This fascinating Winchester carbine was manufactured in 1880 and has the standard block style blade front sight, notch and folding leaf rear sight, Second Model frame with replacement dust cover with "thumb print" on top and no serrations,"Model. 1873" in fancy script on the upper tang, single set trigger, script serial number on the lower tang, no caliber markings, and smooth stock and forearm. It comes with a binder full of documents relating to Crawford and the carbine (including an R.L. Wilson authentication letter) as well as a copy of "The Poet Scout" signed "Yours Fraternal, J.W. Crawford/Capt Jack" inside along with the note "Sept 2nd 1889/With 50 Apaches on way to St Joseph Exposition" and two other notes and initials. Among the documents is a list of items loaned for the 100th Anniversary of Fort Bliss by Irene Shontz, Captain Jack's granddaughter, listing the carbine by serial number as "Winchester gun used by Captain Jack in 'West' Shows." A letter signed this same granddaughter in 1962 when this carbine was sold also identifies it by serial number as belonging to her her grandfather. Captain Jack Crawford's life was very much filled with adventure in the Wild West, and he, like his one time friend Buffalo Bill Cody, capitalized on the boom of interest in and romanticization of the American frontier and solidified his place in history in the late 19th century and early 20th century as the western frontier ceased to exist and historians such as Theodore Roosevelt and Frederick Jackson Turner debated the significant role the frontier played in American national identity, culture, and government. "The Poet Scout" was born John Wallace Crawford in 1847 in Ireland and came to the U.S. when he was 14 right at the beginning of the Civil War. As was the case with many young immigrants, he was devoted to his new country. He joined the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry when he turned 17 and was wounded at both Spotsylvania and Petersburg. His mother died two years after the war, and his father was an alcoholic, so Crawford was responsible for his own way in life. In 1875, he headed to the West to seek his own fortune and adventure. During the Black Hills Gold Rush, he served as both a journalist in the camps and as the lead scout of the Black Hills Rangers. Since the Black Hills were and are sacred land to the Lakota and had not been ceded to the U.S., the rangers had the perilous task of defending the community from Native American attacks. During the famous Bighorn and Yellowstone Expeditions, he acted as a war correspondent and a scout under Brigadier General George Crook. While serving under Crook, he became friends with Buffalo Bill Cody and became head scout when Cody returned to the East. Crawford gained national fame after riding 350 miles in just six days in order to deliver news of Crook’s triumph over Chief American Horse at the Battle of Slim Buttes in September 1876 during the Great Sioux War the same month as Custer's infamous defeat. Later that same year, Crawford joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, but the partnership was short lived, and Crawford left the show in he summer of 1877 after he was shot in the groin at in Virginia City, Nevada, during a mock running horse battle by a drunken Buffalo Bill according to his account of the event. Given Crawford was a teetotaler, it is easy to imagine that he would have been particularly incensed at being nearly killed by a drunk he considered his close friend. He moved his family to New Mexico as a result and worked as a scout during the Apache War and Victorio’s War. He also served a trader at Fort Craig. In 1889, he worked on behalf of the U.S. government to investigate the illegal trafficking of alcohol in Indian Country. In the 1890s and early 20th century, he again gained national attention by speaking and performing throughout the U.S. He was reported to have regularly appeared armed with a Winchester, this very one as laid out by his granddaughter, while he told his tales. Unlike the stories told by many of the West's legendary characters, his speeches, poems, and stories are much more aligned with the realities of frontier life, but they also reflected popular beliefs in American exceptionalism, rugged individualism, the triumph of "civilization" triumph over "savagery," and the American people's "Manifest Destiny" to see their stars and stripes hung across the full width of North America. Crawford wrote over one hundred stories, seven books of published poetry (plus untold numbers of unpublished poems), and four plays. He was naturally the star of the latter. He stopped touring for a couple of years to search for gold in the Klondike at the turn-of-the-century.

Very good. 70% of the period nickel plating remains along with patches of gray and brown patina and light spotting. The lever and hammer have mostly darker gray and brown patina. The wood has a period applied dark, nearly black, finish rubbing down to light natural tones in handling areas, some hairline cracks and flakes primarily in the wrist, and minor dents and scratches. Mechanically fine. This is a rare opportunity to acquire a true piece of Old West history connected to one of the most colorful characters of Wild West Show era.