30 NEBRASKAland • AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2015
T
he frontiersman stepped out from beneath the shadowy
canopy of evergreens. He lifted a black powder measure
to the barrel of his muzzleloader. The powder horn at
his side was etched with delicate scrimshaw in the images
of snake and bear, its stopper intricately carved in the shape
of a man's hand. A knife, its handle fashioned from the
jawbone of a black bear with the teeth intact, was attached
to a possibles bag of hand-stitched leather. One can only
imagine the hours a mountain man would have spent,
kneeling by a warm fire on cold winter nights, carving and
shaping the tools he'd need for the next day's hunt.
Members of the North Fork Frontiersmen of the Elkhorn
River can tell you just how many hours. For the past
30 years, members of the club have held mountain men
rendezvous to spend time with others interested in the
history of the first white men who scouted un-trapped
streams, barely a step ahead of restless pioneers looking for
good farmland. These men and women come to sharpen
their muzzleloading shooting skills and hone their frontier
skills, and to talk around the campfire about the frontiersmen
who once explored the Far West, trapping beaver and other
animals in Rocky Mountain country in the first half of the
1800s. Back then, buckskinners had only themselves to rely
on for food and shelter, trading the furs from animals they
shot and trapped for necessary supplies.
Held in Battle Creek in recent years, the location of the
shooting grounds has varied since the club's existence, but
the enthusiasm of the North Fork Frontiersmen has never
wavered. At one time, they registered over 100 shooters at
their meet; however, a typical shoot will bring in 60 to 70
shooters plus their families.
Powder and Lead
Early on, meetings were at the local community college.
Stories swapped and lessons learned included presentations
on mountain man history, firearms, tools and period
clothing, many led by college professor and history buff
Gary Miller.
Miller was just a "little guy," he said, when he became
fascinated with a colorful book about Sioux Indian chiefs.
He soon began to search out stories about American
Indians and white immigrant settlements and the history
of the Wild West. He read all he could about the exploits
of Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone's early years on the
Kentucky frontier, and author James Fenimore Cooper's
Leatherstocking Tales, with its Natty Bumppo character
inspired in large part by Daniel Boone.
"My interest was always there," Miller said, but it lay
Story by LaRayne Topp
Photos by Jenny Nguyen
North Fork
Frontiersmen
The palisade shoot is a timed event where shooters try to knock
down as many animal-shaped targets as possible with their
muzzleloaders.
