Winchester: One of One Thousand

by Robert D. Jones

When a modern-day construction worker unearths skeletal remains beneath a gigantic boulder, the story of a unique and fascinating journey through history begins. The only real clue to the puzzle is a saddle and a rifle-still intact-clutched in the desiccated bones of what was once a man's hand. The rifle, a Winchester Repeating Arms 1873, is a specially made "one of one thousand," which sold for more than five-times the cost of a standard Winchester rifle. From the New York shop where it was originally sold new, this particular rifle begins its amazing and volatile journey across America in a story like no other. Travel back in time when a Belgian immigrant arrives and is just hours into the New World when he purchases the rifle. Journey with the gun as it ultimately passes through the hands of eight owners, each with their own story of the firearm and their unique and individual adventures in the Wild West. Before being unearthed more than a century later, this rifle will have traversed the early West in a remarkable story unlike anything readers are likely to have before encountered.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2012

About the author

Robert D. Jones' great great grandparents crossed the plains in a covered wagon on the Immigrant Trail. Coming from pioneer stock, as they say, he was born in Roosevelt, Utah, a town in dispute as Indian ground. At thirteen, his father put him on a bus for a 400 mile journey to work on a cattle ranch for the summer. Working horseback in the shadow of an Indian burial ground near the Medicine Lodge River, the romance and saga of the West was etched into his mind never to leave.

Reviews

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good historical references. The book was written from the view of the gun.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a signed copy of this directly from the author who I knew growing up in grade and high school. I finished reading it today and really enjoyed it! I could see some influences from Lonesome Dove perhaps? Anyway, the stories kept me interested and in some places were quite graphic. Sounds like Bob did some research or may have experienced some of the things in the book? I would recommend this to anyone interested in Western history or western fiction.