My Newly Acquired Short Northwest Trade Gun (Canoe Gun)

It’s a Northwest Trade Gun that has a ‘shortened’ 24¼" long oct-round barrel in 20 gauge. it’s marked ‘london' on the top flat and has a fox in a circle stamp just forward of the tang. There is a rear sight mounted on the tang as well.

The stock is cherry wood stained to a nice dark color. The hardware is brass. All of the steel parts have been deeply browned.

Homage to my grandfathers... 

https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/04/index-voyageur-grandfathers-la-prairie.html

I’m sure it’s a replica made during the 20th century as it has no makers name, but who knows for sure.

THE NORTHWEST TRADE GUN IS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF THE INDIAN TRADE GUN

They were available from about 1760 to the end of the 19th century.

The Northwest gun was used extensively by the French Canadians and was a favorite gun of the Indians. It was sold by trading companies such as the Hudson’s Bay Company, the Northwest Company, the Mackinaw Company, and the American Fur Company.

French makers traded fusils (Charleville and Tulle muskets) from the 1680s on.

By 1742, beaver pelts were valued at: one pelt for one pound of shot or three flints; four pelts for one pound of powder; ten pelts for a pistol; twenty pelts for a trade gun.

English made Northwest guns were very common between 1770 and 1860. It has been estimated that as many as 2.5 million trade guns were imported into North America. They were readily available at forts, trading posts, and rendezvous.

The Northwest Trade Gun had a single trigger with an oversize trigger guard designed for use while wearing heavy mittens.

The most distinctive feature of these guns was the serpent (or dragon) shaped brass side plate.

Indians learned to recognize and demand London proof marks... a sitting fox or tombstone logo on the lock and barrel.

Guns and horses were being traded at the Missouri River Hidatsa, Mandan, and Arikara villages long before Lewis and Clark reached the Mandan Village in 1804.

Being a smoothbore, like a shotgun, they weren't as accurate as a rifle, but they were prefered by many as they are a good hunting weapon capable of shooting either shot or ball.

White men who hunted buffalo to feed trading posts used trade guns because they were easier to load while riding a horse.

The large .60 caliber ball fired from a Northwest Trade Gun is capable of killing the biggest animals in North America if the distance is kept close.

Northwest Trade Guns were popular for hunting buffalo from horseback. Often the barrels were shortened to facilitate loading from the back of a horse or from the confines of a canoe. 

These modified smoothbores were called “canoe guns” or “pony guns”.

EVERYTHING NEEDED FOR A DAY IN THE FOREST...

HUNTER'S TOOLS (Photo Left to right)

Forged screwdriver

Whisk & pick (for touch hole cleaning)

Canvas bag of flax roving (make a small ball & use instead of patches, above powder, and above shot or ball)

Rawhide shot pouch (4 x 7/8 oz loads #6 shot)

Deerskin musket ball pouch (6 x .60 caliper balls)

Brass pan primer (applies small amount of powder to pan)

Deer antler shot measure (7/8 oz loads #6 shot)

Deer antler powder measure (62 grains of black powder)

HUNTER'S LOADS

7/8 oz #6 shot over 62 grains of black powder… good for squirrels, rabbits, grouse and turkeys

.60 caliper musket ball over 62 grains of black powder… good for 'enemies,' elk, deer, wild boar, ‘close’ black bear, and 'close' buffalo.

GUNSMITH ANCESTORS

I come by my interest in guns honestly...

JAMES BABCOCK AND HISTORICAL ANTECEDENTS TO OUR SECOND AMENDMENT

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2020/07/james-babcock-and-historical.html

Cousin Jean Baptiste was Michilimackinac's Blacksmith

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2016/07/cousin-jean-baptiste-was.html

Uncle Jean Tavernier dit Laforest — Killed in the Battle of Long Sault

http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/06/uncle-jean-tavernier-dit-laforest.html

British Legacy -- Born 1826 in Newfoundland

https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2011/11/british-legacy-born-1826-in.html

(SEE: Thomas Wilkie, Armory Sergeant at the fort on Signal Hill in St. Johns.)

Another newly discovered Gunsmith ancestor was Ichabod Hawes (1719–1777) 6th great-grandfather

BIRTH 18 SEP 1719 • Wrentham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, USA

DEATH 18 DEC 1777 • Medway, Norfolk, MA

Ichabod was a gunsmith and had a forge and trip-hammer worked by water power just west of the Bent sawmill. He served in the French Indian War and the Revolutionary War for Massachusetts.

Robidoux Family - Beaver Pelts to Buffalo Robes and Beyond

Alfred Jacob Miller "The Greeting"

The Robidoux 'fur trading' family played a major role in settling Canada and America from the 17th to the 19th centuries. 

