FOND FAREWELL by Blog Dog Dan

We all hate to say goodbye (for now), but Miss Brenda is working on a project and needs our help. On behalf of myself, Tabby, Hamilton, Hairy Trotter, Major Tom, Fiamma, Cochran & Christie, we would like to thank you for joining us every week on Blog Dog Dan. We might post pictures every now and then - you never know. Remember, sit, stay, and read, read, read.

COOKING IN THE DARK WITH COCHRAN & CHRISTIE

While Christie and I think we have a perfect "union" in the kitchen, a perfect union was completed in 1861! The Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860 was an "An Act to Facilitate  Communication between the Atlantic and Pacific States by Electric Telegraph." Between July 4 and October 24, 1861, the Pacific Telegraph Company of Nebraska built the telegraph line west from Omaha, Nebraska (shorter but harder terrain), while the Overland Telegraph Company of California built east from Carson City, Nevada. The lines connected at a station in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 24, 1861. The two companies eventually formed the Western Union Telegraph Company. at a station in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 24, 1861. The two companies eventually formed the Western Union Telegraph Company.

The evening of October 2, 1861, the first messages were sent to President Abraham Lincoln. The message from Horace W. Carpentier, president of the Overland Telegraph Company, read: "I announce to you that the telegraph to California has this day been completed. May it be a bond of perpetuity between the states of the Atlantic and those of the Pacific." This advancement immediately made the Pony Express obsolete and it officially ceased operations two days later. The telegraph line operated until May 1869, when it was replaced by a multi-wire system constructed with the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railway lines. Western Union introduced money transfer in 1871.

 

The company offered singing telegrams in 1933. Lucille Lipps, a Western Union operator, was the first to sing a message over the telephone to singer Rudy Vallee on July 28, 1933, which was Vallee's birthday. Most singing telegrams were made in person, as most recipients did not have a telephone. The "candygram" was introduced in the 1960s (a box of chocolates accompanying a telegram). Christie and I sure enjoyed those! In 1964, Western Union initiated a transcontinental microwave system to replace land lines. The first commercial satellite in the U.S. was introduced in 1974. In 1980, revenue from the money transfer service exceeded telegram service revenue for the first time in Western Union history. Celebrating its 150-year anniversary in 2001, Western Union expanded to more than 100,000 agent locations worldwide.

In 2006, Western Union discontinued all telegram and commercial messaging services. This ended the era of telegrams which began in 1851 and spanned 155 years of continuous service. Western Union reported that telegrams sent had fallen to a total of 20,000 a year, due to competition from other communication services such as email. Telegram service in the United States continues to be available through iTelegram and other companies.

Now, we're going back to the range! The Black Hills are a small mountain range in western South Dakota, extending into Wyoming. The name "Black Hills" is a translation of the Lakota Pahá Sápa. The hills were so-called because of their dark appearance from a distance, as they were covered in trees. The Lakota took over the territory after conquering the Cheyenne in 1776. Would you believe that Custer State Park is home to one of the world's largest buffalo herds? Cochran and I are proud to learn that Texas' state bison herd at Caprock Canyons State Park in the Panhandle region are grazing on their 700-acre range! The Southern Plains bison were moved to the park in 1998 and their offspring (now numbering 80) are among the last purebred descendants of what once were millions of wild bison roaming North America. The goal is to one day give bison free range.

The Comanches were once part of the Shoshone Indians. The Comanche language and the Shoshone language are still almost the same. Bands of Comanches began moving south. By around 1740 they first showed up in the Texas panhandle. There were about 12 bands of Comanches, but this number probably changed. The most famous band was the Penatekas. Penateka means "honey eater" in Comanche.

The Comanche got their first horses around 1680 from the Spanish and Pueblo Indians. Once they had horses, they learned to use them well. Many experts have said that the Comanche were the finest light cavalry in the world. When it came to riding and fighting on horseback, only the Cheyenne Indians came anywhere close. The Comanches used this skill with horses to win many battles and overcome their opponents.

