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INDIAN USED .45/70 SPRINGFIELD TRAPDOOR WITH A
MODEL 1877 CARBINE STOCK – VERY ATTRACTIVE SPECIMEN
SHOWING STRONG EVIDENCE OF NATIVE USE ON THE WESTERN
FRONTIER:
There is no provenance that
absolutely identifies this gun as Indian used, nor are
there any tacks or other decorations that many modern
collectors have been conditioned to look for in Indian
used guns. That being said, there is no doubt in my
mind that this is indeed an Indian used and altered
Trapdoor, and likely one from the pre-reservation days.
The shortened barrel; the
absence of the front sight; the removal of the rear
sight – from all appearances intentional; the hand
shaping of both the butt and fore stock; and the rawhide
wrapped repair of the fractured wrist all indicate to me
that this is not a gun that a European American would
have kept and carried with so many other guns in far
better condition available to him on the frontier.
Rather, this is a gun that shows characteristics
consistent with guns known to have been used by Native
Americans and with alterations that would fashion a
firearm which was better suited to close combat or
hunting buffalo from horseback. Further enhancing the
value of this particular gun is that all of the
components are consistent with the serial number range,
and not a gun that was obviously assembled from a
collection of parts from different year models. All of
the parts exhibit consistent wear and aging, all of them
belong on a gun with this serial number, and more
importantly appear to have always been together on this
particular gun.
The barreled receiver was
acquired from a Model 1877 Springfield Trapdoor Rifle,
SN 99283, which indicates the rifle was produced during
calendar year 1878. With all of the characteristics
consistent with rifles in this serial number range, the
receiver features the deeper and longer gas ports
incorporated in 1877; a low arch breech block with the
proper inscription “U.S./MODEL/1873” instituted as early
as mid-1877; and the correct barrel proof stamps for
barrels on receivers over serial number 60.000: “V P
Eagle Head (large) P”.
The firing pin is intact and fully functional.
As noted above, the barrel
has been reduced in length to 19 ½”. There is no front
sight and the rear sight was removed, leaving the shank
of one of the screws – perhaps to serve as an aiming
point. The lack of formal sights indicates this gun was
fired using an “instinct” or “point and shoot” aiming
technique at close range – the type of shooting
encountered in close combat or in running buffalo from
horse back.
The bore shows the use one
expects to see on these Native used guns, with some
darkening and patches of relatively light pitting, but
no scaling, and the rifling is still quite distinct.
Again, the bore shows obvious use, and most likely it
was not meticulously or regularly cleaned after every
firing, but the bore was certainly not abused nor
allowed to deteriorate beyond being functionally
accurate. The muzzle shows evidence of having been cut
by hand with a saw – a tool certainly available to the
hostiles who were raiding homesteads and wagon trains.
The cut is relatively square, showing that some care and
skill was exercised, but there is enough of an angle off
perpendicular remaining to confirm the barrel was not
cut on a lathe or powered saw. Rather it is work
consistent with other examples of Native gunsmiths on
the frontier.
The barreled action was
mated with a Model 1877 Trapdoor Carbine stock in its
original form, not a cut down rifle stock. It appears
that all of the furniture is original to this stock –
the lock, the trigger guard and trigger, and the butt
plate. The stock is the correct length for a carbine
stock, not one that has been cut down from a rifle
stock. The butt stock is drilled to house the
three-section cleaning rod, and fitted with the proper
butt plate with the “keyhole” trap, both correct
features of a Model 1877 Carbine stock. The right side
of the stock retains the “feet” of the carbine sling
ring bar, and the inletting for the feet is original to
the manufacture of the stock. The sling ring bar was
cut off by the native gunsmith during the period of use
as an unnecessary appendage which was certain to become
snagged at the most inconvenient time. The barrel band
bears the large “U” stamp, indicating it was the correct
band for both carbines and rifles of this period.
The lock plate marking does
not include the earlier date stamp “1873” – a change
that was instituted in calendar year 1877. These lock
plates without the date were in production in 1878 and
have been found on Trapdoors as early as those in the
low 80,000 serial number range. The lock features the
correct three click tumbler. The lock and trigger
action is still fully functional.
The trigger guard assembly
is the correct configuration for a carbine – that is,
with the reversed trigger bow with the slender post to
the rear – and the guard includes the proper smooth
trigger.
All of the metal surfaces
have the same natural patina aged to an even rich brown
color. The surfaces are overall smooth with minor
pitting as would be expected, and some heavier pitting
on the heel and tang of the butt plate where it would
have rested on the ground.
The stock exhibits a number
of characteristics which have been noted on other known
Indian used guns.
The
wrist of any stock from this period was a weak point,
prone to breaking due to the amount of wood which had
been removed from the same area in order to inlet the
barrel and tang, the lock, and the trigger assembly.
When the break occurred it often left elongated
splinters running back into the butt stock and forward
to the area around the lock mortise. While such a
break rendered the gun unserviceable, with the two
pieces fit back together and the splayed splintering
gathered tightly together under a wet rawhide wrap which
was then allowed to cure in the heat of the sun or along
side a fire, such a repair proved to be effective, and
as seen on this Trapdoor, very durable.
Repairing a broken stock in
this manner was expedient, requiring far less time and
labor than other methods, and the material – rawhide –
was always close at hand, and if not, could be obtained
from any animal in the immediate area.
This
method is consistent with similar wrapped repairs which
present on several other known Indian used guns. In my
personal collection I have two Indian used guns with
broken wrists which were repaired in just this manner.
