Decided to try something new and offer one of my novels for free the next few days. I tried this with a short story and got quite a few downloads and some nice comments.
Here it is
Wyoming Writer Historian & Photographer
Showing posts with label writing westerns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing westerns. Show all posts
I.S. Bartlett - History of Wyoming
One of the earliest attempts to write a history of Wyoming was by Hartville resident, I. S. Bartlett and published in 1918. Vol 1 of the three volume set can be read online here- https://archive.org/details/historyofwyoming01bart
This book is a good read and one I have bookmarked on my laptop. This one is the first of a three volume set. Some critiques have been leveled at Mr. Bartlett’s work because a few liberties were taken that would not be found in a modern day history book. Mr. Bartlett lists himself as the editor not the writer of the book and includes first-hand accounts from many sources. He also includes some of his and others poetry and in one place talks about how good the fishing is at Kelly’s Park on the North Platte River a few miles from his home.
The book, because of its age, is a bit closer to history and the beginnings of the state of Wyoming which, to me, makes it an intriguing resource.
Give it a look and enjoy.
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| Photo of Laramie Peak from our hike today |
It has been a few weeks, maybe months since I have put up a few questions of Wyoming trivia, so here it is 5 questions to test your knowledge of the state. See answers under the last photo.
1. Who led the first Government Expedition over the Oregon Trail in 1842. The group stopped on a bluff overlooking what today is Guernsey State Park, where the leader noted that it was the most spectacular river valley he had ever seen. Ok who was it?
2. What river did early trappers call the Sisk-ke-dee?
3. Which is the oldest of the five dams on the North Platte River?
4. What was the battle in northern Wyoming between the cattle barons, and homesteaders, called?
5. Which Wyoming fort has been called the bloodiest in the west?
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| Part of the North Platte River Valley from Question 1, last winter |
1. John C. Fremont
2. Green River
3. Pathfinder
4. Johnson County War
5. Fort Phil Kearney
A Month of Writing
I knew it would happen sooner or later and today is the day. I posted on the wrong site. This post was meant for my writing site but is live here now. I will be posting my normal Wyoming blog post here soon.
Another month has passed, fall is here, and the colors are terrific.
Another month has passed, fall is here, and the colors are terrific.
Writing totals for the Month
I had hoped September would see an uptick in my writing, but instead, I wrote a bit less than last month. This month totaled 17 blog posts and 11,291 words on all of my projects. This brings my total for the year to just under 167,000. I need to pick it up to reach my goal of a quarter of a million words, right now it looks like I will come in around 200,000. My original goal was 350,000 then lowered to 250,000. I am not sure if I set my goals too high, or if I have become lazy. This year is the first that I have kept exact totals so maybe next year will tell the tale of how many words I write each day, month or year.
Sales are up
Although my word total was lacking, my book sales were and still are up. I have three new books nearly ready to go and hope to update my Christmas book to a second edition and get it out before Thanksgiving. If I do all of that, I should have a good writing month in October.
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| Saw these little guys in the park yesterday |
What a September
Not much writing in September but it was a great month for everything else. We went back to southeast Nebraska for our 50-year high school class reunion – Class of 1966. I also spend some time in the Laramie Range, visited the old Iron mining town of Sunrise, spent a day at the world famous Spanish Diggings and half a day at one of my favorite places, Fort Laramie. My wife and I also, with the cooler temperatures, started our fall hiking at Guernsey State Park.
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| Sitting on rocks quarried thousands of years ago at the Spanish Diggings |
Garden Book
Oh, and the garden is looking good. Which reminds me, I have not mentioned that one of my works in progress is a gardening book. Tips for beginning gardeners at altitude, and a collection of short murder mysteries that take place in – you guessed it - the garden. It will be a short book, coming in at around 100 pages, but so far I like it. The others will be my second Blade Holms western mystery and the third in my series of children’s books.
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| No frost yet - but it is October, and coming soon |
Thanks for keeping, Ghost of the Fawn, and Interview with a Gunfighter, consistently in the top 200 the past month, it is appreciated more than I can ever say.
John Jakes Short Stories
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| Fall in the Mountains |
I just finished, last evening, reading John Jakes book of short stories, The Bold Frontier. This collection covered much of Mr. Jakes writing career, stores from as far back as the 1950s. I especially enjoyed the first story in the book, The Western and How We Got It. That story gives a background of where and how the western genre started. Other than that, the stories run the gamut from traditional to a bit quirky.
