Packing--Old West Style by @JacquieRogers

We read and write about people on the trail all the time. Bounty hunters, lawmen, cowhands, prospectors -- all of them had to know how to live on the trail. That means choosing the correct gear and using it properly. Most of us know at least a little about camping, but we have supplies that a frontiersman could only dream of, if they conceived of it at all.

One thing we have that they didn't have in the 19th century is YouTube. Lucky for us, we can learn the particulars about packing without leaving the house. Of course, practical experience is nearly always better, but most of us don't have the wherewithal to learn this particular skill set on our own.

Bedrolls

Everyone needs to sleep, so first things first--bedrolls. Take a look at the Ezine Article, A Cowboy's Bedroll Was Much More Than a Sleeping Bag. The author talks about the possibles sack (sometimes called a war bag) as incorporated into the bedroll. This sack might contain letters from home, a cleaning kit for his firearms, extra socks, or city clothes -- but if he had to carry it with him rather than sling it on the chuck wagon, then weight and durability were supreme issues.

How to Pack a Bedroll

Now that your character has his bedroll, how's he going to carry it? The nomadic life on horseback presents a few challenges. Here are a few necessities:

• Rifle or at least a pistol, and scabbard
• Ammunition
• Hunting knife
• Hatchet
• Canteen
• Rope
• Bedroll/Possibles sack
• Duster
• Matches (or flint)
• Pot (same pot can be used for boiling food, heating water, or making coffee)
• Frying pan
• Hard tack (can be soaked, stirred up with a little baking soda, and voila! you have pancakes)
• Dried beans
• Makin's (tobacco, papers) or chaw
• Snake bite medicine

Remember, the horse has to carry the rider, the saddle and blanket, and all the gear besides. The heavier the load, the more rest, water, and nutrition the animal requires. Unless your character has a pack animal besides his saddle horse or mule, he won't be bringing items such as flour, sugar, bacon, and all those things they pull out of their possibles sacks on TV westerns.

Mules, horses, and donkeys should always be groomed before they're tacked out and after they're done for the day. Whether they carry a riding saddle or pack saddle, dirt in the hair will cause gall (sores).

How to Pack a Saddle Horse

How do you  attach all the stuff on a saddle horse?  I found a video that'll give you a good idea.  One thing the instructor discusses is the even distribution of weight, but I'd like to emphasize it even more. The load absolutely must be balanced; otherwise, the horse can gall, a lop-sided load can make the horse's muscles sore, and can even do bone damage. Because his body hurts, the animal might favor one side or the other, which would make him walk unevenly, and he could even come up lame.  When your character is out in the wilderness, he sure doesn't need to be afoot.  This is something you could use either way in your stories.

Horse/Mule Packing with Saddle Panniers

Now your character has groomed his animal, tacked it well, and packed it evenly so the balance is exact as he can get it. The first day's journey is complete, and because of the planning, all went well. Now it's time to make camp.

Making Camp

Your character has ridden all day.  He's tired, maybe even a little achy, and so hungry it feels like there's a hole in his stomach.  Ah, but remember animal care?  That comes first.  Always.  So here's what all he has to do (and I'm just sure I'm forgetting something!).

• Set up a picket line where there's good grazing
• Unload and water the animals
• Groom, pick the hooves, and inspect the animals
• Fetch water, refill canteen
• Make a fire
• Unpack the supplies
• Check the animals
• Cook the meal (that's a whole 'nother how-to) and eat
• Check the animals -- make sure they either have access to water or water them before turning in for the night
• Set up the bed and sleep tight -- but not too tight.

Always keep an ear out for the animals. They're a barometer of what's going on around. If a bear or other predator comes by, horses, mules, and donkeys know it a whole lot sooner than a human. Also, make sure the animals don't get tangled in the picket line. It's a good idea to get up in the middle of the night and make sure all is well, especially if there are rocks and snags that might catch the picket line (rope) and hang up an animal.

Do you know how to set up a picket line? We did it differently than this video shows, but the idea is there.

