2014 FUMLA Spring Fever Camp

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos, misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entry is from the 2014 FUMLA Spring Fever Camp.

3/21/14 FRIDAY, SPRING FEVER CAMP
     I arrived the camp later than I wanted to but still with plenty of light to make camp. After presenting myself to Mssr. Lassey & the party I picked myself out a small area somewhat sheltered  by some small russian olives. It was a simple affair of a bedroll of canvas, six blankets, all wrapped up in my 10x10 canvas tarp.
     My supper consisted of beef, carrots, onion & some barley all tossed into my lidded copper kettle & brought to a boil over the flame. It was eaten straight from the kettle & washed down with some hot coffee. conversations & good natured humor ensued. This evening our party consisted of Messers. Jerry & Rod Lassey, our hosts … Messer. Finders, Messr. Brandon Delvo, who has recently served our great nation, & Messer. Aaron Nelson, a newer member to our party.
     When it was well dark & part way into our evening of frivolity & cribbage the was a knock on the door to the cabin. Upon it’s opening there appeared a great towering figure of a man with a red voyager’s cap, dark capote & full graying beard. “It’s Santa Claus!” I shouted as we welcomed in Messer. Monk (Mark Thorn) one of the canadien members of our party. It had been some time since we’ve seen him, being Rendezvous of the previous year. Then evening carried on with stories, laughing, cribbage & tasting of fine spirits. After one final game with Messrs. Finder & Delvo I retired for the evening in my secluded bedroll. I would toss & turn some throughout the night, realizing the errors of how I had compiled my blankets. I was cool mostly, cold partly, but none the worse for wear come morning. I was thankful to have my recently completed capot. Its dark blue with red welting, a collar & hood. The temperature would get down to 10 degrees F.

3/22/14 SATURDAY, SPRING FEVER CAMP
     I woke this morning to the voice of Delvo talking. I threw back the canvas & blankets to find a thin

layer of frost and ice covering the bedding. The glass of my lantern & my glasses had frost on them as well. The Charbonneau Creek not 30 feet from me was also iced over. It has been free running water the day before.
     My breakfast was a simple one of hard cheese & flat bread & and apple, which had frozen during the night in my market wallet. I cut slices off with my knife. It’s texture & flavor was reminiscent of eating a pear. Conversations & coffee ensued.
     The morning was cool & all wore capotes, save Messer. Nelson who draped a blanket about his shoulders in an effective manner.
     Again inspired by Russel I assumed the roll of party cook. With flint, fire steel, char & grass, with a few bits of hard candle wax mixed in I soon had a fire going. I was able to procure a larger  portion of pork ribs, still unable to get beef ribs. I believe I shall try to prepare beef tongue, buffalo if I can find it, during our parties next venture.

     Maintaining a fire was much easier today as melting snow was not threatening the coals. This did pose a different problem of not allowing the fire to get too big.
     Our party was joined by several others today. MSSR. Evanson & the Swede, Messer. Todd Fossetta & his wife & Messer. Bauer. Rod was not with us today as his stomach was not tolerant of the thing that were in it. While keeping watch of the ribs some of our party partook in the firing of rifles & pistols, taking aim at targets both near and far.
     I had a later lunch. Stew again, some as lastnights Stew. Messr. Bauer, who originally intended to say for only awhile, decided instead to spend the evening in the company of the party. He left to get the rest of his gear for the evening. Messer. Fossetta & his wife would leave, hoping to make it back tomorrow.
     When the ribs were done, I put the limb & all into my large pan. Upon Messr. Bauer’s

return I heated them once more, & to my horror the bottom of the ribs caught ablaze! Being a man of large lungs I managed to quickly blow the flames out. Amidst laughter I shouted “Meats done boys!” Jerry had returned shortly before this to report on Rod. With the party assembled I drew my butcher knife & began to slice through the charred ribs. We saved one for Rod. I appologised to the men for having burned the ribs, assuring them that next time they would be better. The men assured me, there being much meat on the ribs, that the ribs were fine & tasted well. The ribs would end up feeding nine men. After they were consumed we engaged again in conversation, some spirits & cribbage.
     I had reassembled my bedding earlier today, to provide for maximum warmth. I slept much better, though still fealt cool on occasion. Temp down to 5 degrees F.

3/23/14 SUNDAY, SPRING FEVER CAMP
     I woke up to more pebbled ice & frost on the canvas tarp & blankets than yesterday. I didn’t notice anyone up yet so I checked the cabin & found everyone up with coffee in hand. I filled my tin cup & ate the rst of my stew from yesterday along with an apple, hard cheese & flat bread. Rod & Jerry [came out to the camp] mid-morning. Rod said he was feeling better but that his stomach was still churning. Delvo informed him that we had been calling what he had “The Pox”. Rod offered to spit in his palm & shake our hands. The party declined.

