Mountain-man Fur Hat

I enjoy going to trading posts around Arizona. The origin of a trading post is said to go as far back as ancient Cartage and the Phoenician colonists. The idea then is the same as it is today – goods were trading at that post. While the Portuguese dominated the trans-Saharan trade route in the early 1400s and traded spices, the original trading in Canada and the United states was for fur. Specifically, the Hudson Bay Company expanded the fur trade between Native Americans and Europeans. In the early 19th century, the federal government of the United States licensed Native Americans and tribes were to concede substantial territorial areas to the U.S government in order to access the trading posts.

So, I was in a trading post and asked the post keeper, a lady in cowboy boots and hat, if she had deer leather remnants I could use for my art work.
“Deer, coyote, elk, bobcat, javelin, red fox and sometimes wolf – have them all” she proudly replied. “Let me show you.”
As we were going around, I noticed mountain-man fur hats with the head of the animal on the front.
“Quite amazing artistry” I proposed.
“Yes, local artist. He uses badger and bobcat most often.”
Then a thought came to my mind:
“Does he make any hats with desert hare (jackrabbit) pelt?”
She laughed.
“No, I have never seen anyone make hats with jackrabbit skin – who would try such a thing?”

That was enough for me to take on the challenge!

… While I have painted on hare skin and incorporated it on wood carving works, I have never made a hat. And, as it is my inclination, decided to come out with my own way of making a hat out of 3 jackrabbit pelts I had.

Took me a while to figure out the stitching. When I was done with the 3 pelts, I realized that I needed a 4th jackrabbit to complete the sides of the hat! So, decided to use two strips of coyote pelt and voilà, I ended up with a unique hat that is amazingly warm.

Here is one side:

And the other:

The most fun I had was in pulling all three pieces to form the back. I was keen on keeping all three tails intact.

So, I will take this hat to the lady at the Trading Post next time I am near it. I already know what I am going to say:
“This is made by a local artist. And, it may be the only jackrabbit fur hat ever made in Arizona!”

I hope she will have a kind response to that…


February 16, 2018
©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018