French Hunting Attire

[Bushfire]

Hello,

I'm slowly making my way through collecting pieces for my french hunting kit. That's to say only really a fusil, boucheron, siamois and in the process of sorting out a biscay axe and new bag and horn.

I'm starting to look at appropriate dress for a New France hunter/frontier type.
Any examples or suggestions on where to look for these pieces?

Thank you.

[PhDBrewer]

I am curious also!

[WKevinD]

The movie "Black Robe" has some nice early New France representation.

Kevin

[Seth Isaacson]

Maybe take a look at some French hunting portraits from the period, tone things back for a more "provincial" look, and perhaps add some Mississippi River Valley Native American influences.

[bob in the woods]

" Black Robe" is centred in the early 1600"s.  Champlain is present and the firearms are matchlocks. The fusils are dated later. I have mid 18th C  French and Indian War era equipment /clothing and I'm going to assume that's the period you are speaking of. Most of the males in New France were employed in the business of farming. They were required to do military service ie the " Milice"  At any rate, the dress was different than the colonies. The shorter waistcoat was referred to a a "gilet "
There is a good depiction of the clothing in Muzzleloader Magazine  done by Matt Wulff  May/June 2020 edition.  " Flying Canoe" in the States sells some clothing, but most of the stuff is made by small independent seamstresses as far as I know
My wife made all of mine. BTW, I don't know of any "long hunter" types in New France , unlike the colonies.  There were a few CourierDe Bois but Rather than hunting, trade with the natives was the main source of hides. Other than the Iroquois, the French seemed to have gotten on rather well with the natives.

[Seth Isaacson]

Other than the Iroquois, the French seemed to have gotten on rather well with the natives.

Read about the Fox Wars (Edmund's The Fox Wars: The Mesquakie Challenge to New France is a great book), and your opinion of French relations with native peoples may shift abruptly. The French needed allies and trading partners more than the British and so cultivated those relationships and had to try to get along more with the native peoples, but some of the tribes that did not want to ally with the French were treated absolutely brutally. In the case of the Mesquakie, known to the French as the Reynards (Fox), the French literally planned genocide with their native allies and did nearly wipe the Mesquakie out over the control of the waterways and trade in Wisconsin over the course of a few decades. Beauharnois' is quoted as ordering to "destroy them...kill them without thinking of making a single prisoner, so as not to leave one of the race alive in the upper country." If not for the Sauk aiding them, the French and their allies would have likely killed all or nearly all of them. Thousands were killed and enslaved. Even after another hundred years, their population had only rebounded to around 1,500.

[bob in the woods]

Other than the Iroquois, the French seemed to have gotten on rather well with the natives.

Read about the Fox Wars (Edmund's The Fox Wars: The Mesquakie Challenge to New France is a great book), and your opinion of French relations with native peoples may shift abruptly. The French needed allies and trading partners more than the British and so cultivated those relationships and had to try to get a long more with the native peoples, but some of the tribes that did not want to ally with the French were treated absolutely brutally. In the case of the Mesquakie, known to the French as the Reynards (Fox), the French literally planned genocide with their native allies and did nearly wipe the Mesquakie out over the control of the waterways and trade in Wisconsin over the course of a few decades. Beauharnois' is quoted as ordering to "destroy them...kill them without thinking of making a single prisoner, so as not to leave one of the race alive in the upper country." If not for the Sauk aiding them, the French and their allies would have likely killed all or nearly all of them Thousands were killed and enslaved. Even after another hundred years, their population had only rebounded to around 1,500.

Yes.  Like most things re history, there are no absolutes.  I spoke in the most general sense. 

[Seth Isaacson]

No disrespect meant. I understand that you were talking in generalities. I just thought the Fox Wars and how they show French willingness to lead a grueling extermination campaign against an enemy tribe was an interesting juxtaposition to the general view that the French were more peaceable and interconnected with native peoples which, overall, they certainly were, especially in contrast with the English and Spanish.

[foxm2015]

Long out of print "The Equipment of the New France Militia" by Steve Delisle.

Another option may be "Raiders from New France" by Rene Chartrand