The Shu 0.18 No.1 taaryabeery 2006 ‘swihter approaches | am again reminded of my tials and tributions in fring acoquaie \winter footwear, Forthe fst four years of my winter reenacting ond trekking experience, | tied a diferent form of footwear every year, Finally, | found a soliton that seams to have both the highest utity and isthe mest correct for ‘my persona, For much of the colonial period in Noth America, both miliary and ivlians adopted natve-stye footwear for Winter use. Among. my_ stomping grounds of tho Groat Lakes, we see ‘moccasins wom in winter by everyday Genadi i traders, joyageurs, and even as issued miltary ‘wear This is tue not only here but in «thor wintry plaoss as wel, The question then becomes, "What dit these whter rmoctasins lock tke and how were they consinucied to keep feet warm?” Some quotes from 2 number of historical ‘coournents might help Us answer this, During the snows we all Frenoh ard Natives, made use of this hind of foctgear {moccasins}, in order fo walk ypon eur Snowshoes. When inter iad passed, vie resumed our French shoas, and the Natives went barefooted (Father Paul LeJeune 1630s) (1) Shoes fare] made of @ sinple Fido, without a hoe! and witout a hard leather sole. The hide is pressed around the foes ofthe foot. where £8 sewn with ‘nies of gus 10 @ smal leather fongue. Then all the faps are gathered up wi traps made of the serve hide, which are fen passed throuch spaced holes and tod above the heel after ccossing at the front of the ark, Some af them make {her sioes go up to mikHieg, to be less bothered by snow... Joseph Francois Lalita 17205) (2) Ther shoes, athough ony a simple prepared skin, ere very warn, aril the snow is so dy that i coos not wet. They wap Wel feet wih pieces of blanket, and the sides of tho shoo form 2 half boot geting in. wh « much fitter for the winters of this country...” Insights into Winter Footwear for Cold Climate Reenacting by Isaac Walters ‘The author with warm feet, North of Lake Superior. h prevents the snow from ther feet would freee Ewopean shoes, as meiy fave proved. (Piste Fouchot These sippors are generaly made of the skin of beaver of [ok or mocse], calf, sheep, or other pliant Feather, altchessed: each Mogyosan is (of one intre (sc) piece. joined cr sowed up the middle of the vamp, and closed bchind fke the quarters of @ shoo; they have no addtional sole or heatpiese, 24 —cting AC Walters. ne reetengular pieses Sloth Tor focuses Sk aie of son ee. f s shoes would be Balnting that shows a Moccasin usog in onjuretion with snort a 2S well as ‘made: into ‘Mess making) Here, in the Greet Lake £2148) ae al mertoned fy wo Mah se the use cf eae R028 Chaussee eae ea indians dress tne. door Eire hat were ecrmeny na Shs for making moccasins (ee or OY sought ones ie? cents in reso parts they ak : {eortaben srony waster: 102 Kgee the fet very wary ond (ete vera wrappings Cit OH {nind the Teel botore you pc, GeO ON. (Catherine Parr Trai, 1836) (6) 10 virap the feot bofore they “Were sid into the moccasin, Researcher, JTese ques soem thse ; sr ae Soren France fone mano He Moccashs re mene Makita, sash the boos nes mat ss ro than sighty Oversized A Moceasin from an Bnonymus painting of been ieceriguter pieces: of won) that Of the regional fashion thet were files, Canadian Habitants in the 19th century. yar Sewn into bags and slipped over “4 ti Some. sort of ‘nsaon n these ‘he Aabicnts toot (8) Fe Weer ft Met te NS iar Woo ines ceric sats seam Petiod Woo! liners, 5 or 10 be not only comy SemisQui Phe Md, 11No. 1 -lanuary/February 2006 Re Measuccneat aronad fot wt dep of Inskeep otans \"] at) tie 4" Gr the very B= distrnce fom +pek be de wear yen wank He vam oy , Ik) re 8 lower sele Van %@ J sup Shep ne ¥ Rar a gather oe Wen i inet lowe” Aah oe ge oe vamp Pesos A pried Hip ahs He edyes ae ad | ste other A petat SKep.3 ; Ste Sy Ril qather'nn stiches 40 step_4 punch: Le hse = 42 Fit Yo Got tein back, the womp. Seay phe Vamp ank chitch ag you aooll { de Hie lower, You May oF any moccasin. ‘a | sy wish Jo use pa ene The Finished moccasin xo beng Caengh te oe opening of owasin ar % the bottom, then put a square pioze Irarrp) at the too, pass fife thong 3s around a purse and (0, thet shoe i ‘made. The French never wear a7/ thers in winter, since one cannot go out xcept vith srawshoes ender the fost to Lawrence 16405) (10) 6 walk on the snow one French shoes. (An observer in the St ‘Another good reason for this particular shie of moccasin is thet ts ‘ery funtion for wirter wear, esporial When used with snowshoes a8 entoned in the ‘ast