f

PETERSON: AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

Frontispiece

AN EXAMPLE OF A PIPE TOMAHAWK WITH EXTREMELY ELABORATE DECORATION

{see No. i6i)

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

HEYE FOUNDATION

Vol. XIX

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

by HAROLD L PETERSON

With an Appendix -.

THE BLACKSMITH SHOP by MILFORD G. CHANDLER

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN

HEYE FOUNDATION

1971

First published in 1965 Revised Edition 197 1

Library of Congress Catalogue card number 73-125345

Printed in Germany at J. J. Augustin, Gliickstadt

Price: $10.00

APR 2 y '^uio

CONTENTS

PAGE

Illustrations iv

Foreword vii

Introduction i

Chapter

I. A Matter of Words 4

II. The Indian and the Tomahawk 8

III. The Simple Hatchet or Belt Axe 18

IV. The Missouri War Hatchet 22

V. The Spontoon Tomahawk 24

VI. The Halberd or "Battle Axe" Tomahawk 27

VII. The Spiked Tomahawk 29

VIII. Tomahawks with Hammer Polls 31

IX. Celtiform Tomahawks 32

X. The Pipe Tomahawk 33

XL The White Man and the Tomahawk 40

XII. Naval Boarding Axes 44

Directory of Makers and Dealers 46

Index to Provenience 53

Appendix:

"The Blacksmith's Shop," hy Milford G. Chandler 55

Bibliography 78

Captions to Photographs 83

111

IV CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS Plates I. Decorated Pipe Tomahawk frontispiece

(following page 32)

11. Sketch of an Indian throwing a tomahawk.

III. Engraved powder horn.

IV. Sketches of mid-igth century weapons, by Seth Eastman. V. Page from Lewis and Clark's journal.

VI. Page from Lewis and Clark's journal. VII. King Hendrick of the Mohawks. VIII. Cornplanter, painted by Frederick BartoU. IX. Sa Ga Yeath Qua Pieth Ton, one of the "Four Kings." X. Indian with a spontoon axe. XL Woainga, or "Pipe- Stem," an Oto man. XII. Chief Holds-His-Enemy, a Crow warrior. XIII. Plug cutter for Battle Ax Plug Tobacco.

Text Figures

PAGE

1. Nomenclature of a hatchet 11

2. Manufacture of a simple belt axe 19

3. Spontoon type blade 24

4. Halberd type blade 27

5. Construction of a spiked hatchet 30

6. Lathing hatchet 31

7. Shinghng hatchet 31

8. Method of forging a pipe tomahawk 37

9. Tools and equipment used in making tomahawks 58-59

10. Improvisations 62

11. Improvisations 63

12. Improvisations 64

13. Manufacture of the common pipe tomahawk 66-67

14. Alterations on the common pipe tomahawk 68

15. The pierced eye technique of making a tomahawk . . . 70-71

16. Manufacture of a gun-barrel tomahawk 72

CONTENTS V

PAGE

17. Manufacture of a pipe tomahawk using the "wrap- around eye and blade" technique 74-75

18. An Indian's modification of a ball-peen hammer "]"]

Photographs of Tomahawks (following page 142)

Aboriginal Forms Nos. i- 23

Simple Hatchets and Belt Axes 25- 45

Missouri War Hatchets 46- 51

Spontoon Tomahawks 52- 53

Halberd Tomahawks 54- 60

Spiked Tomahawks 61- ^^

Tomahawks with Hammer Polls 89-101

Celtiform Tomahawks 102-106

Pipe Tomahawks of the Halberd Form 107-108

Pipe Tomahawks with Conventional Blades :

Iron or Steel Heads 109-208

Brass Heads with Steel Edges 209-219

All-Brass Heads 220-239

Pewter or Lead Heads 240-255

Silver Heads 256

Stone Heads 257

Pipe Tomahawks with Spontoon Blades :

Iron or Steel Heads 258-287

Brass Heads 288-293

Pewter Heads 294-298

Stone Heads 299

Implements Used by White Men 300-314

FOREWORD

The pipe tomahawk is an implement unique in American Indian Hfe. Although most native peoples of the world had cutting axes and smoking pipes, it was only in North America that these two functions were fused into a single object. Over a period of 250 years, it served on different occasions as a functioning tool, a ceremonial adjunct, a decorative object, and a symbol of prestige. And, above all, it has become romantically associated with the Indian as no other implement.

Yet with all of this historical and sociological lore, almost no serious attention has been given to the story of its development and typology, as the bibliography will attest; this volume represents an attempt to present much of that story in detail.

In selecting a suitable author, we turned to Harold L. Peterson, an outstanding authority on American colonial arms and armor, to supply for the first time a summary of the art of the black- smith together with a history of the role of the tomahawk in Indian life.

To round out the more personal relationship of the blacksmith with his Indian customers, we asked Milford G. Chandler to recount experiences drawn from his early life in the Midwest. Mr. Chandler, who grew up in Indiana when it was still a part of the Frontier, saw smiths turn out tomahawks for the Indian trade. We are indebted to his son, Alan L. Chandler, for executing the drawings for the appendix.

Accompanying these accounts is certainly the most extensive visual record of tomahawk types yet published. Captions supply documentation as complete as has been possible to gather for each of the more than three hundred specimens illustrated, making this volume particularly useful as a reference work.

A word should be inserted concerning provenience. Wherever a given tomahawk has been obtained from a known person or tribe, the phrase, "collected from. . .," is employed. This is the most accurate statement which can be supplied to associate the object with its history. When a specimen comes to the Museum with an alleged history or statement of ownership through a third hand, the phrase, "attributed to...," impHes that we accept at face value the asserted provenience, but cannot guarantee its accuracy beyond this hearsay and our own experience.

vii

Vlll FOREWORD

Much of the study material is drawn from the collections of the Museum, gathered over the past half century. However, particular acknowledgement must be made to the Harold J. Hibben Col- lection, which forms such a significant part of this work. Mr. Hib- ben, of Indianapolis, Indiana, was an avid collector of tomahawks and, at his death in 1956, owned some four hundred and fifty examples. These were generously presented to the Museum in 1959 by his nephew, Mr. Richard M, Fairbanks, also of Indianapolis. They have been given catalog numbers 22/7198 through 22/7408, so that all of the Hibben specimens used herein can be readily identified.

Our gratitude is extended to Mr. Fairbanks for the gift of the Hibben Collection without which this publication would not have been possible, and we acknowledge the assistance of Mr. Robert Beverly Hale of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for his friendly cooperation in our behalf. To Mr. Peterson go our thanks for his wiUingness to undertake this study, as well as for his patience during the long delay in its production; and to Miss Elaine Taylor for editing the manuscript.

Frederick J. Dockstader Director November, 1964

Foreword to the Revised Edition

The popularity of the first edition is a testament to the scholar- ship of the author as well as interest in the subject. We are partic- ularly grateful to Mr. Peterson for his cooperation in verifying certain details, making minor corrections, and providing data on additional specimens not included in the original volume. Since the earher publication, some of the specimens are known to have changed hands as noted; while every effort has been made to keep our records up-to-date, it cannot be guaranteed that the ownership of all examples is as listed.

F. J. D. July, 1970

INTRODUCTION

THE metal trade tomahawk has long been an object of fasci- nation for both the amateur collector and the ethnologist. Few other implements have ever combined so many different functions: tool, weapon, scepter, symbol and smoking pipe. In this one instrument is collected the lore of handicraft, warfare, prestige, ceremony and personal comfort. Because of this wide appeal, and because good specimens are scarce, prices have increased tre- mendously on the open market in recent years. This has led, in turn, to the manufacture of reproductions and even outright fakes. Yet, in spite of this very evident widespread interest, surprisingly little has been published on the tomahawk. Arthur Woodward's pioneering study, which appeared in the Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum in 1946, and a few short articles in more recent periodicals, constitute almost the entire specific literature of the subject. It is hoped that the present study will collate the data that have already been published in scattered sources with those gleaned from an intensive study of actual specimens into one handy reference for the use of future students in their efforts to carry the investigations still further.

As has been stated, the number of surviving tomahawks is comparatively small. It is a fortunate museum or collector with more than 100 specimens, and the Museum of the American Indian with over 700 is in a class completely by itself. Yet almost every one of these tomahawks is different from every other. A few exact duplications are encountered, but they are the exception ; usually, even these demonstrate variations or differences in the decoration or in the haft. Thus it has been necessary to choose only representa- tive examples for illustration and description here. Of more than 2000 specimens studied by the writer during the past ten years, approximately 300 have been chosen as illustrating the principal types, or which display characteristic features, that will assist in identifying others which may differ somewhat in detail.

The dating of tomahawks is as yet by no means precise, for only a very few bear dates or makers' names. The balance must be dated approximately through provable historical associations, paintings or photographs, or the use of various materials which are in themselves datable. Much weight must be given to style and workmanship. This is a dangerous procedure, for manufacturers in

2 INTRODUCTION

certain areas tended to be more conservative than those in others, and one is apt to find a tomahawk made by an older or an isolated smith in a style that was no longer generally popular at the time of its manufacture. Thus the dates given herein are in most cases approximations based on the best collateral data available, and they represent the years of greatest popularity for each style.

No work such as this would be possible without the help of many unselfish people who have freely given of their time and knowledge and have allowed me full access to their collections. It would not be possible to mention all who have assisted, but it is imperative that special acknowledgment be given the following:

To Mr. E. K. Burnett, Dr. Frederick J. Dockstader and Mr. Charles TurbyfiU of the Museum of the American Indian; Mr. Philip C. Gifford, Jr., of the American Museum of Natural Hist- ory; Mr. Robert A. Elder, Mr. Edgar M. Howell and Mr. Craddock Goins, Jr. of the Smithsonian Institution; Mrs. Eugenia Langford of the Interior Department Library; Mr. Donald A. Shelley and Mr. George Bird of the Henry Ford Museum ; Mr. Patrick Patterson of the Woolaroc Museum; Col. Edward P. Hamilton and Miss Eleanor Murray of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, all of whom have made the materials in their care freely available for study, have offered critical suggestions or provided other assistance far beyond the call of duty.

To Dr. Francis S. Ronalds and Charles Steen of the National Park Service, and Charles Hanson, former Director of the Museum of the Fur Trade, who have provided helpful documentary ma- terials and suggestions.

To Ben F. Hubbell, LaDow Johnston, John and Mary duMont, Robert Abels, Ben Palmer, William O. Sweet, Gary L. Granger, T. M. Hamilton, Robert F. Wheeler, Clem Caldwell, Donald Baird, Herb Glass, Clay Fielden, and Joe Kindig, Jr., advanced col- lectors all, who have freely loaned their pieces for study, and provided photographs or data without restriction.

To Dr. Carl P. Russell, who has generously permitted access to and use of his unpublished study on the materiel of the fur trade.

To Dr. Wilfred D. Logan of the National Park Service, who read and criticized the manuscript.

To Bluford W. Muir, who spent many hours photographing the specimens from private collections.

To Carmelo Guadagno, staff photographer of the Museum of the American Indian, for his patient cooperation in taking care of the requirements of a specialist in such painstaking fashion.

To Milford G. Chandler, for his courtesy in allowing the in- clusion of his own observations as an Appendix to this study.

INTRODUCTION 3

And finally, to my wife, Dorothy, who typed the manuscript and helped in so many ways.

Harold L. Peterson,

Chief Curator

National Park Service

United States Department of the Interior

Arlington, Virginia, 1964

I*

CHAPTER I A MATTER OF WORDS

NAMES can confuse as well as clarify, and this is especially true of the tomahawk. For years students and writers, archeolo- gists and collectors have been accustomed to using names for specific forms or general categories of hatchet or tomahawk. They refer to squaw axes, half axes, or to French, Spanish, Minne- wauken, Woodlands, or English types with the calm assumption that these are accepted terms and will be understood. This is far from true. Many of these names have little or no validity in histor- ical fact or usage but have been coined by a writer and based upon his own observations and deductions. Another writer in a different part of the country often independently adopts the same term for an entirely different pattern, and adds to the confusion. It is thus necessary to discuss and define the various technical terms and names that will be used in this study, as well as a few that will not be used. Generally speaking, when it is necessary to identify a category, a descriptive name based on obvious physical features will be used unless there is definite historical or ethnological reason for classifying it according to use or area of origin.

The very word tomahawk itself has a history of confusion. It derives from the Algonquian Indians of Virginia whose original words tamahak or tamahakan indicated a utensil for cutting. Other Algonquian groups had similar words, but it is the Lenape term which entered the English language through the settlers who founded Jamestown and encountered this group in 1607. ^

The colonists were by no means linguists, and their faulty understanding of the Indian's usage of the term made their defini- tions inaccurate and has so clouded the issue that it is now impos- sible to be absolutely sure just which instrument or class of in- struments an Algonquian speaker meant when he used the word.

1 William H. Holmes, "Tomahawk," in Frederick W. Hodge (ed.) "Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico," Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30, 2 vols (Wash., D.C., 1909, 1910), II, 773-775. Arthur Woodward, "The Metal Tomahawk, Its Evolution and Distribution in North America," Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, VII, No. 3 (Jan. 1946), 3. William R. Gerard, "The Term Tomahawk," American Anthropologist, X, No. 3 (1908), 177-180. William H. Holmes, "The Toma- hawk," ibid., X, No, 2 (1908), 264-276.

A MATTER OF WORDS 5

Captain John Smith is beheved to have been the first to bring the word into EngHsh in his brief vocabulary of Indian terms prepared sometime during the years 1607-1609, when he defined tomahaks simply as meaning "axes." Later he added that the term was applied to both the native war club and the iron hatchet. 2

Subsequent writers followed suit, applying the name impartial- ly to the native celt hatchet, the grooved axe, the knobbed club, the falchion club, spiked club, gunstock club, and the iron trade axe and hatchet. Taken out of its context in an early document, the word thus means nothing ; it could be any striking weapon or tool. Conversely, it is interesting to note that during the 18 th century iron hatchets are sometimes referred to as "war clubs" by contemporaries.^

As the years passed, the term tomahawk came to be applied strictly to metal hatchets. Any form of hatchet not specifically connected with a trade or profession, such as a coopering hatchet, shingler's hatchet, or the like, might receive the name, though there was always the implication that it was to be used as a weapon. During the i8th century this usage reached its height. Then the trend again changed. The term began to be restricted to hatchets possessed by Indians, and finally it was applied primarily to the pipe tomahawk, while other forms were designated simply as "hatchets," or sometimes "war axes," or "battle axes."

Through all of this period, the tomahawk might also be simply called a hatchet. This term, too, is interesting in its usage and implications. Normally it connotes a small form of the axe, de- signed to be wielded with one hand. Yet, during the 17 th century, the weights given for hatchet heads to be traded to the Indians, (often two or three pounds each) , indicate that they were sometimes of a size that would be considered an axe today.*

It is this size factor that also accounts for another term fre- quently encountered, the squaw axe {see No. 25). Some modern writers have a tendency to equate the squaw axe with all simple

2 Ihid. John Smith, "A Map of Virginia," Lyon Gardiner Tyler (ed.), Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-162 5 (N. Y., 1907), 78, 102, 103. Carl ■Russell, Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men (N. Y., 1967), 239.

3 Ihid. William Wood, New England's Prospects (1898), 62. "A Relation of Maryland, 1635," Clayton C. Hall (ed.), Narratives of Early Maryland, 1633-1684 (N.Y., 1910), 86. William S. Fowler, "Tomahawks of Central New England," Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archeological Society, XII, No. 3 (Apr. 1951), 29-37, a-iid "Trade Tomahawks," ibid., XIII, No. 3 (Apr. 1952), 23-25.

* Harold A. Innis, The Fur Trade in Canada (New Haven, 1930), 15. Carl Russell, op. cit.

6 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

hatchets and thus differentiate them from those having spikes, pipes or other attachments. There seems to be no historical justi- fication for this usage, however, except that squaw axes were simple implements without spikes or pipes. The term is an old one, in use at least by 1806, and it appears to have been used to designate the two- and three-pound hatchets mentioned above, when it became the custom to distinguish them from the lighter forms of the size normally associated with hatchets today. These smaller forms were suitable for use as a weapon and for light cut- ting. The larger ones were more useful for cutting wood and other utilitarian tasks normally performed by Indian women. Although such differentiation apparently began early in the 18 th century, it has as yet been impossible to document.^

A final general term occasionally encountered is the half axe or half hatchet. This derived from the era when axe blades frequently flared out symmetrically. In the half axe only the side toward the hand flared out. The other side was straight or curved slightly in the same direction. In the era considered here, the half axe was the normal form for hatchets and felling axes, and the term itself was becoming obsolete. ^

In this present volume, only metal trade tomahawks will be considered in detail, and the broadest definition of these will be used to cover all of the forms normally traded to Indians or used by Caucasians and called by that name. For purposes of classi- fication, these will be divided into types according to their dis- tinguishing physical characteristics, then subdivided by chrono- logical period, and the materials of which they are made.

For all hatchets and axes there are certain technical terms which make description easier, and these, too, must be tightly defined to prevent confusion {see Fig. i). The piece is normally described as seen in a horizontal position with the head to the viewer's right, blade down. The side toward the viewer is then the obverse; the far side is the reverse. There are two principal parts of every complete hatchet : the haft (which is also called the handle or helve) and the head. The head consists of the blade or hit, the eye (the hole through which the haft passes), and the foil (technically, the thickened portion of the head on top of the eye and opposite the blade, but usually applied to the top of the eye whether it is thickened or not). The blade itself is sharpened to an edge for cutting, and has two main features : the corner nearest the hand, called the heel, and the far corner, called the leading edge. Sometimes

^ Sir William Craigie and James R. Hulbert (eds.), A Dictionary of American English, 4 vols. (Chicago, 1944), ^^> 2210. Woodward, op. cit., 6. ^ Woodward, op. cit., 9.

A MATTER OF WORDS

there are also projections of the head along the haft on either side of the eye. These are called ears and serve to strengthen the joint. In some specimens there is a metal plate or cap attached to the haft in front of the head, often helping to secure the head in position. This is called di fore-end cap, or plate, as the case may be.

FORE END

Figure i. Nomenclature of a hatchet.

In addition to these technical features, three terms wiU be used for dimensions: length, height, and width, abbreviated as L., H., and W. Length applies to those tomahawks with hafts, and is taken from the forward end of the haft to the tip of the butt or mouthpiece (if the specimen is a pipe tomahawk). Height refers to the vertical dimension of the head. It is taken in a straight line from a point equal to the tip of the spike, the top of the pipe bowl or the top of the poU depending upon the type of axe, to the lowest projection of the blade. The width refers speci- ficaUy to the blade and is measured at its widest point (in spontoon blades, the curling arms are ignored and only the blade proper is considered). There are other minor features, but these are the es- sential ones for the discussion which follows.

CHAPTER II THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK

ALMOST from the moment the Indian first saw the metal hatchet or tomahawk he coveted it, and sought to possess one for himself. The efficiency of the new implement was readily ap- parent : it was deadlier in combat, more efficient in cutting wood, and just as useful as a ceremonial object. Although it was an excel- lent weapon, the white man was not as reluctant to trade it as he was to dispense guns. The axe was also self-sufficient; it could function without such components as powder and ball that had to be obtained from the traders. Thus the hatchet could and did spread rapidly through Indian trade routes far from the points of white contact, reaching tribes and areas as yet unknown to the few Europeans along the coast.

As it was absorbed, the single tomahawk or hatchet replaced a number of more primitive specialized implements. It has already been noted that the early colonial writers displayed a distressing lack of accuracy in their description and identification of Indian weapons and tools. Even when descriptions were essayed, they were normally so vague that it is difficult if not impossible to obtain an accurate mental image of the piece in question.

Through the reading of numerous contemporary comments made over a period of a hundred and fifty years, however, a pat- tern does seem to appear. There were probably at least four and possibly five major types of clubs used as weapons in the eastern part of the United States when the colonists arrived. Of these, two principal categories were most often designated as tomahawks — the ball-headed club and the celt [see Nos. i-io). This may not have been what was intended by the Algonquians, from whom the word came, but nevertheless it would seem to be the finally accepted English meaning and in this sense establishes them as the direct antecedents of the metal tomahawk. Thus one finds William Wood stating in 1634, 'Tomahawks be staves of two foote and a halfe long and a knob at one end as round and bigge as a football."^ Needless to say, this was not the size of the modern football. A century later, Mark Catesby summed up the situation thus :

' Wood, op. cit., 62.

THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK 9

These [tomahawks] were of two kinds: one was a staff about three feet long, with a large knob at the end ; the others were made of stone ground to an edge, of the form and size of a small hatchet, and fixed to a strong handle ; these would cut, and were of much use, as well for war as for hollowing their canoes, and other mechan- ick uses; with these they fought and w^orked, but since the intro- duction of iron hatchets, which they still call tommahawks, they have wholly laid aside their stone ones.s

Although Catesby was essentially correct in stating that the celt as a tool had been superseded, it should not be assumed that the club as a weapon or ceremonial symbol had also become ob- solete. The ball-headed club continued in use as a weapon through the early 19 th century, often with the addition of an iron point set in the ball. Some time between 1746-1755, Sir William Johnson had been given such a tomahawk club [see No. 3), and small de- cadent forms for ceremonial use have been made until very recent times. Other clubs, such as the gunstock club and the stone-headed war club of the Plains tribes also continued in use as weapons through the middle of the 19 th century. For examples, see Plates III and IV.9

The first contact of the Indian with the iron or steel axe un- doubtedly occurred with the arrival of the Vikings, and to judge from accounts in the sagas, the meetings were not auspicious. Two instances are recounted which may well be the first recorded en- counters of the Indian with the weapon which later was to become almost synonymous with his warfare. The Saga of Eric the Red recalls the first reported battle of the Vikings with the natives of America, following which

® Mark Catesby, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, 2 vols. (London, 1 731-1743), II, ix. See also: Holmes, loc. cit.) Fowler, loc. cit.\ Hodge, loc. cit.; Harold E. Driver and William C. Massey, "Comparative Studies of North American Indians," Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, n.s. XLVII, Part 2 (Phil., 1957), 357; John R. Swanton, "The Indians of the Southeastern United States," Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin i3y (Wash., D.C., 1946), 566-

570-

^ Driver and Massey, loc. cit. Swanton, loc. cit. Henry R. Schoolcraft, Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States, 6 vols. (Phil, 1 851-1857), II, plates 73, 74. John C. Ewers, "The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture," Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin i^g (Wash., D.C., 1955), 200, 201, 202, 326, 330. Thomas L. McKenny and James Hall, The Indian Tribes of North America, 3 vols, (Edinburgh, 1933, 1934) passim. Louis Schell- bach, "An Historic Iroquois Warclub," Indian Notes, V, No. 2, (Apr. 1928) 158-166. George Catlin, North American Indians, 2 vols., (Edinburgh, 1926), I, 266.

10 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

The Skrellings [Indians], moreover, found a dead man, and an axe lay beside him. One of their number picked up the axe and struck at a tree with it, and one after another [they tested it] and it seemed to them to be a treasure, and to cut well; then one of their number seized it, and hewed at a stone with it so that the axe broke, whereat they concluded that it could be of no use, since it would not withstand stone, and they cast it away.io

In another instance

One of the Skrellings picked up an axe, and having looked at it for a time, he brandished it about one of his companions, and hewed at him, and on the instant the man fell dead. Thereupon the big man seized the axe, and after examining it a moment, he hurled it as far as he could out into the sea.n

Following the visits of the Vikings, the Indian was cut off from a source of iron axes for some 500 years. Then came the explorers sailing along the coasts and pushing inland, and the fishermen harvesting the Grand Banks who also stopped along the shore to trade for furs. Axes came with them ; the Indian quickly accepted them and sought them in trade well before permanent colonies were established. The French were the leaders in this sort of trade during the early years. Jacques Cartier is known to have distributed a gift of hatchets to the Micmac and Saguenay in 1535, and both he and Verrazano had undoubtedly done so on earlier voyages without leaving records of the fact. Special trading voyages were made, and by the end of the century there was an official trading post, probably America's first, set up at Tadoussac on the Saguenay River. Champlain and the Sieur de Monts fostered the trade along the northern Atlantic coast and down the St. Lawrence River. ^^

From these contacts axes spread out through Indian middlemen in ever-widening circles. When John Smith explored Chesapeake Bay in 1608, he found iron axes that had come down Indian trade routes from the French in Canada. From the Great Lakes area the Hurons braved the enmity of the Iroquois to obtain axes and other trade goods. When the Hurons and the Ottawas were driven west- ward after 1663, they took their axes with them on across the

^^ "The Saga of Eric the Red, also called The Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni," in John E. Olson (ed.), The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503, (N.Y., 1906), 39.

11 "The Vinland History of the Flat Island Book," ibid., 61, 62.

12 Jacques Cartier, The Voyages of Jacques Cartier, H. P. Biggar (ed.), (Ottawa, 1924), 53, 60, 121, 125, 233. Samuel de Champlain, The Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, 1604-1618, W. L. Grant (ed.), (N.Y., 1907), passim. Carl Russell, op. cit., 239. William M. Beauchamp, "Metallic Im- plements of the New York Indians," New York State Museum, Bulletin 55 (1902), 6-20, 59-65.

THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK II

Mississippi into the land of the Sioux and northward along Lake Superior to the Cree. These peoples had not known the axe, and in turn entreated the newcomers to obtain some for them. Thus, from the French posts alone, the iron axe had spread south as far as the Chesapeake and west along the St. Lawrence, around the Great Lakes and even across the Mississippi. ^^

But the French were not alone. In the early years of the 17 th century, the Dutch and Swedes traded up the Hudson and Dela- ware Rivers and along the coast from Connecticut to Delaware. The English began operations in Virginia and New England, and in 1668 the Hudson's Bay Company launched its extensive opera- tions. In Florida and the Southwest, the Spanish had introduced the axe at an even earlier date. The pattern of Spanish relations with the Indians was different, with an emphasis on missions and agriculture, and the relative scarcity of marketable furs did not encourage a highly developed trade relationship for the distribution of goods such as axes. Furthermore, in the Southwest the cultural pattern of the Indian was different ; the scarcity of timber and his methods of fighting, which did not involve the hatchet, made such implements of little interest to him. Thus, comparatively few axes found their way into Indian hands so that the over-all distribution from Spanish sources was limited.

Based partly upon source of supply and partly on needs and customs, the distribution of axes and tomahawks can be divided into certain relatively well-defined zones. The area of greatest concentration was the Northeast, comprising the New England and Middle Atlantic states, plus Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. The Mohawk River Valley and western New York State formed the center, with probably the heaviest concentration of axes, hatchets and tomahawks of all descriptions to be found any place in the United States. In some parts of this area recoveries of early axes have been so heavy that for a time they were used as a cash crop by farmers who regularly "mined" them and sold the iron.^*

The reasons for this concentration of axes in the Northeast are easily found. There were many sources of supply immediately at hand, with French, Dutch, and English traders all active. The relative density of Indian population insured a large potential market. And, finally, the wooded nature of the country and the customs of the various people, who placed great value on clubs and

13 John Smith, "Proceedings of the English Colony," Lyon Gardiner Tyler (ed.), Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-1625 (N.Y., 1907), 149. Beauchamp, loc. cit. Innis, op. cii., 41, 42.

" Letter from Willis Barshied, Palatine Bridge, N.Y., to the author, Jan., i960. Beauchamp, op. cii., 60.

12 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

tomahawks both as sjnnbols and as weapons. Because of the position they held in the culture of these peoples, the hatchets and tomahawks from this area are primarily functional tools and weapons; the ceremonial role did not outweigh utility until after the Indians of this region had been pacified and settled on reser- vations.

Further south, the concentration of tomahawks becomes less dense. The customs and needs of the Indians in the Southeastern United States were similar to those in New England and along the southern shores of the Great Lakes, but there were fewer sources of supply. The French operated along the Mississippi, especially in Louisiana, but not on the same scale as along the St. Lawrence. The Spanish in Florida were extremely conservative in their dealings, especially since their Indians did not have the fur resources of their northern brethren for exchange. The English had most of the rest of the area to themselves.

To the west, the tribes of the Plains and the Rocky Mountains sought the hatchet, and an area of concentration developed second in importance to the Northeast, but with one decided difference : the period of the concentration was later, and there was a distinct differentiation between the hatchet or tomahawk as a tool and as a ceremonial object. The old-time, double-pointed stone war club, on its long supple handle, suited the mounted combat of the area exceptionally well, and the tomahawk never held the same im- portance as a weapon among these people as it had in the East, although it was used occasionally in the 19 th century. Thus there was an increasing emphasis on showy but inefficient specimens, finally reaching a stage of decadence where all resemblance to either tool or weapon had vanished, except for a vague similarity in general outline.

The Far West, except for the Northwest Coast, apparently had a lower concentration even than the Southeast, and the Southwest had almost none except for a few tools. The nature of the country, the customs of the people, and the Spanish attitude towards trade all combined to keep this area barren. Except for a few simple hatchets used as tools, such tomahawks as are found there seem usually to have been brought in by Indians migrating from the Plains area. Along the Northwest Coast there is again a higher con- centration of tomahawks because of the wooded nature of the country and early white contact, but it stiU cannot compare with the Northeast where the contact was greater.

From this it will be seen that the primary impact of the metal hatchet and tomahawks upon Indian culture occurred in the Northeast and Southern Great Lakes area during the 17 th and

THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK I3

18 th centuries. Lists of trade goods and treaty gifts indicate that the axe, hatchet, or tomahawk were among the most desired objects. As many as 300 axes might be handed out at one treaty meeting, and Sir Wilham Johnson estimated that the Northern Indian Department needed 10,000 axes for trade purposes in the year 1765 alone. Even if this should be taken as an exceptional year, operations such as this over a 200-year period by the French, Dutch, and English undoubtedly poured many hundreds of thou- sands of axes of all sorts into this area.^^

In the contemporary documents and narratives which mention the trade, the terms axe, hatchet, and tomahawk are frequently used almost interchangeably. Even so, it is possible to establish a general evolution of types. The first hatchets distributed during the 17 th century were large affairs, with heads weighing two and three pounds. Gradually smaller types became more popular for carrying on hunting or war parties, and the larger specimens were left in the villages. All of these were smaller copies of the typical European felling axe, and will be discussed in detail in the section on simple hatchets and belt axes in Chapter III.

About 1700, specialized forms began to appear which were still called axes, hatchets, or tomahawks at the time, but which are normally called tomahawks today. First came those with auxiliary spikes, then almost immediately those combined with pipes. All were large, strong implements, useful as a tool, a weapon, or as a ceremonial implement. It was about this time that other specialized forms developed, each of which will be considered in greater detail in another chapter. Later years saw the decline of the weapon: softer metals replaced the iron and steel, hafts were reduced in diameter, blades were made thinner, and all semblance of an edge disappeared. Finally came the copying of the form in stone {e.g., catlinite and slate), and wood, which could serve no useful purpose. Throughout this period the standard simple hatchet remained popular both as a tool and weapon, but it underwent much the same evolution as did the standard felling axe, albeit more slowly.

With his acceptance of the iron hatchet, and the consequent abandonment of native stone axes and clubs, the Indian became more dependent upon the white. Normally he did not have either the facilities or the skill to repair or replace the iron hatchet when it broke or wore out. Thus there were constant demands for blacksmiths to live with the Indians to care for their new hatchets and repair their guns and other metal implements. Young men who could learn the language were sought out and sent to the

1^ Woodward, op. cit., 9. Beauchamp, op. cit., 59-65. Carl Russell, op. cit., 232 ff.

14 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

Indians. There they became interpreters for colonial officers and formed a spy network which could dispatch word of impending trouble or dissent. This was an important factor in keeping the Indians under control during the i8th century as the British and French struggled for mastery of the continent with the help of their native allies. ^^

The potentialities of the axe as a weapon were apparent to the Indian from the outset. Garcilaso de la Vega tells of a bloody fight between an Indian armed with a captured battle axe and several of De Soto's soldiers, in which he even includes a i6th century version of the old story of a man being cut in two so quickly by a keen blade that he remains standing and has time to pronounce a benediction before falling. In Florida, Jacques LeMoyne illustrated the murder of a colonist by an Indian with an axe during the brief French settlement at Fort Caroline, 1564-1565. By the early 17 th century the tomahawk was firmly established in the minds of the white settlers as the Indians' primary weapon, and was much more feared than the bow and arrow. Even after the Indians had obtained a sizeable number of firearms, the tomahawk retained its popularity and importance. Once a gun had been fired, it was useless until it could be reloaded ; an edged weapon was needed as a supplement, and this was the tomahawk. Moreover, for surprise attacks and raids, a firearm was frequently out of the question. And even though a knife was available, the Indian found the tomahawk more efficient, particularly in the style of warfare prevalent in the East during the 17th and 18 th centuries.^^

In the 19 th century West, the tomahawk was less important as a weapon. Customs of warfare were different, and often in- volved the horse. Even so, tomahawks were used, as evidenced by an account related by the trapper, Osborne Russell, who tells of being attacked by Indians with upraised "battle axes" in the late 1830's. The missionary, Marcus Whitman, was killed by a Cayuse warrior with a tomahawk at Waiilatpu in 1847, and there are skulls in the Army Medical Museum bearing tomahawk wounds which were collected as late as 1869.^^

1® Beauchamp, op. cit., 62-64. Woodward, op. cit., 6-9. Edmund B. O'Callaghan and others (eds.). Documents Relative to the Colonial History of New York, 15 vols. (Albany, 1853-1887), III, 775, 844; IV, 23, 43; IX, 816.

1' Garcilaso de la Vega, The Florida of the Inca, John G. and Jeanette J. Varner (eds.), (Austin, Tex., 1951), 461-463. Stefan Lorant, The New World (N.Y., 1946), 119.

18 Osborne Russell, Journal of a Trapper (Portland, Ore., i955). 102. Ewers, op. cit., passim. The tomahawk supposedly used to mortally wound \Vhitman is now in the Oregon Historical Society Museum, Cat. No. 1607.

THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK I5

Normally the tomahawk was used in much the same manner as a club, but it could also be thrown to reach a foe at some distance. Hurling a hatchet so that it will strike blade foremost requires considerable skill; the thrower has to know how many times the implement will turn end-over-end in a given distance and be able to estimate the range between himself and his target accurately and swiftly. Should he miss, he would be disarmed and then might find himself the hunted, instead of the armed hunter. Nevertheless there seems to be ample evidence that the Indian could and did throw his tomahawk. In the 1750's, Henry Timberlake reported "Neither are the Indians less expert at throwing it [the tomahawk] than using it near, but will kill at a considerable distance. "^^ In 1776, Ebenezer Elmer visited the Six Nations and noted that "they have the art of directing and regulating its motion, so that though it turns round as it flies, the edge always sticks in the tree near the place they aim at.^'^o And the indefatigable traveler, Thomas Anburey, reported in 1777 that in pursuing an enemy the Indians threw their tomahawks with the utmost dexterity and seldom failed "striking it into the skull or back of those they pursue ... "2^ Much later, and farther west, George Catlin spoke of the tomahawk as being thrown "with unerring and deadly aim. "22 It has been stated that this accuracy was acquired through the custom of throwing at small trees as a camp pastime, and Elmer's comment would seem to support this. It was also supposedly the custom occasionally, following a war speech in council, for all the assembled warriors to throw their hatchets high into the air, catching them by the hafts as they came down, while uttering shouts of appro val.23 For pictorial evidence, by an Indian artist, of tomahawk throwing, see Plate II.

Because of its importance and constant use as a weapon, the tomahawk became a symbol for war, and for war potential. Many of the eastern tribes employed it as a metaphor in speeches and ceremonies, and sent either actual axes, or wampum belts which bore such a woven design, when war was under discussion, or when peace was concluded. For example, when peace was concluded in 1670 following the defeat of the Algonquians by the Iroquois, a

^^ Lt. Henry Timberlake, Lieut. Henry Timberlake' s Memoirs, 1756- 1763, Samuel Cole Williams (ed.), (Johnson City, Tenn., 1927), 77, 78.

2*^ Ebenezer Elmer, "Journal Kept During an Expedition to Canada in 1776," New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings, II (1847), 157, 158.

21 Thomas Anburey, Travels Through the Interior Parts of America, 2 vols, (London, 1791), I, 356.

22 Catlin, op. cit., I, 266.

23 Woodward, op. cit., 14. Lewis Morgan, The League of the Iroquois, 2 vols. (N.Y. 1922), II, 15.

l6 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

council was held during which six tomahawks were buried — one for each of the Five Nations, and one representing the defeated tribe. The Algonquian weapon was buried first, and the others were then placed on top of it, so that if hostilities were resumed, the Algonquian warriors would have to raise the weapons of their foes from their own, and thus be reminded of their defeat. As a token of condolence and peace, the vanquished tribe was given a wam- pum belt of purple beads, with a tomahawk design worked in white, and smeared with vermilion paint to "scare war" {see No. 24). As late as 1831, the Sauk leader. Black Hawk, sent a miniature wooden tomahawk smeared with vermilion paint to the Chippewa as an invitation to join him in war. Phrases developed using this metaphor, and some are still used as common figures of speech today. A belligerent statement was said to be a' 'toma- hawk speech," while to "take up the hatchet" was to declare war; and as it still does today, to "bury the hatchet" meant to conclude peace, and there were many others, the meanings of which are less obvious. 24

Another function of the tomahawk was the execution of In- dians who had committed crimes against their own people. John Heckewelder cites such an instance in the execution of Leatherlips, a chief of the Wyandot s, who had offended a faction of his tribe. When it was decreed that he must die, a piece of bark bearing a crude drawing of a hatchet was handed to the old man as a death warrant. Although he protested the decision, he submitted grave- ly, sitting down, placing his hand upon his knee and supporting his head on his hand. While he was in this position, one of the young Indians selected to carry out the sentence came up behind him and struck him twice with the tomahawk. In another instance, Mamachtaga, a Delaware convicted of murder and sentenced to death by a white frontier court in the late 18 th century, asked that he be tomahawked after the custom of his people, but was refused. ^s

Evidence that the tomahawk was used in the ritualistic torture of prisoners is presented by many tales of beatings with axes and dismemberments. From a very early period comes a picture of the death of the Jesuit missionaries Brebeuf and Lalemant at the hands of the Iroquois in 1649, which shows several of the simple hatchets of the period being heated in a fire while a necklace of red-hot axe heads already hangs around the neck of Brebeuf. It is true that this picture was made in France, but it was done within

2* Joseph Keppler, "The Peace Tomahawk Algonkian Wampun," Indian Notes, VI, No. 2 (Apr. 1929), 130-138. Schoolcraft, op. cit., VI, 448. Beauchamp, op. cit., 61, 62. Woodward, op. cit., 14-16.

25 Beauchamp, op. cit., 61. Woodward, op. cit., 17.

THE INDIAN AND THE TOMAHAWK I7

a few years after the event depicted, and is presumed to have been based upon accurate information obtained from Jesuit writers of the period. 2^

Specially made "presentation tomahawks" were bestowed as gifts to important chiefs to solemnize treaties and help ensure their friendship. These were frequently elaborate affairs with inlays of silver in both blade and haft, engraved decorations, and sometimes bore presentation inscriptions. Such objects were hi^ly prized by their recipients and were often handed down from generation to generation as part of the regalia of leadership. In i860, Benson J. Lossing found Chief G. H. M. Johnson of the Six Nations carrying a presentation tomahawk of the 18 th century as part of his insignia of authority. ^'^

The addition of the pipe bowl to the hatchet blade about 1700 allowed the Indian to add his ceremonial tobacco rites to these other uses of the hatchet, so that it became indeed almost in- dispensable. It was usually carried thrust through the belt on the right side, or in the back with the head to the right. As has been noted, it was this symbolic and ceremonial function that eventual- ly became paramount and allowed the pipe tomahawk to survive into the present century long after it had outlived its utilitarian purposes. 28

26 Francisco Creuxiux, Historiae Canadensis sen Novae Franciae (Paris, 1664). C. W. Jeffreys, The Picture Gallery of Canadian History, 3 vols. (Toronto, 1945-1952), I, 106.

2'' Benson J. Lossing, The Pictorial Field-hook of the War of 181 2 (N.Y., 1869), 421. Woodward, op. cit., 25-27.

28 Joseph D. McGuire, "Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aborigines," Annual Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1896, 1897 (Wash., D.C., 1899), 351-645, passim. George A. West, "Tobacco, Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Indians," Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, 2 vols. (Milwaukee, 1934), passim. Elmer, op. cit., II, 152. Anburey, op. cit., I, 356.

CHAPTER III THE SIMPLE HATCHET OR BELT AXE

OF all the tomahawks traded to the Indians, by far the most common type was the simple hatchet, or belt axe. This was the earliest type to reach the Indian, and it remained popular from the i6th through the 19 th century. It is the one form found in every part of the United States, even in the Southwest and Florida where axes are rare. This same essential form is still encountered in parts of Canada and Alaska, as well as in Mexico, Central America, and even in South America. Some have been made in the United States for trade to those areas well within the present century.

The basic form of this hatchet was derived from the standard European half- axe. It had a relatively long blade flaring on the side towards the hand so that the edge might be once-and-a-half or twice as wide as the base of the blade at the eye. Normally these hatchets were made in two pieces: a strap of iron was wrapped around a form to make the eye, and the ends of this strap were hammered to make the flare of the blade. A piece of steel was then inserted between them to serve as an edge, and the joints were welded by heating and hammering. Grinding and coarse filing removed the worst of the roughness, and the axe head was com- pleted. [See Fig. 2).

It was a simple object that any competent blacksmith could make in a short time. The cost was low, and the demand was so great that extremely good profits could be made on the furs that these axes could command. Such costs varied naturally from country to country and year to year during the two centuries that this pattern was popular in America, but a relative idea can be obtained from LaSalle's specifications of 1684 for axes to cost 7 or 8 sous per pound and from figures of the 1750's and '6o's, when axes of this pattern cost the trader 3 shillings each in quantity. ^^

Even this low cost was not enough to satisfy the greedy, and shoddy products were frequently offered to the Indians by un- scrupulous individuals. The usual form of chicanery consisted in omitting the steel edge. This deception was not readily noticeable, and would not be detected unless the buyer understood the ipvin-

29 Beauchamp, op. cit., 62. Woodward, op. cit., 9.

18

THE SIMPLE HATCHET

19

ciples of axe manufacture, knew exactly what to look for, and what tests to make. He would normally be well away from the post before he discovered that his new hatchet would not hold an edge, and even then he might not realize what the trouble was.

