Quote:
Originally Posted by ParadiseRoad
...caption under the photo...
Tintype photo: William F. Cody with Lucretia Borgia across his lap. Front and center, Windham Thomas Wyndham-Quin, Lord Adare (later the 4th Earl of Dunraven), 1841 – 1926. Back: Lt. Francis Michler and Lt. Walter Scribner Schuyler, 1871.
...more about the Earl of Dunraven at the link below...
Earl of Dunraven - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) |
The rifle shown on Cody's lap in the photo is almost certainly a Springfield, probably a Trapdoor, not a Remington Rolling Block.
Trapdoor Springfield rifles were sold by the Army to the general public during the Indian War years, typically $1.50 each. .45-70 ammo was frequently provided for free. Government policy during that period was to contain Indian tribes on reservations, and one of the tools used to accomplish that was encouraging the destruction of the buffalo herds by hide hunters supplying eastern industry with leather drive belts for heavy equipment. Buffalo robes were also popular for use in carriages and coaches to keep passengers warm during winter months.
Cody and others regularly guided large groups of "gentlemen hunters" on western expeditions for shooting buffalo, elk, and other critters.