This birchbark container was owned by Lieutenant Colonel John Hawks (1707-1784), known as the “Hero of Fort Massachusetts.” Although believed to be for holding gunpowder, it more likely held dried and pounded material such as corn, tobacco, or herbs. The container is stitched together with split spruce root and decorated with a vertical pattern of stripes and scallops seen in Abenaki designs. Hawks was stationed at Fort Massachusetts near present-day Williamstown, Massachusetts. He defended the fort on Aug. 19, 1746 (during King George’s War, 1744-1748), against an attack by French soldiers with their Abenaki allies.