully turned handle. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Edge Tools 22411T3 Drawknife 15 1/2" long, 6 1/2" wide, 10" long blade This drawknife is handmade from a file. DTM 913108T23 Drawknife 12" long, 7 3/4" long blade DTM TG1004 Drawshave 13 5/8" long, 9 1/2" blades It has no handles. DTM 10407T4 Drawshave 10 1/2" wide with a 7" cutting edge The handles are handmade and it is obviously forged from an old file. It is a typical edge tool utilizing the strategy of recycling a high quality (probably English or German) steel file. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/pics/10407t4.jpg Woodworking: Edge Tools - Imported Cast Steel SubCategory Peter Stubs Tools TCC1008 Chisel 4 1/8" long, 3/4" wide "Stubs" It is made from one of Stub's recycled files. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/bioStubs.htm Woodworking: Edge Tools Made in Maine SubCategory 3114T4 Crook knife 9" long, 4" blade LPC 5 Tools Historic Maritime III (1800-1840): Boomtown Years & the Dawn of the Industrial Revolution The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 SubCategory Woodworking: Other Tools TG1003 Center punch 3 1/2" wide DTM TCR1009 Turnscrew 12 1/2" long, 8 3/8" long blade This tool has been refashioned out of an old file. DTM TG1005 Wedge 1 3/4" wide DTM TG1011 Wedge 4 5/8" long, 2 5/16" wide DTM TG1015 Wedge 2 3/8" wide DTM SubCategory Wrenches TG1001 Wrench 13 1/2" long, 9/16" and 1 3/14" open ends DTM TG1002 Wrench 8" long, 3/4" and 5/8" wide open ends DTM Historic Maritime IV (1840-1865): The Early Industrial Revolution Blacksmith, Farrier, and Metalworking Tools SubCategory 32912T7 Ox shoe 4 1/2" long "L" Courtesy of Liberty Tool Co. DTM SubCategory Coopers' Tools 913108T45 Coopers' bung 7 3/4" long, 3 3/4" long blade It is unusual to see a coopers' bung used for a handle attached to a curved blade. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Edge Tools 22411T16 Drawknife 8" long, 4" wide, 5" blade It is hand-forged from an old file. DTM The Industrial Revolution (1865f.): Other Factory Made Tools SubCategory Miscellaneous Tools 30311T7 Screwdriver 12" long, 1 1/2" wide It is handmade from a file. DTM 6 Tools The Industrial Revolution (1865f.): Other Factory Made Tools The Davistown Museum - Tools Made from Rasps or Files 31-Jul-14 30911T6 Tapered reamer 15" long, 8" blade This convex-shaped reamer is handmade from a file. DTM SubCategory Woodworking: Edge Tools 72714T1 Drawknife blade 11" long, 5 3/8" cutting edge, 4 1/4" handle tangs This drawknife is fashioned from a reforged file. LPC 31311T12 Gouge 17 " long, 11" long and 1" wide blade, 6" long handle DTM Woodworking: Edge Tools Made in Maine SubCategory 41212T6 Drawknife 16 1/2" long, 9 1/2" long cutting edge "T.C. JACKSON" "STINSON" This tool was made in Bath, Maine circa 1869 or earlier from a recycled steel file or rasp. Courtesy of Liberty Tool Co. DTM http://www.davistownmuseum.org/publications/volume10.html 22411T6 Drawknife 13 1/2" long, 5" long handles, 7 1/2" long blade "J. T. BUDGE" This drawknife is handmade from an old file. Possibly Budge was the maker/owner. The Penobscot County ME Archives History - Businesses listings for Lee in 1883 has J. T. Budge as a blacksmith. The Maine Register of 1889 lists J. T. Budge & Son as blacksmiths in Lee, Maine. DTM 7

http://www.davistownmuseum.org/PDFsforInventory/WebToolsFromRaspsOrFiles_PDF.pdf

Wooden Clothing Buttons.

Wooden Clothing Buttons.

