1800’s War Veteran
Copyright Canita Pro (Canita Prough) 2020
Did you know that California was a Union State during the Civil War?
John Daniel Marker served for the Union during the Civil War in California.
Hall of Honor
Watching people is fun to do, trying to guess what they do for a living, watching to see if their non-verbal actions will tell you if they are married to the person they are with or not, people are just interesting. Respectfully, I researched a person whose name and information are open to the public, the following is the results.
This person’s name was chosen from the Hall of Honor in NorthPark Mall in Joplin, Missouri. The hall is dedicated to “those who served” in the military around the 4-states area. This is what research revealed about this person.
John Daniel Marker
Name Origin
Marker is an English/Wales name so his father or his father’s family at some point came to the United States from England/Wales. John was born to William N. and Mary Ann Sheets-Marker on April 7, 1823 in Maryland.
Maryland 1823
In 1823 Maryland; Araminta Ross an African-American abolitionist and humanitarian, better known as “Harriet Tubman” was born in Dorchester as a slave in late 1822 or early in 1823. The first all-weather hard surface road was being built linking Hagerstown and Boonsboro, Maryland. It was called “Macadam Road.” It was made of three layers of rock and covered with a mixture that was like cement. It had drainage which was created by a curved road surface so the water would run off into the side ditches.
The United States 1823
The United States in 1823 has just passed there very first law in Georgia. Stephen F. Austin was granted a piece of land in Texas from the government of Mexico, R. J. Tyers had patented roller skates, and the first steamboat had successfully navigated up the Mississippi River.
John and Ann Marie Marker
At the age of twenty-three John marries Ann Marie Hugh in Ohio. John was five years older than Ann Marie. Then over the next four years they have four children, one for each year; Mary Margaret 1847, Wylie 1848, Ida Bell 1849, and Harriet L. “Hattie” 1850.
Ohio 1846
Starting married life in 1846 the events that took place in Ohio were four churches, one university and two cities were established. Ten railroad companies were chartered, but only seven of the companies built their roads.
The United States 1846
In the United States in 1846, the liberty bell cracked, Iowa became a state, Elias Howe patented the “sewing machine” and the Mexican-American war started.
West Young Man
We see that John left or traveled from Maryland to Ohio. John and Ann Marie apparently married early in 1846 and the couple head west. John fights in the Mexican-American War which took place April 25, 1846 to February 2, 1848. The war took place in Texas, New Mexico, California, Mexico City, and North, Central and Eastern Mexico.
Mexican-American War
Johns obituary says he fought for Uncle Sam in the Mexican- American War. This war ends with the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which made Texas, up to the Rio Grande Valley, the property of the citizens of the United States. There is a child born for each year of this war to John and Ann Marie, so my thought is that Ann Marie traveled with John to war.
2nd Calvary Regiment - Union Army
John enlisted in the Union Army, as a private, on May 26, 1862. John was against slavery. The American Civil War lasted from January 1861 to April 1865. California became a part of the United States of America on September 9, 1850. California was a Union state during the American Civil War. John served in Company A, 2nd Calvary Regiment in California from January 20, 1864 until June 9, 1965.
Oklahoma Territory
This takes John and Ann Marie from Mexico/Texas to California. When the Civil War ended John and Ann Marie settle in Indian Territory/Oklahoma. We find that Ann Marie dies in Oklahoma Territory in 1865 at the age of thirty-seven. John and Ann Marie were married for nineteen years.
Oklahoma Territory in 1865 - 1889 was cattlemen, railroaders, soldiers, and settlers who lived within the Indian Territory border before settlement was legally permitted.
John and Jane Marker
John remains a widow for ten years then in 1875 John marries Sarah “Jane” N. Killbuck. Sarah was born in Kaw Valley, Kansas on a reservation. She was a Delaware Indian. She is the same age as John’s son Wylie. We know from history that the Delaware Indians and the British were not usually on the same side. John and Jane marry in Wyandotte County, Kansas. John and Jane are married for thirty years.
Kansas 1875
In Kansas 1875, the Plague of grasshoppers or Rocky Mountain Locust is removing every spear of wheat, flax and corn. All potatoes and vegetables are eaten and starvation is knocking loudly at the door of those living in Missouri and Kansas.
United States 1875
In the United States in 1875, the first game of college footballs is played on the east coast and the first Kentucky Derby is run.
Vinita, Oklahoma
John and Jane live through and around all seven of the Oklahoma Land Runs; April 22, 1889, September 22, 1891, September 28, 1891, April 19, 1892, September 16, 1893, 1889 and 1895. Most of the Land runs took place in the central part of Oklahoma and they lived in the eastern part of the state.
They could have been a part of the birth and growth of Vinita, Oklahoma which came into existence seven years after the Civil War, it was known then as “the Junction.” It was primarily a Native American community. It was a trading and shipping post for the Cherokee Nation. Vinita was established in 1871.
We find that John dies in Oklahoma Territory near what is now Vinita, Oklahoma in February 1905 just two years before Oklahoma become a state on November 16, 1907. Sarah “Jane” lives until October 25, 1912, which is seven years longer than John.
A local newspaper obituary dated February 24, 1905 reads;
“John D. Marker age 82 died Sunday morning. He will be buried at Willow Springs Cemetery by member of the Masonic Fraternity. He was a member of the Vinita Veterans Lodge #5. He fought in the Mexican-American War for Uncle Sam and was a Union soldier. He came to Vinita with the Delaware Indians. He was an adopted member of their tribe. He had settled on a farm about eight miles east of Vinita. He was survived by his wife, three sons, and four daughters.”
Thoughts on John
Thoughts on John; he enjoyed being married for he was married forty-nine years total, he seemed to like living on the edge, he went all the way to the West coast, he let the past stay in the past, and his life was not easy.
John Daniel Marker was an interesting person, perhaps an outcast in society, but he seems to have cared about people no matter their race, culture or language.
Will Rogers – Oklahoma’s Favorite Son
Picture by Famous Quotes
Copyright 2020 Canita Pro (Canita Prough)
Indian Territory 1879
Picture by Famous Quotes
Copyright 2020 Canita Pro (Canita Prough)
Indian Territory 1879
It was winter of the year 1879 in Indian Territory. The Federal Government was in a time where assimilation of the Native Americans was in force. Southeast Kansas and Northeast Indian Territory was still recovering from the 1875 Plague of grasshoppers or Rocky Mountain Locust which removed every spear of wheat, potato and vegetable leaving the people knocking at starvation’s door. Oklahoma Territory was cattlemen, railroaders, soldiers and settlers who lived within Indian Territory borders before settlement was legally permitted. Elias C. Boudinot was petitioning the government for the lands of the central part of Territory to be opened for settlement. Railroads were being built across the Indian Lands and the Five Civilized Tribes were working on the reconstruction for the Native Americans.
In a small settlement named Oolagah within Indian Territory on the fourth day of November there was born a young man named William Penn Adair Rogers affectionately called “Will.” Will was born into a promin ate Cherokee Nation family. That young man grew up to be known as “Oklahoma’s favorite son.”
Indian Territory and Oklahoma
Around Will’s twenty-first birthday he and a friend headed to Argentina to be gauchos. He returned to the states and joined the circus, then found his way to Vaudeville.
When Will was twenty-eight years old Indian Territory became the forty-sixth state to join the Union. On November 16, 1907 it became known as Oklahoma which means “red people.” Will was on the road swinging his ropes and saying things like; “It’s a great country but you can’t live in it for nothing,” “A man that don’t love a horse, there is something the matter with him,” and “No man is great if he thinks he is.”
Betty Blake-Rogers
Then on a cool 25 day of November in 1908 he married Betty Blake of Rogers, Arkansas promising to settle down on a ranch in Oklahoma, after the last tour. It wasn’t long till Betty had changed her mind and he was on Vaudeville again, along with making movies, lecturing, writing newspaper and magazine articles, on the radio and eventually into politics. Betty was his manager and his greatest encourager.