Quanah Parker (1845 or 1852-February 23, 1911) was the only Comanche ever recognized by the U.S. Government with the title, "The Chief of the Comanche Indians." As with other tribes, the Quahadi Comanche finally surrendered in 1875, and Quanah helped settle the Comanche on the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache Reservation in southwestern Oklahoma. Quanah was named chief over all the Comanches on the reservation, and proved to be a forceful, resourceful, and able leader. Through wise investments, he became perhaps the wealthiest American Indian in the U.S. At this time, Quanah embraced much of white culture and adopted the surname Parker and was well respected by the whites. Parker extended hospitality to many influential people, both Native American and European American. Among the latter were the Texas surveyor W. D. Twichell and the cattleman Charles Goodnight (responsible for the bison herd at Caprock Canyons State Park). Parker also went on hunting trips with President Theodore Roosevelt, who often visited him.

Quanah, Texas was named after Quanah Parker. At the founding of Quanah, Parker made this blessing:

"May the Great Spirit smile on your little town, May the rain fall in season, and in the warmth of the sunshine after the rain, May the earth yield bountifully, May peace and contentment be with you and your children forever."

Now, I have to tell you a little about Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), perhaps the best known rancher in Texas. He is sometimes known as the "father of the Texas Panhandle." Goodnight moved to Texas in 1846. In 1856, he became a cowboy and served with the local militia fighting against Comanche raiders (yes, that's right). A year later, in 1857, Goodnight joined the Texas Rangers. Goodnight is also known for rousing and leading a posse against the Comanche in 1860 that located the Indian camp where Cynthia Ann Parker was living with her husband, Peta Nocona, then guiding Texas Rangers to the camp, leading to Cynthia Ann's recapture. He also later made a treaty with her son, Quanah Parker. 

Following the Civil War, he became involved in the herding of feral Texas Longhorn cattle northward from West Texas to railroads. This "making the gather" was a near state-wide round-up of cattle that had roamed free during the four long years of war. In 1866, he and Oliver Loving drove their first herd of cattle northward along what would become known as the Goodnight-Loving Trail.

We're going to have to say goodnight and give you our recipe for today:

WAGON WHEEL SOUP

1 lb. beef stew meat

1 (14.5 oz) can of petite diced tomatoes

6 cups water (or 4 cups water + 2 cups vegetable juice)

1 (15 oz) can of lima beans

1 (15 oz) can of corn

1 (8 oz) can of sliced carrots

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. basil leaves

1 cup Piccolini pasta (mini rotelle wheels), cooked

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in Dutch oven. Cut stew meat into desired pieces and brown in oil. Add tomatoes, water, and seasonings. Cover and simmer until meat is tender (a few hours).  Add vegetables, cover, and let simmer to allow flavors to blend.  Add cooked pasta and serve. 

*You can use any variety of canned or frozen vegetables, as well as seasonings. You can also substitute potatoes for the pasta.  

ENJOY!

Yes, I did say goodnight, but let's listen to the book, Goodnight Moon together:

http://youtu.be/rKqV9uuXa0Y

FIAMMA'S FUN FACTS FRIDAY

I'm just hanging out with my "golden" legs dangling and having some "reservations" about this blog now, Tom! I'm going in a different "vein" to tell you about the 1849 Gold Rush! You'll want to get real comfortable, too, because I'm in no "rush" to tell you the story.

James Marshall, a carpenter and wheelright, found the first trace of gold on the American River near Coloma, California, on January 24, 1848, but he never made the fortune he expected. In 1847, James Marshall and John Sutter decided to build a sawmill in the Sierra Nevada foothills, which was on the south fork of the American River near an Indian village called Cullumah (Coloma). The local Indians and Mormon veterans of the Mexican War helped build the mill, and every night Marshall would direct the river's flow through the millrace (man-made ditch) to carry away the debris from the previous day's work.

During his regular inspection on January 24, 1848, he spotted a gleam in the bottom of the ditch and found what appeared to be gold. He informed Sutter and after performing several tests, the partners were convinced that Marshall had indeed found gold. The workers were sworn to secrecy until he could obtain the official title to the mineral rights in Coloma. This land belonged to the Culluma Indians and had not been included in the 48,000-acre grant he received from Mexican Governor Alvarado a decade earlier. However, news leaked out and by May, the mine was flooded with 80,000 miners.

