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Birch bark container
(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This birch bark container was owned by Lt. Colonel John Hawks
<BR>(1707-1784), known as the "Hero of Fort Massachusetts." Although
<BR>believed to be a powder magazine, it might have instead held dried and
<BR>pounded material like corn, tobacco, or herbs. The birch bark sides of
<BR>the cylindrical container are stitched together with spruce root and
<BR>decorated with a vertical pattern of stripes and scallops seen in
<BR>Abenaki designs. Lt. Colonel Hawks was stationed at Fort Massachusetts
<BR>near present-day Williamstown, Massachusetts. He defended the fort
<BR>during King George's War on Aug. 19, 1746 against an attack by 700
<BR>French and their Native allies.
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