Backyard privy breathes new life into a Colt :)

[cuddles17981]

A handgun that is.The Hubby and I started to dig up what I suspected was the location of an old outhouse. Through out the years we would find alot of shards on top of the soil wich is in his garden. He was eager to start as well as I was. We believe that this may be a double outhouse. The yards on our street are all connected divided by fences. Most homes on the block are double homes. So yesturday we provided great entertainment for our neighbors..LOL The walls of the privy in the ground are made of wood .. We came in contact with the front,the back,and the one side on our property, the privy continues under the fence into the neighbors yard. About 3ft down we hit water,so we are digging in mud,clay,and at some spots it smells and looks like tar. A few hours into it the hubby yells out with excitement that he found a gun, and he thinks its real.. It was with the bullets still in there. We also found a couple local blop top soda bottles,kazoo,copper spoons, and another handgun that looks like an old mussel loader. We aren't done digging yet so I posted a few of the pics I took. I was wondering if anyone may no of whom we should go to get it restored or cleaned and what year the gun may be. It looks like a 38 or a 32.

 

[Nu2Poo]

What the heck is a privy anyway?

Jody, a privy is the outhouse. Short for privacy I believe or perhaps just private. Here they are digging out the filled in outhouse pit which was situated under the outhouse itself. As you can see, some cool stuff was thrown in there years ago back before garbage curbside pick-up. Folks back then had to get rid of their garbage somehow. Hope this helps.

 

[Saturna]

What the heck is a privy anyway?

​

Jay

 

[Monty]

The revolver you found has the silhouette of a Colt either Thunderer in .41 or a Lightening in.38 or a Rainmaker if in .32 caliber. Monty

 

[allen]

i dont think that is tar in the privy !!!
just think that gun couldve been used in a murder !!!

 

[Damon64]

I hope you haven't taken too much crap from people over the hole!!!

 

[bongo1962]

Congrats on entering the nether reaches of your yard. If you or anyone else needs a probe

http://bongo1962.googlepages.com/home

Happy digging and good luck, Bongo

 

[Robin]

I think the colt might be in the early 1900's.
good finds ! keep diggin !
LOL ! Robin

 

[Johnny Ringo Silver]

UHH...HELLO....Am I the only one besides mistergee that thinks you should wisen up? Its fine to dig the privy, but be safe doing it!!
Those bottles and discarded or lost guns arent worth a thing compared to your daughters life!! I personally have been working in ditches for over 15 years and will tell you that you shouldnt be in a hole that deep without some shoring or support. At least bench it out some into a V shaped hole! I'm not trying to be a hard azz, but i have seen bad bad things go wrong that you dont want to even think about. Keep your girl out of the hole and take a little time to do it right.
Congrats on the sweeeet finds, just stay safe. 8)

 

[jeff of pa]

Nice Finds.

I like the Gun & Tremont Blobs

 

[Jazdo]

cool find...just be very carefull...water in the bottom being sloshed around while you work will washout and undermine the sides causing large areas of dirt on the sides to fall into the hole....been plumbing for almost 30 years now and cant tell you how many times just a few inches of water in the bottom of the hole caused the sides to give out...just because your not that deep means nothing...shore that hole up and dont leave the little one go in there...it doesn't take much dirt to cover and trap you....twice i was in holes no deeper than 3 1/2' and the side gave out trapping me up to my chest with my hands pinned to the shovel....not a lot of dirt but enough so i had to be dug out...thank God i wasn't bent over or on my knees....outcome would have been much different...find the good stuff but be carefull....there's nothing in that hole that is worth the life of you or your loved ones...HH

I would have to agree!

 

[kuger]

You dont have to have your head buried to die either...the sheer weight of being buried from around the waist down can kill you!!!

 

[texan connection]

Great adventure and some nice finds

 

[trhunter1]

Awesome , I really like it when the kids are involved in the dig. It has been over five years since I dug my last privy but I can tell you that there are tons of memories about it, but the best was watching my kids excitement while they were helping. Great post, great pics, thanks for the post!!
HH trhunter1

 

[DD-777]

Um, anyone know what this is?
Their is a whole at the tip where liquid pours thru.. Type of funnel?

That sure looks like an old milk pump - and I don't mean the one for animals.
The end with the spout is actually where the vacuum line would go...

 

[cuddles17981]

The revolver you found has the silhouette of a Colt either Thunderer in .41 or a Lightening in.38 or a Rainmaker if in .32 caliber. Monty

Thats the exact pic, Thank you!

UHH...HELLO....Am I the only one besides mistergee that thinks you should wisen up? Its fine to dig the privy, but be safe doing it!!
Those bottles and discarded or lost guns arent worth a thing compared to your daughters life!! I personally have been working in ditches for over 15 years and will tell you that you shouldnt be in a hole that deep without some shoring or support. At least bench it out some into a V shaped hole! I'm not trying to be a hard azz, but i have seen bad bad things go wrong that you dont want to even think about. Keep your girl out of the hole and take a little time to do it right.
Congrats on the sweeeet finds, just stay safe. 8)

I appreciate your advice and concern for my "niece" but I can assure you she was in no danger. You can tell by her clothes that she was just in there for the pic. With her parents and slew of other adults looking on.. The only thing she was involved in was sifting through dirt for marbles.that she likes to collect, outside the hole. Later on that day the husband put his old coal mining skills to work and timbered it across the top with deck boards. We finished the hole early yesturday afternoon,filled it in,its in our garden..

Awesome , I really like it when the kids are involved in the dig. It has been over five years since I dug my last privy but I can tell you that there are tons of memories about it, but the best was watching my kids excitement while they were helping. Great post, great pics, thanks for the post!!
HH trhunter1

Yes my nieces love to go metal detecting with me,creek walking ,ect...but this time they weren't aloud to help in the hole. It was to dangerous. To much water. She just posed for the pic and had to get out.

Um, anyone know what this is?
Their is a whole at the tip where liquid pours thru.. Type of funnel?

That sure looks like an old milk pump - and I don't mean the one for animals.
The end with the spout is actually where the vacuum line would go...

LOL, I think your right, I thought it could be to milk a cow.. Blonde moment..

Nice Finds.

I like the Gun & Tremont Blobs

Thanks jeff.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments and great advice!

 

[EDDE]

Um, anyone know what this is?
Their is a whole at the tip where liquid pours thru.. Type of funnel?

breast milk pump i hope you guys are sifting the dirt

 

[rmptr]

I guess there's plenty of folks that enjoy privy digging.

Around here we have had valley fever.

It's an ancient disease. It resides in the dirt. Normal dirt.

14 men on an earthmoving construction project recently became ill from it.

Locals were wondering why it was taking so long.

Finally, something about it appeared in the newspaper.

Local health department mentioned the incident, but did not identify the site.
They also did not issue a warning to the general public in the area.
(My guess is because it ws in the center of town!)

It just seems to me people with all sorts of problems may be inspired to take them to a privy...

Not the best place for a small child who's immunities are not yet built up?

Nice find, though.

 

[Wicked Wanda]

Um, anyone know what this is?
Their is a whole at the tip where liquid pours thru.. Type of funnel?

breast milk pump i hope you guys are sifting the dirt

YIKES!!! A BREAST PUMP!!!!!! Thank the lord that we have modern technology.

 

[mistergee]

how come one of my replies was deleted

 

[jeff of pa]

Found this in the 1935 Pine Grove History





So your Leidich's Could date to the 1880's