Lot - Lawman Jeff Milton's Engraved Colt Sheriff's Model Revolver

Extraordinary, Historic, Special Order, Factory Engraved Colt Sheriff's Model Single Action Army Revolver with Relief Carved Pearl Grips Documented to Legendary Western Lawman and Texas Ranger Jeff Milton with Factory Letter and Further Documentation Throughout the history of this great nation there are a select few events and periods of time that stand out as decidedly profound in shaping the foundation of the American ethos, the formation of our identity as a country, and the forging of the character of the American people, with perhaps none more influential than the period of westward expansion and Manifest Destiny. Tales of the wild western frontier have been passed down through generations of Americans, much like the legends of King Arthur, epics of Ancient Greece, or the sagas of the Vikings were in Europe, giving children of this nation villains to despise and heroes to aspire to. While Europe had heroes such as Achilles and Sir Lancelot; America had Davey Crockett and Wild Bill Hickok. Much like the expanses of the frontier itself, many of these tales grew to be larger than life, becoming as much myth as fact, while many others which were no less epic, like the story of this revolver and the man who carried it, went relatively unnoticed. This historic revolver was the sidearm of Jeff Milton, an incredible example of the American western hero archetype. Though not as widely heralded as some other figures of the American West, Milton is one of the very few characters in the West who managed to stay on the right side of the law for essentially his entire career, truly embodying the image of a "Good Man with a Gun". He became arguably the most accomplished gunfighter of his era and was also one of only two men, along with Wild Bill Hickok, to back down the notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin. It is stories like that of Jeff Milton which have formed the epic saga of the American West, and just as the struggle of the frontier is synonymous with the American psyche, the Colt Single Action Army revolver is synonymous with the American frontier, having become a tangible piece of the history of westward expansion. While earlier events in the United States had laid the foundations of what this country and its people would become, it was arguably the tales and experiences of the “Wild West” period that solidified the American pioneering spirit of grit, determination, and optimism that would carry us forth into the 20th century as a global power. The incredible tale of Jefferson Davis Milton began with his birth in November 1861 on the 7,000-acre Sylvania Plantation near Marianna, Florida, near the beginning of this country’s bloody Civil War. He was named after the president of the Confederate States of America. His father, John Milton, served as Governor of Florida until his death just days before the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia in April of 1865. Though he was born into the opulence of southern aristocracy, the young fatherless Jeff Milton quickly shed the privilege of his birth, being noted as a mischievous and adventurous child who loved to hunt and fish. It is said that Milton seemed poorly suited to the life of a wealthy planter, an observation that would prove very true through the course of his life. At the age of 15 or 16, Jeff Milton left the wealth and comfort of the Sylvania Plantation and headed westward into the rugged wilds of the frontier. Milton initially landed in Texas, taking up mercantile work in a store in Navasota, as well as trying his hand at cowboying in the area. By July of 1880, at the age of just 18, Milton had decided to seek new adventures and made his way to Austin, growing a mustache to make himself appear older. Towards the end of July, he arrived at the headquarters of the famed Texas Rangers. At the time, the minimum age for joining the Rangers was 21, so Milton simply added three years to his age and was sworn in as a private in the Texas Rangers. A copy of his enlistment paper from the Texas State Archives is included. In an article about Milton in a 1978 issue of “The Shooting Times” by the legendary Skeeter Skelton, it is noted that at that time Rangers were required to supply their own weapons, with the state only supplying a limited amount of ammunition. Skelton indicates that Milton had initially chosen a Colt Frontier Six Shooter in .44-40 as his sidearm, a natural companion for his Winchester rifle in the same caliber but had issues with the cylinder jamming up due to primers of the cartridges “flowing back and tying up the firing pin”. Skelton goes on to state that Milton quickly swapped the revolver for one in .45, “The .45 single action was his handgun for the rest of his life, and during most of his later years, he carried a second gun, a cut-down .45 [probably this rare Sheriff’s Model] in a shoulder holster under his shirt. This second gun was destined to get him out of many tight places.” Much of Milton’s work as a Ranger took place in the Trans Pecos and Big Bend regions where the Southern Pacific Railroad was rapidly laying new track to connect El Paso to their growing network. Like many of the areas experiencing settlement and railroad expansion, it is described as quite wild and untamed, giving Milton the experience of more than a few gunfights at an early age. In May of 1881 in Colorado City, just a few months before the famed shootout at the O.K. Corral, Milton and two other Texas Rangers responded to a belligerent cattle rancher named W. P. Patterson “shooting up a town”. It is said that when the trio of Rangers attempted to arrest Patterson, he drew his revolver on the Rangers who promptly shot him down. It is noted that because Patterson had well-connected friends the three Rangers were charged with murder. The trial was drawn out over the next two years, including at least one change of venue, during which time Milton and the other two Rangers continued their duties as lawmen. In Abilene in December of 1883, a jury finally returned a not guilty verdict for the three Rangers. By 1883, the railroad in the area had been completed, and the area began to settle into more tame everyday life. The adventure-seeking Milton began to grow restless, leading him to resign