Not Given, Minnesota, United States, North America
Accession Date:
29 Jul 1936
Notes:
From card: "An Indian battle ax brought from Minnesota by [William] Wilkins Davis, 1865. A good specimen. Wood carved at distal end and curved at juncture of steel blade which is hastate shape, 7 1/2" long."
Called a "gunstock" or "rabbit leg" type of club. Bladed gunstock club listed on p. 17 of Feest, Christian. “On the Trail of the Duke's Club. Duke Paul Wilhelm of Württtemberg, Bladed Gunstock Clubs, and Evidence.” ERNAS Occasional Papers 1, 2023; https://www.academia.edu/96108242/On_the_Trail_of_the_Dukes_Club_Duke_Paul_Wilhelm_of_W%C3%BCrtttemberg_Bladed_Gunstock_Clubs_and_Evidence?source=swp_share .
William Wilkins Davis is assumed to be William Wilkins Davis (1842-1866), son of Allen Bowie Davis and Hester Ann Wilkins Davis. William Wilkins Davis traveled to Minnesota in 1862 with Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple (1822-1901) to establish Episcopal churches. Whipple was known for his dedication to the welfare of the American Indians and for his missionary work among Dakota and Ojibwe in Minnesota. Whipple made clemency pleas in favor of a group of Dakota who fought against the United States government in the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. William Wilkins Davis went to Minnesota in hopes that the clean air would help him recover from pulmonary issues but he succumbed to illness in 1866. See https://www.mdhistory.org/the-darkest-hours-are-often-the-harbingers-of-a-bright-dawn-the-diary-of-hester-ann-wilkins-davis/ , retrieved 9 May 2022.
