Musket Ball Cache

[Steve Ia]

A buddy and I did some detecting on the outskirts of a major fur trade camp on Sunday. I used to have permission to detect the site, but a change in farmers who were leasing the land put my permission at peril. Anyway we got permission right across the road from the site, and I knew from past experience that a musket ball could be found here. So barely ten minutes into the hunt we were both digging a musket ball. These are about 50 caliber and identical to the ones I had found in abundance at the site across the road, less than 100' away. Also less than 100' away at least 2 other caches have been found. One by me, which was a copper tea kettle, three knife blades in a stack, and an s hook which I thought was probably used to hold a kettle above a fire. I believe the other cache I speak of was also a kettle or kettles and was apparently dug out of the side of the grader ditch along the road. Anyway I had dug one musket ball, my buddy was in the process of digging one and I get a large high signal. I was thinking maybe a deep beer can, but nope, musket balls and by the time we were done at this hole we had pulled 75 out of it. I have also thought that this may not be a cache, but maybe the bag holding the musket balls was dropped. I will never know for sure if this was dropped, or a cache. Some were not all that deep and some were in the 18" plus range. No pictures, but my buddy did make a video of the whole affair. I know we are not professional. Fact is we just detect for the fun of it and digging 200 year old musket balls lost or buried by the Native Americans ranks pretty high on my fun list. Here is a a link to the video which is on youtube. Steve

 

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[GaRebel1861]

I was going to ask you what kind of an animal a musket is and why you were collecting his balls. But, that's an old, old joke. Looks to me like a very fun hunt and you guys were having a blast. Great video to watch.

 

[Ia.FurTrade]

WTG, Steve! Nice hit!............I would take that cache any day!!

Iowa Dale

 

[Jason in Enid]

Very nice finds! It reminded me of journals I read of early explorers and trappers. They would travel the main rivers to a jumping off point where they would cache weapons, trade goods, pelts, etc while they were trading or trapping. It seemed very often that they didn't make it back out, or didn't make it out the way they went in. Must be a lot of those caches hidden along the riverways!

 

[IAMZIM]

Very nice finds! It reminded me of journals I read of early explorers and trappers. They would travel the main rivers to a jumping off point where they would cache weapons, trade goods, pelts, etc while they were trading or trapping. It seemed very often that they didn't make it back out, or didn't make it out the way they went in. Must be a lot of those caches hidden along the riverways!

I'm in the process of compiling family tree info, and have been studying the Fur Trade. It was REALLY cool to find a book written by someone from my family tree: "Scenes in the Rocky Mountains by Rufus B. Sage". If I am able to afford to do it, I am hoping to go to some of the places I am researching, to detect, (on private land with permission of course) hoping to compile a few relics to kind of go with my family history, specifically the fur trade that Mr. Sage (my last name also is Sage) was a part of. I'm saving up to get an original copy of his book, published 1847(I think), but they are pretty pricey lol! I have noticed that many of the books I am reading on the fur trade reference his book, it's pretty cool to me!So far, all I have found from the fur trade is a trade spear point, and maybe 3 beads. Never thought of musket balls, I'd be glad to add some to my starting collection! Nice dig by the way Steve! Looks like a neat spot with some good potential!