Hawken Horse scouted up a painting of an Assiniboine hunter who has what is, in my estimation, the most badass name in all of Frontier Partisan history. Allow me to introduce Päsesick-Kaskutäu (Nothing But Gunpowder).
Päsesick-Kaskutäu (Nothing But Gunpowder) by Swiss artist Karl Bodmer
Imagine swaggering into the trading post with plenty of plews, looking all hard in your fur-hooded capote, and the women say, “Who is that?!” and the folk reply in hushed tones: “That be Nothing But Gunpowder.”
Crom!
(Note: I actually retitled this post after realizing that the whole thing is, in fact, nothing but gunpowder. Heh!)
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We’ve got us a full-length trailer for The Terminal List Season 2 (True Believer). I know the time in Africa is going to be brief — presumably part of one episode — but man it looks good. I’d watch a whole season of anti-poaching operations, myself, but I doubt that would get a green light…
Anyways… looking forward to another round with Reese.
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SandRhoman History has dropped their second video in a series on Pontiac’s War.
Speaking of staggering sieges…
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Sniping in World War I is a perennial topic of interest for Frontier Partisans — not least because a number of Allied snipers come directly out of a background rooted in frontier heritage.
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Went down a sidetrail chasing British riflery in the American Revolution. British forces had actually started issuing a few rifles in the French & Indian War, and they did so again in the American Revolution, building quite a fine rifle known as the Pattern 1776.
We’re not taking about Hessian Jagers here; these rifles went to British Light Infantry units, and served in a kind of designated marksman role.
Dr. Robbie MacNiven, an academic specializing in 18th Century British Military history writes:
Contrary to popular opinion, Crown Forces were well equipped with rifled weaponry during the conflict – sometimes they actually had more of the things than the revolutionaries.
Besides the Pattern 1776, German jaegers and some Loyalist units as well as some Native American auxiliaries were equipped with rifles. There was also the famed Ferguson breechloading rifle which, to my annoyance, gets much more airtime than the P1776.
The rifle’s barrel was 30.5” with eight-groove rifling, and a calibre of .62. The break-off breech meant it could be easily removed from the stock to clean. It was the first British weapon to include a “captive” rammer on swivels held by a spring, meaning it couldn’t be lost.
The barrel included a backsight and had a brass foresight dovetailed into it. Riflemen were typically equipped with carbine musket balls that they wrapped in patches, as well as superfine powder to aid ignition.
The Queen’s Rangers, a provincial unit commanded by John Graves Simcoe, fielded a full company armed with rifles, and they did good work. Simcoe wrote:
“The riflemen of the Queen’s Rangers, now commanded by Serjeant M’Pherson, were eminently distinguished on this retreat. The enemy’s militia, who followed the army, were kept by them at such a distance, that very few shot reached the battalion; and they concealed themselves so admirably that none of them were wounded, whilst they scarcely returned a shot in vain.”
Redcoat History has a piece on this:
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The first episode of MeatEater’s new Gunfighters podcast is out.
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Here’s a bit of firearms nerdery in the everything-old-is-new-again category.
Some of the oldest arquebuses of the 16th Century had thumb triggers. The Arquebusier would press a button behind the lock with his thumb to drop a tinder stick or a match into the pan to ignite the powder charge, as seen here:
There have been a handful of modern iterations of this concept.
In the early 20th Century, Winchester manufactured a thumb-trigger .22, most of which got shipped off to Australia to slaughter rabbits. I hear tell the guns are really valuable on a collector market.
An outfit called Iron Horse Firearms built a thumb-trigger AR, touting its enhancement to accuracy due to obviating left-right windage errors induced by a conventional trigger pull. Don’t know that I buy that, but I do get a kick out of the Continuity & Persistence.
Matthew Ilseman says
I right now have a lot of podcasts I want to listen too.
So here’s another one. It’s two guys talking about Queen of the Black Coast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zeXlzIaZII&t=982s
John M. says
The one belt-fed machine gun I’ve fired (Browning 1919) had a thumb trigger. It was basically just a button. I was too busy having the time of my life to think much about how it worked internally.
I can see the mechanical improvement just from that AR-15 photo, but MAN would I want a better trigger guard. Maybe the pistol grip folds up or something?
JimC says
Yeah, it seems vulnerable to negligent discharge and to all kinds of debris intrusion.
deuce says
“I’d watch a whole season of anti-poaching operations, myself,”
Hear! Hear!
Quixotic Mainer says
I’m a confirmed Meateater podcast fan, I’ll listen to gun fighters gladly. However claiming the Hickock Tutt fight the first showdown was silly. Gold Rush and MexAm border violence had nearly 20 years of popping caps at one another beforehand.