Land and museum
In 1911 Will and Betty purchased the land in what is now called Claremore, Oklahoma. Perhaps it was to be that once promised ranch or maybe it was just a good investment, but that land now holds the Will Rogers Memorial Museums. The museum is located at 1720 West Will Roger Boulevard. The museum made from the native limestone opened in 1938.
The museum is made up of several rooms; West Gallery, Will Rogers Heritage Gallery, Charles Banks Wilson Gallery, Rotunda, Radio Gallery, Will’s Study, Mini Theatre, Diorama Gallery, South Gallery, Vista Room, Theatre, Children’s museum, Ropin’ Fool Gallery and the final journey.
Will Roger Museum Contents
There are works by Fredrick Remington, Wayne Cooper, Jo Davidson, Fred Stone, Charles M. Russell and Charles Banks Wilson, who first met and drew Will Rogers at the age of thirteen, throughout the museum.
Jo Moro makes use of the Diorama which was invented by Dauguerra and Charles Marie Bouton in 1823 to tell the life of Will Rogers in miniature.
Will’s study is an exact replica of his Pacific Palisades, California study with the desk, map, globe, typewriter and hearth. The original typewriter used by Mr. Rogers is also located in the museum along with sculptures of him typing away holding the typewriter on his knees.
There are videos of his time on Vaudeville, poster prints of his movies, certificates of events, comic strips and so much more to see in this well-rounded museum.
Included is a museum store that has an abundance of books on Will Rogers and the era that he represents.
More on Will Rogers
In 1935 Will Rogers and Wiley Post were in an airplane piloted by Wiley Post that went down in Barrow, Alaska Territory. Both Will Rogers and Wiley Post were killed.
In 1952 the famed “Route 66” was unofficially named “The Will Roger’s Highway” in honor of Will Rogers because he touted the road. There have been many other landmarks named for Will Rogers which can be too numerous to name.
Around Oklahoma territory you will hear quite often Mr. Roger’s quote on the weather; “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute, and it’ll change.”
The quote he is most remembered for it “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
Will Rogers Memorial Museum - Claremore, Oklahoma
C
Will Rogers Museum is located just off the toll road 44 in Claremore, Oklahoma. It cost $7.00 for adults. Phone number is 918-341-0719. Check out more information and directions at www.willrogers.com. It is a great stop when traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Joplin, Missouri. It will take about an hour for the quick visit, longer is you read your way through and be sure to take the Scavenger Hunt.
Copyright 2020 Canita Pro (Canita Prough)
Indian Territory 1879
It was winter of the year 1879 in Indian Territory. The Federal Government was in a time where assimilation of the Native Americans was in force. Southeast Kansas and Northeast Indian Territory was still recovering from the 1875 Plague of grasshoppers or Rocky Mountain Locust which removed every spear of wheat, potato and vegetable leaving the people knocking at starvation’s door. Oklahoma Territory was cattlemen, railroaders, soldiers and settlers who lived within Indian Territory borders before settlement was legally permitted. Elias C. Boudinot was petitioning the government for the lands of the central part of Territory to be opened for settlement. Railroads were being built across the Indian Lands and the Five Civilized Tribes were working on the reconstruction for the Native Americans.
In a small settlement named Oolagah within Indian Territory on the fourth day of November there was born a young man named William Penn Adair Rogers affectionately called “Will.” Will was born into a promin ate Cherokee Nation family. That young man grew up to be known as “Oklahoma’s favorite son.”
Indian Territory and Oklahoma
Around Will’s twenty-first birthday he and a friend headed to Argentina to be gauchos. He returned to the states and joined the circus, then found his way to Vaudeville.
When Will was twenty-eight years old Indian Territory became the forty-sixth state to join the Union. On November 16, 1907 it became known as Oklahoma which means “red people.” Will was on the road swinging his ropes and saying things like; “It’s a great country but you can’t live in it for nothing,” “A man that don’t love a horse, there is something the matter with him,” and “No man is great if he thinks he is.”
Betty Blake-Rogers
Then on a cool 25 day of November in 1908 he married Betty Blake of Rogers, Arkansas promising to settle down on a ranch in Oklahoma, after the last tour. It wasn’t long till Betty had changed her mind and he was on Vaudeville again, along with making movies, lecturing, writing newspaper and magazine articles, on the radio and eventually into politics. Betty was his manager and his greatest encourager.
Land and museum
In 1911 Will and Betty purchased the land in what is now called Claremore, Oklahoma. Perhaps it was to be that once promised ranch or maybe it was just a good investment, but that land now holds the Will Rogers Memorial Museums. The museum is located at 1720 West Will Roger Boulevard. The museum made from the native limestone opened in 1938.
The museum is made up of several rooms; West Gallery, Will Rogers Heritage Gallery, Charles Banks Wilson Gallery, Rotunda, Radio Gallery, Will’s Study, Mini Theatre, Diorama Gallery, South Gallery, Vista Room, Theatre, Children’s museum, Ropin’ Fool Gallery and the final journey.
Will Roger Museum Contents
There are works by Fredrick Remington, Wayne Cooper, Jo Davidson, Fred Stone, Charles M. Russell and Charles Banks Wilson, who first met and drew Will Rogers at the age of thirteen, throughout the museum.
Jo Moro makes use of the Diorama which was invented by Dauguerra and Charles Marie Bouton in 1823 to tell the life of Will Rogers in miniature.
Will’s study is an exact replica of his Pacific Palisades, California study with the desk, map, globe, typewriter and hearth. The original typewriter used by Mr. Rogers is also located in the museum along with sculptures of him typing away holding the typewriter on his knees.
There are videos of his time on Vaudeville, poster prints of his movies, certificates of events, comic strips and so much more to see in this well-rounded museum.
Included is a museum store that has an abundance of books on Will Rogers and the era that he represents.
More on Will Rogers
In 1935 Will Rogers and Wiley Post were in an airplane piloted by Wiley Post that went down in Barrow, Alaska Territory. Both Will Rogers and Wiley Post were killed.
In 1952 the famed “Route 66” was unofficially named “The Will Roger’s Highway” in honor of Will Rogers because he touted the road. There have been many other landmarks named for Will Rogers which can be too numerous to name.
Around Oklahoma territory you will hear quite often Mr. Roger’s quote on the weather; “If you don’t like the weather in Oklahoma, wait a minute, and it’ll change.”
The quote he is most remembered for it “I never met a man I didn’t like.”
Will Rogers Memorial Museum - Claremore, Oklahoma
C
Will Rogers Museum is located just off the toll road 44 in Claremore, Oklahoma. It cost $7.00 for adults. Phone number is 918-341-0719. Check out more information and directions at www.willrogers.com. It is a great stop when traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Joplin, Missouri. It will take about an hour for the quick visit, longer is you read your way through and be sure to take the Scavenger Hunt.
Northern Paiute Stone Soup
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
Stone Soup is an old folk tale with a moral. This version has the moral that "things are not always as they seem." Given from a Northern Paiute Indian viewpoint.
1548 Folk Tale
There is a folk tale from 1548, which has been found in many cultures, has many different versions and varying meanings. Now, there is a Northern Paiute version, which is found below.
WWI Stone Soup
One version of this old folk story is when some hungry soldiers, are traveling through the countryside that has been plunder by war. The people have barely enough to feed their own. The soldiers, are told repeated told by the villagers’ they all have many mouths to fill. The soldiers decide to make stone soup aka as axe soup, button soup, butter soup, nail soup, wood soup and many other names. The soldiers ask the villager’s if they can borrow a large iron pot in which they boiled water and place three smooth, round stones. They then begin asking for things from different villagers’ salt, pepper, cabbage, carrots, potatoes etc. When the soup is complete the soldiers and the villagers’ all eat the wonderful soup until they are all full.
