Capote - The Mountain Mans Coat

When a mountain man’s store-bought coat wore out, he or an American Indian made a new coat, called a capote, out of a blanket. The mountain man used the “tails” on the hood for decoration as well as a tie to secure the hood under his chin and to protect his neck from the cold. The mountain man wore his regular belt over the capote. This kept his knife and tomahawk accessible, even when he was bundled up against the winter weather.

The Capote (the traditional name for a blanket coat) began as a hooded coat that was worn by French sailors. The earliest known reference to one was made by the First Nations in 1644. As more and more sailors and traders began coming to Canada, the blanket coat was seen more frequently. It soon became a popular item among the natives and French settlers. Over time the coats were used by the military, and eventually were popular with upper class people. By the late 1800s they were promoted as a kind of national dress, and continued to be popular up to the turn of the 20th century.