A big hello to my new pards. I've been doing a little research on the development of cartridge belts in the military. I've seen them referred to "prairie" belts and "pioneer" belts, which I can understand, but does anyone know where the term "fair weather christian" comes from as applied to these belts? And does anyone know when they first started appearing? It seems to me that the first ones had leather loops or "thimbles," then when the verdigris problem arose, the canvas loops came about. My thinking is that it was the military that had these belts first, perhaps in the 1865-1867 period, and then civilians followed suit. I propose that the military was first, since it was they who were most likely to be carrying self-contained cartridges in this period. Any thoughts?