CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1907-11-28
ONE OF THE OLD @RUDOLPH"
RIFLES FOUND ON TURKEY CREEK

Ed Patton, guard at the penitentiary
while returning here on Monday from
a horseback trip to Colorado Springs
found on Turkey creek, half mile
or so from the main road, an old and
weather beaten rife lying under a
small cedar tree where it had appar-
emily reposed for many years
how long it is impossible to state with
any degree of assurance, but presum-
ably for the greater part of a gen.
Grafton.
Examination showed it to be what
Is known among hunters as bear
gun" of something like SO calibre. 1t
was loaded and cooked, but the per-
cussion cap which had been relied
on to explode the charge had long
since crumbled to dust under the pro-
cesses of oxididation and decay. On
A. E. Rudolph, the maker, and the
numerals, "1S72," which told the story
of its origin, but gave no token of its
subsequent history. Whether the
owner of the gun was the victim Of
one of those unrecorded tragedies Of
the mountains, or laid his weapon
down to rest himself from the burden
of its weight and was never able to
rediscover it will probably remain
secret until the dead, who tell no
tales, disclose 1t in the years to come.
Those who are in a position to know
something about Mr.. Rudolph's a
chievements as gunsmith say that
he made but three weapons of the
size and calibre of the one alluded to,
although he turned out more than a
hundred of less weight and penetra-
ton. OF the trio at least two of them
have a history that would doubtless
be highly entertaining II 1t could be
but written. The lips that could tell
their stories unfortunately have long
since hadthe death seal upon them
and their viccissitudes can be but
guessed at.
One ofthem was found In a remote
gulch in the mountains of Chaffee
county a fewyears agoand beside it
was the bleached skeleton of its own
er, whom it is surmised lost his life
in combat with a grizzly bear. The
rifle was loaded but upon the powder
tube was an exploded percussion cap,
which had seemingly failed to go of
when the trigger forced the hammer
down upon it. Before another could
be brought into use the bear was upon
the hunter and nothing was left him
to do but sell his life as dearly as
possible. What tragedy it was. and
what thrilling story it would make!
The rifle found by Mr.. Patton
few days ago may have brought upon
its owner similar fate. Speculation
may work out a theory to account for
his disappearance, but it will never
be entirely satisfying. There will be
an element of doubt in it that will
take conviction away from it, engen-
dering rather than disposing of skep-
ticism.
The third and last of these large
bore, high powered rifles manufacture
ed by Mr.. Rudolph is believed to be
in Texas or Louisiana, but whether
it has brought i'll and misfortune or
good luck to its owner Is not known.
Mr.. Rudolph was a mechanic and
gunsmith of exceptional skill and the
rifles he made were in great demand
by hunters and trappers In pioneer
days in Colorado. Mr.. Rudolph's work
shop was at the rear of the premises
at 80 Main street, now occupied by
FAX McClintocks grocery store, and
its location was known to frontiers
..en for hundred miles around. He
sent east for the gun barrels he used
generally to the Remingtons, but the
rifling was done here, as we'll as the
manufacture of the stock, the making