Native American gunstock club

[CharlesS]

My info on these is that they were quite literally made to look like gunstocks to deceive an enemy from a distance. In a time when muskets were a feared and precious commodity among Native Americans just the simple perception that one side had more guns than the other could start...or stop...potential battle. Some seem to think that many of the clubs were literally made from gunstocks, thus the name, but this is generally untrue. You could make an arguement that these made have been a psychological weapon to a degree.

Tim's comment about dress or ceremonial pieces is a good one. These types of clubs show up an awful lot in the famous portraits(Catlin, etc.) of the era.

I don't think there is any 'absolute' rule with these, like so many other ethnographic pieces.

[Andrew]

Rick, any wear on it not visible in the photos? Marks on the blade?

It is extremely similar to a club that appears on page 23 of Taylor's Native American Weapons. It is described so:

A magnificent gunstock-shaped club collected in the 1820's by the traveler, Duke Paul of Wurttemberg...This one, probably from the Osage, has a trade steel blade and a handle wrapped with snakeskin.

Your's has painted line detailing on the "stock" nearly identical to Duke Paul's. The similarities are, otherwise, striking.

Outstanding club, Rick!

[Andrew]

Some claim these go back as far as the early 17th century. A convenient era of origin to choose, as guns would have been familiar, even if not truly common, in the Americas by that time.

Let's face it, once guns became readily accessible to Native Americans, all other major weapons became obsolete and relegated to either ceremonial use or obsolescense.

What a devastating weapon this must have been when in regular use!

[Tim Simmons]

Look at this club in the Detroit institute of arts. To me it knocks anything described as "Jewel encrusted with profuse and lavish decoration of thick silver and gold" into a tricorne hat.

[CharlesS]

That piece is in many NA art and weapons books, and it is absolutely amazing.

If you are interested in NA weapons a good starting reference is WARRIORS: Warfare and the Native American Indian, by Norman Bancroft-Hunt. It's a nicely done book, and though out of print, should be available at remainder prices.

[RSWORD]

Thanks for the feedback thusfar. Unfortunately, the pictures simply do not do the piece justice. I think I need to invest in a new camera. The oral provenance provided by the lady I purchased from stated she had acquired it from a museum deacession. There is patina and wear on this piece. The blade does not have any markings. Luckily, I will be meeting Sir Charles and Sir Jose for dinner, a tall Taj Mahal, and then these guys will get to pick this thing apart. I look forward to their opinions after handling the piece and maybe we can come to a consensus or maybe we will be just as confused. In either case, we should be fat and happy from dinner! More to come.

[Jim McDougall]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, I became fascinated with these unusual weapons after seeing "Last of the Mohicans" in 1998, and eventually contacted the gentleman who made the examples used in the movie by Russell Means (Jim "Yellow Eagle" Morgan of Tennessee). It seemed extraordinary that the club in the movie was a bright blue and apparantly was considerably larger than the actual examples.
Original detail suggested that these had been in use for centuries (the period was of course French-Indian war c.1754-63), and it is suggested that the weapon would actually have been anachronistic for the Mohicans in this period. I'm not sure if this meant that the form had diffused to the west or was no longer used in a combat sense. It does seem that this form of club with an imbedded blade appeared in numerous forms in diverse tribes in later periods. Most of the examples I have seen are for example Osage c.1820, Pawnee c.1860 and of course many others. Peterson ("American Indian Tomahawks") attributes these mostly to Sioux and Chippewa.

I naturally wondered also if these had been actually fashioned from or in imitation of gunstocks. Most research suggested this may have been simply a free association term applied by either colonial observers or later, it is unclear when the term was first applied or by whom. One suggestion notes these date in early 17th c. which is probably accurate, but it would seem the form may have existed pre-contact. In Burton ("Book of the Sword" p.28) it is noted that the Iroquois used a similar weapon termed (ga-ne-u-ga-o-dus-ha) which apparantly means 'deer horn war club'. This data was apparantly derived from Lewis Morgan in "League of the Iroquois" (Rochester N.Y.1851).
It would seem the use of animal horn for such clubs would be consistant with early tribal weaponry and that post contact the use of metals (most likely of course European weapons) were substituted. The deer horn would naturally have provided the protruding blade in the original weapons.

The suggestion that European musket stock blanks were used to fashion these weapons seems unlikely, as these would have been unwieldy and not well suited for a weapon whose general form, in my impression, seems established precontact. It is however known that Europeans did indeed use guns as clubs once discharged and especially when overrun, so the suggestion that Native Americans witnessed this would have seemed plausible in the suggestions. This situation with vulnerability after the discharge and lack of time to reload of course led to the development of the bayonet, and possibly to the comment in one source that noted that the French soldiers in America would often imbed knife blades in thier muskets (suggesting the imbedding of blades in these clubs from Native American observation). This reference probably derived from the use of bayonets.

In considering the imbedding of blades in weapons such as clubs I also thought of the early Aztec war clubs which obsidian pieces situated in rows in the 'mahquahuitl' for example. I wondered if this practice might have diffused as far north as the Iroquian culture. Returning to Burton (op.cit. p.49) he does cite Morgan's 1851 reference again and it is noted that opening burial mounds in the far west, rows of flint lying side by side in regular order probably had been fastened in sticks or swords like the Mexican (Aztec).

It is uncertain exactly how this form of weapon originated or subsequently diffused, however the material I have collected here may at least give some basis for plausible theories. I have only written this in order to collect the material I have discovered so far, and to share it with those interested in learning more on these interesting weapons, and in hopes that others will pursue the topic further. As always, I very much look forward to ideas, observations and other material that will either refute or support what I have included here.

All best regards,
Jim

[Mytribalworld]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

That piece is in many NA art and weapons books, and it is absolutely amazing.

If you are interested in NA weapons a good starting reference is WARRIORS: Warfare and the Native American Indian, by Norman Bancroft-Hunt. It's a nicely done book, and though out of print, should be available at remainder prices.

But not as rare as you think....
watch my ebay listing this weekend........