Figure 2. Manufacture of a simple belt axe from a strap of iron and a piece of steel.

This deception was the subject of a complaint by the Five Nations of the Iroquois as early as 1701, when they protested to Robert Livingston, Secretary of Indian Affairs, thus :

Brother. We can not omitt to acquaint you of the deceit of the Smiths who takes our money and instead of putting steal into our hatchetts, putts Iron, soe that as soon as we come into our country to use them they fall to pieces. ^o

Almost a century later, at Fort Laramie in present-day Wyoming, John Bordeau, ferryman and blacksmith, was getting ten beaver skins for the same sort of inferior hatchet which he made out of old wagon tires at almost no cost — and Bordeau even went so far as to stamp his products with his initials in large letters so that they could be readily identified l^^

As noted elsewhere, the first of these hatchets to come to America were large specimens, almost the size of feUing axes. They weighed two or three pounds each, sometimes even more, and ran

30 Quoted in Woodward, op. cit., 8.

'1 Carl Russell, op. cit., 270 citing a statement by a contemporary of Bordeau's when one of his axes was plowed up in Nebraska, 1890.

20 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

to lengths of seven or eight inches from the top of the poll to the edge. The fact that inventories listing these sizes refer to them as * 'hatchets" leads one to suppose that they were probably intended to be fitted by the Indians with short hafts and wielded with one hand. Photographs of Indian women in Canada using such hatch- ets, taken as late as 1913, tend to confirm this inference. Most of these early axes seem to have been made in two principal European centers: Utrecht in Holland, which is mentioned in reports by Dutch traders along the Hudson ; and Biscay in northern Spain, which seems to have been favored by both the French and the English. Axes were also purchased in other European areas, especially in France and England. Apparently the Sheffield and Birmingham areas of England began to displace Biscay as a source of supply for British traders early in the 18 th century.^^

Despite the fact that the larger sizes continued to be made throughout the whole trade-axe period, some modifications did develop which can occasionally help to establish a date or area of manufacture. First of all, there was a trend toward smaller sizes, which would be easier to carry in the belt and were better balanced as a weapon. One or two such small-sized heads have been ex- cavated at the site of the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia, indicating that they were known before 1700, but it appears to have been the first or second decade of the 18 th century before the smaller hatchet superseded the larger one completely and relegated it to the position of squaw axe.

Another development is the appearance of the so-called "American" pattern. This followed the evolution of the con- temporary full-sized axe. The European axe which the first colo- nists had brought with them was an inefficient tool. Because there was no true thickened poll, the weight was centered in the blade ; this caused the blade to wobble in a stroke. Also, it lacked the extra power that a heavy poll would impart. Since tree cutting was an important activity in America, considerable attention was given to improving the design to make the task easier. First the blade was shortened or otherwise lightened by piercings. Then an extra piece of iron was welded to the top of the eye to form a true poll. Ears were also added to strengthen the attachment of the haft, and, incidentally, to improve the balance by adding more weight near the center (see Nos. 35 and 36). Axes of this type seem to have first appeared in fully developed form sometime between

32 The 191 3 photograph of the woman with the "squaw axe" appears in The Beaver, pubhshed by the Hudson's Bay Company (Mar.j 1946), p. 26. Carl Russell, op. cit., 305-309. Innis, op. cit., 15, 72. Beauchamp, op. cit., 65. Woodward, op. cit., 4, 6. O'Callaghan, op. cit., Ill, 164.

THE SIMPLE HATCHET 21

1725 and 1750, and hatchets of a like design date from about the same period. ^^

In making the new-style hatchets, the same basic principles were followed. A piece of steel was used for the edge, while the eye and poll were formed of iron. Usually the same technique as em- ployed in manufacturing the early axes was used, with the simple addition of an extra piece of iron welded on for the poll. Occasion- ally, some of the new hatchets were made of four pieces : the steel edge, pieces of iron for either side of the eye, and a fourth piece for the poll {see Nos. 40 and 306). And there were other variations according to the whim and skill of the individual smiths. Some even made the top solid and drilled out the eye, while in the 19 th century in the larger factories it was the practice to stamp out the eye with a water-powered punch. Always, however, a separate steel edge was welded in.^*

It should not be assumed that these newer and better-balanced hatchets superseded the older polless variety. They did not, and in point of fact were always in the minority among the Indians, though white users of tomahawks quickly adopted them.

Among the other variations in the simple hatchet are two which are indicative of specific areas of origin, and deserve special mention. One of them, the so-called "Missouri war hatchet," is so distinctive and found in such quantities that it will be considered separately in Chapter IV. The other is a form which seems to be found in areas of Spanish influence, and is almost diagnostic of such historical relationship. In general, this type resembles the other axes except that it has a rudimentary poll and is always made in three pieces: the steel edge, plus two side pieces. These side pieces are welded together around the edge and below the eye, and then are joined above the eye in a ridge or crest with a noticeable groove along the top {see No. 39). Both full axes and hatchets made in this manner are found in the Southwest, where they seem to have been used entirely as tools. Thus far, none has been reported from Florida or from sites elsewhere in the United States.

^ Henry C. Mercer, Ancient Carpenter's Tools (Doylestown, Pa., 2nd edition, 1950). i-35-

^ Ibid. Park Benjamin (ed.), Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Applied Me- chanics, 2 vols. (N.Y., 1880), I, 107, 108. One Hundred Years of Progress (Hartford, Conn., 1871), 339-342. Horace Greeley and others, The Great Industries of the United States (Chicago and Cinn., 1872), 122-133.

CHAPTER IV THE MISSOURI WAR HATCHET

ONE of the tomahawk patterns that has been given a specific name with considerable justification is the so-called "Mis- souri war hatchet." Lewis and Clark found it already in use among the Mandans in January, 1805, and subsequent study has indicated that it was popular among such people as the Iowa, Sauk, Fox, Kansa, Pawnee, Comanche, Mandan, Dakota, Osage, and Oto. It has not been reported from the East or South, and only rarely shows up in the area north of the Great Bend of the Mis- souri River. The territory along that river below the bend and above its juncture with the Mississippi seems to have been both the center of its popularity and the outer confines of its use.^^

The implement itself is unusually awkward and poorly designed. It seems to be in reality a variation of the simple hatchet, but with the strength and utility removed. Apparently it reached the area via the French sometime during the 18 th century and there quickly achieved greater popularity than any other form of hatch- et. William Clark made a drawing of the axe on January 28, 1805, and noted that several Indians had visited the camp seeking to have such "war hatchets" made. On January 29, he noted that the expedition's blacksmith was making the axes, since it was the only way they could obtain corn. [See Plates V and VI). On February 5, Meriwether Lewis described the axe in detail:

[The Mandans] are peculiarly attached to a battle ax formed in a very inconvenient manner in my opinion, it is fabricated of iron only, the blade is extremely thin, from 7 to nine inches in length and from 4-I to 6 Inches on its edge from whence the sides proceed nearly in a straight line to the eye where its width is generally not more than an inch — the eye is round & about an inch diameter — the handle seldom more than fourteen inches in length, the whole weighing about one pound — the great length of the blade of this ax, added to the small size of the handle renders a stroke uncertain and easily avoided, while the shortness of the handel must render a blow much less forceable even if well directed, and still more in- convenient as they uniformly use this instrument in action on horseback. 3^

®5 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806, American Philosophical Society, Codex C, 158, 163, 164. 3^ Ibid., 163, 164.

22

THE MISSOURI WAR HATCHET 23

Clark's mention of this axe as a "war hatchet," and Lewis's statement that it was wielded on horseback are particularly inter- esting (if, indeed, they are accurate) in view of the general im- practicability of this type of tomahawk. As Lewis noted, it was made all of iron, without a steel edge, and with an extremely thin blade which was otherwise poorly designed for use. Also, many of the surviving specimens have decorative piercings in the blades, which further weakens them. There is usually no indication of any sharpening along the edge. It is simply left square and blunt. A study of physical characteristics alone would lead to the conclusion that these were merely ceremonial objects — an excellent illustration of the fact that European standards may not always be used in judging the use an Indian may have had for an object.

Size and workmanship vary considerably in the specimens of the Missouri war hatchet which have been studied thus far. The average axe has a height of 7f inches from the top of the eye to the edge, and an edge width of 4 J inches; but some specimens have heights as great as loj inches and blades as wide as 6 inches. Most display simple and crude workmanship, but an occasional well-made example is found, with decorative forged moldings around the eye and at the base of the blade. Among the pierced decorations, the heart is most commonly seen, frequently with a curved tip; this is sometimes called a "bleeding heart." Often there will be punched decorations stamped along the borders, or forming special designs in the center of the blade. The hafts of those later specimens which have survived are usually longer than the 14 inches mentioned by Lewis.

The Missouri war hatchet had a popularity span of somewhat more than fifty years. Since Lewis and Clark found it as an estab- lished pattern in 1805, it was undoubtedly introduced before the end of the 18 th century. The height of its popularity seems to have been between 1810 and 1830, but Rudolph Friedrich Kurz sketched an Omaha Indian with one of these hatchets in his hand at Bellevue, Nebraska, as late as 185 1 and some were unquestio- nably handed down as heirlooms or for ceremonial use in even more recent times. ^^

3' The Kurz drawing is reproduced in American Anthropologist, X, No. I (1910), II.

CHAPTER V THE SPONTOON TOMAHAWK

THE spontoon tomahawk received its name because the blade resembles that of the military espontoon, a polearm carried during most of the i8th century by commissioned officers who fought on foot. The espontoon derived from the partizan, an officers' spear of the i6th and 17 th centuries, and actually most tomahawks of this type resemble the earlier partizan more closely than the 18 th century spontoon. Both simple tomahawks and pipe-tomahawk combinations have been found with the spontoon blade. The pipe combination, which is by far the more common form, will be discussed later in the section on pipe tomahawks [see Chapter X). This chapter will consider only the distinctive blade type.

Characteristics of this implement are a spear-point blade, usu- ally symmetrical, with curling flanges, or processes, at or near the base [see Fig. 3). Usually these processes curve upward toward the haft, but upon occasion (usually in later specimens) they may curve toward the point. In these highly developed late specimens the curve is sometimes complete so that the distal or free end rejoins the blade, giving the effect of a lobe with a hole through its center. In some specimens this hole is omitted, so that there is simply a spear point with a lobed base. Some 19 th century versions of the spontoon blade omit even the lobes, leaving simply a symmetrical kite-shaped spear point. For some unknown reason this last Figure ^ variant is often named the "Minnewaukan"

Spontoon blade, type by earlier writers. It has been encountered most frequently in Wisconsin and the tier of states between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Other names by which the spontoon-bladed tomahawks have been called include "dagger-bladed," "diamond-bladed," and "French type." There is considerable justification for the latter designation, since all available evidence seems to indicate a French origin for the design. Many of the earlier writers jumped to the

24

THE SPONTOON TOMAHAWK 25

conclusion that they were French because they professed to see a resemblance to the fleur-de-lys in the shape of the blade. Since this resemblance is a bit far-fetched and since the fleur-de-lys was widely used in Europe outside France, this would hardly constitute a justification for the association. The best support lies in the fact that almost all of the earliest specimens are found in areas where the French influence was strong: the St. Lawrence Valley and the Lake Champlain waterway, the shores of the Great Lakes, and the mouth of the Mississippi. In all of these areas the concentration is heavy. Others are found on the borders of these regions or in locations that may be explained by migrations or trade. One group of early specimens comes from the Lake George battlefield of 1755 where the Indian allies of the French were especially active. Other early specimens come from Tunica burials in Mississippi. Since only the French were particularly active in this latter region in the 18 th century, the origin of these tomahawks would seem to be reasonably well established. ^^

It should not be assumed from this that all hatchets of this type are presumed to be of French manufacture. After the form became popular it was undoubtedly made also by the British and certainly by the Americans. William Clark, in fact, implies that the blacksmith with the Lewis and Clark Expedition made some tomahawks of this type for the Mandans who specifically requested it.^^ Probably all tomahawks of this type made after 1763, when Great Britain finally wrested control of the greater part of the North American continent from France, were of British, American, or possibly Canadian manufacture, except for the very few which might have come in through Louisiana. And even this inlet for French goods was sealed off after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It is barely possible that some such tomahawks might have been made in France on the order of an American or British trading company, but this possibility is highly unlikely and may weU be disregaided.

All evidence seems to indicate that the spontoon form ap- peared early in the 18 th century. This is corroborated by the recoveries from the Tunica cemeteries in Mississippi, and the finds at the Lake George battlefield. The earliest forms were simple narrow blades often curved slightly toward the rear. The basal

^ West, op. cit., I, 320, 321. James A. Ford, "Analysis of Indian Village Site Collections from Louisiana and Mississippi," Louisiana Geological Survey, Anthrofological Study No. 2 (Nov., 1936), 139. A group of these axes from the Lake George battlefield is in the Fort Ticonderoga Museum. Carl Russell, op. cit., 293.

3® Lewis and Clark, op. cit., 158-164.

26 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

processes were short, set close to the eye, and almost always curved up towards the haft. Occasionally they made a complete loop. There was no true thickened poll. Unfortunately, no specimens from either Tunica or the Lake George battlefield are included in this study, but No. 259 illustrates the form.

The form found by Lewis and Clark among the Mandans was quite large, "12 to 15 inches in length [height]" according to their sketch and Lewis's description, in which he termed it an "older fassion" and still more inconvenient than the Missouri war hatchet. He also indicated that it was frequently pierced for ornamentation with "two, three or more small circular holes. "*^

Later in the 19 th century simple diamond- or kite-shaped blades developed, as well as exaggerated forms with long narrow stems between the eye and the point at which the expansion of the blade began. The arms or processes also frequently became more elaborate. Decorative perforations aside from the simple circular holes also appear about this time.

In most instances, the spontoon tomahawk was made of one piece of iron looped over a bar and welded to form the eye. Though a very few specimens are known which seem to have been made of a low grade steel, no specimen with a deliberately added steel edge has been encountered. The lack of a steel edge is not surprising. These tomahawks were weapons in their early functional years. Because of their design they would have had no value as wood- cutting tools, but the soft iron blade would inflict a serious wound in combat. Thus, a sharp cutting edge of the type needed for cutting wood was not necessary. Since later specimens seem to have been primarily ceremonial in use, they also required no edge, and plain iron remained entirely sufficient for Indian needs. For those specimens combined with pipes, other metals such as pewter and brass were commonly used from at least 1750 through the end of the 19 th century, but for these simple hatchets without pipes, iron remained standard.

*o Ibid., 164, 165.

CHAPTER VI

THE HALBERD OR "BATTLE AXE" TOMAHAWK

ANOTHER variety of tomahawk named after a European pole- arm is the halberd type. This was a polearm weapon con- sisting of an axe blade with an opposing spike or hook, and crowned with a spear point {see Fig. 4). Mounted on a long haft, it had developed as a weapon in the late 14 th century. By the 18 th century it had become largely a ceremonial arm carried by sergeants in most armies and by honor guards and court officials. On a short haft, it resembled the layman's conception of a battle axe ; thus, both names have been applied to tomahawks of this classification.

The halberd tomahawk developed early in the 18 th century and was apparently of British origin. Most surviving specimens come from the areas of New York and New England where British influence was strong, and a very few specimens are known from the southern Great Lakes area that may have migrated there from the east. At least one specimen has been recorded as having been made by R. Beatty of Pennsylvania during the second quarter of the century, and is reputed to have belonged to Daniel Boone, who took it with him to Missouri toward the end of his life.

An excellent contemporary illustration of the halberd tomahawk which is also further evidence of its British origin is found in the mezzotint portrait of the Mohawk chief. King Hendrick, published in London prior to his death at the Battle of Lake George in 1755 {see PI. VH).

The halberd tomahawk was made in a manner quite different from the types previously described. Usually forged from one piece of steel, it was normally quite thin and light. There are examples made in two or more pieces, however, and in these in- stances the blade and spike were usually forged separately from two or three pieces of metal, and then welded to the spear point and shank, which were made from one piece. One specimen in the

Figure 4. Halberd blade.

27

28 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

Museum of the American Indian appears to have been made from an actual halberd {see No. 54).

A special characteristic of this form of tomahawk is that it was commonly attached to the haft by driving a shank into the wood. This shank, usually forged as one piece with the rest of the head, was often sharpened for easier penetration and sometimes roughen- ed or barbed to make it hold more securely. A ferrule would also normally be placed around the forward end of the wooden haft to strengthen the joint. In this connection, it might be mentioned that one object frequently mistaken for a halberd tomahawk or, sometimes for a "Viking halberd," is the plug cutter used for Battle Ax Plug Tobacco in the early 1890's. Although slight variations exist, this cutter is usually made in two pieces — a cast iron section including the socket and spike, and a thin steel edge attached by means of two rivets or screws. ^^ It is fastened to a wooden cutting board, as shown in Plate XIII.

As a form, the halberd tomahawk did not last very long. Less than fifty years would probably cover its active life. Some speci- mens are well balanced and practical, but many are fantastically designed and poorly balanced. Light hooks with no point or edge are found in place of the spike, and extra-long spear points, some- times with barbed ends, made them difficult to carry. In fact, it has been asserted that the inconvenience caused by these spear points was the principal reason for the abandonment of this type. Since tomahawks were usually carried thrust through the belt at the right side and slightly to the rear, the spear point could thus easily become a nuisance or even a danger. The spear point actually was of little or no value in fighting ; it did offer one more possibility of striking a victim with a cutting edge if thrown end-over-end, but it sometimes hindered a stroke when held in the hand. Halberd tomahawks also were weapons only, since they were too light for effective chopping even of small branches. More efficient toma- hawks that could also be used as tools were available, and so the halberd type disappeared.

*i R. W. Breckenridge, "Norse Halberds," American Anthropologist, LVII, No. I, Part I (Feb., 1955), 129-131. Letter from V. J. Boor, Assistant Advertising Manager of the American Tobacco Company, to Charlie R. Steen, Apr. 16, 1953.

CHAPTER VII THE SPIKED TOMAHAWK

A companion of the halberd tomahawk and its successor was the spiked tomahawk. The use of hatchets and axes with spikes on their polls as fighting weapons — and particularly as naval boarding axes — was common to all nations of western Europe, but the British appear to have been responsible for the introduction of the light hatchet, with a spiked poll, to the American Indian.

As might be expected with an arm of British origin, its area of use was within the English sphere of influence. Since it was also an early form which developed shortly after 1700, achieved its greatest popularity about the middle of the century, and began to disappear shortly after 1800, it was confined largely to the Atlantic coastal region. Within that territory it is found principally in the area north of Pennsylvania, although a few are encountered as far south as Virginia. A small number have been recovered from sites in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, where the British were active following the French and Indian War, and a very few scattered specimens have been found further west, possibly as a result of trade or migration.

The spiked tomahawk served well as both a tool and a weapon. The spike was useful in driving small holes, in loosening ground, in forcing openings, and for many other needs. Some spikes were curved and sharpened along the edge like a pruning knife, thus providing an effective cutting edge for use in situations where the normal edge could not operate. In some instances the spike was simply a hook with a point on the end, but without an edge, so that it could be used for catching and hauling. In warfare, the spike allowed the use of a backstroke and the chance for deep penetration in a narrow area, as happened on one occasion during a fight in 1778 at Harbert's Block House, in what is now West Virginia. On this occasion, a young borderman named Edward Cunningham is reported to have wrested a tomahawk from an attacking Indian, and driven the long spike deep into his back.*2 Further evidence of their use in warfare is suggested by the large numbers of

*2 Woodward, op. cit., 20, 21, citing Alexander Withers, Chronicles of Border Warfare, 7th edition (Cinn., 1920), 238.

29

30

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

spiked tomahawks recovered at Fort Ticonderoga, and on the

Lake George Battlefield; these are now on display at the Fort

Ticonderoga Museum. In the Rhode Island Historical Society

there is a complete specimen which was

carried by a soldier in the colonial wars.

In early examples, spiked tomahawks were sometimes made with shanks for in- sertion into a wooden shaft in much the same manner as the usual halberd type. In such instances they were normally forged from one piece of iron or steel. One specimen found near Rome, New York, seems to have been made by applying a small conical spike to a standard half axe.*^ Another, found in Pennsylvania, was made entirely of cast brass. These are exceptions, for most spiked axes were made of two or three parts. Usually two pieces were welded together around an iron handle pattern to form the eye; then, if desired, a piece of steel was fastened between them to form the edge {see Fig. 5). Sizes varied tremendously, from that of a small hatchet to the dimensions of the full axe. The weight, however, remained relatively light, so that they could be used with one hand.

Figure 5. Construction of a spiked hatchet with two pieces of iron and a steel edge.

*3 Beauchamp, op. cit., 65. The specimen is in the U.S. National Museum.

CHAPTER VIII TOMAHAWKS WITH HAMMER POLLS

CLOSELY akin to the spiked tomahawks were a small group of implements with hammers on their polls. Hatchets with such hammers, including lathing and shingling hatchets, had been standard tools in Europe, and some of the examples found in In- dian sites seem to have been intended originally as tools {see Figs. 6 and 7). Others quite definitely were designed to be used for military or ceremonial purposes. In some of these the hammer head is too small in diameter to have been used for efficient pounding and must have served somewhat as a dull spike. In others the mouldings are decorative, and there are inlays and engraved decorations on the blades which indicate such uses. One specimen is even inscribed "To your arms Solder," and bears a silver crescent inlay engraved with an Indian name which is now so worn as to be illegible (see No. 92).

