97-401, WS-74 CbGu-5
Jonathan Ferguson
97-401, WS-74 CbGu-5 |
Two percussion caps (Cat. Nos. 97-401 and WS-74) were recovered from the LaVase Island Site in 1997. These caps were used with percussion firearms, the successors to flintlocks. With this system, a cap containing a detonating compound was fitted over a hollow nipple. Upon firing, the compound in the cap was crushed by the hammer, producing a flame which passed through the nipple to the barrel and ignited the main powder charge. After firing, the cap was discarded. Percussion caps were used with a variety of muskets, rifles, and pistols (Diagram Group 1980: 115, 119-28).
Made of copper, these artifacts were originally cylindrical, with one end open. Example 97-401 still retains this shape closely, with a length of 6 mm and a diameter of 5 mm at its closed proximal end. This end has an indentation on its surface, as though the hammer which struck it had a narrow tip. The sides of the cap are corrugated and have split apart at the distal end into four outwardly flaring segments, as a result of being fired. The regularity of these segments suggests that the sides of the cap may have been partially slit during their manufacture, in order to facilitate expansion over the tapered nipple. WS-74 has been similarly split, but one segment is missing and the cap has been severely flattened. The spacing of the corrugation on WS-74 is slightly wider than on 97-401, suggesting that the two were produced by different manufacturers.
This design is consistent with the civilian 'common' cap rather than the military 'top hat' variety. The former has the corrugated surface and originally cylindrical appearance seen 97-401 and WS-74, while the latter is smooth and has segments at its distal end bent at right angles to the body (Diagram Group 1980: 112). These finds, therefore, can be associated with civilian activities such as hunting, a natural conclusion for this site.
The percussion lock was invented in 1807 and began to replace flintlocks in large numbers by the 1830's. Percussion firearms were the dominant technology until the rise of the modern cartridge in the 1860's (Adams 1995: 99, 104). When found archaeologically, therefore, caps can act as fairly accurate chronological indicators. For instance, a cache of fish bones at the Methodist Point Site was dated to post-1820, based on the presence of a percussion cap (Smith 1979: 82). The historic component (c. 1800 to 1860) of Signal Hill National Historic Park in St. John's, Newfoundland, also yielded percussion caps, but in a military context (Jelks 1973: 89).
Percussion caps appear to be under-represented in archaeological reports, probably because of their relatively late date range of c. 1830 to 1860. However, their disposable nature makes such caps important indicators of the transitional period between flintlocks and cartridge rifles. Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that some musket balls may have been used with percussion firearms rather than flintlocks.
With regards to the La Vase Island Site, the two recovered caps probably post-date the La Ronde Post phase of c. 1795 to 1821, but the period between the invention and the widespread adoption of percussion weapons (1807 to the 1830's) does allow for some temporal overlap. The interpretation of these finds, therefore, is that they represent hunting activities on Bothwell Island during the period between about 1830 and 1860. In this light, a continuum of this subsistence pattern can be seen in the finds from the site, from early gunflints through percussion caps to the rifle cartridges and shotgun shells of the recent past.
Jonathan Ferguson
 5-92-83 CbGu-5 |
Artifact 5-92-83, a round copper disc, was collected on the surface of the east beach of Bothwell Island in 1992. It resembles a coin, in all respects except that it has no markings on either surface. The thickness of this disc ranges slightly, but averages about 1.6 mm. The disc is also not perfectly circular, ranging in diameter from 27.1 to 27.9 mm, with a mean of 27.5 mm.
Round metal discs such as this, when found on historic archaeological sites, can be interpreted as blank trade tokens. As with commercially-made trade tokens stamped with designs or inscriptions, these blanks were used in place of official currency: "In the first half of the 19th century there was a shortage of coinage [in Canada], so almost any round flat brass or copper disc could circulate as a half-penny" (Adams 1995: 104).
