Wow, that was a fascinating story Evan, and you did a wonderful job of telling it! I grew up about 40 miles east of Powell, near the foot of the Bighorn Mountains, and I had never heard that story before. I'm definitely going to read that book! As always, thank you for what you do, always interesting information and great stories.
Thank you! It is interesting that Wyomingites today are in many cases not aware of the Duran story. It was a huge deal at the time. Tipton Cox was given an expense paid trip to New York City and featured on some radio broadcasts. At least two movies were made, neither one careful with the facts. Duran was given the moniker "Tarzan of the Teton" even though the events occured nowhere near the Tetons. Press coverage hasn't changed much over the years.
You really hit this one out of the park, Evan! Excellent artifact, excellent story! I'm going to do whatever is necessary to get my hands on a copy of "The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand."
Thanks Noah. Amazon has the book for about $15. Just FYI, there will be a break of a week or two while we film the next series of videos. We are doing a Chinese Wall Gun, a WW1 German Maxim machine gun, and a Sharps rifle with possible Buffalo Bill provenance.
@@wsmvolunteers8588 Thanks for the tip on the book, Evan, but I already have a copy on the way to my local library from another of Wyoming's WYLD System libraries.
*I have my 1910 Colt 32-20 that came from my gramps who got it in N.C. new and it traveled across the country the winter of 1922 to Seattle and left it to Dad and he gave it to me with a box of 50 ammo in the box from the mid 1960's and was less than $6 and still have the store sticker on the box......only fired it less than 5 times since I don't want to just waste the ammo.......maybe if I can find a modern box of ammo*
It surfaces once in a while, for about $3.00-3.50/round. I have a 1905 S&W DA revolver also chambered for .32-20. With revolvers of this vintage, most owners hand-load their own ammunition with moderate powder loads, as factory 32-20 rounds are rifle rounds at nearly the same specs as the .327 Magnum round. I feel safe shooting .32 S&W Long & .32 H&R Magnum rounds as they are less harsh on the pistol, especially considering it's age. The H&R Magnum cartridge is longer than the .32 S&W Long, so it more approximates the chamber length, and yet it is closer in energy & velocity to the .32 Long than the 32-20. It was not uncommon for ranchers to want a pistol that also shot their rifle rounds, but even pistols chambered for that purpose were not going to last as long as the same ones chambered for standard pistol ammo. The .32 S&W Long can be found for around .45 cents/round, and H&R Magnum for $1.10-1.25/round, which beats the heck out of $3.50/round and the heavy load of the 32-20. Just my 2 cents worth.
I have a Cimarron 32-20 replica. Excellent revolver and also load my own ammo for it. Great shooter. One of my grandkids favorite to shoot with the light recoil.
My brother has the exact same pistol in the exact same caliber, it belonged to my great grandfather who a Wyoming Territorial Sherif in Converse County in about 1880.
I have my Grandfather's 1873 32-20 MADE IN 1886. HAVE JUST STARTED RELOADING FOR IT. Shoot very good. Would like to have a single action in that caliber. The lighter recoil would be nice
Trust me, if you shoot factory 32-20 rounds in a revolver, the recoil will NOT be less. Although a number of revolvers were factory chambered to hold the longer rifle ammo, the factory-made 32-20 round is close in power to the .327 Magnum and recoil is considerable when fired in the revolver as opposed to the rifle. However, if you do your own reloads, you can adjust the powder charge yourself, accordingly , and make lower pressure ones for pistol use.
Messed up how Earl was treated. Turning a generally good man into a fugitive. Earls story is similar to what happens to people now. Silly charge escalating into something that should never of been to begin with.
It very much does, with one exception being that Bronson, in the end, is allowed to escape with Marvin's NWMP rifle's sights dead on him. "Death Hunt": excellent movie, not especially well known, and could have easily been staged in Wyoming as much as it was in the Rockies of Canada. Fred
I had seen a fur and fish magazine from the 1990’s that had the real story about Johnson the mad trapper he actually existed and was killing these guys for the gold fillings in their teeth
Rod, the story accompanying the donation is rife with inaccuracies and improbabilities. As you know, the donor claimed the gun was once owned by Tom Horn who was hanged four years before the revolver left the Colt factory. The revolver was accessioned in September, 1996 and came with a holster, a cartridge belt, and some loose .32-20 cartridges. The donor's paperwork alleges the information therein came from Earl Hayner, whom we know owned the revolver at one point. It goes downhill from there. The donor claimed the Colt was acquired by Wolford Bell who allegedly came into possession of it and other items owned by Horn after Horn was hanged. Donor also says Bell was the detective who framed Horn. Joe Lefors was the person who extracted the confession from Horn for his killing of Willie NIckell. Bell may have been employed by John Coble and arranged for Horn to be paid for his work. Coble was a prominent cattleman in that era. Horn stayed at the Coble ranch, rode one of Coble's horses, and was probably employed by Coble on behalf of other cattlemen supporting the suppression of "rustlers" and sheep ranchers. The donor says Bell sold the gun to Hayner for bail money after being arrested for stealing a horse. The donor also states in the letter that Earl Hayner "was reported to have ridden with Butch Cassidy's Hole in the Wall Gang." Cassidy left for Argentina in 1901 when Hayner was five years old. So maybe Hayner was blowing smoke, or the story degraded over the years. That's as much as the files and my research have yielded. I am more tolerant of inaccurate history after discovering that my own family oral history contained many errors of fact.
All that over 2 elk seems to me like someone would have had the common sense to let things go.. but someone probably got mad that their "authority" was challenged!!!
This story reminds me a lot of the story of Stan Graham in the West Coast of the South Island in New Zealand, in 1941. According to my relatives there, Stan Graham was well-liked by many local people. He was one of them, no matter what he had done. People in the West Coast have always been suspicious of outsiders, and defiant of authority. The coal mining industry workers there were nationally known in those days, as being fiercely Socialist, or outright Communist. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Graham
Thank you for the link to that amazing story. I had not heard of the incident before. You are correct, I think, that Graham and Duran share some commonalities. Both seemingly decent individuals pushed over the edge by circumstances.