During 1848, Marshall and Sutter tried "in vain" to claim ownership of the Coloma property and charge a commission for any gold found by other miners. Only a few paid Marshall any money or respected his self-proclaimed property rights. By the end of 1848, he was forced to sell his sawmill and was forced from the site. Marshall then began to claim that he had supernatural powers that allowed him to locate the richest gold deposits. His refusal to reveal the location of these so-called locations angered the miners even more, who even threatened to lynch him if he did not lead them to this new gold. Marshall was forced to flee for his life and try to start over as just another prospector, but his identity was so well known, that miners hounded him wherever he went. 

By 1853, Marshall decided to leave town and drifted all over California trying to find another rich strike. In 1872, at age 62, he was awarded a monthly $200 pension for his contribution to California's gold-crazed growth (In the most productive year, 1852, the amount of gold brought out of the "mother lode" amounted to more than $81 million. The California Mother Lode was one of the most productive gold-producing districts in the United States.) Marshall moved to Kelsey, a few miles east of Coloma, where he used the money to open a blacksmith shop. He worked there and lived in the Union Hotel until his death on August 10, 1885.

On May 3, 1890, a monument was officially dedicated in his honor as the man whose discovery was responsible for the California Gold Rush. The statue shows the former carpenter pointing at the spot where he allegedly found the first flakes of gold. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma also commemorates the gold discovery. An authentic replica of the sawmill still operates and a few old gold rush buildings remain intact from Coloma's glory days.  Oddy enough, the first gold sent from California to the U.S. Mint did not come from Marshall or Coloma, but by Don Abel Stearns from Placerita Canyon.

By 1874, the gold rush was over. With the discovery of silver in Nevada's nearby Comstock Lode, miners moved on. In the early days of the gold rush, robberies and murders plagued the mining towns. After one such crime, a citizens' jury took justice into their own hands and hanged the three accused from a white oak tree. The name Hangtown was quickly attached to the town now called Placerville. When a miner who had just struck it rich, walked into a restaurant and ordered the most expensive meal the cook could make, he was served an omelet of eggs, bacon, and oysters, all ingredients hard to get in the gold rush country. The dish came to be known as Hangtown Fry.

Miners made anywhere from $12 to $35 per ounce of gold. This may seem like it was a lot of money for one ounce of gold and it was in those days, but all of the supply prices were increased due to supply and demand, too. Check out these facts:

• Eggs could cost up to $3 an egg
• Pills cost $10 each without the advice from a doctor, and $100 with the advice from a doctor (things haven't changed, huh?)
• Sugar was $1.50 per pint
• Water could cost anywhere from $1, $5, $10, or $100 a glass
• Coffee was $1 per pint

Charles Bolton "Black Bart" was a self-styled highwayman and poet who held up 28 stagecoaches with an unloaded gun and always said "please" when taking people's belongings. He wasn't captured until 1883 and was sentenced to six years in San Quentin Prison. Juaquin Murietta has sometimes been romanticized as the Robin Hood bandit of the period.

Take about some golddiggers!  This song was originally performed by Spiral Staircase, but Goldfinger did a really good version.  I know you'll dig this!

WHAT'S MAJOR TOM THINKING ABOUT TODAY?

I'm thinking it's time for me to mosey on in here and jump on this "bandwagon" to tell you all about Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868). Born on Christmas Eve in 1809 in Kentucky, he spent most of his childhood in Boone's Lick, Missouri. The Carson family settled on a tract of land owned by the sons of Daniel Boone.

At the age of 16, he joined a group of traders that were on their way to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was taught the skills of trapping by Matthew Kinkead and began learning the necessary languages, becoming fluent in Spanish, Navajo, Apache, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Paiute, Shoshone, and Ute. Through the next 15 years, he became an experienced frontiersman, guide, and fur trapper, traveling as far west as California, into the Rocky Mountains, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. He gained popularity as John C. Frémont's guide from 1842 to 1846, leading expeditions on the Oregon Trail and into the Sierra Nevada. During his expeditions in the Sierra Nevada, Frémont became the first American to see Lake Tahoe. Many of Carson's accomplishments were popularized in Dr. De Witt C. Peters' 1858 book, The Life and Adventure of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains (nestor meaning "a leader in his field").

In 1836, Carson married an Arapaho Indian woman named Singing Grass, and they had two daughters, only one of whom survived (Adeline, born in 1837). After his first wife died, he married a Cheyenne Indian woman named Making-Our-Road in 1841. Shortly afterward, she followed her tribe in migration, and Carson took his daughter back to St. Louis, Missouri. For the next eight years, Carson split his time between his daughter in St. Louis and his trapping duties in Taos, New Mexico. At age 34, Carson married his third wife, 14-year-old Josefa, on February 6, 1843. They had eight children together, the descendants of whom remain in the Arkansas Valley of Colorado. 

Carson served in the American-Mexican War as a dispatcher from 1846 to 1848. By 1849, he had settled near Taos to farm and do occasional scouting for army units fighting hostile tribes. Carson also served in the Office of Indian Affairs, first as an agent and then as a superintendent of Indian affairs for the Colorado Territory. In 1854, he became the agent for several southwestern tribes. For years, Carson worked to keep peace and to ensure fair treatment of Native Americans.

So, adios compadres, until next week.  Major Tom's now thinking we need to lighten the mood a little and watch Bugs Bunny in How the West Was Won:

HAMMIN' IT UP WITH BLOG HOG HAMILTON

I'm really going to lighten the load tonight and make my post real short! I wanted to show you the 2007 Gold Pig coin. This is the 12th coin in The Perth Mint's Australian Lunar Gold Bullion Coin Series. The Lunar Series is based on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which repeats every 12 years. This series represents the years 1996-2007, with the 12 coins representing a different year in the Lunar Calendar.

Yes, Trotter, there is a 2002 Gold Horse coin. I don't know if there are horse banks, but I know there is a piggy bank! Since Hairy didn't tell you about the Pony Express, I'll do the honor on my post today!

The Pony Express was a mail delivery system that consisted of relays of men riding horses carrying saddlebags of mail across a 2000-mile trail across the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the High Sierra. The service opened officially on April 3, 1860, when riders left simultaneously from St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California. The first westbound trip was made in 9 days and 23 hours, and the eastbound journey in 11 days and 12 hours. 

There were 184 stations along the route used by the Pony Express. Several of these stations were located in military forts, while others had to be built. The route was divided up into five divisions. To maintain the rigid schedule, 157 relay stations were located from 5 to 20 miles apart as the terrain would allow for. At each Swing Station, riders would exchange their tired horses for fresh ones, while Home Stations provided room and board for the riders between runs. Each rider rode about 75 miles per day. In emergencies, a given rider might ride two stages back to back, over 20 hours on a quickly moving horse. Riders received $25 per week as pay. The express route was extremely hazardous, but only one mail delivery was ever lost. The service lasted only 19 months until October 24, 1861, when the completion of the Pacific Telegraph line ended the need for its existence.

The Patee House served as the Pony Express headquarters from 1860 to 1861. It is one block away from the home of infamous outlaw Jesse James.

Okay, my post wasn't short, but it wasn't as long as the Pony Express route! We love Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, especially in Wild Wooly Hare!

TROTTIN' ABOUT TOWN WITH HAIRY TROTTER

The Conestoga Horse was produced in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, during the 18th and early 19th centuries. They were famous for pulling the famous Conestoga wagons that were used in the Conestoga Valley of Lancaster and surrounding areas for nearly 100 years. They were introduced to the states by German settlers and used to transport military supplies during the war of 1812. Because of the tremendous size and weight of the Conestoga wagon, it required between four and twelve horses to pull it along. Although oxen could be used, horses were generally preferred.