Thumb triggers are interesting, getting one over New England underhammer muzzleloaders in the wierd department.
Gregory A Walker says
Winchester 99 .22 thumb trigger – pretty neat.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gtO03EQSKKQ
Lynda A. Sanchez says
Hello all:
It has been a while since I have commented. This column continues to have unusual and special information. Autumn prep for the coming of winter is part of my excuse for “falling behind”.
I have also signed a new book contract that I am working on now about Apache Scouts, who were warriors for sure and knew how to survive with or without any kind of fancy rifles or even knives and clubs.
The working title is The Apache Scouts, (At War and in Peace) I plan to discuss of course the Geronimo and Victorio Campaigns and the Pershing Expedition into Mexico where Apache Scouts were recruited for their “last hurrah”.
So, my question or request of any of your readers or yourself is a short commentary about scouts, the good, bad and the ugly. Many were considered traitors. Many were characters like Mickey Free, Dutchy, Alchesay and Chatto. Many were violent but talented. The two men that went in to convince Geronimo to surrender were heroes to many but back stabbers to others. Some became members of Law Enforcement and formed tribal police units. I will have a list of about 20 of the better known individuals…along with their photos and life story.
Whatever you wish to comment on would be appreciated. diamondjnl@pvtn.net Thanks Lynda
JimC says
This is fantastic news. I will make a post out of this in the next day or two so that a maximum number of people see it.
Lynda A. Sanchez says
Mil gracias, much appreciated. Lynda
feudist says
“The Apache Wars” by Paul Hutton goes into quite a bit of detail about the Apache Scouts. Everything from recruitment, the reasons they worked for the US, their deployment and their effectiveness is detailed pretty thoroughly.
For sheer flavor, nothing beats Jorge Luke as the Apache Scout Kinnetay in the ultra-violent western “Ulzanah’s Raid”, the benchmark for all Cavalry vs Indians movies. Impossible to make in today’s PC Hollywood, it showed the Apache as brutal masters of the game of desert cat and mouse,where the first to make a mistake gets a shallow grave. Truly “The tiger of the Human species.”
JimC says
Great movie. Maybe my favorite Western.
Iain Hearfield says
I’d second that, Jim.
Paul A Cantin says
That would be a book I’d be interested in.
Lynda A. Sanchez says
Good morning…
Agreed about Ulzanah’s raid, and perhaps a good idea to include such info in the Bibliography. Hollywood is usually not included in such history, but some movies are so realistic and heart rending that they evoke a special feeling of an era. Wes Studi as Geronimo and the film Hostiles are other examples.
Hutton also wrote a fine book about the Apache Wars.
This current book would include all of Apacheria (Jicarilla, Mescalero and Lipan) as well as the White Mountain, Chihenne, Chokonen and Nednhi. (collectively known as Chiricahua) It will include Apache Scouts riding with Black Jack Pershing during the Punitive Expedition (1916-17) long after the Geronimo campaign ended (1886). Most people have no clue about that era of Scouts and their service to our country. I have also interviewed the great grandson of Scout Martine (he and Kayitah went in to convince Geronimo and Naiche to surrender. He has sent me some great images that have never been published before. Most material on Apache Scouts involves the broad category of the Chiricahua. And, of course, a lot of readers love the historic images. However, there is much more to tell.
Every book about Apaches includes some info on the scouts, but it is a paragraph here and there-maybe part of a chapter. There is one bio about Mickey Free written by an Englishman, Allan Radbourne, yet there are hundreds of books and articles written about Geronimo, Cochise and/or Billy the Kid to name a few. And that is about it in terms of the Scouts.
What were the two scouts, Martine and Kayitah, thinking as they accepted that challenge to locate Geronimo and Naiche? Why them? What happened afterwards?
Even today there is much controversy over this topic. I am hoping to build a bridge between and among these individuals as they struggled to enter the 20th century. Apache Scouts became part of our military special ops units and served in all wars after the Apache Wars with courage and distinction. Times are surely different, but the legacy of the scouts will be a challenge and part of our heritage.
And, therefore your comments, ideas, thoughts and knowledge on this blog are valuable to me as an author and historian.
Lynda (diamondjnl@pvtn.net)
JimC says
This is just fantastic. Right in the x-ring.
Iain Hearfield says
About the film HOSTILES. Shoot me down if I’m wrong but when they introduced the Indians on horseback into the film it didn’t look to me like many of them (including all the leading roles) had done much horse riding! Their control and their movements were wooden, stiff, static – maybe a myriad of editing was necessary in order to get what was finally in the film. Who knows. Or maybe the actors were just ‘overweight’? My understanding was that Indian warriors were skilled horsemen. On the other hand, it was an interesting story and did have its moments. If asked, I wouldn’t include it in a list of ‘best westerns’.