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Pipes and Tobacco of the Frontier | Muzzle Blasts Archives 1986

Pipes and Tobacco of the Frontier

Written by Keith Tolman, Oklahoma

The frontiersman of the early nineteenth century be he trapper, trader, or soldier was forced to

leave most of his nonessentials back in the settlements.  He did,  however, allow room for a  

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few extras of which his tobacco pipe was probably the most important. This seemingly  insignificant article was the  westerner's  constant companion and catalyzed for social

gatherings with his fel­ lows thereby reducing his loneliness and isolation.

Upon  his arrival in  the west the  frontiersman  was intro­duced to the stone pipes of the Plains

Indians. Most of these pipes  had  bowls made  of  catlinite,  a  hard reddish  stone found in a

single quarry located in the southwest corner of present day  Minnesota. The substance was named  

for the painter George Catlin,  who collected samples for scientific analysis during a visit to

the quarry in 1837. Catlin was told by Indians of the area that the quarry was sacred to all tribes

during ancient  times and  that  even bitter  enemies  met  in peace  while extracting  the

stone.  Catlin also recorded  the method by whlch the native stone was made into pipe bowls. The

exterior was laboriously carved with a knife after whlch the tobacco  and stem  holes were drilled  

with a  hardwood stick using a  mixture of fine sand and water as an abrasive. The stem of the pipe was carved from a soft-centered wood such as ash and a red hot wire was forced through the pith to form  the  smoke  passage.  These pipes  varied  from one  to three feet in length and many had intricately carved bowls in the form of some natural object such as a  bear, wolf, or buffalo. The romantic vision of the bearded trapper puffing on the catlinite pipe is, however, pretty much a myth. While it is true whites who Uved among the Plains Indians did use the catlinite pipe there is little documentation which supports the contention that thls heavy, bulky pipe was used on a regular basis by the far ranging beaver hunter.


The   Indians  used several  other   pipes  including the metal  tomahawk pipe and the  so  

called  "squaw"  pipe. The tomahawk pipe was introduced by white traders dur­ ing Colonial times

and was popular with tribes located in the eastern United States. Their popularity, however, was

not  extensive on  the  Plains proper where the stone pipe was the dominant type. Their lesser

popularity among the Plains  Indians  is  evidenced   in  the   portraits  by  Catlin which rarely

depicts a  tomahawk  pipe in the hands of  a Plains Indian. The "squaw"  pipe used  by Plains  

Indian women was much  less elaborate  than  the pipes used by the male  members  of the tribes.  It had  a  wood or  reed stem and a stone bowl made of one of a variety of worka ­ ble stones. The smoking of  this pipe seems to have been more  for  recreational   purposes  than the male's  pipe which was used with more ceremony.

The pipe used by the frontiersman had to meet certain requirements with regard to weight, bulk, price and  avail­ ability. Briar pipes, first made on the island of Corsica in 1821, did not find

their way to the North American fron­ tier for several more decades and the lowly corncob pipe was not manufactured in commercial  quantities until the late 1800's. Elegant porcelain pipes made their debut dur­ ing the  last  half of the 18th century but  it appears that this fragile and

expensive pipe was not used extensively in the frontier, if at all. The pipe of choice in the west,

as in the east, was the small inexpensive clay pipe.


The simple  method employed  in  making  a  clay pipe was largely responsible for  its success. The process began with  the  injection of a  special  clay,  either  by  hand  or press, into a  two-piece mold  of lead, iron or  wood. The hollow of the bowl and the stem was then made by inserting reamers into the openings made in the mold for  this purpose.  After extracting  the  pipe from  the mold it  was sun  dried  and then fired  in a  kiln. The ease with  which these pipes could  be made led  to a  proliferation  of  one man operations that could produce up to 300 pipes a day. Pottery factories  also produced  clay  pipes,  usually as a sideline. Using gang molds and injector  presses they were able to measure their output in terms of millions per year.


The result of this type of production was a pipe that sold for one to three cents per unit.

The clay  pipes  used  on  the  frontier  during  the  early 1800's  were of  two  basic  types:  

the  kaolin and  the  reed stem  elbow pipe.  The  kaolin,  named  for  the china-like material

from which it was originally made, has a history in America dating back to Colonial times. The

a traditional Colonial kaolin was often two feet or  more in length and had a thin curving clay stem. This "tavern pipe" was held in  common by  the  inn's clientele  who,  for sanitary reasons,  broke off  a small portion of  the stem each time it was smoked.  Archaeological  investigations  at  one early 18thcentury military post indicate that this custom was still in practice on the frontier. 


By the  1830's the length of the  kaolin  had  been  reduced  to about 7" overall and  the stem  had  been  shortened  and thickened  to make it  less fragile and more compact. The bowl was often decorated with fluting, cross-hatching or dimpling and  patriotic designs became quite common.


The frontier kaolin has been designated  by archaeologists as a Dublin  type and  examples have turned  up at  such  trading posts as  Bent's Old Fort, Fort Laramie, and Fort Union.

