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Blackbeard Pirate Festival, June 2008 - Hampton, VA
Chapter 5th - Sunday, Day - The author recounts a strange tale of McDonald's, provides far more information on the Living History portion of the event than the reader will ever want to know in their lifetime; and provides comments on other events within the Living History area that he didn't see at all because he was so busy playing surgeon at his Living History portion of the event - of which he will now talk incessantly.
(Photo: Mission)
On the way to the site, I stopped at Micky Ds to
grab something quick. The car had become filled with junk from the trip,
so I stopped at the trash can and got out to clean things up. (This will
eventually become relevant, I swear.) Arriving at the parking deck, I
was heading down the ramp when another group of re-enactors said, "We
have to find Mission." Now, I did not know these folks, but my curiosity
was peaked. "I'm Mission," I volunteered. "Oh! We have your wallet."
"You couldn't have, I just used it at McDonalds." "Yes and you
dropped it when you got out of your car to throw out trash." It seems
they were behind me and stopped to pick it up! What're the odds?
Right: The trash can and townsman (wallet). A good way to start a new page...
Thinking I would be late for I know not what, I hurried to the campsite where the daily meeting had just begun. Apparently I was not late for a I know not what. Today was to be living history day which meant I would have an opportunity to play doctor. (...nah, too easy.) When this was brought up, it turned out that Cutter, the Blackbeard's Crew surgeon would be doing an amputation and Susan from The Vigilant Crew was outfitted to be an Apothecary. So we agreed to join forces...the period surgeon super-heroes.
(Photo: Duncan McGuyver, Crew of the Vigilant Site)
Left: The three surgeon re-enactors at the Living
History Exhibit showing off for the crowds. (And there were crowds, which
was great fun for me.) People were very curious about the tools I
had - some said that they were very similar to what are used today and
others thought they were barbaric.
From the left side behind the table: me in my Patrick Hand Original planter's hat, Cutter from the Blackbeard's Crew with his amputation table (which, in keeping with the weekend theme, I helped him haul from somewhere on the other side of the city) and seated is Sarah the apothecary. See the pictures below for more detail on our displays.
(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
Cutter is a really cool guy with a bushy white beard and spectacles who
used to do Civil War surgery and had all the gear for that. We had
chatted yesterday for quite awhile which is something I did not report
on because you haven't truly experienced Annoyance Level Ten until
you've been between two geeks discussing their pet hobby. Cutter
recently got into pirate era surgery and has been slowly acquiring
surgical gear and is (like every new pirate, Tudor seaman, English
revolution navy or otherwise sea-oriented surgeon) looking for
Woodall's book, The Surgeon's Mate which I explained to him
how to get.
He also had a whole set-up that allowed him to perform a mock amputation. (An old haunted house room trick - you have the live actor's knee bent under the table into an enclosed space -in this case a barrel- and then you proceed to chop a fake leg off. Unfortunately, I missed his performance.
(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
I didn't get a chance to talk with Susan much. Apothecary was a part of the
sea surgeon's job and it was important on the ship, so it was wonderful to
have her in our display. She had made up two apothecary boxes, one of which
you can see in the photo at the far right side of the picture. She proudly
showed all her herbs, spices and various medicines to me and explained that
she was even putting the correct symbols onto the jars. All this was just
about lost on your old ship's surgeon because he never studied. It was a
good thing we met, however, because Susan has explained several things to
me that I didn't know. I have been planning to make a large sea surgeon's
chest with literally hundreds of medicines in similar bottles. Susan told
me that this was wrong, the bottle should match the medicine.
I discussed various aspects of surgery other than amputation - leaving that
exciting topic to Cutter because he knew so much about it and had gear for it.
Cutter generously corrected me in the aspects I was explaining incorrectly,
(Photo: Duncan McGuyver, Crew of the Vigilant Site)
which he only had to do perhaps two or...maybe twenty times. I got so into my
litany of gross stories and descriptions that I had to be stopped by one woman
because the three five year old girls were getting a bit green. Other people
could only listen for long and then turned sort of pale and ducked behind
everyone else.
One very serious young lad come up, looked at my bloody clouts (linen rags) and said very matter-of-factly, "That's fake." Figuring him to be about six or so, I said (against my tendencies) "Yes." Then he pointed at my paint/blood spattered apron and said with great gravity, "That's fake too." "Yes." Then he pointed at Cutter, who was standing a few feet away wearing his bloody apron and said the same thing. I admitted it was. Then he looked quite satisfied and left.
There were several other events including something called Scallywag's School which was apparently very popular. But none of this was nearly as important as rattling on for the stream of people filing through living history display about how to use the giant syringe for enemas, removing a bullet, the lack of hygiene and anesthesia &c. (I could go on, in literally nauseating detail, if anyone would like.)
(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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(Photo: Shana)
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Above is the display for Mission the Surgeon. (Thanks to Susan who generously donated a piece of white leather to put my display upon. I have to get one of those...) The instruments: 1) The medicine chest/apothecary box 2) An onion bottle (for brandy) 3) Mortar and pestle 4) The whacking great Clyster - for, uh, irrigation of the fundament 5) A bullet extractor 6) Tenaculum (for retracting) 7) Goat's foot elevator - for removing teeth 8) Needles and case 9) Various forceps and probes 10) Cupping glasses - for bleeding 11) Lancets - used to perforate the skin for bleeding 12) The trephine - for making holes in the head (heh heh heh) 13) A trocar - used to perforate the body and withdraw fluids and 14) Scalpels - an incision knife (left) and a bistoury knife (right). The last pic was taken during a demonstration of using the bleeding cups.
Since Cutter was outfitted to do amputation, I loaned him my amputation knife and saw for his demonstration. The Apothecary had a beautiful set-up with all authentic herbs and she completed our display. Quite a full line-up of surgeons and gear for the attendees. This turned out to be to the good, because there must have have been one or two hundred of them, most of whom listened quite attentively.
(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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Above is the display for Cutter the Surgeon. I wish I had a larger picture of Cutter's equipment, but since I almost never actually take any pictures, I have no one to blame but myself. The instruments: 1) The medium bone saw (for arms) 2) The large bone saw (for legs and such) 3) The small bone saw (for digits) 4) The capital knife - for cutting through skin and muscle 5) Laudanum - for dulling the pain (contains opium...or tea in this case) 6) Ligatures - ties used to tie off arteries when they were cut 7) Brandy 8) Clouts - linen rags for mopping up the blood and dressing the remaining stump after amputation.
Of course, the Living History contained many other things to see, but the surgery area was all that interested Mission. Fortunately, there are others who are not quite so laser focused and since the photos are out there, it seemed like a good idea to give you a taste of what other things were going on in this interesting display.
(Photo: Duncan McGuyver, Crew of the Vigilant Site)
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(Photos: Shana/ withoutaname)
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Above: Cookie, camp cook and member of the Blackbeard's crew with his food and cooking display that started the Living History tour. (Doesn't that picture above, on the lower right, look like something in a food magazine article?)
Below are several photos of the ropes table which was across the way from the surgeon display. (Yeah, I know, tying knots doesn't make for the most dynamic photos in the world, but it was a good display.)
(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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Below, from left: A knot-tying expert entertains a crowd, the blacksmith explains his trade (a very necessary one from period accounts of long voyages) and the seamstress. Being so wrapped up in his surgery spiel, your humble surgeon failed utterly and completely to get any of these find folks names or crew associations.
(Photo: Duncan McGuyver)
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(Photo: Duncan McGuyver, Crew of the Vigilant Site)
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(Photo: Shana/ withoutaname)
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