In the Northern Paiute version two white men who have not eaten for many days are brought into a Northern Paiute camp. They were headed west to find gold, but they lost their wagon and supplies in a mud slide. They had carried on their backs all the supplies that they could, but soon they were gone too. The men were found by a group of warriors and brought to the camp. They begin making signs trying to tell the Indians that they were hungry. The Chief told them that the Indians were hungry too. It had been a long, hard winter and there was little food in the camp.
One of the white men remembered a story from his home country where “stone soup” was made. He asks the Chief for a pot to boil water. The Chief had a woman bring the man a basket. He pours water into the basket and the water leaks out, kills the fire and the basket begins to burn. A woman from the clan steps up and shows them that they must allow the water to soak into the fibers of the basket, the fibers swell and the basket become leak proof. Then she shows them they must first heat the rocks, then place them in the basket with the water, then the water will heat. That they must keep stirring or the basket will burn. After the water was heated the woman went to her karnee and brought a mud hen’s egg that she had discovered that morning. She broke this into the basket of water and stones. The other women were curious what she was doing with the white men and went to check it out. Upon seeing a white man cooking in a native basket. Another woman when to her karnee and brought back some roots she had pulled the previous day and added them to the basket. Not to be outdone, another Mother headed to her karnee and returned with some dried crickets, another Mother returned with flour she had ground from ants, soon they had some meal from pine nuts and one ear of dried corn. Then came a young boy into camp with a couple of rabbits he had caught in his snare. He gave them to the Mothers who in turn gave them to the white men, who added them to the basket. Soon there was a great smell wafting from the basket. The men decided to share the soup with all. They tried to share the soup with the Chief, he refused, they tried to share soup with the women, they too refused, then they tried to share with the children, they too refused. They finally they gave a soaked basket full of soup to an elderly warrior and he ate. After the men had eaten the elderly women ate also. The white men went away from their camp full, but with the idea that only the elderly would eat with white men and that the woman ate only after the men were fed.
Wrong Conclusion
One of the assumptions is correct and the other is incorrect. In this culture women do feed the men first. The incorrect assumption was that only the elderly could eat with white man. They believed that the Indian was prejudice against the white man. The truth is that there is a taboo on the food eaten when it is from a brave before he has reached the age of Naavey’ts (puberty). He cannot eat his kill, his mother, his father, and any girl or young woman who has reach puberty are forbidden to eat any of his game. If they do, he will grow up weak and lazy and the game will not allow themselves to be hunted by him.
Moral
This story makes many different points such as: by working together, everyone contributing then a greater good is achieved or if brotherly love, industry and enterprise is the habit, wealth and good moral will follow and more.
The moral of this version is “things are not always the way they seem.”
A conception of a culture was drawn from one encounter which was not true. Many times, we only have part of the picture, may only know one side of the story, may only see one view of an accident, but in fact is not the whole story or even the truth.
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
Stone Soup is an old folk tale with a moral. This version has the moral that "things are not always as they seem." Given from a Northern Paiute Indian viewpoint.
1548 Folk Tale
There is a folk tale from 1548, which has been found in many cultures, has many different versions and varying meanings. Now, there is a Northern Paiute version, which is found below.
WWI Stone Soup
One version of this old folk story is when some hungry soldiers, are traveling through the countryside that has been plunder by war. The people have barely enough to feed their own. The soldiers, are told repeated told by the villagers’ they all have many mouths to fill. The soldiers decide to make stone soup aka as axe soup, button soup, butter soup, nail soup, wood soup and many other names. The soldiers ask the villager’s if they can borrow a large iron pot in which they boiled water and place three smooth, round stones. They then begin asking for things from different villagers’ salt, pepper, cabbage, carrots, potatoes etc. When the soup is complete the soldiers and the villagers’ all eat the wonderful soup until they are all full.
In the Northern Paiute version two white men who have not eaten for many days are brought into a Northern Paiute camp. They were headed west to find gold, but they lost their wagon and supplies in a mud slide. They had carried on their backs all the supplies that they could, but soon they were gone too. The men were found by a group of warriors and brought to the camp. They begin making signs trying to tell the Indians that they were hungry. The Chief told them that the Indians were hungry too. It had been a long, hard winter and there was little food in the camp.
One of the white men remembered a story from his home country where “stone soup” was made. He asks the Chief for a pot to boil water. The Chief had a woman bring the man a basket. He pours water into the basket and the water leaks out, kills the fire and the basket begins to burn. A woman from the clan steps up and shows them that they must allow the water to soak into the fibers of the basket, the fibers swell and the basket become leak proof. Then she shows them they must first heat the rocks, then place them in the basket with the water, then the water will heat. That they must keep stirring or the basket will burn. After the water was heated the woman went to her karnee and brought a mud hen’s egg that she had discovered that morning. She broke this into the basket of water and stones. The other women were curious what she was doing with the white men and went to check it out. Upon seeing a white man cooking in a native basket. Another woman when to her karnee and brought back some roots she had pulled the previous day and added them to the basket. Not to be outdone, another Mother headed to her karnee and returned with some dried crickets, another Mother returned with flour she had ground from ants, soon they had some meal from pine nuts and one ear of dried corn. Then came a young boy into camp with a couple of rabbits he had caught in his snare. He gave them to the Mothers who in turn gave them to the white men, who added them to the basket. Soon there was a great smell wafting from the basket. The men decided to share the soup with all. They tried to share the soup with the Chief, he refused, they tried to share soup with the women, they too refused, then they tried to share with the children, they too refused. They finally they gave a soaked basket full of soup to an elderly warrior and he ate. After the men had eaten the elderly women ate also. The white men went away from their camp full, but with the idea that only the elderly would eat with white men and that the woman ate only after the men were fed.
Wrong Conclusion
One of the assumptions is correct and the other is incorrect. In this culture women do feed the men first. The incorrect assumption was that only the elderly could eat with white man. They believed that the Indian was prejudice against the white man. The truth is that there is a taboo on the food eaten when it is from a brave before he has reached the age of Naavey’ts (puberty). He cannot eat his kill, his mother, his father, and any girl or young woman who has reach puberty are forbidden to eat any of his game. If they do, he will grow up weak and lazy and the game will not allow themselves to be hunted by him.
Moral
This story makes many different points such as: by working together, everyone contributing then a greater good is achieved or if brotherly love, industry and enterprise is the habit, wealth and good moral will follow and more.
The moral of this version is “things are not always the way they seem.”
A conception of a culture was drawn from one encounter which was not true. Many times, we only have part of the picture, may only know one side of the story, may only see one view of an accident, but in fact is not the whole story or even the truth.
Women Sharpshooters
Copyright Canita Pro (Prough) 2019
1830 to 1930
The years between 1830 and 1930 were a time when sharp shooters were well known either because of their outlaw activities, they were a person of the law, or part of a wild west show. There are still sharp shooters in our communities, but they do not participate in the same activities. On the east coast the sharp shooters of that time were usually in the military, but in the Midwest and the west coast life was lawless and civilians took arms to defend themselves and the sharp shooters became known for their activities.
Life in the Midwest and West
Life in the Midwest was saloons and gambling dens springing up overnight as they following the railroad. The boom towns attracted millionaires, as well as hustlers, poverty and crime. The trail of tears was taking place at the Arkansas River beginning the first steps in the U. S. campaign to remove Native Americans from their homes on the east coast. A marker regarding Wild Bill Hickok in Springfield, Missouri states; “Nothing better describes the times than the fact that dangling a watch held as security for a poker debt was regarded as a justifiable provocation for resorting to firearms.”
Martha Jane Cannary
A girl of thirteen, Martha Jane Cannary, accompanied the hunting party daily as she and her family moved from Missouri to Montana. She liked being outdoors and was a great shot. Her father passes away before they reach Montana. Being the oldest daughter, she works many jobs to help provide for her family. She becomes a Pony Express rider, a scout for Custer, a prospector, a gambler, a rustler, a horse thief, a bootlegger and eventually a sharpshooter for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Later, she met “Wild Bill Hickok” and was attracted to him, but nothing becomes of this friendship. It seems no matter what she did or where she went calamity followed her. That is how this sharpshooter came to be known as “Calamity Jane.”
