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« Last post by Tanselman on Today at 08:14:52 AM »
It is almost impossible to say if any particular powder horn may or may not have belonged to Sitting Bull. When Sitting Bull finally surrendered to US troops, he was carrying a Winchester, not a muzzle loader. Did he have a muzzle loader during his later years that required a powder horn, for when cartridges were not available... maybe, but hard to say.
The horn appears to have a soft wood plug, almost like cedar, and most likely came from back east where soft wood plugs that were almost flat were most commonly found. But settlers heading west could have carried such a horn with them. Does it look like an Indian horn, NO, but could it have been picked up by an Indian after an early skirmish out in Siting Bull's area in the northern plains... possibly. Does the brightly colored European woven strap indicate Indian usage... not really, based on the way the horn is poorly/incorrectly attached to the strap... suggesting the strap was a later "enhancement." It's really impossible to tell anything about a Sitting Bull connection based on what the horn looks like.
The issue to discuss should be the documentation, and if it has any merit or legitimate supporting documents, or if it is more wishful thinking by someone who claimed it was once owned by Sitting Bull. You can go on Ebay and see many fine modern arrowheads, made better than the original ones, all with "certificates of authenticity" stating they are original pieces. Authenticity certificates without proper documentation to support them are a "dime a dozen" these days.
Perhaps the real question should be what kind of documentation does the horn have to support the museum's claim of Sitting Bull's ownership. Does it provide a lineage of ownership from Sitting Bull to the present, with period documents to support its stated lineage? Does it state when the horn left Sitting Bull's ownership, who and how it went to someone else, and from that person, how it moved through subsequent owners until placed in the museum? Does it have a real provenance, or simply a statement by someone at some time that "it was once owned by Sitting Bull."
Can you post a good image of the museum's documentation, so we can see if it has some merit, or if tends more toward someone's wishful thinking?
Shelby Gallien