Civil War Black Wilderness Trapper Stereoview

[wganz]

TOPIC shift warning:

Given the pictorial evidence, could burlap feed sacks (alternatively, burlap material if feed sacks are not readily available) worn as leg wraps held with twine or leather cord be considered historically correct dress for a post ACW personna?

 

[Notchy Bob]

TOPIC shift warning:

Given the pictorial evidence, could burlap feed sacks (alternatively, burlap material if feed sacks are not readily available) worn as leg wraps held with twine or leather cord be considered historically correct dress for a post ACW personna?

Sure! You have the Jesse Hendricks photo as corroborative evidence dating from the period, in addition to the image in post #1, and I'm still trying to remember where I read that passage about the men wrapping their legs that way. It was just a few days ago when I saw that, but I read a lot and can't recall where it was. Still trying to remember, though.

I'm thinking it must have been a more common practice than we realize. If some collector sees botas, or "half-leggings," he'll surely recognize them for what they are. However, if the same collector or researcher encountered a heap of old feed sacks, he would likely not pay much attention, not realizing that some artifacts had multiple purposes. How often do any of us document in a journal how we dress for cold weather now? There were a lot of people back in the day keeping journals, but there is only so much time you want to devote to that every day, and documenting mundane (and potentially embarrassing) practices like wrapping your legs in old feed sacks to keep warm, because you don't own proper clothing, was probably not a priority. The remarkable thing is that somebody did document it. I just can't remember where I saw it!

A mind is a terrible thing to lose...

Notchy Bob

 

[Bullit]

Regarding the leg-wraps on the man in the photo, I just recently read about some hunters on the plains who had to endure a particularly cold winter, and they described wrapping their legs with feed sacks for warmth. I can't find the printed documentation now, but this photo of a buffalo hunter named Jesse Hendricks illustrates what they were talking about:

View attachment 191686

Yep, that's a Model 1874 Sharps (breechloader) and therefore unmentionable, but we're discussing the outfit. In any event, it's possible the leg wraps represent a serious attempt to use whatever was available to a fellow of limited means to keep warm.

I would go with the consensus here, that the image of the man in the original post probably dates to the very late 19th or early 20th century. As noted previously, we know a lot of people were still using muzzleloaders at that time. However, the caption of the stereoscopic card identifies the man "our mascot." I'm wondering if there might have been a crew or an expedition of some sort that brought this rag-tag fellow along to help out with menial tasks and provide some comic relief.

It's fun to speculate.

Notchy Bob

Man - that is one heavy looking barrel on his 74 !