     After washing out my kettle & pan I heated water & prepared to shave. This proved to be entertaining to the party. I was equipped with my razor box, made by Mark Morrain, Joseph Elliot wedge strait razor, boar brush, lard/lye soap & small trade mirror. The soap lathered to an extent, no where near the same as modern shave soaps, however, was still rather slick. The shave felt good & sufficient for it’s purpose. No nicks or cuts or “blood letting” as Rod was referring to it earlier in the week.
     With the shave complete, I began to pack my gear along with everyone else.
     Before leaving I was able to see Rod’s collection of period traps, both original & reproduction.
     Shaking hands with Messer. Finders & Messers. Rod and Jerry Lassey, the remaining men, I left the camp. -- Leif

 

 

2013 FUMLA Turkey Shoot

The following is transcribed from my field journal. There are typos and misspellings and editings as there would be for transcriptions of other period journals. This entree is from the 2013 FUMLA Turkey Shoot.

10/25/13 – Friday

I arrived at Rod’s cabin & was greeted by Dave Finders & Mike Schweitzer. I was originally to share a tent with Mike but it turned out that only us three would be here tonight. We were suprised that Rod didn’t come out. Since there would be ample room in the cabin I decided that I would make a shelter instead as Mike would be staying in the cabin. I made my shelter from my 10x10 ground cloth for tent. My shelter is slightly north and more west of the cabin, by the Charbonou Creek. It’s a leen to with the open side facing East. I’m wearing my tuque as it is rather cool outside right now. I have two extra shirts I’ll us as a pillow & 5 wool blankets [some thinner than others] to cover me. I’m writing by candle light from my lantern from Village Tinsmiths. My market wallet with rations is hanging in the tree above me that my shelter is built against. I also have a beaver trap hanging from a limb.
                After I got my shelter squared away I went to the cabin & ate cheese and thick whole grain crackers. Mike Dave & I shared some liquid cheer & enjoyed comraderie. Dave & I played cribbage. He taught me to play 2 years ago here at the cabin. Dave won. We spent several hours talking about Fur Trade, Indians wars & FT. UNION. [Another enterprise I’m involved with] was brought up some. The guys offered words of encouragement & congratulations on [my current status]. After we concluded Rod was not going to show tonight, it was time for sleep. I’m going to make a hot breakfast in the morning.

10/26/13 – Saturday

It got cold lastnight, even with the 5 blankets. It was comfortable to lay down however. Tonight I will try to arrange the blankets different. Am very thankful for my tuque. Woke up several times throughout the night & looked at the sky. The moon & stars were bright. Feet got cold. I need to fix that. REalizied that I took of without extra socks.
                When I woke up this morning I straightened out my bedroll, grabbed my hatchet & fire kit and prepped wood for a fire. As soon as I got flame I lit the candle stub I keep in the kit. That proved advantageous to getting the fire going.
                Sawyer Flynn arrived as I was getting a green limb of Russian Olive to roast my meant for breakfast. He brought his new rifle. I had an apple & roasted meat for breakfast. Schweitzer brought me a wheel cap. He knew I had been looking for one. It is Russet in color, is well made & he was more than fair in his price. We groused around the campfire I’d made for sever hours. I read some of “Journal of a Trapper.” Swede arrived. The conversation that was already comedic became more so. I had cheese & something like pilot bread for lunch. Tim Soyseth (SWEDE) brought my turkey from last year.

                After we had eaten we set up the steel targets for the turkey shoot, comprising of ones for pistol & muzzleloader. We were wondering if Rod Lassey was going to make it out. As we were walking back to the cabin we saw the familiar figure of Rod walking across the prairie, bedroll in tow, rifle in hand, & then cross the creek. “Impecable timing…” a Halvorson family expression J, as he was just in time to start the shoot.
                I did poorly, only hitting one target & nearly firing my new wiping stick from the muzzle of my loaded rifle. Rod won the turkey. Dave Finders & I tied for the SPAM.

                I made a stew for supper from carrots, potatoe, meant, pearl barly & salt & pepper in my copper lidded kettle. Rod’s father Jerry stopped by for a couple of hours to see how the shoot had gone & catch up with everyone. I played a game of cribbage with Dave again by candle & lantern light…I won this time. We sat talking for a couple more hours & then we decided to shut things down for the evening. I went back to my shelter by the light of my lantern & went to sleep.

10/27/13 – Sunday

Slept much better lastnight. I arranged the blankets in a much better fashion. What was an annoyance the night before was that parts of my body were warm & parts were cold. My shoulder, knee & feet would be cold but the rest of me was warm. There was no frost on the glass of my lantern this morning. I have no idea if that was because it was warmer or because I’d waken up later. I do not have a watch. 