The elbow pipe seems to have  been developed  during the  last  half  of  the  18th  century  and

 was  the preferred choice of  the frontiersman in  the  field.  Its replaceable reed stem and

thick bowl made it less vulnerable to breakage than  the  kaolin  as  evidenced   by  recovered  

examples of  both. The angle of the stem in relation to the bowl var­ ied  from  90 degrees  to  

about  45 degrees  of  vertical  depending on  the model and  personal tastes of the smoker. Bowl designs  varied   from   the  plain  to   ornate  models which  featured  the  faces  of  Indians  

or  political  candidates.  Elbow  pipes  with  plain  and  fluted  bowls seem  to have been  the

 choice of  most civilian  frontiersmen  while military  personnel  often  chose  a  pipe  with  a  

shield  and eagle  motif.  While  these  pipes  were  all  made  of  either white of  red clay they

were often colored  by means of  a green,  red  or  black  glaze.  Such  a  "little  black  pipe"  

Is spoken  of  in  Lewis  Garrard's  narrative Wah to yah and the  Taos Trail. The  popularity  of  

the  elbow  pipe  is evi­denced   in   the   painting   of   the   period.   George  Caleb Bingham's The Trapper's Returnclearly shows a straight stem elbow pipe in the mouth of a weary voyageur while a more voluminous elbow  pipe can  be seen in  the  hand of Prince  Maximilian  in  Karl  Bodmer's  painting  depicting the  German  naturalist's  meeting with a  group of Minne­ taree Indians.


The clay pipe remained popular  until the Civil War  period when it  began to  be replaced by

pipes made of other materials.  Ironically, clay  pipe production increased  until well after the

turn of  the 20th  century. The  reasons for this increase  have been attributed  to  the  

introduction  of the shooting gallery, which used clay pipes as targets, and the practice of

tobacco companies giving away a clay pipe with each pouch of tobacco purchased.

Much  confusion  exists concerning  the  white man  and the Indian's tobacco preferences. It  has long been  known that  the  North  American  Indians  mixed  their  tobacco with  various  herbs   to  form  a  blend  known  as  kinnikin­ nick, and  Algonquian  word  which  means "that which is mixed."  While the  mixing  of  such substances  as sumac leaves and  the  inner  bark of  the   dogwood  made the  tobacco  milder and  more aromatic,  it  also served  an  economic  function  by  extending  the  tobacco  supply  of  the nomadic  tribes  which  did   not   grow  the  

substance.  A scarcity of  information  concerning the  tobaccos used by whites  on  the  frontier  

has led many  to  erroneously  conclude that  kinnikinnick  was also the preferred  choice of the

  frontiersman.    In truth    much kinnikinnick was smoked by whites on the  frontier but

historical references indicate  that  while  the  Indian  tobacco was being burned, the smoke was  anxiously  awaiting the  arrival of  the  trader  who  always  carried  a copious  supply  of  "good  Missouri plug." The preference shown by the Indians and the whites for their own tobaccos  can  possibly  be  explained by the fact that the whites were used to smoking the  domesticated  tobaccos   of    the   southeastern United States while the Plains  Indians found the wild varieties of the north more to their liking.The  containers  used  to   carry  tobacco by the frontiersmen  were made from a  variety of  materials and were of  many different shapes. They were often  in the form of  a  leather pouch which  was hung around  the  neck  by means  of  a  strap or  as a  "canteen" made of  wood,  tin or  rawhide which was carried  in  the  possible  bag. The only thing common  to  these contain­ers was their size which never seemed to exceed more than a few ounces in volume. This leads one to assume that the main  supply  of  tobacco  was  carried elsewhere in the frontiersman's outfit. The Plains Indian, on the other hand, carried  his  tobacco  in a  much  larger pouch  made from the skin of a small animal such as a prairie dog, skunk or mink. These  bags  were  made by extracting the carcass of the dead animal through  a slit made near the animal's throat, which would later serve as the mouth of the bag. The head, feet and tail  were left on the bag and the skin tanned.  The  finished  bag  was  then

decorated  ..with   beads,  quillwork  or metal  tinklers.

In  transporting  their long  stone  pipes  the  Plains  Indians used  an  elaborately  decorated  buck­ skin bag which covered the bowl and a portion of  the stem. The bag and  its contents were carried by wrapping the mouth of the bag around the stem of the pipe forming a type of handle.

The  importance of tobacco on  the frontier should  not  be underemphasized. It was a major trade commodity and served as a link between the frontiersman  and  the  civilization  he  left behind.


 Also,  the  giving of  tobacco became a symbol of  peace which of­ ten averted  much bloodshed  

between two cultures struggling  for  control of the same resources.  In our efforts  to recreate

the life and times of the early frontiersmen   we   have   often   overlooked the part played  by

tobacco in the opening of the American West. Its 

significance,  however, did not escape the lonely  trapper  sitting  by  his  fire 150 years ago.

Lewis Garrard realized its  importance  when  he  described  a backwoods gathering of  his company: "we were under the influence of the  harmony of  nature,  tobacco and Taos Whiskey."

Bibliography

Ewers, John C.  Ed.  Indian Art in  Pipestone, George Catlin's  Portfolio in the British M11-

sevenn. City of  Washington:  British Muse11m Publications Ltd ., 1979.

Garrard, Lewis H.  Wah to  yah and the Taos Trail.   Norman:   University ofOklahoma Press,

1955.

Gilbert,  Bil.  The  Trailblazers.  Alexandria, Virginia: Time Life Books Jr,c., 1973.

Goldring, William. The Pipe Book, a History and  How-to.  New York: Drake Publications Inc.,1973.

Hanson,  James and  Wilson,  Kathryn.  The Mo1111tain   Man's  Sketch   Book.  Chadron, Nebraska:The F11r Press, 1977.

Linton,   Ralph.   Use  of Tobacco   Among North American Indians. Chicago: Field Mu­ sewn of Nawral History, 1924.

Moore,  Jackson  W.   Bent's  Old  Fort  an  Ar­ chaeological  St11dy.   Denver:  State  Historical

Society  of   Colorado  and   Pruett   P11blishing Com  pany ,  1973.

Sherman,  Milton  M.   All   About   Tobacco. New York: P. M. Sherman Corp., 1970.

Sudb11ry,  Byron.  Historic  Clay Tobacco  Pi­

pemakers in  the  United  States of  America. London:  British  Archaeological Reports  In­

ternational Series, 1979.    

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