from the Texas Rangers and wander farther westward. By 1884, Milton had landed in the San Mateo Mountains of the New Mexico Territory where he initially homesteaded and operated a small ranch. His reputation as a lawman had followed him from Texas, and he quickly found himself in various law enforcement jobs as both a deputy sheriff and a cattle detective. For some time, he carried a special commission from the governor of the territory. It is noted that his skill and efficiency at rounding up cattle thieves earned him many friends in the territory but also a gunshot wound to the leg during a gunfight with Mexican bandits. It appears during this time he also took some work as a lawman across the border in the Arizona Territory as well, working for a brief time as a deputy for the legendary Commodore Perry Owens. In March of 1887, Milton enlisted in a slightly different law enforcement organization, the fledgling U.S. Customs Service as a customs collector. In the previously mentioned article, Skelton notes that the customs collection service was extremely bare bones at the time, having only an eleven man company to patrol the border between El Paso to the Gulf of California, while other articles note that Milton himself was tasked with covering the stretch of border between the town of Nogales and the Colorado River, a stretch of desert around 250 miles. Most sources note how harsh the environment was in this area and that the isolated customs collectors often had to act as judge and jury as well as executioner at times. In 1889, Milton left the Customs Service and moved on to Tucson, Arizona Territory, where he again worked in various roles as a lawman, as well as some horse-trading and prospecting on the side. He is said to have developed friendships with the local Papago Native Americans during this time, who are noted as helping him more than once in tracking down wanted outlaws. As the horse-trading business waned and Milton recovered from a broken ankle, he took up the unlikely job of train conductor. While working as a conductor on a trip into Mexico, it is said that a prominent but drunk and belligerent Mexican followed Milton to confront him on an observation deck of the train, ultimately leading to the Mexican falling to his death. Witnesses notified officers on the train who wired ahead to their destination for Milton’s arrest. The quick-thinking Milton is said to have shaved off his mustache, changed his clothing, and hid in a third-class coach, eventually making his way back across the border. By the early 1890s, El Paso had grown into a bustling railroad and cattle town that had become rife with the typical gambling, boozing, and brothels associated with such towns. The city council at the time was in search of a prominent lawman that could come in and tame the rough and tumble city. In August of 1894, the council found their man in Jeff Milton and hired him as chief of police. During his time as Chief of Police of El Paso Milton crossed the crooked constable and part-time outlaw John Selman as well as the notorious outlaw John Wesley Hardin, both of whom backed down from Milton’s challenges to keep the peace. Around that time, George Scarborough, a cattle detective and old friend of Milton’s, arrived in El Paso, in search of Martin M’Rose, a cattle thief believed to be hiding across the border in Juarez. A love triangle between M’Rose, a woman, and John Wesley Hardin eventually lead to M’Rose being convinced to cross to the Texas side of a border crossing railroad bridge where Milton and Scarborough laid in wait. M’Rose spotted the two lawmen and a gunfight broke out in which the cattle thief was shot by both officers and killed. Not long after this incident, the political makeup of the city council was shuffled and Milton was forced out followed by John Selman killing Hardin and then Selman being killed by George Scarborough. After being removed as the El Paso Chief of Police, Milton signed on with Wells Fargo & Co. Express as an express agent, guarding cargo on the Benson, Arizona to Guaymas, Mexico route which often transported extremely valuable gold and silver bullion. It appears that during this time Milton was also working other law enforcement jobs on the side, as he is noted as having tracked down the notorious outlaw Bronco Bill Walters along with his old pal George Scarborough during which a gunfight ensued with Milton shooting Walters and scattering his gang of bandits from their mountaintop camp. At one point the lawman-turned-outlaw Burt Alvord and his gang planned to rob the train of a particularly valuable cargo in Fairbank, Arizona, leading to one of the more colorful tales of Jeff Milton’s life occurring in February of 1900. Knowing Milton’s reputation as a lawman and gunfighter, the Alvord Gang made serious attempts to ensure that Milton was not guarding the express car the day they planned to rob it. Unfortunately for the would-be bandits, their efforts failed as Milton happened to cover a shift for an ill agent that day, and it was in fact he who opened the train car door in Fairbank to begin unloading cargo. As soon as the train robbers spotted who was guarding their desired prize, they immediately shouted at Milton to put his hands up, which either went unheard or was ignored. The gang then opened fire with their rifles, one of the first shots taking Milton’s hat clean off his head. Unfortunately for Milton, he had left his revolver on the desk within the rail car out of reach, and only a Winchester Model 1887 shotgun was at arm’s length. It was quite possibly this moment that motivated Milton to carry a second revolver under his shirt later in life as Skeeter Skelton had stated. By that point, the members of the gang had worked their way amongst the crowd around the train car, essentially using the crowd as human shields, denying Milton any possibility of returning fire with the 10 gauge without hitting bystanders. The bandits again challenged him to put his hands up and stand aside, to which Milton is said to have responded: “If there’s anything you want, come and get it.” The bandits again opened fire, this time sending bullets through Milton’s shirt and body, knocking him backward into the floor of the train car. Seeing him fall, two of the outlaws rushed the rail car, but Milton raised