This family was instrumental in the history of New France in Canada, and the expansion of American territories to such places as St. Joseph, Missouri, and San Bernardino, California. 

The descendants of the patriarch Manuel Robidoux are well known. 

GENERATION A, MANUEL ROBIDOU

1620–1667

BIRTH 1620 • St Germain, Paris, Ile-de-France, France

DEATH 1667 • Galicia, Spain

MARRIED Abt. 1642, Catherine Alve (1618–1667)

10th great-grandfather

They are discussed in Meriwether Lewis’ journals, James Michener's book Centennial, and have been chronicled as traveling with frontiersman Kit Carson.

Montréal harbour and a moored sailing ship

GENERATION 1, ANDRE ROBIDOU DIT L’ESPAGNOL

1643–1678

BIRTH 1643 • Galice, Burgos, Castilla-Leon, Spain

DEATH 1 APR 1678 • Laprairie, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 7 Jun 1667, Jeanne Denot dit LeDuc (1645–1710)

9th great-grandfather

NOTES: Twenty-two year old Andre Robidoux dit L’Espagnol arrived at New France in 1665.  

Andre was known as dit L’Espagnol because he was born and christened in Ste. Marie, Galice, Burgos, Spain about 1640. 

The 1666 census for the town of Québec lists Andre as a sailor… it’s there that he began working as a voyageur for Eustace Lambert, a prominent interpreter, settler and fur trader.  Working for Lambert, Andre ferried goods and supplies up and down the St. Lawrence for a cents a day plus lodging and board.

On May 16, 1667 he married Jeanne Denot(e), a ‘fille du roi’, in Québec City. 

More: http://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/10/andre-robidou-dit-lespagnol-voyageur.html

Carousing peasants in a cabaret

GENERATION 2, GUILLAUME ROBIDOU

1675–1754

BIRTH 28 NOV 1675 • La Prairie, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 1 JUL 1754 • Montréal, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 1697, Marie Francoise Guerin (1680–1757)

9th great-uncle

NOTES: Guillaume likely used income from the fur trade to become a cabaret owner in Montréal during the 1740s.

Charles Francois Robidou (1720-1801) (1st cousin 9x removed) s/o Guillaume Robidou (1675–1754) died 1801 in River Raisin, Michigan, and was likely involved in the fur trade.

See: https://www.tfcg.ca/cabaretier-old-occupation

GENERATION 3, JOSEPH ROBIDOU I

1701–1778

BIRTH 20 MARCH 1701 • La Prairie, Québec, Canada

DEATH 30 AUG 1778 • Yamaska, Quebec, Canada

MARRIED 1721, Marie-Anne Fonteneau (1699–1735)

1st cousin 9x removed

NOTES: Joseph entered the fur trade at its peak, but by the middle half of the 18th century the fur trade was in a slow decline, and Joseph's children began migrating south to American cities such as Detroit, Chicago and St. Louis.

He married twice, first to Marie-Anne Fonteneau (1 December 1699 – 16 February 1735), daughter of Pierre Fonteneau, and had six children including Joseph Robidoux II. Widowed, Joseph married second to Marie-Louise Robert (b. 17 October 1715), daughter of André Robert, and had seven children. Joseph died In Yamaska, Quebec, Canada, in 1778.

GENERATION 4, JOSEPH ROBIDOU II

1722–1771

BIRTH 13 SEP 1722 • La Prairie, Québec, Canada

DEATH 12 SEP 1771 • St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1749, Marie Anne Le Blanc (1728–1770)

2nd cousin 8x removed

NOTES: Following repeated conflicts with the British, Joseph and his family began to look south for better prospects.

Joseph Robidou II, 1756 May 14, voyageur from La Prairie,
engaged to Louis Lamy Desfonds and Co., to go to Detroit

1756 May 14 - Joseph Robidou, voyageur from La Prairie de la Magdelaine, engaged to Louis Lamy Desfonds And Co., to go to Detroit, so at this point Joseph is a voyageur and is gaining knowledge of river trails to the Southwest.

About 1760, Joseph and his family traversed the Chicago Portage to relocate to St. Louis. Other members of the family also settled in Detroit.

His wife Marie-Anne Fonteneau also came from a distinguished family that settled in Quebec in the 18th century. Her great-grandfather was Abraham Martin l’Écossais (the Scotsman), a royal pilot on the St. Lawrence River. The Plains of Abraham are named for him. This is where a famous battle of the Seven Years' War (the French and Indian War) between the British and the French was fought in 1759.

Joseph and Marie had four children, including Joseph Robidoux III. Joseph died in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1771.

