What gear would an 1860 Californio carry with him?

[Grogan]

I will look around for a .36 cal Navy Colt; I just don't like .36 Cal weapons ... the round and weapon may have been possible, but as it was proven after the Boxer Rebellion (much later in history, I know), the round is just not that powerful. After the Marines held out in Beiping and were rescued by the Expeditionary Force, they found several officers with expended .36 Caliber Colts in their hands and a Boxers knife in their body. The Boxer may have been killed by the little .36 Caliber, but they lived long enough to kill the Colt's Owner.

It was this discovery that caused the beginnings, under Col. Thompson, of the .45 Caliber ACP; designed to be a 'one round knockdown'; to stop someone in their tracks, even if the round only hit the person in a limb.

Of course, I am sure that I will be reminded that Wild Bill Hickock and others seemed to do quite nicely with their .36 Caliber revolvers ... and I will look for one in the coming year and put it in a slim jim holster .... just would rather be carrying something in the .42-.45 Caliber range.

But my main reason for starting this thread had nothing to do with weapons. I was wondering about wether a powder horn and something like a possibles pouch would still be carried (to hold extra balls and powder, money, etc). And I have gotten my answer that no, a Californio not far from home would have relied on the five rounds inside his pistol and not carried any more.

Thanks again!

While your observations on the Boxer Rebellion (as well as the Phillipine Insurrection) and the lack of effectiveness of .36/.38 calilber revolvers may be correct, suffice to say there really wasn't a "convenient" carry handgun in the 1860s that could fill the bill.  General Thompson and his Trench Sweeper was still 60 years in the offing and the .45 ACP cartridge was only about 9 years ahead of that (not to mention the advent of Smokeless Powder).

So the most available options, ca 1860 out in California would have probably have been that beautifully balanced and sleek '51 Colt or else the most common revolver to make it out to the gold fields, the 1849 Colt Pocket Pistol.

If you really need authority in the way of a handgun for that period it's most likely going to be one of the versions of a Colt's Dragoon, but good luck with carrying that around all day.

Certainly a smallish Dixon's Powder Flask may have been employed and a clever leather Flask Holder could be fashioned to carry on your belt. 

But in actual practice, if a reload were needed, I'm thinking that a person might have carried a small tin in a pocket with some paper cartridges, common at that time, along with some spare caps.

[St. George]

No - the 'Boxer Rebellion' happened in 1899 - by that time, no army was using cap and ball, but had been using cartridge weapons for a couple of decades.

What you're thinking of is the 'Moro Insurrection' that ran from 1903-1913, when the Army was issued the weak Colt .38 DA, - the Models 1892-1903 chambered for .38 Long Colt - that were having trouble stopping the religiously fanatical Moro tribesmen - the 'Juramentados'.

It was 'that' conflict that caused the old .45 Colt Single Action Armys to be taken from storage and re-issued to fight in the Philippines, and would eventually lead to the adoption of the M1905 that was already being considered, and would develop into the Model 1911.

During the pre-Civil War time frame you wish to portray as a historical Impression - the Navy Colts were much-prized weapons in California and in the gold fields, and brough considerably greater sums when they could be found and purchased.

For a better idea of what the .36 could do - read 'Sixguns' by Keith, and you'll be surprised.

For more on the Moros - read  'Muddy Glory - American Indian Wars in the Philippines' by Roth.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

St George ...

Thank you for correcting me on the wars ... I was just spewing what I had been taught ... and as Voltaire once said, 'History is the lies historians agree upon'.

I had the only copy of 'Sixguns' by Keith in the entire California Library System, but had to return it unread because his autobiography was so interesting that I did not want to speed read it, and got behind on my reading....

I do not like being ignorant about history, so I will get the Library to order Roth's book on the Phillipine insurrection and hope that I do not get so engrossed that it ends up to be another literary 'boondoggle' ....

[Curley Cole]

Take a look at Will Ghormleys web site. He has been doing some history writes about wandering the west as authentic era
it is interesting.
curley

[St. George]

Ask the Librarian about getting a couple of 'Inter-Library Loans'.

The Librarian locate your requested books, and if you'll pay the shipping, you can usually keep them for three weeks to a month.

That way, if a copy of something's 'out there' in the rest of CONUS - you can eventually read it.

Not all require shipping reimbursement, either - some will ship for free.

Good Luck!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Curley Cole,

Will Ghormley made the holsters for my Schofields ... and I am probably going to get a slim jim from him for reenactment.

I have read his adventures, and wish I had a wife that would support me to do things like that ... *S*

He is a very important yardstick for me and I have benefitted so much from having him in my life ....

St George,

They have a thing here in California called the Link system where I can search any book in the entire California Library System.
That is where I found Keith's autobiography and his Sixguns book.

I had to turn in the Sixguns 'cause I am taking much too long reading his autobiography ... it is one of those books I really hate to finish and cherish a chapter or two at a time.

After the autobiography, perhaps I will order the Sixguns again...

[Forty Rod]

Lots of single shot and double barrel percussion pistols, as wells as a lot of pepperboxes all in calibers from about .28 to .45.  Don't sell them short.  At 'social discussion' distances they worked pretty well and beat a knife at ten paces ten ways from Sunday...usually.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Forty Rod,

I have that little converted 1863 Remington Pocket Pistol.

