Lodges/tents

[blackhorse]

I like to start on this here forum. I am starting to refine my fur trade image, but not so much as a trapper. I am going to guess that the ol' wedge tents and wall tents would be appropriate for Rondy's.. I do like teepees, though.. I have never owned one nor have I ever set one up.. I can learn,, But for an image, I am gonna guess(again) that a white trapper would not haul a teepee around with him... But I am going to specualte that if he wintered over in a village he would have "rented " a teepee from the natives or "married" into one... How close am I...

 

[Brasilikilt]

Keep in mind that the teepee was designed specifically to be transported by horse using a travois. Since (in my opinion) the teepee is pretty much the most versatile, warm, weather resistant kind of tent out there.....I think a trapper would have been fine with hauling a teepee around

 

After watching various folks set up and take down tee-pees for the past 30 years I have decided that even if one of the things was location correct for my persona I would not acquire one until I had 6 horses to haul it and 3 squaws to set it up and take it down!

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Brasilikilt]

I guess my experience is just with the small 12-16 footers.........much easier than the bigger ones!

 

[crockett]

Well I am going to get a lot of teepee dwellers mad at me but here it goes....
If you get a wedge made of canvas or the like, that is PC. If you get a teepee made of canvas..Is that PC?(I don't know). I always thought that the teepee was originally made from animals skins, i.e. leather. That kind of teepee would weigh a lot.
There was also a discussion a while ago on the flaps, that the big square flaps on many modern teepees don't look like the flaps in some of the early paintings.
As far as mountain men dwelling in teepees. I think Clyman spent a winter around Great Salt Lake as an invited guest. I would think other mountain men probably had similar deals.

 

[Claude Mathis]

Keep in mind that the teepee was designed specifically to be transported by horse using a travois. Since (in my opinion) the teepee is pretty much the most versatile, warm, weather resistant kind of tent out there.....I think a trapper would have been fine with hauling a teepee around

Keep in mind that it took several horses just to haul the tipi. Not very practical for one man, especially in the mountains. Much easier on the plains or open terrain.

 

[Riley/MN]

If you get a teepee made of canvas..Is that PC?(I don't know). I always thought that the teepee was originally made from animals skins, i.e. leather. That kind of teepee would weigh a lot.

That's true, they originally made em outa hide until canvas came on the scene. They then switched to canvas for the very reason of saving weight. PC?-depends on which P.

-Riley

 

[marmot]

Depending on your area and persona, check out the fur trade tent article at this site: http://www.northwestjournal.ca/ . The article discusses a 'teepee-like' tent that may have been issued to the voyageurs, made of canvas and documented. The site in general is a great source of French influenced fur trade info, and if you follow up on the author his credentials are, well, pretty solid! :grin:

M

 

[Holley]

Cloth tipis were available towards the end of 1840s', but they were the exception. Buffalo hide tipis were the norm untill the 1870s when the hides became hard to get. The women preferred the cloth over hide for its lightwieght, translusence, and ease of putting together compared to several hides you had to gut, clean, and soften.

My web site[url] www.tipis-tepees-teepees.com[/url] is down for the most part, right now, because it is getting revamped. But much of this information will be on there.

Also...smoke flaps were smaller than the cloth ones. Styles definitly changed from 1840 to 1880.

 

[pondoro]

I have heard some events prohibit tipi's. Why is this? Makes me leery of spending a lot of money on one.

 

[Holley]

Most those events are in the East where tipis were never seen. The tipi, as we know it, it mainly west of the Mississippi river. It does not fit into colonial period.

 

[hack]

The canvas tipi was traded to the indians after the civil war, the government issued canvas tipi's to the indians in an attempt to keep them on the resevations.

 

[Holley]

Can you give more persice or detail information on which this is based? We do know from traders records of the 1840s that cloth was bought to make tipis and there are written descriptions of the purpose to make a tipi or lodge. Many tribes were issued cloth for tipis and some already made types at Ft. Sill, Okla durring the reservation era. That time is from Civil war on.
But tipis are still not great to see a Colonial events.

 

[crockett]

On the original question, I just saw on the Xmission sight that one of the fur companies paid $5.00 for an "Indian Lodge"- I assume a tepee, so I guess a tepee is correct for a Mountain Man persona.

 

[whiskey]

I think it was rare for fur trappers to winter in tepees unless they were wintering over with a tribe. Most trappers would have spent the winter with their trapping brigade, trying to take beaver. I doubt they hauled tepees around. In most of the journals and memiors I have read, I can't recall any one having a tepee during the beaver days. I imagine hauling a tepee,and dragging some poles around would be difficult in deep snow of the mountains.
When the beaver days were gone and some men worked as hunters for fur trade forts, they did live in tepees outside of the forts, but only if they had an indian wife. I doubt any self respecting man would have set up a tepee. That was strickly womens work.
It is easy to set up a decent winter shelter. Lean-tos and other simple structures were the norm for winter quarters.
Tepees are nice, no doubt about it, but I know many that have given up the hassle of hauling tepees to events and down sized. A good wedge is a good way to go. They can be pretty large and two facing each other with a fly between is a dandy set up for a long term camp.

 

[gerald]

one thing that is that a teepee for rondvous is that you have to have a long trailor to haul the poles. you can set up a 18ft yourself but not on a windy day need more people for the canvas.
the indians when they traveled from site to site they had the poles there so all they had to do is haul the canvas

 

[whiskey]

What do you mean when you say the poles were there? When following the buffalo out on the plains, when moving through areas where you have to burn buffalo chips because there is no wood, where would they find tepee poles?

 

[gerald]

when the indians I am talking about the indians that live I nebr. there was areas that the did there hunting. Instead of draging poles from one place or a another they leave them there and go to the next place. On tv shows they show them traveling drags poles which is not always true.
they use two poles to travel with there supplies.
also the teepee that they use is smaller then 18 foot usually 12ft.

 

[Kenney Moore]

Howdy,
A good book to get a copy of and read is " The Indian Tipi" By Laubin. It gives a good load of information concerning Lodges, set-ups, rules of conduct inside and out, as well as a good set of instructions for making your own.
Good Luck!! :hatsoff:

 

[Holley]

The Laubin book is a great one to own. But the directions leave a number of things out on making a tipi and some of the information is not correct. He writes only about one size of tipi and it is sometimes difficult to transtlate to other sizes than an 18'. His tipis are very modern in making or design but are great to live in. Their book is the only one out there or has the best information on making a tipi. However....there was an article in the early 1970s' in a magazine Called The Aquarian Angle...an article by Darry Wood that is probably the best one ever for giving directions on making a tipi. Compared to the Laubin book, it has far more information in makeing a tipi in a few pages. Unfortunately it is out of print. Very hard to get a copy. :hmm: