Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (US) a revolver, a pistol.

1869		B. Harte Overland Monthly (CA) III 126: If, however, a Texan’s reading is occasionally contested, he has a one-eyed scribe, who is more infallible, as a last resort, than any Vatican manuscript.
1872		S. Powers Afoot and Alone 131: If not, his little one-eyed scribe will make it right.
1890–1904		Farmer & Henley Sl. and Its Analogues.
1908		Pacific Monthly XIX 329: In the language of the plains a revolver or rifle becomes meat-in-the-pot, a peacemaker, a pill-bottle, a one-eyed scribe, or Mr. Speaker.
1973		(con. mid-19C) G. Shankle Amer. Nickname 332: In Texas and other western states during frontier days, a revolver or a pistol was nicknamed One-eyed Scribe, signifying that the revolver had only one barrel with which to record its message of death.

2. (US black) a monumental liar, an insignificant person, poss. because they cannot be trusted to tell the truth.

1983

R. Klein Jailhouse Jargon and Street Sl. [unpub. ms.].