Winchester rifle attributed to Sitting Bull sold at auction

  • An 1876 Winchester rifle (LEFT) that belonged to Sitting Bull (ABOVE) was auctioned off in early June, selling for $132,000. The firearm was part of an extensive collection belonging to former banker Larry Ness of Yankton. It supposedly confiscated from Sitting Bull’s cabin on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 15, 1890, after the Sioux leader was shot by a tribal police officer during a botched arrest attempt.
    An 1876 Winchester rifle (LEFT) that belonged to Sitting Bull (ABOVE) was auctioned off in early June, selling for $132,000. The firearm was part of an extensive collection belonging to former banker Larry Ness of Yankton. It supposedly confiscated from Sitting Bull’s cabin on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation on Dec. 15, 1890, after the Sioux leader was shot by a tribal police officer during a botched arrest attempt.
  • Photo courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
    Photo courtesy of Cowan’s Auctions Inc.
    The recent sale of the frontier firearms collection of former banker Larry Ness of Yankton included a Winchester rifle attributed to Sitting Bull, which brought more than double its estimated price. On June 8, Cowan’s Auctions offered 244 lots from the Ness collection, which he assembled over the course of nearly 50 years and was considered one of the most comprehensive offerings of...

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