MtMan-List: Leather types

[Rick Williams <ERWillia@admrec.byu.edu>]

Mountaineers!
     
A new topic.  I have been trying to reason (justify) in my mind the 
making of certain articles of clothing out of Alum  or oil tanned 
leather.  Here is my thought process so far.  I present this to you 
in the hopes that you might be able to clarify and authenticate the 
use of leather other than brain-tan.  

We know the use of leather was widespread for such articles as 
Leggings, bags, breeches etc.

We know that certain terms were in wide use to differentiate leather
such as: indian leather, buckskin, harness leather, fine leather etc;

We know that there were those men who made what they described as 
leather which took them less time and presumably less effort than we 
can make it today, ie; Corp of Discovery stopped many times to repair 
replace and make leather.  Both by the discription of how long it 
took them to make this leather and the time it seemed to last before 
rotting,  leads me to ponder if they were making completely 
brain-tanned leather or if they were taking out some of the steps.  I 
propose that they may have been smoking and softening rawhide that 
they made from elk and deer.  THis could account for the less time 
and durability of their clothing.  Some would say that it was the 
water they were constantly in to pull their boats, however, on the 
return trip they had just as much trouble.  We see AFC outfitting a 
trapper with basicly one set of leathers  -- good for about one year.  
What is the discrepancy?  Was the AFC leather not brain-tanned and 
the L&C leather was brain-tanned?  Was the AFC leather brain-tanned 
and the L&C only softend and smoked?  Was the L&C leather 
brain-tanned and the AFC leather bark-tanned in the east and brought 
down the Ohio and made into garments in ST. Louis?  
   We know that most frontier families had tanning pits where they 
cured and tanned (bark) their own leather.  We know by 1820's the 
Santa Fe Trail was bringing California hides (cattle) into St. Louis?
What was the source of leather for these products so readily 
available in St. Louis?  I'm not trying to rationalize that the 
mountain men would not have obtained good indian brain-tanned leather 
once they were out.  I'm not trying to imply that the skins and 
mocassins obtained by L&C from the Mandans and others were not 
brain-tanned.  Quite the contrary.  But I do question whites making 
their own brain-tanned leather historically, particularly in 
wilderness camps.
   We know that some alum tanning was done as early as the Egyptians.
We know that oil-tanned products were being produced in Europe and 
possibly America during the 18th century.  How wide spread were these
available, particularly in remote location, St. Louis, Taos, Santa Fe? 
    Why didn't the  California Spaniards tan rather than sending mainly 
hides and tallow as export?
    We know that frontiersmen along the Ohio were making leather 
clothing: -- many after the fashion of Native Americans(leggings, 
mocassins), -- some after their own styling and fashion (hunting shirts (frocks),
 breeches. tunics).  Was the source of their leather indian or their 
own self-tanned making.  We know that chestnut trees and some others 
were highly sought after as tanning medium, was this commerically 
only or are the same basic methods known to most frantiersmen and 
practiced by them.
    If yes, then was this the method of tanning used by L&C during 
their return and the quality of tan was only as good as the tanning 
mediums (or lack thereof) and time allowed them for the tanning 
process?  If yes, then most tanners seemed to leave their leather in 
bark tanning medium for weeks and months not the few days allowed L&C 
to tan.
    Historically, what are the meanings associated with the word 
leather?  Was it any animal skin that was taken beyond the rawhide 
stage?  Were there differing terminology given to hides taken to 
different stages of the tanning process?
   Well, I rambled on too much for one posting, but this is a subject 
that only seems to get bigger and more complicated the more you try 
to solve it.  Any input and advice for sources of further 
clarification would be greatly appeciated.

Yours humbly,
Rick Williams