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Dan Candy's Law (a.k.a. Alien Thunder) is based (very loosely indeed .... as movies tend to be) on the actual historical events surrounding a Cree named Kah-kee-say-mane-too-wayo (literally "Voice of the Great Spirit", but usually given as "Almighty Voice"). There was at least one Snider-Enfield involved, but it was actually in the hands of the fugitive, because of course by the time the actual events took place the NWMP had for about a decade and a half been armed with .45-75 Model 1876 Winchesters .......


Kah-kee-say-mane-too-wayo

In October of 1895, Almighty Voice killed a Mounted Police Sergeant trying to arrest him following his escape from jail where he was being held for a relatively minor offence, thus triggering an extensive manhunt lastingd about a year and a half. He was finally cornered with two companions in a poplar bluff (small wooded area on the prairie) at the end of May of 1897. Several Mounted Policemen and civilian "deputies" were killed and wounded during the first attempts to rush the position, where the fugitives had quite effectively entrenched themselves, so the authorities "pulled out all stops" as it were......

Reinforcements and a 7-pounder field gun were brought in, but they simply kept the bluff surrounded and under fire until even more men, with a 9-pounder gun and artillery crew, arrived. The position was heavily shelled and, after return fire seemed to have finally ceased, the bluff was rushed. Almighty Voice and his comrades were all dead.

In a newspaper account, penned in the rather florid style of the day and published on the front page of the Regina Leader of 3 June 1897, the following sentence is found - "The rifle of Almighty Voice was distinguishable above all the rest by the peculiar "spit" that declared it to be a Snider."
Here is a link to the full text of the Regina Leader article -AN INDIAN SPREADS DEATH - TRAGICAL ENDING OF THE CAREER OF 'ALMIGHTY VOICE'

The conclusion of this drama even merited a couple of column inches in the New York Times - albeit rather muddled as to specifics -

freddo wrote:

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With a ninety six pounder gun I think they were a tad overgunned for the job.

Indeed! Mind you, that was undoubtedly the case even with the seven and nine pounder guns they did have .....

Hmmmmm .... wonder how such a response would go over nowadays to a situation involving "barricaded gunmen" ......