Color me skeptical of the Enchanted Rock episode and future Ranger Capt Hays doing great execution with revolvers and rifle. My take is that the Comanches chased him up that huge granite batholith and, since he had an unrestricted field of fire up there with repeating weapons, satisfied themselves in getting his horse and gear.
As with much else of Capt Hays’ legendary exploits, I believe there’s much uncertainty when that E Rock episode took place.
Steven Moore in his excellent “Savage Frontier” series of books has Patterson revolvers in the hands of Texian Army Officers as early as 1840, they were present at the Council House Fight here in San Antonio that year and in the hands of at least one local Tejano leading a party against the Comanches that same year.
IIRC Pattersons were also ludicrously expensive on the civilian market in those early years, $400 in their currency (or many thousands in ours) coming to mind.
Jack Hays’ two famous inaugural handgun fights against Comanches unfamiliar with the weapon both occurred on or not far from the Guadeloupe River in 1844, four years after the fact.
Yep. I’ve read some articles that claim that Hay’s skirmish with the Commaches on Enchanted Rock never took place.
On the cost of the Patterson, I thought I read some where that Hays was from a wealthy family. And another account I read stated that Colt had gifted him a Patterson. Lots of conflicting stories on that battle.
I hunted a TX Parks and Wildlife Draw Hunt For exotics and whitetail does on Enchanted Rock about 20 years ago.
Walked over to the spot / overhang where Hayes was supposedly holed up. Pretty neat spot. He’d of been hard to get with a bow & arrow without exposing himself completely.