Figure 6. Lathing hatchet.

Figure 7. Shingling hatchet.

31

CHAPTER IX CELTIFORM TOMAHAWKS

ONE of the oldest forms of the tomahawk is the stone axe blade lashed to a wooden haft. These are quite common in archeological excavations, and form a specific type to which the name celt has been applied {see Nos. 8 and 9). In those regions where local circumstances permitted, occasional celts were made of native copper in prehistoric times. These implements performed the dual services of tool and weapon, and with them the Indian accom- plished most of his wood cutting and combat.

An interesting version of the trade tomahawk which reflects this earlier implement is the simple iron celt. Sometimes these were of European manufacture, yet in many instances the Indian himself fashioned them from bits of iron obtained from whites. This was never a widely popular type, yet such celtiform tomahawks do appear in scattered examples over a wide part of the United States, and represent a considerable period of usage. The Great Lakes region and the Northeast, where the copper celt was most frequently made, have produced examples of the iron celtiform tomahawk dating from the 18 th century. One has been found in Florida, and a few have been discovered among the Plains and Mountain tribes as late as the 1840's. One very late specimen, obviously only of ceremonial importance, has a thin blade cut from sheet copper [see No. 105).

32

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CHAPTER X THE PIPE TOMAHAWK

OF all the types of tomahawks, by far the most popular was the pipe tomahawk. No other form was made in so many different designs, nor of as many different materials. Ex- cepting for the simple hatchet or belt axe, none was made for so long a period nor in such large numbers. Here the symbols of war and peace were combined in a single instrument, which quickly became a prized possession. Henry Timberlake observed it among the Cherokees in the 1750's, and declared: "This is one of their most useful pieces of field-furniture, serving all the offices of hatchet, pipe, and sword." He might have added the symbolic power of the mace as well, for the ceremonial functions together with the smoking rituals permitted the survival of the pipe tomahawk well after its usefulness as a weapon had diminished.**

The identity, and even the nationality, of the genius who invented the pipe tomahawk is unknown. In all probability it was some Englishman who visualized, even before the turn of the 18 th century, what a great attraction such an instrument would have in trade and Indian affairs in general. At any rate, pipe tomahawks, or "smoak tomahawks," as they were then called by the English, were known within a few years thereafter. When J. Simon engraved the portraits of the 'Tour Kings of Canada" (they were Iroquois chiefs) who visited London in 1709-1710 with Peter Schuyler, he included what may have been pipe tomahawks with symmetrically flaring blades among their accoutrements {see PI. IX), and a similar tomahawk is shown in a posthumous portrait of King Philip which appears in Thomas Church's Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's War published in Boston in 1716. By 1750, pipe tomahawks were common though relatively expensive items in trade and treaty lists in the East, running from 12 to 20 shillings for fine specimens, as compared with 3 shillings for the simple hatchets. Once known and available, their popularity was never seriously challenged.*^

** Timberlake, op. cit., 77, 78.

*5 Woodward, op. cit., 9, 13, et passim. Carl Russell, op. cit. West, op. cit., I, 317-325-

3 33

34 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

The earliest of the pipe tomahawks manufactured by Europe- ans were fashioned from iron and steel, and these materials con- tinue to be most commonly used up to the present day. By 1750, brass tomahawks with inletted steel edges were known, and they continued in parallel use with the iron types until about 1830, after which date the steel edge was generally omitted. The com- bination of brass and steel was expensive because of the extra work involved in careful inletting and joining, and as the pipe tomahawk declined in importance as a weapon, the steel edge was eliminated in favor of all-brass heads. An occasional specimen is found from a later date, but it is a rarity. Pipe tomahawks made of pewter also are found in a variety of styles for a period of at least a century, from about 1800 to 1900. In no instance, however, has a pewter head been found in combination with a steel edge. Cast iron also has been used in very recent specimens for ceremonial purposes, and, for a short time around 1900, heads made of nickel-plated brass were manufactured.

Indians also made pipe tomahawks for their own use, although apparently this was always on a small scale. A portrait of the Seneca chief , Cornplanter, painted by Frederic Bartoli in 1796(5^^ Pl.VIII), illustrates a pipe tomahawk which seems to have been assembled from a spiked hatchet of exaggerated form and a clay pipe. From this picture it appears that the haft of the hatchet had been pierced to form a stem, and the pipe bowl simply inserted in the end opposite the mouthpiece. This would have been a simple way of making a pipe tomahawk combination, and may well have been practiced more than is now realized, since the bulk of simple hatchets and spiked tomahawks that have survived are archeologi- cal specimens of which only the iron heads remain. It is also entire- ly probable that some brass and pewter specimens were made by the Indians, for they had been capable of casting both metals since the middle of the 17 th century. When John C. Ewers of the Smithsonian Institution was working among the Plains Indians, he was told that they had cast pewter tomahawks in wooden molds until about 1900. As blacksmiths were sent to live with the various tribes, some Indians undoubtedly learned to forge iron, and one pipe tomahawk in the Museum of the American Indian is known to have been the work of such a Chickasaw blacksmith {see'No. 131). Later, catlinite became popular for this purpose, and decadent specimens are still being made for the tourist trade.^^

All types of blades were used in combinations with the pipe. Cornplanter's spiked pipe tomahawk has already been mentioned. In the collections of the Museum of the American Indian and

*^ West, op. cit., I, 317-325. Statement by John C. Ewers to the author.

THE PIPE TOMAHAWK 35

the U. S. National Museum are halberd-type tomahawks with detachable pipe bowls, which may be screwed into place as desired (see Nos. 107, 108). The symmetrically flaring hatchet blade is known in the earliest pictures of pipe tomahawks. The spontoon blade is pictured with a pipe as early as 1757, and this combi- nation continued in common use until after 1900. The half -hatchet form, with an outward flare on the side toward the hand only, was undoubtedly the most common blade used, especially among the English specimens, until it was surpassed by the thin blades with expanding straight sides of the so-called "Plains Indian type" that became popular after 1850.^^

The earliest of the pipe tomahawks were large sturdy imple- ments, useful as weapons or tools as well as for smoking and ceremonial purposes. The eye was large, to receive a haft strong enough to deal a heavy blow without snapping, even though there was a hollow channel running through it. Usually this eye was shaped like a teardrop with the point down towards the blade. Some, however, were oval. As time passed, the eye tended to become more circular and smaller until, about 1815-1830, some specimens were made with round eyes a scant five-eighths of an inch in diameter. In another line of development, the oval eye became first straight sided, or a pointed ellipse, and then diamond shaped. By 1850, the diamond form was almost universal.

An interesting feature of the eye is the fact that in almost all forms it tapers slightly toward the rear or hand side. This was done because the haft also tapered and was normally inserted from the front, in the manner of a pick handle today. The mouth end was inserted first, and the entire haft passed through the eye until the head lodged in place, just short of the forward end of the haft. A few specimens are encountered with eyes which do not taper ; these are usually late pieces, and a very few are known in which the haft actually was cut down and inserted from the back. These are the exceptions to the rule, however, and either is a cause for im- mediate suspicion that the whole piece — or at least the haft — may be modern, unless all the other evidence outweighs it.

Pipe bowls evolved in shape, as did blade forms and eye open- ings. The early bowls were short and of large diameter ; the sides were rounded, and they usually tapered slightly inward toward the top. Gradually the bowls became taller, the sides became straighter, and the diameter decreased. By 1850 a straight-sided or slightly barrel-shaped bowl with a single molding at top and bottom was standard. Thereafter, forms became even more ex-

*' The pipe tomahawk with spontoon blade is shown in Thomas Jeffery, Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, (London, 1 757-1 772).

36 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

treme until, by the end of the century, an attenuated vase shape resulted. Throughout the entire period other forms of the bowl are encountered with hexagonal, octagonal, or otherwise faceted sides. But in all forms, the general progression from short and wide to tall and slender seems to hold true.

The addition of the pipe bowl created new problems for the tomahawk maker. Sometimes he made the axe and bowl separately and then joined them, and at other times he adopted an entirely different manufacturing technique, making the entire unit in one piece.

There were several ways of manufacturing a bowl and axe of iron separately and then attaching them. Usually the smith made the desired type of blade in the manner usual for that pattern. Then he forged the bowl, occasionally shaping it from a solid block ; more often he wrapped a fiat piece of iron around a mandrel and welded it. The bowl could then be keyed and mortised to the poll of the axe and brazed or welded in place. Some specimens have also been found in which a tube from the bowl was passed through a hole in the poll and riveted inside the eye. Some bowls were threaded so that they could be screwed into the poll of the axe. One specimen in the Museum of the American Indian has a pipe bowl that can be unscrewed and replaced with a hammer, which is similarly threaded {see No. 215).

If an iron pipe tomahawk was to be forged in one piece, the smith usually began by making a tube. If an old gun barrel was available, he could use a section of that and thus save the first step. Rifle barrels were preferred because they were thicker and thereby provided more metal to work with than the thin musket barrels. Once a tube of the proper length was ready, the base of the bowl was necked-in and a rough shape given to the bowl. Then two cuts were made opposite each other just below the neck and the sides of the tube in the area of the cuts flattened out and shaped to form the eye. An iron handle form was put in the eye to hold its shape, and the remaining tube below was flattened and shaped to form the blade (see Fig. 8). If desired, a piece of steel for the edge was sandwiched in and welded to complete the job. Pipe tomahawks made from rifle barrels in this fashion can be readily recognized by the traces of rifling still inside the bowl.

Some iron pipe tomahawks were cast, but these were usually late pieces for ceremonial purposes only and were not intended for use as either tool or weapon. With brass and pewter pipe toma- hawks, casting, of course, was the normal procedure, and usually these were made in one piece. In some brass specimens, however, the bowls were made separately and threaded to screw in place.

THE PIPE TOMAHAWK

37

Iron molds were the rule, though sand also seems to have been used occasionally. Some of the pewter axes may have been cast in stone molds and, impractical as it may seem, the reference to wooden molds mentioned above should be recalled.

^s^

Figure 8. Method of forging a pipe tomahawk in one piece from an iron tube.

The brass tomahawks with steel edges required careful joining. Normally the edge was formed with a dovetail projection in the center matching a like opening in the brass part. This prevented forward or back motion. To prevent movement from side to side, grooves were opened in the sides of the cut in the head, and the edges of the steel to be joined were tapered. These tapered edges were forced into the grooves in the head, and the brass was ham- mered down over them. To complete the joint, melted tin, solder or pewter was used as a seal. In some instances brass rivets were driven through the head above the joint for further strength. In rare instances the edge was simply riveted to the head without dovetailing; in late specimens the edge was simply inserted in a groove in the lower edge of the head, or even placed in a mold and the brass head cast around it.

Hafts or stems were almost always made of hardwood. If made in Europe, or by a white man in America, any sort of tough hard-

^S AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

wood might be selected, though ash, walnut, maple, or hickory seem to have been preferred. The hole was then drilled through from end to end. The Indian, lacking such drills, usually selected ash and burned the pith out with hot wires to make the hole. This hole went completely through from one end to the other. A bit of rawhide or occasionally a wood or metal plug closed the forward end. In decorated specimens a metal cap might cover the entire end of the haft beyond the head. At the end of the haft designed to be placed in the mouth, the wood was narrowed to a convenient size. Sometimes a separate mouthpiece was added; this might be a metal inlay or a carved bone, ivory or horn piece the diameter of the haft, or it might be a small metal tube (perhaps fashioned from a cartridge case) , the quill of a feather, or a reed inserted in the hole itself. Around the haft where it lodged inside the eye of the head was wrapped a gasket or shim of paper-thin leather ; this gasket, almost always present on early specimens and character- istically charred, is almost impossible to reproduce. Thus, along with the proper taper of the haft, it offers a good clue to the authenticity of the stem. In late specimens not designed for use, this gasket was sometimes of cloth.

Hafts were decorated in a number of ways according to the abilities of the maker and the customs of the tribe. In the East the earliest specimens from the period before 1800 were normally polished smooth and slightly cigar shaped toward the mouth end. Decoration consisted primarily of metal inlays and bands of lead, pewter, brass or silver as a rule. Sometimes incised pictographs or symbols are encountered, but these are less common. Paint was undoubtedly applied more than might be suspected from surviving specimens, since the great bulk of aboriginal hafts has been lost. On occasional specimens, the hafts were wrapped and burned in ''tiger stripes" in much the same fashion as some early rifle stocks.

Around 1800 the lower edge of the haft began to be carved in a series of scallops. This innovation has been attributed to the Chip- pewa but, whether or not this can be substantiated, it did become popular among many of the Great Lakes and western Plains tribes, and continued so for at least the next 75 years.

Other later (and usually western) innovations included the branding of the stem with a hot file, the addition of numerous brass-headed tacks, the practice of wrapping the haft in brass or copper wire, and the attachment of colorfully beaded flaps (see Frontispiece) . The provision of a small carved protuberance on the bottom of the haft, pierced for a buckskin thong, is also a 19 th century characteristic, and is almost always western. Usually a few beads, feathers, brass tinklers, or perhaps an eagle-claw

THE PIPE TOMAHAWK 39

charm, were tied to this thong (see No. 201). This is not found in the East except in some very late 19 th century specimens used for ceremonial purposes.

Another form of decoration included the use of feathers and cloth. Feathers were used for ornamentation in the East, if we may judge by the 1796 portrait of Cornplanter, and cloth wrap- pings must certainly have also been employed. Since both materi- als are of a perishable nature, all specimens illustrating this practice are western and date from the 19th century [see Frontispiece and Nos. 172 and 176).

Closely allied to the subject of decoration was the special use of the tomahawk as an important gift to cement a friendship or to seal a treaty. Such "presentation tomahawks" are almost always pipes, and normally they were highly decorated with inlays of silver, or occasionally gold, in both haft and head {see Nos. 134 and 256). Coats of arms, names, dates, and other inscriptions were sometimes engraved upon them as well. One particular bit of symbolism occasionally encountered on such axes of the i8th and early 19 th centuries was the "silver chain of friendship" mentioned frequently in the formalized orations that were an integral part of the Indian councils of that period. This chain ran from a band around the haft near the mouthpiece to another band near the head, or even to the head itself. In i860 Benson J. Lossing sketched a portrait of Chief G. H. M. Johnson of the Six Nations holding a tomahawk with such a silver chain that had been in tribal ownership for many years. Another tomahawk with a silver chain of friendship belong- ing to Chief Bowles of the Cherokee is now in the Museum of the American Indian {see No. 133).*^

Thus the pipe tomahawk served its various functions and pas- sed through its many mutations. The Iroquois chiefs who went to the court of Queen Anne in 1710 carried pipe tomahawks with them, as did the Crow chief, Holds-His-Enemy, when he went to Washington in 1910 (see PL XI). The two centuries which inter- vened saw it spread to every part of the United States where metal tomahawks of any sort were used and quickly become the most popular form of all.

*8 Lossing, op. cit., 421.

CHAPTER XI THE WHITE MAN AND THE TOMAHAWK

THE Indians were by no means the only peoples in America to use the tomahawk. Explorers, colonists, soldiers, and sailors, trappers, and fur traders — all found it a useful tool and weapon. Military use of the axe in America, of course, dates back to the Vikings, who favored it as a weapon, and even one mass murder of five women by an axe-wielding Viking on American soil is recorded in the Norse sagas. Spanish soldiers of the early i6th century also carried battle axes through the southern states.*^

When the English and Dutch colonists arrived in the next century, the tradition of the axe as a military weapon had be- come obsolete in their native lands. Yet, in 1641, colonial governor William Kieft directed that Negroes in New Amsterdam were to be armed with "small axes" and half -pikes to aid in the war against the Indians. Soldiers, on the other hand, were normally armed with a gun and a sword. Experiences here, however, soon demonstrated that the hatchet was in many ways a more useful weapon to carry on expeditions into the wilderness than the sword, for it could serve utilitarian purposes as well. At first it was decided that a certain number of men in each unit would exchange their swords for hatchets as, for instance, the decree of the Council of Connecticut Colony in 1675 : *Tt is ordered that ten good serviceable hatchets be provided in each county for the use of the army, and ten soldiers to carry them instead of swords." Before the end of the century, militia laws almost universally specified that either a sword or a hatchet would be acceptable for military purposes. Since militiamen had to provide their own weapons, there was an understandable tendency to select the hatchet, which was cheaper than the sword, and which could also be used around the house when not needed for military service. ^^

*^ Olson, op. cit., 64. Garcilaso de la Vega, op. cit., passim.

^^ Extracts from the Papers of Director Kieft, O'Callaghan op. cit., I, 414. Charles J. Hoadly (ed.), The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 15 vols. (Hartford, 1850-1890), II, 385. Harold L. Peterson, Arms and Armor in Colonial America (Harrisburg, Pa., 1956), 87, 88, 99, 257, 279, 293-297. 300, 329.

40

THE WHITE MAN AND THE TOMAHAWK 4I

The 18 th century brought some modifications to this trend in mihtary regulations, but did not change it materially until the Revolutionary War. Militia laws began to specify bayonets as well as swords or tomahawks. Then the swords began to disappear from the lists, leaving only the bayonet and tomahawk, which were sometimes carried in a double frog on a shoulder belt. For a time in 1776, Virginia even directed its cavalry to carry tomahawks. During the Revolutionary War regular infantry generally abandon- ed the hatchet, but light infantry and riflemen who did not have bayonets continued to carry tomahawks throughout the conflict. ^^

The American colonials were not alone in their use of toma- hawks in warfare. In 1747, French troops and their Indian allies who attacked Fort Clinton in New York were instructed to fire a volley and then charge, axe in hand. The British light infantry adopted the tomahawk in 1759, carrying it in a rough, buttoned case, hung in a frog on the left side of the belt, between the coat and waistcoat. This tomahawk became a standard part of the British light infantry equipment and was carried by them through- out the Revolution. ^2

Following the Revolution, riflemen in the American Army continued to carry tomahawks. In 1793 the quantities of toma- hawks in various arsenals were listed :^2

West Point 45

Philadelphia 6

Carlisle, Pa. 1007 with handles

10 19 without handles Ft. Washington,

Western territory 236

Compared with other arms available, this was an impressive inventory. As late as 1819 there were still 1074 of these tomahawks at Carlisle Barracks.^*

When the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1 804-1 806 was dis- patched to explore the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory from St. Louis to the Pacific, soldiers carried tomahawks believed to

51 Peterson, op. cit., 257, 279, 293-297, 300, 333, 334, 335.

52 O'Callaghan, op. cit., X, 79, 80. Peterson, op. cit., 296. Woodward, op. cit., 30, 32. Charles M. Lefferts, Uniforms of the American, British, French and German Armies in the War of the American Revolution (N.Y., 1926), 195, 196. Cecil C. P. Lawson, A History of the Uniforms of the British Army, 3 vols. (London, 1940-1960), II, 47.

53 Records of the Of&ce of the Chief of Ordnance, War Records Division, National Archives. Walter Lowrie and Matthew Clarke, (eds.), American State Papers, Military Affairs (Wash., D.C., 1832), I, 44.

5* Ibid.

42 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

have been made in the national armory at Harpers Ferry. At this time there were no regular riflemen in the American Army, such troops having been discontinued with the abandonment of the Legion system in 1796. But when riflemen were reintroduced in 1808, they were again issued tomahawks and tomahawk belts, which they continued to use throughout the War of 1812. Fol- lowing the war, special units of riflemen were again discontinued, and with them the tomahawk disappeared from the army as a regulation weapon, though the hatchet still continues to be issued as a tool to the present day.^^

In the civilian world, hatchets or tomahawks were long car- ried by traders, trappers, explorers, and frontiersmen. This con- tinued well into the 19 th century, when the trapper, Osborne Russell, noted that his companions frequently carried hatchets fastened to the pommels of their saddles. Leaders of wagon trains following the Santa Fe trail in the 1840's advised each man in the companies to provide himself with a tomahawk. Still later, the professional buffalo hunters clung to their hatchets just as they did to their knives and rifles. ^^

For the most part, the tomahawks carried by both soldiers and civilians were the typical simple hatchet or belt axe of the period. Hordes of hatchet heads from such military sites as Fort Ticon- deroga reveal clearly the type carried by both militiaman and regular (see Nos. 35, 36 and 37). All varieties are there, from the polless European styles through American implements with well- developed polls and ears. There are also documented specimens of spiked axes and hammer axes known to have been used by whites, in such collections as Fort Ticonderoga, the Rhode Island Histori- cal Society, and Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh, New York. In the United States National Museum there is a hammer axe presented to Davy Crockett by the young men of Philadelphia. And there are other hammer specimens bearing U. S. marks, in- dicating official issue. There are no extant specifications covering the tomahawks issued to United States riflemen at any period, and it may well be that some of these were either spiked or hammer axes. In the Henry Ford Museum collection there is a unique tomahawk bearing a splendidly forged eagle head on its poll and the name '*Jas. McTear," apparently the owner, engraved on it (see No. 304).

55 H. Charles McBarron, Jr., "American Military Dress in the War of 1812, Part IV, Regular Riflemen," Military Affairs, V, No. 2 (Summer 1941), 138-144. Woodward, op. cit., 32.

