Illustrations

Figure 43. Top center: brass keg spigot with removable key, from the 1760 wreck of Le Machault. A. French glass bottle of 1660s-1690s style, with shouldered globular body and long neck, from the Marquette mission site, B. later French version, with a more elongated and cylindrical body, from Ft. Michilimackinac, redrawn after Brown, C. French flask or case bottle (flacon) with four flat sides, from the Trudeau native site, D. rounded club-shaped decanter bottle from the 1639-1649 mission center of Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons.

Figure 49. The four stages of preparing a flintlock mechansim for firing, after powder, ball, and wadding had been rammed down to the breech end of the barrel. 1. hammer brought back to half-cocked position, with frizzen rotated forward and pan exposed. 2. touchhole in side of barrel cleared with vent pick. 3. pan filled with priming powder. 4. frizzen rotated rearward to cover pan, and hammer pulled back to full-cocked position. Redrawn after Held.

Figure 62. A. spiked naval hatchet or axe from the 1760 wreckage of Le Machault, B. dagger tomahawk from Ft. Carillon, C. spike tomahawk from the Zimmerman native site, with handle ferrule of brass, D. engraved spike tomahawk from a rapids in the Winnipeg River.

Figure 64. Pickaxe tomahawks: A. plain asymmetrical style, B. asymmetrical version with tapered curved side projections, A-B both from the Trudeau native site, C. bilaterally symmetrical variety with only slightly curved projections, from a Lake Champlain site, D. pipe tomahawk variant.

Figure 75. A. harpoon with two long curved lateral prongs, from 1720 memoir, B. long-stemmed iron harpoon with triangular head, from the Gros Cap native site, C-D. unilaterally barbed harpoons with perforated base, C from 1720 memoir and D from Ft. St. Charles, E. unilaterally barbed harpoon with single barb and socketed base, from the Trudeau native site, F. fish spearing lure of shell, from the Bell native site. A and C redrawn after anonymous memoir of 1720.

Figure 85. Iron hardware for buildings and furniture. Three styles of pintles: A. plain base driven into wood, B. split base splayed after being driven through wood, C. perforated base nailed to wood. Two variants of single-strap hinges, which rotated upon upright pin of pintle: D. with parallel sides, E. triangular outline; A-D redrawn after Diderot, E. excavated at Ft. Pentagoet. Double-strap hinges: F. adjacent straps with connecting pin, G. straps butted side-to-side, H. straps butted end-to-end; F and G redrawn after 1697 Félibien illustrations, H found at Ft. Pentagoet. Pin or swivel hinges: I. type with solid pin shanks, to be clinched over on rear side of wood, from Trudeau native site, and J. version with shanks consisting of two separate legs, to be splayed on rear side of wood, from Ft. Albany.

Figure 86. Sliding bolts: A. vertical style and B. horizontal style, both redrawn after 1697 Félibien depictions. C. horizontal type with bolt sliding into a square staple which served as the keeper, redrawn after Diderot from 1750s. Shutter dog, which held a shutter in an open position: D. from Ft. Pentagot. Door latch mechanisms: E. latch bar raised with a pull string, from Ft. Michilimackinac, F. latch bar raised by a thumb lifter.

Figure 104. A. pewter cross from the McClure Iroquois site, B-C. large and small silver crosses from the Trudeau native site, which each bear a French touchmark dating from 1756-1762, D. brass lobed cross with raised rosette-like pattern, from Ft. Michilimackinac, E-F. brass crucifixes in cross of Lorraine style, with double crossbars, E. from 1690 Onondaga village site and F. from site near Starved Rock, the location of Ft. St. Louis.

Figure 105. A-G. engraved designs on oval, round, and octagonal plaques of brass rings. A. four-pointed star or cross, or possibly two stylized hearts end-to-end, from Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons, B. stylized heart motif on ring from nearby Christian Island, where refugees from Ste. Marie spent the winter of 1649-1650, C. star design with additional elements, from 1655-1680 Pompey Onondaga site, D. Jesuit symbol of IHS surmounted by a cross, from ca. 1685-1690 Skuakeag site in New Hampshire, E. L-heart motif on another ring from the same site, F. double-M design ring from 1670-1690 component of Rock Island site, G. style drift from the reversed mirror-image of L-heart design, from the same Rock Island component. Bottom row H-J: cast designs on typical engagement or friendship rings. H. clasped hands motif, from pre-1710 Seneca site, I. pair of hands holding a crowned heart, from Pointe-à-Callière site at Montreal, J. rather similar design with greater molded details, from Fletcher native site (1740 or 1750 to 1765).

