"250 Years Ago Today"

 Art work by: Gary Zaboly

The Battle of Bloody Run was fought 250 years ago this July, the British and the Indians fought a fierce battle. In an attempt to break Chief Pontiac’s siege against Fort Detroit, British Captain James Dalyell urged Major Henry Gladwin to authorize a surprise attack on the Indians. Gladwin reluctantly agreed.
At 2:30 a.m. on July 31, Dalyell began his intended surprise attack on the Indian encampment. However, Pontiac had learned of Dalyell’s plan (perhaps from the French settlers) and gathered more than 400 men to fight the British. Pontiac ordered nearly half the men to hide on the opposite side of a narrow bridge called Parent's Creek, two miles east of Fort Detroit, below Pontiac's encampment. As the British troops, some 200 soldiers, attempted to cross the bridge over Parent’s Creek, they fell to a vicious crossfire.
Gunfire erupted from all sides devastating the British. Dalyell realized his plan was destined to fail and called for a retreat. Unfortunately, the call came too late. The only hope left for the British was to charge their way out of the battle. Dalyell and about sixty of his men were killed as a result of the fire fight. Robert Rogers and a small group of rangers along with the help of to small boat armed with swivel guns out on the Detroit river supplied cover for the rest of the British troops to retreat.  
There was so much blood spilled in the battle that the water in Parent’s Creek appeared red. The Creek became known as Bloody Run. This battle marked the height of Chief Pontiac’s siege of Detroit, which he was forced to abandon three months later.
  After learning of Dalyell's death, General Jeffery Amherst offered a £200 bounty to anyone who would kill Pontiac.

Fort Detroit 1763

Belt pouch

Just finish this leather belt pouch, made from 2/3oz veg-tanned leather hand stitched and dyed a lite brown.
The flap is trimmed with a course linen, button closer, small inside pocket.

Battle of Bloody Run

About two o'clock on the morning of the thirty-first of July, the gates were thrown open in silence, and the detachment, two hundred and fifty in number, passed noiselessly out. They filed two deep along the road, while two large bateaux, each bearing a swivel on the bow, rowed up the river abreast of them. Lieutenant Brown led the advance guard of twenty-five men; the center was commanded by Captain Gray, and the rear by Captain Grant. The night was still, close, and sultry, and the men marched in light undress. On their right was the dark and gleaming surface of the river, with a margin of sand intervening, and on their left a succession of Canadian houses, with barns, orchards, and cornfields, from whence the clamorous barking of watch-dogs saluted them as they passed. The inhabitants, roused from sleep, looked from the windows in astonishment and alarm. An old man has told the writer how, when a child, he climbed on the roof of his father's house, to look down on the glimmering bayonets, and how, long after the troops had passed, their heavy and measured tramp sounded from afar, through the still night. Thus the English moved forward to the attack, little thinking that, behind houses and enclosures,

Indian scouts watched every yard of their progress — little suspecting that Pontiac, apprised by the Canadians of their plan, had broken up his camp, and was coming against them with all his warriors, armed and painted for battle.

A mile and a half from the fort, Parent's Creek, ever since that night called Bloody Run, descended through a wild and rough hollow, and entered the Detroit amid a growth of rank grass and sedge. Only a few rods from its mouth, the road crossed it by a narrow wooden bridge, not existing at the present day. Just beyond this bridge, the land rose in abrupt ridges, parallel to the stream. Along their summits were rude entrenchments made by Pontiac to protect his camp, which had formerly occupied the ground immediately beyond. Here, too, were many piles of firewood belonging to the Canadians, besides strong picket fences, enclosing orchards and gardens connected with the neighboring houses. Behind fences, wood-piles, and entrenchments, crouched an unknown number of Indian warriors with leveled guns.

They lay silent as snakes, for now they could hear the distant tramp of the approaching column.

The sky was overcast, and the night exceedingly dark. As the English drew near the dangerous pass, they could discern the oft-mentioned house of Meloche upon a rising ground to the left, while in front the bridge was dimly visible, and the ridges beyond it seemed like a wall of undistinguished blackness. They pushed rapidly forward, not wholly unsuspicious of danger.

A New Addition

I received my new powder measure made by CLA member David Rase from Bremerton, Washington. David is making these by hand, by drawing sheet metal through a draw plate to swag it into a round tube suitable for powder measures.  In the past he has been turning the whole measure from a piece of round stock.  The tube is pulled through the draw plate and then soldered to a turned and broached collar.  The thumb screws are all hand filed from 1/8" mild steel flat stock. David makes them in copper, brass, and mild steel also in any measurement you want up to 120gr.   

 

I had mine made from the mild steel and it measures from 10 gr. to 60gr.   I wanted to keep it small in size, (3 1/4" closed, 5 1/4" opened) so that I can hang it from my rifle bag. If I need a larger charge I can just dump it twice up to 120gr. His work is outstanding and had it in two weeks after ordering. This would be a great addition to anyone's shot bag. David's e-mail is davidrase@q.com

Better Late Then Never #18

 This bag was to be done in June but, one thing or another kept it from being finish. Now it's July and I am still waiting on a iron buckle to finish the bag, no buckle, so I took one of my bags and removed the buckle and finished the bag.

The bag is a simple bag no inside pocket no tooling on the flap, just a plain simple functional bag.
The bag is all hand sewn using waxed linen thread, made from 3oz.veg-tanned leather, dyed a dark brown and treated with 100% neets-foot oil and bee's wax. Bag size is 7" wide by 8" deep with a 1 1/2" gusset, all seams are welted.

Happy 4th of July