Find by a student of mine

[scottrainey]

Hi, new member here.

I'm a middle school teacher in Washington State, in a community along the Columbia River across from Portland, Oregon. Our town is the site of a Lewis and Clark campsite, Cottonwood Beach.

A couple days ago, a student of mine found some small objects, apparently made out of lead, in the sand at Cottonwood. Unable to identify them, I thought I'd post photos here and see what you all might know.

(I don't pretend to think they are possibly from the Lewis and Clark camp, but I'm still at a loss as to what they might be). Any thoughts? Lead fishing weights, perhaps?

 

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[l.cutler]

The smallest ball was definitely fired from a percussion black powder revolver, where an oversized ball is pressed into the cylinder on loading. The others are muzzleloading roundballs, no way to say if they are from a pistol or rifle, both were available in the same calibers and the balls would be identical. They are too small to be musketballs though as mentioned. You can measure them to the hundredth of an inch to get the caliber.

 

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[danimal03]

I agree they look like pistol shot due to their small size. they are just balls of lead and are not 'bullets' in the modern sense so no one should get in trouble for bringing them to school. it would be the same as bringing a fishing weight to school. but lead is toxic and I would not recommend excessive handling for kids. If he/she eyeballed these four in a small area there are more there. As long as it is a legal area to hunt; I would get a metal detector and go back. No telling what is there. The Columbia River basin has lot of relics to be found. Google "Phoenix buttons" and check those out. A lot are found round there as they were traded to the American Indians for fish and fur...

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

As DonDigger and l.cutler indicated, the smaller ball has a flat area encircling it, which means was fired from a blackpowder Cap-&-Ball (Percussion) type of rifled pistol, such as an 1840s-through-1860s Colt Revolver. Comparing the size of that ball with the US penny in the photo "roughly indicates" it is a .36-caliber pistolball, and the other three balls are .44-caliber pistolballs. But for certainty about the caliber, we need precise measurement of the balls, in hundredths-of-an-inch.

 

[l.cutler]

The other three could just as easily be rifle balls as pistol, rifles and pistols were available in the same calibers, so smaller does not necessarily relate to pistol. I have seen muzzleloading rifles of .29 caliber, and in the .30 to .45 caliber were very common. Either way we will probably never know, but they are round balls for sure!

 

[lookindown]

They could be from Lewis and Clark just as easily as they couldn't be...you never know...cant prove they are but cant prove they arent either.

 

[Goldiver]

Hi, new member here.

I'm a middle school teacher in Washington State, in a community along the Columbia River across from Portland, Oregon. Our town is the site of a Lewis and Clark campsite, Cottonwood Beach.

A couple days ago, a student of mine found some small objects, apparently made out of lead, in the sand at Cottonwood. Unable to identify them, I thought I'd post photos here and see what you all might know.

(I don't pretend to think they are possibly from the Lewis and Clark camp, but I'm still at a loss as to what they might be). Any thoughts? Lead fishing weights, perhaps?View attachment 1106292

Did he find these with a metal detector or just eyeball them? If he hasn't done so already I highly recommend detecting that area well as there is likely other relics and coins nearby and may help to date the site.

Steve

 

[NOLA_Ken]

If there is a shop class at your school, they should have a digital caliper. accurate measurements of the balls in 100ths of an inch (in the least deformed areas) will let us determine the caliber and possibly narrow down a date range. Roundball are very hard to date, as they are still in use today and haven't really changed at all. Generally the only way to get an approximate date is by other datable finds that are near them. I'm told that the chemical composition of the lead can be used to get approximate dates, but that's a bit too hi tech for me. The rifling marks on the smaller one could give us a clue though, the rifling in an 1800's pistol will be a bit different from a modern repro.

 

[scottrainey]

Did he find these with a metal detector or just eyeball them? If he hasn't done so already I highly recommend detecting that area well as there is likely other relics and coins nearby and may help to date the site.

Steve

He said he just eyeballed them - no metal detector involved. I'll see him in class tomorrow morning - I'll talk to him then. I plan on taking them to Fort Vancouver - they might have someone who has some clues as well.

 

[Goldiver]

He said he just eyeballed them - no metal detector involved. I'll see him in class tomorrow morning - I'll talk to him then. I plan on taking them to Fort Vancouver - they might have someone who has some clues as well.

Sounds like a good plan, keep us posted.

Steve