 

Conestoga horses were a cross between Flemish draft horses and Virgina mares. In the 1850s, draft horses were used to pull very heavy loads over short distances on paved roads. They were also capable of traveling 100 miles over poor roads in mountainous terrain. These horses had strong bodies, long striding legs, a steady active movement, weighed 1500 pounds, stood 16-17 hands high (64-68 inches tall), and their body color was solid, either bay or black (most often black). These horses died out in the 20th centrury for several reasons. For one, Conestogas needed careful attention to keep them healthy. Mules, on the other hand, needed practically no medical attention and hardy western horses were cheaper to buy, did not eat as much as Conestoga horses, and were strong enough for farm work.

 

The largest horse in recorded history was probably a Shire horse (a breed of draft horse) named Mammoth, who was born in 1848. He stood 21.2½ hands high (86½ inches), and his peak weight was estimated at 3,300 pounds.

 

As we talked about earlier in the blog, oxen were used mostly for pulling the lighter "prairie schooners" used on the Oregon Trail. This is a good picture of a gathering of wagons on the road. Looks like the traffic jams we have in Dallas most days!

 

Gumby is a green clay figure with his sidekick, a talking orange pony named Pokey. Gumby's nemesis are the Blockheads, red-colored figures with block-shaped heads who are always causing chaos. Other characters are Gumby's dog Nopey (whose entire vocabulary is the word "no"), and Prickle, a yellow dinosaur who will dress up like Sherlock Holmes with a pipe and deerstalker hat. Other characters are Goo, a flying blue mermaid who spits blue goo-balls and can change her physical shape at will; Gumby's mother Gumba and father Gumbo; Gumby's sister Minga, and mastodon friend Denali.

From the weird to the wild! I found this old picture hanging around the house of two "ladies" and two serious-looking gentlemen. Wonder what they were up to?

 

 Can you read to Rocky, like this little girl? 

Children (grades K-5) read to Heart of Texas therapy dogs on Saturday, September 17, at 2 p.m. at the Dallas Public Library, Audelia Branch, Dallas, Texas. Read for fun and to improve reading skills. The dogs are good listeners. Bring your own book or use ours.

DEAR TABBY

DEAR TABBY: I've "spent" a great deal of time trying to find information about Buffalo nickels, but can't seem to find any source I can really "count" on. Can you tell me about the designer of the Buffalo nickels and the identity of the Native American on the front of the coin?  NICKY, BUFFALO, NEW YORK

DEAR NICKY: I can certainly give you my two-cents' worth, or my five-cents' worth! (Of note, the "heads side" of a coin is called the obverse; the "tails side" is called the reverse.) The Buffalo nickel, or Indian Head nickel, was a copper-nickel five-cent piece struck by the United States Mint from 1913 to 1938 (the Liberty nickel had previously been minted from 1883 to 1912). The Buffalo nickel was designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser and remains one of the most popular and well-loved coins today. His father, Thomas Fraser, was a railroad engineer and was part of a group sent out to recover the remains of the 7th Cavalry Regiment following the Battle of the Little Bighorn just a few months before James Fraser's birth in Minnesota. At the age of 3, his family moved to Mitchell, South Dakota, where he learned to mold figures of people and animals out of the clay at the local chalkstone query. At the age of 15, his family moved to Chicago, where he was exposed to some of the great artists who had sculptures at the Columbian Exposition.

Fraser modeled the head of the Indian after three chiefs (Iron Tail of the Sioux, Two Moons of the Cheyenne, and John Big Tree of the Seneca nation) who had posed for him years earlier. Two Guns White Calf (son of the last Blackfoot tribal chief) claimed to be a model for the coin. In 1964, Montana Senator Mike Mansfield wrote to the Mint Director, inquiring if Sam Resurrection (a Choctaw Indian), was a model for the nickel.


The first coins to be distributed were given out on February 22, 1913, when President Taft presided at groundbreaking ceremonies for the National American Indian Memorial at Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York. A project of department store magnate Rodman Wanamaker, the memorial was never built and instead the site is occupied by an abutment for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (see below). Forty nickels were sent by the Mint for the ceremony; most were distributed to the Native American chiefs who participated.

