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American Patriot John Wayne

FOLKS: All my life I've felt privileged to have had good friends around me, privileged to have been able to do the kind of work I know and love the best, and to have been born in a country whose immense beauty and grandeur are matched only by the greatness of her people.



For a number of years I have tried to express a deep and profound love for these things; to be able to say what I feel in my heart. And, now, in this album, I've had the chance to do so. I know most of you feel the… Continue

Added by Flying R on November 30, 2009 at 3:30pm — 2 Comments

The Brawl On The Mesilla Mall

November 30, 2009

For the past week or so, I've been studying famous battle paintings and I've noticed that the fighters in the portrayals always seem to be of two types: the heroic, chest-out defiant one (think Joan of Arc or Custer), and the fatally injured, but heroically posed woe-is-me-dying pose, complete with knitted eyebrows and a hand to the breast right out of some 1890s melodrama. These have never seemed very accurate to me. They certainly don't look like the fights I… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on November 30, 2009 at 12:26pm — 3 Comments

Christmas at Fort Uncompagre

Every year at our local living history fort we do Christmas. The kitchen building is set up with cookies, cider and coffee. The other buildings are opened up and lit by fires in the hearths and oil lamps. There is a outdoor fire where actors in costume tell stories of Christmases past. They range from French trappers, German mountain men and even a few Ute indians. The tree outside the trade room is decorated with hand made ornaments and candles are placed and lit upon it's branches. Carols are… Continue

Added by Terri Beuchat on November 30, 2009 at 9:24am — 2 Comments

Battle of The Bands & French horn whippings

November 29, 2009

Had a nice, four day stretch at home to work on a variety of artwork. Began an ambitious splash-page painting of the Mesilla shootout (January CG) complete with clarinet beatings and French horn whipping (as opposed to pistol whipping). Lots of dust, lots of blood, lots of anatomical problems. Hope to finish tonight.



Also finished an overview of the Burnside rifles duel at forty paces, and by the way, I'm assuming that in a duel like this, the two stood… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on November 29, 2009 at 4:03pm — 1 Comment

Guthrie, Indian Territory

Thought you might enjoy this picture, which was handed down to me through my family. I believe, with some certainty that it's the original "Blue Bell Saloon" in Guthrie, I.T. around 1893. My Grandfather, Clifford Holden, and Grandfather A. W. R. Holden were both "Boomers" in "Payne's Oklahoma Colony" and as such, were arrested and taken to Ft. Smith to be tried by Judge Isaac Parker. They then settled close to Guthrie in a small town called Seward, OK.



Guthrie has now been designated… Continue

Added by Jim Holden on November 29, 2009 at 10:13am — 3 Comments

The playlist for today's CowTrails show.

CowTrails coming to you from www.ksjd.org every Sunday from Noon until 2 PM (mst)

CowTrails Award Show 11-29-09 Playlist



The Colorado Trail Don Edwards The Best Of Don Edwards

The Ballad Of Joaquin Murrieta Sons Of San Joaquin Way Out Yonder

Where The Very Same Cottonwoods Grow Sons Of San Joaquin Way Out Yonder

I Will Miss Ireland Juni Fisher Tumbleweed Letters

Wild New Mexico Cowgirl Juni Fisher Gone For Colorado

The… Continue

Added by Barbara Richhart (Western Belle) on November 29, 2009 at 8:06am — 1 Comment

The Colorful Story of Uncle Billy Rubottom

Odessa's posts got me to thinking of local history..we all have interesting stories in our own back yard. Here is one. I drive by this man's former stagecoach stop often and think of him...



WILLIAM WILEY RUBOTTOM was born 1808 in Wayne County, Missouri, and died October 14, 1885 in Spadra (Los Angeles), CA. He married SARAH ANN Edwards in 1829 in Wayne County, MO.

UNCLE BILLY RUBOTTOM owned and operated a stage coach stop on Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga before 1850. It is… Continue

Added by Ginny Morgan on November 28, 2009 at 11:28am — 1 Comment

Lifesource in the Desert, the Upside Down & Backwards Mojave River

http://digital-desert.com/mojave-river/

From the map you can see how the river makes a natural path for packers, trappers, miners, Indians, emigrants and others to follow.



Mojave River



The Mojave River could be called an "Upside-down and Backwards" river. "Upside-down", because the water flows below ground, under the sand. "Backwards", because instead of flowing toward the ocean as rivers do, the…

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Added by Odessa Red on November 27, 2009 at 10:30pm — 3 Comments

Randsburg Mining District, Kern County

I frequently stop at this living ghost town on my way to Ridgecrest/China Lake Base where my Aunt lives. Their old fashioned hand made sodas are a refreshing treat we get at the General Store.



RANDSBURG MINING DISTRICT



Wandering prospectors from the El Paso District discovered that the Summit Range, located northeast of the El Paso Mountains, also contained placer values and began to dry wash for gold there in the early l890s. No more than 100 men lived at Summit… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on November 27, 2009 at 10:00pm — 6 Comments

CW Camp Cady in the Mojave Desert

http://mojavehistory.com/lane7.html

Covert Observations at Camp Cady

In March 1862 Camp Carleton was abandoned in San Bernardino, but the Army kept a watch on the desert, especially since information had been received that a large body of men was camped east of Beale's Crossing. Cavalry Lieutenant Nathaniel P. Pierce of the 2nd Cavalry, California Volunteers, was ordered to proceed to the abandoned Camp Cady site with ten…

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Added by Odessa Red on November 27, 2009 at 10:00pm — No Comments

Old Spanish Trail ~ New Mexico to California

http://digital-desert.com/old-spanish-trail/

Old Spanish Trail



The Old Spanish National Historic Trail was designated as part of the National Trails System in 2002. The trail connected New Mexico’s frontier colonies to their counterparts in southern California in the early 19th century.