^® Osborne Russell, op. cit., 82. S. A. Clark, Pioneer Days of Oregon (Portland, 1905), I, 216, 217. Carl Russell, op. cit., 235.

THE WHITE MAN AND THE TOMAHAWK 43

Although it has long been thought that the pipe tomahawks were strictly for Indian use, this is not entirely true. In the Museum of the American Indian there is a specimen bearing inscriptions which would indicate it was owned by a colonial soldier (see No. 301). In the Caldwell collection is a more elaborate pipe toma- hawk of the 1800-1815 period, inland in gold and silver, and en- graved with an eagle and military trophies {see No. 30)

A final and by no means insignificant number of tomahawks formed a part of the regalia of fraternal and political organizations. Best known of these were the Sons of St. Tammany and the Improved Order of Red Men, both of which claimed similar origins although they developed along entirely different lines. In the pre-Revolutionary War days there had been a group called the Sons of St. Tammany, named after a Delaware Indian chief who was noted for his wisdom and benevolence as well as his love of liberty. The title of "Saint" seems to have been added in jest. During the War itself, this group disappeared along with such other kindred organizations as the Sons of Liberty when these patriotic groups united in the struggle for liberty.

With the winning of independence, however, some Americans felt that there was still a need for an organization to guard their rights and liberties. On May 12, 1789, William Mooney, founded the Society of St. Tammany or Columbian Order for political action by middle-class citizens. Since it was designed to be entirely native in character, it turned towards the Indian for many of its designations and its regalia. Officers received Indian titles, and its main building became known as the tepee; tomahawks were an important ceremonial item.

The Improved Order of Red Men also claims the pre-Revolu- tionary Sons of Saint Tammany, Red Men and Sons of Liberty among its ancestors. Unlike the later Sons of St. Tammany, the Red Men remained a fraternal, benevolent and patriotic society and did not engage actively in politics. Of especial interest to tomahawk students, however, is the fact that the word Tote plays an important role in the Order's vocabulary. Thus at least some of those tomahawks which bear the words may actually be fra- ternal axes.

Mention should also be made of the manufacture in recent times of iron and brass reproductions of tomahawks. Usually these are not meant to defraud the purchaser, but are intended for use by Indian lore enthusiasts, hobbyists, and others interested in the subject. However, they are sometimes mistaken for older specimens, and often show up in collections.

CHAPTER XII NAVAL BOARDING AXES

FOR centuries the sailor looked upon the hatchet as an essential tool and weapon and used it in much the same ways as a soldier did. On sailing ships the rigging frequently became tangled as masts or arms were shattered in battle, and ropes had to be cut quickly to clear out debris. The hatchet was the obvious answer. Such naval battles also frequently ended as the vessels came together and the crew from one boarded the other to finish the action in hand-to-hand fighting. Here the hatchet, or boarding axe as it was usually called, was especially important. Nets or other obstructions were frequently raised to hinder any such boarding attempt, and these had to be cut and cleared away with the axe, which then became a weapon in the fighting that follow- ed. Landing parties also normally carried such axes as a tool or defensive weapon for use in any emergency they might encounter. Little is known about the naval boarding axes of the 17 th and early 18 th centuries, but by the late 18 th century established patterns had developed which seem to have been based on long tradition. The spiked axe was almost universal, and there were iron straps either forged as part of the head or passing through the eye, which ran back along the haft to protect it against cuts and to add strength. On British and American boarding axes these straps were normally on the sides ; on French specimens they were often along the top and bottom. During the 19 th century British and American axes usually had notches cut in the back of the blade above the heel for use in snaring lines or gripping gunwales or, in later types, as nail-pullers. Aboard ship, boarding axes were kept in racks, issued as need arose, then returned to the racks. Some few were provided with belt hooks (notably by the French), but this does not seem to have been the practice either in Great Britain or the United States.

About the time of the Civil War, the United States abandoned the spiked axe in favor of one with a hammer head and, at the same time, adopted a leather frog with a button-over strap, so that it could be carried securely on the waist belt. During the Civil War, boarding axes were issued to specified crew members, but these soon ceased to be a weapon as naval tactics changed with

44

NAVAL BOARDING AXES 45

the introduction of steam ships and long range cannon. Boarding actions were no longer practical and wooden masts and rope rig- ging also disappeared. The boarding axe of the late 19 th century was an anachronism, useful only for emergencies, and, as such, soon became relegated to the tool box.^^

These statements concerning the evolution of the boarding axe in the United States Navy have necessarily been general and somewhat vague, for such axes were not covered in regulations. In the early years of the new nation, contracts were usually let for the outfitting of a specific ship, but the language in these agree- ments stated only that the axes were to be made according to a pattern which was to be supplied to the contractor. This pattern has long since vanished. Thus, it is known, for instance, that, in 1797, the Constitution and the Constellation each received loo boar- ding axes, and it is also a matter of record that, in 1816, various contractors from Massachusetts to Virginia were offering to supply such axes at prices ranging from 62| cents to $7.00 each. But it is impossible to determine the exact pattern in any given case. Dated specimens and collateral evidence supply the principal data, and though the outlines are clear, the details are missing. ^^

" Ordnance Instructions for the U.S. Navy, 4th edition (Wash., D.C., 1866), Part I, 19-25.

^^ Naval Records Division, National Archives.

DIRECTORY OF MAKERS AND DEALERS

Albot, Joseph Address unknown. Employed by the British to

make and repair axes for friendly tribes, 1755-1763. Allere, J. B. Chicago. Known to have made pipe tomahawks

ca. 1820-1840. Ancram & Co. England. Supplied iron mongery and cutlery to

the Hudson's Bay Company in 1800. Andrus, John Address unknown, probably New York. This name

appears on the pipe tomahawk presented to Cornplanter now

in the New York State Museum, Albany. Bagg, John England. Supplier of trade goods, 1706. Bailey, Thomas & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's

Bay Company, 1794-1810. Ballard, Etienne Blacksmith at Detroit, 1778. Bell & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay

Company, 1792. Bordeau, John Fort Laramie, Dakota Territory. Blacksmith and

ferryman at the Fort before and after 1847, Bordeau made

hatchets without steel edges from old wagon tires, which he

traded to the Indians for 10 beaver skins. His mark was JB. Bo wen, Ryar Address unknown. Blacksmith hired to make and

repair hatchets for Indians friendly to the British during the

French and Indian War. Bowen, William Address unknown. Made and repaired axes in

1770. Brown, Elijah Richmond, Virginia. In 1816 he offered to make

"battle axes" for the Navy at $2.50 each. Brown, J. M. Green Bay, Wisconsin. Known to have made pipe

tomahawks ca. 1820-1840. Burgon, John Burgon, John & Son England. Supplier of trade goods as John

Burgon, 1793-1811; 2iS John Burgon dh Son, 1812-1821. Burnett, William Green Bay, Wisconsin. Known to have made

pipe axes, ca. 1820-1830. Cargill, Peter England. Supplier of trade goods, 1761-1781. Collins & Company Collinsville, Connecticut. Established in

1826 by Samuel W. Collins, Daniel C. Collins, and William

Wells, this firm has been primarily manufacturers of axes,

ploughs, and machetes. Collins axes were designed as tools, not

46

DIRECTORY OF MAKERS AND DEALERS 47

specifically for the Indian trade, but a number of them found their way into Indian hands. See No. 45. Although the factory was at Collinsville, the address "Hartford" was stamped on all Collins products.

Cronin, Peter Address unknown. Made and repaired hatchets for the Indian allies of the British during the French and Indian War.

Cremar, Peter Address unknown. Made and repaired hatchets for the Indian allies of the British and Americans during the French and Indian War.

Crowley-Hallett & Company England. Suppliers to the Hud- son's Bay Company, 1748-1751.

Crump, Thomas England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1742-1760.

Dana, Daniel Canton, Massachusetts. In 1816 he, Adam Kinsley and Charles S. Leonard offered to make boarding axes for the Navy at $7.00 each.

Deringer, Henry 370 N. Front Street, Philadelphia. Famous firearms maker, born 1786 in Easton, Pa. He worked first in Richmond and moved to Philadelphia in 1806, working there until his death in 1868. In 1816 he made 51 brass pipe toma- hawks for the Office of Indian Trade for $2.50 each.

Dimick, Horace E. St. Louis, Missouri. In 1849 Dimick moved to St. Louis from Lexington, Kentucky where he had op- erated a cabinetmaking and upholstery shop. He opened a gunsmithing and sporting goods business at 38 N. Main Street, under the name of H. E. Dimick ds Co. In 1861 he opened another store at 97 N. 4th Street. His specialty was fine target rifles and pistols, but his stock was varied, in- cluding tomahawks and Bowie knives as well as all manner of firearms. Some of these were made in his own shop; others were purchased from different manufacturers. He died in 1873. See No. 153.

Duplesis, Louis Blacksmith at Oviatenon, Indiana, 1778.

Durant, J. Address unknown, probably American. The name ap- pears on a hatchet head of the 18 th century found in New Hampshire.

Dyelle, Frangois Blacksmith among the Miami, 1778.

Gosling, Richard Philadelphia. Made knives and belt axes, 1714-1717.

Goulding & Company New York City. Makers of surgical in- struments and fine cutlery, ca. 1850-1860. See No. 60.

Gove, Carlos Council Bluffs, Iowa; St. Joseph, Missouri, and Denver, Colorado. Gove was born in Went worth, New

48 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

Hampshire in 1817 and learned the gunsmith trade in Boston. After a tour with the dragoons, he became gunsmith at the Pottowattomie Agency near Council Bluffs in 1840. Four years later he moved to St. Joseph and established his own business. In 1854 he returned to Council Bluffs. In 1862 he opened a gunshop at the corner of 16 th and Larimer Streets in Denver. By 1871 he had moved to 12 Blake Street. In the early i88o's the firm became C. Gove <^ Son; the elder Gove died in 1900. See Nos. 144 and 14^.

Graham, Buxton & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1818-1820.

Greaves, William & Sons Sheaf Works, Sheffield, England. The name appears on a tomahawk of about 1830-1850 with a threaded diamond-shaped point which may be unscrewed. Presumably a pipe bowl could be substituted, but this is now missing.

Hall, William A. Chicago. Made pipe axes, ca. 1820-1840.

Hammond Philadelphia. The name and city are stamped on a simple hatchet with thickened poll and ears of the late i8th or early 19 th century.

Harrison & Bagshaw England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1753.

Hendricks, John Philadelphia. Made belt knives and trade tomahawks, 1783-1790.

Hoff, F. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1 800-1815. Listed as a blacksmith, his name appears on the superb pipe tomahawk, No. 303.

Hoffman, Fred Philadelphia. In 1806 he offered to make navy boarding axes for $1.00 each.

Hoglan, Isaac Georgetown, D. C. In 1816 he offered to make "battle axes" for the Navy at 950 each and boarding axes at 750 each.

Holtzappfel & Co. England. Supplied axes to the Hudson's Bay Company in 1811. A pipe tomahawk bearing the name and the British ordnance mark of the broad arrow and letters BO is in the collections of the Museum of the American Indian. See No. 126.

Horstmann Philadelphia. The firm was founded by W. H. Horst- mann in 1818 as a lace and fringe factory. Between 1828 and 1830 he opened military goods stores in Philadelphia and New York. He took his sons into the business, and from 1843 until 1858 the Philadelphia directories list W. H. Horstmann d; Co. and W. H. Horstmann dh Sons at the same address, 51 N. 3rd Street. From 1845 until 1849 the New York firm operated

DIRECTORY OF MAKERS AND DEALERS 49

under the name of Horstmann, Sons <^ Drucker. In 1858 the elder Horstmann died, and in 1859 ^he Philadelphia directory- lists Horstmann Brothers d; Co. in partnership with John G. Franklin at 723 Chestnut St. The company was primarily a sales concern, contracting for finished items from various manufacturers in this country and abroad. The firm is still in business. See No. 231.

Hunt, James England. Supplier of trade goods, 1806.

IS Rutland, Vermont. These letters in a heart-shaped cartouche appear on a spiked axe of the mid-18 th century along with the stamped word "Rutland," the date 1775 and the number 3.

JB Mark of John Bordeau, q. v.

J. G. Unidentified mark on a spiked tomahawk from central New York State.

Johnson, Reynaldo Address unknown. In 1808 he delivered 178 half axes at 500 each and 22 tomahawks at 400 each to the Office of Indian Trade.

Johnson, Sam Washington, D. C. In 1816 he offered to make "battle axes" for the Navy at 62^0 each.

Jourdain, Joseph Wisconsin. Born at Three Rivers, Canada, in 1780. He moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1796 and worked at the agency there until 1834. I^ that year he was transferred to Winnebago Rapids near the Little Lake des Morts, where he lived until his death in 1866. See No. 162.

Jukes, William & George England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1748.

Kinsley, Adam Bridgewater and Canton, Massachusetts. In 1816, in partnership with Daniel Dana and Charles S. Leonard, he offered to make boarding axes for the Navy at $7.00 each. Kinsley was also a gunsmith who had federal contracts for muskets in 1798 and 1808.

Koch, Rudolph Fort Michilimackinac. A blacksmith at the post before and after 1769, when he rendered a bill to Sir William Johnson for making and repairing hatchets and axes of all kinds, including pipe tomahawks.

Lafoy or Lefoi, Agustin Detroit. Assistant blacksmith at Detroit, 1778, and apparently active there as late as 1820.

Leonard, Charles S. Canton, Massachusetts. In partnership with Daniel Dana and Adam Kinsley, he offered to make boarding axes for the Navy at $7.00 each in 1816.

Lewis, John Detroit. Made pipe tomahawks, ca. 1820-1840.

Lloyd, Nicodemus Address unknown. In 1805 he made 12 pipe tomahawks and 61 wood axes for the Office of Indian Trade.

50 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

In 1806 he made 100 "wood axes," 150 "common tomahawks,"

and 50 "pipe tomahawks." Lusignant, F. Fort Wayne, Indiana. Made pipe tomahawks ca.

1820-1840. Margnier Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. A French smith mentioned

as making pipe tomahawks early in the 19 th century. Migneron, Solomon Address unknown. Made pipe tomahawks,

ca. 1820-1840. Montour Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. French smith mentioned as

making pipe tomahawks early in the 19 th century. Morton & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay

Company, 18 14. Opy, William Address unknown. Employed by the British to

make and repair hatchets for their Indian allies during the

French and Indian War. Parke The name appears on a pipe tomahawk of the second half

of the 18 th century, which also bears the British broad arrow.

This may possibly be William Parkes, q. v. See No. 113. Parkes, William England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1770-1790. Parkes & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay

Company, 1791-1800. Parkes & Hearle England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1803. Pettibone, Daniel Philadelphia. Gunsmith, cutler, and U. S.

inspector of arms, 1808-1809. During the War of 1812 he

made belt axes as well as pikes and knives. Printup, William Address unknown. Made and repaired hatchets

for Indians friendly to the British during the French and

Indian War. Provinsalle, Pierre Saginaw, Michigan. Made pipe tomahawks,

ca. 1820-1840. Putnam, Ernestus Address unknown. In 1818 he delivered 300

squaw axes to the Office of Indian Trade. Rose, J. & Son New York City. In 1806 he made 36 tomahawks

for the Office of Indian Trade at prices ranging from 50 to

90 cents each. Russell, George England. Listed as supplier of trade cutlery and

hardware, 1800-1816. Russell, Michael England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1804. Russell, William England. Supplier of trade goods, 1817-1820. Russell & Company England. Listed as suppliers of trade goods,

1792.

DIRECTORY OF MAKERS AND DEALERS 5I

Russell & Smith England. Suppliers of trade goods, 1789.

Sanderson & Company England. Supplier of trade cutlery and hardware, 1744.

Sanderson & Towers England. Listed as supplier of trade goods, 1745-1747.

Seyfert Philadelphia. The name and city appear on a spiked toma- hawk of the late 1 8 th or early 19 th century.

Sharp, Catherine England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1784.

Sharp, James England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1760-1790.

Shaw, Lemuel Address unknown. In 1811 he made 12 "Large squaw axes" at 560 each for the Office of Indian Trade.

Smith, William England. Supplied hardware and cutlery for the Indian trade, 1815.

Southouse & Chapman England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1746-1752.

Southouse, Samuel & Company England. Suppliers to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1738-1756.

Sprague, O. B. Probably English, ca. 1820-1850. See No. ly^.

St. Cyr, Levi Winnebago, Nebraska, Born about 1875. A nickel- plated tomahawk bearing his name and date is known. See No. 2JJ. Another tomahawk obviously by the same hand but unmarked is illustrated as No. 234.

Stanton Edward England. Supplier of Indian trade goods, 1751-1760.

Stowe, A. J. Address unknown, probably American. The name appears on a belt axe of the i8th century found in Vermont.

Taylor, William England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, 1737-1741.

Taylor & Company England. Supplier to the Hudson's Bay Company, 1790.

Thomas, J. & C. Probably England. The name appears on a pipe tomahawk made ca. 1800. See No. 128.

Trott, J. England. Supplier of hardware and cutlery for the Indian trade, 1790.

Van Eps, John B. Probably New York. Made 100 axes for the Treaty of Burnet's Field in 1770 at a cost of 4 shillings each.

Watson, J. Address unknown. The name appears on an iron pipe tomahawk of about 1800 in the collection of the Ohio His- torical Society.

Welshhans, J. York, Pennsylvania. There were four gunsmiths in York, Pa. who signed their work /. Welshans or /. Welshhans, from the 1770's through the early 19 th century. Two were

52 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

named Jacob, two Joseph, and it is impossible to determine which is which from the signature. For a fine brass tomahawk with a steel edge bearing this name. See No. 213.

W. H. & Co. A belt axe bearing this stamp was found at Fort Ticonderoga.

Wheat, Thomas Washington, D. C. In 1817 he delivered to the Office of Indian Trade 66 large squaw axes at 750 each, 67 middle squaw axes at 62^0 each, and 62 small squaw axes at 500 each.

Whitford, John England. Hardware and cutlery supplier, 1809.

Wilson, Samuel

Wilson, Samuel & Son

Wilson, Simon & William

Wilson, William England. Supplied hardware and cutlery for the Indian trade, 1737-1745. Changes to Samuel Wilson & Son, 1746-1760; Simon dh William Wilson, 1761-1767; and William Wilson, 1768-1790.

Wilson, G. & Company England. Suppliers of hardware and cutlery, 1816.

Wood, B. Probably English. A late i8th-early 19th century pipe tomahawk of iron bearing his name, is in the collection of the Museum of the American Indian. See No. 12^.

Woodruff, W. A. Probably Cincinnati. A silver or silver-plated tomahawk bearing his name and the date 1850 is illustrated as No. 256.

INDEX TO PROVENIENCE

Attributions, as recorded in captions, are given below by tribe or, if that is not known, by geographical area or state. Numbers cor- respond to illustrations.

Alabama	15	Crow	44, 94, 193,
Arapaho	178, 200		248, 249, 267,
Arizona	246		277
Arkansas	8, 9, II
ASSINIBOINE	127, 284	Delaware	256
Bannock	207	Fox	155, 165, 255
Blackfoot	182, 192, 198,	Haida	7
	217, 222, 224,
	230, 241, 275,	Illinois	60
	283, 291	Indiana	73, 97, 257
		Iowa	6, 102
Caddo	145, 149, 150,	Iroquois	2, 3, 24, 72,
	160, 290		75, 77> 79, 82,
California	16		113, 116, 121,
Canada	12		129, 132, 143,
Cayuga	168		148, 159, 169,
Cherokee	133, 151, 158		181, 205, 209,
Cheyenne	202, 216, 274		264, 266
Chickasaw	131
Chippewa	4, 21, 88, 99,	Kaw	223
	167, 175, 180,	KiCKAPOO	152, 186
	210, 240, 244,	Kiowa	272, 287
	245, 251, 254,	KWAKIUTL	17,18
	278, 280, 288,
	298	Mahikan	162
Choctaw	265	Mandan	52, 138, 237
Colorado	13	Massachusetts	301
Comanche	49, 189, 190,	Menomini	228
	261	Miami	115, 134, 208,
Connecticut	38, 74		295
Cree	128, 243	Michigan	259
Creek	146, 242	Mississippi	103

53

54

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

Nebraska	204	Shawnee	119, 120, 135,
New England	54, 56, 59, 89,		136, 137, 155,
	90		185, 226
New Hampshire	34	Shoshoni	100, 161, 197
New Jersey	310	Sioux	21, 22, 23, 42,
New Mexico	39		43, 45, 48, 80,
New York	35, 36, 37, 57,		93, 95, 125,
	62, 63, 64, 65,		126, 130, 166,
	66, 67, 69, 90,		174, 176, 179,
	92		184, 187, 191,
Nez Perce	153, 170, 218,		194, 195, 196,
	220, 268, 279,		199, 201, 227,
	299		236, 247, 250, 253, 264, 266,
Oklahoma	10		270, 285, 289,
Ohio	98, 142, 221,		292, 294, 297
	260	Southwest	108
Osage	46, 47, 50, 51,
	219, 232, 269	Tennessee	14
Oto	5, 188, 229	TSIMSHIAN	1 20
Ottawa	154	Tlingit	19
Pennsylvania	61, 76, 112,
	213	Ute	177
Plains	172, 282, 293
Ponca	104	Vermont	64, 300
POTAWATOMI	114, 144, 147, 164	Virginia	I, 106, 206
	Wampanoag	252
Sauk and Fox	117, 118, 139,	Washington	309
	140, 141, 163,	West Virginia	123
	183, 234, 273,	Winnebago	156, 233, 239,
	276, 281		263, 296
Seminole	173	Wyandot	loi, 157

Appendix

THE BLACKSMITH SHOP

by Milford G. Chandler

The pioneer blacksmith shop was a cluttered-up place where at one time the prevailing odor might be of wood smoke; at another time, it would be the smell of the half-rotted hoof and frog of a horse being prepared for shoeing. Following the sound of a hiss-ss-s as a hot horseshoe was applied, the pungent smell of burning hoof would fill the air. The ringing of the anvil could be heard throughout the village and, often, the loud whinnying of a stallion. Except for those sounds and an occasional dogfight, there generally was silence.

