Plea For Model "P"

General George A. Custer and some of his scouts at the time he was assigned to protect Northern Pacific railroad parties. Colt .45 army model of 1873, shown here in hands of Indians, bad only been issued to the U. S. Cavalry about a year before this picture was taken. Custer died with his command at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, June 25, 1876.

Ah, what a rare opportunity for a dramatic "first" they missed in that Seminole picture. Historically, the Seminole Indian War was the first time the United States Army used Samuel Colt's newly invented cap-and-ball "revolving pistol." Rebuffed by the Ordnance Department in Washington, Colt went in person to the scene of conflict in Florida and sold fifty of his revolvers for use by General Zachary Taylor's forces. Fast-firing repeaters instead of cumbersome one-shot pistols suddenly beat a tatoo of death for the surprised hostiles. We repeat: This was the first time the U.S. Army used repeating band firearms in combat! You don't come by an action drama situation like that every day.

Suchwise was Samuel Colt's first revolver introduced in the initial fighting action of what was to be the most illustrious firearm career in American annals. And though Colt twice offered his services at the front in the 1847 War with Mexico, history does not show that he ever again after the Florida incident appeared personally on the scene of his weapons' frontier exploits. (Notwithstanding, a Sunday newspaper comic strip had him fighting Apaches in the Southwest.) This country's middle history had few personalities whose lives and consequent influence left a deeper imprint than the career of Samuel Colt. Yet at this writing the resourceful and progressive Yankee whose invention was a dominant factor in the West for almost threequarters of a century is a figure missing from the motion picture art's hall of fame.

Between the .36 caliber Paterson Colt of 1836 and the .45 Peacemaker of 1873 were six principal Colt revolver models, each with its own peculiar characteristics and history. Chronologically they were: .44 caliber Walker Colt, 1847; .44 Dragoon Colt, 1848; .36 Navy Model of 1851; .44 Army Model of 1860; Richards' Conversion of .44 Army Model (to paper cartridge), 1871; .44 Cartridge Army Model of 1872.

Note that a Colt cartridge revolver in .45 caliber could not have been in the hands of either soldier or civilian until possibly very late in 1872, and certainly in no quantity until 1873. Which reminds usOldtimer, did you see that color feature movie with the wrong-caliber title? The principal role was billed to be played by the Colt .45-but the guns they were at pains to show even In a motion picture about the Seminole Indian War of the late 1830's, Gary Cooper goes into action with a Colt Single Action Army Model revolver not made until 1873.

in close-up views were the .44 Dragoons of 1848. This is jumping the gun by 25 years. Why didn't they call it "Colt .44"? We'll hazard a guess: "Colt .45" sounds more familiar to the public than "Colt .44"

The United States Cavalry was the first service branch to be issued the new .45 Army Model of 1873. We have never seen any filming of the disaster that befell General George Armstrong Custer and his immediate command in the battle of the Little Big Horn. But we hope the .45 Army Model of 1873 was shown going down fighting with them. Because it was there on that black day of June 25, 1876.

In 1878 the Colt factory stamped "Frontier Six Shooter" on the barrel of the gun that proved to be the most popular hand arm in the world. At the same time it also was chambered for .44-40 caliber so that an owner could use the same cartridge for both it and the highly regarded Winchester '73 repeating rifle. Later the Frontier was made available in a number of standard calibers. And so for the rest of that century, and for nearly a score of years into the next, Colt revolvers never left the service of U.S. military forces. Then in 1911 John M. Browning's .45 automatic pistol, manufactured by Colt, replaced the revolver as regulation sidearm issue. But more than thirty years later at least one man preferred the single action Army model. General George S. Patton carried a Colt six shooter at his belt all through World War II.

With conversion from black to smokeless powder after the '80's, some modification was made to adopt the single action model to accommodate the greater pressures developed. Save for this and other minor differences, the gun remained unchanged in basic design and in continuous production at the Colt plant in Hartford from 1873 to 1941.

