The lot features an early Bear-Cult large bowie fighting knife from the Blackfeet Indians of Northern Montana. For reference on the Bear-Cult knife see the example published in Harold L. Peterson’s “American Knives” on page 127 figure 158. Peterson’s example shows the bear jaw with small tuft of fur at the back, being wrapped at the gripping area with beaver back wood two-piece bolsters having four pins and a bear back tail shaped blade. The bear knife was used by the members of the Bear Cult among the Assiniboine, Eastern Dakota, Blackfoot and Sarsi tribes. These knives were sacred and used during hand to hand combat in battle. Obtaining a Bear-Cult knife was difficult. The knife was transferred in a ritual ceremony, per Harold Peterson’s report, and as the ceremony was coming to a close the owner of the knife, after imitating the antics of a bear, would suddenly hurl the knife at the candidate. If he failed to catch the knife, he was not worthy of the knife, but if he caught it he was thrown naked upon a bed of thorns and beaten thoroughly with the flat of the blade while the ceremonial Bear-Cult paint was applied to his aching body (openly quoted from “American Knives”). This example shows a heavily hammered and corroded metal large bowie style fighting knife blade with two halves of a Montana Bear Jaw with the pommel end showing the Bear Teeth. The handle is wrapped in parfleche rawhide and sewn with sinew showing an overall dark coloring and yellowing on the bone. Someone at some point tried to sharpen the blades edge crudely later. Provenance: From a 60+ year old private collection of early Native American antiques from Groveland, New York. Measures overall 14.75-inches long by 3-inches wide by 1 7/8-inches wide.