Not everyone that reads westerns is a Jakes fan, but after reading all the books of his Kent Family Chronicles, many years ago, I then read his North and South Trilogy which included North and South, Love and War and Heaven and Hell. Guess that makes me a pretty big fan.
Oh, one last note, the 84-year-old Jakes is still alive and well, the Chicago native now lives in Flordia.
Seems like I am not getting much writing done lately. Might be I am enjoying the great fall weather a bit too much. The photos on today's post came from our ride out west of town this morning. We covered 85 miles enjoying the wildlife and fall colors along the way.
Keep on reading and keep on writing.
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| Nice Black Bear, but lots of timber between him and us - probably a good thing. |
Fort Laramie and the Old West
The End of the Old West
As I was writing an introduction to a book that I am working on several thoughts crossed my mind. The book, about Fort Laramie and the American West, has been a much more than interesting research project. Fort Laramie may be more a symbol of the old west and last frontier than anything else.
Fort Laramie 1849-1890
Throughout most of its active years, Fort Laramie was the most important fort of the West. The fort protected an area that was mostly unsettled when it was established as a military fort in 1849. One could argue that the 41 years the fort was active, were the defining years of what many called the old west. Yes, there were people, quite a few, in fact, Native Indian Tribes who would soon be displaced, and a few hunters, trappers, and wanderers, and with Fort Laramie, Soldiers.
End of the Frontier
During the active years of the fort the country rapidly expanded. The Gold Rush, Transcontinental Railroad, Telegraph, Pony Express, Civil War, and economic woes in the east all lead to the end of the old west. By the time 1890 rolled around, Benjamin Harrison was president and the United States Census Bureau announced the end of the frontier. In 1893, Fredrick Jackson Turner wrote an article for the Chicago World’s Fair, stating that there was no longer a line of Frontier in America. With the closing of Fort Laramie in 1890 also came the disgraceful Massacre at Wounded Knee and statehood for Wyoming. When Owen Wister published the first Western in 1902, The Virginian, the old west was gone.
Wild West
What about the Wild West? If it ever was, which it was not, it was a part of the old west. The Wild West was a creation by pulp writers turning out dozens of dime novel westerns and a few years later, Hollywood expanded the myth.
Fort Laramie was the first sign, or last sign, of civilization to an American people who farmed the land or lived in cities on the east and west coasts and in the south. It was also a sign of things to come, and 41 years after it opened, the buildings were sold off for salvage.
The Time’s They Are Changing
At my age, we just returned from our weekend 50-year high school reunion, I am not always in favor of the changes I see taking place. It was no different with the ending of the frontier, some saw it as a good sign, others hated the Idea of everything settled. Such is life, change and time march on.
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| Enjoying Time With Old Friends From The Class of '66' |
Old West Shootout
Anyone who has made a serious study of Western history knows that the middle of the street, showdown gunfight is mostly a creation of pulp magazine writers and Hollywood filmmakers. There remain a few sketchy details of gun fights that might have been. Of all the stories, the most well-known gun fight may be the Wild Bill Hickok, Davis Tutt dual in July of 1865. Reportedly the combatants were 75 yards from each other and carefully drew, aimed and fired, one time, at the same moment. Hickok reportedly rested his gun across his left forearm to steady it before firing. Tutt’s shot missed while Hickok’s struck Tutt in the ribs. Tutt died a few minutes later and Hickok was arrested and later acquitted. Hickok’s killing of Tutt in Springfield, Missouri would make Hickok a Wild West legend, but this fight was far from typical.
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| Hickok |
Most old west gunfights - and there were not very many, involved several men, or were more killings than any kind of fair fight. One such fight took place in the rough and tumble Wyoming mining and ranching town of Hartville in 1883. A cowhand named Ed Taylor called Bad Man Taylor by most was shot and killed in a favorite main street saloon. The shot, fired with a rifle through a window, did not give Taylor a chance to draw and fire, dime novel style. Onlookers believe Bad Man Taylor became a target after ambushing another cowboy a month earlier shooting him in the leg.
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| Today Hartville still has a number of false front buildings |
Note: The one fact that most stands out, for me, is that the Hickok-Tutt fight took place a distance of 75 yards. I have a tough time hitting anything from 75 feet, let alone 75 yards. My thought is that they stood far enough from each other that each felt reasonably safe, but could keep their reputations intact by shooting at each other. Not sure if Hickok was that good of shot or just lucky or unlucky in this case.
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| Not sure how long since somebody called this place, near Hartville, home |
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