Mission

I think the creek rose in Key West, courtesy of all the rain they got this week...

Anyone want to help me steal Stynky's car in Key West this year? (It must be easy, they do it all the time in police procedurals.)

It was called the Surgeon's Tent? Oh my.

Here are some bizarre observations (from a bizarre topic) for you to consider from the English interpretation of the French book A Course of Surgical Operations, Demonstrated in the Royal Garden at Paris, by Monsieur Dionis, (2nd Edition 1733): "...but when the Wind is lodg'd in the Cavities of the Darius, the Tumor resists the Touch, and the Scrotum is extended as tort [taut] as a Foot-Ball. I have met with rascally Beggars, who by piercing their Scrotum, and blowing it up thro' a Straw, have so fill'd it with Wind, as to swell it to an extraordinary Bulk; Which done, their next Business was to lay themselves at a Church-door, and expose the Scrotum naked to the view of all Persons, by which means exiciting the Pity of those who pass'd by them, they receiv'd their Charity, for which they were bolig'd to this suppos'd Infirmity." (Dionis, p. 201) That last visual aside... Football! According to this site, "In 1623, football resurfaced (legally) in England as a soccer-type game played on a field rather than in the town streets. Players were not allowed to touch the ball with anything except their feet. At about the same time, Irish teams took up a form of football that allowed players to hit the ball with their fists."

What a challenge to find info about this event! It takes place in Montreal in mid-June. Well, it did last year. I couldn't find any info for the event for next year. The website is all in French (being in Montreal and all), but here is a babelfish translated version of the first page. (Hey, that's kind of neat - you can click on the links in that translated version and babelfish converts the link pages too.) From what movie did they steal the music they used in that video?

Ed, I could swear I read a period or near-period account of extensive trading with people on shore in Cuba, Central America or somewhere in the northern part of South America recently. The people on land were quite delighted to see the pirates as I remember it and had an on-going trade relationship with them. It seems like the cargo was sugar, although this was just the author's one experience and he hinted towards others with other cargo. Does that ring any bells?

I have read accounts of pirates coming to shore to sell goods. Was it in Atkins? It's been awhile, but I know I've read it. There are also a slew of rumors about Blackbeard's dealings with North Carolina Governor Eden. You know they sold stolen merchandise, but, like today, fences don't stay active by being outed. I have also read of pirates specifically taking ship's stores, spars, cannons and whatnot to bolster their supplies, but, again, I forget which source that was.

Monkey-wrangler. I like that. Also goat-herder and Patrick Hand Original Planter's Hat Wearer. Just so everyone knows, I am the pencil, not the author. If you want to add or change anything on the FTPI site, please contact Lily Alexander or Scarlett Jai.

This sorta', kinda' fits with and/or supports the inventory, so I thought I'd throw it in here. It's from The Voyages and Travels of Captain Nathaniel Uring (1928 reprint, first published in 1726). “The Commodities which suit them [for trade; Uring is referring to the logwood cutters off Honduras], are all sorts of strong Liquors, Provisions, small Arms, Gun-Powder, and small Shot, Cutlashes or Hangers, Axes, Ozenbrigs and Shoes. Ozenbrigs is their general Wear, and almost all their Cloathing, except Hats and __ Shoes; their Pavillions are also made of Ozenbrigs, which are described in the Account of the Muscheto People1; there is no possibility of living without ‘em, there being such Multitudes of biting and stinging Flies, as Muschetos, Sand Flies, Galley Nippers, and Bottle Asses..." (Uring, p. 242-3) 1 The manner of their Lodging is thus: They fix several Crutches in the Ground about Four Foot high, and lay Sticks cross, and other Sticks cross them close together; and upon those Sticks they lay a good Quantity of Leaves, and upon them a Piece of old Canvas if they have it; and this is their Bed. There is also at each Corner of the Bed-Place, a tall Pole fixed, to which they fasten their Covering, which is generally made of Ozinbrigs; it is sewed together, and fastened at each Corner to these Poles about Four Foot above the Bed-Place, and is so contriv'd that it falls down on every Side, which tucks close in all round, and serves not only for Curtains, but also keep the Flies from disturbing them." (Uring p. 124-5)