American Artifacts of Personal Adornment, 1680-1820:

https://books.google.com.au/books?id=aWsnAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=18th+century+%22wooden+buttons%22&source=bl&ots=k4FWKTqzGy&sig=ACfU3U2TvitP7naWMCsl97dFV2SKLoYqEw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiN1sW1qqzkAhXBfX0KHbX2CpY4ChDoATAJegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=18th%20century%20%22wooden%20buttons%22&f=false;

Blank/Mold: A “Blank/Mold” is a bone or wood button with either zero holes or one hole. The single hole was a product of manufacturing, when these buttons were cut with a lathe or a carpenter’s brace and bit (Hinks 1988:67). They could be used as the backs to stamped metal buttons, the supporting disc for cloth buttons, or more holes could be drilled in them to make simple, one-piece bone or wooden buttons (ibid).

https://www.daacs.org/wp-content/uploads/buttons.pdf

"Wood buttons were also made in colonial crafts shops and homes. During the 18th century, most wooden buttons were plain and utilitarian. In 1770, Benjamin Randolph advertised his apple, holy, and laurel buttons (Luscomb, ix). Decorated wooden buttons, which were carved, painted, and inlaid, were popular in the 19th century".
https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1042&context=utk_chanhonoproj

Wooden Button Moulds.

Wood backed 

 brass button with catgut shank.

http://ancientpoint.com/imgs/a/i/k/m/z/18th_century_repouss__wood_back_brass_button_with_catgut_shank_3_lgw.jpg;

To date I have not come across any images of original 18th century wooden buttons with more than one hole, other than the sample above which is a wood backing for a brass button.
Keith.

Pirates & Privateers Newsletter.

https://pub47.bravenet.com/bravemailer/v2/online.php?id=861&usernum=3977197897&e=historicaltrekker%40gmail.com&cname=Keith

Australian Aboriginals. The First Farmers. A New History!

Aboriginal farm near Mount Franklin. Picture Credit: Culture Victoria.

https://www.foreground.com.au/environment/decolonising-agriculture-bruce-pascoes-dark-emu/;

Australian Aboriginals. The First Farmers . A New Australian History.

It seems that what we have been taught about the Indigenous Australians is not true, & this puts a whole new perspective on our history & the resultant Living History in Australia.

“Gammage argues, the first Australians worked a complex system of land management, with fire their biggest ally, and drew on the life cycles of plants and the natural flow of water to ensure plentiful wildlife and plant foods throughout the year. They managed, he says, the biggest estate on Earth”.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-first-farmers-20110930-1l1gv.html

“Indigenous historian Bruce Pascoe has spent years looking through these incredible accounts and found the first white settlers documented how Aboriginal people built homes, villages, parks, dams and wells, selected seeds for harvesting, ploughed fields, irrigated crops and preserved food in vessels”.

“Aboriginal people were the first culture on earth to bake, evidenced by unearthed grindstones from 30,000 years ago, meaning Aussies beat the ancient Egyptians by more than 15,000 years”.

“It has been purposefully left out of our history,” he said. “The misconception that Aboriginals were hunter-gatherers has been institutionalised and we are all suffering from that institutionalisation today — not just Aboriginal people but the whole country.”

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/indigenous-historian-bruce-pascoe-says-weve-got-our-story-all-wrong/news-story/70518cd1c35efd73c126ec0c19bb8281

Young Dark Emu By Bruce Pascoe: https://www.booktopia.com.au/young-dark-emu-bruce-pascoe/prod9781925360844.html?source=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqYO73pnb4wIVRAwrCh3jEQe8EAQYAyABEgIQz_D_BwE

When explorer George Grey first entered the Victoria District of the central west coast of Western Australia in 1839, he noted yam fields of square kilometres in extent. One tract "extended east and west as far as we could see". Further south he recorded that "the whole of this valley is an extensive warran [yam] ground".

A few years later Augustus Gregory, a surveyor who later became a famous explorer and Surveyor General of Queensland, stated that the local Aboriginal population "never dug a yam without planting the crown in the same hole so that no diminution of food supply should result".

Another colonial explorer, Lt. Helpman, commented in 1849 that the Nhanda and Amangu "are a fine race of men but seem to depend entirely upon warran and gum, of which they have great abundance".