In that latter year, when war demands brought to a halt the 68-year record manufacture of a single model hand firearm, the highest serial number was 357,859.

Will Model "P" ever be made again? A great many men fondly hope so.

Page from Colt catalogue of 1929, giving full specifications for the Colt Single Action Army or Frontier Six Shooter. Note price at that time. This model was discontinued in 1941. Highest serial number then was 357,859.

SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER

This is the Colt that played so famous a part in the winning of the West and is still extremely popular in many sections of the country. Its dependability and ruggedness have earned the confidence of shooters for over sixty years. It is popularly known as the Colt "Frontier Model," or Colt "Six Shooter." The shape and size of the grip adapt this model to the largest and brawniest hands. Single action, with rod ejection.

Ammunition: .32-20 (.32 Winchester) 38 Short Colt; .38 Long Colt; .38 Colt Special; .38 S. & W. Special (full and mid-range loads); .38 Colt Special High Speed: .38 S. & W. Special High Speed and .38-44 S. & W Special cartridges in .38 caliber model. .357 Magnum. 38-40 (.38 Winchester) 44 Special .44-40 (.44 Winchester). .45 Colt.

Prices Include Government Excise Tax

COLT REVOLVERS and AUTOMATIC PISTOLS

Yours sincerely IMPROVEMENTS AT METEOR CRATER:

May I compliment you on the Meteor Crater story, by Weldon F. Heald, that appeared in the April ARIZONA HIGHWAYS. It was exceptionally well handled in every respect. Also highly satisfactory were the accompanying photographs by Josef Muench.

Your readers might be interested in learning about some of the improvements planned for Meteor Crater. This summer, for example, we hope to complete three new viewing platforms on the Crater rim. One of these, seventy feet long, will be located just below the museum on the north rim. Large enough to seat more than thirty persons, it will be shaded from the sun by a steel and anodized aluminum canopy. Another platform will be on a lookout point from which one will be able to see San Francisco Peaks, the Mogollon Rim and other Northern Arizona scenic attractions. This will be equipped with a telescope and a recorded lecture. The third viewing platform will cantilever out over a sheer 300foot drop into the Crater.

In the planning stage are some other largescale improvements. One of these is a 1,200foot aerial tramway that will descend into the Crater from a point on the north rim. This will enable tourists to reach the Crater floor in a matter of minutes, instead of devoting most of the day to the round trip over foot trails.

In the not too distant future we also hope to complete a new masonry building which will house a restaurant and curio store.

These added facilities are part of the longrange improvement plan started several years ago with the building of the air-conditioned museum on the Crater's north rim. When these projects are completed, Meteor Crater will enjoy even greater prominence in the Arizona tourist picture.

Ernest W. Chilson, President Meteor Crater Enterprises, Inc. Winslow, Arizona

THE SHARPS RIFLE:

I am afraid Mr. Hess allowed his enthusiasm for the Sharps rifle to carry him away in his article entitled "Old Reliable" (ARIZONA HIGHWAYS, April, 1959).

In his first paragraph he is apparently referring to the Centennial International Long Range Rifle Match for the Championship of the World held at Creedmore on the 13th and 14th of September, 1876-not 1877. The American team won by 22 points with an aggregate score of 3126. No rifleman would consider that victory very decisive. Actually, the reason the Americans won was because Johnson and Dyas on the Irish team (the English did not even have a team in the match!) shot at the wrong targets during the 1000-yard match the first day, and Ward and Goff got in trouble with the wind on the second day. The Sharps-Borchardt was not used exclusively. The Americans also shot special Sharps, Remingtons and Ballards.

An examination of the scores as given in Harper's Weekly for September 30, 1876, shows that the Rigby muzzle-loading rifles used by the Irish were just as accurate as the American rifles. Our riflemen were just a wee bit better.

