Last month walking in a ravine near my house, I spotted a cartridge case on the ground, looked to be a 50-70 but there were no markings on the rim, also no visible primer. It looked like a big rimfire case. It was very well preserved in the dry Arizona climate. I did some research and it appears it is a Benet primed case, loaded by Frankford arsenal from 1869 to 1882. There is a crimp around the base of the case just above the rim, meant to hold the priming goodies down. Camp Verde nearby was a post that was on the General George Crook trail midway between Fort Whipple and Fort Apache. Soldiers constructed the trail in 1871 and pecked mile markers into prominent rocks along the trail. Picture showing V 13 is one of those markers found just off Highway 260. I guess it indicates 13 miles from Camp Verde. 4 years later the trail was improved into a road suitable for wagon use. So lots of Army activity around here during the wars with the Apache. I also found a small crude spear point not far away from the 50-70 case but I suspect it could have been laying there for many hundreds of years before, as the Sinagua tribe occupied the Verde Valley from approx 500 A.D. to 1300 or so, long before the Yavapai Apache moved in. There is a large Sinagua hilltop complex, Tuzigoot, about a mile from where I live. Exciting finds for an old history buff like me, the cartridge case, which I believe is copper, not brass, could be around 140 years old.( Almost as old as Sen. John McCain!) P.S. Sorry I thought I could include a pic of the mile marker rock but just remembered it was on my phone not my camera.