his shotgun and fired, sending a hail of pellets into the two, one of whom was called “Three Fingered” Jack Dunlop, who is now buried in the famous Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, just a half mile from the O.K. Corral. Milton then managed to stand, bleeding profusely, and slammed the cargo door shut, tossing the keys into a pile of parcels. Milton managed to rip off a piece of his shirt and tie it around his mangled left arm as a makeshift tourniquet before losing consciousness. Not taking any more chances, the remaining bandits continued to pepper the rail car with rifle bullets before sending in the terrified engineer of the train, who returned and told them that Jeff Milton was dead. The bandits then entered the car, noticing Milton still breathing, one of them prepared to shoot, but they were talked out of it by the engineer. They searched Milton for the keys to the safe but couldn’t find them, eventually settling for simply robbing the passengers from whom they secured only $40 dollars. As the bandits fled, they decided to leave their dying partner “Three Fingered” Jack in the mountains to die, and he swore he’d give them up if he survived. He did in fact survive for several more days, giving him time to confess the identities of the gang to the authorities. The other four members of the gang were arrested or killed shortly after, much to the credit of Milton, who was rushed to a hospital in Tucson for treatment and survived, but he would never regain full use of his damaged left arm. After a long recovery, Milton signed on with the U.S. Immigration Service in April of 1904. Due to his reputation as a lawman, it is said that he was his own boss and worked directly with the Commissioner General of Immigration in Washington, D.C. Milton took to the work honorably and diligently, just like all of his previous law enforcement career, making many friends in the service and earning further respect. Despite continuing in this job two years beyond the government’s required retirement age of 70 years old, Milton was finally required to hang up his badge in 1932. Milton’s long and honorable law enforcement career in the American West is perhaps best summed up by a quote from the man himself, who said: “I never killed a man who didn’t need killing; I never shot an animal except for meat.” In 1936 the Immigration Service honored Milton by naming a Coast Guard cutter after him. In 1947, after confronting death countless times, Jefferson Davis Milton passed away at the age of 85 years old in Tucson, Arizona. In 1948, a biography of Milton's life was published by J. Evetts Haley titled "Jeff Milton: A Good Man with a Gun". The story of Jeff Milton is one of the most incredible and surprisingly little-known tales of the American West, and Milton himself has left a legacy that is one of the few instances on the frontier of a truly "Good Man with a Gun". This incredibly historic revolver was manufactured in 1916 and absolutely exudes the mystique of the American frontier, proudly carrying the aura of a gunfighter that is rarely documented with other Colt Single Action Army revolvers despite their legendary status rooted in the West. This specific revolver is pictured on p. 167 of the 2024 issue of “Fine & Historic Arms Annual” by The Texas Gun Collectors Association and Rock Island Auction Company. It is also said to be featured on the cover of the September 1961 issue of “The Texas Gun Collector” which also features an article about Jeff Milton. The included factory letter lists this special ordered Sheriff’s Model revolver in .45 caliber with a 4 ¾ inch barrel, blue finish, pearl grips with carved eagle motif, factory engraved, and furnished without an ejector when sold to J. D. Milton and shipped to A. Steinfeld & Co. in Tucson, Arizona, on 7 August 1916 as the only gun of its type in the shipment. The letter further notes that the factory ledgers contain another listing for this serial number which was a .45 caliber, 7 1/2 inch, blue finish revolver that was shipped on 26 March 1920 to Elmira Arms Company in New York. As far as we are aware, the revolver matching this listing has never surfaced and is quite likely simply a factory notation error in 1920. In “The Official Record of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver, 1873-1895” the Wilkersons and Hoyt indicate that in the serial number range of 1 through 164100 only 17 factory engraved Colt Single Action Army revolvers were produced without ejectors, while not a single one was made in this specific configuration, giving a relative indication of the rarity of this piece. The same book also notes that from 1882 to the 1930s just under 600 ejectorless revolvers were made in all configurations, showing just how scarce they really are. The revolver exhibits exquisite Colt factory engraving from the shop of legendary Master Engraver Cuno Helfricht, quite likely executed by Helfricht’s own hand. The engraving is extensive, encompassing approximately three-quarters of the revolver’s surfaces, showing primarily American floral scrollwork on beaded backgrounds, crosshatched diamond patterns on either side of the forward frame at the breech, and elaborate fan motifs on the recoil shield and the top of the backstrap, while the back strap itself and the top of the barrel show finely intertwined lines. The top of the barrel is marked with the typical two-line address and the caliber marking on the left within an engraved banner. The left of the frame has the two-line patent dated followed by the Rampant Colt, and the Colt “verified proof” and “1” are on the left of the trigger guard. Both sides of the grip frame under the grips are hand-marked “Spence”, and the right is also hand-marked with the serial number. The matching serial number is on the bottom of the frame, trigger guard, and back strap. The loading gate does not bear an assembly number. It is fitted with the standard blade front and frame-top groove rear sights and an extremely attractive, factory pair of pearl grips with the right panel having a relief carved American eagle and both panels having Colt medallions at the tops. Also included with the revolver are copies of a few different articles related to the life of Jeff Milton, including the previously referenced article by Skeeter Skelton.

