The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-08-07
OLD POWDERHORNS.
They Were Once important I'M
elements of Warfare.
TREASURED AS HEIRL ooMs.

handed Down From Father to Son and
From Friend to Friend-Ensrsvsd
and ornamsntsd. They Were Used -
Gifts instead Of Je~sisd 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 drea med of. II wasn't so very long
ago. as a matter Of fact. that men
were carryin: 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 to friend
Strange 10 say. though cherished In
this manner. collectors have had q
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 aud Indian war the
English and Americans carried 10000
powderhorns. 1t 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 n collection Of water color pic
lures Of pswderhorns he had found
still in existence.
Although the search was prosecuted
with great 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.
Powdcrhorns 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 nm ami
NAL.
They were in general use in the six
-
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 lighters 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 born
conforming to the shape OF the body
Of the weaver. There was o stoppIe 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 Ornamental
ton by the owner than did any other
part Of his equipment. and 1t il 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 q hero with an engraved
sword gave him a finely decorated
powderborn-
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 4 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 coilec-
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 hears the date Of
1861 and shows New York with its
harbor Oiled with ships and New York
state as far rs Lake Champlain aud
Ontario. The Hudson valley. with its
settlements. appears on most OF the
geographical horns discovered. One
horn shows the country between Eliz-
abcthtown and PittsburE. each little
settlement heinc carefully noted
The horps thus filled n double pur-
pose. srr,'yin= the traveller. with o