Axe head Identification

T

TerryETex

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Nov 13, 2020
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I can't figure out how to post pic. I found the axe outside a small town in East Texas. It measures 6.25"x4.5" and weighs 1.6 lbs. The eye is missing but it was hand forged out of wrought iron. It's been suggested that it may be a trade axe of some type. If anybody can tell me how to post pic I would be grateful.

 
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Somewhere I have misplaced my documentation coming out of the archive of the maritime museum in Normandy, except this one page:
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You could look up more on the salvage of the ship "La Belle" by the Texas Historical Commission.
That your axe doesn't closely resemble the ones pictured is not so significant because they all came from different sources in France and Spain, as I recall, with yours falling within the range of axes from the find.
 
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Terry,(if i may),

i'm not sure how easy it'd be to actually "call" such a find in any definite way.

I'm not even sure that that much is Known about early American axes,let alone Texas in particular.
(And Texas is probably Very particulate:Where are the axes there likely From?East?North?Mexico?New Orleans-based trade?....).

Here's the site i like on the subject,it seems like a serious,trustworthy resource:https://www.furtradetomahawks.com/belt-axes---13.html
 
Thanks Jake. That is an excellent site. As far as where it was from is anybody's guess but I did read where the French came through Louisiana by way of the isle's around Jamacia and Cuba then into east Texas infringing on the Spainish. There was conflict between the two for years.
 
Did you find the story of the crew of the La Belle? I can only recall in the broadest outlines and I hope somewhat accurately but if I remember they were floating around the Caribbean as you say trying to out flank the Spanish and became wrecked as part of that off the Texas coast but, and here is the part that related to your question about the Hudson Bay Co. The surviving crew had the plan to travel north to Montreal. I can't imagine it implies an early route, I don't think so because southern part was still unclaimed or at least unoccupied but who knows if later on there was not some kind of north/south corridor. Are you near this museum where these artifacts from La Belle are exhibited?
 
Yes, what I read stated that LaSalle was going for the mouth of the Mississippi but due to bad maps and currents wound up 400 miles to the west at Matagorda Bay in Texas. They established a settlement/fort. This occurred between 1685-1687 there about. I'm not very close to the museum.
 
After looking at many many axes from that period I wonder if this was a felling axe and not a trade axe. It's as big in length as a modern poll axe. It's length was probably was over 7.5". I mean that as long as some poll axes I've found. Just curious.
 
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