Living in relative isolation in late nineteenth-century Texas required familiarity with firearms for hunting and possibly protection. Many different firearms are represented in the Williams farmstead assemblage, from percussion muzzle-loaders to smokeless powder cartridges. This image shows the different types of ammunition, cartridges, and percussion caps. The specimens illustrated here include: (a) the .44 Webley, one of the most common cartridges in the assemblage; (b) centerfire cartridges manufactured by Winchester and Peters; (c) a pinfire shotgun shell manufactured by Eley Brothers; (d) a single shotgun shell primer that fell out of a fired shell casing; and (e) .22 short rimfire, a versatile cartridge commonly used for hunting small game. Percussion caps (f) from muzzle-loading black powder firearms were also found, and two were large enough to suggest that were fired on a muzzel-loading shotgun. The smaller percussion cap may have been intend for use on a smaller rifle or pistol. The three projectiles that were recovered are: (g) a .44-caliber conical bullet; (h) a .44-caliber round lead ball; and (I) a small piece of lead shot.

While the .44 Webley and .22 short were common cartridges, rarer items include: (j) a .32 rimfire cartridge with an "H" headstamp indicating manufacture by the Winchester company; (k). a .44-caliber centerfire cartridge case of unknown manufacture; and (l) a .44 Bulldog cartridge case. The latter was a shorter cartridge than the .44 Webley, but it could have been fired in the same gun as the Webley cartridges.

There was nowhere to fish on the farmstead, but the finding of several fish hooks (m) and a lead weight suggest that they might have gone to nearby Bear Creek or Onion Creek to go fishing. Additional evidence of fishing came from the sediment flotation samples, one of which yielded a number of fish scales, possibly from a sunfish. Fishing would not only have provided additional protein to supplement the family diet, but fishing excursions were also social occasions where family members and friends could bond.