The soft elk skin, deerskin or buffalo skin slippers worn by Native Americans and known widely as moccasins were a fashion of shoe shared by many different tribes over time.  The seemingly simple design of moccasins, however, was actually so nuanced that Native Americans could attribute moccasin footprints to different tribes and identify one another accordingly.  Subtle variations in stitching or fringe detailing or the finishing of the heel could distinguish one pair of footprints from another.  Beyond this, the decorative detailing in beadwork or quill design on the front tab, or vamp, of the moccasin would also signal origins or affiliation.

The shoes are remarkably efficient in design and would have been well-suited to different geographical and climate conditions.  They were also extremely well crafted in supple leather with careful stitching to allow for ease of wear as much as for sensitivity to the landscape, something that would have been essential to Native Americans so skilled at traversing the land and tracking things on foot.  Those tribes to the west that lived in drier, more rugged terrain would have had shoes made of tougher leather with soles to match and would be constructed of two or more pieces of leather for sole and upper.  Tribes further east would have relied on soft-soled moccasins, typically constructed of one piece of hide and sewn with seams at the sides or at the top.

The word moccasin in association with Native American footwear has been adopted by the greater American public but it was never a universally understood word within the different Native American tribes.  Moccasin was the word for shoe in the Virginia Algonquian language and was passed into English as a generalization through the encounters early English settlers had with the native community.  Captain John Smith of the Jamestown settlement is attributed with noting the translation in his 1612 glossary, ‘mockasins: shoes.’  In actuality, each tribe used words in their own language or dialect to signify shoe/slipper and it is coincidence that has made ‘moccasin’ the lasting word in English.  It is more than coincidence and surely a tribute to the beauty of the design and image of the moccasin that it has been preserved as a style of shoe until today and continues to permeate the broader fashion market.

moccasin image from: Wisconsin Historical Society- and Morning Star Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Visit the History Store for a wide selection of historical gifts and reenactment gear. Our new product lines include: Pirate Clothing and Pirate Costumes: Relive the Pirate age with our new line of Pirate Clothes. Great for Reenactment, film, movies, stage or a costume party. We now also carry Historical Scale Model Kits: Recreate your own historical dioramas with our new scale model kits.

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The cowboy boot as we know it today, as an icon of the American West and the rough riding and spirited cowboys who wore them, is a style of boot actually born far from North America as part of the military dress of Hessian (German) soldiers in the 18th century. The Hessian boot was characterized by a high shaft decorated with a tassel at the front, which was cut at a v-shape. The tip of the boot was narrowed and it had low heels that were adapted for ease of use with the riding stirrup.

The journey of the Hessian boot to the cowboy boot of the wild west was helped along by England’s Duke of Welllington, Arthur Wellesley, who took the original Hessian style of boot and had the design altered for his own use towards the middle of the 1800’s. His version of the boot, which came to be termed the Wellington, had a shorter shaft cut to mid-calf and was more closely fitted than the Hessian original. This boot quickly became popular with his compatriots and eventually made its way to the United States where it was widely worn among soldiers in the Civil War and then by those involved in the expansion of the western frontier: the cowboys of the American imagination.

The cowboy boot, an evolution of the Wellington (which also later would be more firmly associated with the rubber material version rather than the original leather version), was distinct for its ornamentation and slight variation on the Wellington style; they originally did not have as pointed a toe as the Wellington and some alternatives had the cut of the shaft higher at the front or decorated with inlaid ornamentation. By the 1950’s, the cowboy boot was popularized to an extraordinary extent by the film industry. Hollywood proliferated the image of the heroic cowboy and the fashion for cowboy boots was no longer confined to the great wide open frontiers or the rural lifestyle but became tokens of independent spirit for the urban style-setter as well.

The Old West Store offers products of interest to the reenactor and collector of Old West replicas and Wild West gifts. We offer authentically reproduced Old West clothing including but not limited to: Western Gambler Shirts, Old West Range Pants, Old West Trousers or Duckins, Old West Lawman Vests (Waistcoats), Old West Frock Coats, Old West Suspenders, Old West String Ties, replica rifles, replica revolvers and more. Visit our store for your reenactment, film or stage requirements today.

