Rendezvous News - WHITE SMOKE COMPANY OF BUCKSKINNERS

Greetings!

When I say “Rendezvous News”, I mean to say there is a LOT of new stuff going on!!!

The first news announcement you may know about by now. The White Smoke Brigade, Texas Free Trappers, and the Fritztown Free Trappers have all combined to form the WHITE SMOKE COMPANY OF BUCKSKINNERS, INC. We are now a non-profit organization. We did this in order to be able to get liability insurance for our events. You will also notice that we have our very own club email address!

The second big news concerns the dates for our rendezvous. If you are a Fritztown Free Trapper, listen up! ALL rendezvous’ will be on the SECOND weekend of the month. This means the October event will be on the 9th-10th-11th. If you have to schedule vacation time way in advance, keep this in mind. Fritztown rendezvous’ will be the 2nd weekend of March and October. Texas Free Trapper rendezvous’ will be the 2nd weekend of April and November.

Also, the October rendezvous will be held at La Vernia - NOT in Fredericksburg on the Sagebiel property. We spoke to David Sagebiel (Big Chief) after the March event and decided that since he has not been able to burn any of the cedar (and he has cut down more) that it would be best to move the rendezvous to another location. The good news is Big Chief has taken the property off the market so we can continue to use it in the future...........if Central Texas EVER gets any rain!!!

If you have never been to the La Vernia site, shame on you.....but you will have the opportunity to check it out on Saturday - August 29th!! That’s when we have scheduled our “Work Day”....... and yes, we realize it will be hotter n hell at the end of August, but that is when it has to be so at this point Justeve and I are down on our knees BEGGING for volunteers to come out and help us get the property ready for rendezvous! IronBurner has been busy this summer building another hooter (Taj Mah Stal) that will need to be assembled on site. Grey Wolf needs help setting up a new shooting line, including moving targets. Justeve will be setting up new hawk and knife blocks, and the Archery walk. If you have one, bring a leaf rake, loppers for cutting small branches, and gloves. A weedeater might also be nice to have on site.

We will meet on site at 9:00 a.m. and if enough wonderful volunteers show up, we can get through with everything and then relax with a cold one! If you can help, but have never been to the La Vernia site, send an email to this address and we will email you a map. We need your help to make this rendezvous possible.

I will be sending out info about the October rendezvous right after Labor Day, but you can volunteer now to help run an event!

Hope to see a bunch of you on Saturday, August 29th!

- Kathy (Hummingbird) Boyd

For more information, contact Hummingbird at txwscb@yahoo.com

Fire Ban for TFT Rendezvous IX

Buckskinners!

There is a fire ban in effect in Wilson County (and others).

Big John is trying to get dispensation for the hog roasting fire.

Bring stoves for cooking and candle lanterns for Council "Fire", and maybe fuel lanterns with dimming control.

It's supposed to rain lightly for a couple of days then turn beautiful again.

I went to the site yesterday to drop off 12 hawk blocks. We will try hard to get a Knife & Hawk Walk set up on Thursday.

Stay below the horizon.......shinin' times are a comin'

- Grey Wolf and the Brigade

Rendezvous IX promo

Folks are invited to join Joe Wolf and the Texas Free Trappers at Rendezvous IX on November 14-16. 2008.

It is a reenactment of the fur trade rendezvous 1825-1840 where beaver trappers met the wagon train of supplies that came out of St. Louis in the summer to sell their pelts and buy their supplies. It was a time to meet old friends that had survived since the last rendezvous, drink bad whisky, gamble, have shooting, knife throwing, tomahawk throwing and archery competition, have horse and foot races, etc.

We don't do all of that, but we live a weekend in the 19th century as much as is practical and possible. Civilian clothing is the usual, though when the woolen and cotton clothing and leather boots they wore to the mountains were worn out they went to buckskins and mocassins. Weapons were the same as in Texas in the same period. Nothing modern is supposed to be in sight in camp.

The site is a 400 acre on historic Cibolo Creek near La Vernia. Indian dancer friends are invited. There will be a potluck supper Saturday evening with roast pig provided, and a Round Robin trading circle, so bring something to trade. Last year a piece of the Santa Maria's sail was traded for something equally valuable (tongue in cheek).

A Lipan Apache drum group that includes Jimmy Gonzales did a music program at Council Fire at Rendezvous VIII. They enjoyed themselves so much they say they are coming to Rendezvous IX and bringing some dancers.

Download the flier
Download the map

- Grey Wolf - wolfbear@gvtc.com

Notice from Grey Wolf about Texas Free Trappers' Rendezvous IX

Skinners and pilgrims ................take heed.

The dates of Texas Free Trappers' Rendezvous IX have been changed to a week earlier.

A Civil War battle reenactment is scheduled on our original date and we find it best to change our dates.

The new flier is attached, as well as a map to avoid having to send it later to those who were unable to join us at our previous Rendezvous at the La Vernia site.

There were 30 registrants at Rendezvous VIII plus two youngsters whose registration is not required and our new Native American friends, The Running Waters Drum. They presented a drum and song program for us after council fire and enjoyed themselves enough to say that they will be at Rendezvous IX and bring along some dancers.

I hope to get some of our Native American friends that we will see at the "Celebrate Bandera" powwow over Labor Day weekend to be a part of Rendezvous IX.

The TFT brigade has been invited to set up a mountain man camp at "Celebrate Bandera" for the second time. We will be doing demonstrations and talking to visitors about the days of the fur trade. Period camps and campers are invited to join us there. Contact me for more information and/or to let me know if you will be there. We need to reserve plenty of space for lodges, knife and hawk, and possibly archery demonstrations.

At Rendezvous IX we can expect to meet some new reenactors who have found us. I was told that they do well researched "personas" of Cherokee and Seminole individuals and are ready to portray the 1810-1840 period with us.

We will have "Trader Bucks" ready to award as prizes, in addition to the black powder, so be there, traders!

Grey Wolf can be contacted at wolfbear@gvtc.com for more information.

This event has been posted to the events page - Many Rifles