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Item No.:	10159	Price :	$4,795.00
Item :	FINE ENGLISH BROWN BESS MUSKET FROM 3RD NIGER EXPEDITION IN 1854

Description :

This is a British Commercial Brown Bess musket manufactured by E.& W. Bond of London in about 1853. It is a large, heavy flintlock musket of about .75 caliber with a 39" barrel. This musket has a lot of history. It is one of a stand of arms commissioned for the Niger Expedition of 1854. The Niger expedition was sent out in 1854 by Macgregor Laird with government support. Laird felt that establishing trade with Africa would lead to the end of the slave trade. He built a small steam ship of shallow draft and named it the "Pleiad". William Balfour Baikie, a Scottish explorer, naturalist, and philologist, who was also a Naval Surgeon, was appointed as the surgeon and naturalist to the expedition. Tragically, before the expedition had begun, the senior officer, Consul John Beecroft, died. Command of the expedition went to Baikie. The first two expeditions had limited success. In both cases most of the crews died from fever and "Miasma". Baikie was determined to prove that fair-skinned Europeans could indeed penetrate the interior of Africa and survive. He was one of the pioneer supporters of the use of Quinine to combat malaria. He dosed his crew regularly and gave out additional doses if the wind blew from the interior. The third expedition was able to ascend the Niger and the Benue rivers about 250 miles farther than previous explorers. After 118 days the Pleiad returned to the mouth of the Niger without the loss of a single crew member. This is one of the muskets carried on the Pleiad as part of its armament. It is marked on the butt plate tang with "PLEIAD" and the number "1". Several other muskets with the Pleiad markings have surfaced in the past but this is the first of the stand. The musket is in fine condition with an overall smooth light brown patina. The brass furniture has a great dark bronze patina. The trigger, ramrod, and sling swivels are a smooth dark brown. The lock mechanism works perfectly, albeit with one very strong mainspring. The bore is very fine, smooth with no pitting. The stock is in fine condition with a light scattering of small dings and scratches from use and storage. This is a great musket with strong historical significance. Stock no. 29607

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