Thick dust covered all surfaces not worn clean from use, and out-of-the-way places were littered with odd pieces of iron and wood. To the rear was a heap of old iron, and inside, hanging from pegs, were a few bars of new iron of the sizes most needed. The shop was a cold place in winter, but in the summer, with the big door open, it was as airy and attractive as the barroom or the general store. Over the entrance might be a sign, "Blacksmith Shop." In later days this often read "Practical Horseshoeing" or "Scientific Horseshoeing," especially if there were rivals in the viUage.*

The iron used was called Swedish, Norway, or wrought (com- monly pronounced "rot") iron. Very low in carbon content, it was soft and contained considerable quantities of slag and other impurities. These occurred in various forms, from fine streaks to large pockets or flaws filled with gritty material. When heated to welding temperature, this iron had the merit of being sticky, with the stringy fibrous appearance of pulled taffy.

Steel was expensive. It was made in the shop by drawing iron down to small bars, which were then heated to a high temperature for a number of hours in containers in the presence of charred leather or bone. During this time the white-hot iron absorbed

* In the British Isles and eastern North America the term forge was used to designate the business establishment where forgings were made. But later, in the West, the definition became more limited. Here, forge referred to the actual hearth where the work was heated for forging or welding, and the term blacksmith shop was a more popular name for the establishment.

55

56 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

carbon from the charred granules. The bars were then welded together to form the sizes wanted. Naturally, the impurities already present in the iron were not eliminated and, with the ad- dition of carbon, there was an even greater risk of imperfect welds. This was called "blister" steel because of such imperfections. The collector should look for these characteristics in the material of genuine forged tomahawks.

In those days, because iron bars were expensive and the range of sizes limited, a supply of scrap was an adjunct to a forge. Large pieces were made by welding smaller ones together. One forged tomahawk, therefore, might contain iron from a worn-out wagon wheel, another from a horseshoe, while a third blade might contain streaks of iron from any number of different sources, even from guns. The steel might have been retrieved from obsolete swords, bayonets, or from discarded files and rasps.

In the smaller establishments a variety of work was done, including the repair of wooden wagon parts and guns as well as horseshoeing. It is quite likely that a good share of tomahawks were made by gunsmiths and blacksmiths as a side line. For ex- ample, Jourdain, the best-known tomahawk maker in America, had a general blacksmith business.

The actual hearth or forge was a structure of brick with an elevated platform on which the fire was built. Partly over this was a hood, an extension of a chimney that rested on the end of the forge at the blacksmith's left. At the right end was a trough con- taining coal of the type we now call charcoal. This fuel was made locally from wood that had been heated until the gassy com- ponents were driven out.

Air was conveyed from a bellows, by pipe, to the base of the fire at what was called the tuyere, pronounced "tweer." The bel- lows was operated with the left hand by means of a lever. It usually had a hinged lower fiat member for pumping the air, a stationary central partition, and a hinged upper member, with an accordion-like strip of flexible leather to connect the three together. This formed two compartments. When the lower one was drop- ped, the vacuum created opened a large fiat valve to take in air. Then, when it was raised, the air was forced up through another flapper valve in the stationary member into the upper chamber, which expanded to accomodate the charge of air.

Some of the basic tools and heavy equipment required for tomahawk manufacture are illustrated in Figure 9. In the shop, tongs were hung on a convenient rack and, at the coal trough, there was a small shovel and poker. To the left was a tub of water called the slake, or "slak," tub and not far away was a hinge- type vise of

APPENDIX 57

wrought iron anchored to a bench. Because it was steadied by a projection going down to the floor, this was called a post vise. In front of the forge stood the anvil — a heavy forging of iron with a thick steel face welded to its top surface. This was mounted on a section of tree trunk to bring it to a convenient height. Handy to the anvil were the blacksmith's hammers, punches, and sledge as well as hot and cold chisois, fullers, and wooden-handled /^a^^^rs. The use of the flatter required the cooperation of an assistant: while the blacksmith held the work with tongs and applied the flatter or other handled tools, his assistant struck with the sledge. The anvil supplied the backing or foundation for the various operations.

The iron was heated in the forge to a bright red color, and then worked on the anvil until it cooled to a dull red. It was reheated for each subsequent operation. Each time the smith would pump the bellows, sending a blast of air up through the fire to increase the intensity of the heat. Chisels were used to trim the work to shape ; fullers were used to form grooves ; and flatters, to level the surface marks made by the hammer. If a hatchet, hammer, or tomahawk was being made, a drift was also used.

Hammers and sledges were "faced" by welding a layer of steel to the iron work surface. For wood chisels and plane bits, a thin layer of steel was welded to one side of the tool to form the cutting edge. In the manufacture of hatchets, axes, and tomahawks, the steel or "bit*' was usually welded into a slit made at the cutting end of the blade.

The most important aspect in this kind of forge welding was the smith's judgment of temperature, which he determined by watching closely the color of the metals as they were heated. The iron, when brought to near its melting point, became quite plastic. Particular caution was taken with the steel, however, for if it became too hot it would lose it properties of hardness. If the metals were overheated, they "spit," or threw off sparks, as oxidation occurred. As the two parts were heated, the areas to be joined were liberally fluxed. Borax was the flux preferred, but sand was also used. The flux served two purposes. First, acting as a cleaning agent, it formed a near-liquid paste that dissolved the surface oxides on the metals. This paste flowed easily from between the two parts when they were hammered together. It also formed a protective film over the metal surfaces, thus preventing the oc- curence of further oxidation from the hot blast of the fire. When each of the metals had simultaneously reached its proper tempera- ture, the smith had to act quickly. The parts were removed from the fire, placed properly together on the anvil, and struck over the

58

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

top fuller

anvil

Figure 9. Basic tools and shop equipment

APPENDIX

59

h ri hunch

flatter

M

tongs

bottom fuller

used in the manufacture of tomahawks.

o

o o

CZD

drift, with various shapes of cross section

60 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

surfaces to be bonded. If, for any reason, the weld did not produce a good bond, it was called a "cold shut," and the entire process had to be repeated.

If the weld was successful, the projecting part of the steel was lightly worked over to reduce any brittle quality that might exist. The forging was heated again, put into the vise, and "hot filed." In this step the metal surface was gone over with a very coarse file or rasp, usually called a "bastard" file, to refine the form. If the work was a tomahawk, it was necessary to harden the cutting edge. To do this, the steel was again heated and then plunged into the water of the slake tub to cool. An extreme hardness — even brittle- ness — resulted in the steel, but the iron was not affected. Some risk was involved, for there was a chance that the steel might crack during the rapid chilling. Now, to impart toughness to the metal, it was tempered. The smith heated the iron body of the tomahawk just behind the cutting edge. The steel, which then appeared gray, was rubbed on the gritty floor. This abrasive action cleaned the surface of the metal so the smith was able to see the "color." As the heat traveled down the cutting edge, the metal slowly became a straw color, then purplish. When it turned a deep purple, the smith again quenched the blade in the slake tub. By this tempering process the steel edge was made tough enough as well as hard enough to stand service and retain its sharpness.

The forging was now ready for finish filing and polishing. In well-equipped shops these hard tasks were done by power-driven grinding stones and polishing wheels, but some hand filing was almost always required. If power polishing was done, care was taken to avoid excessive heating of the steel edge for this would cause a loss of temper and the metal would be softened. Following these steps, the tomahawk was ready for the user.

When a tomahawk rusted, the steel and iron usually took on different hues. Sometimes the iron rusted away so much that, at the front and back edges, the steel would stand at a slightly dif- ferent level than the iron. If a tomahawk is the type used by Indians of woodland regions, it should show some sign of this steel cutting edge. A reproduction is not so likely to have this feature and is even less likely to have a body of "rot" iron into which a steel bit had been forge welded.

CLASSIFICATION

Because few tomahawks were marked with the maker's name, and because chronological information is so fragmentary, as- signment of a specimen to a particular period hinges largely on

APPENDIX 6l

technical points. One tool aiding in classification is the drift used to form the eye. The making of a drift took time and material and, unless he had a sufficient number of orders, it is quite unlikely that a maker would have had several on hand. More probably he would use only one for all the tomahawks he produced and merely change the external features to suit the requirements of his customers. The drift most commonly used for all types of tomahawks produced a near-oval shape in the eye. However, some smiths used an elliptical form while others preferred a modified rectangle. Several different cross sections of drifts are shown in Figure 9.

Another aid to classification is the technique of manufacture. A maker would most likely consider his particular method the proper way to do the job. The process is revealed principally in two places — the interior of the bowl and the inner surface of the eye. Points to be observed will be brought out in detail for each technique described here.

TECHNIQUES OF MANUFACTURE

The early tomahawk was almost always made by bending a strip of iron at the middle around a stake that was usually sup- ported in the hole of the anvil. The two lapped ends were then welded together with a bit of steel enclosed at the working end. Most early examples show signs that the eye was "drifted out/' truing it to receive the handle. Some tomahawks show where the smith neglected to true up the eye, possibly because the maker may not have had a drift on hand.

By improvising on this basic method, the makers could also produce several types of pipe tomahawks [see Figures 10 and 11). One such method was to cut a dovetail into the top of the eye of the axe and drill or punch a hole through the eye. A short tube, often a section of gun barrel, was forged to a shank, leaving a bowl at one end and a flange at the other. This flange was then fitted into the dovetail and secured by brazing.

Another method was to fit the flanged tube like a saddle to the top of the eye and braze it into place. Still another obvious and easy way was to use a brass pipe bowl with a threaded cast iron stud at its base. This merely had to be screwed into a threaded hole drilled into the top of the axe eye.

In some instances, instead of using the brass bowl and iron stud combination, iron bowls were necked down and threaded. The brass screwed-in bowls did not meet with much success for they were subject to breakage at the stud and were easily screwed out and lost. The all-iron bowls were found to be somewhat more

62

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

A. bowl, dovetailed

B. bowl base, saddle-shaped

Figure io. Improvisations.

APPENDIX 63

durable. These are often hard for a collector to detect, but traces of the end of the stud can usually be seen inside the eye.

A. bowl with cast-in stud B. bowl made of one piece of iron

Figure ii. Improvisations.

One improvisation which is likely to pass unnoticed is illus- trated in Figure 12. In this instance, a pocket was forged in the top of the eye and a section of tube was welded into the pocket. The tube was then necked down and finished to form the pipe bowl. Often the weld is so perfect that there is no exterior evidence of a joint.

Common Pipe Tomahawk

None of the improvisations described above met with any great approval; it became apparent that a rugged, completely forged pipe tomahawk could be sold in quantities great enough to war- rant its development. Most popular was a design based on the traditional axe of the wrap-around construction [see Figure 13). This had a stud or shank riveted and welded into the top of the eye. Because it is found in comparatively great numbers, this form is called the "common" type. Variations on this same technique suggest that several contractors had been engaged in producing it

64

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

A. blade with forged pocket

B. tube ready for welding

C. tube forced into eye

D. section of finished work

Figure 12. Improvisations: bowl welded into depression.

APPENDIX 65

to rather loose specifications, probably from samples. Surviving specimens also frequently show evidence of alterations made after manufacture.

Lathes of a sort were used to turn the bowls and tool marks can still be seen on well-preserved examples. Some give evidence that the blade had been ground on the flat surface to reduce the amount of hand filing. The contours of the shank, bowl, and eye, made by turning and fihng, are pleasing and quite uniform from one speci- men to another, again an indication that tomahawks of this type were made to specification.

Features that distinguish this method of manufacture are : the flat bottom in the bowl cavity; the faint trace, inside the eye, of the welded-in shank; and the seam where the eye ends and the blade starts, which can also be seen inside the eye.

Whatever the shape of the drift used to form the eye, it was customary, when making a pipe tomahawk, to line the eye with buckskin to seal and cushion its fit to the handle and thus prevent leakage.

The "Pierced Eye'' Method

This technique [see Figure 15) was developed at an early date. For it, the smith required a short rectangular bar of iron, the end of which was formed into a pipe bowl. This was done by "upsetting," i.e., beating the end of the iron to increase its diameter. This section was then somewhat necked down by using the fuller and a chisel to form a groove behind the enlarged portion. The result was a dished-out pancake of metal standing on the end of the bar. This disc was then drawn down over a stake supported in the square hole of the anvil. A cross-pein hammer was used in the manner similar to that employed by the silversmith in forming cup-shaped pieces from sheets of silver. The blade was roughly forged down from the other end of the bar and slit to receive the steel bit.

The next step was to pierce the eye. A punch was driven nearly halfway into one side of the still-thick portion of iron in Une with the thin edge of the blade. Then, from the opposite side, it was driven all the way through. A drift was inserted into this hole to stretch and form the eye. Since the drift tapered, the hole also had a taper, and the handle was similarly designed where it fitted the eye. This was advantageous for, by having the handle larger at the end away from the mouthpiece, the tomahawk head was prevented from coming off accidentally.

After the eye had been shaped, the blade was forged out to its full width and leveled off with the flatter. The shank between the

66

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

A. a hole is punched for the shank

B. the shank is driven into the hole

0

UJ

C. the shank is welded into the hole

'^

1^

U

Figure 13. Manufacture of the

APPENDIX

67

D. the strip is bent and then welded over the steel insert

F. the eye is drifted to form and the tomahawk is filed to final shape

common pipe tomahawk.

68

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

l>

CTJ

o o

•s

o

Oh 0)

%

a

o

o o

+->

o

O

APPENDIX 69

bowl and eye was trued up, and a small hole was drilled to con- nect the bowl with the eye. The forging was then ready for filing, tempering, and polishing.

Characteristics of tomahawks manufactured in this manner are : the generally true form of the eye and the absence of any seam at the apex of the oval.

In one interesting variant of this type, which I have seen, the outside of the eye opposite the blade had a depression, approximate- ly the size of the bowl, punched into it. Then a section of tubular material (perhaps a musket barrel) was butt-welded into this de- pression and the tube was necked down to produce a shank and bowl. By looking at it from both the eye end and the bowl end, and by exploring it with a wire, the pocket was found at the point where the shank was joined to the eye.

Gun- Barrel Technique

In the early days, even in well-settled areas, iron was expensive. On the frontier the costs of transportation increased the price even more. Guns received rough usage and scrap gun barrels became an important source of iron. The tomahawk maker was quick to take advantage of the cylindrical shape {see Figure 16) . A drill was not necessary for there was already a hole for the bowl, and no dif- ficult welding was required. After the tube was necked down for the shank, it was flattened all the length from the shank to its far end. A slit was then cut and opened with a drift to form the eye. Sometimes a steel bit was welded to the cutting edge.

The bowl made in this manner was long, like the catlinite pipe bowls of the Plains Indians. The eye was merely spread at the middle and drifted to a diamond cross-section with rounded corners. The blade had nearly straight edges front and back and, since this shape did not lend itself to use in combat, it was usually not sharpened.

Such tomahawks are readily identified by the funnel-like opening which, with the handle removed, may be seen under the eye. Sometimes traces of the original rifling of the gun barrel can be seen on either side of the eye or bowl.*

* The gun-barrel technique was first described to me by Colonel Stobie who was agent to the Utes shortly after the Civil War. He went into detail as he had seen tomahawks made by the agency blacksmith at that time. I was rather surprised to get an identical description from Harry Burgess, who had spent his boyhood on the Pawnee reservation in Nebraska. His father was a Quaker appointed by President Grant to the agency.

70

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

A. the bar of iron at start and after upsetting

B, necking operation

C. the bowl is drawn to a cylindrical shape

Figure 15. The pierced eye technique

APPENDIX

71

D. the eye is pierced

E. the eye is drifted to shape

F. the finished tomahawk

of making a tomahawk.

72

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

f^^?\

m

.^..-J^S /m^ wz-f^

A. the gun barrel, necked and flattened

(:^?\

B. the eye slit and drifted to form, and the blade drawn to full width

f^^

C. section of the eye and bowl

Figure i6. Manufacture of a gun-barrel tomahawk.

APPENDIX 73

Wrap-Around Eye and Blade with Drilled Bowl

This method of manufacture combines the welded blade technique, such as was used to make the early axe, and a drilling operation, which required a machine. (A bit brace had been adequate for the small holes made in earlier examples.) A large bar stock of iron was also needed, and it is possible that sections cut from the axles of stage coaches were used for this. Some specimens show that a seamy wrought iron was used ; in others, the metal is clear and appears to be what at that time was called "mild" steel.

Why did the smith revert to the older technique ? One explana- tion is that it allowed a greater length of contact between the eye and handle, a feature difficult to achieve by using the pierced technique. Generally, although it would have been easy to in- corporate, the added steel bit is absent and the edge is quite blunt. Spontoon blades were made in this way, as were the more common hatchets.

In manufacture {see Figure 17), the heavy section of bar was heated and the fuller used to reduce the thickness in the center on each side of what was to become the bowl. Then, the two ends were bent down so that the thinned portion formed the eye. The two ends were welded together and drawn out roughly to form the blade. Where the center section stood above the eye, the fuller and a chisel were used to neck the iron down to form the shank. The bowl was then forged to a round section to increase its height. The blade and eye were trued up with the flatter, chisel, and drift.

The bowl was very high and the shank long, so the depth of driUing exceeded any required on pipe tomahawks previously manufactured. It seems obvious that the maker must have had at least a hand-operated driUing machine, such as were available in blacksmith shops in the settled parts of the country, for he made no concession in technique to spare labor in driUing. A small bit was used to bore through the entire length of the bowl and shank to the eye. A larger bit was used to drill out the bowl. (The smiths generally made their own drills and tempered the working ends, and lard oil was used as a lubricant.) The forging was then ready for finishing and ornamentation.

Characteristics of tomahawks of such manufacture are : a high bowl, a pointed oval eye, usually a seam in the area where the weld starts, and a definite angle at the bottom of the bowl where the drill stopped.

74

AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

A. bar stock and first operation

B. bar drawn out, bent, and welded

Figure 17. Manufacture of a pipe tomahawk

APPENDIX

75

C. bowl, necked and drawn out

.^ry

D. the finished forging, drilled and filed

using the "wrap-around eye and blade" technique

76 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

REPAIR AND REWORKING

In wooded country it was quite natural that the small axe and even the pipe tomahawk were used for chopping. As they wore, blades were sometimes taken to the blacksmith for "dressing." To do this, the blade was thinned at the cutting edge to be reforged and retempered. Little grinding was required to sharpen the edge and the resulting acute angle cut wood more efficiently.

The steel bit did not extend very far up into the body of the blade. Often, through wear and resharpening, it would be com- pletely worn away and only the body of soft iron remained. If a new bit was necessary, a piece of steel was simply welded to one side of the blade. This was called a "lap" weld. Later, when the metal was more plentiful, a V-shaped piece of steel was welded over the worn edge.

The shortness of some blades may be accounted for by a method of repair that duplicated the manufacturing process. In this, the edge was upset, a slit was cut in the iron, and a steel bit was welded into the slit.

In the Midwest, the spontoon blade was popular, and it would appear from existing specimens that some blades of the common type were reworked to this newer shape {see Figure 14). This, of course, would indicate that the owner had given up all thought of using his tomahawk as a chopping tool, even though a trace of the steel from the original cutting edge might still remain in the point. Ordinarily, a spontoon blade was used only as a pipe or symbolic weapon rather than for practical purposes, and had no steel in it.

THE INDIAN BLACKSMITH

Indians took up blacksmithing at an early date, as attested by David Zeisberger, the Moravian missionary who worked among many different tribes in the years between 1740 and 1808. In addition to forging, Indians learned casting techniques and decorated tomahawks, knife handles, pipes, and flutes with elaborate inlays of lead and pewter. They cast a number of types of tomahawk heads of lead alloys, preferring Babbit metal for this purpose. They came in contact with this alloy while working in lumber mills and appreciated its hardness and lustre as compared to bullet lead. Before this was available, they saved the foil from tea boxes and, around country printing shops, they collected worn-out printing type, which was also prized for its hardness.

APPENDIX

17

Where the Indians Hved in pioneer settlements, they were able to take advantage of the heavy tools of their white employers to make forged tomahawks and knives. Since there was a steady demand from their tribesmen, some of their work remains in collections today. For example, one tomahawk I have seen, which had a pierced eye and a drilled bowl with a spontoon blade [see Figure i8), was made by a Carlisle graduate. In the more remote villages, though, Indian ironwork was largely con- fined to the making of knives and spearheads from rasps and files.

