Blood and Thunder - a book review

Blood and Thunder; Hampton Sides (2007)

This title was in the bookstore when we visited Bosque Redondo (see the post on that trip), so we purchased the Kindle version and have been reading it "on the trail", so to speak. What an amazing story, and so much of it buried or long forgotten. This is the kind of history we must not forget!

Though the famous mountain man Kit Carson is the central figure in this book, he is set in context, surrounded by many others who were so integral to the rapidly unfolding history of the time.

Stephen Watts Kearny, John Fremont, Henry Sibley, General James Henry Carleton, the Navajo warrior Narbona, and Senator Thomas Benton. Others, equally important but whose names are lesser known, rise to importance as the story unfolds. The conflicts with Mexico, the interactions between the various tribes, and the interests of the pioneers in their movement west, all play a part in the drama, and Sides does well at allowing the reader to understand each perspective.

Kit Carson

Though Kit Carson was illiterate and left no writings of any kind, the story of his life has been gleaned from interviews held during his lifetime, as well as the reminiscences of those who knew him well. His strong friendship with the explorer John Fremont is explored, as well as his connections to the Bent family, famous for the establishment of Bent's Fort.

A fascinating man who spoke many languages and understood the many Native American cultures he encountered, he also worked for the US Army,  killing these same Indians and acting at the Army's direction in removing them from their homelands and onto dismal reservations.

The author is as objective as one could be, I think, in describing the times, the reasoning behind the actions and plans, and weaving together the strands of politics, culture, the interactions of our government with Mexico, and western movement, over-layed with the strong personalities who played such important roles in the early history of our country.

I've read a lot of history set in this time period, but never have I encountered such a masterful collage of events and personalities.

Gen James Carleton

In many ways this book could be considered a guidebook to the history of the southwest, particularly the history of the Navajo Nation, as they were rounded up, sent to the reservation at Bosque Redondo (Fort Sumner, NM), and in the end, finally allowed to return to their native land. Many of the battles and other events occurred in locations we have recently visited. The battle between the Navajo and the US Army in Canyon de Chelly at Fortress Rock becomes horribly real when you've been there and seen the harsh environment. The narrow shelf high up in the canyon known as The Place Where Two Fell Off, where a Navajo woman threw herself over the cliff, taking a soldier with her, becomes a war memorial.

A sad but fascinating tale, and one that is a must-read for anyone visiting the area, or interested at all in the impact of the policies growing out of the belief in Manifest Destiny.

A bonus for the true history buff, this book will lead to many others, as sources are not only sited, they are briefly analyzed in a notes section.

Black Range Tales, a book review

These are the stories of James A. McKenna, or "Uncle Jimmy", as the community came to know him in his later years. Uncle Jimmy's stories of his life and adventures are unique little windows into a time long past. There is no bragging here, no attempt to write a wild, shoot-em-up adventure story. These are true tales of Indian wars, mining adventures, the miners and gamblers, theives as and good and honest folks. Real life, as the pioneers lived it, in the natural, colorful language of the time.

Set in the Black Hills of New Mexico, those familiar with the state will recognize the names of many of the mines and settlements still on the map. Silver City is at the center of the area where most of the stories take place. Mines, both lost and well known figure largely in his tales, as well as many mining towns no longer in existence. The geographic and geologic details of mining camp locations make the book a great resource for ghost town hunters.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1951 Uncle Jimmie began working his way west at an early age. He did it the way most folks did at the time... a little trapping, a little herding, a little working on the riverboats. He landed in the southwest and settled in  prospecting for silver and gold, as the area was heavy with mining opportunities. When he wasn't prospecting he serving as a justice of the peace, or any one of his many other roles. Along the way he met some pretty fascinating folks. In delicious detail Uncle Jimmy tells of surviving battles with Indians, near misses in mining accidents, hunting bear and dealing with the shysters attracted to the easy money of a mining community. Many of these fascinating characters, like the fellow members of the Spit and Whittle Club, helped him tell the stories. All together, it's a captivating read, especially so if you happen to be familiar with the area and can envision the rugged landscape he describes.

This edition (1969) has some improvements over the first edition, published in 1936. Updates include a map in the front that covers most of the locations mentioned in the stories, and the addition of an index. The index is fairly complete, and would certainly be useful for referring back to stories for details on specific mines or individuals mentioned. Even better, the text has been scanned and is available as a completely searchable document on Ancestry.com, for those with a membership to that service. Search Black Range Tales.

Black Range Tales, chronicling sixty years of life and adventure in the Southwest.
James A. McKenna. The Rio Grande Press, 3rd edition, 1969
The book is available from several retailers, and as it has been reprinted several times, check closely to see that your edition includes the index and map. The book is not available in electronic format, other that the source mentioned above.

A big Thank You! to David and Stephanie Nishikida for giving me a copy of Black Rock Tales!

The Nez Perce Trail

July 20-21 May Creek Campground, near Wisdom, Montana.

