If there was a “gun that won the west,” at least the early west, it was not a Colt or Winchester, but a pepperbox revolver. From the 1830s into the early 1860s these were the typical handguns carried west by travelers and gold-seekers, some even making their way into the saddle holsters of military officers, the pistols offering multiple shots and modern percussion ignition. Allen is the best-known maker, and a collecting field in itself. This one is one is typical of the type, double-action with bar hammer and the remnants of the frame showing it had a bag-shaped grip. The pressure necessary to raise the hammer and rotate the barrel assembly were enough to discourage any serious thought of aiming, but the six barrels gave you more than one chance, and you were likely to be, or should be, close up to use it. Twain recounted a fellow traveler practicing with one, failing to hit and ace of spades nailed to a tree, but bagging a cow wandering about nearby, who would have been safe, Twain remarks, if it had stood still. (The shooter did not want the cow, he also tells us, but a farmer with a shotgun convinced the would-be marksman to buy it.)

This is a great looking relic, with no find location noted, but looking just like something lost along a trail west toward the gold fields.  [sr][ph:L]

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