Manufacturer: Colt

Model: Single Action Army

BBL: 4 3/4 inch round

Gauge: 45 Long Colt

Finish: blue/casehardened

Grips: pearl

Serial Number333342

Class: Curio & Relic Handgun

Provenance: Western Lawman Jefferson Davis Milton; The Nick Shannon Collection
Condition: Very fine overall with the character of a documented western lawman's sidearm, retaining 60% of the original blue finish and 70% of the original case colors, remaining vibrant in sheltered areas, with the balance mostly a smooth grey patina, and extremely crisp engraving throughout. The grips are excellent with a few very light handling marks and crisp relief carving. Mechanically excellent. This is a fleeting opportunity to add a historic treasure of the American frontier to your collection: a factory documented Colt sidearm of the legendary lawman and Texas Ranger Jefferson Davis Milton, "A Good Man with a Gun".

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From:	To:	Increments:
$0	$199	$10
$200	$499	$25
$500	$999	$50
$1,000	$1,999	$100
$2,000	$4,999	$250
$5,000	$9,999	$500
$10,000	$19,999	$1,000
$20,000	$49,999	$2,500
$50,000	$99,999	$5,000
$100,000	$199,999	$10,000
$200,000 +		$25,000

Lot 36

Lawman Jeff Milton's Engraved Colt Sheriff's Model Revolver

Lawman Jeff Milton's Engraved Colt Sheriff's Model Revolver

Starting Bid: $150,000

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