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Grand Portage National Monument Two canoemen, knee deep in water, wet their birchbark canoe in Lake Superior before going for a paddle.
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Grand Portage National Monument
Musket Parts
Flintlock GRPO 500

NPS Photo by John Reed

Flintlock GRPO #500

  • Overview
    • The first references to “Northwest guns” appear in the journal of John Long, who traded north of Lake Superior for an independent Montreal merchant. In 1777 he wrote: “ I gave…to eight chiefs who were in the band, each a North-West gun, a calico shirt, a scalping knife of the best sort, and an additional quantity of ammunition. These were received with a full yo-hah, or demonstration of joy.”
    • Thousands of trade muskets, know as Northwest Guns, evolved in the 18th century toward uniformity of manufacture and became the extremely light and cheaply made fowler preferred by Indian hunters in northwestern North America. Montreal merchants kept up a stream of orders to English gunsmiths for the lightest, cheapest type of serviceable hunting musket that it was possible to produce.
  • View Gun Parts further descriptions (31 Kb .pdf)
 
Lead Musket Ball GRPO #17041

Musket Parts (6 Photos)

The Northwest Gun was a sound , dependable arm of standardized style and dimensions; good for hunters demanding a weapon large enough to kill big game yet light enough to carry all day.
 

Gun Parts

Gallery Description: This gallery contains parts from Northwest Trade Muskets, and pistols.

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Did You Know?
A canoe can travel from Grand Portage to the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans or the Gulf of Mexico with no portage (carrying place) lasting over one day.
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Last Updated: May 12, 2011 at 11:52 MST