          When I opened my fire tin this morning I realized I had one piece of char cloth left. I found a few small sections of dead juniper to use in starting my fire this morning in addition to the usual tinder & kindling to make sure I’d get a fire going. There were no coals left from the previous night’s fire to assist in getting a fire going. It was a good thing this was my last day here. How foolish I was to not check my fire tin before I left for the camp. It took a lot of work this morning but was able to finally start & keep the fire going with that one small piece of char cloth. I will refill the tine when I get home.
                Ate an apple & roasted my last piece of meat for breakfast. Had some good conversation with Dave this morning…
                Knowing that coming home smelling smoky & dirty I decided to shave. This was an item of interest for all. I washed out my lidded kettle & heated water. The heated water was poured into my tin pan & allowed to cool a little while my brush soaked in it & I stropped my razor. The strop is on the back of my razor box. It was made by Mark Morain of Kootenai River Traders. It’s lid slides open to reveal an open oval cavity, the

bottom of which is lined with what I believe is red wool flannel. The razor rests inside. I was able to fit both my modern hollow ground DOVO straight razor & my 1830s Joseph Elliot wedge style straight razor in it. I used my DOVO as I haven’t sterilized or hat had it [my Joseph Elliot razor] honed yet. I used a modern badger hair brush & my modern 1911 shave soap made by Wm. Newmann & Co. I used a small trade mirror reproduction of an original found near Mandan, ND, dated to 1800-1850. I performed a 3-PASS shave, rinsing between each pass. I did not use any after shave or balm. We talked about shaving & hygien while I shaved. My EMT kit was up at the truck & I had an extra large handkerchief with me just in case problems arose. Shortly after my shave we began to break camp.
                During the daylight hours the top red blanket of my bedroll became a location for hundreds of the remaining box elder bugs to sun themselves. Despite trying my best to flap them off my bedroll gear, Signe, Brynja & I still removed about 20 of them from my bedroll & ground cloth after I got home.
                Just before the rest of us departed, Ben Gjorven arrived to say high & show us his Browning 30 cal….
                It was getting pretty cold at that point & we all headed out. I enjoy the Lassey cabin site along the Charbanue Creek. Fond memories of comraderie, conversations of history & getting to experience a little bit of the life of the men we portray. This camp was a nice change of pace to everyday life.
--Leif 

 

Fur Trade/Indian Wars Hygiene: Shaving

An interesting aspect of the lives of those in the Fur Trade or Indian Wars is that of hygiene. Bathing and cleanliness has changed quite a bit from then to now.  In an attempt to experience life more like these people I decided it was time to take on one of these hygiene procedures: shaving.

Today we are most accustomed to electric razors (show up in the 1930s) and cartridge razors (1970s). Prior to that, “safety razors”  didn’t really start having a decent showing  until 1875 and the first patent with the term “safety razor” was applied for in 1880. We do see (and they are still around in many barber shops today) straight razors with disposable blades. These, like their predecessor, still needed to be honed and stropped. Disposable blades don’t show up until King G. Gillette introduces them in 1901. His safety razor success was probably largely due to the fact that he got a contract to supply the American troops with his razors during World War I.

So that leaves us with the straight razor. The idea of suddenly shaving your face and neck with a chunk of razor sharp steel can be a rather daunting one. Let’s be honest, you do have a cause for concern. If all you are used to is a flex head cartridge razor, or even more different yet, an electric, you are going to need to learn some techniques specific to this new (old) device.

It doesn’t have to be so daunting. Here’s what I did, that was recommended to me. Make the switch from your electric or cartridge razor to a double edge safety razor before even picking up a straight razor. With a double edge razor you’ll learn to let the weight of the razor do the work. You’re going to learn not to push. This is also the time to learn how to use a shaving brush and shaving soap or cream. Yeah, you could keep using that pressurized stuff in a can, but why do that if your intent is to understand and experience what these people of the past did? Some good places to learn more about shaving with a safety razor and using shaving brushes with shaving soap is www.shaving101.com. Also, I highly recommend watching the shaving videos by geofatboy on youtube.( http://geofatboy.blogspot.com/ , http://www.youtube.com/user/geofatboy )  

After you’ve gotten used to using a double edge safety razor (I’d recommend at least 6 months of shaving, but that’s just me) then start thinking about a straight razor. A razor with a 5/8ths blade with a rounded end is a good choice to start learning with.  Watch, watch, watch the videos that geofatboy has. When you take your straight razor on it’s maiden shaving voyage….take….your…time. Let the razor do the work. If you force it, the razor will bite back.

I was recently able to track down an appropriate razor to use for my personas at Fort Union and for the AMM. It’s a wedge type straight razor made by Joseph Elliot. Here are a few links on being able to figure out the dates of different straight razors that you might get yourself. http://www.uniclectica.com/misc/manuf.html , http://strazors.com/uploads/images/articles/Identification.pdf

“Man Leif, this sure sounds like an investment.” The truth of the matter is…it is. You don’t have to go this route if you don’t want to. Please do understand that there is a drastic difference between shaving with a cartridge razor and a straight razor. There’s a definite learning curve. What I have posted here for you is the shaving path I went down, and it worked well for me. “But I don’t think I should have to learn how to do this.” You know what? That’s fine. There are many wonderful and challenging aspects to living history. There’s tailoring, leatherworking, blacksmithing, gardening, carpentry, music…the list goes on and on. So go ahead and pick something new to learn about the people you depict. Straight razor shaving is merely one on the list. - Leif