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Articles

Vol. 24 (2012)

A Wampum-Inlaid Musket from the 1690 Phips' Shipwreck

  • Charles Bradley
  • Karlis Karklins
Submitted
January 22, 2025
Published
2012-01-01

Abstract

In August of 1690, a fleet of ships under the command of Sir William Phips set sail from Boston to attack Quebec City during the second year of King William's War. The campaign failed and, as the fleet retreated, a number of vessels were wrecked in the St. Lawrence during a violent storm. The remains of one of these was discovered by a diver in a cove at l'Anse aux Bouleaux, Quebec, in 1994. Believed to be the Elizabeth and Mary, the wreck yielded numerous artifacts, including a wide array of weaponry. Among the long arms was a musket whose stock was decorated on either side with two crosses created by inserting wampum into holes drilled into the wood. Likely the property of a Praying Indian, this unique weapon is described in detail and comparisons made to other contemporary Native American objects decorated in a similar manner.