Myra Maybelle Shirley
Myra “May” Maybelle Shirley grew up in Missouri with the Younger’s and the James’ and was a cousin to the Hatfield ‘s of the infamous feud. May would ride side saddle, shoot and became a crack shot. The Shirley family moved to Texas and her father, who ran with the Younger and James gangs, was killed. May married outlaw, Jim Reed, who ran with the Quantrill, James and Younger gangs. They moved to California and hooked up with a Native American gang by the name of Starr. Jim gets shot and May marries one of the Starr’s. Mrs. Starr was a very verbal person, many of her statements are recorded such as; “next to a good horse there is nothing like a fine gun,” and “a pair of six-shooters beats a pair of sixes anytime” are just a couple of her sayings. She becomes known as the “Petticoat terror of the plains” and the “Bandit Queen.” She is better known as “Belle Starr.”
Phoebe Ann Mosey
Phoebe Ann Mosey started out at a really young age trapping, she was shooting and hunting by the age of eight. Then at the age of fifteen she won a shooting match with a traveling show marksman. Phoebe became well known throughout the region. She won several more shooting matches and then joined up the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Her famous quote is “I ain’t afraid to love a man…I ain’t afraid to shoot him either!” She carried many titles, but she is best known as “Annie Oakley,” although she was called by those who knew her well as “Mrs. Butler” and her death certificate reads “Annie Oakley Butler.”
May E. Manning
May E. Manning was born on the east coast to a well to do family of physicians. She married Gordon William Lillie. As a wedding present he gave her a pony and a Marlin .22 rifle and they went on the road with a Wild West Show. They eventually settled on a ranch in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Her husband soon became known as “Pawnee Bill.” They created the Pawnee Bill Wild West Show. May being a natural with the rifle became known as the “World’s champion woman’s rifle shot” and “May Lillie Princess of the Prairie.” She would shoot target cards, sign them and give them to audience. She became best known as “May Lillie.”
Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst
There many more interesting people known throughout the Midwest who were not sharp shooters, but known for their heroic acts.
Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst was an orphan from Vermont. At the age of twelve she ran away from the orphanage and found work as a stable hand. She soon became the best groomsman in the area. She began driving the stage coaches and became known as “Cock-eyed Charley” and “Six-horse Charley.” It thirty year later at her death her secret was known. At the age of twelve she had changed her name to “Charley” and dressed as a boy. The livery stable owner thought she was a boy, from that time on she lived as a male. In 1868, as a man, she became the first woman to vote. It was upon her death that they discovered that Charley or Charlotte had given birth and was really a woman.
James Butler Hickok
It was a hot day in July 1865 when lawman James Butler Hickok lost his cherished pocket watch in a poker game to an old friend, Davis K. Tuff. The next day Tuff came to the square and was showing off the watch. James told him “Don’t come around here with that watch.” Tuff left for a while, then returned to the square later and began showing the watch. Davis and James took the duel stance, Davis drew first, but was not fast enough for James Butler Hickok. The rest of the story goes like this…There was three days of trial and James Butler was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury. This sharpshooter whose weapon of choice was a custom colt .45 pistol, who had a trigger finger, is better known as “Wild Bill Hickok.”
William Henry McCarthy
William Henry McCarthy was born in New York. His father dies and his mother remarries. His mother gets sick about the time she remarries and his stepfather takes over caring for him and his brother, eighteen months later his mother dies. Exactly one year from the time of his mother’s death he has his first run in with the law for stealing clothes. He then graduates to stealing horses. He gets a bounty on his head and he starts killing people. He is a sharp shooter and for a season he always wins. The saying goes that for the twenty-one years of his life he killed twenty-one men. He had several aliases throughout his short life; “William H. Bonney,” “Henry Antrim” and “Billy the Kid.”
We do what needs to be done
In the name of survival, we will do what needs to be done whether it is becoming a sharp shooter, a premium rider, or dressing and acting as a man.
Copyright Canita Pro (Prough) 2019
1830 to 1930
The years between 1830 and 1930 were a time when sharp shooters were well known either because of their outlaw activities, they were a person of the law, or part of a wild west show. There are still sharp shooters in our communities, but they do not participate in the same activities. On the east coast the sharp shooters of that time were usually in the military, but in the Midwest and the west coast life was lawless and civilians took arms to defend themselves and the sharp shooters became known for their activities.
Life in the Midwest and West
Life in the Midwest was saloons and gambling dens springing up overnight as they following the railroad. The boom towns attracted millionaires, as well as hustlers, poverty and crime. The trail of tears was taking place at the Arkansas River beginning the first steps in the U. S. campaign to remove Native Americans from their homes on the east coast. A marker regarding Wild Bill Hickok in Springfield, Missouri states; “Nothing better describes the times than the fact that dangling a watch held as security for a poker debt was regarded as a justifiable provocation for resorting to firearms.”
Martha Jane Cannary
A girl of thirteen, Martha Jane Cannary, accompanied the hunting party daily as she and her family moved from Missouri to Montana. She liked being outdoors and was a great shot. Her father passes away before they reach Montana. Being the oldest daughter, she works many jobs to help provide for her family. She becomes a Pony Express rider, a scout for Custer, a prospector, a gambler, a rustler, a horse thief, a bootlegger and eventually a sharpshooter for the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Later, she met “Wild Bill Hickok” and was attracted to him, but nothing becomes of this friendship. It seems no matter what she did or where she went calamity followed her. That is how this sharpshooter came to be known as “Calamity Jane.”
Myra Maybelle Shirley
Myra “May” Maybelle Shirley grew up in Missouri with the Younger’s and the James’ and was a cousin to the Hatfield ‘s of the infamous feud. May would ride side saddle, shoot and became a crack shot. The Shirley family moved to Texas and her father, who ran with the Younger and James gangs, was killed. May married outlaw, Jim Reed, who ran with the Quantrill, James and Younger gangs. They moved to California and hooked up with a Native American gang by the name of Starr. Jim gets shot and May marries one of the Starr’s. Mrs. Starr was a very verbal person, many of her statements are recorded such as; “next to a good horse there is nothing like a fine gun,” and “a pair of six-shooters beats a pair of sixes anytime” are just a couple of her sayings. She becomes known as the “Petticoat terror of the plains” and the “Bandit Queen.” She is better known as “Belle Starr.”
Phoebe Ann Mosey
Phoebe Ann Mosey started out at a really young age trapping, she was shooting and hunting by the age of eight. Then at the age of fifteen she won a shooting match with a traveling show marksman. Phoebe became well known throughout the region. She won several more shooting matches and then joined up the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Her famous quote is “I ain’t afraid to love a man…I ain’t afraid to shoot him either!” She carried many titles, but she is best known as “Annie Oakley,” although she was called by those who knew her well as “Mrs. Butler” and her death certificate reads “Annie Oakley Butler.”
May E. Manning
May E. Manning was born on the east coast to a well to do family of physicians. She married Gordon William Lillie. As a wedding present he gave her a pony and a Marlin .22 rifle and they went on the road with a Wild West Show. They eventually settled on a ranch in Pawnee, Oklahoma. Her husband soon became known as “Pawnee Bill.” They created the Pawnee Bill Wild West Show. May being a natural with the rifle became known as the “World’s champion woman’s rifle shot” and “May Lillie Princess of the Prairie.” She would shoot target cards, sign them and give them to audience. She became best known as “May Lillie.”
Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst
There many more interesting people known throughout the Midwest who were not sharp shooters, but known for their heroic acts.