How to make a picket line for horses

So there you have it -- packing, Old West style.  Oh, and in the morning, his day starts with animal care, and then coffee.  After that, he can start re-packing, and get on his way.

Ride safely and watch your back!

Hearts of Owyhee series
Strong Men and Spirited Women!

Much Ado About Marshals

Much Ado About Madams

Much Ado About Mavericks

Law Enforcement in the Old West

          In the Old West, the law was enforced by marshals and sheriffs, but their employers, jurisdictions and duties differed. Novels and TV shows often use the terms interchangeably. This is incorrect.

          U. S. Marshals have been appointed by the U.S. Marshals Service since 1789, and are not elected. As federal employees, their jurisdiction extends beyond county lines. Their authority covers everything within their assigned territory. They generally disburse and account for monies used in running the courts. In 1896 they were put on an annual salary. Before that, they worked on a fee system, collecting set amounts for performing certain tasks. Between 1790 and 1870, they were responsible for taking the census every ten years. Until 1861, when Congress created the Department of Justice, they reported directly to the Secretary of State. They appointed deputy U. S. marshals as well as field deputy U. S. marshals when needed. Until around 1970, there were no official headquarters for U. S. Marshals.

Wyatt Earp

          Sheriffs date back to medieval Europe, and continued into Colonial America. Social misfits of all sorts, some evading the law or unwanted families, were drawn to the western frontiers. The potentially violent and lawless West, with its heterogeneous population, required powerful and unique personalities to deal with the complex issues of turbulence and crime. This resulted in colorful and dramatic personalities who assumed the roles of law enforcers--characters like "Wild Bill" Hickok, Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, Pat Garrett, William “Bill” Tilghman, William Brenkenridge, Commodore Perry Owens and John Slaughter. Sheriffs were elected officials. Their jurisdiction was limited to the county in which they served, their primary duties being to keep the peace, uphold the law, and maintain the jail. They acted in conjunction with U. S. Marshals but with limited authority.

          Sheriffs hired deputies, formed posses when needed, and served as county tax collectors. The privileges awarded sheriffs by the States varied widely. Wyoming allowed sheriffs to use a residence for law enforcement purposes at county expense. New Mexico extended jurisdictional limits of the sheriff to permit him or his deputies to enter all counties in the state to affect an arrest and to have concurrent rights to form posses. While the duties of sheriffs and their deputies were multitudinous, the primary law enforcement functions were virtually identical throughout the early West. Often the sheriff carried out death sentences, usually by hanging. They erected gallows or simply threw a rope over a stout tree limb.

          Town marshals might be either elected or appointed and worked strictly within town limits. Often they functioned almost as arms of the county sheriff in carrying out duties such as collecting taxes and maintaining jails. In Arizona, cities, towns, and villages decide whether to appoint or elect a Marshal, or have the board/council/city manager hire a Chief of Police as the top criminal law enforcement for their jurisdiction (like in the Town of Tombstone). Marshals are elected by the trustees to serve a fixed term, and chiefs of police can be fired at will by whoever hired them just like any other employee.

          Texas and Arizona Rangers still perform untold services in their respective states. Some of their duties include protecting life and property, handling special criminal investigations, quelling disturbances, serving as officers of the court at a judge's request, and suppressing criminal activity in any area where local officials are unable or unwilling to maintain law and order. Their authority extends through their entire state and is not curtailed by city or county boundaries. Directly under the governor, they sometimes act as an army, while at others, more like a police force. The Texas Rangers were organized in 1823 by Stephen Austin and a group of men eager to see the frontier protected. Each ranger furnished his own horse and firearm. For $1.25 a day they handled the toughest of assignments, often in conflicts where they were severely outnumbered. The Arizona Rangers were formed in 1882 under the territorial governor, an exact counterpart to the Texas Rangers. The Arizona State Congress abolished them in 1909, but they were reformed years later.

