43/54 To this day it is worn in parts of the Rocky Mountains, and even occasionally, here and there, in the Alleghanies. The above is the description of one of Boon's rifles, now in the possession of Col.Durrett.According to the inscription on the barrel it was made at Louisville (Ky.), in 1782, by M.Humble.It is perfectly plain; whereas one of Floyd's rifles, which I have also seen, is much more highly finished, and with some ornamentation. For the opinion of a foreign military observer on the phenomenal accuracy of backwoods markmanship, see General Victor Collot's "Voyage en Amerique," p. 242. |