(left to right) Cheyenne chief Wooden Leg, Cheyenne chief Two Moons, Rodman Wanamaker, Crow chief Plenty Coups, Crow chief Medicine Crow, Crow Indian White Man Runs Him, and Oglala Sioux chief Jack Red Cloud.

The Verrazano-Narrows bridge has been the starting point of the New York City Marathon since 1976. The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor, since all cruise ships and most container ships arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge. The bridge is affected by weather more than any other bridge in the city because of its size and isolated location close to the open ocean. It is occasionally closed (either partially or entirely) during strong wind and snow storms.

Soon after the first Buffalo Nickels were struck, it became apparent that the reverse design would wear quickly in circulation, particularly the area carrying the inscription of the denomination which was on the highest point of the coin. The design was slightly modified by Charles E. Barber. Type I Buffalo nickels display the words "FIVE CENTS" on the mound upon which the Bison stands on the reverse of the coin. Type I nickels were struck only during the first year of production in 1913.

Type II Buffalo nickels display "FIVE CENTS" in a flattened area below the mound on the reverse. Type II nickels were produced from 1913 right up through to the end of the series.

Mint marks, which designate the U.S. Mint that struck a coin, can be found on the Buffalo nickel just under the words "FIVE CENTS" on the bottom of the reverse side of the coin.

 

In 1938, after the minimum 25–year period (the design could not be replaced without congressional authorization had expired), it was replaced by the Jefferson nickel designed by Felix Schlag. 

 

In a 1947 radio interview, Fraser discussed his design: "Well, when I was asked to do a nickel, I felt I wanted to do something totally American—a coin that could not be mistaken for any other country's coin. It occurred to me that the buffalo, as part of our western background, was 100% American, and that our North American Indian fitted into the picture perfectly." Despite the sculptor's efforts, he and the Mint continued to receive inquiries about the identity of the Indian model until his 1953 death.

 

In 2001, the design was adopted for use on a commemorative silver dollar (90% silver).

 

In 2006, the Mint began striking American Buffalo gold bullion pieces, using a modification of Fraser's Type I design. This was the first time the government made 99.99% pure coins for investors and collectors.

 

The U.S. Mint in West Point, N.Y. produced the one-ounce coins in both a bullion version for investors and a proof version for collectors (has a finer finish and a higher quality strike). The Mint set the initial price at $800 per proof coin and produced 300,000 of them. Although the face value was $50, the price of the proof coin, which bears the "W" mint mark of the West Point mint, was $800.

In 1915, James Fraser produced his most recognized work, the "End of the Trail." While intended to be cast in bronze, material shortages due to the war prevented this, and the original plaster statue slowly deteriorated until it was obtained by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Musium in 1968 and restored. The restored statue is currently on display in the entryway of the Oklahoma City Museum. 

I know you got your money's worth today; now let's watch Home on the Range - Will the Sun Ever Shine Again?  Since I can't pull up the link by the address, you'll have to click on the link: http://youtu.be/p6m2vmtN2f4

WAGGIN' TRAILS TALES by Blog Dog Dan

I know, I know, I'm late, but I've been on a long journey westward on a wagon train! I am very happy with the information I have to tell you tonight, because I'm wagon, uh, waggin' my tail right now! Tail wagging is a dog’s response to energy going through its whole body, but you can only see it through the tail! If my tail was tucked, that would mean I’m afraid or fearful of something (like being late with my post)! If I'm really happy, my tail will usually be right in the middle of my body. When my tail starts to go up, that means I’m focusing my attention on something (like my ears when they’re perked) and I can tend to be more aggressive. It’s okay for us dogs to be curious, but not to get fixated on any one thing. You know I'm the curious type, and right now, my ears are perked and my tail is at the top of my body!

The 50 years between 1840 and 1890 represented one of the greatest movements of humanity we will ever see in this country and is part of an era we will never see again. The discovery of gold in California in 1848 and the 1862 Homestead Act sent fortune hunters and families from the east to a new life of farming or fortune in the west. The population of the United States in 1840 was about 17,100,000; by 1900, it was about  76,200,000 (according to the U.S. Scentsus, uh, Census). Emigration to California spiked considerably with the 1849 Gold Rush. Following the discovery of gold, California remained the destination of choice for most emigrants on the Oregon trail up to 1860, with almost 200,000 people traveling there between 1849 and 1860. None of these original statistical records have been found, only partial records, as the Army lost them or destroyed them.