Grey also reported four villages in the region, two of which he observed at Hutt River the day after encountering the yam fields. He wrote: "In this distance passed two native villages, or, as the men termed them, towns". These villages comprised dwellings that were "very nicely plastered over the outside with clay, and clods of turf," and which Grey thought "were evidently intended for fixed places of residence".

According to Helpman, these dwellings were "well plastered outside and the timber which formed it was about 6 in. [15 cm] thickness, about 6 ft. [1.8 m] high inside and capable of holding ten persons easily".

https://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/evidence-indigenous-australian-agriculture#main-content

Those Other Bark Canoes!

Wild Foods. Nettle Pudding.

My sincere thanks to Grizz for sharing this recipe with me.

Ancient Nettle Pudding

Recipe courtesy of Ancient Craft and Celtnet Recipes

According to Celtnet Recipes, “when most food was boiled in a large pot, adding dumplings or ‘puddings’ to stocks (was) a good way of putting starch in the diet. These large dumplings are flavoured with wild herbs and nettles.”[9]

Ingredients

1 bunch of sorrel

1 bunch of watercress

1 bunch of dandelion leaves

2 bunches of young nettle leaves

Some chives

1 cup of barley flour

1 teaspoon of salt

Instructions

Chop the herbs finely and mix in the barley flour and salt.

Add enough water to bind it together and place in the center of a linen or muslin cloth.

Tie the cloth securely and add to a pot of simmering venison or wild boar (a pork joint will do just as well). Make sure the string is long enough to pull the pudding from the pot.

Cook the pudding until the meat is done (at least two hours).

Leave the pudding to cool slightly, remove the muslin, then cut the pudding into thick slices with a knife.

Serve the pudding with chunks of barley bread.

*The pudding can be served along side the meat with which it was cooked, or it can be served as its own stand-alone dish.

[1] Pappas, S. (2012, September 28). Ancient Burial Shroud Made of Surprising Material, Scientists Find. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Vance, K. (n.d.). History of Stinging Nettle. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

[4] Nettles – discover its healing, medicinal qualities. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2015, from http://www.nettlesforhealth.com/#!nettle-uses/c18ah

[5] Vance, K.

[6] What Else The Romans Did For Us. (n.d.). Retrieved January 2, 2015.

http://therapy.epnet.com/nat/GetContent.asp?chunkiid=21815

[7] Vance. K.

[8] Macrae, F. (n.d.). Traditional English cooking: Nettle pudding and other ancient recipes. Retrieved January 2, 2015.

[9] Boiled Nettle Pudding a classic reconstructed Ancient Recipe. (n.d.). Retrieved January 7, 2015, from http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/ancient/fetch-recipe.php?rid=ancient-boiled-nettle-pudding

https://antiquitynow.org/2015/01/07/bon-appetit-wednesday-ancient-nettle-pudding-britains-oldest-recipe/ 

http://neclhg.freeforums.net/thread/620/travels-john-heckewelder-frontier-america?page=1&scrollTo=1872

The Backwoodsman Lifestyle.

By Andrew Knez Jr.

 "We breakfasted at a Captain’s whither we had been directed; for along this road, and others like it in America, one must not be deceived by the bare name of taverns. The people keep taverns if they have anything over and above what they need, if not, the traveler must look about for himself. The Captain was not at all pleased that the neighborhood was beginning to be so thickly settled. ‘It spoils the hunting,’ he said, ‘makes quarrels; and then they come and want to collect taxes; it is time some of us were leaving and going deeper into the country.’ Hence we supposed we should find a thickly settled region, but had to go not less than seven miles before we came to the next neighbor. Like most of the inhabitants of these frontier, he was of those whose chief occupation is hunting, who from a preference for doing nothing, and an old indifference to many conveniences, neglect and dread the quieter and more certain pursuits of agriculture.

