Jeff probably has writer’s cramp from signing twenty copies
of his book, John Small of
Vincennes: Gunsmith on the Western
Frontier (http://www.redaviscompany.com/1242.html). Writer’s cramp is also called “scrivener’s palsy.” But scrivener’s palsy sounds nasty and incurable and medieval, and not something you can relieve by flapping your hands at the wrist. We’ll just call it writer’s cramp.
We’ve left the grounds of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle
Association in southeastern Indiana, where Jeff has spent the day answering
questions and autographing books for visitors who’ve come to see the Grouseland
Rifle. This newly named State Rifle of
Indiana was crafted by gunsmith
John Small sometime around 1803.
Small was Indiana’s first sheriff, a colonel in the
territorial militia, and a master craftsman who made long rifles, pistols, and
tomahawks for many of the great figures of the period, including George Rogers
Clark, Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark.
His Indian name was “Big Knife.” John Small was pretty much a pioneer action hero.
His Indian name was “Big Knife.” John Small was pretty much a pioneer action hero.