          Bounty hunters were often considered more as bad guys than good ones, probably because of a few rogues known for killing men wanted dead or alive to collect the bounties on them. But they began as law enforcers. Many served as deputy U. S. marshals. Others worked with sheriffs in apprehending criminals, freeing the marshal or sheriff to focus on normal duties. Nowadays they track down bail jumpers.

         Pinkerton Agents were detectives who worked for Allen Pinkerton in his agency formed in 1850. They operated nationwide, working for railroad and stage companies. Their logo was the image of an eye, their motto, "We Never Sleep," which is where the term "private eye" originated. Pinkertons performed some of the work now handled by the FBI, CIA, and Secret Service. In 1861, while investigating a railroad case, the agency uncovered and foiled a plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. They sometimes used heavy-handed methods, such as when quelling mining strikes, which sullied their reputation, but the agency continued as a family-owned operation until 1967.

          Vigilance vs. vigilantism. Citizens did not always rely on lawmen but took the initiative themselves, banding together in the form of vigilance committees. Too often these vigilantes are confused with lynch mobs. The two were very distinct and separate entities, and the lynch mob was actually rare in the Old West. Lynch mobs represented wild outbursts of passion--emotion trumping reason--that were expended in a matter of hours. Where Lynch mobs were unruly and unorganized, vigilance committees displayed military-style organization, including a chain of command, and preceded in a quiet, orderly, and deliberate fashion.

            Most committees were supported by a majority of the residents of the local community, including the leading citizens. Well regulated, they dealt quickly and effectively with criminal problems, leaving towns in more stable and orderly condition. Moreover, vigilance committees were organized not because there was no established law enforcement, but because that law enforcement could not always be relied upon to pursue, apprehend, and punish the guilty. Long-range pursuits were time consuming, expensive, and often in vain. Vigilantes were members of a vigilance committee formed to enforce law and order before a regularly constituted government could be established or have real authority. They provided towns with a relatively just method of dealing with criminals in a time and place where little other organized justice existed.
          Do any of you know of an actual lynching in or near your home town?

Charlene Raddon's first serious writing attempt came in 1980 when she awoke one morning from an unusually vivid and compelling dream. Deciding that dream needed to be made into a book, she dug out an old portable typewriter and went to work. That book never sold, but her second one, Tender Touch, became a Golden Heart finalist. Soon afterward, she signed a three book contract with Kensington Books. Five of Charlene's western historical romances were published between 1994 and 1999: Taming Jenna, Tender Touch (1994 Golden Heart Finalist under the title Brianna), Forever Mine (1996 Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee and Affaire de Coeur Reader/Writer Poll finalist), To Have and To Hold Affaire de Coeur Reader/Writer Poll finalist); and The Scent of Roses. Her books are now being published as eBooks by Tirgearr Publishing. 

Links:

htp://www.charleneraddon.com/

http://www.charleneraddon.blogspot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CharleneRaddon

A fashion statement or necessity?

I'm old enough to still remember my mother wearing gloves and a hat to church. I even wore a pair to church when I was around 5. I think after that, the custom began to phase out except for special instances. My high school choir director made us wear long ones that reached our elbows for concerts. That was in 1974.

No one knows for sure who wore the first gloves. They speculate that cavemen might have fashioned a crude sort of glove or mitten for protection against the elements or to perform a special task. During the Roman times, silk or linen gloves were worn when they ate to protect against greasy hands. The type of glove making we know began in the 11^th or 12^th century.

Fashionable gloves were sewn by hand and the Gloving Donkey, invented by James Winter in 1807, allowed the seamstress to stitch more evenly. By 1870s, fashion called for short gloves during the day since most day dresses had full length sleeves and long, past-the-elbow length for evening wear since evening dresses were usually sleeveless.

“The curious pride of the horseman extended also to his gloves. The cowboy was very careful in the selection of his gloves. They were made of the finest buckskin, which could not be injured by wetting. Generally they were tanned white and cut with a deep cuff or gauntlet from which hung a little fringe to flutter in the wind when he rode at full speed on horseback.” (from The Passing of the Frontier - Emerson Hough – 1918)

I was looking in my trunk of things I'd inherited from my grandmother and I ran across a box. Inside was a pair of really cheesy salt and pepper shakers with a note that said: the first Christmas gift our first granddaughter gave us. That would be me. Beside those was an odd apparatus that turned out to be a glove stretcher that my great-grandmother had used, circa 1880.

