A LITTLE FAMILY STUFF

The Lewis (Louis) Annance Wolf Robe. Soaking up some late winter [2002] afternoon sun on the back porch of our Idaho home. Made out of the skins of three timber wolves killed by my great/great/great/great uncle, a St. Francis Abenaki, in the Moosehead Lake region of Northern Maine, ca. 1865, this went from my grandmother, Mary (Mamie) Gray to my father, Frank Gray (John Randall Salter), thence to me as my favorite hunting camp bed for many years, and now to my daughter Maria (where it resides -- in retirement -- on the wall of a room in our Idaho home.) Sitting on top of the Robe is our traditional pipe of peace, with two attached close-together feathers.

The Wolf Robe. Shown also is my favorite rifle, a Browning Super High-Grade replica ("One In One Thousand" and with bear and moose engraved in gold) of the 1895 Winchester 30/06 -- and also my still very functional wide-brimmed Stetson (purchased at Babbitt's Hardware, Flagstaff, Arizona, Summer 1955.)

Our very old family Drum -- hollowed-out log with deerhide -- in the background. Against it is our extremely old and traditional stone war axe with a sturdy and flexible multi-layered and tightly bound deer hide handle. Draping the Drum is my Levi jacket with union logo patch. The Stetson from 1955 sits atop.

I broke the Stetson in during my several days trek down the entire length of the vast Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area. The Stetson has been with me in all kinds of experiences -- among them: hunting, trapping, forest-fire fighting, prospecting, teaching, organizing, speech-making, picketing -- and jail [for very good causes!]

The Drum again -- and against it the highly prized 1895 Browning [Winchester] 30/06 Western lever-action Super High Grade "One In One Thousand."

I've had well over 150 different firearms since I was seven -- and lean heavily toward Western lever action big bore rifles. In the last several years, I have given some of my firearms to children and grandchildren. But I am keeping all of these listed below:

A Northern Arizonian, I have been a life-long hunter and gun person. Since the day that I turned seven and a cousin gave me my first rifle -- a .22 Winchester pump with an octagon barrel and a steel curved butt plate -- I have had, via buying and selling and trading, a very great many different firearms. My present collection includes six -- four rifles, a shotgun, and a revolver: Browning 1895 30/06 lever action ["One In One Thousand"]; Browning 1886 45/70 lever action ["High Grade"]; Marlin 45/70 lever action; Marlin .444 lever action; a single barrel New England Firearms 3 1/2" magnum shotgun; and a Ruger Single Six revolver in .22 magnum. The Browning rifles are recent top-flight replicas of the respective old Winchesters. [John Browning of Northern Utah created most of the original Winchesters.] The two top-of-the-line that I have feature the highest grade steel -- and polished wood -- and are beautifully and tastefully engraved with gold inlaid big game animals: bear, moose, deer. My two Marlin rifles also stem from pre-1900 patents but are themselves quite new. And the shotgun and revolver are both very new. I have been an NRA member since my mid-teens, a Life Member for most of my life, and presently hold the highest grade of Life Membership. I am also a Life Member of the North Dakota Shooting Sports Association.

I have also written extensively over the decades on the matter of the sensible use of firearms in principled, individual self-defense by social justice organizers and minority people. Much of this has been widely published in appropriate journals. See http://hunterbear.org/BLOODSTAINED%20TRAIL.htm

And see my piece, Civil Rights and Self-Defense -- originally published in Against the Current and reprinted many times over the years: http://www.hunterbear.org/liveissueshtm.htm

As I occasionally say during interviews, I support both the NRA and the American Civil Liberties Union. The NRA handles the 2nd Amendment very well and the ACLU protects the other amendments. I much like both organizations.

MARTIN LUTHER KING AND FOUR NATIVE RIGHTS ACTIVISTS -- INCLUDING MYSELF -- HONORED BY NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION (INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, JANUARY 16, 2012)

Thanks very much indeed to Ernest Stevens, Jr. and NIGA (National Indian Gaming Association) for honoring Dr King and the four Native civil rights activists and leaders. I'm greatly pleased to be included in this group, some of whom I've met and with whom I've worked at various points. Hunter Gray (John R Salter, Jr)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/16/ernie-stevens-jr-honor-mlk-and-native-civil-rights-leaders-72722