The Pilgrim.........

[JimBob]

"I was armed to the teeth with a pitiful little Smith & Wesson seven shooter,which carried a ball like a homeopthic pill,and it took the whole seven to make  a dose for an adult.But I thought it grand.It appeared to me  to be a dangerous weapon.One of our "conductors" practiced awhile on a cow with it,and as long as she stood still an behaved herself she was safe;but as soon as she went to moving about,and he got to shooting at other things,she came to grief."

"The Secretary had a small sized Colt's revolver strapped around him for protection against the Indians,and to guard against accidents carried it uncapped."

"Mr.George Bemis was dismally formidable.We had never seen him before.He wore on his belt an old original "Allen" revolver,such as irreverent people called a "pepperbox".
"To aim along the turning barrel and hit the thing aimed at was a feat which was probably never done with an "Allen" in the world.But George's was a reliable weapon,nevertheless,because,as one of the stage-drivers said afterwords,"If she didn't get what she went after,she would fetch something else."
"It was a cheefull weapon-the "Allen".Sometimes all its six barrels would go off at once,and then there was no safe place in all the region round about,but behind it."

"We jumped into the stage,the driver cracked his whip,and we bowled away and left "the States" behind us."




From Mark Twain's "Roughing It".



If you've never read this book about Twain's adventures in the west as a young man prior to 1866 give it a read.He went for three months and ended up staying for six years.It isn't a "serious" book like many of those that have been mentioned but gives a highly entertaining look at a pilgrims view of the west and the people in it.I highly recomend it and most libraries should have a copy.