This is an exceptional Mid-19th Century Missouri War Axe Tomahawk attributed to the Pawnee Indians of Kansas from the ex-collection of Ben Thompson and Dale Harrison. The piece is a large, heavy example with a long, fringed buckskin drop and wrap at the end of the haft. The head is hand blacksmith forged from thin sheet iron and is finished with artistic cut outs on the blade including three stars and a half moon. The head is secured to the haft with an old buckskin gasket and brass trade tacks. Star and crescent moon or half-moon cutouts on Missouri War Axes have been documented by Woodward, Peterson, Baldwin and Hartzler & Knowles. Examples can be seen at the Oklahoma State Museum, and the Museum of the American Indian Heye Foundation, New York. The term "Missouri War Axe" was coined by American Indian weapons collectors to describe this particular style of tomahawk. They were first discovered by Lewis & Clark on their 1804-1805 expedition financed by Thomas Jefferson, which sent them exploring up the upper Missouri River basin. Meriwether Lewis wrote about these weapons and sketched one in his journal, stating that the local Indians were fervently requesting the expedition blacksmith to make additional examples for them. He went as far as to state that it was the only item the Indians were willing to trade corn, grain and other expedition necessities for and that manufacture, and trade of additional axes is what solely got the explorers through the winter of 1805. Only a small handful of tribes were known to have used this style of tomahawk and in only one specific region. They were made in small numbers, making early surviving examples such as this extremely rare and historically important. At the bottom of the haft is a long fringe drop secured with a thick wrap of hide at the gripping section and brass tacks. The haft handle is adorned with bands of old brass trade tacks with a nice mellow patina from honest age and use. The head shows the typical Missouri War Axe pattern with small spur on the inside edge, cutouts at the center of the blade and round eyelet hole with ridged finish. Provenance: The piece is from the personal collection of Ben Thompson, the former president of the Central States Archaeological Society and avid collector. Ben sold the piece to Dale Harrison at an artifact show in the early 2000’s. Measures overall 24.5”L and 5.25”L across the bottom of the blade with an additional 24”L fringe drop.