This generated an idea for one of my first scenes in Once Jilted so, enjoy an excerpt involving the glove stretcher:

A week later, Shauna attacked the set of silver like a banshee bent on scaring every guest in the castle. But then, the castle of her fantasies was little more than a two-story wooden frame house in Nyesville, Indiana. She picked up a fork that still had a coating of dry whiting and vinegar between the tines. After an hour soaking near the fire, the tarnish should come right off. The operative word being should. After scrubbing a stubborn spot, she dropped the fork and leaned her weight against the counter. Old enough to be on her own, she still worked like a slave with no future, living in a home that didn’t want her.

 

"Slacking again?"

She turned toward Madison’s shrill voice, determined not to let her nemesis nettle her today. "Aren’t you supposed to be at the Clayburgs for morning brunch?"

Madison pulled on white gloves and patted her perfectly coiffured hair. "Well, of course, but Mother had a tirade over her tight gloves. Seems someone broke her glove stretcher. I guess you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?"

Of course not. In a voice of false importance, she replied, "Do forgive me. I couldn’t seem to get the top to my treasure chest open this morning. I needed the glove stretcher to pry the lid. It worked quite well, and I was able to count every gold coin paid for my services over the years."

Madison narrowed her eyes. "I keep telling Mother we need to replace you with someone younger. Your sarcastic humor is unwelcome."

Perhaps she hoped to provoke the Clevingers into dismissing her, forcing her to find a different situation. Truth be told, the thought of being on her own proved intimidating. She’d been saving all her money with the idea of leaving, but she didn’t think the amount in her purse would be enough. Not yet. Not while the country suffered economic depression, and jobs were scarce.

At that moment, Mrs. Cora Clevinger rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. "Madison, stop by Kupert’s on your way home and buy another glove stretcher." She held up the broken tool. The scissor-like apparatus had one piece dangling from a spring.

"I haven’t time. Make Shauna do it."

"Nonsense. You’ll already be out and about, and Shauna has other work that needs tending."

Other work? That didn’t sound good. Shauna stared at the mound of silver and wondered what other chores Mrs. Clevinger planned to drop in her lap.

"I’m sure Shauna wouldn’t mind procrastinating for a chance to go into town."

Shauna picked up a silver ladle, ignoring their conversation. The last thing she wanted to do was travel to town. Since her disastrous trip down the aisle, she’d avoided people. She’d even skipped church yesterday by offering to make a special dessert for the noon meal.

"Shauna!"

"Ma’am?"

"If you rub any harder, I’ll lose the delicate engravings on that spoon."

Shauna dropped the spoon like it had suddenly spouted thorns.

www.ciaragold.com

 

Traveling by Steamboat

By: Peggy Henderson

Before the railroads took over as the fastest way to travel west, steamboats were the premier  mode of transportation along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In the 1820’s and 30’s, steamboats were mainly used to transport furs, lead, and army supplies to forts and encampments along the Mississippi. In the late 1840’s, settlers swarmed into the new Minnesota Territory, and for the first time, entire families could travel together.

Early settlers, however, usually did not get to travel in luxury. Only the wealthy could afford the luxurious accommodations that were available on the finer steamboats. The average settler had few comforts. The poorer passengers slept on the freight decks, which also housed the boiler, fuel, and cargo. There was little or no protection from the elements for deck passengers, who would sleep on cargo crates or bales. They were allowed to cook their own meals using stoves provided by the captain. However, it was often too crowded to even prepare a simple meal.  Otherwise, they could eat with the crew if they paid the cook. 

