To Prevent Gun-Barrels From Rusting

Pow-Wows, or Long Lost Friend, by John George Hoffman, [1820], at sacred-texts.com

RECIPE FOR MAKING A PASTE TO PREVENT GUN-BARRELS FROM RUSTING, WHETHER IRON OR STEEL.

Take an ounce of bear's fat, half an ounce of badger's grease, half an ounce of snake's fat, one ounce of almond oil, and a quarter of an ounce of pulverized indigo, and melt it altogether in a new vessel over a fire, stir it well, and put it afterward into some vessel. In using it, a lump as large as a common nut must be put upon a piece of woollen cloth and then rubbed on the barrel and lock of the gun, and it will keep the barrel from rusting.