From:	Eve Forward <lutra@******.COM>
Subject:	Re: Was that a tomahawk ?
Date:	Sun, 11 Jun 1995 10:29:08 -0700

Was that the thing that looks a lot a representation of the butt-end of a rifle?
If so, it's supposed to be a representation of the butt-end of a rifle.
The way I heard it explained was that when Native Americans managed to get
hold of some of the invaders' guns, they found that maybe they couldn't get
bullets for them, but they made a great club if you swung them. So much so that
they took to making their own, solid-wood "rifles" to use as clubs. Apparently
this is a true fact and so that's why it was used in the film.
I heard this from my brother, who is both a film-nut and a gun-nut,
but he has been wrong before...
As far as I know, a tomahawk is a short hand-axe/hatchet. I don't
know what the name of the rifle-club is.

-E