Anachronistic, I know, but it will have to do until I find a really cheap replacement ....

Besides, when it is sitting in a holster, all that will show is the hammer and top of the strap....

[Roscoe Coles]

I think that you need to be much more specific in your impression goals here.  To begin with, what class of Californio do you want to do?  There are not many period pictures of Claifornios.  By the time cameras made it to California, the Californio life style was under a great deal of pressure.  There are paintings of Californios but they are of the highest class of society. 

For example, below is a photograph of General Don Andres Pico (brother to Pio Pico, last Californio Governor of California) who was one of the few Californios to do very well during the American period, he became wealthy ranching and farming.  Notice that all of his clothing is dark, black and dark blue were popular.  The clothing is a variation on the Traje de Charro, which derives from the traditional horseman's clothing of Slamanca, Spain.  The traditional clothing is brown but in Mexico and California a fancier "dress" version of this clothing, known as the Gran Gala Treje de Charro, became popular among the elite (later Emperor Maximilian would adopt it as his state clothing).  This version of the clothing has given rise to the traje de mariachi, the black or sometimes bright colored suit worn by mariachi bands.  One note, in the period, bright colors were not commonly seen, if they were used at all.  The dress suits tended to be black or blue.

  Anyway, you will notice that General Pico's jacket, which is heavily decorated with embroidery of bullion, is well fitted with relatively thin, long arms and a standing collar (indicating that this is actually a military dress jacket).   He is wearing a vest, a white shirt and a tie under the jacket.  More distinctive are the pants, which like the jacket are heavily decorated with embroidery and held together along the outside by a series of buttons, commonly of silver.  Note that they are unbuttoned up to the mid thigh showing his white underpants.  Interestingly the inside if the thighs are of a different color.  This could be a riding seat (a reenforcement of that part of the pants which come in contact with the saddle) but it is impossible to know what color it is.  This style was very popular in California at the time though this is obviously a very high status individual.

Below Pico is a painting of Don Jose Sepulveda (who owned one of the most famous ranchos near Los Angeles) painted in 1856.  Although the suit he wears is much plainer then General Pico's, it is essentially the same.  One difference is that the coat does not have a standing collar.  You can clearly see the buttons along the leg and a flash of the white drawers.  Also note his hat, known as a "sugar loaf" this style of hat was the most common type seen on Californios.  The key thing is the shape of the crown which got its name because of its similarity in shape to the cones of sugar in use at the time.  The size of the brim varies greatly over time and due to taste but the sugar loaf is the distinctive hat of Californios of all classes.  Note also that Don Jose is not wearing a gun.  Californios were much more likely to use a lance or the sword which is visible attached to the saddle in the painting.  This sword, was a common feature of Californio saddles and you will still see a short sword or machette on many modern built Mexican saddles.  While in military service a Californio might wear a sword belt ,but in peace the sword was on the saddle. 

Although these photographs are of high status individuals, the basic cut of their clothing would translate to lower class individuals.  Instead of dark clothing a working class charro would wear a sort of tan or sometimes light gray.  Charro clothing was first adopted by the working class in Mexico in the 1600s when peons were given the right to ride horses.  In many ways it has not changed much as the actual charros are very traditional and resent others wearing or modifying charro clothing (they hate mariachi bands).  The basics of working class clothing would be a jacket and pants like that worn by Don Sepulveda with several additions.  One would be a pari of  botas de alas, seen below.  Spanish for "winged boots" they are short coverings for the lower leg which act like chaps.  Another thing might be a sash in place of a vest. The sash provides a distinctive flash of color and is cooler than a vest.  You can also stick a pistol and a knife in the sash.  If you were to wear holsters you should have a straight up and down slim jim or what they call a bikini holster (which holds the cylinder but does not cover the barrel).  For some reason the bikini style was popular among hispanic peoples.  Take a look at the last painting for an example, Essentially the same clothing as Don Sepulveda in brown, a pair of botas de alas, a sugar loaf hat, no vest, large california spurs, also notice that he is not wearing a gun.

  On the topic of knives and pistols, the 1851 Colt Navy was the gun of California in mid 1850s and early 1860s.  The 1849 pocket model and Allen pepperbox revolvers were earlier, obviously, but once the 1851 came out it was very common in California.  Depending on which program you are doing in Old Sacramento, the authenticity people will not let you carry a ruger, and frankly you shouldn't do it even if they did.  Bowie knives are an American phenomenon and you would not find them on a Californio.  Why would they want one, they have their own style of knives which is much more Eropean.   Think European stiletto, thin, double sided and relatively long.

  I spent a number of years working as a living historian at Sutter's Fort and we have been through all of this.  if you would like more detailed information go to Sutter's Fort and ask them for the docents costume guidelines.  It is not absolutely perfect but it is a good start to clothing during the Sutter period (which ends in about 1850) and does include some information on Vaquero clothing. 

Hope this helps

[St. George]

Excellent post, Roscoe!

This era isn't as well drawn out as are the trail driving years and the era of the Indian Wars - though they're equally significant to the history of the Old West.

'Doing it right' takes on an even greater importance, since it's a time so seldom photographed.

Mucha Gracias!

Vaya,

Scouts Out!