RussB
45 Cal.
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2004
- Messages
- 882
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The Barnett Trade Gun, depicted by the "Sitting Fox" always facing right...or "East", is an interesting story for those interested.
My own interest in this rifle led to the avatar I use on the forum.
I hope you enjoy the following, and I hope it you find it informative.
Russ.........
The Northwest Smoothbore Indian Trade Gun
No gun in American history has had such widespread use as the Northwest trade gun. This smoothbore, fowling piece, or single barrel shotgun, was used more than all the Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Hawkens rifles put together (Klisinger).
Firearms were brought to America by the first explorers, and some of these matchlocks fell into the hands of Indians. But for practical purposes, the Indian trade gun came about after the introduction of the flintlock in 1620-1635. These early Dutch and English smoothbore guns established the pattern for the Northwest trade guns.
By the mid-seventeen hundreds, the Indian trade gun was the most traded weapon in North America. The wide-spread use of Indian trade guns resulted in many names: the French called it the fusil, fusee, or fuke; the gun makers of England called it the Carolina musket; some traders and explorers, including Gen. William H. Ashley referred to it as the London fusil. The name also depended on its region of use; the gun was called the Hudson's Bay fuke, the North West gun, or the Mackinaw gun. The first use of the term Northwest gun appears in the journal of John Long. An independent Montreal merchant, Long traded with the Indians north of Lake Superior in 1777-1780 (Russell).
From its beginning in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company traded guns to the Indians on a large scale. By 1742, beaver pelts were valued at: one pelt for one pound of shot or three flints; four pelts for one pound of powder; ten pelts for a pistol; twenty pelts for a trade gun.
The primary source of the Indian trade gun was factories in Birmingham and London, England. The gun makers in London charged that Birmingham turned out park-paling muskets for the American trade. The Birmingham manufacturers were often referred to as blood merchants and their factories blood houses by the London group. There are numerous accounts in journals of gun barrels blowing up when these trade guns were fired (Northwest Journal). There is no way to determine how many Indians and traders lost all or parts of their hands from these guns. Still, problems with the Indian trade gun were probably no higher than other Colonial guns of the period.
The development of the trade rifle paralleled that of the Northwest gun, but western Indians showed little interest in rifles. The earliest mention of rifles in the West was at the American Fur Company's Fort Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River. The journals of Robert Stuart, Gabriel Franch
My own interest in this rifle led to the avatar I use on the forum.
I hope you enjoy the following, and I hope it you find it informative.
Russ.........
The Northwest Smoothbore Indian Trade Gun
No gun in American history has had such widespread use as the Northwest trade gun. This smoothbore, fowling piece, or single barrel shotgun, was used more than all the Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Hawkens rifles put together (Klisinger).
Firearms were brought to America by the first explorers, and some of these matchlocks fell into the hands of Indians. But for practical purposes, the Indian trade gun came about after the introduction of the flintlock in 1620-1635. These early Dutch and English smoothbore guns established the pattern for the Northwest trade guns.
By the mid-seventeen hundreds, the Indian trade gun was the most traded weapon in North America. The wide-spread use of Indian trade guns resulted in many names: the French called it the fusil, fusee, or fuke; the gun makers of England called it the Carolina musket; some traders and explorers, including Gen. William H. Ashley referred to it as the London fusil. The name also depended on its region of use; the gun was called the Hudson's Bay fuke, the North West gun, or the Mackinaw gun. The first use of the term Northwest gun appears in the journal of John Long. An independent Montreal merchant, Long traded with the Indians north of Lake Superior in 1777-1780 (Russell).
From its beginning in 1670, the Hudson's Bay Company traded guns to the Indians on a large scale. By 1742, beaver pelts were valued at: one pelt for one pound of shot or three flints; four pelts for one pound of powder; ten pelts for a pistol; twenty pelts for a trade gun.
The primary source of the Indian trade gun was factories in Birmingham and London, England. The gun makers in London charged that Birmingham turned out park-paling muskets for the American trade. The Birmingham manufacturers were often referred to as blood merchants and their factories blood houses by the London group. There are numerous accounts in journals of gun barrels blowing up when these trade guns were fired (Northwest Journal). There is no way to determine how many Indians and traders lost all or parts of their hands from these guns. Still, problems with the Indian trade gun were probably no higher than other Colonial guns of the period.
The development of the trade rifle paralleled that of the Northwest gun, but western Indians showed little interest in rifles. The earliest mention of rifles in the West was at the American Fur Company's Fort Astoria near the mouth of the Columbia River. The journals of Robert Stuart, Gabriel Franch
eace: :thumbsup: 