GENERATION 5, JOSEPH ROBIDOUX III

1750–1809

BIRTH 12 FEB 1750 • Sault-au-Récollet, Quebec, Canada

DEATH 16 MAR 1809 • St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1782, Catherine Rolet (1767–1866)

3rd cousin 7x removed

NOTES: Joseph established a number of establishments, engaging in trade with anyone offering items of value. In the later 18th and early 19th centuries, St. Louis was a major trading hub with both the Indians and Western settlers. Frequently changing hands among the British, French and Spanish, the rules were often confusing, and Joseph managed to be on many sides of an issue. 

As an example, in his last letter before his tragic suicide, Meriwether Lewis wrote to Thomas Jefferson:

“On my way to St. Louis, last fall, I received satisfactory evidence that a Mr. Robideau [sic], an inhabitant of St. Louis, had, the preceding winter, during intercourse with the Ottoes and Missouris, been guilty of the most flagrant breaches of the first of those misdemeanors above mentioned ... And Mr. Robidoux and sons still prosecute their trade."

GENERATION 6 — JOSEPH ROBIDOUX III’S SONS — ROBIDOUX BROTHERS:

Robidoux's original cabin trading post

JOSEPH ROBIDOUX IV — Founder of St. Joseph, MO

1783–1868

BIRTH 10 AUG 1783 • St. Louis Missouri

DEATH 27 MAY 1868 • St. Joseph Missouri

MARRIED 1793 (1), Angelique Bourasa Vaudry (1793–1857)

MARRIED (2) Eugenie Delisle (1784–1800)

MARRIED (3) Unknown Otoe-Ioway Woman (1780–_)

4th cousin 6x removed

See: https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/11/joseph-robidoux-and-our-ever-deepening.html?m=0

Joseph IV Robidoux, Founder of St. Joseph, MO

FRANÇOIS ROBIDOUX — Early California explorer

1788–1856

BIRTH 24 SEP 1788 • St Louis, MO

DEATH 10 OCT 1856 • Nebraska Territory

MARRIED Abt. 1808, Therese Bienvenu Delisle (1790–1837)

4th cousin 6x removed

Notes: Francois trapped and traded in Indian villages along the Missouri River, attended to business in St. Louis, and traded on the northern plains of Kansas and on the Yellowstone River. He is best known as being an early California explorer.

PIERRE ISADORE ROBIDOUX — Trader at Fort Laramie and Scotts Bluff, NE

1791–1852

BIRTH 02 NOV 1791 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 30 MAY 1852 • near Bid Blue River, Nebraska Territory

Married Abt. 1815, Julie Desjardins (1800–1825)

4th cousin 6x removed

Antoine Robideox, age 64

ANTOINE ROBIDOUX — Indian trader in Utah, Colorado and Santa Fe, NM

1794–1860

BIRTH 22 SEP 1794 • St Louis, St Louis,Missouri, United States

DEATH 29 AUG 1860 • St Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, United States

MARRIED 1828, Carmel Benavides (1812–1888)

4th cousin 6x removed

See: https://a-drifting-cowboy.blogspot.com/2019/11/antoine-robidoux-santa-fe-based.html?m=0

Louis Rubidoux

LOUIS ROBIDOUX — Founder of Riverside, CA

1796–1868

BIRTH 31 JULY 1796 • Florissant, St. Louis County, Missouri, USA

DEATH SEPT. 24,1868 • Rubidoux Rancho, Riverside, Riverside, California, United States

MARRIED Abt. 1821 Maria Guadalupe Garcia (de Noriega) (1811–1892)

4th cousin 6x removed

MICHEL ROBIDOUX — Mountain Man and trader "at the mouth of Kanzas River, Grand Loup and Republic Panca Villages, and Bellevue

1798–1858

BIRTH 03 AUG 1798 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 10 APRIL 1858 • Missouri, United States

MARRIED (1) Abt. 1831, Suzanne Vaudry (1793–1874)

MARRIED (2) Mary Good Rock (aka Yearling Horse) (1839–1900)

4th cousin 6x removed

ROBIDOUX SIOUX-MÉTIS (PEOPLE OF PLAINS INDIAN AND FRENCH CANADIAN DESCENT):

GENERATION 7, JOSEPH SELLICO ROBIDOUX — son of François Robidoux (1788-1856) — Early California explorer

1820–1864

BIRTH ABT 1820 • St Louis, Missouri

DEATH 1864 • Scottsbluff, Nebraska

MARRIED Abt. 1840, Mary Tasinasapawin Her Black Blanket (Eagle Bull Widow) (1818–1890)

5th cousin 5x removed

Spotted Tail's Delegation, Louis Roubideaux, official interpreter (right rear)

GENERATION 8, i. LOUIS ROUBIDEAU — Sioux-Metis (half Sioux and half French), US Army Indian Scout, Rosebud Reservation Police Captain, and US Government Interpreter.