The illustration you show of a sharpshooter taken from Harper's Weekly is not an "artist's conception," but has all the authenticity of having been drawn at the front. See Harper's for August 24, 1861 for a typical Berdan rifle of that period. The one you show probably had a 31" barrel, a caliber of about 48, and weighed in the neighborhood of 32 pounds. The tube through which the sniper is sighting is a telescopic sight. So far as accuracy is concerned, that rifle has seldom been equaled to this day. The superiority of the early Sharps, Remington, and Ballard breechloaders lay not in their accuracy, but in the fact that they could be reloaded quickly and from the prone position. Thanks for running a story on the Sharps. In spite of my carping, it was a good story and very interesting. Have had four people call me to see if I had read it, which shows that it aroused a lot of interest. How about running something now on Indian bows or on the Hawken-type rifles some of these days? I'll try not to be too critical.

T. M. Hamilton Marshall, Missouri

BACK COVER

"TAPESTRY OF AUTUMN COLORS" BY MATT CULLEY. 4x5 Speed Graphic camera; Ektachrome; f.16/22 at 1/25th sec.; Kodak Ektar coated 5" lens; October; bright sunlight at to a.m.; ASA rating 12. Photograph taken one hundred yards east of the Storm Cloud Mine, on the Senator Highway leading to Crown King from Prescott, about eleven miles southeast of Prescott. This Tapestry of Color was found on upper Hassayampa Creek. This area is easily accessible from Prescott. It abounds in small patches of color in the fall of the year. Hassayampa Lake is nearby and affords a pleasant picnic area and some trout fishing for those interested in a short day's outing.

OPPOSITE PAGE

"COTTONWOODS IN FALL DRESS" BY JOSEPH MEAGHER. Brilliant splashes of color can be found in the lowlands and valleys of Arizona when the cottonwood trees put on their autumn dress. Frosts come early to elevations of 5,000 feet or over in the state, so bright autumn coloring in trees begins toward late September. In the lower elevations, in average years, frosts are not expected until mid-November and in unusually mild years frosts do not come until December or later. Cottonwoods, residents of the lower elevations in Arizona, are most attractive when their leaves turn to golden brown.

AUTUMN

Spring's a spotted hound-pup Running with nose a-twitch After every new green smell In wood and roadside ditch.

Summer nuzzling happily Her August litter still Dreams of chasing cottontail Clouds over field and hill.

But Autumn is an old dog,An old yellow one, Dusty, head to tail, from too Long lying in the sun, Who's glad to sleep now, having Already had his day, While he waits for Winter To whistle him away!

ELIZABETH-ELLEN LONG

ASPENS IN AUTUMN

The guarding colonnades of pearl Hold topaz banners rimmed with jade, And drifting flakes of gold and beryl Trim carpets that the wind has laid. The incense which the mesa spills From aromatic braziers lifts Before the amethyst of hills Where chiffon veiling lightly drifts. The royal realm of aspen trees Has regal beauty . . . worship stirs And brings the watcher to his knees In reverent joy such beauty spurs.

LAURA JANET LARSON

THESE AUTUMN LEAVES

These Autumn leaves that spill in golden showers And flirt and drift along my wooded path Have tongues. They speak in gentle tones which tell Of beauty of maturity and life Fulfilled; of faithful days through storm of wind And rain; of garnered hopes and happiness. But more they speak with mystic prophecy Of Spring, and greening trees and homing wings; Of Love's heart-song, and small birds in their nests In an ordered world held in the Hand of God Where birds and leaves are numbered for His use . . . These Autumn leaves, that whisper as they fall!

LENORE MCLAUGHLIN LINK

THE ARRIVAL OF AUTUMN

The arrival of Autumn made such an impression The woods were as still as a nun at confession. The waters flowed softer than rain when it ceases; With sandals a tiptoe came in the light breezes. The Spirit of Autumn, a mischievous fellow, Went painting the trees all in scarlet and yel-low; While hazy horizons in smoke covenanted The promises made for a season enchanted-GRACE BARKER WILSON