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December 2009 Blog Posts (78)

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Steve Buscemi Is BBB

December 3, 2009

January issue is almost put to bed. Last minute corrections and typos being corrected, late ads coming in over the transom, I mean, internet.



Meanwhile, just got word from a friend of mine that Gale Cooper has a movie in the works based on her self-published novel Mega Hoax. As mentioned, The Top Secret Writer, Meghan Saar, Bob McCubbin and myself are prominently mentioned as being part of a nefarious plot to elect Bill Richardson president of the… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on December 3, 2009 at 11:32am — 2 Comments

The Hall Monitor Gives Brokeback Feedback

December 2, 2009

Hall monitors have been the bane of my life. I've always hated hall monitors. All through school, I was never good enough to be one, and the ones who were, always seemed to catch me and punish me every chance they got, which, I seem to remember, was quite often. So, it's a little ironic that as the co-moderator of this site with Trish Brink, now I are one.



Furthermore, it's not my idea of fun to tell other people when to shut up, or even when to tone it… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on December 2, 2009 at 5:09pm — 18 Comments

Sneak Peek at Blazing Pols Cover

December 2, 2009

Well, here is Dan The Man's first crack at the cover for January featuring the editorial style cartoon I created last week:





Notice that the top heads aren't written and Dan is putting in filler type. (He often makes these rude and crude to inspire us to fill them mucho pronto. Ha.)



Meanwhile, I went home for lunch a little early today and finished the big, Mesilla Brawl On The Mall painting for… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on December 2, 2009 at 3:00pm — 12 Comments

California Indian History Summarization

Although the author of this article states it's a short overview, it's quite a long read....so grab a cup of coffee, sandwich, and pull up a chair and read a spell!....you'll find it's quite an educational read.



Short Overview of California Indian History



REGIONAL LIFEWAYS.

One manner in which we can seek to understand aboriginal California Indian cultures is to look at the tribes inhabiting similar climatic and ecological zones. What emerges from this approach… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 2, 2009 at 2:50pm — 4 Comments

Poaching Mountain Men Trail Riders

December 2, 2009

My speech at the Heard Museum yesterday was a ton of fun. First off, my hosts, Jan and Jim Patten, from Pella, Iowa, bought me lunch at the Heard Museum Cafe which has excellent food. I had the spinach enchiladas, and we talked about Wyatt Earp's time in Pella (Jan's family lore lays claim to the story that her Dutch relatives beat up the Earp boys).



We had a packed house for the speech at 1:30, including, not one, but two folks from Kingman (who didn't… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on December 2, 2009 at 10:30am — 2 Comments

Western manners and deportment

The American West, with its loosely organized communities of strangers, its scarcity of women and its mixing of people from all over the world, produced its own behavioral norms which, while they had their roots in Victorian America, also had their own unique character.



One of the most striking features was the Westerner's obsession with minding his own business.



Given the dubious backgrounds of many of the people who had felt compelled to leave everything behind and move… Continue

Added by Ginny Morgan on December 2, 2009 at 8:15am — 7 Comments

US Marshal Evett Dumas Nix--Recollection of early funerals

Oklahombres, Particularly the Wilder Ones--Evett Dumas Nix



US Marshal in the late 19th century handling the jurisdiction that included the wild Oklahoma Territory, later to be the state of Oklahoma. He was first appointed in 1893, in the closing years of the Old West, during the last years of the "Hanging Judge" Parker tenure.

*****************************

Excerpt: Recollection of early funerals



"I remember a number of these funerals where the deceased was buried… Continue

Added by Gay Mathis on December 1, 2009 at 10:53pm — 3 Comments

Donaldina Cameron,Saviour of Chinese Prostitutes & slaves in Old San Francisco

Donaldina Cameron was born on a sheep ranch in New Zealand. At the age of two she emigrated to California with her parents, older brother, and four older sisters. In 1874, when Donaldina was five, her mother died, worn out from the hardships of ranching life. The family's ranch eventually failed and Donaldina's father supported his family by working for other ranchers. At nineteen, Donaldina was engaged, but for reasons unknown, did not marry. In 1895, Donaldina was persuaded by an old family… Continue

Added by Ginny Morgan on December 1, 2009 at 10:30pm — 4 Comments

Trail Blazed through the Mormon Rocks, Cajon Pass

This is a great account!



