Original Pouch and Contents from Harrison Co, Indiana

[Ky-Flinter]

You never know what you may see at the ALR winter meeting at Fort Boonesborough.  My buddy Joey found this set in an old farmhouse in Harrison Co, Indiana that was scheduled for demolition.  I posted this picture in the Boonesborough thread in Gun Building, but there is more to see and this is a better fit here in Accoutrements.



Attached to the strap are the remnants of a cane powder measure.  Something else was attached below the measure but all that is left is the knot.  The cap tin was full of caps, but the bag also had a small priming horn.  We wondered why.  The larger horn is still full of powder.  The inside of the ball mold is still shiny.  The canvas material showed evidence of cutting the patch at the muzzle.  The bag also had several pieces of large bird quill.  We were puzzled about that too.  Joey looked and looked, but unfortunately the rifle that went with this set was nowhere to be found.

Along with the hunting pouch and contents, there were also 2 old powder flasks.  This one is big, measuring 10" long, 4-1/2 " wide at the widest point, and 2" thick.  The body of the flask is perfect, no dents or splits.  The valve works but the return spring is broken.





This flask has the classic hanging game scene.  It measures 8-1/4 " long, 3-1/2" wide, and 1-5/8" thick.  It is in pretty good shape, but has some dents and a small split on the bottom edge.  The valve is loose, but I think it works, but the spring doesn't work or is broken





The bigger horn is about 11" around the curve, the butt is round, 2-1/4" diameter.  It may be full of powder, but it is clumped up solid.



It has a nail or something iron in the side.  An old repair?



There is what appears to be some scrimshaw but it's mostly worn off.



The plug has what appears to be initials scratched in it.



The priming horn is just cute.  It's just 2-1/4" tall and the base is 1-1/4 diameter.  The base has an initial H or maybe HI and on the side of the horn are some letters formed by dots.  First letter "P", can't tell about the other.







I will post some more pictures of the bag later.  Have some honey-do's to do while the sun is out.

-Ron

[Mick C]

That is super cool.  Thanks for sharing.

[Stoner creek]

Herschel made all of that stuff!
Pretty cool huh?

[Greg Pennell]

Herschel made all of that stuff!
Pretty cool huh?

🤔🤣🤣🤣🤫

[Top Jaw]

Small horn may have been used for caps. 

[aaronc]

That's quite a find.

[Jerry]

If this is patch material, in the picture, looks like it was cut at the muzzle for a small caliber rifle? Enjoyed your post.

[Ky-Flinter]

The material is tightly woven canvas and was definitely cut at the muzzle.  The ball mold is .32 caliber.

-Ron

[Greg Pennell]

Ron, those pieces of feather quill have me puzzled, too.  I’ve heard of carrying priming powder in quills, (somewhere), but the cap tin has thrown me for a loop...unless the rifle had been converted, and the owner just never threw out the quills (or his priming horn?). I guess we’ll never know!  At any rate, it is an awesome find, and many thanks to Joey for sharing it with us.

Greg

[Mike from OK]

Were the pieces of quill possibly used to pick the nipple?

Mike

[Mike from OK]

Never mind... I see the quill was much too large for use as a pick.

Mike

[Longknife]

And no short-starter,,,,,

[Elnathan]

This might be completely crazy, but is it possible that the quills could have been used as a game call of some kind? I think I remember something about people using their hands and a piece of grass as a way of making a game call, so maybe the quills were used instead of a piece of grass?

I have seen instances of predator calls made from wood with a piece of grass or bark as a reed, but I don't know if the same effect could be reproduced with only the hands.

[JBJ]

And no short-starter,,,,,

The lack of a short starter means about as much as the lack of a patch knife with the outfit. I think it amazing that so much remains of the original equipment given the tattered remains of the bag itself! I wonder how much has slipped away over the many years?
J.B.

[Ky-Flinter]

This might be completely crazy, but is it possible that the quills could have been used as a game call of some kind? I think I remember something about people using their hands and a piece of grass as a way of making a game call, so maybe the quills were used instead of a piece of grass?

I have seen instances of predator calls made from wood with a piece of grass or bark as a reed, but I don't know if the same effect could be reproduced with only the hands.

