This is a horn I just completed last week for a buddy of mine who participated in the David Thompson Columbia River Brigade in July, 2011. Thompson was an explorer for the Northwest Company who surveyed a vast area of Canada, and in 1811 traveled down the Columbia River to the Pacific Coast. The 2011 Brigade retraced Thompson's route down the Columbia and arrived in Astoria 200 years to the day that Thompson did.
My friend Bob has long been a fan of my horns and wanted me to make him a horn commemorating the 2011 Brigade and his part in it. We picked out a horn from my stock on hand during the Flying M Rendezvous last May.
I decided to pattern this horn after a beautiful F&I horn attributed to Lehigh County, Pennsylvania that I have had the privilege to examine several times. Bob had wanted his name on the horn, a map of the route he took down the Columbia and some wordage about David Thompson and the 2011 Brigade. The rest was up to me.
The map I based in part on David Thompson's "Great Map" that he completed later on in his life. The map on the horn runs from the junction with the Snake River to the Pacific Ocean. The river names are mostly as on Thompson's map with the exception of the John Day River which I labeled "John Day's River". John Day was with the Astor Company and became lost in the area of this river which is named for him.
At the top of the horn I engraved the figure of David Thompson taking a sun shot with a sextant. "Koo Koo Sint" is the name that the natives Thompson encountered in his travels gave to him. Just to the left I engraved "David Thompson/Northwest Company/July 1811".
Just below the map I engraved the inscription “David Thompson |Columbia River Brigade|July 2011” signifying the 200th anniversary retracement of Thompson’s route down the Columbia to the Pacific. On the bottom face are the two canoes paddled by the North American Land Surveyors who particaped in the Brigade, Koo Koo Sint and Paddle Song. The rifleman poised to fire and the inscriptions “MAKE READY|PRESENT ARMS|FIRE” represents the traditional volley giving permission for the Brigade to come ashore and also the welcome that they were given to the brigade when they reached Astoria.
The horn measures 12 ¼ inches along the outside curve, 2 ¼ inches diameter at the base and has a 1 ½ inch long octagon tip. The base plug is turned walnut with an integral turned button. The spout plug is turned and carved cherry (The spout plug shown in these photos was replaced). The strap is one woven by Kris Polizzi of Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and is an excellent match with the horn. The leather tabs and laces are stained with vinegar stain and rubbed with beef tallow/beeswax.
The body of the horn is stained with Aqua Fortis and lightly antiqued with a dark walnut oil stain. The throat is stained with brown RIT dye and also antiqued with the walnut stain. When I had the horn carved and shaped I uncovered a small crack on the throat that went into the cavity. I discussed this with Bob and gave him the option of starting over with another horn, or incorporate a period repair. Bob elected to go with the repair. agreeing with me that it would add some character. The “repair” consists of wrapped linen thread covered with several coats of shellac to seal the crack and bond the thread to the horn. The base plug is turned walnut, stained with Aqua Fortis and finished with a coat of shellac.
This was a fun project, though it took me forever it seemed to nail down the design. Bob's name and the map were the easy part. I hadn't decided what to fill the rest of the horn with and was thinking maybe some animals like beaver. I then came across the image of Thompson with the sextant that was on a Canadian postage stamp and knew I had to put it on the horn. I then needed something to represent the 2012 Brigade and spent a lot of time researching the Brigade. I finally settled on the two canoes and the rifleman. All in all I think it came out good and Bob is very satisfied with it.
Scott