1846–1913

BIRTH ABT 1846 • Wyoming

DEATH 14 JAN 1913 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, South Dakota, USA

MARRIED 1869 (1) Evan Woman (Erin, Erine, Eren) Tears Belly (1845–1878)

MARRIED 1871 (2) Adelia Running Near, Caught the Eagle (1866–1935)

6th cousin 4x removed

NOTES: Louis Roubideaux, the official United States interpreter, was at one time captain of the Indian police.

GENERATION 9:

Katie Roubidoux nee Blue Thunder

1890–1991

BIRTH 8 JUNE 1890 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD

DEATH 13 MAY 1991 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, SD

7th cousin 3x removed

Martha Blanche Robideaux (nee Marshall, nee Brave)

1896–1986

BIRTH 19 OCT 1896 • Rosebud Indian Reservation, Todd, South Dakota

DEATH 1986 • Gregory, South Dakota, USA

7th cousin 3x removed

Crook treaty hitch lot, 1889, by John A Anderson, on the Rosebud Agency

GENERATION 8, ii. CHARLES ROUBIDEAUX SR — (Gen'l Crook's Indian Scouts, Pvt., Co D, 2nd Reg't US Inf.)

1854–1931

BIRTH JUL 1854 • Nebraska, United States of America

DEATH 24 DEC 1931 • Wood, Mellette, South Dakota

MARRIED Abt. 1875, Maggie Robinson (1862–1936)

6th cousin 4x removed

GENERATION 9

Silison (Silicon) Sylvester Roubideaux (Robidoux)

1877–1927

BIRTH 14 APR 1877 • Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, USA

DEATH 14 AUG 1927 • South Dakota, USA

GENERATION 10

Eva Melvina Roubideaux

1910–1988

BIRTH 18 OCT 1910 • Rosebud Sioux Reservation, Rosebud, Mellette, South Dakota, USA

DEATH 18 JUL 1988 • South Dakota, USA

8th cousin 2x removed

NOTES: See… Eyewitness to the Death of Crazy Horse

SEE: https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/12/eyewitness-to-death-of-crazy-horse.html

MORE ROBIDOUX METIS RELATIVES AND A FEW INDIAN CHIEFS TOO

For Mary, Many Days WHITE CLOUD — All Roads Lead Back to La Prairie

https://laprairie-voyageur-canoes.blogspot.com/2019/12/for-mary-many-days-white-cloud-all.html

Francis (Mahaska II) (The Younger) White Cloud Ioway Chief

1811–1856

BIRTH ABT. 1811 • On the Des Moines River, Iowa, Iowa, USA

DEATH 17 DEC 1856 • Iowa Point, On the Missouri River, White Cloud, Kansas

husband of 5th cousin 5x removed

James (The gro wo nung) White Cloud Ioway Chief

1847–1940

BIRTH ABT 1847 • Kansas, USA

DEATH 1940 • Iowa Reservation, Brown Co., Kansas

Son of Francis (Mahaska II) (The Younger) White Cloud Ioway Chief (1811–1856) and Mary (Many Days) Robidoux (1805–1884)

6th cousin 4x removed

ROBIDOUX FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM

1783 to 1868, Joseph Robidoux IV, 4th cousin 6x.

1794-1860, Antoine Robidoux 4th cousin 6x removed (younger).

1879 Sioux Chiefs visit to Carlisle Indian School. Louis Roubideaux, the official United States interpreter, is in front row.

1888, White Bear is advising his people to accept the Great White Father's offer to take the land in severalty, with official interpreter for the United States government Louis Roubideaux (to his left).

Better photo of the Brulé Delegation to Washington 1872 with Louis C. Roubideaux, b Abt 1846, d 14 Jan 1913 (standing rear right). Also in the photo is Brulé Chief Spotted Tail - Sinte-galeska.

Katie Roubideaux, Age 8, Rosebud Sioux (1890-1991). She is d/o Louis C Roubideau interpreter.

Glass plate negative by Julia E. Tuell of Blanche Roubideaux, a daughter of Louis Roubideaux (a French/Lakota interpreter at Rosebud for 30 years), holding her baby swaddled in beaded cradleboard, Rosebud Reservation, South Dakota, 1913-1929.

1924, Albert Six Feather & Eva Roubudeaux (on horse) Rosebud agency. 

1894, Men of the Brule Sioux. Rosebud Agency. Louis C. Roubideaux is in the back row, far left.

1889, May 4, The Crook Treaty Council, Rosebud agency, Louis Roubideaux’ cabin is on the left.

1890s Louis Roubideaux with his wife and mother-in-law.

c. 1910s Adelia Blunt Arrow wife of Louis Roubideau.