The wrist of this carbine is enclosed in a very old
rawhide wrap consisting of a continuous strip of thick
rawhide which was wound tightly around the stock. The
forward point of the comb of the stock was cut back to
create a flat to accommodate the wrap. The rawhide
strip was wound around the stock and captured almost
half of the rear trigger guard tang, drawing the tang
tightly against the break to provide additional
strength. The wrap was molded tightly over the wood and
metal which secured the broken pieces and solidly
stabilized the damaged area, providing the necessary
support for the stock’s wrist. Even today, so long
after the repair was executed, there is very minimal
play in the broken wrist. The terminal end of the
rawhide strip was intentionally left long and at the end
there is a wrapping of sinew thread around the strip –
from all appearances, where a decoration or pendant was
attached.
The consistency, color, soiling, and wear of the rawhide
confirms that it is
old and it shows the
appropriate hand wear and polish for the period of use
of the carbine. Further, the rawhide was applied where
it was necessary to support the broken wrist and is
definitely there to serve as a genuine repair - not, as
is so often seen on spurious "Indian guns", a modern
addition with no discernable purpose other than to
enhance the appearance of the rifle.
The stock has been reshaped
to a significant degree, another characteristic commonly
encountered on authentic Indian used guns. The carving
and cuts in the wood all appear to have been done by
hand with a knife, certainly not the sort of work that
would have been done in an established gunsmith shop.
The reason for this reshaping has been the subject of
considerable discussion among students of these guns and
one theory in particular seems to satisfy the consensus.
The man who carried this
carbine was accustomed to fashioning his own weapons – a
skill he had been honing since childhood. The handle of
his knife, the haft of his war club, the grip of his
bow, were all custom fit to his hand. The weapons were
unique pieces fashioned to fit his body as opposed to
the mass produced weapons of the European-American world
designed to fit the lowest common denominator customer.
By the time an Indian reached adolescence his muscle
memory and ability to react were as finely developed as
his weapons and he had become the very embodiment of the
warrior. His survival, and that of his family, depended
entirely on his skill with his weapons. Each one was
more than a tool of war – they were extensions of the
form and musculature of his body and employing them came
as naturally as pointing his finger. That he would
modify this carbine, especially the stock, to suit his
size, his grip and his aiming style is very
understandable.
The
buttstock was reshaped by lowering the forward profile
of the comb, apparently to lower the position of the
shooter’s cheek to facilitate his particular aiming
method. The sides of the buttstock were reduced in
width, more so on the left side of the stock where it
would rest against the shooter’s cheek, again to adjust
his aiming sight line. There are also some cuts at the
toe of the stock. As noted above, the forward point of
the comb was notched sharply to create a flat for the
rawhide wrap. There is a “V” shaped groove cut in the
stock at the rounded end of the barrel tang. This may
have been purely for decoration, but it could have
served as an additional rear aiming point.
The
width and prominence of the shoulders of the stock on
either side of the barrel tang were reduced with several
slices of wood removed. The removal of this wood would
have allowed for a better grip in this area.
There is a deep groove
carved in the right side of the forestock beginning at
the forward edge of the lock plate and running up to the
rear edge of the barrel band. Assuming the shooter was
right handed, the only practical explanation for this
groove was create a recess for the fingertips of the
left hand and enhance the shooter’s grip on the
forestock. The carving of the groove was well executed
and the edges are worn smooth indicating it has been
there a very long time.
The left side of the stock,
beginning at the forward end of the receiver and running
all the way up to the barrel band, is worn almost down
to the barrel channel edge. This wear is characteristic
of what is commonly called by collectors “pommel wear”,
that is the wear suffered by a long arm as it was
carried across the pommel of a saddle or as in the case
of this gun, rested across the neck and mane of an
Indian’s horse. The presence of this type of wear is
very desirable evidence of frontier use and is actively
sought by collectors who recognize what it represents.
Mile after mile of being rubbed back and forth across
the coarse strands of the horse’s mane, further
exaggerated by the dirt and grime in the horse’s hair,
would buff away the wood. The wear present on this gun
is in the right area and is absolutely correct, showing
less wear around the barrel band and the forward lock
screw than in the area unsupported by the iron
furniture.
The wood surface of the stock is worn smooth through use
and has an excellent patina which through the years has
imparted a rich color to the grain. Not
surprising that none of the stock inspectors’ stamps
have survived.
The last feature of this stock is a bit of a puzzle, and
it is worthy of comment. There are two small holes,
each a little less than 1/8” in diameter, drilled
through the stock – one just shy of the tip of the
forestock and one just forward of the edge of the butt
plate. Neither of the holes is perpendicular to the
stock and they appear to have been hand drilled or
burned through the stock. The holes are too small to
accept a thong that would have been large or strong
enough to support a shoulder strap. I’ve found this
same configuration of small holes on an Indian used
Spencer Carbine, almost identical in the size and
placement of the holes. The only explanation I’ve been
able to arrive at is that these holes were used to
attach some form of hanging decoration such as a
feather. In order to keep track of the holes, and to
highlight them for photography, I have inserted buckskin
thongs in the holes, but of course these thongs are not
original to the carbine.
I am
sufficiently confident that this gun was indeed used by
Indians, that I have held this gun in my collection of
Indian used guns for several years and thoroughly
enjoyed it for what it most certainly is. I am only now
offering it for sale as it is a duplicate to several
others in my collection. Guns with this type of honest
wear and straightforward modifications which are
consistent with those known to have been executed on
Indian guns, and more importantly ones that have not
been sullied or ruined by the addition of upholstery
tacks, modern leather wrappings and other enhancements,
have never been common and are now becoming increasingly
difficult to find on the market as more collectors are
recognizing their historic value. This is a good
opportunity to obtain an honest Indian gun that has not
suffered any alterations since the day it passed from
the Indians into that first collection.
(1101) $3250
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