Re: MtMan-List: Packs

[Victor.Barkin@NAU.EDU (Vic Barkin)]

>Jon,
>
>Actually, I have no use for pack baskets.  I tried them once and they are
>miserable on the trail.  I would like to find a soild reference to a pack
>frame, although none of what has shown up thus far convinces me.  Even the
>artist, John Clymer, doesn't paint pack frames in his paintings of John
>Colter and Robert Stuart.  Both paintings show a rolled -hide -looking affair
>strapped to the back.  I'm sure he used "artist's license" to paint these but
>they're probably close to reality.  Stuart's men appear to have one strap
>that would ride across the chest.  These are makeshift methods of carrying
>gear in a situation where they lost their horses.  It'll do until they find
>(steal) more horses.  The pictures can be found in Walt Reed's book"John
>Clymer, An Artist's Rendezvous With the Frontier West." Published by
>Northland Press, Flagstaff, 1976.
>
>Jim Hardee
>AMM#1676

Just a side note, I worked for Northland Press for seven years from 1986 to
1993. Although I never did meet John Cylmer (he was in his 80's and  90's
at the time and passed away at the age of 91), we did two reprints during
my time there running the press. After intensly studying his work I came to
the conclusion that he tried to be as authentic as possible given the
available resources and did wonderful work, but much was left to artistic
interpretation. One thing is Jugs at rendezvous. Romantic but not accurate.
If crock jugs did make it to rendezvous they certainly weren't the cream
with brown top type commonly seen in his paintings. Unfortunatley, the book
is out of print now and no back copies are available from Northland. As for
packs, I wouldn't think he had any documentation, but as with many of us,
he used alot of common sense on canvas just as we do with actual gear.

Barkin Dawg
AMM #1534

Vic Nathan Barkin
Printing Supervisor
Northern Arizona University
Publication Services
(520) 523-1030
Victor.Barkin@nau.edu