Replicas of 18th-century French trade goods displayed on a trade blanket. From top: a horn powder flask and native twined hunting bag; a French "fusil fin" or elegant gun (this type of trade musket was generally reserved for tribal leaders); French "fusil de chasse" or hunting gun (ordinary musket used by the typical native or French settler); a French trade knife (as would have been seen in kitchens and farms of France); a trade axe of the French fashion (this size was popular with the native women whose responsibility was to gather and cut firewood); and a trade hatchet of the French fashion, which would have been seen in the belt or sash of Indians and colonists alike!

Photograph and identifications courtesy Robert Norment, a dedicated historical interpreter of 18th-century life in French Louisiana who is sometimes known as Rene Robert Moncoeur, Chevalier du Norment.

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