From The Voyages and Travels of Captain Nathaniel Uring (1928 reprint, first published in 1726): “The Wood-Cutters are generally a rude drunken Crew, some of which have been Pirates, and most of them Sailors; their chief Delight is in drinking; and when they broach a Quarter Cask or a Hogshead of Wine, they seldom stir from it while there is a Drop left: It is the same thing when they open a Hogshead of Bottle Ale or Cyder, keeping at it sometimes a Week together, drinking till they fall asleep; and as soon as they awake, at it again, without stirred off the Place. Rum Punch is their general __ Drink, which they’ll sometimes sit several Days at also; they do most Work when they have no strong Drink, for while the Liquor is moving they don’t care to leave it.” (Uring, p. 241-2)

Wait... You're charging admission to re-enactors just to get into the PiP area? How much is that?

I actually have a period reference for doing this somewhere, so it is correct. (I sort of doubt magnifying glasses were used for such, but who knows?)

Another recipe from Uring, “He [their Guide to El Djem near Tunis] was a venerable old Man, of about Sixty or Seventy Years of Age, who welcomed us to his House very courteously, and in less than two Hours we were entertained with a good Dish of Cuscusu, with a Couple of Fowls in it. It was brought to us in a wooden Dish without Spoons, for those People make use of neither __ Knives, Forks or Spoons; the Fowls were so much boiled they were easily parted without a Knife; the Cuscusu they take up in their Hands, the Broth running again into the Dish thro’ their Fingers, and eat in the same manner as the Negroes, which gave me a Dislike to be in their mess, and therefore I dined upon a Piece of a cold Fowl we had with us. Their Cusucu, which is one of their general and best Dishes, is made thus: They put Flower into a large flat Pan, and sprinkle it with Water, and taking great Pains to shake it too and fro over a slow Fire, which separates it, and rolls it into small Balls about the Bigness of Pidgeon Shot; when they have prepared a sufficient Quantity of it, they put it into a sort of Culender, which they set over the Top of the Pot where their Flesh is boiling, and it receives the Steam thereof and moistens it; and when their Meat is boiled enough, they put it all together into a Dish and eat it.” (Uring, p. 193-4)

The box is going with a padlock. Other than that, you'd have to 'splain what needs to be done. As the Mercury ship's surgeon, I prefer to have no truck with guns as they just make more work for me. (I do not want to have gunpowder in there, though.)

I could probably fit a pistol or two in my all new surgeon's chest. It has some extra space which I hope some day to fill. (A stuffed monkey would certainly fit...)

Speaking of arc-compasses, check this out. (It's an pocket engineer's kit in a shagreen case on eBay.) Being an engineer, it appeals to me, although it's almost certainly post-period and of no relevance to the hobby that I can figure. :)

Nope, it worked that time. Perhaps they fixed it with whatever they did to the forum.

That last screen was where I was trying to enter the correct log-in and getting a failure message. So I started over and used the pop-up and it worked fine.

It is interesting. Thanks for putting that list together. I am occasionally stymied when I read some of these books by not being sure what plant, animal or medical tool the author is talking about because the labels were not standardized. Then all you have to go by is the description which can be like hunting for a needle in a haystack if you're not an expert in whatever area the author is talking about.

The great joy of reading period accounts is that they call animals by whatever random and misspelled name they come across, often using very badly spelled versions of the local language/dialect. So before you can determine just what is and is not extinct in the account, you must first figure out what the heck they're even talking about.

Is that even possible?

Based on spelling in the various books I have read from period and the context, this is almost certainly the case. I wonder what is marked? Is this referring to some kind of a document or is it branding or tattooing?

In the book I was just reading, the natives selling slaves (the slaves being people from other tribes located further inland from the coast of Africa) seemed to value cloth highly. I actually thought the books were the most interesting things. He seems to have been involved in navigation, which may explain why he could read.

This is almost certainly a problem with not allowing pop-up windows. I made a mistake logging in through the pop-up this morning and it kicked me to a web-page based login that failed, even with the correct log in info. So I reset everything and was able to log in though the pop-up with the correct password. You need to make an exception in your pop-up blocker to allow them on this page. I have never gotten ad pop-ups here, so unless something changes, it should present no unwanted problems.