my oldest antique weapon

Guns, knives, bows, weapons in general.

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Gary Brantley
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my oldest antique weapon

Post by Gary Brantley »

I found this stone point on a large gravel bed alongside the Brazos River back in 1983. I had taken my son there for some splashing around in the river on a hot summer day. We were walking back to our pickup when one of his sandals came off. I stopped to put it back on his foot when I looked down and right there, between my feet lay this artifact. Now, I know folks around these parts who find stone arrowheads all the time, but I never had found anything until that moment. I picked it up and immediately knew I had something old.

I remember that there was a family nearby with several small boys and they came over and saw what I had found. I had to laugh a little as they got busy right away looking for more.

Many years later, I was told it was quite old and had been a knife blade once. In fact, this "expert" called it the utility knife of its day. It's tan chert and most likely made by the Caddoan Culture, and is sometimes called a "Friday Knife". I have no idea why. How old is it? Good question and I don't have a definitive answer. Likely several hundred to maybe a thousand years.

This was Tonkawa country when the Spanish first came around. Very near to the place where the Little River which runs past Cameron empties into the much bigger Brazos River, there was a big, sandstone outcropping known as Sugarloaf Mountain.

There was a large Indian settlement in that bottom land and the mountain played a large role in their culture no doubt. In fact, about 30 years ago, a developer bought the mountain and the surrounding land and proceeded to run a bulldozer up it and tore away about 2/3 of the mountain. There had been a large boulder(about 12 feet tall) carved into the shape of a skull, with another skull in it's mouth, that had distinct pre-Columbian features and design. There was also a cave on the north slope that was covered over. The project was finally stopped when Tonkawa nation representatives came down from Oklahoma and testified in a hearing that the mountain had played a large part in their creation myth. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that that mountain wouldn't be there for all time. Damn some people.

At any rate, here's my only genuine artifact and the oldest weapon I own. Would I part with it? Not on your life. :grin:

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LyleW
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by LyleW »

That is a keeper for sure!
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Gary Brantley
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by Gary Brantley »

Sure is Lyle. It was almost like I was supposed to find that thing. If Carson's little sandal hadn't come off, we would've walked right past it, or maybe even on it. And it's another "miracle" that I didn't step on it while fooling with that shoe. I wish I had access to someplace with a lot of arrowheads; I would love to find some other artifacts. :grin:
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Stikpusher
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by Stikpusher »

What an awesome find! The circumstances of the find are truly amazing- the odds of that happening then and there in such a manner… :hmm:
As far as the rest of the story regarding the area, did the new owner/developer have to repair the damage done to the hill?
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Gary Brantley
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by Gary Brantley »

Thanks Carlos. No, the old mountain was left as it was. It was a shameful thing to have happened and thanks goodness the Tonkawa representatives came down and put a stop to it. But, the awful damage was already done. The last time I climbed up there was a New Year's Day, around 1990 or '91I think. My son and I went up and what I found brought tears to my eyes. I just couldn't believe what they had done. There was a fair-sized cave on the North side; friends and I spent the night on top of Sugarloaf one night and took shelter in that cave during a thunderstorm. The mountain looms over the Little River bottom lands and there are great 360* views from up there.

The Cannibal Rock:

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the same area today:

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I wish I had some good photos from "back in the day" but we never suspected that anything could happen to a damned mountain, and it would always be there. How wrong we were to underestimate the greed of men. :sad:
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Stuart
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by Stuart »

That is very cool indeed!
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BlackSheep214
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by BlackSheep214 »

A definite keeper!!
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Gary Brantley
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Re: my oldest antique weapon

Post by Gary Brantley »

Thanks Stuart and Black Sheep! I keep it in a velvet drawstring bag inside my gun safe. Whenever I do handle it, I'm very careful to not drop it. Breaking it like that would break my old heart! :wink:
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