There was money to be made in transporting New Mexico serapes and other woolen goods to Los Angeles,…

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Added by Odessa Red on November 27, 2009 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

History of the Mojave Trail, Camp Cady

My farrier has been out to the site of Camp Cady with his ranger friend where he has seen dated Civil War "graffiti" written on the rocks by soldiers.



*excerpt from: http://mojavedesert.net/history/early-man-01.html



Modern Native American "tribes" were products of interactions with the American military and legal system as much as modern reflections of pre-contact Native American land use patterns, and the… Continue

Added by Odessa Red on November 27, 2009 at 9:30pm — 2 Comments

CHURCH (part 4)

****



The ground spit water like a frying pan, boots sloshing awkwardly and belching, curling up lips of mud and pressing earthworms into ancient patterns. Ben’s bowler had gutters of water spilling down the sides while Hamp and the Rum Monkey’s hat brims hung limp. James Collins gave up all hope of smoking his pipe.



The Rum Monkey had his hand over the top of his fruit jar and elbowed Ben who just groaned. “The angels are really pissing on us tonight.” he… Continue

Added by David Lambert on November 27, 2009 at 7:42pm — No Comments

SPIRIT of INTENT - Indian's Have Humor

Spirit of Intent - Indian’s have Humor





In my travels across our country over the past some years, living within different cultures and people of all races, religions and life styles, I have found that one of the best ways to understand that group is to understand what makes them laugh. And trust me there are differences, even among Native people, depending on the region one comes from.



And trust me on this, for as a Native American Indian we are totally opposite of… Continue

Added by JOHNNY RAMIREZ on November 27, 2009 at 4:28pm — 14 Comments

CHURCH (part 3)

***

The Rum Monkey and James Collins followed the motley trio on foot through the town, shopkeepers sweeping off steps, the barber playing piano by candlelight, a dreg lit orange by a single lantern, his feet dangling off a window sill plucking Johnny has Gone for a Soldier on a four string banjo. Strange faces leered from alleyways and windows, nothing but coal-black shadows and the protrusions of foreheads and noses, lips and chins. The sound of a rocking chair creaked from a porch, a… Continue

Added by David Lambert on November 27, 2009 at 1:44pm — 3 Comments

COWBOY CHRISTMAS TOUR AND TRADITION

On 11.28.09 I begin my annual Cowboy Christmas Concert(TM) and Cowboy Christmas Ball(TM) tour in Greeley, Colorado, and ends in Amarillo, Texas 12.21-22. Check out all Cowboy Christmas Concerts at www.michaelmartinmurphey.com, where a special listing appears on the Home Page.



This "Cowboy Chrismtas" tour concept has been granted trademark status by the U.S. Federal Government Trademark Office. The Texas Cowboys' Christmas Ball… Continue

Added by Michael Martin Murphey on November 27, 2009 at 11:58am — No Comments

The Orgasmic Birth of Billy the Kid

November 27, 2009

Time to catch up on some William H. Bonney clarifications. Last week, on the Kid's alleged birthday, I launched off on a series of statements that caught the eye of a certain scholar in Chalfont Saint Giles, England. Here are his corrections and the subsequent exchange:



"Actually Our Billy told the 1880 census taker (or the census taker, deciding discretion was the better part of valor, skipped that particular house and wrote down the first thing that… Continue

Added by Bob Boze Bell on November 27, 2009 at 8:26am — 2 Comments

CHURCH (part 2)

**

Ben and Hamp leaned against the ticket booth of the Old Boles Racetrack watching that stupid kid count their money, which he won betting on a horse called The Powder Keg. Ben would have to remember that name.



All in all, Ben was too fatigued from wrestling with guilt to boil with too much anger over the matter and he’d never seen Hamp angry at anything at all. When Hamp got violent it was more matter of fact. He beat folks like he’d break in a horse, or chop wood, or pump… Continue

Added by David Lambert on November 26, 2009 at 10:52pm — No Comments

For General Information

I am NOT an entertainer. I am a mountain guide who happens to write poetry ( because I WANT to). I Hate being on stage. I detest "The Green Room". I have zero intersest therein. Anyone seeking a "gig" should contact my pardner in those three books, Mike Puhallo. He runs, and started "The Kamloops Cowboy Festival". I would be happy to put you in contact. Anyone who has ever gone five days without a shower while gatherin' cattle, or takin' dudes out on a hunt is welcome at my site........ Brian… Continue

Added by Brian Brannon on November 26, 2009 at 9:10pm — 1 Comment

WMA Awards list for 2009

“Western Belle” Western Music Association Inc. 2009 DJ of the Year



November 19-21, 2009 Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Western Music Association Inc. held our 21st Annual Showcase & Awards Show. Southwestern Colorado was well represented by local artists and fans. This event is open to the public.



The Western Music Association is a non profit Corporation, funded through the generous support of the western music industry. The Western Music Association strives to bring… Continue

Added by Barbara Richhart (Western Belle) on November 26, 2009 at 6:20pm — No Comments

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