I got my jammies now what?

[RIPP Tar]

I have a question about sleeping gear. I know about rope beds, hammocks and such, but what else would they utilize and how?

For instance if sleeping in a lean-to did they just lie on the bare ground, was there ever a thing like a period sleeping bag?

[Johnathan Atwood]

I like my rope bed, but then again I have deckhands to help tote it around. For your everyday men I am not finding much, and nothing in particular for the GAoP. Mostly I'm finding sources for the English civil War or the War for American Independence. In these accounts the men seemed to have blankets and maybe a ground cloth if they were lucky. I've found several accounts of men just left out in the wind and weather to fend for themselves.

I'd love to hear if anyone finds more.

[Mission]

They made tents. Somewhere (in Dampier's book I believe) the creation of a tent by wrapping canvas around poles is mentioned. I've quoted on the site here before, but it's not in my notes because that particular part wasn't related to medicine. Here are several that are.

"This Morning we clear’d up Ship, and bent our Sails, and got them ashore to mend, and make Tents for our Sick Men." (Woodes Rogers, Cruising Voyage Round the World, p. 74)

“In the Bay where we rid, clear’d a Place in the Woods right ashore, to build Tents for our sick Men, Sail-makers, Smiths and Coopers., which, when up, look’d like a small Village, and our Men call’d it Little Bristol.” (Edward Cooke, Voyage to the South Sea and Round the World in the Years 1708 to 1711, p. 2)

“[1670] So the next day we put our sick men on shore, and our casks for water; and making a tent there, our cooper fitted them on shore, and the sick men lay in the tent, and having good refreshing [from scurvy], recovered their health apace.” (Edward Barlow, Barlow’s Journal of his Life at Sea in King’s Ships, East and West Indiamen & Other Merchantman, p. 184)

As for their covering, blankets were in use at this time and warm clothes could be worn. (Again, the only reference I have are medical, but here is one prescription for Sweating as a medical cure.)

"But when you are doing this [sweating a patient to remove bad humors], you must have ready Flannel Stockins, Drawers, Shirt and Wastcoat, as likewise Flannel Muffler and Cap, for the body must be kept exceeding warm, (which soever way you Salivate.)

Then the Patient must be laid in Flannel Sheets, and covered well, the Room or Cabbin must be hung about with warm hangings, that no cold come in; and if there were a small pot or pan of Fire in the Cabbin, it were so much the better." (John Moyle, Chirurgius Marinus: Or, the Sea-Chirurgeon, p. 148)

So I would guess they lay on the ground covered by some piece of cloth or tarp like the cowboys did. People are people whatever the age.

[Mission]

Ah, here are some other random period quotes related to sleeping.

"The length and roughness of the track, and the time I spent looking for plants delayed us, so we slept in the woods under an ajoupa of balisier leaves which we made very quickly. (Pierre Labat, The Memoirs of Pére Labat 1693-1705, p. 94)

“Though no one can accuse me of being a bad sailor, it was so rough that I could not get a wink of sleep, and besides this my mattress was soon soaked with water as we were constantly swept by the waves from stern to stem. I sat down on the poop wrapped in my hood and lashed by the middle with a strong rope to the stern very much like a monkey, lest I should be washed overboard.” (Labat, p. 233)

"...but the Boatswain and Quarter-Masters of every ship be enjoined to cause the landmen to keep above the decks and in the open air in all fair weather in the daytime; and when it is foul and raining, that they be held below betwixt the decks, that so they may keep their clothes dry; for there is nothing more unwholesome at sea than to sleep in wet clothes, the which being once wet these soldiers must needs undergo, for they have seldom any shift to change withal.” (Nathaniel Boteler [butler], Boteler’s Dialogues, p. 62)

"One night after he was cured of his Wound, lying asleep in his Hammock, he was wakened by the wet he felt upon his Breast and Belly..." (Richard Wiseman, Of Wounds, Severall Chirurgicall Treatises, p. 438)

"...yea, often (we) were called up before we had slept half an hour and forced to go up into the maintop or foretop to take in our topsails, half awake and half asleep, with one shoe on and the other off, not having time to put it on; always sleeping in our clothes for readiness;" (Barlow, p. 162)

“Abundance of mosquitoes and sand-flies hindered our rest, to remedy which we digged holes in the sand, got some grass and laid it therein to to lie upon, in order to cover ourselves from the flies, which most of us did; but it being extreme cold, and firing scarce, we had little comfort.” (Dickinson, Johathan Dickison's Journal or God's Protecting Providence, p. 20)

Here's one to start some conjecture for ya':

“[1705] Whilst we were at this Island of Amboyna, we were so much troubled with Moskitoes, (which are a sort of Gnats,) that every Night we were forced to put our selves in a Bag, before we could go to sleep; for otherwise these Creatures would so bite us, that there was no sleeping:” (William Funnell, A Voyage Round the World, p. 270)

My guess would be that he's talking about a canvas bag, but who know? Of course, his description makes the bag idea sound a bit fantastic, suggesting this was an unusual way of sleeping.

Didn't someone once post around here about straw-filled mattresses?

[jendobyns]

There were straw ticks, what we would call mattresses. Basically big bags filled with straw (or sometimes corn husks) and stitched up. If you were fortunate enough, you could have another filled with feathers. In inventories these are the "bed", what we would consider mattress, although that term did show up in one of Mission's quotes, so it could be a regional terminology thing. In some housekeeping manual I read that it was recommended one would use the feather bed on top of the straw in cold weather, then reverse it so the straw was on top in warm weather. Straw ticks could be emptied and re-filled to keep vermin down, and herbs could be mixed with the straw also.

Some paintings (Dutch, iirc) show bits of mattress/tick peeking over the edge of the loft or out from bed hangings.

Wether or not something like this was used aboard ships sounds like a question for Foxe. There could be a difference in materials between what was used on land -vs- sea.

[RIPP Tar]

“[1705] Whilst we were at this Island of Amboyna, we were so much troubled with Moskitoes, (which are a sort of Gnats,) that every Night we were forced to put our selves in a Bag, before we could go to sleep; for otherwise these Creatures would so bite us, that there was no sleeping:” (William Funnell, A Voyage Round the World, p. 270)

There were straw ticks, what we would call mattresses.

Thank you Mission and Jendobyns

​I think i have a good idea of what I'm doing at my next encampment. And Captain Attwood, funny thing happened at the last Smith - there was rum and fire wood was on the other side of camp.... That damn MacKinnon....