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COLT 1860 BELLY GUN OF NOTORIOUS HORSE THIEF &

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 6,000.00 USD
COLT 1860 BELLY GUN OF NOTORIOUS HORSE THIEF &

GUN FIGHTER DOC MIDDLETON. Cal. 44. S# 123893. Known as the "Unwickedest Outlaw" & "King of Horse Thieves", Doc Middleton was born in Missouri on 02/09/1851 as James Middleton Riley. He Cowboyed in Texas and began using the alias David (Doc) Charles Middleton after killing his first man at age 14. Other aliases were "Texas Jack", "Gold Tooth Jack" & "Gold Tooth Charlie". Doc arrived in Ogallala Nebraska with a Texas cattle drive in 1876. In January 1877 he killed soldier James Keefe in Sidney, Nebraska. After escaping arrest, he traveled to Wyoming where he formed a horse thief ring known as "The Pony Boys". The Pony Boys were blamed for the theft of so many horses from Indians & Ranchers that a $1,000 reward was placed on Doc's head. Injured in a 1879 Niobrara Valley Nebraska shootout, he was captured & sentenced to 5 years in the Nebraska state penitentiary. He was released on 06/18/1883. He later traveled with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and then ran bars & pool rooms in South Dakota & Nebraska until his death on 12/13/1913. This gun has a very interesting story. It was purchased around 1940 from the family owning the ranch on the north side of the Platte river at the site of the Camp Clark bridge near Bridgeport, Nebraska. The oral story passed down in the family is that a rider came through in the middle of the night, traded the gun for food & rode out ahead of the posse. A copy of an Article from the Bridgeport, Nebraska newspaper describing the Posse's chase and an eye witness account of the purchase have been lost. Bbl: shortened to 3 3/16" in gun fighter style with reattached German silver blade front sight. 6 Shot round rebated cyl. Loading lever is removed. Barrel, frame, grip straps & cyl. have matching numbers. Major parts have US inspectors initials.1 piece walnut grips have 4 notches cut in right panel along backstrap. The Colt 1860 Army was the most common sidearm used by the Union during the Civil War and was widely used in the west after the war. This revolver was used by Uberti of Italy as the prototype for their 1860 Gun Fighter reproduction revolver. CONDITION: Metal has faded to a light brown patina with spots of corrosion and numerous dents. Grips show heavy wear with dents & chips. Worn action, hammer will not hold on 4th click. Wedge & wedge screw are replacement. Dark lightly pitted bore. (01-20747/DS). ANTIQUE. $3000-6000.