Original horn

[P.Bigham]

Picked up this little horn last weekend at Fort de Chartes. Small in size has a iron staple in the butt plug. 4 nails hold the butt in place. Nice trumpet style tip.  All looks original to me it was pretty dry, I rubbed some boiled oil on it. 
It has some large grain powder in it.  I shoock it all out yet something still rattles inside it and will not come out spout. Has any one seen this.  Was it to shake the horn and break up stuck together powder?   Opinions? 

[rich pierce]

Paul, I have one original horn with something that won’t come out. I think it’s something that got in there rather than a functional powder de-clumper because I’d worry it would block the spout from time to time, just by chance.

[mr. no gold]

Someone once said that horners would put a large shot or other object in the horn to use as a shaker to break up any clumps should they occur. True? I don't know as it made no sense to destroy a good old horn just to satisfy one's curiosity. This is a great horn and well worth buying. I am envious that you get to go the Fort! I grew up less than 50 miles east of Fort deChartres and have heard that the annuals are a lot of fun. To make the trip now is a 2200 mile trek, so not soon. Thank you for letting us have a look at it.
Dick

[Tim Crosby]

 Neat horn, it could be part of a stopper that was broken off and forced down into the horn because it could not be removed. I too have heard of a ball being placed in a horn to break up powder is it gets wet and hardens. I have made horns and put one in.

   Tim C.   

[Jeff Murray]

That is a sweet horn.  The architecture very closely resembles a New England horn I have.  Great find.

[JohnnyFM]

Nice find! A simple horn done in a workmanlike manner. Good architecture. I have one similar that I consider to be very old.
  The theory of a deliberate insertion of an object inside to break up caked powder sounds like something an antiques dealer would say. Very creative . Just my modest opinion.
A powder horn supposed to be watertight. Who wants the nuisance of the object getting  stuck in the taper of the neck? Who wants to hear the rattle when in the woods? Who wants their fine rifle powder turn into pan powder from all that rattling around? Sounds to me it might be an old plug that got pushed inside. Maybe swelled up and got stuck. My old horn had an old whittled plug that was stuck and took gentle patience and a fine needle nose pliers and some luck to slowly grab a hold and pull it out. I whittled me a new one from a cherry branch well dried.
Just my two cents.