FRENCH INDIAN TRADE HAND FORGED BUFFALO SPEAR POINT, PRAIRIE DU CHIEN WIS

Description

HAND FORGED FRENCH INDIAN TRADE BUFFALO SPEAR EXCAVATED IN PRAIRIE DU CHIEN WISCONSIN IN THE 1930s by DR SCANLIN'S EXCAVATIONS...Apparently this was not dug from the ground, but was discovered in some of the original buildings by Dr. Scanlin's survey and historical excavation.  Here is the real deal and it's a monster, 16 inches long with a blade about 8 inches by 2.75 inches wide made to take a wooden spear 1.5 inches in diameter at the socket when Buffalo still roamed the Upper Mississippi Valley in the 1700 and early 1800s.  IT IS TYPICAL NORTH AMERICAN FRENCH PRODUCTION produced in the St. Louis vicinity by blacksmiths along the French river towns and shipped throughout the Missouri and upper Mississippi.  Very crude, poor workmanship in comparison to imported English steel through Hudson Bay and the Northwest Company, which is the primary reason why the English supplanted the French in the Mississippi/Missouri River Valley's and took over the Mid-West river system from the French... they sold inferior goods compared to the English.  Have you ever heard of the French answer to something like Wilkerson Steel?  Not really... right?  And this is typical of these early 1700's French products.  It's construction is quite interesting, being a large piece of steel hammer forged into shape with a single rivet hole drilled by a point before the socket of the spear was rolled into place.  Massive for the time, but Buffalo die hard.  I'll been looking for more information on Dr Scanlin, but only have a copy of some notes the family who consigned it to an auction which I will include in the sale so as to provide some provenance.   NOTE: I do not do returns anymore as this site does not honor its fiduciary duties to its sellers in my opinion.  Having said this, I am easy to talk to and have a good rating for a good reason and will always work with buyers.