Rifles of the American Indians by Ryan Gale, Larry Ness, Gary Mikelson

Table of Contents

The American Indian with his rifle was an iconic symbol of the American west. They were glorified by Buffalo Bill in his traveling wild west show in the late nineteenth century, and have been featured in numerous books, movies and television shows. However, this story doesn't begin in the west, but in the east, more than one hundred years earlier, when British and American traders first offered flintlock rifles to the Indians of New York, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas.

For over a century, American Indians demonstrated their prowess with the rifle, as hunters and as warriors. Many of these rifles were passed down through the generations and became cherished family relics. Others found their way into private collections and small-town and national museums throughout North America. They are unique pieces of American Indian history, and are testaments to the ingenuity and workmanship of the English and American gunmakers.

Learn how these rifles were made, distributed, and used throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, how they evolved, and how they effected the lives of the native people in Rifles of the American Indians.