Southern Plains Lance, 19th Century

Southern Plains, Comanche, Kiowa, Apache

Last quarter 19th Century | Wood, Steel, Hide, Sinew, Fabric, Pigment | Item 2652

This is a great lance in wonderful condition. The haft is made out of sotol wood. Western Apache and other regional groups used the flowering stalks of the sotol plant (Dasylirion wheeleri)—often colloquially misidentified as a cactus or grouped with yucca-like succulents—to construct lightweight lance shafts. This haft is very smooth, yet bumpy in form as one moves their hand down it. The blade is a Spanish Colonial wrought iron lance measuring 21″ in length. The blade is attached to the haft with iron crimping around it. The blade is further secured with thick hide, likely buffalo, as it has shrunk to fit tightly and sewn down with hefty sinew. This same treatment is used further down the haft to provide a hand hold. The haft has a red pigment over much of it, excluding the end 24″, which is without pigment. The juncture of the haft with the blade has an extra loop of thick hide to hold a thick, steel ring. The ring has been a part of this lance for a long time. The ring holds an assortment of drops, mostly fabric and red stroud cloth. There is a wrapping of hide pleats covered with quill work, with significant loss to the quill work. These added embellishments are not as old as the lance and likely date the late 19th to early 20th century.

The original owner was a linguist in Lawton, Oklahoma in the 1920s and worked with the Comanche, Kiowa and the Apache. It is likelly that he acquired this lance from a tribal contact while working there.