Question for Old West/ History buffs

[iminrut]

Did frontiersman or soldiers fashion musket balls out of rock when needed ?? I found a rock while hunting the other day, and it has been obviously worked on one half to make the thing perfectly round.........it looks to be made of granite or some other really hard rock, and it measures approximately 1" in diameter and is nearly perfectly round.........

I'll try to get a pic or two posted later tonight......

Any ideas or opinions of what it may be would be great........Clay

 

[iminrut]

Just the size has got me ruling out a musket ball , the biggest I could find on the net was 75 caliber (3/4") unless some French fur traders had something made that big.....

Grape shot I guess could be a possibility, as Custer and the 7th cavalry passed through the area on the way to Montana....in fact spent several winters at Fort Mandan which is about 45 miles from me.............

Another thing I was just checking into, and would make more sense for our area......is it may very well be an Indian game ball....size seems to fall into the catagory......from what I can find about the Plains Indians, the sizes varied from marble size to grapefruit size......so maybe ??

Here is the "Nature" side......

And here is the side that was obviously "worked" to make the thing round....

 

[ELKCHSR]

That last one sounds more closer to the truth, I just called a freind of mine from Northern Cheyenne and they had a game they played with such stones...

Hard to say, but a real collector non the less, great find...

 

[iminrut]

I checked with an area history buff and antique gun collector......he said it is most definitely firearm related, just due to the working of it to become perfectly round.....and considering our 7th calvary history for the area, he said it is most likely grape shot for a cannon load. He said it was too bad I couldn't remember exactly where it was found, because it would probably be historically significant, like the scene of an Indian battle, etc.....

Neat find none the less

 

[Elkhunter]

That is a pretty ineresting find you have.

 

[danr55]

In all of my reading, I've never heard of stones being worked into round balls for shot. I've read several stories about soldiers stuffing racks and glass and nails and anything that would fit into cannon to suppress foot charges, but never heard of them being worked into shot. It would be interesting is you can confirm that story.

 

[T Bone]

Cool find.

This may be a stretch, but I did see a grinding bowl that is about that size. The owner guessed it was used for paint or for medicinal purposes.

Hard to tell from the pics, but are you sure its natural stone? Do you have a powder scale that you could weight it on?

 

[iminrut]

Danr55, I'm hoping to somehow get it's use confirmed.....

T-bone, I sure looks like natural stone to me, and I found it out in the middle of no-where, ND.......father-n-law reloads, so I'll check it's weight on his scale.......

Pestle/mortar did come to mind, but I quickly ruled it out cause it has no handle.....

 

[ELKCHSR]

I think T-bone was talking about paints and medicines by the natives...

That would a be a great find also...

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

You can find those around rivers and hard bottom creeks, as I have some also. As a stone washes down a river the edges are smoothed out and we call them Indian Marbles. A Geologist told me the correct name for them, but I don't remember right now. Buzz, surely you know what they're called. John

 

[JB]

what you have there is a petrified dinosaur dingle berry.

 

[iminrut]

You can find those around rivers and hard bottom creeks, as I have some also. As a stone washes down a river the edges are smoothed out and we call them Indian Marbles. A Geologist told me the correct name for them, but I don't remember right now. Buzz, surely you know what they're called. John

Certainly this couldn't have rolled on only one side......only one half is smooth.....the other half is kind of grainy and rough.....

Plus where I've hunted in the past couple of weeks, has been no where near a creek or river bottom.......not that this couldn't have been there originally, but just the two different surface textures and the perfect roundness, indicate to me that this thing has been worked by human hands.....or bigfoot

 

[DRAFTSTUD]

iminrut, I wish I had my camera as I looked at the one I have in my office and it is a pretty close match! John

 

[Canoe]

If the grape shot theory is true I have to tip my hat to that troop commander for keeping his men busy. It looks to be way too labor intensive for that to me, but who knows?