Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1909-08-14
OLD POWDERHORNS,
They Were Once Important In-
pIements of Warfare.
TREASURED AS AEIRLooMs.
Handed Down From Father to Son and
From Friend to Frend--Engraved
and ornamented, They Wore Used as
Gifts Instead OF Jeweied Swords.

Modern inventions have robbed war.
fare of much Of IFS romance aud the
soldier OF much of his old time plctur-
sequences. Although the powderhorn
us an Implement OF war disappeared
long before the magazine gun of today
ago. as Il 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 he early days OF this coun-
try We're often of comparatively sim
pie workmanship. but they were cher
lsbed and handed down from father
TO. son and from friend TO friend
Strange TO say though cherished In
this manner, collectors have had a
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
aud eighteenth centuries
In the French aud Indian war the
English and Americans carried 10000
DoNNtl u usiS Dttll
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
BriliSh side. The European troops bsd
long discarded them. of course. but
their colonial allies naturally were
equipped with them.
few years ago Isaac J. Greenwood
presented ia the New York Historical
society 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
derh0rns actually located and sketched
was not much more than 400, showing
how quickly the horns have been dis
appearing
P0wderhoris 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 II 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 10 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, N Y. and bears the date of 1853
II was generally the horns of their
own cattle that the farmer lighters Of
America used The loss OF born III
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 lust aud could he carried In
the rain aud through streams without
the powder rs them getting wet.
They were always worn under the
teft arm by strap that went over he
right shoulder The curve m the horn
CONFORMING 10 he shape OF the body
and serving TO keep 1t out of The way
OF The weurer There was II stoppie 10
the small end. aud without being IN.
sIung 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 Is this
fact which has made them particularly
interesting IA historical relies Admir-.
Ing friends In the days when powder
horns were in general Use instead Of
presenting hero with an engraved
sword gave him finely decorated
powderhoHl
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.
pies of the engraving are to be seen
on the geographical horns whose pie
lures appear In the Greenwood collec
ton These geographical 1orus took
the place of pocket maps for the early
pioneers They were the work of pro
fessional ehgravers in places like New
York and Boston.
Some Of the horns in the collection
tOUtdiu tOHiHittt lutDS vi
the old trails and waterways one of
the best Of these bears the date OF
1857 and shows New York With its
hmrbor filled with ships aud New York
state as far MS 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 double pur
pose. supplying the Traveller with n
map and cnrrying his powder for him.
One Of the best specimens in the col
lection shows Havana. MS well MS the
trail from Albany to Uswego 1t is
believed to have been owned by a sol
dier in the English army which cap
tured the Cuban city and who inter
served In the colonies. = Washington
Post
Make hay while the sun shines. and