Those who could afford the price could travel on the upper deck in private cabins. These passengers ate their meals in the state room, and were entertained in the grand salon. Some of the finer steamboats featured grand salons that ran the entire three hundred foot length of the boat, and were considered floating palaces, with heavy wood furniture, gilded ceilings, and mirrored walls. Dining experiences rivaled the best restaurants in New York at the time. Some boats had bands or musical entertainment, and even theater performances. 

 

Traveling by steamboat was not without danger, however. Deck passengers were in constant danger of boiler explosions, or being shoved overboard. Boiler explosions were common and often disastrous. Boats were often caught on sandbars or snags, and many times the passengers were asked to get off the boat to lighten the load. Captains didn’t always return for their passengers in those instances. And, of course, the river was teeming with thieves who loved to prey on unsuspecting passengers.

Overall, steamboat travel was preferred to overland travel for its speed (up to eight miles per hour!) and comparative luxury, until the railroad’s influence in the 1860’s and 70’s.

The Outlaws by Jane Toombs

The Outlaws Blurb: One decent man, an attractive young woman, and a teen-aged boy obsessed with a legendary bad man--all caught in the crossfire of the West’s bloodiest range war.   

This book is available and offered by a new publisher, Books We Love.  You an find it bargain-priced on Amazon.

Billy the Kid, The Lincoln County War in the New Mexico

Territory and a man with a past he doesn't care to share, an attractive young woman and a teenager fascinated by Billy....

I had a lot of fun writing this Western.  It's one of the many Westens I wrote years ago for Packagers. 

What were Packagers?  Guys who set up concepts and solicited authors to write the books for them to present to publishers.  In this case, their concept was The Making Of America. Since the west played a large part in expanding the United States, many of the books were  Westerns--like The Outlaws.

 The Packagers wanted good research, of course, but packed into a rip-roaring story featuring danger, a lot of shooting, women in peril and sex.  I did my best to match their expectations.  

But because I'm an author, I did this my way, with characters I created to mingle and interact with those legendary ones from the past. And it was fun to write these stories.  I did quite a few Westerns, which I'll be talking about in future posts.

Who am I?

Jane Toombs is my real name, but these stories always used the same pseudonym  for all the books--Lee Davis Willoughby.

Ginger's Note of explanation:  A series of books written by different authors by all under the name pen name...Lee Davis Willoughby is a pseudonym used by William L DeAndrea, Richard Deming, Richard Laymonis, George Ryan, Michael Avallone, and Jane Toombs.  You can Google the name and find the list of books offered on Amazon and see that there are a variety written under the same name all written in the early 1980s.  The Outlaws is the new version of an old book, released by Books We Love, a publisher who gives old books a new life.  Jane has more in the works, so look forward to some more great reads.

Traveling Trunks by Paty Jager

This post came about from wandering into an interesting looking store and taking a photo of a wardrobe trunk that was on display.

Trunks which date back thousands of years in China and elsewhere, were also called Traveling Chests. They were used when a person would be away from home for an extended period.

Trunks were more ruggedly built than chests. Both had handles on either end to make carrying them easier. They were typically 4-5 feet long and 1-2 feet high. Trunks were constructed of a pine box that was covered with a protective outer layer and decorative materials. The earliest trunks had hide or leather covers and looked like furniture. Most trunks were manufactured on the side by furniture businesses. The trunks changed with the travel and usage. Coverings of paper, canvas, plain or embossed tin and all different types of hardware and hardwood slats held the coverings in place.

There were many styles that often changed hardware and shape every decade or two. Most of these styles are from the late 18th century into the early 20th when lighter cheaper luggage like suitcases were being manufactured.

Saratoga Trunks: Premium trunks that nearly every trunk manufacturer made. They were before the 1880’s. They had many compartments, trays and heavy duty hardware.

Monitor tops: date from the late 1870’s to the late 1920’s. They had rounded front and rear corners that formed a lying-down “D” when viewed from the side. The earliest ones had hardwood slats curved the top.

