AMERICAN INDIAN WAR CLUB FOR COMMENT

[David]

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

The one we saw in "Last Of the Mohicans" was unusually large!..........but again, the longrifle carried by Hawkeye was unusually Long, and much later in style than it should have been. :-)

Well as Jim says, Hurray for Hollywood. EVERYTHING is unusually large. In fact, even the landscape was unusually large. There are no gorges and waterfalls like that in the upstate NY area this film was supposed to have taken place in. They filmed in the Smokey Mountains for a more grandiose scale. Still an interesting film though.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by David

Well... There are no gorges and waterfalls like that in the upstate NY area this film was supposed to have taken place in. ...

ausable chasm in the adirondacks of NY is pretty awesome. i remembered it from having been there in my pre-teens. i lived not all that far from there on the NJ/NY border, i discovered i had acrophobia there at the chasm. that suspension bridge did me in. scared the stuffing outta me; you could look thru the gaps in the floor boards and the bridge wobbles and sways. looks unchanged from my day.

they are a tad smaller than the ones in the film tho. and i certainly would not want to see what was left of anyone jumping off the waterfalls.

letchworth and watkins glen are also upstate. the geneses river has sme interesting topography too.

[Jim McDougall]

In post #27, David has posted an outstanding image of a Mahican chief, and holding a most impressive ball club, but as I look at the portrait, it just dawned on me that this notable chief, aside from that club, is wearing a European sword!!!
The portrait was painted by a Dutch painter, Jan Verelst, in 1710, when a key figure of Dutch New York, took four (actually five but one died enroute) American Indian chiefs to visit Queen Anne in London on a diplomatic mission.
As portraits of the other chiefs (actually Mohawks) were holding items such as muskets, it seems many were of course props provided by the artists (there were three painting sets of portraits).

I have started a new thread "use of swords by American Indians" in order to avoid detracting from the topic here, and hope it will prove as interesting as this thread has been.

With the large ball club in the portrait, and given that it was painted in England by a Dutch artist, it sets me wondering if these chiefs had brought their own weaponry, perhaps as gifts or tokens in diplomatic gesture, or whether these were items previously collected by either Dutch or English colonials.

[kronckew]

i noted the sword too. figured it was either artistic license or a peace piece (da debble made me say that) presented to the chief.

'nother pair of my recent 'native american' ball clubs, just for the halibut.:

[David]

Originally Posted by kronckew

i noted the sword too. figured it was either artistic license or a peace piece (da debble made me say that) presented to the chief.

'nother pair of my recent 'native american' ball clubs, just for the halibut.:

If i am not mistaken Wayne, the club you show on the right is produced by Cold Steel and is actually not made of wood at all, but rather black polypropylene which they claim is virtually indestructible.
There are a good number of recent examples that are intricately carved out of beautifully grained wood and often these carvers are modern Native Americans.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by David

If i am not mistaken Wayne, the club you show on the right is produced by Cold Steel and is actually not made of wood at all, but rather black polypropylene which they claim is virtually indestructible.
There are a good number of recent examples that are intricately carved out of beautifully grained wood and often these carvers are modern Native Americans.

i was being a bit cheeky, yes it is. i was just seeing if anyone would notice the other one is wood, and i suspect cnc carved. they are recent... i posted them mostly for the shapes. and as a warning that all is not as it seems.

i've also seen a few on a certain popular auction site that were listed as native american ball clubs with huge prices, that were actually recent and quite cheaply advertised elsewhere on the same site by a more honest seller as maasi rungu.

caveat emptor. is it a american indian ball club or? (yes, it is mine)

[David]

Originally Posted by kronckew

ausable chasm in the adirondacks of NY is pretty awesome. i remembered it from having been there in my pre-teens. i lived not all that far from there on the NJ/NY border, i discovered i had acrophobia there at the chasm. that suspension bridge did me in. scared the stuffing outta me; you could look thru the gaps in the floor boards and the bridge wobbles and sways. looks unchanged from my day.

they are a tad smaller than the ones in the film tho. and i certainly would not want to see what was left of anyone jumping off the waterfalls.

letchworth and watkins glen are also upstate. the geneses river has sme interesting topography too.

Yes Wayne, i grew up in New York and i'm quite familiar with the landscape of upstate. The Adirondacks in NY are indeed quite beautiful as are the Catskills. But the landscape has nowhere near the scale of cliffs and waterfalls used from the Chimney Rock area of North Carolina in the film.