Figure 109. Hewing axes: A. version portrayed by Félibien in 1697, with very short handle, very long tubular poll, and rather narrow flared blade, B. chisel edge and bent handle of typical hewing axe. Squaring a log: C. after log was peeled and a straight line was applied to it, side of log was cut at intervals with felling axe, cutting to nearly the marked line. D. wood was then chiseled away with a hewing axe, to the line; B-D redrawn after Sloane.

Figure 111. A. froe was driven into block of wood with a wooden mallet, after which blade was twisted to the side to split off the shingle or board; redrawn after Sloane. B-D. three styles of short-handled adzes, redrawn after Félibien illustrations of 1697. E-F. two heads from long-handled adzes found at the Trudeau native site, E. with a round cutting bit, F. rounded form with a lipped cutting bit, having a flat central area and raised side walls; E-F redrawn after Brain.

Figure 118. Illustration from 1750s of white cooper’s shop, by Diderot. Figure at shaving block at left shown using a chamfer knife, which was pushed away from the user, rather than being pulled toward the user like a drawknife. At rear, marotte or shaving bench, at right, craftsman at table making large bellows airtight, using strips of leather and glue. Finished products on the floor and walls included wooden shoes, a bucket, drums, a lantern, long-handled implements for use in baking ovens, sieves, a wall-mounted lidded storage box, and bellows.

Figure 120. Upper: replication by the author of a beaver incisor knife or chisel and its usage. Lower: modern beaver jaw, illustrating origins of prehistoric beaver incisor knife or chisel. Four steel crooked knives, top to bottom: specimen from French-era native site near Sault Ste. Marie, example from Ft. Michilimackinac, version fashioned from a sheath knife, and example created from a hawk-billed clasp knife blade, latter two from a French-era native site in eastern Illinois.

Figure 128. A. anvil and B. beak iron with two hammers, redrawn after Diderot’s 1750s illustrations. C. miniature hammer and anvil, for repairing scythes in the fields while working, redrawn after Diderot, D. top and side views of moderate-sized metalworking hammer from Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons, redrawn after Kidd, E. top and side views of delicate metalworking hammer excavated at Ft. Pentagoet, redrawn after Faulkner and Faulkner, F. hafted punch from Ft. Albany.

Figure 133. Five stone molds for casting various shapes of lead or pewter ornaments, found at the Little Osage native site: A. disc-shaped brooch, ear bob, or pendant with eight spokes radiating from central hub, plus cross pendant, B. round brooch with fixed central crossbar, C. triangular ornament, D. square pendant with four square cast holes, E. rectangular pendant with four long rectangular cast perforations.

Figure 135. Diderot illustration from the 1750s of various French farming activities, including plowing, harrowing, seeding, and rolling.

Figure 141. Upper: wooden rake, two-tined wooden pitchfork, and three-tined iron-headed pitchfork, redrawn after Diderot. Lower: wooden flail for threshing, with detail of the wooden swivel mechanism at the forward end of the hand staff, redrawn after Sloane.

Figure 142. Diderot’s 1750s portrayal of threshing grain in a barn/granary. The two individuals in the foreground beat the heads loose from the grain stalks with flails, after which the straw was removed with pitchforks. The grain was then gathered into a pile, winnowed with a winnowing basket to remove the chaff and the larger impurities, and finally sieved to further clean it.

Figure 144. A. wooden hand barrow of 1697, redrawn after Félibien, B. variant of hand barrow with four short wooden legs and a four-sided wooden box for hauling loose materials, C. wheeled barrow with a three-sided wooden box and two wooden legs, D. people-drawn sledge, used for hauling loads in all four seasons; B-C. redrawn after Diderot, D. redrawn after Sloane.

Figure 152. A. portrait from ca. 1704 of native warrior wearing capote and sash, redrawn after the original. B. rear view of native wearing hooded capote and sash, redrawn after 1699 illustration by Franquelin.

Figure 154. Patterns of small white beads woven into sashes of woolen yarns: A, B, C. in collections at Versailles, collected before 1760, probably before 1721, for the Royal Family, D-E. collected 1774-1780, F. collected during 18th century, G. collected late 1700s. The same white beads were installed on all fringe strands of specimen B., and on some fringe strands of example E.

