The Penn's Grove record., 1893-11-24
A VERY L Y
A Repeating III In st. Louis MaAs
Nearly Two Hundrsd Years Aeo.

a A0pohttuk AhthS IN ~ A@aA9 AA8~1
Nearly Two Hundrsd Years Ago.
DIR. J. W. Moore, OF the Holekamp
Grady & Moore Instrument Company,
Is the possessor Of a rare old relic,
which he has on exhibition in his Of
fee on Olive street, between Ninth
and Tenth. 1t Is a flint-iock rifle
made In ITO. The rife is a csrious-
looking contrivance. Its smooth-bore
barrel is nearly three feet long, and is
encircled with rings which have been
dipped in gold, and the gold plate
still clings to the iron in scraps. The
oldest part of the gun is the cylinder.
This is composed of six chambers.
each about half an inch deep. But
the cylinder does not revolve auto
matically when the trigger is pulled.
In order to move it around the hand
Ter has to raise a sharp piece Of iron
that holds the stock to the barrel
through the rings previously described,
and then with his hand twist the
cylinder into the desired position. 1t
Is perhaps the first chambered gun
ever made, and Is probably the origi-
nal from which has evolved the Colts
revolver and Winchester rifle. There
Is no woodwork about the gun except
the butt. 1t is made entirely Of coarse
primitive-looking iron. Its weight Is,
therefore. something s~tupendous
when compared to modern guns.
The loads were evidently placed in
the chambers without shells, and the
loading must have been done with an
improyised ramrod, as no groove marks
the location Of the Tamrod, as Is al
ways the case with old guns. DR..
Moore purchased the rifle some time
ago from q Texan who had started to
Chicago with it to sell it to a curio
dealer collecting material for an ex-
hibit at the Worlds Fair. The Texan
said he had excavated 1t from the
ruins of an old Spanish fort on Red
River near GAINESVILLE, Texas. The
figures OTTO" are sunk in the barrel
just above the hammer, and these
figures are presumed to indicate the
year In which the gun was made. DIR.
Moore prizes it very highly, as he
thinks it is the only one In existence,
unless others be buried In the ruined
Spanish fort where this was found,
though extensive excavation has
failed to reveal them. 1t must have
been considered an exceptionally val
liable weapon in Its day and far in
advance Of the guns of that time, as
1t was evidently the first repeating
rife ever made. The butt is roughly
hewn out of black walnut and is
strongly riveted to the frame with
iron bolts. 1t requires the entire
strength of one hand to cock the
hammer, and it takes a strong finger
to pull the trigger, though perhaps
the hardy pioneer who used it to III !
maraudiug Indians could handle the
hammer and the trigger as easily as
can the modern amateur sportsman
his delicately constructed breech-
loader. II the gun shot a ball it
must have been larger than any bull
let now made, and If the missile of
death which was forced through the
long barrel was u load Of shot or slugs
it must have swept a broad territory,
for The bore of tho barrel is so large
as to cause a great scattering of the
contents OF the load, The rebound
OF the gun must have been something
terrific, and would have doubtles.
knocked the shoulder out of place OF
any but the most experienced marks
man Of the pioneer days. ST Louis
Globe Democrat