> \

I

Figure i8.

An Indian's modification of a ball-peen hammer

to make a tomahawk.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED

The following list should not be construed as a complete bibliography of the works consulted in the preparation of the present study. It contains only those works with sufficient information to cause them to be cited in the text. In addition to the printed materials listed, the following manuscript sources were also used : Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 in the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, and the records of the Army, Navy, and Office of Indian Trade in the National Archives, Washington.

Anburey, Thomas

1 791 Travels Through the Interior Parts of America, 2 vols., London.

Beauchamp, William M.

1902 "Metallic Implements of the New York Indians," New York

State Museum Bulletin 55, 92 pp. 1946 The Beaver, (March issue of magazine published by Hudson's Bay Company), p. 30.

Benjamin, Park, (ed.).

1880 Appleton's Cyclopaedia of Applied Mechanics , 2 vols., New York: D. Appleton & Co.

Breckenridge, R. W.

1955 "Norse Halberds," American Anthropologist, LVII, # i, part i, pp. 129-131.

Cartier, Jacques

1924 The Voyages of Jacques Cartier, (H. B. Biggar, editor), Ottawa.

Catesby, Mark

1 73 1- The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Is- 1743 lands, 2 vols. London.

Catlin, George

1926 North American Indians, 2 vols., Edinburgh: J. Grant.

Champlain, Samuel de

1907 The Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, 1604-1618, (W. L. Grant, editor). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 377 pp.

Church, Thomas

1716 Entertaining Passages Relating to Philip's War, Boston, 360 pp.

Clark, S. A.

1905 Pioneer Days of Oregon. Portland, Oregon.

Craigie, Sir William, and James R. Hulbert, (eds.)

1944 A Dictionary of American English, 4 vols., Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Creuxiux, Francisco

1664 Histories Canadensis sen Novcb FrancicB. Paris.

78

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED 79

Driver, Harold E., and William C. Masse y

1957 "Comparative Studies of North American Indians," Trans- actions of the American Philosophical Society, XLVII, part 2, pp. 165-456.

Elmer, Ebenezer

1847, "Journal Kept During an Expedition to Canada in 1776," 1848 New Jersey Historical Society, Proceedings, II, pp. 97-146, 150-194; and III, pp. 21-56, 90-102.

Ewers, John C,

1955 "The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture," Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin i^g, Washington, D. C, 374 pp.

Fowler, William S.

1 95 1 "Tomahawks of Central New England," Bulletin of the Mas- sachusetts Archeological Society, XII, No. 3, pp. 29-37.

Fowler, William S.

1952 "Trade Tomahawks," Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archeological Society, XIII, # 3, pp. 23-27.

Garcilaso de la Vega

1 95 1 The Florida of the Inca, (edited by John G. and Jeanette J. Varner). Austin: University of Texas Press, 655 pp.

Gerard, William

1908 "The Term Tomahawk," American Anthropologist, n. s., X, # 2, pp. 277-280.

Greeley, Horace, and others

1872 The Great Industries of the United States. Chicago: J. B. Burr, Hyde & Co., 1304 pp.

HoADLEY, Charles J., (ed.)

1850- Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, 15 vols. Hartford, 1890 Conn.

Hodge, Frederick W., (ed.)

1909 "Handbook of the American Indians North of Mexico," Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 30, 2 vols. Washington, D. C.

Holmes, William H.

1908 "The Tomahawk," American Anthropologist, n. s., X, # 2, pp. 264-276.'

Jeffery, Thomas

1757- Collection of Dresses of the Different Nations. London. 1772

Jeffreys, C. W.

1945 The Picture Gallery of Canadian History. Toronto.

Keppler, Joseph

1929 "The Peace Tomahawk Algonkian Wampum," Indian Notes, VI, # 2, pp. 130-138.

KuRz, Rudolph Friederich

1937 "Journal of Rudolph Friederich Kurz," Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 115. Washington, 382 pp.

80 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

LaFarge, Oliver

1956 A Pictorial History of the American Indian. New York: Crown Publishers, 272 pp.

Lawson, Cecil C. P.

1940- A History of the Uniforms of the British Army, 2 vols. London: 1 94 1 Peter Davies, Ltd.

Lefferts, Charles M.

1926 Uniforms of the American, British, French and German Armies in the War of the Revolution. New York: The New-York Historical Society, 289 pp.

LoRANT, Stefan

1946 The New World. New York: Duel, Sloan & Pearce, 392 pp.

LossiNG, Benson J.

1869 Pictorial Field-hook of the War of 181 2. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1084 pp.

Mason, Otis T.

1 897 ' 'The Tomahawk of the North American Indian, ' ' The A merican Naturalist, XXXI, # 369, pp. 824-826.

McGuiRE, Joseph D.

1899 "Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aborigines," Annual Report of the U. S. National Museum for i8g6, Washing- ton, D. C, pp. 351-645-

McKenney, Thomas L., and James Hall

1933, The Indian Tribes of North America, 3 vols. Edinburgh: J. 1934 Grant.

Mercer, Henry C.

1950 Ancient Carpenter's Tools. Doylestown: Bucks County His- torical Society, 2nd edition, 339 pp.

Morgan, Lewis H.

1904 League of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee or Iroquois, (edited by Herbert M. Lloyd). 2 vols, in one. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co.

O'Callaghan, Edmund B., and others, (eds.)

1853- Documents Relative to the Colonial History of New York, 15 vols., 1887 Albany.

Olson, John, (ed.)

1906 "The Saga of Eric the Red, also Called the Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefni," in The Northmen, Columbus and Cabot, g8 5-1 503. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 3-43.

1906 "The Vinland History of the Flat Island Book," in The North- men, Columbus and Cabot, 985-1503. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 45-65.

1 87 1 One Hundred Years of Progress. Hartford: L. Stebbins.

1866 Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 4 th edition, Washington, Government Printing Office, 297 pp.

Peterson, Harold L.

1956 Arms and Armor in Colonial America, i526-iy83. Harrisburg: The Stackpole Company, 350 pp.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED 8l

PoHRT, Richard A.

1957 "Two Tomahawks and an Iron Pipe," Ohio Archeologist, VII, #2, pp. 70, 71.

Russell, Carl P.

1967 Firearms, Traps and Tools of the Mountain Men. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 448 pp.

Russell, Osborne

1955 Journal of a Trapper. Oregon Historical Society, Portland, Oregon, 179 pp.

Schellbach, Louis

1928 "An Historic Iroquois Warclub," Indian Notes, V, iff 2, pp. 157-166.

Schoolcraft, Henry R.

1 85 1- Historical and Statistical Information Respecting the History, 1857 Condition and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States. 6 vols., Philadelphia: Lippincott, Grambo & Co.

Smith, John

1907 "A Map of Virginia," in Narratives of Early Virginia, 1606-162 3. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, (editor). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 73-203.

Swanton, John R.

1946 "The Indians of the Southeastern United States," Bureau of American Ethnology , Bulletin i3y. Washington, D. C, 943 pp.

Thiroux, M.

1849 Instructions Theoretique et Practique d'Artillerie. 3rd edition, Librairie Militaire de J. Dumaine, Paris, 563 pp.

Timberlake, lt. Henry

1927 Lieut. Henry Timherlake's Memoirs, 1756-1765, (Samuel Cole Williams, editor). Johnson City, Tennessee.

West, George A.

1934 "Tobacco, Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American In- dians," Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, 2 vols. Milwaukee.

Wheeler, Robert F.

1957 "The American Belt Axe, 1650-1870," The American Arms Collector, I, ^ 4, pp. 127-130.

WiLDSCHUT, William, and John C. Ewers

1959 "Crow Indian Beadwork," Contributions from the Museum of the American Indian, XVI. New York, 55 pp.

Withers, Alexander S.

1895 Chronicles of Border Warfare. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke Com- pany, 447 pp. Reprint of the 1831 edition.

Wood, William

1898 New England's Prospects, reprint, n. p.

Woodward, Arthur

1946 "The Metal Tomahawk, Its Evolution and Distribution in North America," Bulletin of the Fort Ticonderoga Museum, VII, ^ 3, pp. 2-42.

CAPTIONS TO PHOTOGRAPHS

ABORIGINAL FORMS

1. An example of the 17th century Virginia ball-headed clubs commonly referred to by the early colonists as tomahawks. This specimen found its way into the collections of John Tradescant (1608-1662), a notable traveler, naturalist, and Royal gardener who was greatly interested in the newly settled colony at Jamestown and collected both botanical and ethnological specimens from Virginia. It displays the large size and sharp drop to the ball typical of the early clubs of this form, {British Official Photograph: Crown copyright reserved) .

L: 21" Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

1685 Cat.B. 133-5

2. Ball-headed club tomahawk, probably early 19th century. The drop of the haft is not so sharp as that of the previous specimen, and the ball is somewhat smaller in proportion. Nevertheless it is a good functional weapon, fashioned from a single piece of wood. Especially interesting are the incised figures of two fighting Indians on the obverse side, one armed with a bow and arrow, the other wielding a ball-headed club which seems to have an iron blade. Definitely an eastern Indian tjrpe, it has been attributed to the Iroquois.

L: 24I" mai/hf: 18/4922

3. A ball-headed club tomahawk of the mid-i8th century with an iron blade. This important specimen was presented to Sir William Johnson after 1746 and before 1755. It is inscribed on the underside of the handle WAT- KONOCHROCHQUANYO [I present it to thee freely out of respect] WARRAGHIYAGEY [the name given to Johnson when he became a Mohawk war chief in 1746], On the top of the handle is "og8entaguete le camarade jeanson" [the name of an Onondaga warrior who probably presented the weapon to Johnson, and an identifying phrase indicating he was a comrade of Sir William]. On the obverse side are thirteen joined human figures, each holding a gun ; and on the reverse is a series of exploit marks designed to record the number of times the owner engaged in battle and whether he had been wounded. The forward end of the haft is carved as an animal's head, and there are some conventional incised decorations. L: 23" William 0. Sweet collection

4. Ball-headed club tomahawk, late i8th century. The straight haft re- sembles the Johnson tomahawk described above as to the angle and amount of drop to the ball. The ball is smaller, and the specimen is relatively light but is still a functional weapon. The haft in the area of the drop is shaped in profile to resemble an animal's head, holding the ball in its mouth. It is flat sided except for a short section near the butt, which has been rounded to afford a better grip. The butt itself is flat sided and slightly larger than the grip as a further aid in retaining a good hold of the weapon when striking. Just in front of the grip the haft is pierced for a thong. Attributed to the Chippewa.

L: 2if" mai/hf: 2/4613

85

86 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

5. Ball-headed club tomahawk with iron blade, 19th century. This is a highly sophisticated example with refinements indicative of Plains Indian design. The small decadent ball, the protruberance on the lower edge of the haft, and the type of decoration all point to the western Indian and the early 19th century. The decoration consists of brass-headed tacks in pattern groupings on both haft and ball, incised follow lines, and raised carving. Most significant is the stylized carving of an otter on the forward edge of the drop, which undoubtedly symbolized the original owner's supernatural helper. The butt of the haft is pierced for a thong, and the grip area is wTapped with a narrow band of fur. Collected from the Oto in Oklahoma. L: 23V' mai/hf: 1/3555

6. Ball-headed club tomahawk, probably late 19th century. In this specimen the functional qualities of the weapon have almost entirely disap- peared. The balance is poor, and the ball is decadent, being both small and poorly shaped. The decoration consists of brass-headed tacks in some profusion. A feather has been attached to one of the tacks just above the ball. Collected in Iowa, it is also typically western.

L: 27" mai/hf: 1/3973

7. Ball-headed club tomahawk, very late 19th century. A grotesque de- scendant of the early weapon, this one-piece specimen was made from a burl and branch rather than cut down from a large block of wood in the traditional manner. The haft, in fact, follows the original contour of the branch. There is a slight enlargement at the butt and some notched deco- ration in the grip area, but otherwise the limb has simply been smoothed. The ball, on the other hand, has been carved in tj^ical Northwest Coast designs. Collected from the Haida.

L: 18" mai/hf: 5/789

8. Polished stone celt with its original wooden haft. It was this type of hatchet which the colonists found the Indians using and calling tamahak. Like its metal successors, it could be used either as a tool or weapon. This pre-contact specimen was found in Arkansas. See also No. 9.

H: 6f"W:2f" L:i9i" mai/hf: 10/4996

9. Celt tomahawk with flaked stone head. Some had chipped stone heads, and a few writers have felt that these were more apt to have been weapons than tools. This pre-contact specimen with its original wooden haft is from Benton County, Arkansas. See also No. 8.

H: 4J" W: 2^" L: 14^" mai/hf: 11/7235

10. Copper celts. There were celts of native copper as well as of stone long before the era of the trade hatchet. This pair is from a large cache of such hatchets found together in the Spiro ]Mound, Le Flore County, Oklahoma. The wooden hafts are carved to resemble birds' heads at the point where the blade passes through, w4th the eye indicated by a circular shell inlay. Dimensions given are for the largest specimen.

H: lof" W: if" L: 18" mai/hf: 18/9077

11. Polished stone celt with original haft of wood. This specimen closely resembles No. 8, but has a slightly longer haft and a more sharply defined

ABORIGINAL FORMS 87

anterior section through which the stone blade passes. Found in a cleft in a

rock bluff on the Buffalo River near Yellville, Arkansas.

L: 19 V mai/hf: 10/4996

12. Full grooved stone axe with reconstructed haft to show manner of hafting. The hickory handle is wrapped around the head and lashed with a rawhide thong. Axes such as this were almost always tools although they could have been used as weapons in an emergency. Collected in Saskatchewan. L: 16" mai/hf: 22/7240

13. Full grooved axe with original haft. This specimen, found in a cave in Mesa Verde, Colorado, is grooved nearer the center of the head. The mass of stone above the handle thus helps to balance the weight of the blade and so affords a steadier stroke. The haft is composed of a light withe, which is wrapped completely around the head and back along its own length.

H: 6"L: 17" mai/hf: 5/8533

14. Monolithic ceremonial axe. Like the superb specimen described below, this axe is fashioned from a single piece of stone. In all major respects it is identical except for the quality of workmanship. Minor differences include the shape of the forward end, the amount of the "blade" projecting above the "haft," and the butt piercing, which is horizontal instead of vertical. Found along the Cumberland River opposite Nashville, it also represents the Mississippian culture horizon.

H: 6" L: 13 J" mai/hf: 7775

15. Indicative of the importance of the early stone axe in playing a cere- monial as well as a utilitarian role — just as did its metal successor — are the superb axes carved from a single block of stone, found in various areas of the southeastern United States. Useless as a tool or weapon, they are marvelous examples of craftsmanship in stone. Most of these represent the Mississippian culture horizon, and date from between 900-1600 A.D. This specimen, excavated at Moundville, Alabama, by Clarence B. Moore in 1909, has a small hole drilled in the base, presumably for a thong.

H: 5f" W: 2^" L: iif" mai/hf: 17/891

16. Monolithic ceremonial axe of the type commonly termed a "slave killer." Outside the Mississippian culture, monolithic axes tended to follow designs far removed from the standard axes of the period. This example is zoomorphic in design with only slight resemblance to the functional tool. It was carved from black slate, probably about 1500 A.D, Excavated on Gunther Island, Areata Bay, California, it bears evidences of cremation. H: 6i" L: 15" mai/hf: 23/1874

17. Monolithic ceremonial "slave-killer." This specimen of black slate more closely resembles the standard celt but is capped by a carved eagle's head at the forward end in typical Northwest Coast style. This head is, in turn, decorated with tufts of hair set in holes drilled in the stone. The sharply curved haft is chamfered in the area of the grip and bears an incised design representing a "tinneh," the coppers used as symbols of wealth in the Northwest. Collected from the Kwakiutl, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, it dates to about 1875.

H: 8^' L: 13^" mai/hf: 5/5062

m AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

18. Monolithic ceremonial "slave-killer." Like the preceding specimen, this axe is fashioned from black slate and was made about 1 850-1 875. The workmanship is much finer and the eagle head more stylized. It was never tufted. Collected at the mouth of the Fraser River, British Columbia, from the Kwakiutl.

H: 7" L: 13" mai/hf: 14/4346

19. Ceremonial stone "slave-killer," early 19th century. Closely related to the celt, this elongated blade is hafted in the same manner as numbers 8 and 1 1 . Except for the forward terminal and the enlarged butt, in fact, the haft is quite similar to these specimens. The haft is painted red and black. The forward terminal is carved and painted to resemble a human head and is even adorned with hair. Collected in Alaska from the Tlingit.

H: 15" L: 23^" mai/hf: 18/8554

20. Elkhorn club of the "slave-killer" type, with stone blade. The antler from which the haft is fashioned has been smoothed and decorated with incised abstract zoomorphic designs. The fore end is carved as an animal head, and the leaf-shaped stone blade is cemented into a socket in one prong of the antler. Collected from the Tsimshian, Skeena River, British Columbia.

L: 15^' mai/hf: 15/1346

21. Four gunstock clubs. This form of club has been recorded as early as the beginning of the 17th century. It remained in use as a weapon among the western Indians until after 1850 and continued to be made for ceremonial purposes for many years thereafter. The specimen at the left bears a flaked chert point, mounted in the early manner. Nevertheless it is a 19th century piece, attributed to the Chippewa. The incised decoration is accented with black, red, and green paint. (L: 31"). The second club, also of 19th century style, is noteworthy for its pierced decoration. Incised lines follow the edges of the club and the borders of the piercings while brass-headed tacks are also used along some of the borders. The iron point is crudely fashioned. It is attributed to the Sioux. (L: 31^")- The third specimen boasts a spear point, obtained from traders, and brass-headed tacks set in a circle. It was acquired from the Teton Sioux about the middle of the last century, at which time it must have been relatively new. (L: 31 i"). The right hand specimen is less a gunstock club than a variant of the celt with a blade made from a knife instead of polished stone. The fore end is cut on a slant and edged with three incised follow lines. A cluster of feathers is attached to the tip. The haft is fiat sided in the area of the blade, then rounded to the butt, which is enlarged to prevent the hand from slipping off. It is late 19th century and is attributed to the Sioux. (L: 32".)

mai/hf: 21/2103, 18/4911, 16/5172, 1/9641

22. Gunstock club, mid- 19th century. A long slender variant of the gunstock club, it is one step further removed from the classical form than No. 23, which retains more of an angle at the point of percussion. The three blades of this specimen are made of horn. The decoration consists of seven unequally spaced rings of brass-headed tacks around the haft plus feathers attached to the fore end. Attributed to the Sioux.

L: 42f" mai/hf: 7/4305

SIMPLE HATCHETS AND BELT AXES 89

23. Sitting Bull's gunstock club. Collected from the famous Hunkpapa Sioux leader by General Nelson A. Miles, this long slender variant of the gunstock club boasts three bowie knife blades of about 1850, stamped on their ricassos MANHATTAN/ CUTLRY CCMP/ SHEFFIELD. The wood is flat sided throughout and is decorated with file branding in diagonal lines. The enlarged butt is pierced for the attachment of three grizzly bear claws and a rawhide trailer onto which are sewed a number of brass trade bells.

L: 40" mai/hf: 14/2173

24. Peace wampum belt with trade tomahawk in purple and white quahag shell beads. It symbolizes the defeat of the Algonquians by the Iroquois in 1670 and was presented by the victors to the vanquished at the council following the war. The belt is 15 rows wide with a hemp fiber weft and deer skin warp. At one time it was smeared with vermillion; the depiction of the simple iron hatchet upon it makes it an important document for this study. For a detailed identification and documentation of this early wam- pum belt see Keppler, (1929). It is 43^" long and varies from 4^" to 41" wide.

mai/hf: 9776

SIMPLE HATCHETS AND BELT AXES

25.-34. Group of simple hatchets or belt axes of the commonest form with rounded polls, showing some of the variety in size and shape that may be found in even so basic a type. No. 25 is the large size, typical of those traded almost exclusively during the 17th century and gradually replaced by lighter varieties after 1700, until they were relegated to the position of the "squaw axe". (H: 7" W: 3^"). Most are made in the usual fashion, from one piece of strap iron with a steel edge welded on. Exceptions are No. 32, which is hammered out of brass and may be of Indian manufacture. (H: 5" W: 2^"); and No. 34, from New Hampshire, which was made in two sections and welded down the middle. It is entirely of iron without a steel edge. (H:7"W:2i").

mai/hf: 22/7331, 22/7393, 22/7405, 22/7395, 22/7394, 22/7331, 22/7334, 17/9764. 22/7400, 22/7404.

