Blog Dog Dan: 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.