Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-09-09
OLD POWDERHORNS,
They Were Once Important I'm.
pIements of Warfare.
TREASURED AS HElRLooMs

Handed Down From Father to Son and
From Friend to Friend-Ensraved
and ornamented, They Were Used a.
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.
esquencss 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.
fighters in the early days of this coun-
try were often of comparatively sim
pie workmanship, but they We're cher
ished and handed down from father
to son and from friend to friend.
Strange to say, though cherished in
this manner, collectors have had
very hard time in locating any great
number of the powderhorns 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 j. Greenwood
presented to the New York Historical
society collection of water color pic
lures of powderhorns he had found
still in existence
Although the search was prosecuted
withgreat diligence, the number of pow
derhorns actually located and sketched
was not much more than 400, 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 medieval times for
this purpose than the horns Of an ami
nal.
They were Ia general use in the six
tenth century and were brought to
this country by the first settlers. The
oldest horn whose picture appears in
the collection was found near Science
tady, N. Y, and bears the date of 1853.
1t 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 We're 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 I'M
slung the powder could be poured into
the right hand and thence into the gun
Boiled scraped and cleaned and col
ored with IN orange or yellow dye.
which was the way most of the pow
derhorns were prepared, they lent
themselves more readily to ornamental
ton by the owner than did any other
part of his equipment. and it Is this
fact which has made them particularly
interesting as historical relics. Admir-
'Dg friends in the days when powder
iorns We're In general use instead of
presenting hero with an engraved
sword gave him finely decorated
powderhorn.
Sometimes the horns were made to
order and the engraving done by pro-
fessionals. Many Of these horns were
beautifully colored. the most popular
shade being sort of orange tint.
Perhaps the most remarkable exam
piles Of the engraving are to be seen
on the geographical horns whose pic
lures appear in the Greenwood collec-
ton. These geographical horns took
the place of pocket maps for the early
| pioneers. They were the work of pro-
| fessional engravers in places like New
York and Boston.
Some of the horns in the collection
| contain practically complete maps OF
the old trails and waterways. One OF
the best Of these bears the date OF
1867 and shows New York with Its
harbor filed with ships and New York
state as far as Lake Champlain and
Ontario. The Hudson valley. with its
settlements, appears on most of the
geographical horns discovered. One
horn shows the country between Eliz'
abethtown and Pittsburg. each little
settlement being carefully noted.
The horns thus filed a double pur.
pose. supplying the traveller with a
map and carrying his powder for him
One of the best specimens in the col
lection shows Havana. as we'll as the
trail from Albany to Oswego 1t is
believed to have been owned by sol
der in the English army which cap
tured the Cuban city and who later
served in the colonies. = Washington
Post.