THE TRAIL OF THE SWARTHOUTS

This article and the associated pictures were provided and are used with the permission of Terry Graham

Copyright 2004, Terry Graham

http://www.swarthoutfamily.org/History/CAhistory2.htm





Accompanied by Captain Jefferson Hunt's battalion, the Mormons trek for Salt Lake started. On the 11th of June, 1847, they left Council… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 10:29pm — 4 Comments

Serranos of the Mojave, San Bernardino, and San Gabriel

The Serrano Indians had a very large territory which included east towards the Twentynine Palms area, then west into the San Bernardino valley, which included the entire San Bernardino mountains just north of the city of SB, and further west to the San Gabriel Mountains...the Cajon pass is actually the divider between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains. Here are two bands of Serranos that have reservations, Morongo and San Manuel, and their histories in the area:



San… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 9:06pm — 2 Comments

CHURCH (part 5)

*****

The rain pebbled the shack, braids of water spinning through holes, tapping cards and the crowns of hats like an obnoxious interloper giving advice.



Everyone sat Indian style, save James Collins who stood outside of the game with his arms crossed. He never gambled and didn’t intend to start tonight. Instead, he took some minor satisfaction out of watching everyone fold and refold their legs in discomfort.



As they played, the Rum Monkey kept telling his stories.… Continue

Added by David Lambert on December 1, 2009 at 4:58pm — No Comments

Land of Burgundy Sunsets and Indian Petroglyphs

Native American culture is intricately woven into the fabric of the Mojave Desert and it is filled with evidence of their existance in the form of petroglyphs...they are one of the best kept secrets of the desert...

These are links to many of the sites:



ROCK ART

Rock art comes in two varieties, petroglyphs and pictographs. The difference between the two types is the manner in which they were made. Petroglyphs were pecked into the surface of the rock. Pictographs were… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 4:38pm — 1 Comment

My Daily Drive Up and Down the Historical Cajon Pass

and to think I drive up and down the very Pass that the Earp family traveled on when they came to CA va the Old Spanish Trail with the Rosseau's and Curtis's...I cannot fathom making traversing that very steep grade in a wagon on dirt...I take my easy commute for granted.

http://digital-desert.com/cajon-pass/history.html



Cajon Pass



A Brief History of the Cajon Pass



The Cajon Pass is the…

Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 4:30pm — 14 Comments

Mojave Desert Indians

http://mojavedesert.net/mojave-desert-indians/

Mojave Desert Indians

>> MAP



For millennia, American Indian peoples lived within the area, using the resources and lands to sustain their lives and cultures. These lands have been and continue to be subject to active, often dramatic, and ever-changing natural forces that can alter water supplies, change vegetation zones, make new landforms from…

Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

The Lost Horse Mine, Joshua Tree National Park

http://digital-desert.com/joshua-tree-national-park/lost-horse-mine/

The Lost Horse Mine





Even before the California Gold Rush of 1849, prospectors were finding gold in southern California. As the take from the mines in the Sierras petered out, miners fanned out into the deserts. Here hot summers, scarce water, limited wood sources, and the difficulty and high cost of…

Continue

Added by Odessa Red on December 1, 2009 at 2:30pm — 5 Comments

Curly Bill

Much of “Curly Bill’s” past is sketchy because of the poor record keeping of the times and his intentional use of alias names in an attempt to hide his former criminal past and stay relatively unknown in the territories so that he could be free to rustle cattle and continue his criminal endeavors. It’s believed he was born in Texas around 1840 and turned up in Arizona approximately in 1878 where he met the local criminal element, including the “Clanton” family and helped them expand their… Continue

Added by Flying R on December 1, 2009 at 2:30pm — No Comments

Crossways With Cross

December 1, 2009

Man, where did this year go? Home stretch. We've got a great issue going out the door tomorrow. I'm scrambling to finish several pieces of art. Yesterday Ron F. posed for me to represent Edward Cross, the first newspaper editor in Arizona. I couldn't remember if he was the tall one, or was his dueling opponent, Sylvester Mowry? Went home for lunch and whipped this sketch out:





I figured I had a fifty-fifty… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on December 1, 2009 at 10:00am — 5 Comments

True West Index

Is there anyone beside me who would like an index to the True West articles since BBB took over. I have the index printed in 1979 for all the issues of True West, Frontier Times and Old West going back to 1953. Since I saved all my back issues of these magazines, I can look up an article that I recall seeing in one of them and reread it. There are many times I will be reading on the old West and know that I have read an article about this same subject but can't remember which issue it was… Continue

Added by William S Bryan on December 1, 2009 at 9:46am — 3 Comments

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