quota, The fal amp and lack of a tcp, contr sea tnakes fora confortable ft as wel 8 4 font orp. in the vec bindings of th ‘cannot useGE nl Nel. 13No. 1 -JanvaryiFabriary 2006 ‘pattern of a chausson shown in Garsault. ‘ssrowshoe. Comm 1 1) Adding a second or harder sole - There ae a couple problems wit) a harder sole. The fist imitak is that people thnk that this wal help creato extra insuation between thelr fet and the snow The thick leather accually has very Is insulative valve Instead, ak’ one oF more extra soles of \wcolto your finer, Ths wil provice betir ingulaton. and. vill a0 be a. more comfortable. Remember thet ayers are ‘always good in cold weather. Not only do You get the value of more thickness of wool but yeu abo get tapped ar between the layers. This Wapped ak ocomes very important and efiecive insulaton as wel, Another drawback ot having hard soles is a lack of tecton. A sofer feather soe vill batter for to your foot anc wil ulimetely give you bet ttacion the snow. Fhally, most of cur eater quotes spectically mention sot leather end nc edeltonal sole. 2) Making the moceasin too big — A moccasin made too big wile cumbersome for walking will create mae nose when waking, and wil prevent you fiom fitng into Snowshoes (although if they are big enough, they heccme snowshoes. themselves). A well male whiter moccash shouid nok be much lawer then your noma moceesn, Remember, your moccasins valimestikely sretch toa lerger size wth 3) Wearing moccasins and liners. that are 100 tight — This cen be caused by too small a moccasin, of more commonly by wearing too much inside the moccasin The tightorthe fa, the more probems that you wil have wih Dood-tow end the cclder your fect will became, This i also tue of moder footwear Many times | have had fonds gol cold fect while hunting because ther many layers of socks did rot allow wiggle room. | fke to say that f you can comfortably. wiggle your toes inside of your foctwear, you ae probably sae. 4.) Greasing your moecasins — | havo found that goasing my moccasins only sionty pus off tne inevioblo. iF tis wet out your fect WILL get wet. Having greased moccasins jst pales a moccasin that wil not dry a3 quick and wil ond to be more slippery when waking about. Also, greasing tends to help keep moisture in. This can be a bg problem when ining to keep your feet warm Anal noe is that there fs lite decumentation on the practice of greasing moccasins. Ik was done, at least on a couple of occasions, butt was probably not the nom. ur medem thoughts that dry feet are warm feet, but perhaps fis was not he thoughis of our ancestors 28 Keeping fet dry was nearly impossible. The following quote ilustates What $ more tkely to nave been the mindset of our forathers. { have ro doubt thet the warmth kept up by the acklitonal covering wor finsde]the rroccasins was the meens of| ‘countering tho il ofocts of tho wet. And belive that so long as the feet can be kept warm, eo haem wil ever ensue from damp: it i the colt which does the mischief (George Heed 1629) (11) 41) Leloune, Father Paul. “Relation of 1634-1535". Jeswit Relations and Allied Texts Vol. 7. (Clevelane: Burrows Brothers, 1896-1901) pp:16- a yy 2) Lafliau, Joseph Frangois. Moeurs ides Sauvarges Ameriquatins... Vol Hl p25, Translated by Tim Kent and quoted in his book: Fort Pontchartrain ot Detroit Vol. 1. (MI Silver Fox Enterprises, 2001) p. 607 3) Pouchot, Piette. Memoir tpn the Law War in North Ameriva, Bet the French and the English, 1733-60. W. (MA: Ellfot Woodward L866) p 4) Knox, John, An Historical Journal of the Campa North Anierica For the Years 1783, 1758, 1759, and 1760 Vol. L (NY: Greenwood Press 1968) p.L1 5) Von Graftenied, Friedieh, Sechs Jahre in Canada 1819-1819, (CHotllerise he Bern 1891) p.2 6) Catherine Porr ‘Traill, (1836) quoted in Phillins, Ruth, Fring Hdenilties:. Souvenir. in Native NA An 1700-1900 U. Washington Press, 1998) pp, 251-252 7) FA. deGarsault 8) Back ‘eanadionne Gousse, Andre and Suzanne, Costume in New France From 1740 to 1760, (Chambly: La Fleur de Lyse, 1997) p29. 9) La Potherie, Claude-Charlow Res Sieur de Bacqueville. Miitoire de Sthabitier a ta Quoted in VAmérique Septevtrionate. (Paris Nion et Didot, 1722), 40) Marshall, Joyec, transl, and ed. Word from New France, The Selected Letiers of Marie de L'incarnation, (Toronto: Oxford University Press. 1967) p. 131 41) Head, George. Fores! Scenes and Incidenty in the Wilds of North America, 1829, (Fotonto; Coles Pub, Co. 1970) pp 195-195 2.5 Detail of the moceasin on a Canadian habitant from M,C. Chapin (13th, century). a