The mid-19th century barrel is marked "S. HAWKEN ST. LOUIS" for famous gunmaker Samuel Hawken. The trigger guard finial is inscribed "BEQUETTE". A brass tag marked "BEQUETTE/HAWKEN/SEE BOOK" is attached to the trigger guard. A copy of "The Hawken Rifle: Its Place in History" by Charles E. Hanson, Jr., a copy of "The Buckskin Report" from February 1978, and a binder with consignor research are included. The rifle is featured and discussed on pages 28-29 of "The Buckskin Report" and noted as "once a twisted mass of iron, it being an original S. Hawken, St. Louis mountain rifle that had went through a disastrous fire, completely consuming the maple stock and leaving the barrel lock, and hardware warped and scarred." The magazine further indicates that Robert M. Holter had the rifle re-built by Ed Webber using the restored original components. Information in the binder indicates the remainder of the rifle had been purchased from John Fox in 1971 and that "The parts comprising this rifle were found in Oregon in the 1960s, burned, scaled and void of wood. It was restored by Ed Webber of Montana to its present condition... He carefully peeled off the layers of scale deposited on the iron parts by fire than restored the parts as fully as possible to their original condition. After that, he restocked it to the dimensions of the stock that Sam Hawken placed on it many years before. It was only after Webber had completed his work on the metal parts that the name Bequette became entirely visible on the trigger guard." The name was not researched by the consignor until 2012. Based on the marking on the trigger guard, the consignor attributes the rifle to Colonel Paschal Bequette (1805-1879), and some of his biography is detailed in the binder. Bequette was born in St. Genevieve near St. Louis, fought in the Black Hawk War under Henry Dodge, married Elizabeth Dodge, and moved to California in 1852. His store in Sacramento burned up in 1853, and he moved to Visalia, California, in 1859 where he established a ranch and served as the county treasurer and deputy recorder. Bequette was survived by his wife, four sons, and four daughters. The consignor also indicates that he shot tin cans at 50 yards with the rifle using a .50 caliber round ball and 50 grains of black powder. Provenance: The John Fox Collection; The Robert M. Holter Collection

Very good as restored/rebuilt by Ed Webber with refinished brown, moderate pitting, some scrapes and dings on the stock, and a small crack on the left at the lock screw. Mechanically fine (full-cock only).