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LOT 97
Exceptionally Rare, Historic and Well-Documented Buntline Colt Single Action Army
Revolver, Serial Number 28814 - Serial no. 28814, 45 Long Colt cal., 16 inch round bbl.,
blue/casehardened finish, brass stock, antique ivory grips. Offered here is a newly discovered,
exceptionally rare, historical and only period documented Colt Buntline revolver that was the
property of William P. Vandevert of Fort Griffin, Texas and Bend County, Oregon. William Plutarch
Vandevert (February 24, 1854 – February 26, 1944) was a western adventurer, a cattleman, and
Oregon pioneer. After travels in California, Texas, and Arizona, he established a cattle ranch fifteen
miles south of present-day Bend, Oregon. He blazed trails through the Cascade Mountains and
was a renowned bear hunter. He sired eight children, including three doctors, and was a leading
citizen of Central Oregon for many years. This revolver, with full documentation, was purchased
directly from W. P. Vandeverts’ granddaughter, Cynthia (Vandevert) Crabtree in 2016 of Sellersburg,
Indiana, who inherited the gun from her father, Dr. Arthur Vandevert (son of William). Realizing the
importance of such a find, Rock Island Auction has been trying to bring this gun to auction ever
since, and we are pleased to finally be able to offer it to the collecting fraternity. This extremely
rare revolver, used from the hills and cattle drives of Texas to one of the gun-slinging capitals of the
west, Holbrook, Arizona, is accompanied with wonderful and interesting stories about Vandevert
and his family, many of which can be easily found on the internet. They span from the California
Gold Rush, the Clark Massacre in Idaho, the Modoc Wars, bear hunting in the western frontier,
cattle-ranching in Fort Griffin, Texas, cowboy life with the Hash-Knife outfit, shoot-outs in Holbrook,
Arizona, to an accusation of murder in Oregon, all fully documented.
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