In creating the 'Trail Boss' for the town of Artesia, New Mexico Vic's research for the AMS project was extensive. The following gives historical facts about the gear on 'Trail Boss'.

SADDLE: 1880 S. C. Gallup & Frazier made in Pueblo, Colorado, called “The Pueblo”. The time frame to cover for Goodnight was from 1866 through 1880’s. This saddle was a good choice as it was very similar to the Heublein & Bergtorf saddle made from 1840- 1860. The Frazier saddle would have been more widely used in New Mexico from 1880 and into the 1900’s. This saddle company, Gallup & Frazier, survived until 1940. It is known as the “saddle that carried the west”. However saddle makers were plentiful by 1885 and saddles could be bought in many locations in Texas and New Mexico. This particular saddle is called the “Slick Fork”. The saddle horn had a tougher leather wrapping used for roping wild cows in the brush.

RIFLE: 44 Henry, 44 Calibers, 15 Shot Repeater
The rifle of choice for Charlie Goodnight was made by New Haven’s Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. The rifles were manufactured between 1863 and 1865. Around 14,000 rifles were made with three-fourths of them being used in the Civil War. This rifle was the saddle gun of choice for most cowboys.

PISTOL: Single action Colt 44; 7 ½ barrel
Almost all the cowboys carried a colt of one kind or another. Another name for this peace maker was “hog leg”. These pistols were used to protect cattle against wolves, mountain lions, and bears. However, they were more commonly used to put down wounded or weak animals on the trail. They were also worn when courting their sweet hearts to impress the ladies. A common phrase for the frontiersman was “God made all men but the Colt made all men equal.”

CHAPS: Shot Guns
While there were three styles of chaps worn in the old west, the earliest and most popular leggings were known as “shotguns”. The name came from the two straight legs of leather that resembled a shotgun. The two other types of chaps were called the “bat wings” and “woolies”. These leggings protected the cowboys from the brush cactus, the cold north wind, and rain.

SPURS:
August Buermann of Newark, New Jersey spurs.
By the 1880’s cowboys were as particular about their spurs as they were about their boots. Like everything else a cowboy wore, Ramon Adams wrote “the cowboy took a heap of pride in his spurs.” These spurs are a classic drop shank spur with a jingle bob that was common in the 1880’s.