2 hawken rifles

[johnson1942]

stopped at the furtraders museum yesterday 3 miles east of chadron ne. saw 2 hawken rifles from the hawken brothers that were in good shape. also kit carsons shot gun and a pistol he used to kill a fellow fur trapper in a fight. lots of guns their. to me the best made were the russian side locks. most likely not made by them but imports to them. their were a few well made engish side locks also. belgium made guns were very very well made in those days also. if your into trade rifles they have dozens of them. for 5 dollars you can see alot.

[Boaz]

Thats interesting , I always enjoy seeing the old rifles .

[koger]

I will try to stop there on my way out in Dec. Roger!

[johnson1942]

hate to say it but i think it is closed in the winter. it is only 25 miles from my place. row after row of sidelocks. great history their also. a band of crow snuck in their in the old days and stole 90 horses and mules from the trader their. he called upon the sioux to get them back. they caught the crow at crow butt about 30 miles west of their. the crow took to the top of the butte like they always did in a fight and shot the **** out of the sioux down below, then to add dishonor to dishonor they excaped during the night from the butt with all the mules and horse and were never seen again. all the sioux found the next day was a old man on top of the butt who couldnt climb down a long rope and what they did to him to make him die was not pleasant. they went home with their tails between their legs and crow was mule and horse rich. the crow used to sneak into sioux country all the time to steal or hunt but if they were caught it was hell to pay. south of rapid city is another crow butt but the crow never made it off of that butte. they were all killed to a man and it was july and the bodies went bad real fast. when the sioux took what they could off of the bodies they caught a sickness for the bloated bodies that killed a few hundred of the sioux.their is still skulls around that area on the prairie laying white in the sun as the prairie was never turned over and is now as it was in those days. never touch a putrid body, it can kill you. crazy horse used to trade with the trader where the fur traders museum is standing to day.

[NF Hunter]

I'd love to go there and check it out for a few hours. Sounds like a very interesting museum.

[johnson1942]

it is, and it is full of guns. lots of metis things also from the canadian american line. i worked 4 years with them at a federal hospital once and they still are the greatest hunters ive ever run across. they can hunt and track on snowshoes. i knew one of them as a friend who had 8 kids and his brother had 8 kids and then their also was his mom and dad. he shot 16 to 18 deer every winter. they make the best smoked sausage. they all raise a pig or two to mix with the deer meat. they never eat beef. just, pork, and moose and deer. chadron ne. where the furtraders museum is is only 135 miles from rapid city. if you ever go to mount rushmore by rapid city drop on down and visit the fur traders museum. thousands and thousands of state and federal land that belongs to you and me to go on any time we want. camp or hunt on.