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Often taught as an aside to the settling of America’s west, the tale of the Pony Express is fraught with danger, intrigue and lightening speed. It was the 1860s and as the Civil war ravaged the east, the new immigrants and settlers along the Oregon Trail craved news of battle and word of loved ones. The difficult terrain that lay between the two sides of the country was hard to traverse, lacking proper roads, street signs, even people. Only fast strong horses could make the journey.

“No danger or difficulty must check his speed or change his route, for the world is waiting for the news he shall fetch and carry….God speed to the boy and the pony.”

Western Journal of Commerce, Kansas City, 1860

The enterprise began with the Central Overland and Pikes Peak Express a freight company operating out west and owned by Alexander Majors, William Russell, and William Waddell. The young entrepreneurs saw the opportunity to make some extra money by carrying domestic mail along their roughly plotted freight routes.  They advertised for young men who were strong riders and hired the lightest and the quickest to carry the mail.

“WANTED: YOUNG SKINNY
Wiry fellows not over 18.
Must be expert riders,
willing to risk death daily.
Orphans preferred.
Wages $25.00 per week.”

Among the names now associated with the Pony Express, Buffalo Bill Cody was meant to have ridden with the group that had the government contract to carry the mail in its early days but records are sketchy. The first known trip along the Pony Express trail (which crossed California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri) was undertaken by Johnny Fry and Sam Hamilton who were said to cross the continent in ten days.

It costs $5.00 per half ounce to have the express riders carry your personal mail which was stored in a leather satchel called a mochila. The mochila was handed off between riders across the length of the journey to ensure the mail never stopped even when the horses had to.

There were two types of Pony Express Station (many still standing today): the home station and the relay station. The home stations were scattered along the route every 75 to 100 miles and offered a warm fire, cooking stove and bed for weary riders. They were manned by station keepers who kept the fire hot and took in mail. The relay stations existed every 5 to 20 miles and allowed for horse exchanges as well as fresh riders to pick up the mail trail. It was this network of stations, riders and horses that stretch the U.S. mail from one side of the continent to the other for the very first time.

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The Pony Express began in April 1860 and ended in November of 1861. In all that time only one bag of mail was ever lost. After only 19 months, the Pony Express went bankrupt, replaced as it was by more convenient message sending methods like the telegraph and the train. But while it lasted, this race across the prairie stood as testament to American determination and perseverance, that special brand of Yankee know ho that figures out how to get the job done. Every year, the National Pony Express Association undertakes a re-ride of the original trail setting out either from Missouri or

California and carrying a bag of mail from one side of the county to the other. Many of the riders are direct descendents of the original owners and riders and they are all volunteers who choose to reenact a special time in America’s history. A time when new frontiers finally succumbed to American ingenuity.

With the economy in the current chaotic condition, many investors turn to gold as a stable investment. Gold has been the basis for American currency for a long time and one of the most well known events involving the precious metal is the California Gold Rush that began in 1848 and lasted until 1855. Gold was discovered in California by James Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in the town of Coloma on January 24, 1848. The news of his find spread like wildfire and more than 300,000 men, women, and children made their way to California from all corners of the world.

The early gold seekers were referred to as “forty-niners” and they journeyed to California by boat and covered wagon and the trip provided many hardships. Most of the early settlers were Americans but they were joined by many thousands of people from Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In the beginning, the gold was removed from streams and rivers by panning. This is the method most associated with prospecting involving scooping soil into a pan and sifting through the sand looking for gold flakes and nuggets.

Better methods for finding the gold were developed and those ways of mining and prospecting were adopted around the world. Billions of today’s dollars was found and led to immense wealth for some but the majority returned home with very little more than they began with. The gold rush

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did have some far reaching effects. San Francisco grew from a small settlement to booming town. Roads, schools, churches, and towns spread throughout California and system of government led to statehood in 1850. The Gold Rush had a major impact on the economy and development of California and surrounding areas. The professional football team, the San Francisco 49ers, is homage to the seminal event in California’s history.