The Prairie Traveler-Randolph B. Marcy 1859
" Every man who goes into the Indian country should be armed with a rifle and revolver,and he should never,either in camp or out of it,lose sight of them.When not on the march,they should be placed in such a position that they can be seized at an instant's warning;and when moving about outside the camp,the revolver should invariably be worn in the belt,as the person does not know at what moment he may have a use for it.
......A large majority of men prefer the breech-loading arm,but there are those who still adhere tenaciously to the old fashioned muzzle-loading rifle as preferable to any of the modern inventions.Among these may be mentioned the border hunters and mountainers,who can not be persuaded to use any other than the Hawkins rifle,for the reason that they know nothing about the merits of any others."