Horse whip

James King of the North West Fur Company traded out of Fort De L'Isle on the North Saskatchewan River, in Alberta. He was murdered there in 1802 or 1804 by a rival company employee. His wife is thought to have been a Blackfoot or Sarcee (Tsuu T'ina) Indian. The engraving on the whip stock, "King 1800," makes this object one of the earliest documented ethnographic artifacts from the northwest plains. King would have engraved the stock; his wife would have made the wrist strap and decorated it with dyed porcupine quillwork. The lash is missing.