some questions about an old hawk

S

sattley

Joined
Aug 15, 2001
Messages
148
I found this hawk. http://www.angelfire.com/home/customknives/sendpics.html
I live in the Mollogon mountains in southwest nm there was alot of Indian activity in this area well into the late 1800's. It is obviously hand forged, My question is did the Apache's carry or use anything like this? I can't imagine who else would have had anything like this in this area. Steel arrow heads can occasionally be found in their camps so I suppose it would be reasonable to assume they could have had steel hawks. Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated. I think I'll clean it up, put a handle in it and use it for rendevous.
Thanks
Leonard
 
You might try putting it on ebay. Those old original hawks bring several hundred dollars, but you need to leave it in origingal condition.
 
Thanks for the replies, Ill see if I can find out more. I'm really not interested in selling it though.
thanks
Leonard
 
Dear Leonard,
What you have is a very typical spike war hawk often traded in the 1700's and less frequently in the 1800's. These normally went to more northeastern tribes than the Apaches but that definitely does not preclude the use of that hawk by Apaches. White-man metal goods were prime trading materials between tribes that had them and tribes that didn't, and were also prime battle trophies taken home to be used by the victors.
Have lots of pictures of very similar heads in my reference works from museums; it's a pretty common design and is the historic source for designs like Ryan Johnson's Eagle Talon hawk.
Hope this information helps. Can't spend as much time on a grinder as I used to but at least feeling decent enough most days now to try to participate in the Forum.
Best regards,
Two Hawks
http://www.2hawks.net
 
Gangbusters Leonard, That is one hell of a piece to stumble across. As to age & origins,the long spike with a rounded blade edge was popular somewhere between the mid and late 1700s but is mostly found in the eastern woodland new England states, which is pretty much out of context for this axe. While not impossible considering the forced migration of many eastern tribes into Oklahoma the area you speak of was already occupied by the local tribes making that scenario remote. Far more likely for your neck of the woods would be a Indian adopted Spanish boarding axe. Boarding axes were the original spiked fighting axe of the period. The form,, "long straight spike, double flaired blade with a gently rounded blade with a rectangular eye" coupled with the area of the find all fit within this criteria. This of course is all pretty much educated speculation.
Might I suggest though, that you do not strap it to a stick and trapse around with it until you have added any recent damage to this outstanding survivor of history.I collected prehistoric stone artifacts for years and remember old timers in central Texas telling stories of finding perfect 3 inch points,,tying them to the end of sticks and throwing them against the barn.I gotta sy if I had found that it would be behind glass maybe with a velvet rope around it, lol

Tim@TATCA
 
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