This Colt  Single Action Army, which appears to have belonged to Edward Vail, one of the founding brothers of the Empire Ranch, a famous southern Arizona ranch.  This revolver is an engraved .45, 4 3/4" barrel, pearl grips with carved steer head and ruby eyes and nostrils.  The backstrap is engraved "E.V. Empire Ranch".  The flat of the butt is engraved "Tucson, A.T."  The engraving features fine acanthus leaf detail and is present on approx. 75% of the revolver.   The serial number is 170099, and this arm letters as a blue .45, 7 1/2" bbl., with rubber stocks.  It was shipped to Colt's San Franciso Agency in 1898 in a shipment of 5 guns.  There is an overall gray patina to the arm, and the bore is moderately pitted.  The screw heads appear sharp and the action operates crisply.   Edward Vail is a colorful western frontiersman who with his brother Walter traveled westward to pursue their fortunes.  He joined Walter on the ranch in 1879, and commenced to carefully  grow the ranch by buying adjoining property and cattle.  Eventually, a substantial silver deposit was discovered on the ranch (forming the town of Vail, Arizona), and the brothers used monies from the mine to expand their ranch holdings.   Edward led a historic cattle drive from the ranch to Los Angeles in protest of a large increase the railroad placed on the shipment of cattle.  He drove the cattle successfully to market for less than the cost of the increased rail fees and effectively caused the railroad to lower its rates.  This revolver appears to be consistent with this colorful history and should be an important addition to any serious Western Frontier collection.