“Pumps of their own manufacture" Part 1...Kinda

              

Man did that go off the rails. I guess being confined to Hotel rooms isn’t the best thing for my brain. let’s go back to reality and put out something a little more worthwhile. I spent part of the past few years going down a moccasin rabbit hole that led me to some killer info and a lot of dead ends. So, I figure since I’ll never do anything with most of it I’d put it out there. Also this information was part of my talk at the school of the long hunter at Pricket’s fort. I mention this because in my opinion for folks looking to improve their impression, share information and meet like Minded people who want to do more then sit in camp at a public park and argue Bullet boards this event is a great place to head to and support.

                So, you are new to the hobby or want to venture into a “juried event” for the first time. You ask a few questions to friends/msg boards/ Facebook and work your way from hunting shirts to just what the latest newest version of a “longhunter knife” looks like (pro tip  anyone advertising a “longhunter knife” is just trying to take your money )   then finally after questions about hand stitching buttonholes you mention moccasins. The typical answer will be along the lines of Yes they had them, someone will say center seam, someone will say pucker toe maybe someone will say Doddridge and then nothing.

                It’s really odd, if you’d ask a question about a type of patch box people would cite multiple books, theories and discussions they had heard about between Wallace Guslar and Joe Kinddig in a bunker owned by Tony Stark.  Somehow the most basic frontier piece of footwear gets the brush off when talking about them.

                So to put all of us at a starting point here are two of the best descriptions of European Moccasins from the 1770’s

 

J F Smythe

"On their feet they sometimes wear pumps of their own manufacture, but generally Indian moccossons, of their own construction also, which are made of strong elk's, or buck's skin, dressed soft as for gloves or breeches, drawn together in regular plaits over the toe, and lacing from thence round to the fore part of the middle of the ancle, without a seam in them, yet fitting close to the feet, and are indeed perfectly easy and pliant."

Doddridge

a pair of moccasins answered for the feet much better than shoes. These were made of dressed deer skin. They were mostly made of a single piece with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the bottom of the heel, without gathers as high as the ankle joint or a little higher. Flaps were left on each side to reach some distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower part of the leg by thongs of deer skin, so that no dust, gravel or snow could get within the moccasin.

 

                So over the past 2 years I started trying to find all the original European made moccasins that were out there. I had known about one in a private collection for a few years. It was found in the wall of a cabin in central Pa and was pretty darn ugly so I knew more had to be out there. I had seen information on another Moccasin back in the Message board days. It was Pictured (by picture I mean sketch of course) in an Anthropology publication from the early 20^th century and had been attributed to a “Old hunter from Morgantown”.

                As a result, I spent a number of years calling/visiting every museum and county historical society in West Virginia I could find. It was pretty cool because I did end up seeing a lot of killer stuff (man did Lewis Wetzel own a lot of rifles) and was led down other numerous rabbit holes. Of course, after all this I found nothing and had gone onto chasing other squirrels. Then one day Mike Galban casually sends me an email “did you ever see this weird thing” as if he sees unicorns every day and they bore him. Yes you guessed it , it was the Morgantown Moccasin.  

                Turns out the Moccasin wasn’t in West Virginia at all, it was located behind Archie Bunker’s chair and Washington’s Tooth Brush at the Smithsonian. Do you know how many times I’ve been down there? This was aggravating, but there it was in all it’s doddrigian (new term) glory. Of course, after digging and talking to a number of people it Turns out the Smithsonian had just as much info on it as I’d been able to find.

                

The Moccasin was collected in 1898 by a Dr. Hough from Mrs. Dorcas Haymond And it was from an “Old hunter”. So what does that mean exactly? Well the moc could have been made anywhere from 1898 to 1798 and Moccasins do show up on folks in Appalachia into the 19^th century (as do hunting shirts interestingly enough) It does have a few details that match the Doddridge idea of a Moccasin.

                It’s sewed with Leather wang (a consistent detail in all the mocs I’ve been able to look at) This matches Doddridge: They were sewed together and patched with deer skin thongs, or whangs, as they were commonly called. This is pretty consistent in the euro mocs as well as the Native mocs I've examined. Easier to make, Leather holds up better then Linen thread with the constant wet/dry cycle of wearing a moc and Artificial sinew didn't exist.

     The seam up the front is sewed with a baseball stitch which when new does form a “gathering seam” up the front. This matches up with the seam on the Moccasin in the Museum of the Fur Trade.  As you see this moccasin was actually worn and when stretched out (thankfully for us) you can see the stitching

    The rear is sewn only up to the ankle bone (another detail consistent in 18^th century Moccasins) and the flap design really matches the Doddridge description: Flaps were left on each side to reach some distance up the legs. These were nicely adapted to the ankles and lower part of the leg by thongs of deer skin. These flaps would be an inconvenience to wear down which points toward it being meant to be worn tied up.. The fact it also has ties attached to the body in some way is another detail I’ve found in originals and in the descriptions. For example Jess hughes was described on a scout :  lay down upon their arms for the night, their moccasins tied to the breech of their guns.

                So Is this an 18^th century Moccasin? Simple answer is I don’t know. Like I said it has A lot of details that fall into the descriptions of 18^th cent white made moccasins. Some construction details can be seen on the other European made moccasins and in some native made moccasins as well. However just like all the undated shot pouches out there it’s impossible to say when it was made. Make of it what you will but it’s a cool thing. 

                I’ve made a pair based off this example and I have to say They rocked. Flap design kept out the “dust and gravel” and the seam didn’t bother me at all. If There is enough interest I'll do a how to on making them But I may just save that for a larger how to make moccasins in general. So I think I kept this one a little more on the rails and Didn't mention my eternal hatred for Duane once (oh I hate that guy and his clean moccasins, I mean come on man they are moccasins how do they stay clean?) 

Basic Shape of the Pattern