Elnathan,

The blade of grass between the thumbs serves as a thin reed that air rushes over to make calls.  I don't think the quill tubes would work for that.  A different form of call can be made using a hollow tube, ala the turkey wingbone, but bird quills have a kind of webbing inside that adds strength, so they can't be blown thru unless the webbing is cleaned out.  The quill pieces in the bag still have the "webbing" in place.

It may be as simple as the owner of the bag picked up an interesting feather on his last hunt and put it in his bag.  Over the ensuing years bugs and critters may have eaten all but what remains of the feather.

-Ron

[Ky-Flinter]

And no short-starter,,,,,

The lack of a short starter means about as much as the lack of a patch knife with the outfit. I think it amazing that so much remains of the original equipment given the tattered remains of the bag itself! I wonder how much has slipped away over the many years?
J.B.

JB,

It is amazing that so much is still there.  You mention the lack of a patch knife, but we know from the patch material that the hunter had one.  On the lower front of the bag there is what appears to be a patch.  But it is not a repair, as there is no hole under it.  And it is only sewn along the vertical sides.  This added piece of leather is a little wider at the top, than at the bottom.  As we were all inspecting the bag, I borrowed a small knife and sheath from another table and slipped it under the "patch".  It fit perfectly and held the sheath in place.  Really cool idea.

I really need to get some more pictures of the bag up.  I'll try this evening.

-Ron

[Ky-Flinter]

Pictures of the bag.

Front side.  Note the sewn on piece.  It's not a patch.  Maybe a holder for a small sheath knife?  It is only sewn on the vertical edges.



Back side.  Stitching for a pocket, but the pocket is long gone.  Was it on the inside or the outside?



The strap is heavier leather than the bag.  Belt weight.  Attached to the bag with one rivet.



Bottom side.  The front, back and flap are all one piece, with V shaped gussets on each side.
 

[James Rogers]

Neat old bag! I used that gusset configuration on some bags back in "the day" and have seen it on a few other old bags I've come across. It makes for a clean looking bag. Don't know why I haven't done it recently. It's classy.

[Mike Lyons]

I was amazed that it had a gusset on each side.   It is a very interesting piece.  I’m glad I had the opportunity to see it.  I didn’t notice the interior pocket.

[Smokey Plainsman]

The priming horn would have carried 4Fg powder, not sure what the caps are for. It is possible the person carried a Colt’s pocket .31 revolver which could have taken the same balls as what the mould put out, and the caps were for the pistol with the rifle being a flintlock. The only thing this set seems to be missing is a short starter and bullet board.

[RonT]

Is there any indication of where a tongue or small tab that would tuck into the 'patch' on the front was sewn on?   It doesn't appear from the pics that it is stretched.
Cheers,
R

[stubshaft]

Very interesting.  Thanks for sharing.

[EricEwing]

Neat old bag! I used that gusset configuration on some bags back in "the day" and have seen it on a few other old bags I've come across. It makes for a clean looking bag. Don't know why I haven't done it recently. It's classy.

I have never seen a hunting pouch with two side gussets before this. Despite that, it didn’t stop me from attempting one a year or two ago: http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/2017/08/shot-pouch-by-eric-ewing-with-powder.html

I found that it was hard for me to execute, and the results were a different and cool looking bag, but overall it seemed impractical as the side gussets were a lot of work for not a whole lot of extra room compared to a full gusset, which is just a little bit more work if you’ve already done the sides. That was my experience...
What say you James?

[Marcruger]

I am going to go out on a limb here.  I believe those side gussets were bottom ends of the strap.  When the strap went bad, they cut it off flush with the bag, and riveted on the new strap to the rear.  Often hard to sew a new strap onto an existing bag, but very easy to rivet a new one on.  The bag construction looks too nice for the maker to have used a single rivet strap attachment originally.  That is why the gussets are so small - they are not gussets for volume, but for strap attachment. 

Based on my friend Jim Webb's advice, I made a mountain pouch with two gussets like this for strap attachment.  Makes for a nice, balanced way to hang the bag.  Much better than rear straps in my humble opinion.  Here is my pigskin bag #6 with these gussets. 



Just my 2 cents worth.  I am no expert.  God Bless,   Marc

[Marcruger]

Ron T., I am thinking too that the piece sewn to the front was a closure for the flap. 

I tried a strap on the back of Bag #8 for a knife sheath, but unless the sheath is made first, it is very difficult to have that work.  I scrapped that back panel and made another.

Best wishes, and God Bless, Marc