35.-37. Anglo-American belt axes of the mid- 1 8th century found at Fort Ticonderoga. They resemble the contemporary felling axe as it was devel- oping in America, but are quite small in size. These particular specimens were probably used by colonial soldiers. The polls are flat and slightly thickened on 35 and 36 but not enough as yet to counter-balance the weight of the blade and prevent wobbling in a stroke. The poll of No. 37 is also flat but not thickened. The eyes are long thin teardrops on numbers 35 and 36, and are slightly shorter and thicker on 37. In all instances, the eyes flare to the rear rather than to the front as was usual in most tomahawks. Note that ears have developed on 35 and 36. No. 35 bears an illegible maker's mark on the reverse side. No. 35: H: 4f" W: 3" No. 36: H: 3|" W: 2f" No. 37: H: 3f" W: i|" Author's collection

go AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

38. Iron hatchet with double flaring blade and steel edge, middle i8th century. Excavated in an Indian grave near Greenwich, Conn. The flat poll is not thickened and shows signs of having been used for pounding. The eye is rectangular. On the obverse side is a maker's mark consisting of a depres- sed oval with a raised border of dots and, in the center, crossed saws or scythe blades above a star. There were originally three letters in the angles formed by the saws, but only H and A are now legible. Hatchets of this form are comparatively rare,

H: 5" W: 4 J" Ben F. Hubbell collection

39. Hatchet of the so-called "Spanish Southwestern form." Note the three-piece construction with the two side pieces of iron welded together above the eye to form a heavy crest and the steel edge welded on. Collected in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

H: 3I" W: if" William O. Sweet collection

40. Fully developed hatchet of the American type, period 1 750-1 850. The heavy poll now counter-balances the blade. The ear is pronounced, and the eye is an elongated teardrop much the same as in a modern hatchet.

H: 4" W: 2" William O. Sweet collection

41. An unusual double-edge hatchet of unknown provenience; the haft is probably recent. The head is made of four pieces — two iron sides and two steel edges, and it apparently dates from the mid-igth century. The eye is oval.

H: 3I" W: 2|" L: 14" mai/hf: 22/7243

42. Late belt axe of the traditional pattern with rounded poll and tear- drop eye, {ca. 1850-1860). The head is apparently English and bears a maker's mark on the reverse side. This is now illegible except for the words "CAST STEEL/ WARRANTED." A separate steel edge is welded on. The head is well made with filed borders around the eye; moldings are below it. The wooden haft is encased at the butt end in buckskin and bears beaded decoration plus fringes and a buckskin wrist loop. Collected about 1875 from the Teton Sioux.

H: 6i" W: 3^" L: 24^' mai/hf: 9/6588

43. A traditional belt axe of the i8th or early 19th century with rounded poll and round eye. It is made of wrought iron with a steel edge. On the obverse side are two stamped marks consisting of a pair of sunbursts con- nected by an arc. The wooden haft is mid- 19th century and is encased at the butt end with buckskin to which is attached a beaded and fringed flap. Attributed to the Oglala Sioux.

H: 5|" W: 2|" L: 19^" mai/hf: 2/3178

44. Late belt axe with exceptionally heavy flat poll. The eye is a pointed ellipse, and there is a stamped maker's mark that is now illegible. The wooden haft is wrapped just behind the head with strips of red cloth, and there is a wrist thong at the butt end. This specimen is of Crow provenience and probably dates from the second half of the 19th century.

H: 5j" W: if" L: 24" mai/hf: 2/3299

45. Late belt axe by Collins & Company. The shape is generally traditional, but the poll is flat and considerably thickened. The reverse side is stamped

MISSOURI WAR HATCHETS QI

"No. 179/COLLINS &CO. HARTFORD/CAST- STEEL WARRANTED." The wooden haft is decorated with file branding in wide bands, fur, feathers, and wool thread. It is Sioux, and dates from the latter part of the 19th century.

H: 5I" W: 3y L: 28^'' Smithsonian Institution

usnm: 1 5402 1

MISSOURI WAR HATCHETS

46. Missouri War Hatchet of the typical form, without piercings. The head is well made of a single piece of wrought iron, and the edge has been beveled, although there is no sign that it was ever sharpened. The eye is round, and there are deep file lines forming borders over the poll. The blade is decorated with stamped X's, plus a central design which resembles a stick figure drawing composed of sunbursts or "stars," and file stamped designs. The wooden haft is carved with a series of line-and-dot bands. The butt end is encased in buckskin with a black-and-white beaded band and flap. Most of the original fringe on the flap is now missing. Collected in 1870 from the Osage.

H: 8|" W: 5" L: i6f mai/hf: 7080

47. Missouri War Hatchet with cloth-wrapped haft. The head is well forged and slightly heavier than usual. The eye is round, and over the poll are file lines formmg a border, plus a series of punched dots. There is a stamp which may be a maker's mark somewhat resembling a fleur-de-lys that has been applied five times. There are five circular holes in the blade, plus a sixth which has been filled with brass. The haft is encased in red woolen cloth terminating in a flap with the usual white selvage. The forward end of the haft is studded with brass tacks, and the lower edge of the butt is carved in serrations. Collected from the Osage.

H: 8|" W: 4I" L: 24 J'' mai/hf: 2/895

48. Missouri War Hatchet. The head is simple and plain except for a single piercing of a paisley or apostrophe shape. The eye is round. The wooden haft is completely unadorned, though there is a piercing for a wrist thong at the butt. Attributed to the Sisseton Sioux.

H: 7i W: 5| L: 23 mai/hf: 9/7365

49. Missouri War Hatchet. This specimen is unusual because of its narrow edge in proportion to the height. Also, the edge has been sharply beveled, which is most uncommon. The eye is round, and the one-piece construction is typical. There are file line decorations over the poll and at the base of the blade, plus three rows of punched dots. The blade is pierced with a "bleeding heart" surrounded by a border of punched dots. The small projection to the rear at the base of the blade is more highly developed than is usually encountered in this form of hatchet. The wooden haft, which appears somewhat more recent than the head, is encased at the butt end in buckskin, with a black-and-white beaded band at the forward end and a flap at the rear. The handle section is wrapped with cord. Both ends of the leather are fringed, and decorated with tin-cone "danglers" enclosing tufts of deer hair. Collected from the Comanche.

H: 8" W: 4" L: 23" mai/hf: 11/8057

92 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

50. Missouri War Hatchet. The head itself is simply forged in the usual manner, but is decorated more elaborately than normal. There are file mark borders on the poll. The blade is pierced with a "bleeding heart," and just below the piercing on the obverse side are a crescent and a star inlaid in brass. Beneath the inlaid star are four punched stars. The haft is studded on the forward end with brass tacks and is completely wrapped in strouding cloth. This covering consists of a broad strip of red wool and a narrower strip of blue wool which have been sewed together. At the butt end the strips separate and form two flaps with serrated edges. The blue strip terminates with selvage striping and the butt end of the haft is serrated on the under side and is pierced for a thong from which is suspended a cluster of small brass bells and two trimmed feathers. Collected from the Osage. H: 8" W: 4|" L: 2if' mai/hf: 2/9173

51. Missouri War Hatchet of exceptionally large size. The huge head is decorated with deeply filed lines over the poll, plus moldings at the base of the blade. Punched dots form a cluster at the base of the blade and borders along its front and back, as well as around the piercings. These piercings consist of a heart in the center and two sunbursts, one at the leading edge and one at the heel. The edge has never been beveled. The plain wooden haft is studded with brass tacks. It is pierced for a thong from which a large brass bell is suspended. An almost identical hatchet is in the collections of the American Museum of Natural History. Collected from the Osage.

H: 9|" W: 6" L: 21" mai/hf: 2/5036

SPONTOON TOMAHAWKS

The great majority of spontoon tomahawks were made with pipes. A selection of these are illustrated and described in numbers 258-298.

52. Spontoon axe of the type found among the Mandans by Lewis and Clark in 1805 and described by them as the "older fassion." The huge blade is forged from one piece of wrought iron, bent around to form the eye and welded at the base of the blade. The two basal processes were cut from the body of the blade and curled outward. The sole decoration consists of two circular piercings. Because of these typical piercings, the round eye, and the great length of this form of blade (12 to 15 inches in height), they are often mistaken for door hinges. As weapons they must have been extremely unwieldy especially since the haft was only about 14 inches long, approxi- mately equal to the height of the blade. The present specimen bears a maker's mark in the form of a capital L stamped at the base of the blade just below the weld.

H: 14V W: 3^" Donald Baird collection

53. Spontoon axe, [ca. 1 830-1 850). It is forged from a single piece of wrought iron in the usual fashion with a round eye. Decoration is provided in the form of numerous file marks and punched dots on both the blade and poll. The wooden haft is decorated with a few brass tacks just behind the head and wrapped with a coil of fur. Provenience unknown.

H: 1 1 J" W: 2\" L: 22" Smithsonian Institution

usnm: 359628

93

HALBERD TOMAHAWKS

Two other halberd tomahawks, both bearing pipe bowls, are described and illustrated as Numbers 107 and 108. Another closely related specimen is No. 61, although it does not have a spear point.

54. Halberd tomahawk, probably New England, {ca. 1 700-1 750). In many ways this unusual specimen seems almost to have been made from a halberd with the head and ground iron separated only by 2 inches of bare wood. Both head and ground iron are made of wrought iron and forged in several pieces. The blade and beak or spike are of one piece. The spear point is round in cross-section, and both it and the socket for the haft may at one time have screwed into the blade-beak combination. At the present, however, the piece is rusted badly so that it is not possible to deter- mine whether this is the case or whether all three pieces were welded together.

H: 6|" W: 2f" L: 13^" mai/hf: 22/7241

55. Unusual halberd tomahawk, probably designed for throwing, {ca. 1 825-1 850). The distinctive features of this specimen are the flat section of the haft and the sharply pointed butt filed to a distinct median ridge. It is impossible to determine without X-rays whether it was forged from two or three pieces of steel, but the haft and spear point seem to be one piece while the blade and beak have been welded on either as a unit or as separate pieces. The hole through the butt end of the haft is recent. Originally the pointed butt may have been driven into a short wooden handle. The fact that the dark green paint with which most of the piece was originally covered stops at the filed area of the butt seems to confirm this theory. No exact analogy for this tomahawk has been found, though it closely resem- bles some medieval throwing axes. It is well made, however, and seems to have been designed as a weapon: its combination of points and edges makes it especially adaptable for throwing. Provenience unknown.

H: 6|" W: 4I" L: i4|-'' Author's collection

56. Halberd tomahawk, probably New England, {ca. 1 700-1 750). It is forged from one piece of steel averaging three-sixteenths of an inch thick and is unusual in that it has a short chisel-like edge instead of a spear point. The short tang was designed to be driven into a wooden haft. The beak has been blunted somewhat from pounding, and there are still traces of yellow and red ochre on the blade.

H: 7" W: 3 1" L: 5f" William O. Sweet collection

57. Halberd (or halberd tomahawk) from New York State, {ca. 1700- 1750). In some instances it is difficult to determine whether specimens such as this were designed to be fitted with a long haft to serve as halberd or whether they were meant to have short hafts and to be used as tomahawks. Probably some were finished one way and some another. The present speci- men was found between the walls of a 17th century house in Kingston, N.Y., along with other pieces of Indian trade goods, such as packets of jews' harps and folding knives. It is forged from one piece of steel. The blade and spear point are sharpened, but the beak is simply a hook, rectangular in section. The end of the tang has been roughened with chisel cuts to help hold it in place after insertion in a wooden haft.

H: 8" W: 5" L: 15I" Author's collection

94 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

58. Halberd tomahawk, {ca. 1 700-1 750). This a most important specimen, for it illustrates how heads such as number 57 were hafted for use as toma- hawks. The head is forged as one piece with a long shank. Both blade and spear point have been sharpened, but the beak is one-eighth of an inch thick along its edge. It does, however, taper toward its apex to form a relatively sharp point. The original haft is slotted to receive the shank, which is secured in place by three transverse rivets with diamond-shaped iron washers. An iron collar is wrapped around the fore end of the haft and brazed. The butt end is cut square, and apparently this is the original length of the haft. At any rate, it is far too slender ever to have been much longer. Provenience unknown.

H: 9f" W: 6^" L: ii\' Author's collection

59. Halberd tomahawk, New England, early i8th century. Somewhat smaller than the preceding specimen, this piece seems more likely to have been used as a tomahawk than as a halberd, though either function is possible. It is forged from one piece of steel, one-quarter inch thick. This maximum thickness is maintained in the shank just before and behind the blade and beak, and tapers from that in both directions. The barbed spear point set far up the shank is a most unusual feature, and the beak is sharpened to an edge on the concave side. The tang is also sharpened to facilitate driving into a wooden haft.

H: 6" W: 2 J" L: \2.\" Author's collection

60. Halberd tomahawk from Illinois, {ca. 1750). It is made entirely of wrought iron or low grade steel. The haft is round in section and swells at the normal position for grasping with the hand, then tapers to a blunt point. The beak has been broken off. A generally similar tomahawk marked by R. Beatty of Pennsylvania is said to have been owned by Daniel Boone. H: 3f" W: 2^" L: 13^" mai/hf: 22/7270

SPIKED TOMAHAWKS

One other spiked tomahawk is illustrated and described as No. 300 in the section on hatchets used by the military. Closely related types are also to be found illustrated in the sections on celtiform tomahawks and on naval boarding axes.

61. Early spiked tomahawk from Pennsylvania, very similar to the hal- berd type. This specimen, which dates from the first half of the i8th centu- ry, however, never had a spear point. It is forged in two pieces (head and haft) of wrought iron or low grade steel. The symmetrical, crescentic blade such as found on this and the succeeding three axes seems most often to be found in New York State, but it also occasionally appears in neighboring Pennsylvania and New England. The haft is flat sided with the corners rounded and sharply pointed at the butt.

H: 6^" W: 3f" L: lof" mai/hf: 6/7608

62. Early spiked tomahawk with crescentic blade from New York, {ca. 1 730-1 760). It is forged in the usual manner with two pieces of wrought iron and a steel edge. The eye is round, and the blade, eye section, and spike are covered with decorations composed of punched circles plus straight lines

SPIKED TOMAHAWKS 95

and chevrons made up of many individual short Unes. The spike is leaf

shaped and double edged but has never been sharp.

H: 7^" W: 3f" mai/hf: 21/6289

63. Early spiked tomahawk with crescentic blade from Ontario County, New York, {ca. 1 730-1 760). The eye is rectangular, and the entire head has been forged in the usual manner with a steel edge. The diamond-shaped spike has never been sharpened.

H: 6f" W: 4 J" mai/hf: 10/4170

64. Early spiked tomahawk with crescentic blade from Vermont, {ca. 1 730-1 760). This one is of the more common form, designed for a wooden haft and having a rectangular eye. It is forged in two pieces in the typical fashion for a spiked axe plus a steel edge. The spike is sharpened along its back edge.

H: 5^" W: 2|'' mai/hf: 6/6402

65. Spiked tomahawk from New York State, {ca. 1750). It is made of wrought iron with a steel edge. The eye is a pointed ellipse, almost diamond shaped. The spike is rectangular in section and has been decorated with notches cut in the angles.

H: ^l" W: 2^' mai/hf: 19/418

66. Spiked tomahawk from Genoa, New York, {ca. 1750). It is forged from iron with a steel edge. The spike has a strong median ridge on both sides so that it is roughly diamond shaped in section. The eye is rectangular. H: 7I" W: 3" mai/hf: 5/4599

67. Spiked tomahawk from New York State, mid- 1 8th century. The curved spike is especially long in relation to the size of the blade. It is rectangular in section at the base, and gradually becomes rounder as it tapers to the point. The eye is oval, and there is a steel edge.

H: 7^" W: i|" mai/hf: 21/6303

68. Exceptionally large spiked tomahawk, i8th century. The eye is rectangular, and the spike is round in section. There is no information concerning provenience.

H: io|:" W: 3 J" mai/hf: 22/7337

69. Very large spiked tomahawk from New York State with symmetri- cally developed ears and a straight spike, possibly i8th century. The spike is rectangular in section with rounded corners at the base, but quickly becomes round. The eye is oval.

H: io|" W: 3I" mai/hf: 22/7407

70. Spiked tomahawk of a form closely related to No. 65, but half again as large; mid- 1 8th century. The spike is rectangular in section, but the edges are chamfered. The eye is oval. Provenience is unknown.

H: 8^" W: 3^" mai/hf: 22/7337

71. Spiked tomahawk, i8th century. The spike is unusual in that it is triangular in section. The eye is oval, and the blade has been cut off at the back so that the edge is quite narrow. Provenience unknown.

H: 5^" W: if" mai/hf: 22/7337

96 AMERICAN INDIAN TOMAHAWKS

72. Late spiked tomahawk collected among the Seneca in Oklahoma. It appears to be no earlier than the second quarter of the 19th century, well after the vogue for this form of tomahawk had passed. It is made of wrought iron with a steel edge. The eye is a pointed ellipse, and the spike is rectan- gular in section.

H: 7I" W: 3" mai/hf: 20/7293

73. Late spiked tomahawk, probably 1800-18 10, said to have been found on the Tippecanoe battlefield in Indiana. The spike is rectangular in section, and the eye is oval.

H: 8" W: 2f" mai/hf: 22/7391

74. Spiked tomahawk from Connecticut with symmetrical ears and sym- metrically flaring blade, {ca. 1 740-1 770). The eye is a pointed ellipse. The spike is rectangular in section with the corners chamfered at the base and gradually tapering out for about three quarters of its length.

H: 7I" W: 3y Ben F. Huhhell collection

75. Spiked tomahawk with original haft, {ca. 1 740-1 770). This specimen is believed to have come from the Mohawks of central New York State, It is very similar to one carried by a colonial soldier during the French wars and now in the Rhode Island Historical Society. The spike is generally rounded in section, and the eye is oval. The wooden haft still bears traces of red paint. H: 6|-" W: 2\" L: 17" William, O. Sweet collection

76. Spiked tomahawk with exceptionally long haft. The head is beauti- fully forged with moldings at the base of the spike, and engraved scroll and line decoration over the eye and down the blade. The spike has a low median ridge and slopes to an edge both front and back, but it has never been sharp. The eye is a pointed ellipse. The haft has been cut away at the forward end to allow it to pass through the eye, and the wood which place. The wood has been wrapped and burned in a tiger stripe design with one broad and one narrow stripe spiralling around it. During the years it has broken once, approximately in the middle, and been repaired. This is one of few the specimens with such a long haft, and the presumption is that it was designed as a ceremonial present during the second half of the i8th century. It was found in Pennsylvania.

H: 7I" W: 2" L: 35^" Author's collection

77. Spiked tomahawk with unusually forged head and conical cap at the butt, (ca. 1 740-1 760). Instead of being forged in the usual manner from two pieces of iron welded together above and below the eye, this specimen ap- pears to have been made from a piece of iron wrapped around a form for the eye and then welded back upon itself in the manner of the typical belt axe with rounded poll. The spike was then forged separately and welded on. There is also a steel edge. At the base of the spike is a flat molding to supply the welding area, and this has been balanced by additional moldings on the poll and below the eye. The spike is straight sided for most of its length with chamfered corners; then it tapers rapidly to a point and becomes rounded in section. The eye is round. The wooden haft is straight sided until it enters the butt cap, and there it tapers rapidly to a point. The butt cap is made of sheet iron and resembles the ground iron of a polearm of the period. Obtained from the Iroquois.

H: 6" W: i|" L: 14" mai/hf: 20/1993

SPIKED TOMAHAWKS 97

78. Spiked tomahawk of the late i8th or early 19th century, of unknown origin. The head is well made and heavier than usual. The eye is a pointed ellipse, and there are engraved line-and-chevron decorations above and below the eye and on the spike. The spike itself has a strong median ridge, but the edges were never really sharp. The haft is modern.

H: 8|" W: 2^' L: 28" mai/hf: 22/7237

79. Late spiked tomahawk made by Goulding & Company, New York, {ca. 1 850-1 860). The head is made of steel and finely finished with an oval eye and a spike with a high median ridge. The haft is of the curved pattern which became popular about the middle of the 19th century for both hatchets and axes. On both the butt and fore end are brass plates, each attached by two screws. The butt plate is stamped "GOULDING & CO / NEW YORK;" the front plate "GOULDING / NEW YORK." This firm made surgical instruments and other fine cutlery during this period. It is at- tributed to the Iroquois.

H: 8|" W: 4^" L: 17" mai/hf: 15/6258

80. Late spiked tomahawk, {ca. 1 840-1 850). The long straight spike is generally rectangular in section. The eye is wedge shaped, and there is a well-developed socket for the haft. The edge of the blade is somewhat broken, but there is no indication of any steel. The haft is straight and undecorated. Attributed to the Sioux.

H: 10" W: 2^" L: 26|-" mai/hf: 2/5325

81. Spiked tomahawk with brass head, late 19th or early 20th century. The head is crudely cast. The eye is round, the diameter increasing towards the haft which is apparently held in place by friction only. The haft itself expands similarly. Slightly more than half way to the butt it is pierced for a rawhide thong, which is decorated with thread wrapping, short strips of fur, and a long tuft of horsehair. Tribal origin unknown.

H: 5" W: 3f" L: ly^" mai/hf: 22/7236

82. Late spiked tomahawk of unusual construction, {ca. 1 850-1 860). Both the blade and the spike are formed from sheets of steel. These are fastened together by two straps of iron which are bent outward in the space between, to form the eye, which is in the shape of a pointed ellipse. The haft is copied from the recurved axe and hatchet handles which became popular after the middle of the century. Attributed to the New York Seneca.

H: 8J" W: 3f" L: 19" mai/hf: 14/4984

83. Spiked tomahawk with symmetrically flaring blade, {ca. late i8th or early 19th century). Note the resemblance to No. 69, except that the spike on this specimen is bent and is slightly shorter. The spike is rectangular in section at the base but quickly becomes rounded. The eye is oval. The haft is a modem replacement. Provenience unknown.

H: 8|-" W: 5" mai/hf: 22/7264

84. Spiked