Now, my wagon trails tales begin! The bigger Conestoga wagons were used mostly in the East, on the Great Wagon Road, through the Great Appalachian Valley from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, ultimately reaching Augusta, Georgia, on the Savannah River. These wagons averaged 18 x 11 x 4 feet and could transport up to eight tons. The wagon was pulled by a team of up to eight horses or up to a dozen oxen. It was designed to resemble a boat, to help it cross rivers and streams.

The Oregon Trail is the 2,000-mile historic east-west wagon route that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon and took 4-6 months to cross. To complete the journey in one traveling season, most travelers left in April to May, as soon as there was enough grass for the animals and the trails dried out. To meet the constant need for water, grass, and fuel for campfires, the trail followed various rivers and streams. They even had toll roads, thought to have been about $30 per wagon! By 1869, the Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were used by about 400,000 settlers, ranchers, farmers,  miners, and businessmen and their families.

 

The lighter, smaller wagons were used for this journey. They were referred to as “prairie schooners” because the white canvas covers of the wagons crossing the prairies looked like sails of a ship at sea. The body of the wagon was 10 x 3-1/2 feet with 30-inch sides and could carry a ton and a half. The wagon was usually pulled by two or four oxen.  

The cloth top of the wagon was oiled to keep out the sun, rain, wind, or hail and to protect the goods inside the wagons. In order to lighten the load for the oxen when the journey got hard, items would often be tossed from the wagon onto the trail. On some accounts, pianos and organs were left behind on the trail. I’m sure that was “sweet music” for the oxen! Because all of the goods and supplies were packed in the wagons and left little room, the settlers usually walked beside their wagons. I sure hope they had on their walking shoes!

That's all for me tonight 'cause my tale, uh, tail, is draggin'!  I'm sure the other bloggers on BDD will help me out on our journey westward this week. I think this is the first time we've watched adorable Droopy, so let's catch Deputy Droopy in action (better late than never!):

COOKING IN THE DARK WITH COCHRAN & CHRISTIE

I guess Christie and I are from the "wrong side of the tracks," too. This expression came about in the 19th century, when railway tracks usually ran right through the center of town, and it was the winds that determined which was the right or wrong side to live on. As the town developed, the wealthy built homes on the cleaner, windward side of the tracks, while industrial development and the working class were confined to the other, dirtier side. Of course, we love to be on the dirtier side! Speaking of "funky," Grand Funk Railroad got their name from the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a well-known railway line that ran through their home town of Flint, Michigan. I certainly think that Christie is "Some Kind of Wonderful"! Sometimes, I think we're on the "fast train to nowhere"!

Railroad hobos were common in U.S. history in the mid 1800s, when railroads were the major source of transportation. After the Civil War, military veterans rode the rails in search of work and new lives. By the early 1900s, it was estimated that about 700,000 transients, almost all men, regularly rode the rails. During the Great Depression, the numbers soared as men and families moved around the country looking for work.

The Transcontinental Railroad (originally known as the Pacific Railroad) was built between 1863 and 1869 by the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad. This 1800-mile railroad linked the east and west coast (Atlantic and Pacific). The majority of the Union Pacific track was built by Irish laborers and veterans of both the Union and Confederate armies. As the track approached Utah, most of the work force were Mormons. The Central Pacific’s laborers were Chinese.

On May 10, 1869, laborers of the Central Pacific Railroad from the west and the Union Pacific Railroad from the east met at Promontory Summit, Utah, where Governor Leland Stanford (founder of Stanford University) drove the last spike that joined the rails of the transcontinental railroad. This was the world's first live mass-media event and travel from coast to coast was reduced from six months or more to just one week. These events were the major inspiration for French writer Jules Verne’s book, Around the World in Eighty Days, published in 1873. The Last Spike (or golden spike) is now on display at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University.

