What gear would an 1860 Californio carry with him?

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Dr Bob,

One Caveat of note concerning La Rosa Dance Supply.

When I ordered the original red tie, it was not sent. I called them back and reminded them. It was at that time I was sent the tie, and they seemed mildly amused that it had hadn't been sent ...


I ordered a couple of more ties in different colors about a month ago, thinking that the lack of being sent the items was just a fluke. This time,  again, no delivery after almost a month, nor is there any debit from my account. I am not calling them back.

I am trying to find somebody local and more dependable.

If I do run across another company, I will let you know ....

BTW, it is now almost August, and I still have not been sent the ties ....

[Dr. Bob]

WWE,

Thanks for the heads up!!

[kflach]

Ya know, I'm beginning to suspect there's a typo in the subject line of this thread. Maybe it's supposed to say, "What gear would an 1860 chick-magnet carry with him?"

<grin>

[Dr. Bob]

       

[WaddWatsonEllis]

IF he is a 'chick magnet' the magnetism is stuck on the 'repel mode' ... LOL ... how do you think I, er, he  gets to spend so much  money on 'man toys'?

I.e.; no dates, no gifts to buy, the ability to be entirely selfish ...

Of course, guns are rather cold to sleep with, but with practice .... *L*

[kflach]

Maybe a chick magnet that's playing hard-to-get?

[WaddWatsonEllis]

If I got any easier, I would have to get EASY tatooed on my Forehead ... LOL

[kflach]

As long as you did it in a period-correct font...


<grin>

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Kflach,

Being correct takes alll the 'font' out or it ....

UPDATE: I now have the knife from Josh Dabney; I'm just waiting for the botas to slip them in ...

[kflach]

Sigh, that is soooooo beautiful!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Sigh,

Too true.

I was carrying it out to my car for a history thing, and dropped it; it felt as if I had dropped the Mona Lisa...

I will be happy when to Botas arrive and I can wear it securely ....

[Rambling Rex]

The Boxer Rebellion was during 1900, not 1899, at least regarding the events in Peking at the time.

Quite correct about the Walker being a pistol intended for carry in a saddle pommel holster. The Dragoon might have been lighter than the Walker's 4-1/2 pounds. Lonesome Dove wasn't the only movie with Walkers carried in a belt holster, Josie Wales carried a pair in hip holsters. I even saw some in Dead Man's Walk, chronologically the first in the Lonesome Dove series, but as the setting of the movie is 1842 they are an anachronism becuase the that's 5 years before the Walker hit the market. Guess Paterson models were too scarce to be able to use in the mini-series. James Olmos carries one in a boot, which is also unrealistic.

If you're looking for eventual replacement for the Ruger Old Army (man I wish Ruger still made those), try the Dragoon or the aforementioned 1849 Pocket or 1851 Navy. The Remington may be called the Model 1858 but that's only because the patent date was 1858, they didn't go into production until 1862 and those went to the Yankee army first, like the 1860 Colt. I think the LeMat was available before Lincoln started his war, but replica's are near $1000 and it would seem doubtful if any made it to the west coast prior to 1865.

If any of this is redundant, my apologies, I didn't have the time or inclination at the moment to read through 20 some odd pages.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Rambling Rex,

At the turn of the century I sincerely doubt if there were any .36 cal pistols extant in the Army.
If there were any Reserve or National Guard equipped with an older weapon, I think it would have been S & W # 3 .45 Schofields...

As for my own gun, I was able to purchase the Gun That Never Was ... an 1851 colt in .44 Cal.

So to the average tourist, who only sees the Butt and hammer, it is an 1851 Colt ...

But should I ever have to fire it in earnest, it is a .44Cal

[Rambling Rex]

Guess I'm a little confused as to what your question was orginally then. I thought you were asking about costuming (including a holster gun) for a (circa) 1860 Californio.  It's up to you what caliber you want, but for historical re-creation doesn't it seem odd to use a historically incorrect gun?

The Boxer Rebellion is a completely separate issue. The standard issue then was the Colt Model 1892 (or one of the updates between then and 1901) in .38 Colt.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Rambling Rex,

I appologize if the caption confused you ... over the lst 200 threads or so, we have  wandered over many sujects; calaveras, Belduques, and Botas de Alas to name a few ... when I started this thread, I was just begining to learn just what a Californio was  ... and I was naive enough to believe that I could just wear asome SASS pants, a frilly shirt and a bolo tie ... with a sombrero and a couple of Ruger Old Armys ... buy a vaquero jacket, and Bob's your uncle!

Fortunately, there were three or four guys with masters degrees in Western Civilization who set me straight ... and now , some $2K later, I have a pretty representative outfit .... in fact, the photo in my prifile is in my Californio trappings ...

The hardest thing to find is the Calaveras (i.e. Spanish pants that button up the outside seam)... But I now have a pattern, so if I can buy a couple of yards of matching cloth (to the vaquero jackets they sell) from the supplier, I can have some made for me ...

[Rambling Rex]

Rambling Rex,

I appologize if the caption cofsed you ... over the lst 200 pages or so, we havw andered over many sujects; claveras, Belduques, and Botas de Alas to name a few ... when I started this thread, I was just begining to learn just what a Californio was  ... and I was naive enough to believe that I could just wear asome SASS pants, a frilly shirt and a bolo tie ... with a sombrero and a couple of Ruger Old Armys ... buy a vaquero jacket, and Bob's your uncle!

Fortunately, there were three or four guys with masters degrees in Western Civilization who set me straight ... and now , some $2K later, I have a pretty representative outfit .... in fact, the photo in my prifile is in my Californio trappings ...

The hardest thing to find is the Calaveras (i.e. Spanish pants that button up the outside seam)... But I now have a pattern, so if I can buy a couple of yards of matching cloth (to the vaquero jackets they sell) from the supplier, I can have some made for me ...

That's some kind of expensive authenticity! There was a guy named Modoc in some other thread complaining about CAS folks not being "authentic" enough for him. He had a few good points about Cowboys not being affluent enough for new duds and iron, but generally just seemed to be bitchy. I bet he never forked out that kind of money for his brand of authenticity.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Ramblin' Rex,

I tend to agree with him ... I read the average cowboy somewhere that the average cowboy brought home about $40/Month ... when a new colt cost about the same ... I think we have our cowboy genre confused with the 'hollywood' versions we see ... so I think cowboys were always robbing Peter to pay Paul ... and financially were on a scale a little above that of a fast food worker today .... why people really did not want their daughter to marry  a cowboy ....

On the other hand a Californio might not have enough money to pay for his next meal, but he would insure that his saddle was lined in silver and he carried the best of the best ... it reminds me of the end of the Russian Aristocracy, where the appearance of affluency was sacred ....

[Forty Rod]

Considering the times a cowboy was a  cut above some.  He was skilled labor, even though seasonal sometimes, and $30-$40 a month beat farming, teaching school, and many other jobs.  Also his meals (such as they were) were provided and he generally rode company horses.

Most cowboys didn't carry Colts based on all the pictures I've seen, whether posed or not.  The pistol of choice seemed to be a small break-top revolver, and I have seldom seen real cowboys toting big honkin' knives or fancy rifles.

The Californios tended toward the fancy in their dress and horse gear, much like the younger Mexican boys lean toward fancy cars and clothes today.  They might live in a hovel, but their clothes and rides are fine.

[shrapnel]

The Californios tended toward the fancy in their dress and horse gear, much like the younger Mexican boys lean toward fancy cars and clothes today.  They might live in a hovel, but their clothes and rides are fine.

Looking fine is what guys like this didn't do as they were real cowboys and everything they owned was used as a tool. The working cowboy like my grandfather (pictured here in Oklahoma  previous to it becoming a state), would beat up any dandy dressed like a pimp, just for fun...

[Dr. Bob]

Different era and different culture!