Charlotte Darkey Parkhurst was an orphan from Vermont. At the age of twelve she ran away from the orphanage and found work as a stable hand. She soon became the best groomsman in the area. She began driving the stage coaches and became known as “Cock-eyed Charley” and “Six-horse Charley.” It thirty year later at her death her secret was known. At the age of twelve she had changed her name to “Charley” and dressed as a boy. The livery stable owner thought she was a boy, from that time on she lived as a male. In 1868, as a man, she became the first woman to vote. It was upon her death that they discovered that Charley or Charlotte had given birth and was really a woman.
James Butler Hickok
It was a hot day in July 1865 when lawman James Butler Hickok lost his cherished pocket watch in a poker game to an old friend, Davis K. Tuff. The next day Tuff came to the square and was showing off the watch. James told him “Don’t come around here with that watch.” Tuff left for a while, then returned to the square later and began showing the watch. Davis and James took the duel stance, Davis drew first, but was not fast enough for James Butler Hickok. The rest of the story goes like this…There was three days of trial and James Butler was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury. This sharpshooter whose weapon of choice was a custom colt .45 pistol, who had a trigger finger, is better known as “Wild Bill Hickok.”
William Henry McCarthy
William Henry McCarthy was born in New York. His father dies and his mother remarries. His mother gets sick about the time she remarries and his stepfather takes over caring for him and his brother, eighteen months later his mother dies. Exactly one year from the time of his mother’s death he has his first run in with the law for stealing clothes. He then graduates to stealing horses. He gets a bounty on his head and he starts killing people. He is a sharp shooter and for a season he always wins. The saying goes that for the twenty-one years of his life he killed twenty-one men. He had several aliases throughout his short life; “William H. Bonney,” “Henry Antrim” and “Billy the Kid.”
We do what needs to be done
In the name of survival, we will do what needs to be done whether it is becoming a sharp shooter, a premium rider, or dressing and acting as a man.
Louis L'Amour-Noted Western Author
copyright Canita Prough 2019
Louis L'Amour
When I read a book that I really enjoy. I often wonder about the Author. What was he/she like? What piqued their interest that made them want to write this story. I read books by Louis L’Amour quite often. I really enjoy his writing style, especially once he settled into writing Westerns. One of my long-standing favorite books written by Mr. L’Amour is The Haunted Mesa.
The Haunted Mesa
The Haunted Mesa was written in 1987 by Louis L’Amour. He dedicated the book to Gilbert and Charlotte Wenger. This is where I was introduced to the idea that kivas were where and how the Anasazi Indians came into this world from another world.
International Celebrity
The main character of this book is Mike Ragland. Mike is an international celebrity. He uncovers the history of strange events, studies the phenomena ignored by science and although an acknowledged skeptic, he closes his mind to nothing.
Erik Hokart
He gets this letter from a friend Erik Hokart. In the letter Erik sounds badly frightened and there was no man he had ever known who was more cool, concise and self-sufficient than Erik. The letter is hastily scrawled and contains a desperate plea for help. Erik has bought this mesa. It is called No Man’s Mesa. He is going to building a house on it. It is a mesa in the Navajo Mountains. It was almost ten miles long and some two thousand feet high, the last three hundred to five hundred feet of sheer rock.
The Letter
Mike goes to meet Erik only to find that Erik and his dog, Chief, are missing.
This is the letter he received.
“For God’s sake, come at one!
I need you. Mike, if ever I need anyone. If it’s money. I’ll pay,
but come! And be careful. Trust no one. No one at all.
Meet me on the Canyon road, you know the one. If I am not
there, for God’s sake, find me!
If anyone can handle this it will be you. I am sending the
record as far as it goes. Get us out of this. Mike, and
I’ll be forever indebted.”
Check your local library
Mike meets some very interesting people and takes a chilling trip in his search to find Erik and Chief. Does Mike find Erik and Chief? And what does his life work have to do with his friend Erik? Check the book; The Haunted Mesa, out from your local library.
Anasazi Indians
I was first introduced to the Anasazi Indians in The Haunted Mesa. Later, on a trip to five canyons for a physical science trip I learned more about the Anasazi ‘s and Mesa Verde. Was it the connection between the Mesa Verde and the Anasazi Indians that drew Louis L’Amour to write The Haunted Mesa?
Education of a Wandering Man
I was given this next book at a convention by a fellow reader. It is called Education of a Wandering Man, a memoir by Louis L’Amour. Louis L’Amour is a storyteller. He has been a hobo, a cattle skinner, a merchant seaman, and an itinerant bare-knuckled prize fighter. He has had a lifelong love affair with learning from books, experience, wandering, and people. They have shaped him into a storyteller and a man. He took that love of learning, the talent of storytelling and became an awe-inspiring writer.
Education of a Wandering Man was written by Louis L‘Amour, but not published until 1989 a year after his death.
Will Durant
Louis L’Amour uses quotes like this one by Will Durant to express his love for books. “A book is a friend that will do what no friend does - be silent when we wish to think.”
Portrayal of the Old West
In hopes of an honest portrayal of the Old West Mr. L’Amour would ride his horse, later his four wheel and hike around the countryside of the area in which he was writing. He would state “that he walked the land his characters walk.” He would study maps and read as many as thirty books a year on the Old West and the areas. He would study the plants for if one of his characters should get wounded, he wanted him to treat his wounds with what was available. He would crawl into crevasses and around ruins in a wish to check out as many things as possible.
The twain shall meet
It appears from the book Education of a Wandering Man that Mr. L’Amour was fascinated with Mesa Verde and the Anasazi’s. The following is some paragraphs regarding the book; The Haunted Mesa found in Education of a Wandering Man.
Quote from Education of a Wandering Man
“In Colorado we visited Mesa Verde and its Anasazi ruins again and again, learning a little more each time. At least twice we were present at IL luminaria, where the rooms of Cliff Palace were lighted at night by candles.
We arrived shortly before dark and were in place before the candles were lighted. We had with us our friends Charlie Daniels, the country-western singer, and Cliff Brycelea, the Navajo artist whose painting is featured on the cover of my book The Haunted Mesa. Cliff commented that what we were seeing must have been much what it was like when inhabited. From down the canyon came eerie music - bagpipes, I believe - but far enough away to provide a sense of added weirdness to the scene.
As the candles burned down, those of us who had brought flashlights helped to guide others through the narrow trails and up the steep stairways. I believe if the ghosts of the Anasazi linger among those dwellings, they would have been pleased to see them lighted once again. It was a hauntingly beautiful sight that remains with me still.”
Later, Louis and his wife Kathy had the privilege to sleeping in one of the kivas on the cliffs. He said that he did not sleep, but regretted the coming of daylight although ready for breakfast.
Book Lovers Be Aware
His interest in Mesa Verde and the Anasazi Indians is only a part of the story The Haunted Mesa, but his love for their story is strong. His storytelling abilities reached me. If you are a historical fiction lover or even a biographical lover you will enjoy both of these books. They are vintage books with a timeless message.
Chapin Mesa Headquarter, Mesa Verde National Park
The Chapin Mesa Headquarters in Mesa Verde National Park has an Annual Holiday Open House where there are luminarias, musical entertainment and refreshments. The open house is free. The number is 970-529-4608. It usually takes place in December and you are asked to dress warmly and bring a flashlight.
copyright Canita Prough 2019
Louis L'Amour
When I read a book that I really enjoy. I often wonder about the Author. What was he/she like? What piqued their interest that made them want to write this story. I read books by Louis L’Amour quite often. I really enjoy his writing style, especially once he settled into writing Westerns. One of my long-standing favorite books written by Mr. L’Amour is The Haunted Mesa.
The Haunted Mesa
The Haunted Mesa was written in 1987 by Louis L’Amour. He dedicated the book to Gilbert and Charlotte Wenger. This is where I was introduced to the idea that kivas were where and how the Anasazi Indians came into this world from another world.
International Celebrity
The main character of this book is Mike Ragland. Mike is an international celebrity. He uncovers the history of strange events, studies the phenomena ignored by science and although an acknowledged skeptic, he closes his mind to nothing.