Steamer trunks: They were so named because of where they were stored on a steam ship or “steamer”. Another name for them was flat-top. The chests appeared in the late 1870’s and became popular from 1880 -1920. They had flat or slightly curved tops and usually covered in canvas, leather, or patterned paper. It was originally called a “Packer” trunk.

Cabin trunks: Were also call the “true” steamer trunk. They had a low profile and small enough to fit under train berths or the cabin of a steamer. Most had a flat top and inner tray compartments to store valuable.

Hat trunk or Hat box: these were square trunks popular in the 1860’s and into the 1890’s. They were smaller, easy to carry, and had a handle on the top of the lid. Most had flat tops, with a few having domed lids. Often times this type of trunk will be called a “ladies” trunk because it was preferred by Victorian women.

Barrel-stave trunk: Also called a dome-top trunk. But a barrel-stave trunk was made a decade or more before the dome-top. They have horizontal slats instead of vertical. These were made from the late 1870’s to the mid-1880’s.

Bevel-top trunks: Date from 1870-1880for their first appearance and 1890-1900 when they came back into favor again. They had a trapezoid shape when viewed from the side. The earlier ones had a shorter, flattened top.

Wardrobe trunks: Stood on end to be opened and had drawers on one side and hangers for clothing on the other side. A high-end wardrobe also had buckles and tie-downs for shoes, removable suitcases, privacy curtains, mirrors, and make-up boxes. They were very large and heavy and used for long trips by ship or train.

Saving the Whales—Nineteenth Century Style ~ Ellen O'Connell

Recently I came across a statement that in 1870 sixty percent of railroad shipments in the United States were kerosene. At the time I didn’t bookmark the reference, but it piqued my curiosity. Whether that percentage was by weight or by dollar value, it’s impressive and led me to research the subject.

Until 1846 when Abraham Gesner came up with a way to refine kerosene from coal (“coal oil”), the most desirable fuel for lighting around the world was whale oil, and the whaling industry went full bore from the mid-1700s until the late Nineteenth Century. The wealthy could afford to light their homes with whale oil. Governmental authorities used it for lighthouses and street lamps, but at $1.77 a gallon (1856 peak price), the homes of working men would have still been using tallow, and even without the total lack of availability, the mountain men and early settlers in the West would have elected for “cain’t see” to “cain’t see,” firelight, and candles. (Have you ever tried to read or do much by candle light? I have during power outages. Maybe one would get used to it over time, but I didn’t get much done.)

So as sperm whales became increasingly scarce after more than a century of steady slaughter, and the price of whale oil increased because of scarcity, kerosene came to the rescue. Techniques to refine kerosene from petroleum (as opposed to coal) drove the early American petroleum industry. An estimated 30 kerosene refineries operated in the U.S. in 1860. The American whaling fleet decreased from a high of more than 700 ships to less than 40 in 1876 because kerosene supplanted whale oil for lighting, and not only for the wealthy.

Estimates of sperm whales killed for their oil run as high as a million. The whales continued to be hunted for other reasons, but never again at that level. The species is listed as endangered today under the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969 and is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, although the sperm whale is doing better than any of the other large whale species.

Kerosene not only saved the whales, but made a better life possible for the many people we write about in our historical western romances. For men and women taking advantage of the 1862 Homestead Act, kerosene would have been available to light their homes, shipped all over the country on the railroads that were built during those years.

Modern urban folks probably never encounter kerosene. Being a country girl, I always have a few gallons around. During my horse showing years, we cleaned and lubricated clipper blades in a 50-50 mixture of kerosene and motor oil. (Show horses have their whiskers and any feathering hair on the legs trimmed off. Even non-show riding horses usually have a “bridle path” trimmed in the mane right behind the ears so the crown piece of the bridle or halter can rest there without long mane hair tangling around. No, not a cowboy thing, at least not a Nineteenth Century cowboy thing.)

These days I keep kerosene around because I have a kerosene heater to drag out when the power goes out in the winter, not a frequent occurrence here in Colorado, but it happens every couple of years. The smell is distinctive, and last year’s price was over $10 a gallon.  I’m always delighted when the power comes back on.