Some while back Archaeologists found this old Winchester rifle resting against a tree in the Nevada (US) outback.
It'd been sitting there untouched for over 100 years; left to rust and disintegrate where it was abandoned by some person unknown.
I'm not quite sure why this story appeals to me so much, but I found it enthralling. One can but wonder what happened!
Although we'll never know I bet there's an amazing story behind this!
ReplyDeleteHe stopped for a pee and got shot by a Confederate.
ReplyDeleteGood lord, amazing that nobody nicked it!
ReplyDeleteHe put it down when he sat down for a rest and something got him. Were there bears in that area?
ReplyDeleteAlong with Rachel, you may be onto something. Maybe he stopped for a pee, and was eaten by a Bear.
DeleteThat would be my theory too. Either that or he just went mad and wandered off. People still do that sort of thing today in wildernesses.
DeleteIf its been there for 100 years that tree would have been extremely small back then!
ReplyDeleteAnd one would have thought it would have grown around the gun!
DeleteYes, that is intriguing. I have fired one of those - an original too. They were the Kalashnikov of the Wild West.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Mr Winchester made as much dosh as Mr Kalashnikov?
DeleteI remember reading about that. I find it odd that anyone from that time frame would walk away from their gun.
ReplyDeleteI like it too Cro. I know old weapons have always been found on old battlefield sites - but this is something quite different - it will always be one of life's mysteries.
ReplyDeleteThe owner had to meet his end at that tree. No way would an American leave his gun behind unless he was dead.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mystery.
DeleteI'd imagine that would be against the second amendment!
DeleteWe had time to kill before our flight home so we went to see The Winchester Mystery House in California. The widow of the gun magnate William Winchester lived there. Their daughter died in infancy and not long after her husband, Willian Winchester also died. She consulted a medium who told her that her family and her fortune were being haunted by spirits, and that, as long as construction on her house never ceased, Mrs Winchester could rest assured that her life would not be in danger so, over the next 38 years she continued building. There are staircases and doors that don't go anywhere, miles of twisting hallways, secret passageways in the walls, it was supposedly haunted and, Mrs Sarah Winchester would have regular seances. The whole house was adorned with Tiffany glass, German silver and bronze inlaid wood doors and gold and silver chandeliers !! I could go on ….. there's a website which tells you all about it. Maybe Mrs Winchester left it there ?!!!!!! XXXX
ReplyDeleteApparantly, Mrs Winchester was worth over $20 million !!! XXXX
Delete"we had time to kill" caused me to do a double take there Jacqueline....
DeleteMe too.... I imagined you'd bought a Winchester.
DeleteI think it's astounding that it's been out in the open for 100 years and NO ONE has seen/touched it? There is obviously a long-forgotten curse on the gun. Expect to see follow-up news of the people who discovered it growing boils and pustules. :D
ReplyDeleteReminds me of this song https://youtu.be/QcmbFKstspk
ReplyDeleteThat rather demonstrates why he was so admired in US prisons!
DeleteWouldn't have been a confederate in Nevada. It is very desert like and few inhabitants, but would have been indians (Ute) around. Probably on the way to the gold rush in California and perished; left his gun there as his tombstone.
ReplyDeleteThta's really interesting. I am sure we will be weaving stories around that picture for some time. That tree could tell a tale even without the gun.
ReplyDeleteI read this recently too....sounds like rhe perfect start of a novel
ReplyDeleteSome more details on it in this video:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/kkboM5FBAd0
Fascinating; thanks.
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