Erik Hokart
He gets this letter from a friend Erik Hokart. In the letter Erik sounds badly frightened and there was no man he had ever known who was more cool, concise and self-sufficient than Erik. The letter is hastily scrawled and contains a desperate plea for help. Erik has bought this mesa. It is called No Man’s Mesa. He is going to building a house on it. It is a mesa in the Navajo Mountains. It was almost ten miles long and some two thousand feet high, the last three hundred to five hundred feet of sheer rock.
The Letter
Mike goes to meet Erik only to find that Erik and his dog, Chief, are missing.
This is the letter he received.
“For God’s sake, come at one!
I need you. Mike, if ever I need anyone. If it’s money. I’ll pay,
but come! And be careful. Trust no one. No one at all.
Meet me on the Canyon road, you know the one. If I am not
there, for God’s sake, find me!
If anyone can handle this it will be you. I am sending the
record as far as it goes. Get us out of this. Mike, and
I’ll be forever indebted.”
Check your local library
Mike meets some very interesting people and takes a chilling trip in his search to find Erik and Chief. Does Mike find Erik and Chief? And what does his life work have to do with his friend Erik? Check the book; The Haunted Mesa, out from your local library.
Anasazi Indians
I was first introduced to the Anasazi Indians in The Haunted Mesa. Later, on a trip to five canyons for a physical science trip I learned more about the Anasazi ‘s and Mesa Verde. Was it the connection between the Mesa Verde and the Anasazi Indians that drew Louis L’Amour to write The Haunted Mesa?
Education of a Wandering Man
I was given this next book at a convention by a fellow reader. It is called Education of a Wandering Man, a memoir by Louis L’Amour. Louis L’Amour is a storyteller. He has been a hobo, a cattle skinner, a merchant seaman, and an itinerant bare-knuckled prize fighter. He has had a lifelong love affair with learning from books, experience, wandering, and people. They have shaped him into a storyteller and a man. He took that love of learning, the talent of storytelling and became an awe-inspiring writer.
Education of a Wandering Man was written by Louis L‘Amour, but not published until 1989 a year after his death.
Will Durant
Louis L’Amour uses quotes like this one by Will Durant to express his love for books. “A book is a friend that will do what no friend does - be silent when we wish to think.”
Portrayal of the Old West
In hopes of an honest portrayal of the Old West Mr. L’Amour would ride his horse, later his four wheel and hike around the countryside of the area in which he was writing. He would state “that he walked the land his characters walk.” He would study maps and read as many as thirty books a year on the Old West and the areas. He would study the plants for if one of his characters should get wounded, he wanted him to treat his wounds with what was available. He would crawl into crevasses and around ruins in a wish to check out as many things as possible.
The twain shall meet
It appears from the book Education of a Wandering Man that Mr. L’Amour was fascinated with Mesa Verde and the Anasazi’s. The following is some paragraphs regarding the book; The Haunted Mesa found in Education of a Wandering Man.
Quote from Education of a Wandering Man
“In Colorado we visited Mesa Verde and its Anasazi ruins again and again, learning a little more each time. At least twice we were present at IL luminaria, where the rooms of Cliff Palace were lighted at night by candles.
We arrived shortly before dark and were in place before the candles were lighted. We had with us our friends Charlie Daniels, the country-western singer, and Cliff Brycelea, the Navajo artist whose painting is featured on the cover of my book The Haunted Mesa. Cliff commented that what we were seeing must have been much what it was like when inhabited. From down the canyon came eerie music - bagpipes, I believe - but far enough away to provide a sense of added weirdness to the scene.
As the candles burned down, those of us who had brought flashlights helped to guide others through the narrow trails and up the steep stairways. I believe if the ghosts of the Anasazi linger among those dwellings, they would have been pleased to see them lighted once again. It was a hauntingly beautiful sight that remains with me still.”
Later, Louis and his wife Kathy had the privilege to sleeping in one of the kivas on the cliffs. He said that he did not sleep, but regretted the coming of daylight although ready for breakfast.
Book Lovers Be Aware
His interest in Mesa Verde and the Anasazi Indians is only a part of the story The Haunted Mesa, but his love for their story is strong. His storytelling abilities reached me. If you are a historical fiction lover or even a biographical lover you will enjoy both of these books. They are vintage books with a timeless message.
Chapin Mesa Headquarter, Mesa Verde National Park
The Chapin Mesa Headquarters in Mesa Verde National Park has an Annual Holiday Open House where there are luminarias, musical entertainment and refreshments. The open house is free. The number is 970-529-4608. It usually takes place in December and you are asked to dress warmly and bring a flashlight.
Tony Hillerman - Navajo Mysteries
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
Anthony “Tony” Grove Hillerman
(March 27, 1925 to October 26, 2008)
I have enjoyed this author’s book for several years. I had never checked into the author himself. The world gets really small when you realize that you have lived less than twenty-five miles from where he was born. I begin to wonder if I had ever met this person? I checked into it and although we have lived in the same cities such as Oklahoma City, OK and Borger, Texas. We have never been in the same place at the same time.
Sacred Heart, Oklahoma
He was born during the depression years in a city called Sacred Heart, Oklahoma which is a part of Konawa, Oklahoma. He attended a Pottawatomie County all-girls school with Native Americans. Through a series of events he fell in love with the Navajo people, their culture, and living in New Mexico he began seeing empty places in the landscape. This love story continues for the next sixty-five years. The love comes through in each book he wrote.
United States Army WWII
He served his country in WWII. He was a mortar man in the Army. He was wounded during duty and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Arthur W. Upfield
Tony Hillerman was inspired by the author Arthur W. Upfield who wrote detective stories about the Aborigines of Australia. The fact that Upfield used a people group and culture inspired Hillerman to center his stories on the Navajo and their culture. Mr. Hillerman was an avid reader who was disciplined and driven. Most evenings you would find him at a desk in his bedroom writing. When he had writers block, he would go and visit the area his book was about. A visit to the area would always clear his thoughts and give him inspiration. His weakness for silence and empty places became the places where many of his books are rooted.
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee
Two characters from his books come to life in the Navajo series; Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. They work for the Navajo Tribal Police solving crimes. Mr. Hillerman very effectively has Joe and Jim sit silently. He uses these silences to say a thousand things. He based the character Joe Leaphorn after a Sheriff in Hutchinson County, Texas. He introduced Joe Leaphorn in the book “The Blessing Way” and Jim Chee in the book “People of Darkness.” He was well versed in the Navajo spirituality and this knowledge makes his novels come to life. His books are written where you learn about the Navajo and are entertained by the mystery.
Tony Hillerman, the Teacher
I began listening to his books on tape. By listening to them on tape I learned how the words Chee (Ch - hee), and Dinah (Din - nah) were pronounced before I began reading the books. Though I have never had opportunity to go to New Mexico. I feel from his descriptions that I have been to Gallop, New Mexico and the area. In his books introduced me to the area through the maps and pins used by Joe Leaphorn and by almost making the scenery a character. He wanted to teach us more about the Navajo and their culture and he does a little more in each book.
Legacy
He wrote thirty books, eighteen of those books are what are called the Navajo series. He was a journalist, teacher and author. His legacy lives on through his books and a yearly author’s conference started by his daughter and son in law. This conference has a writing contest and that gives away $10,000 dollars. It is an inspiration to seasoned writers. An opportunity for beginning writers to get more information about the writing field and a chance to win ten thousand dollars. You can find more information about this conference at www.wordharvest.com or at Tony Hillerman Conferences.
An Inspiration
I am inspired just to think that this great author and I lived in so many of the same areas. Maybe, one of those great book ideas has rubbed off on me. His daughter Anne Hillerman, has taken up where he left off and has written Leaphorn and Chee novels, featuring Chee wife, Bernadette Manuelito. Rocks with Wings and Spider Woman’s Daughter are just a couple of her books.
