Whatzit?

[JohnRich 4]

The attached photo is a mystery item, and I'm wondering if anyone here can offer an explanation as to what it might be. It is made out of iron.

The location is in south Texas, in Big Bend National Park, at a site called Neville Springs. This was the location of an 1888 U.S. Cavalry outpost, manned by "buffalo" (black) soldiers, to protect settlers in the area from Indian raids.

So the item would have something to do with that era, but I don't have a clue what... Any ideas?

Also laying around were old horseshoes, and pieces of iron hardware, pottery and glass.

Photo #2: a remaining wall of the outpost, with a clump of trees growing out of the spring a few hundred yards behind it.

[Beerlight 0]

1st thing was the base for a sign that read, "Don't remove this item", and not sure bout the other...

[jimmytavino 16]

.....just a guess......re: the first picture...
In three dimensions,, it looks like it has height....
Can it be a base on which a rider might step... as he mounted a horse.????.
..especially if it's a big horse and a small rider.......... or else.....not.......carry on... o[:-)

[raftman 12]

No, it was used to pan for gold.

[AirMail 0]

Actually, you are holding it upsidedown. When stagecoach horses got spooked and ran uncontrollably, the stage driver threw these off the back of the stage attached to ropes to slow the stage down. Kinda like a sea-anchors. Or maybe not.

P-

Edit: wrong word usage, Doh!

--
It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
Postal Rodriguez, Muff 3342

[Deuce 1]

That's an Old West traffic cone. They were originally painted bright orange and would recieve a traffic pennant through the hole in the top.

[JeffD 0]

if you flipped it over and stuffed it full of straw or hay it could be a torch?

[Ncrowe 0]

Buffalo Nickle ???

"Don't Mess Around With the Guy in Shades- Oh No!!! "

[dove 0]

A bunny rabbit with a pancake on its head?

Fall in dove.

[wingnut 0]

looks like t could be the top to a lantern... depends on how thick the metal is though.... might be to hefty to be a lantern top... bt could be withthe vent holes on the top and a screw hole to pass a screw through to keep it down..... but other than that have no idea

______________________________________
"i have no reader's digest version"

[dove 0]

Hmmmm... is bunny rabbit an oxymoron?

Fall in dove.

[RevJim 0]

Quote

Hmmmm... is bunny rabbit an oxymoron?

Maybe, but I think it is just repeatingly redundant.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[dove 0]

Perhaps maybe.....

Fall in dove.

[hookitt 1]

Quote

Quote

Hmmmm... is bunny rabbit an oxymoron?

Maybe, but I think it is just repeatingly redundant.

... and repetitive

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[RevJim 0]

Quote

Perhaps maybe.....

If andrea is reading this, I'll wager bet she's going crazy nuts.

It's your life, live it!
Karma
RB#684 "Corcho", ASK#60, Muff#3520, NCB#398, NHDZ#4, C-33989, DG#1

[dove 0]

That's the same exact thing!

Fall in dove.

[PLFKING 4]

Transmission bellhousing from a 1839 Conestoga.

Ragtop, I think.


Don

"When in doubt I whip it out,
I got me a rock-and-roll band.
It's a free-for-all."

[hookitt 1]

Quote

That's the same exact thing!

redundantly speaking... yes it is

Say it 3 times fast... it's fun.

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[stevebabin 0]

It appears to be a floor drain.....(upside down)
Steve

"Science, logic and reason will fly you to the moon. Religion will fly you into buildings."
"Because figuring things out is always better than making shit up."

[flypunk 0]

dude come on.... its a piece of an alien spaceship that landed in the dessert collected sample creatures and took off

...

[karenmeal 0]

Its part of the tin man's grandmother. Boobie!

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

[BigM 2]

John-
You ask a serious question and look at the answers you get.

Anyway, it appears to be a cast iron stove damper. Would have served as a stove eye too from what I can tell. Intersting find.

Blue 111-
Jeff

"When I die, I want to go like my grandmother, who died peacefully in her sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in her car."

[skydiver30960 0]

I'm probably shooting my mouth off here, but here's what I figure so far.

Stupid-ass, sick-ass reply: It's a 19th century butt plug!


More serious, more thought out reply: I'm a metallurgist who spent the past seven years working in foundries, the first six of which were in cast iron. When I look at this particular piece I notice a couple things:

1.) Good formation of detail and thin cross section. The thinner a cross section gets in a casting (typically) the harder it is to form. This would be particularly true in the 1880s when metallurgical chemistry was 99% alchemy (as opposed to today, where it's only about 75% alchemy). Non-fills (a casting that is poorly or incompletely formed) and/or carbides (i.e. weak iron) would have been the result.

2.) Overall the surface finish and edge definition is really good. This suggests to me that there was really good sand control in the making of the casting. i.e. notice that there are no washed out areas, or places where the mold was damaged or fell out prior to pouring. Sand chemistry is just like iron chemistry, you REALLY have to know what you're doing to get it right, repeatably.

3.) The casting is rusty, but not REALLY rusty. Was it protected inside a building or something like that? I am used to seeing stuff that has been outdoors for more than a hundred years looking more like a lump of rust than an actual iron casting. If it were exposed to the elements for over a century, I'd expect more degradation, no? NOTE: this may be due to the predominant weather in the area. If south Texas is as arid as my Yankee-raised (albeit Louisiana born) prejudices would suggest it is, then maybe the rusting would not be as bad over a hundred years. How did the rest of the "iron hardware" you mentioned look?

Gut feeling: this may not be from the 1880s. The overall condition of the piece including the lack of severe rust, good definition of corners and surface finish, and thin cross-sections suggest to me that this may be more recent manufacture. If you still have the item look it over for a "foundry mark": this would be anything from the honest-to-goodness full name of the foundry to just a symbol. It should be somewhere on the piece and is usually raised in the piece as it is usually stamped (or carved in the old days) into the mold before the piece is poured. Get me a photo or a sketch of the mark and I'll do a little homework...

Elvisio "fun while I was in it, but having more fun as an unemployed bum" Rodriguez

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Transmission bellhousing from a 1839 Conestoga.
Ragtop, I think.

You get the prize for making me laugh the hardest!

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

Anyway, it appears to be a cast iron stove damper. Would have served as a stove eye too from what I can tell. Intersting find.

Hmm, that would make sense. I was trying to imagine it as some kind of fireplace accessory, or flue. I couldn't make that work. But your theory has possibilities. I'll have to poke around and see if I can find pictures of old cast iron stove parts to compare it with...