MtMan-List: rubber ponchos

[Allen Chronister <almont@mt.net>]

Joe asked about rubber ponchos.  Once upon a time
the conventional wisdom was that there were no
rubber goods,
especially clothing items, until goodyear invented
vulcanazation in the 1850s or whenever it was. 
Reasearch has proved that wrong, and some of this
is disucssed in the piece on trapper clothing that
Clay and I did in BOB VII. 
We can put rubber shoes, hats, coats, canteens and
ground cloths in the mountain/plains west before
1840.  Narcissa Whitman recorded that she ate
meals using her India rubber ground cloth for a
table.  The process of laminating rubber onto
fabric had been developed in England (by MacIntosh
of course) in the early 1820s, and by the late 20s
and into the 30s, a variety of rubber goods was
available in this country.  Ft Hall stocked India
rubber shoes in the 1830s.  
I do not have any specific information about
ponchos per so.  There is debate over the use of
any ponchos north of the deep southwest.  A J
Miller may show one.  
So that's what I know off the top of my head.  The
rubber coated fabric was clearly available pre
1840, but I can't say the same for making it into
a poncho.  Can't say it didn'thappen either.
Allen Chronister