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
Anthony “Tony” Grove Hillerman
(March 27, 1925 to October 26, 2008)
I have enjoyed this author’s book for several years. I had never checked into the author himself. The world gets really small when you realize that you have lived less than twenty-five miles from where he was born. I begin to wonder if I had ever met this person? I checked into it and although we have lived in the same cities such as Oklahoma City, OK and Borger, Texas. We have never been in the same place at the same time.
Sacred Heart, Oklahoma
He was born during the depression years in a city called Sacred Heart, Oklahoma which is a part of Konawa, Oklahoma. He attended a Pottawatomie County all-girls school with Native Americans. Through a series of events he fell in love with the Navajo people, their culture, and living in New Mexico he began seeing empty places in the landscape. This love story continues for the next sixty-five years. The love comes through in each book he wrote.
United States Army WWII
He served his country in WWII. He was a mortar man in the Army. He was wounded during duty and received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Arthur W. Upfield
Tony Hillerman was inspired by the author Arthur W. Upfield who wrote detective stories about the Aborigines of Australia. The fact that Upfield used a people group and culture inspired Hillerman to center his stories on the Navajo and their culture. Mr. Hillerman was an avid reader who was disciplined and driven. Most evenings you would find him at a desk in his bedroom writing. When he had writers block, he would go and visit the area his book was about. A visit to the area would always clear his thoughts and give him inspiration. His weakness for silence and empty places became the places where many of his books are rooted.
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee
Two characters from his books come to life in the Navajo series; Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee. They work for the Navajo Tribal Police solving crimes. Mr. Hillerman very effectively has Joe and Jim sit silently. He uses these silences to say a thousand things. He based the character Joe Leaphorn after a Sheriff in Hutchinson County, Texas. He introduced Joe Leaphorn in the book “The Blessing Way” and Jim Chee in the book “People of Darkness.” He was well versed in the Navajo spirituality and this knowledge makes his novels come to life. His books are written where you learn about the Navajo and are entertained by the mystery.
Tony Hillerman, the Teacher
I began listening to his books on tape. By listening to them on tape I learned how the words Chee (Ch - hee), and Dinah (Din - nah) were pronounced before I began reading the books. Though I have never had opportunity to go to New Mexico. I feel from his descriptions that I have been to Gallop, New Mexico and the area. In his books introduced me to the area through the maps and pins used by Joe Leaphorn and by almost making the scenery a character. He wanted to teach us more about the Navajo and their culture and he does a little more in each book.
Legacy
He wrote thirty books, eighteen of those books are what are called the Navajo series. He was a journalist, teacher and author. His legacy lives on through his books and a yearly author’s conference started by his daughter and son in law. This conference has a writing contest and that gives away $10,000 dollars. It is an inspiration to seasoned writers. An opportunity for beginning writers to get more information about the writing field and a chance to win ten thousand dollars. You can find more information about this conference at www.wordharvest.com or at Tony Hillerman Conferences.
An Inspiration
I am inspired just to think that this great author and I lived in so many of the same areas. Maybe, one of those great book ideas has rubbed off on me. His daughter Anne Hillerman, has taken up where he left off and has written Leaphorn and Chee novels, featuring Chee wife, Bernadette Manuelito. Rocks with Wings and Spider Woman’s Daughter are just a couple of her books.
Sarah Winnemucca-Paiute Pioneer
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
As Strong as the Mojave Desert
A desert is described as a dry, barren, sandy region. Life in a desert is hard. In the 1800’s there might have been rabbits, fish, ducks or mud hens. There were roots, berries and an occasional deer. Enough for a race of people the survival? Not really, yet there is a race of people who have and are still struggling, but are surviving. A people of the Mojave Desert.
The Paiute Indians
The Paiute Indians. The Paiutes of the 1800’s survived by going where the food was available. They are described as highly successful botanists. They followed a trail lead by the nuts, berries, and weather. The women worked to feed the group in the summer. They fed them on fresh berries, roots, nuts and gruel. The women would dry chokeberries, pound them into paste and make them into flour in preparation for winter. The men made bow, arrows, and traps for the winters. They dug in, literally, for the winter and the men hunted the few animals available. The main source of food was the pine nuts. It is small nut and it takes a lot of them to make a flour and then bread, but they are very nutritional and high energy.
National Parks
You will find mention of the Paiute people in literature at many national parks such as; Mesa Verde, The Grand Canyon, Bryce National Park and more as these people traveled the canyons of the Midwest.
Paiute Tribes
There are three main groups of Paiute Indians; Northern Paiute, Owens Valley Paiute, and the Southern Paiutes. Within the Paiutes there are many smaller family bands.
In the Northern Paiute group, is a colony called Wuna Mucca. They are a part of the Uto-Aztecan language group. They are the bands that had the most contact with early settlers of Mojave Desert area. The Wuna Mucca band is from the Northwest Nevada area. They lived and moved around the Humboldt river.
The name Wuna Mucca was changed to Winnemucca when it written down for record. The Winnemucca Indian band is located just straight South of McDermott which was a fort. It was later made a school and now is a part of the Fort McDermott Indian Reservation.
Sarah Winnemucca
There is a woman who was born to the Northern Paiute band also known as PITU, along the Humboldt river in October 1844. Her name was Sarah Winnemucca or Shell Flower. Sarah Winnemucca wrote the first known autobiography written by a Native American woman. The books title is Life Among the Paiutes: Their wrongs and claims and it is copyrighted 1883.
Sarah, an author, was born and raised where the little girls were carried around in baskets called a tumpline from berry bush to pine cone tree. At about fourteen she made her own twinned basket cap and carried her own tumpline. She spent many hours collecting pine nuts, chewing hides and drying berries. When she was not chewing hides, she could chew “chewing gum” made from a reed that was not very sweet. She learned the way that would take her from berry, to nut, to root. She played the shinny game which is played with sticks and a sort of double ball of two knots of buckskin tied together by buckskins braids or juggled pebbles in the air or played a game with pebbles and stones, a game similar to “jacks.” She wore a skirt she had learned to make from sage brush. She was Paiute in every sense of the word.
Then the government started schools for the Paiutes. She went to school, learns the three “R’s” and how to speak the white man’s tongue. She became a translator for the American military and traveled with them. She met a man, fell in love and married into the white man’s culture.
She went to the government and spoke on behalf of her people. She lived somewhere between the white man’s world and the world of the Paiute. She was an educator who was trying to educate the Paiute about the new settlers and trying to educate the white people about her people. If Sarah had not worked to educate both worlds the Paiute could well have become non-existent.
In 1891 Sarah went to be with her ancestors. She had spent her adult life teaching, speaking, traveling and writing. She was leaving a legacy so her people would not be forgotten.
Reorganization Act of 1934
The Paiutes, in the Reorganization Act of 1934 were recognized as an independent band. They were allotted lands and provided money for buying cows and purchasing water rights. Documentation of this band in the 1934 Relocation Act recorded them as established in 1917, that they had Home sites, owned 340 acres, and that there was a population of 38 souls.
The Paiutes sold off this land because they were in need of money and did not know how to farm. They knew how to pick berries, pine nuts, dig roots, make flour, and hunt. They moved onto a property provided by the Mormon Church and worked as unskilled laborers, seasonal farm workers, and workers for the railroads.
In 1954 President Eisenhower signed into law Public Law 762, a bill terminating the Paiute as a tribe recognized by the United States government. This happened because they had sold their lands, began drinking heavily, and were nomadic by nature. The government gave them a deadline as to when they would need to have an established governing body. They would form of a council consisting of the men, older women of the tribe and worked toward a consensus. In 1980 in answer to the 1934 Reorganization Act the Paiute constructed a constitution and established a governing body.
The people group, called Paiute, which the federal government had terminated, was left to care of local authorities from 1957 to 1975. They were totally ineligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. There were less than 800 total Paiutes in 1975. In 2006 there a little over 800 tribal members. Not all Paiutes were counted as tribal members. They were considered culturally endangered and still are in the endangered zone even in 2015.