At the British fort of Coteau-du-Lac, on the upper St. Lawrence River in Quebec, a total of 88 coins were excavated, dating from 1779 to the early twentieth century. Of this number, 20 were blank copper discs with no design or inscription. The diameter of 5-92-83 (27.5 mm) fits in well with the Coteau-du-Lac blank assemblage diameters, which range from 25.0 to 30.4 mm, with a mean of 27.3 mm (Falvey 1977: 152, 180-1). The similarity of 5-92-83 to these blanks suggests that the interpretation of the latter can be extended to the former. Concerning the Coteau-du-Lac blanks, Ann Cunningham Falvey concludes,
The question of the date and purpose of these blanks is unresolved. It has been suggested that the presence of a hole through the middle of one of the discs indicates that they were intended for use as washers for nails ... ; however, the hole may be merely the result of casual mutilation. Another possibility is that the blanks were used as tokens or counters in local trade although the ease with which they could be counterfeited makes this practice seem unlikely. A number of the blanks could be regular coins from which the design has been obliterated by intensive handling (Falvey 1977: 181).
On this balance of evidence, it therefore seems most likely that 5-92-83 was used as a trade token. Unfortunately, a relative date cannot be obtained for this example because it was a surface find. However, the fact that most blank tokens date to the early nineteenth century suggests that 5-92-83 may have been associated with trading activities at the LaRonde Post. The use of stamped tokens by the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwest Company as in-store counters is well documented (see for example Sorensen 1921: 221-22). Eustache LaRonde, as an independent trader only loosely associated with the NWC, could conceivably have used blank tokens such as 5-92-83 as counters for trade in his small post.
Jonathan Ferguson
Leather fragments (Cat. No. 97-472) from the heel of a boot or shoe sole were found on Bothwell Island in 1997. These pieces include the bottom of the sole and the rear curvature of the heel. It measures 52 mm across the curve, 48 mm from the heel towards the toe and 10 mm thick. From the upper sole downwards, a number of different layers can be seen: a 5 mm thick piece of leather, a sheet of an unidentified type of fabric, a thin (under 1 mm) layer of leather and finally the 4 mm thick lower leather sole. Other organic material can also be seen, which may be partially decomposed leather, natural rubber or a padding such as felt. These layers were held together with both metal nails or rivets and what appear to be square wooden pins. Unfortunately, too little remains of this specimen to determine the type of shoe or boot of which it was once part.
At Nottingham House, a Hudson's Bay Company post in Alberta occupied between 1802 and 1806, a fragment from the sole of a shoe or moccasin was recovered. Upon analysis, it was found that this example contained no chemical tanning compounds, suggesting that it was prepared with natural substances. Like the CbGu-5 example, the Nottingham House find was cut into a curved shape and had a number of perforations from nails or an awl (Karklins 1983: 80, cf. Figure 45b).
Because leather from footwear has been tanned, it is often preserved in contexts where other organics have decayed. A piece of leather from a shoe, with four lacing eyelets, was found at the HBC post at Martin's Falls, Ontario (Vyvyan 1980: 177, cf. Figure 91b). Shoe fragments were also recovered from Gloucester House, another HBC post in Ontario, which was occupied from 1777 to 1818 (Newton and Mountain 1980: 61). While it is a reasonable assumption that leather footwear elements, especially heels, are historically significant when found in archaeological contexts, some reservation is in order. A piece from the heel of a modern rubber boot was found in the British fortifications at Īle aux Noix, Quebec (Grange 1982: 56). While this last example is obviously quite modern because of its material, it illustrates the possibility of intrusive footwear fragments in archaeological contexts.
The provenience of the 97-471 fragments, however, demonstrates it early date. These pieces were recovered from unit 309/398 in Level 6, at a depth of 27 cm. Also found in the same level and unit were square nails, gunflints, European smoking pipes and Native pottery. Cross-dating, therefore, suggests that this boot or shoe sole dates to the historic fur trade phase of CbGu-5 and may, moreover, have been associated with the LaRonde occupation of c. 1795 to 1821.
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