While this development was cause for celebration for most people, the Native Americans called the train the "iron horse." The Native Americans saw the addition of the railroad as a violation of their treaties with the United States. War parties began to raid the moving labor camps that followed the progress of the line. The Union Pacific responded by increasing security and killing American Bison, which were both a physical threat to trains  and a primary food source for the Indians. Not only was the buffalo a primary food source for Native Americans, but their very religions were centered around the buffalo. 

The buffalo gave us everything we needed. Without it we were nothing. Our tipis were made of his skin. His hide was our bed, our blanket, our winter coat. It was our drum, throbbing through the night, alive, holy. Out of his skin we made our water bags. His flesh strengthened us, became flesh of our flesh. Not the smallest part of it was wasted. His stomach, a red-hot stone dropped into it, became our soup kettle. His horns were our spoons, the bones our knives, our women's awls and needles. Out of his sinews we made our bowstrings and thread. His ribs were fashioned into sleds for our children, his hoofs became rattles. His mighty skull, with the pipe leaning against it, was our sacred altar. The name of the greatest of all Sioux was Tatanka Iyotake--Sitting Bull. When you killed off the buffalo you also killed the Indian--the real, natural, "wild" Indian.

Crazy Horse "Tȟašúŋke Witkó” ( "His-Horse-Is-Crazy" or "His-Horse-Is-Spirited"),(1840-1877) was a legendary Oglala Lakota warrior. He stole horses from the Crow Indians before he was 13 and led his first war party before turning 20. He earned his reputation for his skill and daring in battle and also his fierce determination to preserve his people’s traditional way of life. He refused to allow any photographs to be taken of him.

He fought in the 1865-1868 war led by Chief Red Cloud against American settlers in Wyoming. Following the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, he helped attack a surveying party sent into the Black Hills by General George Armstrong Custer in 1873. With a combined force of about 1,500 Lakota and Cheyenne, he was able to turn back General George Crook on June 17, 1876, as Crook tried to advance up Rosebud Creek toward Sitting Bull’s encampment on the Little Bighorn. A week later, Crazy Horse joined forces with Sitting Bull, and on June 25 led his band in the counterattack that destroyed Custer’s Seventh Cavalry, flanking the Americans from the north and west as Hunkpapa warriors led by Chief Gall charged from the south and east. This was known as Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand and was the most famous action of the Great Sioux Wars of 1876.

After this victory, Sitting Bull and Gall retreated to Canada, but Crazy Horse remained to battle General Nelson Miles through the winter of 1876-1877.  On January 8, 1877, Crazy Horse's warriors fought their last major battle at Wolf Mountain, but was forced to surrender due to the long cold winter and the decline of the buffalo. Except for Gall and Sitting Bull, he was the last important chief to yield.

The battlefield today

Jimmie Rodgers was known as “The Singing Brakeman.” Rodgers recorded over 110 records, many featuring his trademark yodel, including “Big Rock Candy Mountain” and “Waiting for a Train.” He was the son of a section foreman on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and went to work as a "water boy" on the M&O at age 14. Many of his co-workers were African Americans who taught him how to play banjo and guitar. At age 24, he contracted tuberculosis and could no longer work as a railroad employee. The stories and melodies Rodgers learned while working the rails served as the basis of his new career. Rodgers was the first inductee to the Country Music Hall of Fame and part of the first group of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Cochran and I are going to tie this post up into a neat little bundle and make “hobo packs” today. We did not add meat today, but made ours with one russet potato, half a yellow squash and zucchini, onion, and red pepper. These packs are popular when camping because anything can be wrapped up in foil and put on the grill! We only used vegetables, but you can add any cut of meat to your packet. You can also use bouillon cubes in your packet.

HOBO PACKS

1 russet potato, sliced

½ yellow squash, sliced

½ zucchini, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

½ red pepper, sliced

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. canola oil

Seasoned salt

Black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for butter. On a large sheet of foil on a baking sheet, pour out the vegetables in the middle of the foil, dot with butter, and bring up edges of foil to seal. Cook for 45 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

 ENJOY!

In honor of our blog today, let's listen to Train sing Calling All Angels: