The daily Alaskan., 1909-09-01
DID POWDERHORNS,
They Were Once Important Im-
 pIementS of Warfare.
TREASURED AS HElRLooMS,

Handed Down From Father to Son and
 From Friend to Friend-Ensraved
 and ornamented, They Were Used as
 Gifts Instead of Jeweled Swords.
 Modern inventions have robbed war fare of much of its romance and the soldier of much of his old time pictur. sequences. Although the powderhorn as an implement of war disappeared long before the magazine gun of today was dreamed of, it wasn't so very long ago. as a matter of fact that men were carrying powderhorns. Some of the soldiers in the Mexican war, for, example, used them.
 The powderhorns carried by the fighters in the early days of this coun- try were often of comparatively sim pie workmanship, but they were cher Ished and handed down from father to son and from friend Co friend. Strange to say, though cherished in this manner, collectors have had a very hard time In locating any great number Of the powdcrhornS used in this country, and this in spite of the large numbers used in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
 In the French and Indian war the English and Americans carried 10000 powderhornS, it has been estimated, to say nothing of the number carried by those on the French side. In the Revolution there were, according to the best estimates, about 10000 pow derhorns In use in the American army without counting those on the British side, The European troops had long discarded them, Of course, but their colonial allies naturally were equipped with them.
 A few years ago Isaac ]. Greenwood presented to the New York Historical society a collection of water color pic lures of powderhorns he had found still in existence.
 Although the search was prosecuted with great diligence. the number of pow derhorns actually located and s&etched was not much more than 100, showing how quickly the horns have been dis appearing.
 Powderhorns are supposed to have come into use almost simultaneously with the invention of gunpowder, A way had to be found to carry the pow der and keep 1t dry, and men quickly found that there wasn't anything bet ter or cheaper in mcdiaeval times for this purpose than the horns of an ani- mal.
 They were in general use in the six teenth century and were brought to this country by the first settlers. The oldest horn whose picture appears in the collection was found near Schenec. tady, x. Y., and bears the date of 1888.
 It was generally the horns of their own cattle that the farmer fighters of America used. The loss of horn in nowiSe impaired the usefulness of the animal, and bulls frequently were called upon to make the sacrifice. Such horns were easily obtained and wouldn't rust and could be carried in the rain and through streams without the powder in them getting wet.
 They were always worn under the left arm by strap that went over the right shoulder, the curve in the horn conforming to the shape of the body and serving to keep 1t out of the way of the wearer. There was Stopple in the small end. and without being un- slung the powder could be poured into the right hand and thence into the gun.
 Boiled, scraped and cleaned and col ored with an orange or yellow dye, which was the way most of the pow derhorns were prepared, they lent themselves more readily to ornamenta- ton by the owner than did any other part of his equipment, and 1t is this fact which has made them particularly Interesting as historical relics. Admir-. ing friends in the days when powder horns were in general use instead of presenting a hero with an engraved sword gave him a finely decorated powderhorn.
 Sometimes the horns were made to order and the engraving done by pro cessionals. Many of these horns were beautifully colored. the most popular