It is often written that they are a hardworking people. They are survivors, first in a harsh desert and then in a culture unknown to them. They have been terminated, left to the care of local authorities, and still they survive. Having once been a family groups of nomadic people. They are educating their children and using their skills to improve the way of life for future Paiutes. They are a productive people in our culture.
Photo
Mojave Desert
There was trade with other people groups in the 1800’s, but nothing compared to what it provides for the Mojave Desert today. In 2015 revenue in Mojave Desert comes from tourism, minerals and taxation on gambling. Over half of the needs for survival of the people in the 2000’s comes from outside its natural resources.
Mojave Desert is a hard land in which to live. It is a land without many natural resources. States like Utah, Oregon, and Nevada have made ways to make a living. The Paiutes of this desert have continued because of people like Sarah Winnemucca. If she had not made her people known to the government in the late 1800’s. Could the race of people have been lost forever? It is sure possible.
Civil Rights Activist
Sarah Winnemucca was seeking civil rights for the Paiutes. The rights guaranteed to the individuals by the 13, 14, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States and by other acts of Congress. She had an active policy of taking positive action to noble end, the survival of her people. She is not listed as a civil rights activist for the Native Americans, but she was one in every sense of the definition.
Emancipation Hall
In 2005, a statue made by Benjamin Victor, was placed in Emancipation Hall, in the U. S. Capital in Washington D.C. The statue is, Sarah Winnemucca, representing the state of Nevada. Sarah, a strong woman, born in the dry and barren Mojave Desert, whose legacy kept her people from being forgotten by writing a book and educating the public.
copyright Canita M. Prough (Pro) 2019
As Strong as the Mojave Desert
A desert is described as a dry, barren, sandy region. Life in a desert is hard. In the 1800’s there might have been rabbits, fish, ducks or mud hens. There were roots, berries and an occasional deer. Enough for a race of people the survival? Not really, yet there is a race of people who have and are still struggling, but are surviving. A people of the Mojave Desert.
The Paiute Indians
The Paiute Indians. The Paiutes of the 1800’s survived by going where the food was available. They are described as highly successful botanists. They followed a trail lead by the nuts, berries, and weather. The women worked to feed the group in the summer. They fed them on fresh berries, roots, nuts and gruel. The women would dry chokeberries, pound them into paste and make them into flour in preparation for winter. The men made bow, arrows, and traps for the winters. They dug in, literally, for the winter and the men hunted the few animals available. The main source of food was the pine nuts. It is small nut and it takes a lot of them to make a flour and then bread, but they are very nutritional and high energy.
National Parks
You will find mention of the Paiute people in literature at many national parks such as; Mesa Verde, The Grand Canyon, Bryce National Park and more as these people traveled the canyons of the Midwest.
Paiute Tribes
There are three main groups of Paiute Indians; Northern Paiute, Owens Valley Paiute, and the Southern Paiutes. Within the Paiutes there are many smaller family bands.
In the Northern Paiute group, is a colony called Wuna Mucca. They are a part of the Uto-Aztecan language group. They are the bands that had the most contact with early settlers of Mojave Desert area. The Wuna Mucca band is from the Northwest Nevada area. They lived and moved around the Humboldt river.
The name Wuna Mucca was changed to Winnemucca when it written down for record. The Winnemucca Indian band is located just straight South of McDermott which was a fort. It was later made a school and now is a part of the Fort McDermott Indian Reservation.
Sarah Winnemucca
There is a woman who was born to the Northern Paiute band also known as PITU, along the Humboldt river in October 1844. Her name was Sarah Winnemucca or Shell Flower. Sarah Winnemucca wrote the first known autobiography written by a Native American woman. The books title is Life Among the Paiutes: Their wrongs and claims and it is copyrighted 1883.
Sarah, an author, was born and raised where the little girls were carried around in baskets called a tumpline from berry bush to pine cone tree. At about fourteen she made her own twinned basket cap and carried her own tumpline. She spent many hours collecting pine nuts, chewing hides and drying berries. When she was not chewing hides, she could chew “chewing gum” made from a reed that was not very sweet. She learned the way that would take her from berry, to nut, to root. She played the shinny game which is played with sticks and a sort of double ball of two knots of buckskin tied together by buckskins braids or juggled pebbles in the air or played a game with pebbles and stones, a game similar to “jacks.” She wore a skirt she had learned to make from sage brush. She was Paiute in every sense of the word.
Then the government started schools for the Paiutes. She went to school, learns the three “R’s” and how to speak the white man’s tongue. She became a translator for the American military and traveled with them. She met a man, fell in love and married into the white man’s culture.
She went to the government and spoke on behalf of her people. She lived somewhere between the white man’s world and the world of the Paiute. She was an educator who was trying to educate the Paiute about the new settlers and trying to educate the white people about her people. If Sarah had not worked to educate both worlds the Paiute could well have become non-existent.
In 1891 Sarah went to be with her ancestors. She had spent her adult life teaching, speaking, traveling and writing. She was leaving a legacy so her people would not be forgotten.
Reorganization Act of 1934
The Paiutes, in the Reorganization Act of 1934 were recognized as an independent band. They were allotted lands and provided money for buying cows and purchasing water rights. Documentation of this band in the 1934 Relocation Act recorded them as established in 1917, that they had Home sites, owned 340 acres, and that there was a population of 38 souls.
The Paiutes sold off this land because they were in need of money and did not know how to farm. They knew how to pick berries, pine nuts, dig roots, make flour, and hunt. They moved onto a property provided by the Mormon Church and worked as unskilled laborers, seasonal farm workers, and workers for the railroads.
In 1954 President Eisenhower signed into law Public Law 762, a bill terminating the Paiute as a tribe recognized by the United States government. This happened because they had sold their lands, began drinking heavily, and were nomadic by nature. The government gave them a deadline as to when they would need to have an established governing body. They would form of a council consisting of the men, older women of the tribe and worked toward a consensus. In 1980 in answer to the 1934 Reorganization Act the Paiute constructed a constitution and established a governing body.
The people group, called Paiute, which the federal government had terminated, was left to care of local authorities from 1957 to 1975. They were totally ineligible to receive services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. There were less than 800 total Paiutes in 1975. In 2006 there a little over 800 tribal members. Not all Paiutes were counted as tribal members. They were considered culturally endangered and still are in the endangered zone even in 2015.
It is often written that they are a hardworking people. They are survivors, first in a harsh desert and then in a culture unknown to them. They have been terminated, left to the care of local authorities, and still they survive. Having once been a family groups of nomadic people. They are educating their children and using their skills to improve the way of life for future Paiutes. They are a productive people in our culture.
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Mojave Desert
There was trade with other people groups in the 1800’s, but nothing compared to what it provides for the Mojave Desert today. In 2015 revenue in Mojave Desert comes from tourism, minerals and taxation on gambling. Over half of the needs for survival of the people in the 2000’s comes from outside its natural resources.
Mojave Desert is a hard land in which to live. It is a land without many natural resources. States like Utah, Oregon, and Nevada have made ways to make a living. The Paiutes of this desert have continued because of people like Sarah Winnemucca. If she had not made her people known to the government in the late 1800’s. Could the race of people have been lost forever? It is sure possible.
Civil Rights Activist
Sarah Winnemucca was seeking civil rights for the Paiutes. The rights guaranteed to the individuals by the 13, 14, and 15th amendments to the Constitution of the United States and by other acts of Congress. She had an active policy of taking positive action to noble end, the survival of her people. She is not listed as a civil rights activist for the Native Americans, but she was one in every sense of the definition.
Emancipation Hall
In 2005, a statue made by Benjamin Victor, was placed in Emancipation Hall, in the U. S. Capital in Washington D.C. The statue is, Sarah Winnemucca, representing the state of Nevada. Sarah, a strong woman, born in the dry and barren Mojave Desert, whose legacy kept her people from being forgotten by writing a book and educating the public.
