Revolutionary War Bison horns ?

[jonathan butcher]

Would I be correct in assuming there were little to no bison horns in use prior to Western expansion? In fact were there any black cow horns made into powder horns pre-1800 ?

 

[kje54]

Would I be correct in assuming there were little to no bison horns in use prior to Western expansion?

Bison were quite prevalent from New York down to Florida, in 1769, George Washington killed bison in the Kanawha Valley of West Virginia. An Englishman first reported bison near the Potomac River in 1612, by the 1770s bison were gone from most or all of North and South Carolina, Alabama and Florida. By the 1830s eastern buffalo were pretty much gone.

 

[tnlonghunter]

Hard to say it never happened. I mean, you can't prove a negative. However, it probably wasn't common by any stretch of the imagination. If you're re-enacting, I guess you'd need a pretty good story to give it credibility, but if it's just for you, 'cause you like Bison horns, do it!

 

[jonathan butcher]

Not re-enacting but it occurred to me I don't think i've ever seen an original bison powder horn earlier than the beginning of the 19th century.

 

[kje54]

Not re-enacting but it occurred to me I don't think i've ever seen an original bison powder horn earlier than the beginning of the 19th century.

European colonists often relied on bison for food, fur etc. which is why they were mostly hunted out by the 1830s. Considering there were an estimated 2.5 million eastern buffalo when Europeans first arrived then hunted out by the 1830.......... I'd say there were buffalo horns aplenty early on (pre-1740s) but I'm also sure cow horns were much more numerous. Many of the eastern tribes hunted the buffalo, by the time of the Rev War eastern bison had become scarce.

Writing in 1708, Thomas Nairne, an English trader, mentions the Chickasaw Indians (their main villages in the present day Tupelo area) wearing buffalo robes and hunting buffalo during a trading journey to Charleston, S.C. A 1740 French account mentions seeing “boeuf” in what is now northwest Mississippi.

In 1775 British trader James Adaire published a history of the American Indian. His account was based primarily on his experiences as a trader, mostly with the Cherokee and Chickasaw between 1736 and 1768. He also told of traveling with a group of Chickasaws to Charleston and being delayed along the way as the Chickasaws were “killing and cutting up buffalo.” William McIntosh, a prominent Creek Indian leader of the early 1800s, related that buffalo had been common in the southeast until “as late as 1774.”

Did the Buffalo Roam

Bison Bellows: Bison East of The Mississippi (U.S. National Park Service)

All About Bison

 

[oldwood]

Perhaps think of the Buffalo powder horn as an oddity seen in the 18th century. Why wouldn't there be someone w/ an odd looking powder horn.???? Why not??? There were buffalo in the eastern forests before 1800 , so why wouldn't some individual make a powder container from it? Buff. horns are a little smaller than an ox horns, conjecture says , that's a good enough reason there were not a lot of them in use. To say there were none , can't imagine that......oldwood

 

[jonathan butcher]

To be clear mine wasn't an assertion, rather an observation based on admittedly limited data. Would like to see a pic of an original 18th century buff horn if one has one to post.

 

[MO_E_W]

In the stories I`ve read about Daniel Boone opening up the Kentucky territory it mentioned the abundance of big game animals such as Bison, Elk, Mule dear And white tail dear. Along with large amount of other game. A lot of the trails they traveled on were from made by them. So it is possible that some powder horns were made from Bison horns. Just none have survived, or they are packed away in someone`s collection.
One thought is that a lot of the powder horns were written on. They would scrimshaw a lot of info on their horns, their names, were they were from and even maps. So that would make the lighter colored horns a lot more popular then the black bison ones, and easier to acquire.
As oldwood mentioned the size may have had some thing do with it. Traveling great distance away from ready supplies means you need to carry more with you into the wilderness.

 

[jonathan butcher]

This makes sense to me. Zonie ?

One thought is that a lot of the powder horns were written on. They would scrimshaw a lot of info on their horns, their names, were they were from and even maps. So that would make the lighter colored horns a lot more popular then the black bison ones, and easier to acquire.

 

[Brokennock]

I could be wrong, but I seem to recall @George having documentation for Rev war or earlier buffalo/bison powder horns. Cow would have still been far the most common. I think I remember reading of an ox horn powder horn as well.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I would think the raising and butchering of domestic cattle would make it easier to keep the supply of cow/oxen horns high, whereas having to hunt the Bison would make the availability of their horns for the market more scarce.

 

[Notchy Bob]

As stated above, we do know there were bison in the east, and it seems logical that some of their horns would have been used for powder. It would be pure speculation on my part, but I would think that horns from domestic bovines would have been in more common use, and I believe there were probably professional "horners" to provide them. I believe wild bison try to avoid people when they can, and I'm guessing home-made buffalo powder horns would have been more likely to appear on the frontier than in the settlements.

I found this horn, attributed to the Cherokee, on the Peach State Archaeological Society website:

You do see brown bison horns sometimes, and I've heard they are more frequently associated with eastern bison, but I haven't seen any solid documentation of that, the assertion above notwithstanding. There is also some confusion regarding "woodland bison." It is my understanding that the eastern bison were genetically the same as the plains bison. "Wood buffalo" are a different species (although they will interbreed with plains bison), and native to the far northern boreal forests. In any event, the information above is submitted for consideration.

This 1732 painting of a Tunica family, from the lower Mississippi Valley, shows what looks like a buffalo powder horn, slung on the gentleman's side:

That's about the best I can do. I'm looking forward to reading some of the other responses.

Notchy Bob

 

[oreclan]

Fort Pitt Museum has an original bison powderhorn from the 18th C. I could only find a picture of a replica, however.

 

[Rifleman1776]

My opinion is they would have been rare. The eastern buff was smaller than his western cousin. Buff horns are thick and heavy. The powder carry capacity would have been small and it is unlikely the extra weight for less usefulness would have been popular. But, what we don't know about history, we don't know. Never say never.

 

[jonathan butcher]

Given the census here it would be reasonable to assume that, though there were Bison in the east, the Western buffalo and it's much larger horn ( ie powder horn) is a Western expansion thing. Post Lewis & Clark era.

 

[Zonie]

This makes sense to me. Zonie ?

Don't get me into this or I might start talking about the Longhorn powder horn. Now, that's something you don't see every day.

 

[kje54]

Don't get me into this or I might start talking about the Longhorn powder horn. Now, that's something you don't see every day.
View attachment 41500

Elephant "horn"?

 

[jonathan butcher]

Oh now that’s just silly!

Elephant horn?

 

[kje54]

Oh now that’s just silly!

Duh..........

 

[Dale Lilly]

I think I'll carry a 'French horn.'