Were original powder horns dyed?

[Dale Halterman]

So I have made a few horns, and I got to thinking - it seems most horners dye the necks of their horns a nice, dark brown to give a nice contrast to the white body of the horn. But a lot of horns have a naturally brown layer once you cut down to it.

Are original horns that show brown necks dyed, or are they using the natural color variations?

Thanks

Dale H 

[Horner75]

YES!......You more or less answered your own question.  If the cow horn was taken down (scraped) on the throat far enough to show a darker color, then the maker may not want to dye it further, but if the maker had a lighter or all white horn and wanted to have that dark throat area, then he could dye the area.   Many original powder horns have various natural colored throat area's in tan's, brown's and black.