This Week in Old West History - January 21

[Bud "Marshal" Stilwell]

This Week in Old West History - January 21

Posted by Mike Allison on Mon, Jan 21, 2013 @ 11:00 AM

CowboySpirit.TV - We've got a series of truly notable events in Old West history today, including the creation of the Indian Territories, the unification of a nation and... a pioneer cannibal?
Read on for the full story!

January 21

1841: An ill birth today: old west prospector Alferd Packer was born on this day. In the 1870s, he would lead an expedition that became stranded in the Colorado mountains and ran out of supplies. It is widely believed Packer killed and ate several of his team to survive before making it out of the mountains and blaming the cannibalism on another.

January 22

1890: One of the best-known of the secretive Montana Vigilantes, John “X” Beidler, died on this day. Despite the... unorthodox nature of old west Montana justice at this time, Beidler was first and foremost a lawman and presided over the executions of several notable Montana villains.

January 23

1907: A minor milestone in Native American history today. Charles Curtis, who was 1/8 Kaw Indian, took office as the first Federal Congressman of (acknowledged) native descent. Curtis spent his first three years on a Kaw reservation, and would eventually become Vice-President to Herbert Hoover.

January 24

1848: As the rush of an avalanche can be caused by a few snowflakes, so could a different kind of rush. On this day, James W. Marshall discovered flakes of gold outside Sutter's Mill, California, which he co-owned. Despite Marshall and Sutter's efforts to keep the discovery quiet, the great Gold Rush would soon be on.

January 25

1915: Today likely marked one of the final blows to the days of the old west. On this day, Alexander Graham Bell successfully completed a transcontinental telephone call, from his office in New York to his long-time associate Thomas Watson in San Francisco. The west had gone real-time.

January 26

1864: Speaking of the Montana Vigilantes, today they ended the life of one old west outlaw named "Whiskey Bill" Graves. Graves was believed to be a member of the Innocents and died by hanging with a bit of equine assistance. As was typical with the Montana Vigilance Squad, the identities of his killers remained unknown.

January 27

1825: And, an unfortunate day in Native American history. Today, Congress approved the creation of the Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. The result would be multiple forced relocations of tribes and, eventually, the creation of the Trail of Tears.

[Margaret-Anne Moore]

It took a little over two years for California to become a state, instead of the decades as a territory--as happened with Arizona and New Mexico.  One of my college professors claimed that California's rush to statehood came about to a large extent because of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill and the incredible influx that flooded into the area.  Many who did not succeed as miners stayed on the become powerful force's in the new state's economic and political life. 

[Bud "Marshal" Stilwell]

goes to show you the power of gold.  Took Texas longer than that after the alamo to became a state I believe.

[Dave McGowan]

I didn't realize it took that long to make a transcontinental call. From research I've done for one of my stories I know that Edmonton had 38 telephones connected to their town switchboard in 1896 and the town was pretty small at the time. Toronto, Montreal and such a long time before that.

[Bud "Marshal" Stilwell]

Dave,

This is what I found on an internet search:  http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/reputation/timeline/15tel.html

 

 

[Dave McGowan]

Thank's Bud. Makes perfect sense now.

[Bud "Marshal" Stilwell]

No Problem Pard.  Love Your Books just finishing Homesteader.  Parders was done in about 7 days.  Love your writing.  Draws a person in real quick and won't let you go till you are done with it.  Keep up the good work Pard.