"These hunters or ‘backwoodsmen’ live very like the Indians and acquire similar ways of thinking. They shun everything which appears to demand of them law and order, dread anything which breathes constraint. They hate the name of a Justice, and yet they are not transgressors. Their object is merely wild, although natural freedom, and hunting is what pleases them. An insignificant cabin of unhewn logs ; corn and a little wheat, a few cows and pigs, this is all their riches but they need no more. They get game from the woods ; skins bring them in whiskey and clothes, which they do not care for of a costly sort. Their habitual costume is a ‘rifle-shirt’ or shirt of fringed linen ; instead of stockings they wear Indian leggings ; their shoes they make themselves for most part. When they go out to hunt they take with them a blanket, some salt, and a few pounds of meal of which they bake rough cakes in the ashes ; for the rest they live on the game they kill. Thus they pass 10-20 days in the woods ; wander far around ; shoot whatever appears ; take only the skins, the tongues, and some venison back with them on their horses to their cabins, where the meat is smoked and dried ; the rest is left lying in the woods. They look upon the wilderness as their home and the wild as their possession ; and so by this wandering, uncertain way of life, of which they are vastly fond, they become indifferent to all social ties, and do not like many neighbors about them, who by scaring off the game are a nuisance besides. They are often lucky on the hunt and bring back great freight of furs, the process of which are very handsome. Uncompanionable and truculent as this sort of men appear to be, and however they seem half-savage and, by their manner of life, proof against the finer feelings, one is quite safe among them and well treated ; they have their own way of being courteous and agreeable which not everybody would take to be what it is. Their little house-keeping is, for their situation, neat ; and their wives and children are content in their solitudes where for the most part they spend the time in idleness."

Johann David Schöpf  1777-1784.

My sincere thanks to Spence at http://minuteman.boards.net/thread/225/backwoodsmen?page=1&scrollTo=1518 for sharing this information.

The Use of Sealing Wax to Seal the Tops of Corked Wine Bottles in the 17th & 18th Centuries.

The Use of Sealing Wax to Seal the Tops of Corked Wine Bottles in the 17^th & 18^th Centuries.

An early example, a wine bottle dating to 1727, is reported to have the cork covered with wax and cloth and held down by a string attached under the string rim (No@l Hume 1958b: 774, 776). The use of parchment, paper, and bladders, sometimes impregnated with other substances such as wax or resin, to cover mouths of bottles and jars was common in the 18th century particularly for home bottling (McKearin and Wilson 1978: 249-52). For bottling cider Rees recommended that ••.the corks be driven very tightly into the necks of the bottles, tied down with small strong twine or wire, and well secured with melted rosin, or other material of the same nature•••(Rees 1819: Vol. 10, Cyder).

https://sha.org/bottle/pdffiles/cylindricalenglishwinebook.pdf

 It has been postulated that this was because the main supply route was via the Iberian Peninsula which had been conquered  by the Moors in the 8th Century. Paintings from that era depict twists of bung and cloth or leather being used, sometimes with sealing wax to make an air-tight closure.

https://www.nicks.com.au/vintage-school-2-14-76.1456

The making of sealing wax sticks for the use of sealing letters and other documents was only a small part of the sealing wax industry from the end of the eighteenth century into the first decades of the twentieth century. Though of much lesser quality than the sealing wax made to seal documents, this sealing wax, which was used to seal corked wine bottles, was made in large quantities. Shellac, bleached or unbleached was seldom used, replaced with common pine resins. Brick dust was used as both a coloring agent and a filler, and low-grade turpentines were substituted for the top-quality Venice turpentine used for the best sealing waxes. This sealing wax was never made into sticks, it was sold in large chunks which would be melted in a pot for use. The neck of a corked bottle of wine would be dipped into the melted wax, which hardened quickly on the cold glass of the bottle. This rapid hardening could make the sealing wax so brittle that it would break up even when lightly touched. The addition of more turpentine to the mixture would make the sealing wax less brittle, but it could have the undesirable effect of making the sealing wax sticky, even in very cool temperatures. The best bottle sealing wax had some shellac added to the mix. Though this raised the cost slightly, it also resulted in a wax which did not become too brittle in cold weather or too sticky in warm weather. Though it was illegal to sell wine in bottles during the Regency, many vintners and wine sellers who bottled wine for their customers did seal those bottles with this bottle sealing wax.

Sealing wax was also used to seal wine bottles, and protect the cork from the air until the wine was opened. 

https://regencyredingote.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/sealing-wax/