This is the closest campground to the Big Hole National Battlefield, a part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park.  We stayed two nights, so we could devote a full day to visiting the park's Visitor's Center, and the area in general.

Following our visit to Utah our travels have been organized according to the history of the Nez Perce trail. Steve had recently finished reading The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story (Elliott West) and was so impressed by struggles of the tribe, the overall importance to history of the Northwest and the country as a whole, that we decided to base part of our trip on the trail they followed as the government pushed them first one way and then another in an attempt to confiscate their land.

The teepee poles are in the exact center of the photo, on the light green area

The visitor's center has new displays, installed only a year ago, that are beautifully fabricated to convey the critical concepts of the events that took place here in a minimal amount of space. Having just read the history of this horrific battle, which left 90 Nez Perce and 31 soldiers and volunteers dead, it was hard to view battlefield. Teepee poles are in place where the village once was, making it easy to picture the situation at the time of the battle. But those of us who have not been in a war cannot imagine what it was like for the Nez Perce, but also for the soldiers. This is history we should not forget.

We're doing the "trail" from the middle out, as a result of scheduling commitments, but the history and the impact are felt none-the-less. The history of the subjugation of the Nez Perce is too involved to do justice in this blog, so I'll include a few links for those who chose to delve further into the subject. I will say, West's book, mentioned above is excellent: very readable, and West does not tell the story from only one side... he reports facts as they were documented. It's difficult to ready history without putting today's value judgements on it, but West does his best not to reflect today's political and social values in his writing, leaving it to the reader to draw their own conclusions. It was a hard time, for all involved. Could there have been better solutions? Probably. Unfortunately, as with all political and military actions, humans are involved and therefore decisions made and actions taken were imperfect.

Having lived in the northwest for 30 years, and being fairly well informed students of American history, we often find ourselves saying "I didn't know that", and are repeatedly reminded of how much of our history has been buried. Never taught in school, never mentioned. Unless you go looking for it and inform yourself, and your children, you'd never know any of this happened. That is why history repeats itself. We can't learn from it if we aren't exposed to it.

We, unlike those whose history we are here to learn, could retreat to the comfort of our campsite - a wooded haven, with a creek running nearby. Shiner and I indulged in a lengthy walk along the creek for each of the two days we stayed at May Creek.

A sad note on the forests in the area of Wisdom: the bug kill here is terrible. Another camper said they didn't see any damage last year, but we estimate about 30% or more now. Don't be surprised to hear of huge wildfires in this part of Montana in the future. On one of our walks one day the sky darkened with a weird peachy gray tone that means fire in the distance. It turned out to be over the Idaho border, so no immediate danger to us, but it was very creepy to be surrounded by so many dead trees and see smoke that color.

I do think this was one of Shiner's favorite campsites so far! She really had a good time visiting with fellow campers too, especially Bill and Jack, who seem to be fairly accomplished fishermen. They seemed to know exactly where to scritch her her ears to make her happy....or maybe it was fish perfume?

Jack with a German Brown

Following the Nez Perce trail further west (in reverse of the way it originated) we'll be going to the Missoula, Montana area next. If you can't travel to the Nez Perce sites the National Parks Service has made a virtual museum available on park website. There are some great photos of the items and each has a detailed description.

After touring the visitor's center we went into the little near-by town of Wisdom. Originally named for the near-by river, before they changed the name of the river to Big Hole River.

Wisdom's population isn't much over 100, but I suspect there are a lot of weekenders represented by all the buildings with antenna and other signs of activity.

Newer and older, shoulder to shoulder

There are a lot of really old wooden structures, lending the feel of a ghost town, but a still-active church, a couple of saloons, a small grocery store keep it alive. An interesting place to visit on the way to the battlefield.

Great summer reading

Serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.

That's how I found Bad Water, and my new favorite author, Toni Dwiggins

After finishing the classic reminiscence "Loafing Along Death Valley Trails: A Personal Narrative of People and Places" by William Caruthers, I was searching for non-fiction on the topic of Death Valley.  Having practically grown up in the ghost town of Garlock, a gold mining town that's not all that far from the great valley itself, I already know the area pretty well. I've already read much of what's been written, so I'm always looking for something new to add to my list of titles. In my search results, amongst the titles I've already read, or rejected, was a novel that looked interesting.

If you think you'd like a great who done it with a large helping of geology on the side, or if you are one of the many thousands that have become fascinated with the mysteries of Death Valley, or if you like to ponder the many ways a domestic terrorist could attack a critical system, you'll love Bad Water.

This is Toni's first novel in her Forensic Geology series. I felt the first few chapters are just a bit rough, but once the plot gets going the writing smooths out and as the plot develops it takes over. Young Cassie Oldfield and her mentor Walter Shaws are the forensic geologists called in to help solve a case that's far more complex and deadly than the authorities have ever guessed. It's a hard one to put down, and hot weather definitely fits the story line, so enjoy it this summer!

I've just started Toni's second novel, Volcano Watch. Stay tuned for a review on that title.

Toni's books are available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon. More about her on Amazon's author page.