Page 96 - 2015 Russell Catalogue

136Sharps Model 1874 Buffalo Rifle Caliber 45-2/10” (45-70)Serial Number 1615018 x 44 x 2 1⁄2 inchesThis rifle is one of the most significant personal items belonging to Charles Marion Russell that has ever come to market. It is also one of the extremely few items thatcan be absolutely documented as having belonged to him. The rifle was one of several firearms Russell registered in 1918 under a new Montana law that required that all state residents to register all weapons with their local law enforcement organizations. Thus,Russell left a permanent record of his ownership of this rifle and other firearms yet to be located. A copy of this registration form filled out and signed by Charlie in 1918 will accompany this rifle. Russell arrived in Montana in 1880, about two years after this rifle was produced and shipped to Bozeman and sold there by the famous Sharps Arms dealer Walter Cooper. A Sharps Factory Records letter confirms shipment to bank cashier J.G. Dow, who was acting as agent for Cooper. A copy of this letter will also accompany this rifle. How Russell came into possession of this fine buffalo rifle is lost to history, but he had befriended many buffalo hunters of the area. Almost certainly, this rifle would have played a part in the decimation of the northern buffalo herd in the 1880s. Russell loved the outdoors and did some hunting himself. This rifle and the associated records would certainly have been lost to history had it not been for the devotion of Lewis Yearout and his son Leyton, who rescued many Cascade County registration records that were bound for the city landfill.$125,000–150,000 PROVENANCE• Leyton Yearout EstateDescription Courtesy of J.R. La Rue, Certified Appraiser, Carter Mountain Consulting Agency, Inc, Knoxville, TN