Figure 158. French leather shoes: A. for men, ca. 1650-1700, B. for men ca. 1700-1760, C. heel plate of brass from Ft. Michilimackinac, 1715-1781, D. for women, ca. 1700-1750, E. for women, ca. 1700-1770. A, B, E redrawn after Vernet. French wooden shoes: F-G. two different toe styles on rounded shoes, stuffed with grass or straw padding, redrawn after 17th century French engraving, H. very squared form, with padding of fabric or leather extending above and drooping over rim, redrawn after French engraving from ca. 1700.

Figure 166. Shears and scissors. A. two broken halves of shears from a French-era site on Lake George in northern New York, B. shears from the 1750s, redrawn after Diderot, C-D. two sizes of plain scissors from the 1750s, redrawn after Diderot, E. pair of ornate, diminutive sewing scissors from the 1750s, redrawn after Diderot, F. blunt-ended scissors excavated at Ft. Albany, 1678 to 1720.

Figure 167. Excavated sewing articles from Jesuit mission center of Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons (1639 to1649): A. two views of needle case made of sheet silver, B. steel needle, C. brass straight pin, D. iron tweezers, E. scissors, F. iron stiletto for creating round eyelets, G. iron stiletto for making elongated button holes; redrawn after Kidd.

Figure 171. A. brush for applying blacking agent and polishing leather articles such as shoes and cartridge boxes, from 1760 wreckage of Le Machault, B. early wooden dustpan, collected in the St. Lawrence Valley, C. whisk broom from Le Machault, made from myrtle twigs bound together with a willow sapling.

Figure 175. Four varieties of excavated French combs, plus an example in its case: A. comb with a back, of ivory, from wreckage of ship Le Machault, B. double-edged comb of ivory, from the Dutch Hollow native site (ca. 1590-1615), C. macaroon comb of cowhorn, from Ft. Michilimackinac, D. curved comb of cowhorn from Le Machault, E. small double-edged wooden comb from 1545 wreckage of the vessel Mary Rose, in its leather case; E. redrawn after Rule.

Figure 185. Upper: 18th century forceps collected in Ohio. Middle: medical extractor from French-era native site on Menominee River in Michigan. Lower: 18th century tooth extractor with handle of cowhorn.

Figure 186. A. early pair of handcuffs with their key, from Quebec City, B. corkscrew excavated at Jesuit mission center of Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons, C. production of snuff, by grinding a compact bar of cord-wrapped tobacco on a sheet metal rasp with a folding lid, redrawn after 18th century illustration by Trevain, D. tobacco boxes, clockwise from left rear: oval version of tin plate with hinged lid, from French-era native site on Menominee River in Michigan, rectangular example of lacquered pasteboard with hinged lid, from French-era site beneath Lake George in northern New York, birchbark specimen with wooden stopper, moose hoof box with hinged lid, early round example of silver with mother-of-pearl set into lid, and round specimen made of tin plate, from the Wea native site opposite Ft. Ouiatenon.

Figure 187. The evolution of English white clay pipe styles, from ca. 1580 to 1770, redrawn after Hume. Since little pipe manufacturing took place in France until the second half of the 1700s, virtually all such clay pipes which were utilized in New France came from England or Holland.

Figure 188. A. pewter pipe excavated at the mission center of Ste. Marie-Among-the-Hurons, which was occupied from 1639 to 1649, B. metal pipes, from top to bottom: bowl and stem segment of pewter from French-era native site in eastern Illinois, early sheet steel version from west-central Ohio, heavily engraved sheet brass pipe from French-era native site in eastern Illinois, and sheet copper example from native site near Prarie du Chien, Wisconsin. C. ember tongs or tobacco tongs excavated at Ft. Michilimackinac.

Figure 189. Upper photo, eight native pipes of stone and a ninth of baked clay, clockwise from upper left: simple bowl, bowl pipe-club tomahawk combination, micmac, simple elbow, elbow with keel, miniature elbow with hatchet-shaped prow, full size version of the same latter type, disc style with slender pointed prow, and baked clay elbow pipe. Lower photo: three homeade metal liners for wooden pipe bowls, made of (left to right) lead, sheet brass, and tin plate.

Figure 216. Upper: wristband made of concentric ovals of iron wire, bound at three locations by a single transverse strand of wire, from the Gros Cap native site. Lower: brass wire wristband of similar construction, with three flattened transverse bands near each end, from a French-era native site in eastern Illinois.

Figure 227. The first page of the 1711 inventory of Cadillac’s possessions at Ft. Pontchartrain (courtesy of Archives Nationales du Québec).